It wasn’t that long ago that fans of underground/alternative/post-modern/college rock were praising the sounds of Jawbreaker. They were one of many bands no one thought would ever go major. A year after the release of the band’s debut album Unfun, the world of music changed. They remained indie until the end, but as far as many were concenred, it was Unfun that was near and dear.
20 years later, Unfun is being reissued, with the vinyl version retaining the format’s 12 tracks while the CD holds true with its 16 tracks. The vinyl version will be packaged with a bonus 7″, featuring the Whack & Blite EP and the uncredited “Busy”. All of it was remastered from the original analog master tapes by John Golden, so even if you still have your original LP, you’ll want to hear what Golden did with this. Vinyl version also comes with download code so you can have the album in MP3 form.
It will be released on March 30th, you can pre-order your copy through Insound (click the box below.)
Still fresh after releasing their great second album, Heave Yer Skeleton (one of my favorite albums of 2009), mr.Gnome are back with a brand new single due out on March 16th called Tastes Like Magic. The songs were recorded at Josh Homme’s Pink Duck Studios in Los Angeles during the Heave Yer Skeleton but weren’t used. The single will be released as a 7″ on their own El Marko label and is already available for download at Bandcamp
mr.Gnome will be headed on tour at the end of the month, here are confirmed tour dates: 03/26 Pittsburgh, PA @ The Smiling Moose
03/27 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
03/31 Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse
04/03 Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
04/04 Orlando, FL @ Backbooth
04/05 Pensacola, FL @ The Handlebar
04/09 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Jr.
04/10 Dallas, TX @ The Cavern
04/14 Salt Lake City @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge
04/15 Boise, ID @ The Bouquet
04/17 Seattle, WA @ The Sunset Tavern
04/20 Los Angeles, CA @ The Silverlake Lounge
04/21 San Diego, CA @ The Beauty Bar
04/22 Phoenix, AZ @ The Sail Inn
04/23 Tucson, AZ @ Plush
04/27 Springfield, MO @ The Outland
04/28 Lawrence, KS @ The Replay Lounge
04/30 Madison, WI @ The Frequency
05/07 Fort Wayne, IN @ Columbia St. West
Black Moth Super Rainbow has spawned a lot of interesting things, with primary member Tobacco doing a lot of interesting music and video projects, while The Seven Fields Of Aphelion recently coming out with her debut solo album (review from me coming very soon).
As for Tobacco, he is about to release his brand new album in May on Anticon called Maniac Meat, and it has been revealed that Beck is making an appearance on it, or make that two appearances, “Grape Aerosmith” and “Fresh Hex”. Anyone who has heard of Beck’s B-sides or more obscure tracks will know that this is a perfect match, so perhaps it means Tobacco has or will be doing some Beck remixes.
Meanwhile, Tobacco will be coming out with Fucked Up Friends 2, a DVD featuring many of his video projects. You can only purchase this at his shows during his late winter/early Spring 2010 tour, dates were posted here.
Still no word on if Tobacco and Biz Markie will collaborate. I’ll keep you posted.
Promoting your new song, video, and album through the means of a butt cheek, you do what you gotta do, right? This is what’s involved in this video trailer for Soulful!’s forthcoming album, Wake Up (Inner Loop Records).
His moniker is Fantastic Mr. Fox, and his style of electronic music combines elements of hip-hop with a hard, abrasive style of chopping, slicing… it’s just the kind of audio manipulation that brings to mind the best of Pete Rock, RJD2, Dilla, 9th Wonder, Jazzanova, and so many others. In this case, Fantastic Mr. Fox is doing his own thing and he’s presenting himself with a brand new double 10″ EP called Sketches, being released by Chemical Records.
If these tracks are literally sketches, they are quite good for being songs-in-the-works. Or maybe these are the finished sketches. If this guy goes on to make more sketches and proceeds to remix everyone that comes his way, he’ll be one of the artists/producers to talk about this decade.
When I read this article from the Los Angeles Times, I cringed somewhat. A part of me wants to hold to the goofy “sacred cows” of rock’n'roll, but a part of me is also thinking cool, someone is trying something different from their norm, but I have a few mixed feelings about this.
The article by Shirley Halperin states that as Mary J. Blige was in Los Angeles to record the updated version of “We Are The World” to raise relief funds for Haiti, she was recording music for her forthcoming album. In this case it was a recording session that featured guitarists Steve Vai and Orianthi, drummer Travis Barker, and bassist Randy Jackson, all handled by producer Ron Fair. The song is Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven”.
Pause.
I’m a huge Led Zeppelin fan and I respect the power of that song. I grew up with it, loved it, understand the Wayne’s World joke, and now it’s a classic rock staple, the staple of all staples to where if it’s on the radio, I turn it off. I’ll listen to it every few months, but that’s it. When people talk about Led Zeppelin, it eventually leads to discussion of “Stairway To Heaven”, it is their epic song from one of the biggest selling hard rock albums of all time.
However, as someone who calls herself a longtime rock’n'roll fan, it just seems so cliche to do that song. I can already see it: the hard rock/heavy metal kids will hate it. Some of Mary’s fans will say “oh no, she’s gone off the deep end now”. Blige was criticized years ago for working with Elton John and George Michael, that’s fairly tame compared to what this song will do because there are people who still feel Led Zeppelin are monarchs of hell, with Satan found in their music, artwork, and mysterious demonic symbols on the cover with the band carrying a bundle of sticks. There will no doubt be some minster who will reverse the Blige version and say “now listen, the evil shared by England’s Led Zeppelin has been modernized to talk about gang warfare, crack cocaine, the Talbian, and Lil’ Wayne”. Blige will become the new Satan, and it will be interesting to see what happens.
Personally, it would have been cooler to hear Blige cover something not-so-obvious:
King Crimson’s “Epitaph” Whitesnake’s “Slow And Easy” Y&T’s “Eyes Of A Stranger” Queensryche “I Don’t Believe In Love” Aerosmith’s “Nobody’s Fault” Metallica’s “The Things That Should Not Be” Kiss‘ “Do You Love Me” Black Sabbath’s “Solitude” or “Children Of The Grave” Metal Church’s “Watch The Children Pray” Mudhoney’s “This Gift” Tad’s “Stumblin’ Man”
Since I’m mentioning Mudhoney and Tad, imagine if you will, a Mary J. Blige cover of Mercyful Fate’s “Gypsy”:
If “Stairway To Heaven” will turn Blige to Satan for some people, I can’t imagine what would happen if Blige was open enough to cover something sung by the almighty King Diamond.
I don’t know, I would not mind hearing Blige cover more rock and pop, no harm in that. Yet out of all the songs to do, “Stairway To Heaven”? I’m sure some of the people involved are thinking “fuck a sacred cow” but… how about “Thank You”, “The Rain Song”, “That’s The Way”, “In The Light”, or “Since I’ve Been Loving You”? The choice of “Stairway To Heaven” is similar to saying “I love rock, but only what I heard on the radio. What are the big rock hits?”
We’ll have to wait a few more months to see what will happen. If this moves Keri Hilson to cover Black Sabbath’s “Sign Of The Southern Cross”, I’ll throw up my devil horns. In truth, hard rock and heavy metal has always been a means of debate between those who have seen the music and creators as evil, and fans who know of the music as a means of escape and dealing with the realities of the world. A lot of hard rock and heavy metal have “heavy” subject matter, but we all know countless bands, especially the ugly ones (you know who I’m talking about), have done songs on everything from love, loss, fears, and hopes. Could be a Maxwell or Raphael Saadiq album. Maybe next time, when a soul/R&B vocalist covers a rock song, I hope it’s one that challenges them, the original song, and the fans.
They are The Reptilian, and their Boy’s Life album (Count Your Lucky Stars) has been gathering a collective of approving thumbs from many. People love their brand of uncontrolled rock, although with many calling them “math rock” there has to be some kind of control and organization. What people like about them is how you can’t tell.
As they head out on tour, the group just recorded music tonight for a 4-way split LP, which means an album with them and contributions from their Count Your Lucky Stars labelmates: Annabel, Joie De Vivre, and Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate). With new music freshly recorded, they hit the road tomorrow. Here is their on road path:
DEC 30 – Dekalb, IL @ The Zappa Zappa Zappa House w/ Loose Lips Sink Ships, Joie de Vivre
DEC 31 – St. Louis, MO @ LEMP Arts Center w/ Cloud Mouth, Native, La Dispute
JAN 01 – Warrensburg,MO @ 141 Grover w/ Cloud Mouth
JAN 02 – Forth Worth, TX @ 1919 Hemphill w/ Cloud Mouth, Native, La Dispute
JAN 03 – Friendswood, TX @ Stevenson Park Pavilion w/ Cloud Mouth, Giant Battle Monster
JAN 04 – San Antonio, TX @ TBA w/ Cloud Mouth, Sohns
JAN 05 – Austin, TX @ Trailer Space Records w/ Cloud Mouth, Empire! Empire!
JAN 06 – Dallas, TX @ TBA w/ Cloud Mouth, Big Fiction
JAN 07 – Louisiana @ TBA w/ Cloud Mouth
JAN 08 – Little Rock, AR @ 315 Schiller w/ Cloud Mouth
JAN 09 – Memphis, TN @ TBA w/ Cloud Mouth
JAN 10 – Nashville, TN @ Little Hamilton Collective w/ Cloud Mouth
JAN 11 – Louisville, KY @ House of Wax w/ Cloud Mouth
JAN 12 – Chicago, IL @ Ronny’s w/ Cloud Mouth, Noumenon, Former Theives
JAN 13 – Kalamazoo, MI @ The Strutt w/ My Heart to Joy. Victor! Fix The Sun
JAN 14 – Grand Rapids, MI @ 3040 Hollister SE w/ My Heart to Joy, Victor! Fix The Sun
JAN 22 – Traverse City, MI @ American Legion Hall w/ La Dispute, Loudcat and Tiger
The band still needs help in a few of these days, so if you can be of assistance, please email reptilianband520@gmail.com.
Barzin is the name he goes by, and his third album, Notes To An Absent Lover (Monotreme), may become your own personal favorite, especially as various other media outlets have talked about it favorably. You can download two tracks for free by right clicking the links below and saving them to your hard drive.
First off, you have to have some balls to say “you know what, I’m going to yank down my pants and make this my photo to share with the world”. But there you go. These guys who have done this very act are from Baltimore and call themselves Pianos Become The Teeth, whose hardcore sound have placed them on Topshelf Records. The union will bring forth the album Old Pride, which can be pre-ordered now by clicking here. Digital release is scheduled for January 12th, while those who crave hard copy will get it on the 26th.
The band feels they are a burst of fresh air in a scene that can be a bit stagnant, like a tour van full of each other’s farts, but it’s no joking matter, as fans will hear in their music and on stage. In fact, the group will be heading on the road at the beginning of the year, with a number of dates featuring the Baltimore band In The Hollows. Here are the confirmed dates:
1/08 – Richland, NJ @ Richland House
1/09 – Amherst, MA @ 665 West Street
1/10 – Manhattan, NY @ Yippie Cafe
1/15 – Baltimore, MD @ Charm City Art Space w/ In The Hollows
1/16 – Saint Pauls, NC @ The Barn w/ In The Hollows
1/17 – Columbia, SC @ House Of Hardcore w/ In The Hollows
1/18 – Johnson City, TN @ The Hideaway w/ In The Hollows
1/19 – Bowling Green, KY @ Greyskull House w/ In The Hollows
1/20 – Louisville, KY @ Skull Alley w/ In The Hollows
1/21 – Akron, OH @ It’s A Kling Thing! House w/ In The Hollows
1/22 – Wilkingsburg, PA @ The Mr. Roboto Project w/ In The Hollows
1/23 – Williamsport, PA @ The Dungeon w/ In The Hollows
1/24 – Frederick, MD @ Krasners Basement w/ In The Hollows
I’m a fan and supporter of Record Store Day. If you don’t know what it is, it is a day where record stores across the country and around the world celebrate the record store as a gathering place for those who love music. For some it is a thing of the past, for others it’s a bit of nostalgia. For many, it is still where one can “talk story” and find each other.
The day often features record labels, both major and indie, creating product specifically for the day, some of the people in the past who have made records for Record Store Day include Beck and Sonic Youth. What I want to do is gather a list of artists who will be making music for Record Store Day, specifically on vinyl but also for CD’s as well.
These are two artists who will tentatively have something ready for Record Store Day.
