Bad As Me

Just listened to the first four tracks on the new Tom Waits record, Bad as Me.  This being the first record in 7 years, I'm really excited about what I've heard so far.  I hope that tonight I'll listen to the rest of it.  The official release date is October 24th, but thanks to this modern age, I was able to sign up on Toms website to receive a special code so that I could listen to it in it's entirety for a week free of charge.  I have mixed feelings about this.  While I love the fact that I get to hear this record prior to it's release date, and I'm able to talk about it hear and tell everyone to go out and buy it when it comes out, because it's awesome, and Tom Waits is awesome and if you love him like I do than you're really going to love his new stuff.  But...  There is part of me that thinks that this just further devalues the piece, in the sense that in the age of now now now!  now you don't even have to wait for a digital release.  I did the same thing with the new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah record.  I was able to listen to it for free, streaming on NPR radio.  Don't get me wrong, I love that I can do this.  I love that these bands are making it possible to hear the record, and maybe the theory is that it will generate a buzz and that will translate to sales.  But what happened to the days when a record release was a HUGE deal?  There was fanfare and anticipation.  The record company created demand by keeping things a secret, and you had no idea what to expect, and I for one used to get tingly with anticipation when I'd hear that a favorite band was reported to be back in the studio.  Now you can watch them record the record then hear what it sounds like and decide if it's to your liking, all before it's released.  I understand both sides, I really do.  But it's a sign of the times.  There is no patience any more.  If it's not available immediately it will slip through the cracks and be gone without being noticed.  The public attention span is a nanosecond, and it's kind of a shame.  I would love to hear about a band going into the studio secretly, recording a monster record, building anticipation and not leaking ANYTHING until the actual release date.  The only things released prior should be rumors.  But I digress.  What I've hear so far of Bad As Me, is dope!  Tom Waits at his finest.  Instant gratification wins. I lose.

Harlem

There's something so inspiringly awesome about a good lo-fi rock band.  I love it when I can just grit my teeth and bob my head to some raw, visceral rock tunes that were recorded by a guy, or a couple of guys in their basement, or their garage.  Where ever it's recorded, or whatever it's recorded on (a computer, an old tape deck, reel to reel), more than anything it's the sound, and Harlem has an amazing sound.  Loads of distortion, jangly hooks and lyrics that speak to the lonely and disillusioned.  They are a band that harkens back to a time that disregards production value for quality songwriting and a love for music and a desire to have their voices heard.  When I listen to Harlem, I think of the Kingsmen and the Troggs, two of my favorite bands of all times that were amazing garage bands that inexplicably made it to the mainstream, if only for a fleeting moment.  I think that what we call "lo-fi" today is what they called "garage" in the '60's.
Harlem's 2009 debut, Free Drugs, is an excellent example of the indie spirit, and I for one am extremely excited about what they will do going forward.  Check them out for sure!

morning teleportation

When I first started listening to Modest Mouse several years ago, there were a few songs that I absolutely loved.  It was generally the radio friendly, more straight forward rock songs that lured me in, since I tend to buy full albums, and not just single songs, I grew to love their whole body of work.  And now, they are without question one of my absolute favorite bands.  The same thing holds true for Morning Teleportation. I guess the irony here is that Morning Teleportation plays on Glacial Pace records, which is Isaac Brocks label, and Mr Brock is the front man for Modest Mouse.  Morning Teleportation has a frenetic sound that tends to be jumpy and psychedelic, but with roots in classic rock, citing influences like James Gang and Crosby Stills Nash and Young.  There were only really one or two songs on their debut, Expanding Anyway, that I really liked, but the more I listen to them, the more all of the songs grow on me.  I guess that another large part of it is that I wanted to like them.  It sometimes works that way.  There are always things that come along that aren't that accessible right up front.  Sometimes it takes work to appreciate something, and that makes the experience more rich and fulfilling.  Morning Teleportation is like that, you will have to work at it, but in the end you will be better for the experience.

Liam Finn - Better to Be (live) (official high quality)

This is a great version of Liam Finn's Better to Be. I have been a big fan of Liam Finn for quite some time now, his father is Neil Finn of Crowded House, a band that I really enjoyed as a wee lad in New Jersey. What I like about his music is that it seems so effortless. That the songs are pleasant and poppy, and not pretentious. It almost feels like he's doing something that anyone could do, but at the same time the simplicity is what's so difficult. What he does is tells a nice story to a great tune, and beckons you to join him in his journey. It's nothing that's going to blow your hair back. It's not something that makes you jealous, or make you think that you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing. It isn't unique or by any means avant garde, but it's good singer/songwriter music that will leave you with a good feeling in your soul.

L'oie Insidieuse: Whirlwind Heat

L'oie Insidieuse: Whirlwind Heat: Somewhere between Sonic Youth and Mudhoney, there is a band called Whirlwind Heat. A band that is on Jack White's Third Man Records label (...

Whirlwind Heat

Somewhere between Sonic Youth and Mudhoney, there is a band called Whirlwind Heat.  A band that is on Jack White's Third Man Records label (surprise, surprise), but while the former two bands have a decidedly experimental bent, the later tends to be a little more poppy and accessible.  Air Miami and Up-Tight are two tracks in particular that resonate with me, reminding me of the lo-fi 90's sound that I really gravitate to.  Thurston Moore and Stephen Malkmus are two names that come to mind when I listen to these guys.  Of course, I have only really listened to one record, Types of Wood which has great and provocative cover art, so I'm only really qualified to discuss this one moment in time for this band, but I will listen to more of their body of work and post again when I can speak more intelligently on the subject. but what I've heard so far is something that impresses me and I'm jazzed to hear more.

The Kinks - Alcohol - Live '77 London

Again with the punk pioneers. The indie spirit. without whom none of it would be possible. the tune Alcohol that proves that there is more to the band than just Lola and 20th century man. This is off one of the Kinks greatest records that really went outside the box, Muswell Hillbillies. taking a very american idea and making it decidedly british. Alcohol being a great track and Here Come The People in Grey coming in at a close second. enjoy the clip.