sleep eternale...

A Band To Check Out:

Musical Adventures

Here's a review from one of the best South by Southwest shows I have seen, and the musician's comments on it: Wreckless Eric.
It was a great show -- Wreckless Eric, The Razillos, Shonen Knife, and lots more all in the one little club while about 40 other clubs were doing the same thing all within walking distance.. It's really something. Every music fan should experience SXSW at least once (and if you are going, let me know - I'd love to go again!)

And Action

The L.A. Film Festival is going on right now in Westwood. It looks like an interesting year for movies. There's a film about Darby Crash and The Germs, a film about Joe Strummer of The Clash, and one about a singing group composed of elderly singers who perform punk songs. There are also live musical performances in the streets of Westwood in between screenings. I just saw The Germs. The performance was, well, less than impressive, but it was still really cool to see them. I expect the documentaries will be more entertaining.

Going, Going, ...

The House Of Records is now down to 40% off, with two weeks left to go. The pickings are definitely getting slimmer, but they are working fast to "price" all the CDs they still have piled up in boxes around the store in order to get them on the shelves and move them out again. So believe it or not there were many more finds. I will have to check back one last time before they close their doors.

Today's acquisitions:

Blur -- 13 ..... $6
(special "boxed" edition that includes a poster)

The Subways -- Young For Eternity ...... $4
(I bet you haven't heard about this band unless you've read about them here!)

The Warlocks -- Surgery ...... $1.20
(Not their best album, but for $1.20?)

The Wonder Stuff -- HUP ...... $3.60
(the album with the song "Don't Let Me Down, Gently")

But I won't get to listen to any of these for a while, because I picked up one more thing that trumps it all: in preparation for Morrissey's big tour, I bought a Best Of CD. Put out by Rhino Records, it runs the gamut from Viva Hate to Maladjusted and includes extensive liner notes. I might have all the Smiths albums & early Morrissey albums on record or cassette, but my later Morrissey collection is a bit lacking. So I will be listening to this non-stop for the next week so I can catch up on all the lyrics in time for the show! It was put out in 2001, so there will be a 2 album hole in my knowledge, but that's not so bad...

"Sing Your Life"
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But How Good Are They With Maple Syrup?

My quick trip to Trader Joe's today turned into a sad yet fruitful trip to the record store next door. The House of Records, "L.A.'s oldest record store," on Pico is closing! Right now everything is 30% off (and the prices are cheap to start with). It's a great little store -- they have a huge vinyl collection, lots of CDs under $5, and a listening station that can accommodate as many people as are ever in the store at one time (hmm.. maybe that's not such a good thing?). But their best asset is (presumably) their access to promos. They are just a couple doors down from The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, and as one might expect, they have tons of "for promotional use only" CDs and LPs on their racks. It's always fun to look at the extra info the companies provide on those disks -- blurbs to read on the air about how great the band is, suggestions about which songs to play, details on release dates, etc.

Once I saw the huge "closing" sign I knew I had to go in. So today's playlist is a collection of new acquisitions. I didn't notice until I sat down to write this, but I really do seem to stick to themes when I select music, whether I am aware of it or not. Today's theme is Britian (esp. britpop):

The Soft Boys -- Nextdoorland (promo CD -- 2002)
The Charlatans -- Tellin' Stories (1996)
Blur -- The Great Escape (promo CD -- 1995)
Oasis -- Interview Disc & 120 page book (1996)
New Order -- Waiting For The Sirens' Call (2005)(yes, I finally got it)

and the one "local" album:
Marky Ramone and The Intruders -- The Answer To Your Problems (1999)
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Joey's Birthday

Today is Joey Ramone's birthday. See a tribute video here. Visit his website here and a tribute myspace page here. We miss you, Joey.

I Love Vikings (Apparently)

My favorite Swedish band at the moment, however, is Mono Stereo. They sound like a cross between early Jesus & Mary Chain and Ride. (This needs to be updated. This was an accurate description of the few songs they had up when I first found them, but wow, are they different now.. One of these days I will write a proper review. They're still one of my favorite bands to promote, so check them out!)

Here is their myspace page.

I don't know too much about them yet -- they don't have a website or anything other than the above page. They don't even have an album out yet! But they promised they would tell me once they put one out, so I'll keep you posted.

Please let me know what you think of these bands -- use the comment feature, okay?

...It's 4 A.M., do you know where your director is?

"Question: When did you first encounter punk rock?

Alex Cox: It was either Devo at the Starwood, which was their first Los Angeles performance, or it was an aborted gig at the Elk's Lodge Hall in Los Angeles, which I think The Go-Go's played at. And it was supposed to be the Plugz and X and all these other L.A. bands, but the cops came and shut it down. The man wouldn't let the kids play their music. It was like a police riot: The police were smashing people's heads on the ground and that sort of thing. That was my introduction to the punk-rock scene. Either that or Devo, because both those shows were around the same time. "

Today, on the UCLA campus, there will be a screening of REPO MAN (1984) followed by a Q&A session with the writer/director Alex Cox. Go see it if you can.

The above quote comes from a 2000 interview posted on the A.V. Club website. Read the whole thing here.

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Swedish Polarbears

It's a band. Yes, they are from Sweden. They sound like Teenage Fanclub. If we all beg them enough, maybe they will visit us stateside. Wouldn't that be cool?

Here is their webpage.

Here is their myspace page.

Gee, I wish I had known about myspace when I visited Scandinavia. The bands let you listen to several full songs so you know what you are getting yourself into, they post all their gigs on their page, and they link to the other bands they will be playing with (usually). What a resource! Just think of all the great concert stories I could have come home with if I had known about all these bands! No, instead I saw bands from the U.S. while I was up there, and now I'm hoping to see all these Scandinavian bands when they visit the U.S. Life is funny that way.
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And The World Is A Little Darker

"i suppose it was the interview with clint boon that started it all off hed asked me for a few words on perry farrells satellite party single dogstar [which he thought was great] so i went on and lo and behold mentioned the N>O> split so i suppose because it was me sayin it it was out at last. im relieved really hated carryin on as normal with an awful secret so lets move on shall we? played the openin of rios in leeds on friday great crowd and considerin theyd been through 5 local bands already had an amazin resilience/ some kid came up and gave me a hug and said "sorry to hear about new order hooky" i was really touched its like your budgie dyin!"

Peter Hook confirms that New Order broke up on his Myspace blog. You can listen to the radio interview that he mentions here (The interview is pretty funny. My favorite part is when he says the project came together when two different Welsh musicians "bumped into each other surfing in Santa Monica, as you do."). You can listen to the song Peter Hook plays on here (it's the first track: Wish Upon A Dog Star).

Thanks to the website NewOrderOnline for letting us all know about the post and the interview.

Today's playlist, then, will be a tribute (dirge?) for one of my favorite bands:

on CD:
Power, Corruption & Lies
Technique
Brotherhood
Republic
(the best of) New Order

on tape:
Low-Life
Substance 1987
(and more -- I just can't find them right now)
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Touching From A Distance

"Ian Curtis Biopic Control to Premiere at Cannes

If you only see one depressing-ass musician biopic this season, make it this one."

A new rocumentary about the life (and presumably the death) of the lead singer of Joy Division is coming out this year. Pitchfork Online has the latest scoop. They also included a link to the band performing Transmission. It's always a little scary watching Ian Curtis perform, and this clip is no exception. I just keep waiting for the meltdown. I'm not sure how he held it all in.

Speaking of movies, if you haven't seen 24 Hour Party People, I highly recommend it. It might not be the best-made film ever, but it's fun, and the music is great, and the nostalgia factor is almost painful (in a good way, of course).

I still want a 12-string Rickenbacker

So we've all heard the stories about big musicians who go into producing once they retire from "the road," but have you ever wondered what happens to the musicians who never quite make it big but still have to move on to something (read: a real job)? It seems they often find their way behind the scenes too. Take Danny Benair. He was in one of my favorite bands growing up: The Three O'Clock. They were an incredible L.A. band in the Paisley Underground movement back in the 80s, of which I was a big fan. I believe I was the first person to tell almost all of you (my wonderful, dedicated readers) about this band, which tells you something about the level of commercial success they achieved. Well, I found Mr. Benair again -- he's working in the industry, marketing music for placement in tv, movies, commercials, etc. He also has a website that just so happens to have a large collection of complete songs publicly available. Have a look. Once the main page loads, click on "music vault" and then select a song.. Oddly (and unfortunately), he doesn't have any of his own songs up.. I just might email him and ask if he would remedy that..

And just in case you feel like listening to some good paisley tunes:

The Three O'Clock fan site on Myspace

Michael Quercio on Myspace
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Going Retro (or should I say vintage?)

I walked off to work today with headphones on. They were plugged into my old portable tape player. I actually worried a little what my students would think if they saw me -- I don't want to appear too out of touch! The most appalling moment, though, came when I noticed that my listening selection was from further in the past than I had realized. This is 2007.. New Order's Substance 1987 came out 20 years ago. Ugh. I'm old. Or, at least, I feel that way while I'm teaching all these 20 year olds...

Today's Playlist:

New Order -- Substance 1987
The Ted Top 23 of 2000
The Smiths -- Strangeways, Here We Come (this came out in 1987 also! I hadn't realized that at the time...)

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"...but i watched it way too long..."

"Surely it’s not a coincidence that the 1990s were the heyday of Nine Inch Nails, the decade when Mr. Reznor went from cult hero to mainstream rock star. And perhaps he misses his days as an underground favorite. (Now that just about any kind of music is, literally, accessible, it’s no longer clear what 'underground' means.) Even the electronic noises on 'Year Zero' sound a bit old-fashioned: a throwback to the days when computer-generated music was full of static and blips. If 'Year Zero' feels warm and, for better and worse, familiar, this is why. It’s not really a cautionary tale: it’s a reminiscence. "

The New York Times (yes, that's right) reviews the new Nine Inch Nails album and all the associated hidden websites.

And if you go to the main site, you can listen to the whole album for free (but you have to join the mailing list). Listen here.

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Aloha, Don Ho

Say a fairwell to Don Ho, and watch a clip of him (actually, a cartoon version of him performing in Hawaii in the style of many music cartoons of the late 60s - early 70s) doing a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Shock The Monkey" (is that weird enough, or should I try harder?)

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The Birthdate Of Punk?

Iggy Pop, the Godfather of punk, is turning 60. There is a "birthday card" website up just for fans to leave birthday wishes. Leave your message here.

"..and I ride, and I ride"

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Am I Dreaming?

Anyone want to see Paul Weller performing "Town Called Malice" with The Charlatans?

Here it is. And while we are at it, here's The Jam doing it.

The Charlatans are on tour. Maybe they'll come to the states. If they do, I'll let you know how the show was.

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More bands to check out:

Some of these are fairly well known, so you might be familiar with them.
Some of these are pretty obscure, so if you already knew about them, then why haven't you told me about them yet?!

The Subways

Arctic Monkeys

Highwired

Silversun Pickups

(so today's playlist is poking around myspace band pages..)

Staring At The Sea? No, That's Wednesday

Somber Sunday's playlist:

Blur -- eponymous
The Cure -- Staring At The Sea - The Singles
REM -- Murmur
Siouxsie & The Banshees -- Twice Upon A Time - The Singles

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Music To Grade By, Part II

Today's playlist:
(I hadn't intended to focus on a time period -- these were simply the albums I wanted to hear)

Blur -- Leisure (1991)
(this album is amazing -- one great song after another)
Ride -- Nowhere (1990)
The Charlatans -- Between 10th And 11th (1992)