YUCK

Straight from sunny old england is a band called YUCK! While they are a young bunch of kids that were probably not even born i the time that they are emulating, but they have a shoe gazer/slacker rock vibe of late 80's early 90's indie rock. Think Smashing Pumpkins Dinosaur Jr and Nirvana. I think that Yuck has quite a bit of potential when they find their own sound. That's not to say that I don't like them now, I do. I just think that what they are up to now is only the beginning. I am confident that their sophomore attempt will be their breakout. they have all of the elements of a great rock and roll outfit and when they tighten up, grow up and pull it all together in a professional manner there is nothing they will not accomplish. unfortunately perhaps this means that one or more of the members must move on, but I won't pretend to know where that is going to go, but as all superstar rock bands, there must be a change in line up to make the jump from a band with a lot of potential to a band that sells out major festivals alone. bands that tour at places like Giants Stadium. They may even change their name. But mark my words; keep an eye on these guys.

the good life

just pre-ordered my copy of The Good Life EP by Howlin Rain on vinyl. can't even begin to talk about how excited I am about this. Howlin Rain kicks so much ass, I don't even know where to begin. I have talked about them here before, so I won't go into much detail, but I can't wait to get this limited edition release and add it to my collection. yahoo!

radio sucks

Radio sucks. Not that there is anything wrong with the concept, and if you're into that, that's cool, but really. Radio sucks. Unless you want to change the station every thirty minutes, you're doomed to listen to the same 15 or 20 songs over and over again, even the stations that claim to be progressive and to play only the best rock/pop/metal/whateverthefuckuyoulike it's still the same shit over and over again. I guess it's the politics involved in programming, and the fact that for a station to survive it needs good ratings, and they are scared that lesser known bands and b-sides aren't going to provide enough interest to sustain ratings. I don't fault stations for this, but don't call yourself an independent, progressive station and then fall into the same old trap. give me something new. give me something exciting. give me something i haven't heard. i love my music on my ipod, and i can listen to that all day long, and usually do, but when i need it, radio fails me.

dcfc

I was going to start by saying something along the lines of "I'm not sure why, but..." however, thinking about it I think that it's irresponsible to do that, not to mention kind of a trite, high school start. I don't think that I will ever start anything like that again... no, I don't think that I will. On to the point, recently, not only have I been listening to a lot of Death Cab For Cutie, but I have been watching an exorbitant amount of interviews with Ben Gibbard. I am addicted. I love to hear him talk about his music, and talk about his influences, and basically anything and everything. He is a very sharp and eloquent person. In particular, there was one interview where he was asked about why his songs tend to be dark and depressing, and he said to the person that he is a happy person and tends not to brood or be depressed, but that when writers write they go to dark introverted places, and that's more interesting. I don't remember totally what was asked or what was said but I was impressed by him. He was himself and didn't try to play the tortured artist card. I love DCFC and regardless of what I think of the personalities in the band, I would still love them, but it's great to admire the individuals as well. sorry for the rambling nonsense.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

There are some bands that I listen to on a regular basis that I'm totally in awe of. I'm totally in awe of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I will passively sit and listen to them and enjoy the experience. I will be happy and I will sing along, because I know all the words. And then there are other times that I feel utterly defeated when I listen to them because I know that I will never be able to write a song as well as Alec Ounsworth. It's completely humbling, and quite depressing for that matter. There are other bands that I feel this way about to a degree, but none that really compare to CYHSY. I'm not really sure why, I mean Modest Mouse and Death Cab For Cutie are two that come to mind as far as song writing and lyrics and painting a verbal picture, but none of them have ever really depressed me like CYHSY... just sayin

deer tick @ daniel st

last week I went to see Deer Tick at a little rock club in Milford, ct. For some time now, I have heard about the place and heard that it was a great venue, amazing sound system and all the rest. But this place is so self righteous and lame that it brings tears to my eyes. And it could be the best sound system on the planet with the best techs and engineers, it still wouldn't change the fact that the design is so poor and shortsighted. I see the theory behind what they did and why they did it. The theory, i think, was to have the bar facing the stage so that you can sit at the bar and watch the band. But in this sort of situation, make up your mind. you can't have it both ways. it's either a bar, or a rock club. The set up creates an acoustic nightmare, where the din and chatter from the bar overshadow the performance. terrible... very disappointed.

gone too soon

Gone too soon. It seems that's used way too often when talking about a great artist. Gone too soon. Not that I think that it's a good thing to lose a talent young and in their prime, but is there something inherently necessary about it? Would those artist continue to be relevant if they lived long lives? would we study them? Listen to the records over and over again? watch their movies or visit their paintings in museums? Would they continue to intrigue us? Would we create scandals, or discuss the actual scandals that were there? If Chevy Chase were to have died young would we be hailing him as one of the great comedic talents of our time? If Elliott Smith had gotten healthy and continued to make music, would he be making the heartbreakingly beautiful music that he had? Pain and struggle seems to be the common denominator in genius, and if that's gone would it still blow our hair back? If Nick Drake were around today would he make us think? When someone ceases to evolve artistically, do they continue to be talked about? Gone too soon. Tragic and illogical, but perhaps necessary?