Yo. So I’m just going to be a fleck of dust blowing in the wind this morning and wherever I land I’ll pause for a second to look around and see what’s there. I floated to Pitchfork this morning and saw a review for some band called The Life and Times. I didn’t read the review, just instead floated on over to YouTube and looked ‘em up. Lo and behold, I kind of like them (unlike much of what’s typically being reviewed at Pitchfork). Here’s a song called “My Last Hostage” from 2005’s Suburban Hymns:
I blew back to the review and see the comparison to Swervedriver, which feels about right. I also learn that the singer/guitarist used to be in a band called Shiner, whom I’ve heard of but never heard. So I might as well correct that, right? Here’s “Christ Size Shoes” from 1997’s Lula Divinia:
Not bad. A definite post-rock kind of Jawbox vibe to my ears. And if you look at the Amazon page for the album, you’ll see that customers who bought Lula also bought stuff by Failure and Hum. You remeber Hum, right?
Great song, pretty terrible video. That’s “Stars,” of course, from 1995’s You’d Prefer an Astronaut. I used to own that album, but let someone borrow it and never got it back. If you’re reading this and it turns out you are that person, ‘fess up. I don’t need the CD back, I just want to know who it was because I can’t for the life of me remember. Anyway, Amazon also suggests that if you like this you might like My Bloody Valentine. You can decide for yourself. Here’s a recent performance of “To Here Knows When” from 1991’s Loveless:
Hey there. I’m busy busy this morning so I’m going to refer you over to the Deciblog where they’ve got some great posts up, including this one with an embed of Lars Ulrich’s appearance on the Rachel Maddow show of all places, and this trailer for the video game Brutal Legend which is apparently about a metal guitarist voiced by none other than Tenacious D’s own Jack Black.
Also, here’s one of those tilt-shift videos from some guy named Keith Loutit. If you don’t know anything about tilt-shift photography, you can check out the Wiki on the subject here. Basically, it makes everything look miniaturized and when you couple that with time lapse techniques you end up with what looks a microscopic version of our own world moving at a very rapid, jerky pace. I bring it up here because I kind of like the accompanying tune, “Clementine” by the band Washington. Have a looksy:
I know nothing about Washington or singer Megan Washington, but oddly I do know a Megan who lives in Washington though I suppose that doesn’t really count for much. Anyway, here she is playing a funky little number with another band I’ve never heard of. This is The Bamboos with “King of the Rodeo” from their 2008 album Side Stepper:
You can check out Washington’s MySpace page here if you’re interested. Turns out they’re not even from America, but Austria instead. And that’s all I’ve got today. More tomorrow…
Morn’. So it appears the rumors were true regarding the Megadeth/Slayer sleepover. They’ll be co-headlining a quartet of dates in Canada this summer with Machine Head and Suicide Silence in tow. That’s right, Canada: the new 1980s Bay area without the Bay. There’s plenty of reasons to expect this tour will head south (of heaven) though at some point and hit some stops in America. Too much money to be made not to. For more, click here.
And if that weren’t enough to get you fired up this morning, I have some even BIGGER news to pass along. Yes, this is the one you’ve been waiting for. Drumroll please……..
CREED IS BACK, B*TCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Settle. Easy. Don’t go ruining your clothes or anything. This actually isn‘t a reunion. No, according to singer/Kid Rock sex party attendee Scott Stapp, this is a “renewing and a rebirth.” One can only wonder how hard it was for Stapp to avoid using the word “resurrection” here, so let’s at least give him credit for that. Maybe his haircut isn’t the only thing that’s changed about him and if nothing else, hopefully this means that we’ll never ever ever have to suffer through the insult of Stapp fronting the surviving members of The Doors again in our lifetime. If for some other reason you’d like to read more on this rebirth, Rolling Stone has you covered.
And just for the offical scorekeepers out there here’s how things break down at the moment:
Limp Bizkit reunion: +1.00
Blink 182 reunion: +1.00
Creed reunion: +1.00
Third Eye Blind reunion: +1.00
Soundgarden reunion: +0.75
Sigh…
The reemergence of all these demons just makes me want to go to church:
Hello. Hope your weekend was enjoyable. Mine was spent listening to bluegrass so I’m just going to go ahead and jump right into something loud and obnoxious in order to wash off the mandolins. This is Gojira with “Oroborus” from 2008’s The Way of All Flesh:
I love that shift at the 3:30 mark and those guitars up front are just begging you to turn this sucker up louder than “Free Bird.” Originally, I was very hesitant about getting this album based on the first single (“Vacuity”) and how it didn’t live up to my expectations on the heels of 2006’s brilliant From Mars to Sirius. This anxiety was unnecessary it turns out, as Flesh is every bit as rewarding an album as Sirius is. Here’s another track from the new one called “All the Tears” and the very trippy video that accompanies it (the subtitles were added by a fan, but I don’t mind them in this instance):
And did I mention that Gojira is from France? Well, everybody else does when talking about them so I might as well. But I have another reason, too. I caught part of a Megadeth concert on HDnet last night and just like every other time I hear this song I now can’t get the chorus out of my head. It’s “A Tout le Monde” from 2004’s Youthanasia (Ahh, Mustaine and his love for puns…). The band re-recorded this in 2007 with guest vocals from Lucana Coil’s Cristina Scabbia for theUnited Abominations album, but I’m going to go back to the original for now:
A tout mes amis, indeed. Anyway, that’s the vocabulary lesson for the day. Have a good one. More tomorrow…
Hey there. So, you’re in luck: I’m going to mention the Smashing Pumpkins for the third time this week. I know, I know. But this…well, it just has to be seen. Remember when Billy Corgan was a well-admired rock musician? Remember when he had street cred? When he had hair? Well, then maybe you can tell me who this guy is:
Now look. I’m not one to sit here and say a guy has to really be concerned with any kind of legacy or should or shouldn’t do something simply to make money. After all, that’s why the vast majority of us go to work every day: to make money. But at some point, particularly with artists who DO create commodities that becomes sources of passive income (i.e. albums), I think there is a serious risk of devaluing these commodities through overexposure or the wrong type of exposure strategically. And if you look at this particular commercial as a strategic business decision it doesn’t seem to offer a lot of positive potential. Nowhere in the commercial is Corgan identified or his words linked to the actual song they came from. You have to ALREADY be a Pumpkins fan to understand who that is on your TV acting like Eminem in the first place. Are Pumpkins fans more apt to buy Corgan’s work because of this commercial? I sincerely doubt it. In fact, a quick look at the comments posted on the YouTube page for this clip reveal more than a handful of people saying things like “My childhood memories are being raped by this clip.” That doesn’t mean they won’t buy the next Pumpkins record; but they might think twice before doing so, or they might feel embarassed about buying it if they do. And how long can that last before they give up on your art for good?
No, I’m sure someone somewhere thought this commercial would be a good way to expose Corgan and his music to the large demographic of wrestling fans, many of whom we can safely assume may not have heard this song before. You know, the “bringing it to a new generation” argument. But, again – how will this demographic even know who this is??? They might just think he’s some street poet, for all the information they’re provided. Or maybe they’ll just assume it is Eminem and go buy some of his records. So again, I’m not even really arguing that this is a matter of integrity. Musicians have for decades now found ways to profit from the inclusion of their music or image in any variety of advertisements (and I include film soundtracks in this definition). But I can’t see the angle here. I don’t know how Corgan profits from this commercial beyond the initial paycheck for doing it in the first place, a paycheck many would argue he does not desperately need and isn’t worth the potential damage this type of exposure could cause to his most loyal consumers. So perhaps someone else can explain it to me…
Oh wait. Billy can do that himself. Here’s what he said in 2004: “Last year, I was offered heavy, heavy money to license ["Today"]. I actually turned down two huge, huge, seven-figure-plus deals last year for two songs…. At this point in my life, I don’t feel comfortable. Those songs are the reason I’m alive. If your music is not sacred to the point where it’s a really, really, really heavy decision about whether or not you would allow somebody else to exploit it, then what’s not for sale?” See, I disagree with him here. I don’t think music has to be sacred at all, really. It means different things to different people, and ultimately it is disposable. But, hey, if you feel that way one day then how can we not sit here and wonder how things could so drastically change in just a few years? Interesting. I don’t know, maybe Regis and Kathy Lee can get to the bottom of this:
No more Pumpkins this month. That’s a promise. In fact, I’m out of town again tomorrow and probably won’t have another post until Monday. Enjoy the weekend. Until then…
