This is just a ride. Little is known about Black Body, but thankfully their great new track "The Ride" speaks for itself. Expect six-and-a-half minutes of driving, chilled-out bliss with quotes from legendary comedian Bill Hicks: "The world is like a ride at an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think that it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly coloured, and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. [...]
Happy Chocolate Jesus Bunny Eggs Day everyone! I've always kind of liked Easter, actually. Mostly because I was a chocolate fiend as a kid, I suppose, and in fact to a large extent I still am one. My parents were always pretty sparing with chocolate (and fizzy drinks, and sugary breakfast cereals) so it was left, as it so often it, to my grandparents to fill with stuff which was bad for us, and which we absolutely fucking loved. I suppose my parents always took the attitude that a/ living in Austria and then Singapore we didn't see [...]
The older I get, the more I am convinced that Bill Hicks was the most important comic who has ever lived. It's not just because he's a fellow Houstonian and we tend to but him on a pedestal here,... Continue reading "Playlist: Remembering Bill Hicks In Song" >
Neko Case has called her pal Kelly Hogan “the Zelig of rock ‘n’ roll.” Her name appears in the credits for albums by Mavis Staples, the Mekons, Will Oldham, Matt Pond PA, Amy Ray, Giant Sand, Archer Prewitt, Alejandro Escovedo, Drive-By Truckers, Jakob Dylan, Tortoise and many others, Case included. Hogan's fourth album has been [...]
Austin collective The League of Extraordinary Gz and L.A. producer Shane Eli have joined forces for their new collaborative EP, The Plug. Over the course of eight tracks, The Plug features a wide range of instrumentals and rhymes from LOEGz members along with a guest appearance from Strange Music artist Rittz.
Despite his ever-expanding recognition as a socio-political voice in our society, one thing remains the same for W. Kamau Bell: His desire to be recognized as a great comedian. Kamau will be storm... Continue reading "W. Kamau Bell Explains why Bill Hicks is his Comedy Icon" >
This podcast, I suppose I am going to have to accept from the start, really isn't going to be for everyone, is it. There is plenty of music in here, but not all that much which would make it onto a regular Toadcast. Mixed in with those few more traditional tunes is a little musical comedy, a genre with which I have a very patchy relationship indeed, and also some outright stand-up. It's the Edinburgh Festival and some friends and I were talking about how we generally avoid the whole boiling pot of shit, but that there were [...]
Without a doubt, the Dandy Warhols is a band, a meeting of the Velvet-y minds with Brent DeBoer, Peter Holmström, Zia McCabe and Courtney Taylor-Taylor calling the shots. But drummer-turned-guitarist/singe r Taylor-Taylor is its handsome face and baritone voice who pushed the band from graceful poetic garage music (1995’s Dandys Rule OK) to guileless glam (2000’s [...]
Finally, a worthy compilation - and appreciation - of the greatest stand-up comedian of the '90s. There's a notion that Bill Hicks was a miserable cynic who hated the human race and thought that everything on the planet was an evil conspiracy. And there's truth and falseness in that statement. A cynic, yes. But despite his oft-quoted bit about humans being "a virus with shoes", he wasn't actually that nihilistic on the whole. Behind all the skepticism and vitriol, there was an undeniable excitement to his role of what his friend...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj 2K0wo Going for that riotous indignation dollar!
In celebration of what would have been comedian Bill Hicks ' 50th birthday, Ryko has released 12/16/61 , a 5-track EP containing previously unreleased material. Recorded in Texas when Hicks was just 21 years old, the EP fully encompasses his short but influential career as a satirist, social critic, and stand-up comedian. The digital release is available now on iTunes and Amazon. The aptly titled EP is a reference to Bill Hicks' birthday - December 16, 1961. His brother Steve Hicks explains: [...]
Desperate Teenage Lovedolls is playing at the Texas Theatre tonight? Oh, you should go see it. If not for the stellar line, "Thanks for killing my mom," then for cameos from members of Red Kross... Continue reading "'Desperate Teenage Lovedolls' and Bill Hicks This Week" >
Rykodisc will be releasing a new EP of previously unreleased material from legendary underground comedian Bill Hicks next week. Set to coincide with what would have been his 50th anniversary on December 16th, the EP is titled 12/16/61 and features five tracks that were recorded when Bill was just 21. His brother noted: Harder to grasp that Bill would be turning 50 and that he has been gone almost 18 years, is the idea that he has reached so many people around the world. Old fans remain fiercely loyal and new fans discover [...]
Time for a little bit of aural time travel. Let's look back, reflect, and contemplate... what were we listening to one year ago? Listen to the December 2010 Mix and find out. You can stream (and scrobble ) all the songs in this mix using the ex.fm player at the bottom of the page OR you can just download any or all of the tracks at your leisure and play them using a digital media player of your choice. Downloadables: Young Bodies [...]
Time for a little bit of aural time travel. Let's look back, reflect, and contemplate... what were we listening to one year ago? Listen to the December 2010 Mix and find out. You can stream (and scrobble ) all the songs in this mix using the ex.fm player at the bottom of the page OR you can just download any or all of the tracks at your leisure and play them using a digital media player of your choice. Downloadables: Young Bodies [...]
All the Wrong People Are Dying is not actually an album, but a collection of the earlier Styrenes album A Monster and a Devil alongside several 12"s and a compilation track. Somehow, despite the cobbled-together nature of its assembly, the CD flows more cohesively than most properly assembled albums do. Go figure. The Styrenes, initially
With a major-label distribution deal right out of the chute, Candy Butchers seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of other smart, song-focused, melody-driven, ’90s outfits like Ben Folds Five and Fountains Of Wayne before the proverbial window of opportunity slammed shut circa 1997. Since then, seemingly unflappable leader Mike Viola has kept plugging away, [...]
Words: Saam Das SYNOPSIS: "Animated documentary about the rollercoaster life of legendary comedian Bill Hicks, whose profound and hilarious observations on American life changed the face of modern comedy." Much like 'Lymelife' which recently appeared on the iPlayer, 'American: The Bill Hicks Story' was one of the films that didn't quite make it into our collated blogger poll of the Best 50 Films Of The Year in 2010 . [...]
Paleo provides us with a list of influences. Follow Owl and Bear on Facebook and Twitter for contests, MP3s, and links that don't make it onto the blog.
Full album stream: Paleo - Fruit of the Spirit MP3: Paleo - "Holly Would" David Strackany, also known as Paleo, is perhaps best known for The Song Diary, wherein he undertook the monumental effort of writing 365 songs in a single year. As an added bonus, he used a "half-size children's guitar" while living out [...] Follow Owl and Bear on Facebook and Twitter for contests, MP3s, and links that don't make it onto the blog.
Last Gas Station
Song, by Toad
Houstoned Rocks
MAGNET
Raw Drive- The Vice President of Soul
A to Z
PopMatters
Dubcomm - The Toronto Teknopusher
Band Weblogs
DC9 At Night
Punknews.org
GIMME TINNITUS
Obscure Sound
FADED GLAMOUR
owl and bear
MP3: Daft Punk – “Horizons” (RAM Japanese Bonus Track)
Listen to producer Jacques Greene’s “On Your Side,” featuring How To Dress Well
