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

THE BEST SONG OPENINGS OF ALL TIME 2007-08-21 17:21:23 I haven’t made a music top 10 list in a while, and I love the way so many of my readers love to hate my lists. Even when the list isn’t mine. All I have to do is a publish a list and WHAM! I get yelled at. Right now, we’re working on compiling the best cuts from movie soundtracks. (Go here and vote!) But in the meantime, a reader sent me a link to this article, which allegedly has the 25 best opening lyrics of all time. And I must say, I disagree strongly with quite a few of them. Their picks include: #25: “You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar”–Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ That doesn’t say anything! It’s a funny novelty song and all, but is this really a great song opener? Answer: No! #22 “Go, shorty. It’s your birthday”–50 Cent’s ‘In Da Club’ Oh, come on. It wasn’t the words that made this song hype, it was the bounce and the delivery. #20 “I ...

NEW FOO 2007-08-20 20:11:01 Everybody’s posting the new Foo cover of Arcade Fire, but I haven’t seen anyone post the show they played it at. The whole show was fantastic, and someone sent me links to a couple more songs from it. I didn’t upload this myself, but I’ll pass it along to y’all. I, for one, can’t wait for the new album. FOO FIGHTERS 17 August, 2007 The Pretender Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running) Keep The Car Running ...

DEADSTRING BROTHERS-”Silver Mountain” 2007-08-20 19:42:55 The Deadstring Brothers are the best alt-country band you’ve never heard of. They did everything Whiskeytown should have done after Stranger’s Almanac but never managed to. And it’s my distinct pleasure, if you’ve not heard them before, to introduce them to you. Their eponymous debut hit in 2002, and featured fantastic songs like, “I’m a Stealer,” “Entitled,” “Unbroken” (.mov video) and, “27 Hours,” along with their cover of Johnny Cash’s, “Long Black Veil.” It takes balls to cover Cash, especially on your first record. Next came Starving Winter Report, their first album on Bloodshot Records (home to The Detroit Cobras and Ryan Adams–when he was indie). This release had a little more soul and a little less twang, but was just as good as the first. Songs like Sacred Heart , “Get Up Jake,” and Lonely Days left me wanting more, anyway. So naturally I’m excited that ...

THE TOP 10 MODERN SOUNDTRACK SINGLES 2007-08-20 04:54:00 Tucked away in the soundtrack to a weird and not-so-hot film, Gates of Hell, is The Pogues doing the theme from “The Good Bad And The Ugly.” Pick up the X-Files T.V. show album and you’ll find the first release of the Foo Fighters’ cover of Gary Numan’s “Down in the Park.” Val Kilmer might not have been the best thing about the Batman franchise, but U2’s “Hold Me Thrill Me” very well might be. Soundtracks often suck. They’re often lame excuses to re-release crap or let go of stuff that’s been sitting around a studio for a long time, like outtakes, demos, and material that just wasn’t good enough for the album. But sometimes, there’s a single song, maybe two, that pop. So, we’re going to make a list of the top 10. With your help! Drop a comment or send an e-mail with your list of up to 10 of your favorite tunes found in soundtracks. We’ll run this for about two weeks or until I get over ...

THE SOMNAMBULANTS-”Paper Trail” 2007-08-20 04:42:14 Dropping August 21 on Clairaudience Collective Recordings, the Somnambulants’ second album, “Paper Trail,” is a great electropop synth record in the tradition of New Order, but much less depressing. The band is two people, Joseph White (producer/vocals/bass) and Channing Sargent (keyboards/vocals). It’s a nonstop electro-party. I’m not generally a fan of this genre–I find it kind of tired and dull–but this one I enjoyed quite a bit. Maybe it’s because of songs like “The Facts,” which begins with heavy percussion and slowly lets the bass creep in, and only lets the keyboards in towards the end of the second minute of the tune. Surprising. Or the really fun and funny Spanish tune, “La Chica Musical,” with a straight David Byrne vocal style and carnivale music. Love it! Plus, although they’re currently based in San Francisco, they originally hail from Brooklyn. Brooklynnnnn! From “Paper Trail:&rdquo ...

ZOMBIES 2007-08-19 04:57:57 Yesterday, the number two search term for folks who found this corner was “Zombies.” And I always say, give the people what they want. ...

Bubba Sparxxx -Survive Till Ya Thrive 2007-08-19 04:14:53 2007 finally gets another great mixtape! This year has been, in my view, a disappointing one for hip hop, particularly mixtapes. There’s been some good stuff, for sure: Back in January, Ghostface dropped More Fish, but that was mostly leftovers, and Haystak and Jae Millz gave decent albums. But only NaS provided a record that I’ve listened to over and over (and that was technically a late December ‘06 release). The smaller labels have done a bit better: Blue Scholars, Akir and 2Tall, but not enough to make me happy. And the mixtapes . . . Well, even considering Lil’ Wayne, Andre 3000, and Clipse, the pickings have been sparse. So it’s nice to get a really solid one. Bubba’s last album didn’t move me much at all–he tried too hard to make bangers and get famous, clearly trying to take Eminem’s place as the one Hip Hop White Boy, and he’s not Marshall. Bubba has his own voice (more of a drawl really), and should stick to ...

10 REASONS TO GIVE YOU FREE SERVICE, IF YOU TURN THE LIGHTS OFF WHEN YOU LEAVE 2007-08-18 08:50:25 1. 2. Band of Horses doing covers. This year’s BoH album is one of the best so far. If you disagree, you’re just wrong. And, they do cool live stuff, too. Check it out. You Never Even Called Me By My Name (David Allan Coe)-Band of Horses Showdown (Electric Light Orchestra)-Band of Horses 3. Harry Shearer is one funny mother fucker. 4. Lassigue Bendthaus- Ashes To Ashes (David Bowie). Intriguing. The whole album is pretty wild. I may even review it soon. 5. Twilight Singers: 2004 All You Need is Love (Beatles cover) Layla Black Is the Color/Time of the Season (Zombies) 6. Three Pints offered a mash up of El-P and the White Rabbits. Perhaps the most indie, underground mash up in history! 7. Hangin’ Around-The Counting Crows and Graham Colton (live) 8. Arizona-Thimble. 9. Armagideon Time offers Mr. T rapping in it’s tribute to The A Team’s finest character, the TV Show I lost my virginity to. Ah, memories. 10. ...

GRACE POTTER AND THE NOCTURNALS-“This Is Somewhere” 2007-08-18 04:51:10 All country doesn’t suck. Just most of it. Because most major label C and W is watered down rock—lame anthems and songs with expected twists and puns that were barely funny when Henny Youngman uttered them, years ago. But Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are an exception. The band eschews Americana and stays true to true country—without being corny—occasionally marching close (but never quite embracing) rock and roll. The band is on a major label, but I’m making an exception to my general no-review policy because they’ve been around for a long while and haven’t really caught fire. And I can’t figure out why. Check out the bluesy greatness of “Stop the Bus” and tell me it isn’t better than anything on the CMAs. “Ain’t No Time” is reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” only Grace has a much better voice (obviously), and it’s got more twang. “Mastermind” comes close to being a barnburner—I can only imagine how much better this so ...

BRITT DANIEL OF SPOON, LIVE IN CONCERT(s)! 2007-08-17 05:51:26 Gosh I love the live music archive. It’s where I found .shn copies of this great show. So great I made them lossy for y’all. Tastes and a zip: Britt Daniel, Live and acoustic in Brooklyn June 16, 2002. Anything you want In the right place at the right time The agony of laffite You gotta feel it chips and ip Metal Detektor Moments (Kinks cover) Me and the Bean Used to (Wire) Car Radio Advance Cassette I’m Going Down (Bruce Springsteen) I Could Be Underground Paper Tiger Fitted shirt ZIP And even cooler, you can compare it to this more recent show, which they offer MP3s of including a great John Lennon cover. You can go over there and pick it up yourself. Both shows are great. Britt Daniel Live Acoustic 3.29.06. 1. Advance Cassette 2. Anything You Want 3. The Beast And Dragon, Adored 4. Everything Hits At Once 5. Metal Detektor 6. Telephone My Heart 7. Me and the Bean 8. The Delicate Place 9. The Agony of Lafitte 10. I Could See The Dude 11. Don’t Make Me A Ta ...

KANYE VS. 50 2007-08-16 18:13:18 By now I’m sure all of you have heard about 50 Cent’s statement that if his 9/11 release doesn’t outsell Kanye’s, he will never release another solo album. The only reason this got any press is because . . . Well, I’m not sure why. I’m pretty sure 50 Cent has always and substantially outsold Kanye—probably moving at least double the amount of units. 50’s statement is just like saying that if the war in Iraq is over by 9/11 he’ll retire. I mean, sure, there’s a chance but come on. But what’s really surprised me is the amount Fiddy hatred I’ve been reading about, guys promising to buy two copies of Kanye just to force a semi-retirement and all. To those folks, I first must say, “You do realize that 50 never said he’d get out of music—he said he’d stop releasing solo albums. That means we could expect twice as many G-Unit albums. Does anyone really want that? “Get Rich or Die Tryin” was a masterpiece of G-Funk/California sound. It didn’ ...

THE GRATEFUL DEAD MEET THE BEACH BOYS! 2007-08-16 03:49:34 You know I dig the Dead. Remember? On April 27, 1971, The Grateful Dead played the Fillmore East in New York, and put on what I consider to be one of the greatest shows they did that entire year. In fact, the First Set recording of Bertha was the one used on their Skullfuck live album. (Overall, I’m generally a ‘77 man, myself, although 1974 was also a good year.) But the real keen thing that happened on April 27 was the encore set, where the kings of the three-minute surfpop tune, The Beach Boys, came out and joined with the stoner jamband heroes. The encore set began with the classics “Searchin” and “Riot in Cell Block #9,” with the two bands playing together. Then the Dead stepped away and allowed the Beach Boys to play solo, which they did, on their two hits, “Good Vibrations” and “I Get Around.” Six minutes must have been just enough time to beam up, because the Dead came back, ready to jam on the Merle Haggard cla ...

GIMMEE IMMY! (a Guest Post by Mick the D!) 2007-08-15 04:08:30 Mick the D is the kind soul who shared the Shim Sham 2003 show with all of us. Now, he wants to write to y’all….And I love it when readers are passionate about an artist, so I welcomed his guest post. Here it is: Gimmee Immy Long before the Counting Crows and the Shim Sham shows, back in the 80s, guitar maestro and all round nice guy David Immergluck was wielding his mighty axe in three of the greatest bands ever to walk the planet . He was part of the mighty Monks Of Doom, the darker and even more majestic sister band to the legendary Camper Van Beethoven, and at the same time he joined the forgotten genius that were The Ophelias, a strange and beautiful SF combo lead by the enigmatic Leslie Medford who recorded two superb and unique albums with them before they split at the end of the decade. Through the Monks he also came to be in the last touring line up of CVB before they drifted apart in 90. With CVB gone The Monks Of Doom became the main band and went of to record ...

SPOON-Covers and Rarities! 2007-08-14 03:55:08 Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga may be the best record of the year. And Tick is the best cartoon ever. Faithful Tick fans will understand the connection. Decora (Yo La Tengo cover) I Can Feel It Like An AM Single Bring it on Home (Sam Cooke single) Loose (The Stooges) The Way We Get By (Acoustic version) Situation Vacant (The Kinks) Held (Smog) Me and the Bean (Sidehackers) ...

PET GHOST PROJECT 2007-08-13 18:19:17 Pet Ghost Project (which is, in reality, a young man named Justin Stivers) begins like a sonic aeroplane taking off: With a building collection of noise that swells, gradually getting louder and busier. This is one of my pet peeves, I should mention: Records with pretentious openings. But just when I think this first song (titled, “Drunk and Smiling at Heaven”) is about to crash into the second track, as these types of “get ready intros” almost always do, it suddenly implodes, like fireworks, leaving behind a few seemingly random plucks of guitar strings. So what I learn, from the jump, is that PGP is not your average album. The record is noisepop (or noiseindierock, if such a category exists) at its best. Each song is loaded with crunch and grind but there’s enough hook and harmony that it doesn’t descend into the kind of blaring that annoys even the most tolerant of parents. Songs creep around inside the collages of sound, struggling to be hea ...