Okay, so, maybe I am dating myself...but back in 1991 my cousin Patrick introduced me to Black Sheep. Their first album, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, pretty much never left my cassette deck. I can even remember singing songs off of it in Sunday school with some kids. With hits like "Flavor of the Month" and "Strobelite Honey," it was the shit! However, the song that I absolutely adored, along with the rest of America, was "The Choice is Yours".
In light of the upcoming election, Black Sheep have re-recorded their hit song in an endorsement for Barack Obama.
Man that song still gets me hyped...this version even more so! Thanks to RAINDROPHUSTLA for getting me on to this!
The premise behind the documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad was to follow the career of the band Acrassicauda, an Iraqi heavy metal band who simply wants to make music. Instead, the picture that emerges is the harshness of life in post-Saddam Iraq, and the desperation of a people who are suffering at the hands of war and destruction. Here is the trailer:
Those of you who know me, know that I am not all that into heavy metal. Sure, in my youth I enjoyed Metallica quite a bit. But these days, those songs are nothing more than nostalgia for me. That being said, this is a riveting documentary that follows the lives of a band who are the only heavy metal band in Iraq. What comes from the documentary is the despair that they all feel, and the importance of their music as an outlet…not only for them, but also for their fans. Sometimes comical, other times devastating, the film shows the reality of what life is like on the ground in Iraq.
What stood out the most for me is that the image the band paints is so different from that which we see in our own media. For the band, life is horrendous. Even though two of the members live only 15 minutes from each other, because of the violence they don’t see each other for months at a time. One member even goes so far as to say that the conflict between the Shi’ites and Sunnis is manufactured by the politicians (he and his wife each being of the different Islamic faiths). All these guys want to do is rock, and everywhere they turn they aren’t allowed to.
The film is out on DVD, so go check it out. Even if you aren’t that into music you will be able to appreciate it!
My buddy Andrew Matson is reporting in the Seattle Times that the Crocodile Café will reopen in April. For those of you not in the know, the Croc was one of the best venues in Seattle. It had the best sound you could find in the entire city and had a great atmosphere to see a show, having a capacity of 350 (although it usually averaged around 300 a night). It was a place where you could have seen Nirvana, Mudhoney, Elliott Smith, Modest Mouse (when they were still local), and even the Beastie Boys (who played a Jazz set there not long before it shut down). I even saw an amazing Lucero show (with William Elliot Whitmore and Whiskey & Co.) there with Zack from Like Claws! back in October. But then, in December, it was abruptly closed.
It now appears as if we may have it back, this time with a larger capacity (of about 400)and the back bar turned into a pizza shop. And luckily Jim Anderon will still be running the sound...so everyone rejoice...THE CROC IS BACK!!
I made sure to get down to the Capitol Hill Block Party early last Friday so that I could check out Black Eyes & Neckties (BENt), a band we had played on our KGRG radio show D.I.Y. for the first time just a few days before. In the underground Seattle scene there had been a buzz about this Bellingham band that their website describes as "dark garage punk and horror rock with an infections frantic energy that's hard to match."
We walked into Neumo's just in time for the show to start and I was immediately blown away. They sound like the Murder City Devils. This is not to say they are exactly the same, but all of the things that make MCDs good is what makes BENt so great. The driving guitars, the screaming vocals (and a singer that looks kind of like Spencer to boot), the organ...it is all so familiar. And yet, these guys seem to bring something even more to the table. At one point in the set Brenda Grimm, the organist, tackled the guitarist as he continued to play. They had so much energy, so much gusto, that half way through the set I was texting every music lover I knew telling them how amazing it all was. You can check out more about them here or here. Enjoy the pictures I took!
If you will recall, it was only a week ago that I reviewed Agony & Irony, the sixth studio album from everyone’s favorite pop-punk masters of the macabre, Alkaline Trio (which can be found here. While my review gave moderate praise to the record, it focused primarily on the fact that the album brought the band further away from the sound that had caused me to love the Trio in the first place. However, after going out and purchasing the deluxe edition of the album today, I have to say…Now I get it!!
Beyond the disc that comes along with the regular version of album, the deluxe edition of the album includes a 28 page booklet in a hardbound book and a second disc of acoustic tracks and a b-side. The track listing for the second disc is: 1. "Burned Is The House” 2. "Maybe I'll Catch Fire (Acoustic)" 3. "Live Young, Die Fast (Acoustic)" 4. "Into the Night (Acoustic)" 5. "Over and Out (Acoustic)" 6. "Lost and Rendered (Acoustic)"
The disc starts out with “Burned is the House,” another Dan opus that surely should have been included on the album. It stands out as one of the best overall tracks in the package. The label must have left it off simply to ensure that fans would purchase the deluxe edition of the album (not to mention the itunes version which includes the bonus track “In My Stomach” which is available nowhere else). However, it is the acoustic tracks (following the Trio standard, Maybe I’ll Catch Fire) that truly bring the album together.
For all my complaints about the overly polished output of Josh Abraham (who has also produced numerous bands I despise, including Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind, and Linkin Park), the pure genius of the new album comes out in the stripped down, acoustic versions available on this second disc. No longer am I focusing on the change in their sound, but instead I am obsessing over the macabre ballads. Without all the bells and whistles (save the accompaniment of what sounds like a French horn on “Live Young, Die Fast”), you can hear these tracks in their purest form. With each track comes another glimpse into the writing process for Alkaline Trio, as well as the realization that these tracks are as much the Trio as anything they have ever written. I found myself singing along with each one, haunted by their beauty. Even the lyrics are even more intelligent than I first thought, which is one of the aspects of the record I praised in my initial review.
Now, after listening to the acoustic tracks, I have gone back and listened to the album versions, and I realize that I now have a new appreciation for those tracks. While it is a much more mature sound that previous Alkaline Trio records, and I do have to admit I still want the good old days of Goddamnit and Maybe I’ll Catch Fire, I am happy with it and would recommend it to longtime Trio fans and new listeners alike. Just a word of advice…for you diehards, start with the second disc! That way you may enjoy your listening experience at the earliest opportunity.
Let's hop in our delorians, crank it up to 88mph, and go back into time just for a second. It was 2000. Alkaline Trio had just released Maybe I'll Catch Fire and Alkaline Trio on Asian Man Records. They were clearly one of the best underground bands around. It was a time when, as the rumor goes, you could still get into Alkaline Trio shows for free if you had an Alkaline Trio tattoo. It was then, at the ripe age of 21, that I got the Alkaline Trio heart and skull tattooed on my arm. There was no blood pact. They weren't being played on corporate radio. And every little emo kid didn't have it tattooed on their body (although they are easy to pick up when they find out I have one haha).
Now fast forward to next week. July 1, 2008. Open your cd player, put in the new Alkaline Trio record Agony & Irony. If this is your first time hearing Alkaline Trio, you are probably pretty stoked. The driving intricately layered guitars leave you smiling. The intelligent and darkly cliched lyrics make the corner of your mouth snarl up into a grin for a second.
From the fast, almost ska-like cadence of "In Vein" to the slow ballad of "Live Young, Die Fast" and beyond, Alkaline Trio shows maturity from their older work. They have grown as musicians, lyricists, and image conscious individuals. No longer do they simply rely upon skulls and blood, but instead craft such images into stories of relationships and gloom. It is the same old story, just from someone who has learned to use an expanded vocabulary to create the story of doom.
For the die hard Alkaline Trio fan, someone who has been there from almost the beginning, the album is a bit too overproduced. When I listen to it, there are moments that I feel bored. There are moments where I feel the tracks are too polished and I long for the raw tales of crying in beer. That being said, I have only listened to the record once, and in it I can still hear some excellent songs that although they are not my favorite Alkaline Trio tracks, I can already tell they will grow on me.
As a huge Matt Skiba fan, I have to say that on Agony it is the Dan tracks that shine. From the first time I heard "In Vein," when the band released it on their myspace for 24 hours, I knew I loved the song. There are moments when the song dags on a little too long, but as a whole I think it is a great upbeat track. Oddly enough, although I find the Dan tracks to carry the record, but favorite track has to be "Into the Night," with Skiba crooning "So sing to me your darkest secrets/Time to leave behind your regrets/Before we get lost in the blink of an eye." This track is more of the traditional Alkaline Trio formula (harkening back to a time when you knew a song was the Trio as soon as you heard the opening notes strummed on Matt's guitar).
If this was my first exposure to the band, I would probably rave on and on about the record...but because I am stuck in the box of wanting the past Trio songs to be recreated in some new form, I can't help but be let down. This is no Goddamnit. There is no "Mr. Chainsaw" or "Radio." But, I do think that after a few listens I will consider it to be a strong record. It is an improvement upon the two or three tracks on Crimson that I enjoyed (although I feel as if those few tracks on liked on that record are pretty great). And as major label releases go these days, I do think it tops most of the other stuff out there.
In the end I am torn...do I want to like this record because it is Alkaline Trio? Or is it actually growing on me the more I think about it? Will it be like Against Me's major label debut that I absolutely hated at first, but which I now tolerate on some occasions, yet enjoy on most occasions? I think it is probably the latter. I hope it is. I'll give it another two or eight spins and update further.
So Alkaline Trio has announced that on June 27th (good date!) they will be releasing their new Nike Heart and Sole Air Zoom shoes. At first, although I thought nike and the trio were a weird pairing, but I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt...afterall they demanded that the shoes be vegan since they are vegetarians! However, once i saw the shoe, I was let down. Here is the video that they are using to promote including Matt Skiba talking about the shoe:
In the video Skiba says..."Dude, I can't believe this [the alkaline trio logo] and this [the nike swoosh] are on the same thing...It's like the best...It like makes my life." I can't tell if he is being serious or not. Being a successful musician where you can live off the money and be on a major label is okay...but being on a nike shoe means you can die happy?! Is he really hurting for money so bad they had to do this? Did the label push them into it? He's always been nice to me, and is best friends with Mike, so I will still give him the benefit of the doubt, but it just seems a little bit too much for me...I mean, I guess if i thought the shoe looked awesome i wouldn't care as much, but the original Londons that Macbeth release (both the suede which i rocked forever, and the full grain which came later) that had Trio lyrics in them were SO MUCH BETTER!! You decide:
vs.
(I wish I could find a pic of the suede ones...they are so much better.
I don't know...maybe they will grow on me. In the video they look thinner and more sleek. Maybe the picture they are using to promote it is just bad.
But I am still shocked...a pairing of Alkaline Trio and Nike? What's next...Against Me! and a major label? oh wait...!!!
On Saturday night, Liz and I headed over to Neumos to see this band called "Circus Contraption." If you haven't seen them yet, I think you probably need to. Really, they are more than a band...they are an experience. Sprinkle together 1/3 circus freak side show, 1/3 macabre horror, and 1/3 big band jazz…and you might even begin to describe the show.
Here is a short clip of one of the songs they performed (this is not at the show we were at, but what I could find on YouTube):
There were no jugglers, stilt walkers, or fire-eaters, but still great. For another taste, check out this music in this clip:
So, we headed over to the show, bought our tickets, and then ran over to the Maharaja to get some cheap, yet strong, libations. We made it back just in time to catch most of the set of the band “Awesome.” I know Kate is a huge fan of theirs…and I did enjoy them, but since I wasn’t really sure what to expect, I think I was a little let down. I liked their music fine, their harmonizing was awesome (pun intended), but lyrically they seemed to be lacking.
Circus Contraption, however, far exceeded any expectations I might have had. There were some weird people in the crowd (like the older woman with perma grin who kept literally pushing into Liz because she was “in her spot” well before the band even went on or the girl with the horrible tribal tattoos who kept trying to do stripper moves), but then there were the weirdos (people dressed up like they were part of a circus) and I thought those people were kinda cool.
For this show the band consisted of the following members: Armitage Shanks (although as the ringleader, not a butcher)
Dexter Mantooth
Pinky d’Ambrosia
Chameleo
Shmootzi the Clod
Bunny LaMonte
And a few other souls I cannot identify at the moment…But we had keys/accordion, and another member of the brass section. They all played a ton of instruments, so its hard to narrow it down for you (for example, the Ringmaster, at one point, was simply playing sandpaper). For example, Sally Pepper made an appearance.
They started out with 3 older songs, and then played their newest album, for which this was a record release show, all the way through. It was very good times, other than the fact that it was so hot in there that during one slow song we actually had to go outside for a few minutes. Liz was a little bummed they didn’t play more old stuff.
What is really exciting, however, is that they have a new show, with the FULL CIRCUS, that they will be performing in Fremont starting in May.
As they put it:
The SHOW to End All SHOWS presents a traditional American circus as it romps joyfully toward oblivion. featuring Pink Poodle Girls, A Ball-Balancing Seal Boy, A Real Mermaid, and an original music score by the incredible Circus Contraption Band! Previews run May 16-18, and the show runs May 22 through June 22 at our new space in Fremont.
And that the show…
imagines a family-owned circus with all of the glamour and glitz of the 70’s and 80’s. The time, however, is now, and the glamour shows signs of decay. A sense of imminent destruction looms as things begin to go awry under the tent. The Ringmaster insists upon the willful denial of their world’s demise by not only his progeny, but also the audience. This twisted take on Americana tells the story of the show that must go on, despite all evidence that the show, and maybe even the world, will be extinguished before the closing act.
As I left for my radio show this evening, I was in a foul mood. I had a pretty decent weekend, spent a lot of time with friends out at bars, had visitors come in from Portland who took me to The Hard Sell ( a DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist and Kid Koala Show which, by the way, was amazing...all 45s!!), and I even had a nice dinner with a friend this evening. But in the time between coming home from dinner and leaving for my radio show my mood turned sour. I have a feeling it has to do with the looming holiday, but considering I tend to celebrate NOT celebrating the holiday (some of you old timers may recall back in 2005, when I wasn't single mind you, and I cracked open this egg of knowledge...
The Corporatization of Love Can someone explain to me why Valentine's Day might exist other than to get corporations a bunch of money by selling the same old shit at exorbitant prices? For example, tomorrow, a dozen roses will cost $9.99 - $19.99. Yet, TODAY, today they are $79.99 - $129.99 (oh, why not splurge for that 4 dozen roses bouquet for $289.99?). Any love that one has today will likely be the same tomorrow, so what's the difference? Why not wait til tomorrow to "celebrate your love" and spend that extra sixty some-odd dollars on another gift? But, this brings us to an even more pertinent issue. Valentine's Day is bad not just because it lets corporations hold people hostage and thus profit off of something that should be celebrated every day, but also because it makes people feel really shitty. It's like "hey loser! no date? haha, you are gonna die alone! you might as well go slit your throat because you are the ONLY one without a date." I say fuck that.
...on why we should just not care about the holiday).
Regardless, for whatever reason, I was not in a good mood. I had no real interest in going to my radio show and I certainly didn't want to have to pick out a bunch of music to play for the few people I might have listening. However, as I started playing music, my mood started to lighten. Song after song I became happier and more peppy, to the point where my radio show totally made my day. It reminded me, yet again, how important music is to me. Pretty much no matter my mood, there is music that will make me happy.
In this instance, the music that made me happy was listening to stuff that I used to play on my show back in the day on KSCU. Gems that most people in these parts either a)have not ever heard or b) do not necessarily like. I busted out the likes of The Wunder Years (who haven't been around since 2001), Gogol Bordello (who, for whatever reason, I have barely played on my show at all in quite some time), and the ultimate song from the KSCU days (except for maybe Old Skull's version of Homeless): Robyn Hitchcock's Viva! Sea-Tac
After all of that, I was so happy. My mood turned around completely and I had a bounce in my step.
At this point I would like to make a slight interlude and show you the video for Homeless by Old Skull. This has to be one of the funniest/saddest/absolutely most amazing things I have ever seen/heard. Nine Year Olds playing punk! I used to play this vinyl ALL THE TIME on my show. And the part where the kid screams "Ronald Reagan Sucks! I Hate Ronald Reagan!" Classic!
Okay, enough of that, back to the topic at hand (although that kind of proves my whole point, as I am in a REALLY good mood after watching that gem).
What really got me thinking was that some of the music that lightens my mood might, for some others, make their mood worse. For example, if I am going through a rough breakup, or if I have just had my heart broken, it makes me feel better to listen to depressing music because it makes me realize that others out there feel like I do. Then everything is okay. I remember Justin, who at one point went through a breakup at roughly the same time I did, was the opposite and would always try and grab my iPod and change it to some happy sappy bullshit. For my money, when that happens, just throw this track on repeat and nothing in the world can be wrong:
So, trusty reader, this is where you get to be interactive. When you are going through a patch of heartbreak, what's your medicine? Do you reach for the songs of sadness and despair, or do you want lollipops and head bobbing? What's your poison? Tell me!
Attorney with an emphasis in entertainment law. College radio dj. Bassist. Keyboardist. Former college radio music director. Former show promoter. Former college radio general manager.
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made an appearance.
