I have slept on quite a bit of hip-hop over the last 12-15 years. Why? It turned to utter shit. That’s why. Don’t tell me otherwise. I mean, there’s been a smattering of decent stuff over the years. I get that. J5, for example. Stellar shit. Then there’s the music that the recently deceased Jay Dee – aka J Dilla – helped create for so many others. He happens to be one of the guys I’m talking about today in my post. Ever heard a lot of what he did? This next one, for some reason, just blew me away with its simplicity and really did describe the title of the album Ruff Draft.
The track “Nothing Like This” is just a phenomenal piece of work and was released also released by the Adult Swim people on Stones Throw Records on a compilation entitled Chrome Children. The video for this track is nothing short of incredible, also. Check it out.
If you guys haven’t somehow heard of Jay Dee, I suggest reading an article that The Detroit Free Press did on him just a few weeks after he passed away. You will get an idea of the kind of dedication to music he had. Click here to read that story. And now, here’s that track “Nothing Like This”.
The other artist is one that’s gotten a ton of pub the last couple of years. It’s Kid Cudi. Yeah, I will take some shit from the uber-indie crowd. Well, fuck you. I say that with a smile, so don’t worry. I am the type that will give credit where it’s due. If a band or artist I can’t stand makes a good track, I’ll openly say it. Not that I dislike Kid Cudi, but considering how mainstream he’s gotten, I pretty much never paid much mind to him. My bad, I guess.
Well, the opening track to his album Man on the Moon – The End of Day is a hypnotic piece. It’s called “Here In My Dreams” and I would have to say that this is a pretty solid piece of work, and a great way to start off an album. Mind you, I haven’t really heard the rest of it. The only other track I had heard was “Day ‘n’ Nite”, which I actually have here, but not the original. I’ve added along The Crookers Remix of that track. This is the sort of remix that the Canadian DJ Duo Jokers of the Scene would add into a set. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they had.
Buy something. If you don’t, god will kill a dumb person. Actually, that’s a good thing. Well, just buy something. Because I said so. And yes, I didn’t capitalize “god”. Big deal.
I’d feel guilty taking their money…if I wasn’t one of them.
-Rob
I wish I could remember the backstory reason for why people often recommend High Fidelity to me. It’s probably not too crazy to assume that if someone got to know me that they might think I would love this movie. Even after all those recommendations, and reading other books by Nick Hornby, I still managed to never see High Fidelity. Until today. These are my notes while watching the movie. I even notated the elapsed time, in case you want to follow along. Just for the record, if someone had mentioned a relatively unknown Catherine Zeta Jones was in the movie, I might have made it happen sooner. *Also…I probably should have watched it alone.
:17 I love vinyl. I love looking at vinyl. I love listening to vinyl. I love watching vinyls spin on the platter. They have me locked 17 seconds in. 1:29 ah. The chicken or the egg dilemma.
What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?
3:50 I too have had a relationship this short! 6 hours. My day at the YMCA started off awesome as I had attracted the interest of a cute girl with a ponytail and a pink and green jacket. She realized she had better options by the end of the day. 7:40Belle & Sebastian 8:02 Belle & Sebastian is not really Barry’s (Jack Black’s character) cup of tea. Although for me, sometimes you gotta be in the right mood for Belle & Sabastian. 9:37 how can it be bullshit to state a preference 9:51 top five records to play on a monday morning and all that (But it’s Monday afternoon now.)
Rob Gordon (John Cusack)
13:33 look into this Johnny Cash book: Johnny Cash’s autobiography “Cash” by Johnny Cash. 14:35 Snobby record store employees are the bane of my existence. Ever since the guy in the Ween shirt at the store Balcony Lights shunned me. 17:22
Some people never got over Vietnam, or the night their band opened for Nirvana. I guess I never got over Charlie.
20:17 chronological. NO. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL. Holy shit! 21:39 man. I can relate to this feeling. All these parents want is marriage and grandkids. And if it hasn’t happened it must be you who fucks it up. 22:20 Peter Fucking Frampton (baby i love the way) “Baby, I Love Your Way” went to No. 12 on the charts. 23:49 Jack Black wants to date a musician. I kinda want to date a musician too. That would be nice to discuss music, be a part of the process of song writing and creation. I’m just a groupie looking for love…
27:19
Top 5 Side Ones. Track Ones
1. “Janie Jones” by The Clash from The Clash (meh.) 2. “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye from Let’s Get It On 3. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana from Nevermind (Barry: That’s not obvious enough) 4. “White Light/White Heat” by Velvet Underground from White Light/White Heat 5. “Radiation Ruling the Nation” by Massive Attack vs. Mad Professor off No Protection
34:34 LOL Rob Gordon was a dj! I was a DJ. I had a short lived career though. I quit right around the time I realized that DJ’s get paid free drinks and barely any money. That and I hated having to take requests. 35:12 I’ll make you a tape! 41:54 BRUCE! Have you ever had conversations with someone you admire? Like, have you ever discussed life’s problems with Trent Reznor or Kurt Cobain? Maybe in your mind you discussed relationship problems while smoking joint with Tupac Shakur? 45:55 Remember phone books? 46:12 oh…and answering machines! 46:52 Green Day was influenced by the Clash…and oh..it’s the physicist slut from The Big Bang Theory 48:23 The Beta Band Beta Band’s 3 EPs: The album was released in 1998 by Astralwerks, after their self-titled debut. The song, “Dry the Rain,” from he EP Champion Versions put them on the map. 48:34 shoplifters – my first shoplifting episode?…I stole Danzig’s Mother from a local record store. (ashamed) 54:21 LOL, ROFL, ha ha ha… We are the Champions! 55:38
I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like… Books, records, films — these things matter. Call me shallow but it’s the fuckin’ truth, and by this measure I was having one of the best dates of my life.
57:01 “Behind Closed Doors” by Charlie Rich: A No. 1 for Rich in 1973, taken from the album of the same name. It’s one of Rob’s favorite songs. Need to check that out.
John Cusack and Lisa Bonet
57:44 Lisa Bonet IS HOT! 1:14:16 For the record I would die to open a record store like this. Maybe that’s what I should do…LOL 1:17:22 I like the way The Little One smells and tastes…i would miss that if she broke up with me. 1:19:44 Pop Abrams and the Smurfs? Gotta look that up later… 1:21:52 is this where Jack Black realized he should create Tenacious D 1:22:24 Songs Rob wants at his funeral: “Many Rivers To Cross” by Jimmy Cliff, “Angel” by Aretha Franklin and “You’re The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me” by Gladys Knight. 1:30:01 “And so we got back together!” …after an awkward my dad just died…and I feel numb, let’s screw in the car scene. ew. 1:30:39
Rob: Liking both Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel is like supporting both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Laura: No, it’s really not, Rob. You know why? Because Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel make pop records. Rob: Made. Made. Marvin Gaye is dead. His father shot him.
1:33:58 “You’re making something,” his girlfriend tells him approvingly. “You—the critic, the professional appreciator—put something new into the world.” 1:34:48 I’ll just make you a tape. This is the standard way a music snob picks up a music snob 1:36:38 The marriage proposal…I don’t think she said “yes“? *1:38:00 ah! Those cotton panties that have been washed a 100 times… (Nodding my head approvingly gets me slapped in the head.)Edit by TLO: Uh, that is because TLO owns NO SUCH THING, so thinking about someone else’s ratty underwear isn’t going to brighten the day! 1:40:49 Definitely watching the beginnings of Tenacious D. Right? 1:42:44 Great Movie…why did I wait so long to watch this? It’s a break-up movie mash-up! I loved the “Top 5” theme that Cusack’s character employees throughout the movie. so….
Here’s MY top 5 of favorite songs from live shows this year!
1. Neon Trees – 1983 I’ve seen this band twice already this year. This song rocks so much…I love it! Tyler Glenn, the front-man/keyboardist/songwriter for the band says 1983 is about his mother…spreading her legs…to give birth to him. Um…it’s better than what I thought it was about.
Electric Toys
2.The Dig – She’s Going To Kill That Boy It’s a great song, especially in concert. Saw them when they opened for Thrice this year. Bought the album “Electric Toys” afterwards. Great album cover, but be sure to flip it over to get a giggle.
3.Thrice – Image Of The Invisible It was nice to hear this relatively old song (5 years ago) since the last time I saw Thrice it was notably absent.
4.Cypress Hill – Insane in the Brain I saw Cypress Hill in 2010 at the Mandalay Beach Pool. With my feet in the pool…and well…a smoke in between my fingers. Surely you have heard Insane in the Membrane a gabillion times…so I offer this awesome remix by the 2 Bit Thugs instead.
5.Imagine Dragons – I Don’t Mind Vegas band that blew my mind. This band is a must to look into, because we’re sure they will be a force to be beckoned by in the near future. Yes. Beckoned. You can TRY and ignore them…
Let me introduce myself as a new contributor around here. I’ll do my best not to be the new neighbor who moves in and leaves the house in disrepair just long enough to go into foreclosure, bringing down everyone’s property values. I promise I’ll mow the lawn every week. Just keep those damn kids off it in the meantime or there will be some serious fist shaking going on. You’ve been warned. This new beginning has got me thinking about other great beginnings. In particular, great album openers. So I’ve put together a little list of what I consider some of the Best. Opening tracks. Ever. Here are my criteria:
1. The album itself has to be solid. None of these lopsided records that start strong but peter out by the time you’re through. 2. The first track should effectively set the tone for the rest of the album.
That’s it. That still leaves things wide open, and I could make a list that never ends, so I’ve narrowed it down to 3 selections that have special significance due to their impact at the time I first heard them.
The Afghan Whigs
The Afghan Whigs. “If I Were Going”. From the album Gentlemen:
This is a moody album, and the opening track embodies that aesthetic fully. It sets the stage for a record that lies somewhere between concept album and musical theater in its repetition and reworking of themes. The album had been in my car stereo for weeks and I never really took the time to give it a close listen until one night on a lonely drive through the Virgin River Gorge. The moon was out and I was lost in thought, then I heard the opening distant train noise, the Saddest Tambourine Ever(tm), and the sparse guitar riff. From there I was hooked. Turn off the lights and let this one sink in. You’re in for a hell of a ride.
I realize I could justify naming the opener from any Radiohead album since The Bends, but this has remained my overall favorite of their works so far. As far as establishing tone, this track does it in spades. Expertly matched guitars, paranoid sci-fi vocals, frenetic looped drums, and a stuttering bass line, all interspersed with computer sounds. It captured my feelings about the adult world I was just starting to play in, and made me feel like I had some crazy talented friends overseas who understood it all. I remember wondering if this was a new direction in Radiohead’s music. It was. And maybe a change in music all around.
Matthew Good Band. “Giant”. From the album Beautiful Midnight:
Combining cheerleaders with rock music has been done since, and probably before, but never with as much aplomb (yeah, you heard me, Marilyn Manson). The cheer and drum beat put you back in the bleachers at your high school pep rally, then things shift and Matthew Good takes over with his fabulous brand of Canadian rock. Writing about it, I’m not sure it works. Listening to it, I have no doubt it does. This album came at a time when I was delving into math rock and complex polyrhythmic music, and it reminded me that sometimes you just need to shut up, stop counting, and rock.
Michel Gondry makes me happy. When I found out he was the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I almost immediately went to see it in the theater. Same goes for The Science of Sleep. The latter is almost becoming prophetic in the sense that we’re watching the combination of the real world with the imagined through the internet and gaming. Soon, who’s to say we’ll be able to tell the difference? Is it a good thing that realism is brought to such a high level? At what cost? That’s a separate discussion, however. One that I could have at length over a beer or two.
Anyhow, this week’s post is more about some of the songs and videos that Mr. Gondry has done over the years. I thought about Gondry because he loves the use of stop-motion, which sounds easy, but definitely isn’t. Not all of these use that method, but the creativity he possesses can’t be denied. First off, we go with the easy one. Daft Punk‘s “Around the World”. The entire album Homework is brilliant. Hard to say about an electronica album. This video, like the one later by the Chemical Brothers, uses the elements seen as representation of the different elements used in the song.
Next is one most of us probably forgot about. Lucas. Anyone? No? Okay, well just take a listen to this song and/or watch the video and you’ll remember it pretty quickly. And yes, Gondry did direct this!
How about that? Most folks probably forgot about that guy. Well, next is the one that relates to the Daft Punk video. The Chemical Brothers‘ video for “Star Guitar” at first doesn’t really dazzle anyone. Pay attention to the scenery through the train window, however, and how it enters the video. The first time I realized what Gondry did, I was simply amazed and re-watched this video another half-dozen times. It’s simply brilliant. I’m watching it again right now, and just giddy. Seriously.
Last up is the stop-motion I spoke of. He used a lot of this in The Science of Sleep, and used it with some of his videos. For The White Stripes‘ “The Hardest Button to Button”, we see it done, and one can only imagine how much work went into filming and editing this. It’s crazy the ambition this man has to create what is essentially art through motion. It’s now time for us to appreciate it.
A bowler hat he wore, his eyes became obscured, his teeth were telescopes, you should have seen his legs were the rolling rivers, they call him the forgiver although he cannot forgive
With the proliferation of the hardware and software to allow any musician to record and master an album, we have entered exciting and refreshing times in music. There are many people making music now, without the help of a label and it’s marketing machine. Enter the music blog. Once your blog is established… bands, labels, and even your friends will send music for submission. My inbox gets stuffed with links to bandcamp and soundcloud. NOT complaining, but it’s tough to get through it all. As a necessity, I must only allocate a brief read and listen and move on if I wish to clear the unread messages in one sitting. Sometimes though, something catches my eye or ear, and I settle in for a more in-depth discovery.
Laura Roslin, President of the 12 Colonies
In this case, it was a rather innocuous thing that grabbed my attention. The title of a song. “ROSYLN IS A CYLON”. Being a fan of the BattlesStar Galactica franchise, including the 2003 re-imagining, gave me cause to pause and pay attention. If you avoided watching BSG because you thought it was, well…to geeky for your tastes, I don’t think I can get you up to speed with out making this post too long winded. In a nutshell, Roslin was the president of the 12 Colonies and Cylons are a race of sentient machines, created by humans. These machines had learned how to look human, so figuring out who was a human and who was a “skin-job” made for some interesting episodes throughout the series.
I quickly load up track two off Petrushka , the yet to be released LP from the band Honeytrap, and take a listen.
The sound of the song, and much of the album, is unconventional in many ways, yet strangely familiar. An Eastern European sound combined with Folk and Rock, much like Gogol Bordello, but with a Pop sensibility that will likely allow them that crossover factor that is so important today.
David Bowie is a fan, and sums up the band well in this quote taken from the The Times:
Balkan-inspired slice of craziness… Puts me in mind of some of Camper Van Beethoven’s finer moments.
Oh yeah! Camper Van Beethoven! The side project of lead singer, and co-founder of the band Cracker! Damn that Bowie is good. It’s a good thing HE doesn’t have a music blog!
Curious about the origins of the song and expecting a BSG fan’s fantastical analysis of some episode where a clue was found pointing to the possibility of Roslin secretly being a Cylon (she isn’t) and using her presidency as a way to undermine the fleet (she didn’t), lead me to shoot an email off to the band.
“Big Dan” (guitar/vox) was the author of this particular song, and quickly replied back with an explanation. Sadly, no BSG fan was found, but the story was interesting none the less.
The song is basically about being under control. I guess it represents the lack of trust the the government had for us. There is the shadowy figure always watchful throughout the track, representing the feeling of a nanny state I was having at the time. The Roslin line comes from a sign in the toilet where I work. Its printed “please be careful, leave the bowl as found”. I got squeamish at the thought of the management unable to trust its educated staff to properly use such facilities and it went into the song. There’s a little cartoon fish in the picture and someone has scrawled “Roslin is a Cylon” as a speech bubble.
I guess there was no point in asking if he was disappointed in the ending of the BattleStar series. (frown)
Sometimes it’s a song title, or an album cover…but to an up-and-coming band to get noticed, takes a bit of luck sometimes. Luckily for me, I noticed a song title and discovered a great band in the process.
You can pre-order the album Petrushka on Honeytrap’s BandCamp site. I suggest you do…unless you are some sort of Skin Job?
This band is getting a lot of press as “The next big thing from Vegas.” I don’t mean to be a balloon-popper, but you’ve got a lead singer who is a Vegas native, his cronies from BYU, and their cronies from the east coast who all moved to Vegas a year ago. So I don’t know if I am supposed to point out their similarities with The Killers or why they are dissimilar or whether just having mixed musical elements makes you sound like The Killers… But it’s effing hot outside and inside, I’m afraid to kick my thermostat over 80 lest my power bill surpass the $423 it was for the last month, I want to work out but where would I do it, and it’s making me kind of oh… Wait.
Now that you’ve had your serving of piss with corn flakes, let me say that Imagine Dragons truly have an amazing stage presence, put on a great show, and have an impressive sound.
Imagine Dragons is Dan Reynolds on vocals and keys, Wayne Sermon on guitar, Brittany Tolman on keys, Ben McKee on bass, and Andrew Tolman on drums (yes, married. Recently.) They recorded their first EP upon moving to Las Vegas from Utah. It was good. Then they released a second, and it’s ten times better. So… Maybe the heat didn’t get to them yet. Maybe they knew they needed to be in Reynolds’ hometown to really get the energy flowing. Maybe the fact that his brother is also the Killers’ manager doesn’t hurt with the momentum either.
It’s working. They have knocked out competition in multiple Battles of the Bands, traveling extensively to provide the beat-down with their energetic on-stage presence. I saw them open for Paper Tongues, Civil Twilight, and Neon Trees. They were unequivocally better than the other two openers.
Not everyone agrees. Molly Bergen from West Coast Sound said, “It was exactly the kind of neutered, harmless pop rock that made Maroon 5 and Train stars. With their lead singer’s good looks and passionate thrashing on stage they should go far.” OUCH! Well, what are you going to do. They’re the rockin’est Mormons since the Osmonds. You gotta start somewhere. They’ve got endorsements from Vegas’ local “mix” station as well as from their “alternative” station, so maybe Bergen isn’t too far off.
After an amazing week in Los Angeles and performance in Las Vegas, the band is headed back to Provo for a week, seemingly to relax since the next gig is on Friday at Club Velour. Then it’s on to Park City for a festie, back to Vegas in September for a show at the Pub at Monte Carlo – that sounds like a good time! – and then back to return to the scene of their recent domination at the Viper Room.
As an aside, I’m writing this all while listening to a ton of old house and electronica. The antithesis to what I’ll be posting, today. In fact, since I can’t find a good audio program on the cheap to rip all my old vinyl, I’ve resorted to digging around youtube to find some of it. What am I listening to right now?
That seriously could be the best choon Armand did on the remix tip. No joke. That’s just some filthy disco goodness. Nice use of low and hi-pass filters to tease everything in, too. I used to kill this track when I dj’ed. Ah, memories.
Anyways, let’s get back to what the hell I meant to write about. And before you little hipster snobs start giving me shit, yes, I am just hearing about the band I’m posting today. No, you don’t have cred. Stop it. Speaking of hipsters, that reminds me of quite possibly my favorite joke. Ever. I mean, ever. Because it’s fucking funny. I love swearing to accentuate things. In my mind, it makes me seem chic without trying. Or just an ass. Take your pick. Anyways:
How many hipsters does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
insert dramatic pause here
It’s a really obscure number. You’ve probably never heard of it.
Yes, I think I’ve made a few people angry, but also a few people have smirked. Hopefully, a few also snorted milk through their nose. If so, send pics. But, uh, yeah. I keep getting off track. The band in question today is Heartless Bastards. I mean, I heard this song “The Mountain” on Saturday while driving into work, and my mind was just blown. It’s epic. Seriously. Epic. Say that word along with me, now – epic. Italics are cool, huh?
So I guess the former producer of Spoon, Mike McCarthy, produced this latest album, entitled The Mountain. So far? I like what I hear. And today I bring you a couple nuggets of goodness. Seriously. You guys read through a pointless diatribe (I hope) just to get to this point. Oh, and here’s also something else I’ve been listening to. Because holy shit is the video just disturbingly funny. I mean, almost to the point where it’s hypnotic. Not Hpnotiq. That’s cognac for sissies. This, however, isn’t for sissies. And I mean that for both the video and the Heartless Bastards tracks I’m posting.
I want to introduce you to two guys with a lot of talent as musicians who have a lofty goal: To get the world to appreciate electro, dubstep, and nudisco.
Aptly named On The Rise, two sophomores at Bucknell University are quickly gaining attention and picking up fans at every show they rock. They’re playing some of the hottest and unique dubstep/electro/indie mashups every weekend at parties all over the Northwest. They have even booked east coast gigs at venues such as The Middle East in Boston and Webster Hall in New York City (August 4th).
On The Rise is Brian Pei and Doug Bogan. They met as freshmen out at Bucknell and discovered they both were musicians with similar tastes in music. Brian plays guitar and Doug is a classical pianist. After becoming friends they started to play acoustic shows together. One day Doug asked Brian if he would like to join him at DJ’ing gigs…and well…the rest is history!
They are a little crazy though. Right? I mean who would take the band Thee Armada and mash it up with Ludacris! It sounds awesome, I just want to know where do you get the idea!
On The Rise even put together a dubstep mashup exclusively for us! We are proud and honored to present to you, this amazing exclusive. Take the Grifta Dubstep Remix of Deadmau5’s “Faxing Berlin”, Outkast’s “Bombs Over Baghdad” and, because that’s not big enough already…add the song “Move Shake Drop” from DJ Laz. Submitted for your approval:
It seems like people are desperate to find the easy-listening type of artist they can turn on when they want to intentionally feel depressed. Or deeper in love, depending on the slant they want to pull out of the music. Apparently the world needs more Joshua Radins… Ray LaMontagnes… Damien Rices. Myself, I have honestly never listened to Radin but I worship LaMontagne and can barely stand to listen to Rice. Oh wait. Don’t get me wrong. I love Damien Rice. I listened to O a minimum of one hundred seventy-eight times. But it slices through my heart like a razor. It’s hard to hear. So here is my replacement:
Dan Mangan.
Even that pic just kills me – but in a good way. Thankfully. Who is this Dan Mangan? A Canadian chap, been recording music since he was 20. That was in 2003 when he released his first EP, All At Once. Mostly his work has been recognized throughout Vancouver. The album I recently picked up was released in August 2009, called Nice, Nice, Very Nice.
Let me share with you what everyone in Vancouver gets to hear on the radio, on the daily. Track 1 and 2 are what’s been released, and I like them fine, but I’m loving the other tracks more. The releases getting radioplay (well, Canadian radio) are both a bit more on the anthem-y side, but I prefer “Robots” (Track 2) to “Road Regrets” (Track 1). I just feel like both these tracks switch direction on you and you ask yourself, wait – what was this song about?
Waking young and feeling old The days are no longer my own To piss away the waking hours But don’t let them go to waste
You’re wondering where in the hell the comparison to any of the artists above is. Yeah yeah. I’ve seen comparisons to Radiohead (is that just a catch-all for bands who you can’t assign another “sounds-like” to?), and Bon Iver. Well, in Track 3, “The Indie Queens Are Waiting”, Mangan utilizes the support of Veda Hille for a back-and-forth that reminds me of Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan, and never picks up the tempo. And it’s a gorgeous song, even if it has nothing to do with the heartache that the other couple sings about.
So the album in its entirety is really a mix of all things that Mangan wants to create.
“For this record, I think I kind of turned the corner from listening to strictly roots music to listening to a lot of indie rock and indie pop,” he says. “It then became about branching worlds together. There are a lot of one-two bluegrass bass lines on the record, but at the same time I don’t feel like it’s a bluegrass record. There are a couple of songs that are really mellow and guitar-vocal-heavy, but I don’t feel it’s a sappy singer-songwriter record. There are a couple of punk-rock fills, but it’s not a rock ’n’ roll record. I really don’t know where it fits in.”
So he starts his wrap-up of the album with a simple, but somewhat jarring portrait of one man’s life, and the final track is then quite something of an open-ended question as well. But here is Track 11 of 12, “Basket.”
So there’s a puzzle I work on endlessly And I’ve got the sides and all the corners But there’s a space Yeah there’s a space Lost some pieces I can’t replace
Okay. Modest Mouse show review, here. If you only heard of these guys when “Float On” came out? Leave. Now. I mean it. To help you out, here is an appropriate website for people of your intelligence to go to.
Okay, now for the disturbing facts. Modest Mouse was decent. Pretty good. They didn’t “kill it” as the Twitter feed by HOBBoston I read said. No. They were good in spots. Here’s the thing. Isaac Brock? He’s not built for this. The mainstream success. Hell, look at their new shirt. A zombie-esque cat. The antithesis of the mouse. Essentially, I saw that and went, “Sweet! They’re mocking their idiot fans!” and bought it instantly. As did many of the fans being mocked. Last laugh? Modest Mouse. Well played, Isaac. Well played.
George knows how long I’ve been a fan of these guys. Hell, I’m even a “new” fan to some. I mean, I “only” got into them about ten years ago. Still, as ravenous as I am with music, it wasn’t long before discovering their earlier works. Albums like This Is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About and Lonesome Crowded West became favorites. I mean, who can hate a song titled “Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset”? Hell, my first time seeing them was in September of 2001. I did a review of that show for the now defunct site I helped George with then. I got to meet Brock after the show. To say he is an odd man? Well, I’m considered pretty fucking nuts. My mind is not a place for the timid. This guy makes me look borderline sane. Which is probably why I liked the band.
Anyhow, back to this particular show. No recent album out. Which right away screamed, “The label is fucking them, so they are trying to make a buck.” And that’s fine. The House of Blues in Boston, despite the whole mantra of “Love One, Love All” doesn’t really show love to the fans with tickets in the Mezzanine. Craptacular view. And hot. In a terrible way. I wanted to find a midget to punch. They are here for our entertainment, after all, right?
So they did “Float On” early, and I even overheard some of the dipshit bandwagon fans say, “Wow. I’m surprised they did that one so early!” Do you know why? BECAUSE THEY ARE SICK OF THAT FUCKING SONG! See, the thing is, that whole album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News is good. However, take a look at their album titles the further they’ve gone. It’s like watching Jack Kerouac get darker and darker in his novels. He knew there wasn’t a good ending, and I have a feeling Brock knows this, as well. He has essentially become part of something we know he probably hates. But with his twisted sense of humor, he’s certainly going to milk it for what it’s worth until then. In a weird way? I’m alright with that. Again, well played Isaac. Anyhow, other tracks I can remember include “Paper Thin Walls” – which I love – and “Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine”, “Dramamine”, and “Blame It On the Tetons”. My favorite that got love from the band was “Here It Comes”. God do I fucking love that song. Not one person around me was singing along. Not one. Let me repeat that. NOT ONE. A song with lyrics like “walking around with shit on my shoes…oh here it comes” is something you idiots can’t remember? And see, the kicker here is that they repeat the line “here it comes” a myriad of times. It’s called repetition. Stop lamenting why Johnny Marr isn’t with the band, any more, and get with it, you small minded bandwagon douches. By the way, the fourth shirt you’re wearing needs its collar popped.
Well, after all of that business, I was just going to leave. The thing with the mezzanine was I couldn’t go back to the floor level. Understood due to the fact that it was sold out. Here was one of the few bright spots of the night. The girl working that knew I couldn’t see squat? Well, I was about to leave before the encore, and she actually grabbed me and told me if I wanted, I could stay below, now. Essentially, enough folks were leaving to deal with the crowding issue. I don’t want to potentially get this young lady in any trouble, so I will omit her name. Gotta look out for those that looked out for me, after all.
Immediately after getting down there, another view of what a bunch of pricks this new generation of Modest Mouse fans are. An encore. We all know about this. Why? Because we go to enough concerts to know about them. Well, I had the pleasure of standing next to three couples. The girls? Basically foul mouthed trophies for the frat boy guys they were with. That’s the first bad sign. When one of the girls yells, “Come on assholes!” to, I guess, coax the band out? I cringed. It wasn’t until one of the guys screams, “Fucking come out or I’m leaving!” that I had it and bitched out these little shits. As I told them, it’s a concert. This is what an encore is.
The finish of the show included one of my other favorites by the band – “Gravity Rides Everything”. Now, I have a personal attachment to this song, so I was quite pleased to head out on a high note. The crowd and venue was just terrible. In both instances, there were redeeming qualities, for sure. The band did seem to feed off of the crowd, so at times they looked a bit bored. They were still good. Just nothing like the previous three times I had seen them. How much more of this can Brock take? Well, he seems to have a sense of humor about it, so I’d say we may still see a few more albums before they call it quits. Here’s to hoping I can see them without these dopey fans, though. I can do without them.
If you guys haven’t somehow heard of Jay Dee, I suggest reading an article that The Detroit Free Press did on him just a few weeks after he passed away. You will get an idea of the kind of dedication to music he had. Click here to read that story. And now, here’s that track “Nothing Like This”. 
