It’s interesting how I discover music. It’s like a rabbit hole. One song leads me to another album then to other bands, and suddenly I am discovering a new band altogether. New to me at least.
I was checking the blog email box and saw that Philip Selway just leaked a track off an upcoming solo album.
You know Mr, Selway, the drummer for a an itty bitty UK band called Radiohead.
I start to do some other searches for Radiohead and Selway. I start to head down the road of the band 7 Worlds Collide, a band Selway contributed to. Instead, I come across something I thought was much better.
I discover that there is a new Stereogum project out called OKX: A Tribute to OK Computer that celebrates the 10th anniversary of Radiohead OK Computer. The idea was to get a bunch of musicians to cover every song of the album. One of the standouts was a cover of Exit Music (For a Film) by Vampire Weekend.
Here is what Ezra Koenig had to say about the original and the cover the band did:
“Exit Music (For A Film)” was the first Radiohead song I really got into. My friend Olympia put it on a mixtape for me. At the time I was struck by how much it sounded like classical music. Now I hear trip-hop and maybe a little Pavement (?!?!). No matter what I hear in it, this song is still 100% high-style Radiohead, a super-ambitious, pre-millennial banger.
Then I realize…Pavement? I thought Pavement was a heavy metal band…wait…have I ever listened to Pavement? huh.
I delve into the bands history and discography. An indie band that stayed indie for every release. 5 full length albums and 9 EPs in 10 years. Not metal… alternative rock. Apparently they only experienced moderate commercial success but had a strong cult following.
The group broke up in 1999 but has a reunion show scheduled in New York’s Central Park on September 21, 2010. The tickets sold out in two minutes.
I checked out the albums “Slanted and Enchanted” (1992 and their first full length release) and “Terror Twilight” (1999 and their final full length album) and I like what I heard, but it felt dated. I mean they are old albums, but sometimes an album can still fell cutting edge and fresh years later. These two releases were not that. I can see how they must have influenced many bands that I love. Modest Mouse, Silver Jews, Built To Spill, Wavves all feel like they might have been influenced by Pavement.
It starts with what sounds like an alien morse code transmission; Earth bound signals bouncing off the side of orbiting space debris. Snatches of voices found out in the ether cut through the machine fog, drifting across burbling analogue equipment lovingly kept working long after supposed sell-by date. By the time the click and thump of snare and bass drum arrive, the sounds are all-encompassing, swirling around you with dizzying, disorientating effect. Noises come untethered by constraints of volume, seemingly leaping from the speakers with a life of their own. For a band used to dealing in psychedelics, this time round The Chemical Brothers have really pushed the proverbial envelope.
The Chemical Brothers – Horse Power (Louis La Roche Remix) by louislaroche The Chemical Brothers have always been a group that I loved. Every album has been an amazing ride for me. You can guarantee that when you put on a Chemical Brothers album that you are about to go to Another World. The groups latest album, Further, is no exception. On album number 7, Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands do one thing a bit different. There are barely any vocals on this album. That’s ok though, because these 8 tracks are a living thing. From the albums first breath of static laced feedback on the track “Snow” to the climactic finish and death on “Wonders of the Deep”, the album just makes your mind dissolve it’s so good!
I’ve been a fan of The Chemical Brothers since 1997’s Dig Your Own Hole. Fast forward 13 years and I am just as stoked about this album.
The band is also known for it’s videos, this album has a special surprise…if you buy the LP version on iTunes, you get a video for every song on the album! Stand back! I’m going to Swoon! Check out this preview:
Busy day. Busy week. Buying a house, so I have been running around like a chicken with no head.
I do not want to neglect our great fans, so I will give you something quick and dirty.
There are some great summer tours this year. All of them making stops in sin city. Las Vegas, Nevada. The place I call home.
I wanna mention one I am most excited about.
SUBLIME WITH ROME
When frontman Bradley Nowell passed away in May 1996 of a drug overdose, I was crushed. I was so emotionally vested in this band. Let me explain with a little story what I mean.
It was the summer of 1993, and a new guy moved in to the neighborhood. He was different from the rest of the kids on our street. He was from Long Beach, California ad he was huge! A big samoan guy, with a mohawk. He was a surfer and skater. Remember, I live in Las Vegas. Surfing was alien to us, and skateboarding was just becoming something you would see kids doing. This guy loved music and played the Bass, and we instantly became friends. We sat on the bus together, spent time at each others houses, perfected our graffiti techniques, and listened to music.
This guy gave me a copy of 40 Oz. to Freedom and it was forever to be a milestone in my life. It was perfect music. Catchy, Reggae, Dub, and Punk. Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes. From the bass drum of “Waiting For My Ruca” to the hilarious closing credits I WAS IN LOVE!
I used to listen to it while working late, stocking shelves at the mega mart. It was usually quiet and I didn’t see people for hours so I would start singing along with the Sublime CD in my Sony disc-man while working. Eventually a coworker would happen by and ask me, “What the fuck are you listening to?” I would tell them everything I knew about the band and then tell them “Listen…Just listen!” I assumed that they would listen to a song and go…oh fuck yea! I get it! that’s awesome. Not one person got it. In fact I got a lot of, “That sounds awful.” WHAT! I was so confused. I knew in my bones that album…that band was gonna be huge.
Fast forward a few years later and the song Date Rape begins getting some serious radio play. I might finally get the chance to see the band has they are about to tour on the heels of their then upcoming self-titled major label release. I am so excited.
Then tragedy…Brad Nowell OD’s in San Francisco, and I am shit out of luck. Fast-forward to today. I see that Sublime is back on tour with a new front-man. Rome.
The remaining members of the band tried out a show with this new frontman in Nevada early 2009 under the name Sublime, and liked how things worked out. Shortly there after they joined the Smokeout Festival that same year to open for Cypress Hill.
Nowell’s family released a statement that they were not too pleased about this though…
It was recently announced that Sublime bassist Eric Wilson and Sublime drummer Floyd ‘Bud’ Gaugh are ‘reuniting’ and teaming with singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez in a band they intend to call ‘Sublime.’ Prior to his untimely passing, both Bud and Eric acknowledged that Brad Nowell was the sole owner of the name Sublime. It was Brad’s expressed intention that no one use the name Sublime in any group that did not include him, and Brad even registered the trademark ‘Sublime’ under his own name.
As Brad’s heirs, and with the support of his entire family, we only want to respect his wishes and therefore have not consented to Bud and Eric calling their new project ‘Sublime.’ We have always supported Bud and Eric’s musical endeavors and their desire to continue to play Sublime’s music. We wholeheartedly supported Bud, Eric and the many talented members of the Sublime posse that formed the Long Beach Dub All-Stars, soon after Brad’s death, to honor him through their original recordings, live performances and Sublime music until they disbanded in 2001. But, out of respect for Brad’s wishes, we have always refused to endorse any group performing as ‘Sublime,’ and now with great reluctance feel compelled to take the appropriate legal action to protect Brad’s legacy.
Our hope is that Brad’s ex-bandmates will respect his wishes and find a new name to perform under, so as to enhance the ‘Sublime’ legacy without the confusion and disappointment that many fans have expressed upon seeing the announcement.
The band is now called Sublime With Rome, which is still probably going to get them sued, but whatever. They are on tour, and coming to my town. They are even touring with The Dirty Heads which has a song featuring Rome on heavy rotation on most Alt-Rock stations.
weep for yourself, my man, you’ll never be what is in your heart weep little lion man, you’re not as brave as you were at the start
One of my good friends shared an album with me on Friday that really caught me off guard. It’s rare that someone shares music with me that I haven’t heard about. It’s rarer still to have someone suggest a band to check out that is as successful as this band has been.
Mumford and Sons has sold out just about every show on their U.S. tour. They are playing just about every major festival in the states. In the U.K. their debut album, Sigh No More has gone Platinum.
rate yourself and rake yourself, take all the courage you have left wasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head
Check out the video for one of the best songs off the album in my opinion:
but it was not your fault but mine and it was your heart on the line i really fucked it up this time didn’t I, my dear?
It’s one of those songs that, after the first time you hear it you just put it on repeat! I love the F-Word and I love the banjo!
I was immediately curious what the lyrics of the song were trying to convey. I had some ideas, but I looked it up anyways. Check out what Marcus Mumford himself has to say about Little Lion Man:
“It’s a very personal story, so I won’t elaborate upon it too much. Suffice to say, it was a situation in my life I wasn’t very happy with or proud of… and sometimes when you can’t describe a feeling with your own words, it’s almost easier to express in a song. And then, when you get asked about the songs, it’s quite difficult to explain. It’s a conundrum — you don’t want to seem self-indulgent explaining yourself; it’s always awkward. Which is weird again, because it’s never awkward actually singing them. I suppose the song should stand on its own and people draw their own interpretation from the words.”
Mumford and Sons reminds me a lot of The Snake, The Cross, The Crown (or TSTCTC for short), another band I love. Since it appears that TSTCTC are breaking up, I guess I am doubly thankful for having someone recommend Mumford and Sons, as I have a hole to fill.
Cause you told me that I would find a hole, Within the fragile substance of my soul And I have filled this void with things unreal, And all the while my character it steals
I was looking over the lineup for outside lands this year and began researching all the bands I had never heard before. And there was a lot. It might one of the most indie alternative-fringe lineups in history.
One of the bands I discovered I instantly fell in love with: Electric Six is a band that likes to use the words “night,” “party,” “drugs,” and “girls.” Electric Six sounds like an electro dance jam band abortion of a sex romp between Tenacious D and the White Stripes.
I listened to Switzerland, the bands third album, over and over on my commute home, nearly crashing on the interstate while trying to lookup the song lyrics so I could sing along.
This song is particularly clever and catchy:
Have you ever smelt the clothes her sexy clothes? Have you ever got to know her Like I do? Have you ever reversed roles? Gave up control? Stayed home and let your woman Support you? Yeah!
Yeah! I buy the drugs I light the fire I am your main supplier I am your man and I buy the drugs
I can be the jump start for the car parked in your mind Cos’ You left the lights on all night long We can drive for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles away
Even as great as this band is, I am still not sold on this years Outside Lands Music and Arts festival. The lineup is good…not great. It’s gotta be great to justify the money to get to San Francsico. If you go…be sure to catch Electric Six. Maybe the best band on the lineup!
If you are a band or an artist, I hope you are still not JUST using MySpace music to get the word out. There are so many options to spread the word, but in my opinion, SoundCloud.com is one of the best!
I totally feel like I was one of the first to discover SoundCloud. I was smitten from the get go, and I signed up right away and began uploading my stuff, and re-sharing it everywhere else! You don’t have to tell me that I am wrong about discovering one of the greatest sites to receive, send, collaborate on music on the interwebs today. After recently celebrating their millionth user, the word must be out! Congrats guys!
Since I love SoundCloud, I will often troll it looking for talent to share with our readers. I recently found a mash-up/remixer/DJ extraordinaire that I couldn’t wait to tell you about! Andrew James Bowers, aka DJ Dain, is only 22 years old but has quite a musical resume. From composer to remixer, Dain is an award-winning artist specializing in DnB, Trip-Hop, and Mash-ups. He mixes up this creativity at DJ gigs to get the crowds crazy! If you got a party that you want to go off, I suggest you book him now while he’s still relatively cheap to get…His rate, with his popularity, are sure to sky rocket!
inALLcaps: What was your favorite gig to date?
DJ Dain: It’s quite difficult for me to pick a favorite gig because every party has its own unique energy. I have special memories of certain performances. For example, there was the first time I was invited to perform along side DJ Mikey, Mr. Low and a few other established disc-jockeys from St. John’s, or the time my friends MD and “That Mexican DJ” tried to host our first EDM show at the GCSU Backlot in Corner Brook. However, I’ve come to enjoy playing house parties a bit more than paid gigs. I usually know the crowds better and I have much more freedom to play anything I want and have a really fun time.
In terms of favorite gigs where I’ve been in the audience, seeing Daft Punk in Toronto for the their Alive 2007 tour is still at the top of my list. I was not prepared for the level of positive energy in that crowd. That experience changed my life and my relationship to music. Considering how Daft Punk incorporated material from all three of their studio albums, I would say that performance was what first got me seriously thinking about mash-ups.
IAC: What inspires you to make these mash-ups?
DJ Dain: Usually I’ll stumble across a song either in my collection or on the radio and just “hear” other songs in my head that match with it. For example, with the “Don’t Worry, I’m Yours” mash-up, I had heard Jason Mraz’ “I’m Yours” on the radio countless times and just started singing Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” over it. The same thing happened when I was listening to the instrumental of Perfume’s “Dream Fighter” – I just starting singing Katy Perry’s “Hot ‘n’ Cold” to myself. When I’m really lucky, the right songs will just float up to the forefront of my mind and “click” together. Unfortunately for some of my friends and loved ones, this can be really annoying for them if they’re trying to listen to the radio while I’m also in the car.
IAC:Kaze No Ne and Lucky Channel are original work? Are these for a Video Game project? Can you tell us more about that?
DJ Dain: My remixes of “Kaze No Ne” and “Lucky Channel” were produced a few years ago for my own amusement. I used to be an active member of VGmix before the website went down temporarily, and I had a number of video game remixes released through there.
The only video game remix project I’ve participated in was the Cave Story Remix Project. I made a remix of “Last Battle” which is a track associated with the secret/ultimate ending from the game. That remix became something of an underground hit within certain circles. I had a lot of fun working with all the other talented remixers on that project. One of my favorite moments was when we were informed that the creator of Cave Story had discovered our work and was very impressed with us! That kind of recognition and appreciation is special to me.
I also had something of an underground hit with my “Long Train Ride” remix of “Triage at Dawn” – a track composed by Kelly Baily for the video game “Half-Life 2”. It was mainly shared within the gaming community, and only through the help of a fan did I discover that it was eventually featured in a “PC Gamer UK” article. There’s still some confusion out there about the origin of the remix. From what I’ve heard, some have mistaken it for a song from the beta version of Half-Life 2, while others speak of another individual who tried to claim the remix as their own under the title of “Path of the Borealis”. Unfortunately at this point I don’t think I could correct the level of misinformation about the track.
IAC:What makes you happy?
DJ Dain: More than anything right now, being able to share my success and experiences with the woman I love is real happiness to me. I’ve been extremely fortunate with all the opportunities I’ve been offered, but I’ve also worked very hard to achieve my goals.
More specifically, one of the best feelings in the world is when I’m performing. When I’m able to build tension and and release it into a wealth of positive energy – getting the crowd singing along, clapping, smiling, and having a great time – it’s euphoric. The experience is both spiritual, sensual and even sexual. Performing as a disc-jockey is a lot like trying to make love to everyone on the dance-floor. Everybody has their own needs and desires, so you have to be very observant and watch your pacing and timing – knowing just when to change things up and try something new. Obviously you can’t please everybody, and it’s easy to get discouraged when things go awry, but that’s really the only way I’ll learn – so I have to have fun with it! If I clear out a dance-floor, I try to see it as an opportunity to start fresh and rebuild – like a new canvas to paint on. Whatever I do in life, it’s important that I enjoy the processes – the journey – as much if not more than the reward at the end. When the work is it’s own reward, it’s not really work anymore.
When you get right down to it – it’s sharing that makes me happy. I think sharing is a very natural, important part of life, and a human right that should be protected. Sharing information, ideas, feelings experiences and culture – all of it – that’s how we all learn, grow and bond with each other. I think we would all get along better if we embraced more systems that encouraged us to share.
IAC:Do you like it Hot or Cold?
DJ Dain: Too long in either extreme makes me uncomfortable. I enjoy playing with both dynamics – you can’t really appreciate one without experiencing the other.
IAC: Are you a Dreamer or a Fighter?
DJ Dain: I’ve been a dreamer for a long time, but I’ve reached a turning point where I’m ready to fight for those dreams and make them my reality. I’m learning to recognize and understand what’s important to me – cutting out the bad and fighting to keep what’s good in my life.
Hot Fire Tracks! Having a BBQ/Party today for the 3 day holiday? Throw those MF’ers on the boombox, drink a cold one and enjoy your day off!
P.S. I risk immolation from the girlfriend for posting yet another Katy Perry anything on the site. So really…this might have to be the last one. It’s really good…worth being lit on fire to share this one with you! So thank me or flame me in the comments…just be sure to tell me your home remedies for 3rd degree burns.
me: have you heard the new project from Trent Reznor?
Bonnie: no good? or bad? i’m afraid bad…
me: It sounds almost identical to another NIN song…just can’t place it.
Bonnie: ohhh well hmmm
me: but…it’s his new wife on vocals
Bonnie: she’s hot
me: with music that sounds just like NIN…which is great but just rubs me funny.
Bonnie: yea
me: she is hot…no question.
Trent married an alien from Mars’ Bai Ling Tribe who goes by the name of Mariqueen Maandig. Mariqueen used to be in the band West Indian Girl, but now that she’s fucking on Trent’s nine inch (I hope) nail, she doesn’t need to sing for her supper anymore.
My first thought when I heard Trent Reznor’s new project, How To Destroy Angels, was: “The music sounds great, but the vocals, well the vocals just don’t fit.”
I wondered who this amateur vocalist could be.
Mariqueen Maandig Reznor. Trent’s wife…and she’s no amateur.
Mariqueen was a vocalist for the band West Indian Girl for 5 year span starting in 2004.
Sounding a lot like the Beach Boys on acid, Californian West Indian Girl is the pop answer to the Flaming Lips or Pink Floyd. The band is even named after a well-known strain of powerful LSD.
And then there is this new project for Trent and Mariqueen Reznor. How To Destroy Angels, or HTDA for short. The group also includes Atticus Ross, a past collaborator on Nine Inch Nails stuff as well as a remixer/producer/musician/programmer on many different projects including the Coheed & Cambria’s “Year of the Black Rainbow” and the musical score to The Book Of Eli.In a facebook discussion, the group answered some questions from fans…well…fans of NIN at least. Trent answered one question about what How To Destroy Angels allows Trent to do that he couldn’t do with Nine Inch Nails besides having a different vocalist.
Yes, it sounds more NIN-ish than I believe it will as we progress. To me, HTDA frees me from some of the constraints I’ve begun to feel (primarily emotionally) in NIN. NIN is not dead and I am about to work on some material that I believe will be quite different than previous NIN very soon.
Fair enough, and I am not complaining, I love the “sound” of NIN. I just don’t get why we care about this new vocalist. (She’s hot tho…) The song sounds like an outtake from the album Ghosts or The Fragile. It even sounds a lot like the song The Fragile in my opinion.
Sometimes I have intentions for a post. I’ll even start writing some of it, and then something happens.This is a post about a post that didn’t happen. Although it’s happening now. This almost sounds like a plot line to the TV show Lost.
I had been thinking a lot about Backmasking last week. Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards. The beatles were infamous in this tehnique, using it on a few different albums. It got to be though, that people were finding unintended messages on songs. Well, maybe Paul IS dead after all.
The reason I was thinking about backmasking was that I have a weird setup in my iTunes. I listen to a lot of music, to easily find them I sort by Date Added. Which normally works beautifully because whatever you recently bought or downloaded shows up at at the top of the list, and I need to peruse all this new stuff for ideas on what to write about for a post on the blog.
When you rip or download a cd, it adds the file into your library in the order of the tracks on the CD. Track 1 gets added the library first, then Track 2. But when you sort by Date Added, the last track is first, since it was added last. Which means that, if it takes me a few extra steps to listen to an album this way. I have to see what albums were recently added, settle on an album to listen to, then resort by artist/album and filter by album name. By this time all the tracks should be in their normal orders and I can begin listening.
Maybe this makes no sense to you because you are not buying and downloading as much music as I am.
Either way…I don’t like the idea of playing an album backwards…meaning playing the last track first and the first track last. I often will think I am being dumb about it…what does it matter. If an album is not considered to be a “rock opera” then it shouldn’t matter what order I play an album.
Still, what if there IS a message in the order of the tracks…I would miss it. Even worse, what if there is an unintended message by listening to it in the wrong order? It seemed about as wrong has reversing a song to hear weird messages.
I wanted to use this idea of track order while reviewing the new album by The National for a post. The new album by The National, High Violet, was the kind of album that sounded like it had a message in it. I don’t have any proof that there is a message in this album, but it seems like the dark sounding albums always have something sinister hidden. Even the name of the album had me thinking about spy code words or terror alerts.
I was so sure that I had written about William Fitzsimmons on the inALLcaps Music Blog. I was beginning to panic that I never actually published it, or maybe I dreamt it.
Then I realized what I had wrote was in fact research for a podcast we mentioned him on.
William Fitzsimmons, if you haven’t caught that particular episode of the podcast, was born the youngest child of two blind parents who were the occasional musicians. William was a psychotherapist before deciding to record some songs at home that would become his initial debut CD, Until We Are Ghosts.
Fast-forward past two more albums, 2006’s Goodnight and 2008’s The Sparrow and the Crow, both about divorce (the former about his parents, the later his own) and we have 2010’s Derivatives.
It’s fitting to find a great cover on this album, since it was his cover of Kanye’s Heartless that I found meandering around the many networks of music blogs I frequent. This time it was a rendition of the Katy Perry hit “I Kissed A Girl,” which he says he covered “to see what the tune would be like with that dark undertone as a more obvious context.”
Download William Fitzsimmons – I Kissed a Girl (Katy Perry Cover) I love it. But, William Fitzsimmons is not all about covers, but he is down with a remix or two. In fact, Fitzsimmons has never had a problem with combining electronic music with with folk music. Derivatives, according to William’s website, is a multicolored re-imagining of several prominent tracks from The Sparrow and the Crow, Fitzsimmons’ well-received 2009 release. Derivatives contains several remixes of Fitzsimmons largely folk-inspired tunes – revisited and remixed in an electronic fashion – while still retaining the emotional and heartfelt core of William’s songs.
One such remix is the Mikroboy remix of “If You Would Come Back Home”.
If you would come back home We could start all over If you would come back home I swear it would be better
There’s room left in the house There’s food still in the pantry I could fix you lunch Or take you out for coffee
CMJ recently spoke with William about his new release, and he had this to say:
“I started to learn that people weren’t experiencing these songs with the same measure of darkness. For some reason, they were hearing a certain amount of hope in them, and to be honest, that began to change the way I understood them myself. So I wanted a way to hear the songs in that more positivistic way.”
They’re not the happiest songs, but I DO hear some hope. Most importantly I hear an amazing album from an artist you need to know about. Buy the albums and share this post with your friends.
I’m not white. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it’s just that I am probably not as into the band Journey as you are.
Let me start over.
I like the band Gogol Bordello. There is a lot to like! Gypsy-manic-tongue-in-cheek-punktastic! To boil it down, it reminds me of my own heritage. My parents are both from the Middle-East. When mom and Dad would entertain guests, they would always crank the tabla and violin music.
Alcohol, dancing, jokes, laughing…and always the repetitive arabic drum and the fast paced vibratos of the violin. I wished I could be out there with the adults, instead of falling asleep with my ear to the door.
As I got older, the music of choice was often punk music and reggae. Bob Marley was maybe the best of both worlds to me. Punk AND reggae. Then there was my whole Ska period.
It’s not surprising that I would be into the Eastern European sounds of Gogol Bordello. What was surprising was how much it reminded me of my childhood.
I kinda want to listen to Trans-Continental Hustle through the walls in another room…no, that’s not right…I wanna drink, dance, and laugh with the album on full volume! I kinda want both!
This album really felt different to me. Better than previous albums, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I thought that it must just be the skills built up from a tour hardened band. Tight and together. it all made sense once I discovered that the lead singer/songwriter, Eugene Hutz, had moved to Brazil follow a girl. A long the way he discovered and worked with many amazing musicians there. Most notably, my favorite World Music artist, Manu Chao. I hear the influence of playing with all these South American artists has done to Hutz. Me gusto mucho!
If you are already familiar with Gogol bordello’s discography, then you probably already have this disc in your collection or loaded onto your iPod. If not…the links are below.
I discover that there is a new Stereogum project out called OKX: A Tribute to OK Computer that celebrates the 10th anniversary of Radiohead OK Computer. The idea was to get a bunch of musicians to cover every song of the album. One of the standouts was a cover of Exit Music (For a Film) by Vampire Weekend.
for 5 year span starting in 2004.
