Berkeley Place-A lil' bit of BK from VA One of the top rated indie music blogs on the internet. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 253 0 75 10776

Articles from Berkeley Place-A lil' bit of BK from VA

JASON ISBELL WEEK: POST 2: JASON AND CENTRO-MATIC 2007-09-04 04:12:13 Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit are currently touring (follow link for dates) with indie rock stars Centro-matic. I never really figured Centro-Matic as an alt-country style band, but this show showed me the errors of my ways. The sound quality is crisp, the songs are fantastic, and Jason Isbell played with them on every single one. A few tastes, then a zip: Jason Isbell and Centro-Matic, 8.24.07, Nashville, TN Love You Just the Same In Such Perfect Time Fountains of Fire To Unleash the Horses Atlanta Calling Thermatico Patience for the Ride Flashes and Cables The Blisters May Come Love Has Found Me Somehow Mighty Midshipman ZIP. ...

HALLOWEEN 2007-09-03 18:36:48 I’m was a huuuuge horror fan in High School, and still appreciate the genre. I’ve been dismayed of late, though, because it’s all turned into torture porn (Hostel, Saw, etc.) or splattery sadism (Hills Have Eyes), both of which I also appreciate but I miss plain old scary movies. The original Halloween was such a film: More fear than gore, more suspense than splatter. I can’t say the same for Rob Zombie’s Halloween re-imagining. It adds a lengthy backstory to Michael Meyers, which is so well done that I truly felt myself feeling bad for the little psychopath. (The script is kind of awkward and over-the-top, as is the acting, but somehow it all works when it fits together.) Not to mention all the great cameos and guest-starring roles by B-movie and horror film stars like Sybil Danning (V, Chained Heat); Malcolm McDowell (Cat People, Caligula); William Forstythe (too many B-flicks to count); Brad Dourif; Mickey Dolenz (The Monkees); and many, many mor ...

10 REASONS I DON’T LIKE VENISON SANDWICHES 2007-09-03 04:41:42 1. The New York Times featured Rick Rubin, who thinks he’s going to save the music industry by introducing subscription plans for music. Y’all think that’s the answer for them? Personally, I just think that the days of music moguls making millions off of artists are over. Music will go back to being local, only with the internet “local” takes on a whole new meaning. Either that, or they’re gonna have to start throwing entire Universities in jail for illegal downloading. I mean, I don’t personally like to steal music but lets face it, even mp3 blogs like this can be viewed as theft, even if labels and promoters send me lots of the commercial stuff I post. After all, one label threatened to sue me for an album I reviewed that was sent to me by their PR team. (Hence, my ban on RIAA material.) 2. To help support my point that blogs are important to the future of the industry, the New York Times recently wrote about how important blogs are ...

JASON ISBELL WEEK: POST ONE 2007-09-03 03:21:12 I can’t listen to everything all at once, so I just got around to getting the new Jason Isbell record, Sirens of the Ditch, and it’s fantastic. For those of you who don’t know, Jason Isbell was one of the central singer/songwriters who made up the Drive-By Truckers until April of this year when he quit. I was a little sad to hear he’d split from the DBTs, but if it means more albums like this one, and more tours with his new fantastic band, The 400 Unit, then it’s worth it. As far as I’m concerned, the DBTs that are around today, led by Patterson Hood, are still a good band–But they ain’t as good as they were with Jason. Jason’s solo record, Sirens of the Ditch, is actually better than any DBT album. Perhaps it’s because it has lots of Truckers on it: Patterson Hood helped produce and makes an appearance (as does his dad!); Shonna Tucker and Brad Morgan play on it; and so does Spooner Oldham, a DBT affiliate . . . The son ...

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2007-09-02 19:19:50 ...

THE CLASH: STREET RATS 2007-09-02 11:19:46 Last week, this blog scored bigg on Digg.com. Yet the post I did wasn’t all that different from a lot of other posts I do here. If any of you have any idea why or how the rocker/rappers post garnered so much attention, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I mean, I’m not unhappy with my regular numbers here, but why did that post get so popular on Digg whereas most of my posts only get three or four dugg votes? I’m also asking all of you to help by giving good ratings to my site at wherever you play (stumbleupon, digg, blogtopsites, etc.). Okay, now on with the post: I thought I’d thrown these up before, but I guess I haven’t. “Street rats” is a collection of unreleased promos, demos, and live recordings by the world’s greatest band, The Clash. The quality of each track varies, but there’s definitely some gems here. As usual, some tastes and a zip: Cost of Living London’s Burning (Polydor Demo version) Cool confusion ...

Get some swag 2007-09-02 08:05:13 Go to culture bully. He’s givin’ away CDs! ...

Brother Ali & BK-One Present: Off The Record 2007-09-02 08:01:16 Brother Ali is truly amazing. Not only has he released what is likely the best rap album of the year so far, but now he’s released the best mixtape of the year as well! Apparently, though, there’s no way to get your hands on it unless you were lucky enough to get one of the preshipped copied of Ali’s official release, The Undisputed Truth, which had a copy of this bonus CD with it. I only got to hear it ’cause a buddy had it. Off the Record is cuts that didn’t make Ali’s Champion EP or Undisputed Truth album, and many of them are even better than his album cuts. This guy just can not spit a bad line. For example, Live From The Chippie Bun Club is the best tribute to veterans I’ve heard in years. It talks about a man who was killed at “killing strangers” but can’t support his family. He’s plagued by the past and his loved ones are as hurt as he is. “She didn’t need to hear about the fire and bombs, and ... Amp

WHISKEYTOWN-”Forever Valentine” 2007-09-01 05:12:28 I’m going through an Americana phase of late, discovering and rediscovering some of my favorite alt-country bands. And Whiskeytown has always been #1 with me. As a mater of fact, Strangers Almanac is what really got me into the genre (unless you consider Counting Crows alt-country, which I don’t). Forever Valentine is an unreleased studio recording made in Raleigh, North Carolina, in December 1997 with the major WT players: Ryan Adams, Caitlin Cary, Mike Daly, Ed Crawford, Skillet Gilmore, Chris Stamey, and special guest Ben Folds on piano. Why it never saw commercial release is beyond me–maybe because the whole thing was a stealth project that Ryan wanted to make without the record label knowing. Tastes and a zip. 01 Anyone But Me (a/k/a Dial Tone) 02 Don’t Wanna Know Why 03 Easy Hearts 04 Sittin’ Around 05 Rays Of Burning Light (a/k/a Rays Of Light) 06 Ghost Without Memory 07 Runnin’ Out Of Road 08 Can’t Take A Lover (a/k/a Talkin’ ...

SEA WOLF-Leaves in the River 2007-08-31 17:19:14 Is it twee? With a name like “Sea Wolf,” the band has got to either be that or heavy metal, right? And with an album title like, “Leaves In The River,” you’d be right to guess against metal. But we’ll get to the answer to our question later. For now, answer this one: Do you remember Sea Wolf? I reviewed their EP here, then picked it as one of the best EPs of the midyear. You may recall that Sea Wolf is essentially Alex Brown, a singer/songwriter whose brilliance is untainted by his youth. So, his band did the short version. Can they pull off a proper album? Yes. “Leaves in the River” is excellent. There’s enough variety here to keep the listener’s ears fixed on every note, never knowing for sure what will happen next. Will it be the low menace of “Don’t You Love Me Anymore?” Will it be the gentle, pensive title track? This is an album to lose yourself in. Records don’t get a whole lot bette ...

HEALTH-“Health” 2007-08-31 12:31:18 Health’s new album starts of slow. 30 seconds of near silence slowly builds into tribal drum and solemn organ. Eventually, the guitars start to hit and the cymbals crash and the entire first song, “Heaven,” crescendos into silence, followed, after a few beats, by a loan chime of the organ. So, is this a gentle instrumental record? No. In fact, it fits in more with the noisy, up-and-downs of Husker Du, Parts & Labor, Black Dice . . . It’s not the kind of sound you immediately fall in love with. At least I didn’t. But there’s an energy here, a vibe of excitement and anything-can-happen randomness in tunes like Girl Attorney and Triceratops, that rewards hard listening. If you’re looking for something accessible, this isn’t for you. But if you’re a fan of the offbeat and inventive, this may just be the ticket! Crimewave-Health Triceratops (CFCF remix)-Health ... Health

REFLECTIONS: DOGS WITHOUT FEAR OF DYING 2007-08-30 04:00:28 “What the hell is that weird crap on the stereo?” You’re likely to get that if you crank “Reflections: Dogs Without Fear of Dying” in a crowded room. But you’ll also probably get a couple T-Rex or Gary Glitter fans who say, “Wow! What the hell is that weird crap you have on?” The new release, from the tiny indie label Civil Defense League (founded by Jim Ward from Sparta), is the debut solo album by Clint Newsom, who used to be a part of the Austin band, Rhythm of Black Lines. It features psychedelindie ditties with titles like “Magical Medicine” and “The Doctor’s Work” – which should give you an idea already of what it sounds like. At times it also seems a little folk-y, but don’t let that stop you if you’re an anti-folkster. It’s not folk like The Mountain Goats or old Bob Dylan. There’s nothing like a single guy screaming about war over an acoustic guitar. It’s folk like Crosby, Stills, and Nash or 1966 Grateful Dead albums: A ...

10 REASONS I LEARNED TO LOVE OF MONTREAL 2007-08-29 03:59:13 I like my tunes to be free of pretension, so when I heard of an album called, Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer?” I said thanks but no thanks. When I was forwarded the first single, “Heimdal’s Gate Like a Promothean Curse,” I said thanks but no thanks. I even listened to it and found it completely inaccessible. That was in January. Then the hype started and I even ran a post on the band responsible, saying that I didn’t care for their original material but their covers were interesting. A commenter pointed out that half of the live tunes I had posted were actually originals, but still I said, thanks but no thanks. Plus, I’d heard their prior album and wasn’t moved by it. Sometimes, I can be so damn stubborn. With a dry emusic queue one week, I finally snatched up “Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer?”. As soon as I put on “Suffer for Fashion,” I was hooked. I don’t know that I have anything new to say about Of Montreal, but I figured they de ...

10 REASONS MY BLOG WILL LEND YOU SOME SUGAR 2007-08-28 16:11:38 As promised . . . 1. Hey Ya-Low 2. Hey Ya-Fuzz 3. Hey Ya-Ryan Miller. An awesome acoustic alt-country version. 4. Hey Ya-Supersuckers. 5. Hey Ya-Starbuck of Ekoostik Hookah 6. Hey Ya-Drive By Truckers 7. Hey Ya-Razorlight 8. Hey Ya-Weeping Tile 9. Hey Ya-The New Amsterdams 10. If you can figure out why I selected this picture for this post, and e-mail me with the answer and your mailing address, I’ll send you a prize copy of a great new CD by Girl Nobody. (Read my review of it here.)  There’s also a few second-place prizes to give away, so go for it now! ...

LAUGHING OUTLAW RECORDS 2007-08-28 03:46:31 Is that Americana? Nope. Alt Country? Kinda, but not really. It’s Aus Country! I just got a huge package from Laughing Outlaw, an Australian indie label with a tremendous catalog of, as you might guess from the label’s name, good old fashioned shitkicker tune. I haven’t listened to every album all the way through yet, but I will, but I’ve put them all in at once and started a random sampling while I threw a coat of paint on the wall. And from what I’ve heard, it’s all good. So I figured I’d do a rare “label post.” Here’s just a few of the worthwhile things you can find on that label. I wish I could do a proper post on every album, but I’m so overloaded with submissions right now. Please don’t take the fact that there’s several bands listed here as meaning that I less then heartily support them. This is an awesome record label and all of these artists are really good. Perry Keyes-Meter and Last Gho ...