Rolling Stone and Spin were the twin pillars of music magazines as I hit my late teens and felt important enough to join the world of well-informed (and often hipper-than-thou) music fans. I subscribed to both for years and I've held onto that Rolling Stone subscription up to the present, but the stack of unread magazines on my coffee table proves that I've finally lost faith in the publication I
So yeah, perfect songs. Glossy, slick, impenetrably perfect things that they are. Like marbles. Or ridiculously ornate yet also impenetrable. Like Faberge eggs. I've been thinking about them too much over the last few days, as I am want to do with something on my mind. So I'm nipping the 'perfectly perfect' song thing in the bud right now (before this blog turns into Mojo). I'm going to move on to the sort of stuff that really thrills me (although I do love the songs in the last few posts). Namely, messy music. Music that feels like that double whiskey [...]
Box Elders at the Funhouse, Seattle | 9 June 2008 The Box Elders' have one single to their name. It's a four song 73 that contains three originals and a cover of the Redd Kross song S&M Party. They've posted the best two from the single over at their MySpace page, and it was [...]
The Clean : Tally Ho [ Purchase ] I won't even bother to reiterate what my fellow blog writers have already put forth beautifully in their prior, respective posts about actual time length of a particular track falling within the parameters of desired "perfect song length". My iPod said this tune was 2:42. Fair enough for me! More importantly, regardless of it's length, I could never argue against it being a perfect pop song. Outside of [...]
Some recent favorites from the grand central archives... the Clean - "Fish" (the Cake Shop, Manhattan, Dec. 1st, 2007) Punkcast was on hand for the previously discussed and sincerely terrific three night stand by Kiwi legends, the Clean. the Clean - "Fish" Times New Viking - "Dance Walhalla" [...]
I can hardly forgive myself for missing The Clean when they played NYC last summer. I have great affection for the New Zealand bands that recorded with Flying Nun throughout the 1980's, e.g., the Verlaines, Chris Knox, the Chills, the Bats, etc. And of course the Clean, who really were at the heart of it all. They just put out fiercely original music that went on to inspire countless bands (and still do). I recently watched Heavenly Pop Hits: the Flying Nun Story on You Tube, which is a great documentary about [...]
DOWNLOAD: The Clean - Tally Ho (MP3) I saw The Clean at Cake Shop on Saturday night (Dec 1, 2007). It was sweet... the Clean played a career-spanning smattering of songs, augmented at one point by guitar from Richard Davies (formerly of the criminally underrated Moles). At a time when so many bands of the Clean's stature are cashing in on outsized reunion tours, the whole evening was nothing short of inspiring. [ Pfork ] [...]
I brought my camera to the Cake Shop on Friday, but any pictures I might have taken from my millimeter of personal space two feet from the side of the stage would have been largely composed of the heads of those brave, pushy souls who got even closer. The above picture was flickr-napped from the account of photographer Christine Tadler , and also appeared in the Pitchfork write up of the next night's gig. Yeah, not even the same show, but I provide it mainly for the disadvantaged people in the MS audience with no ability [...]
Been back in Brooklyn for the better part of a week, but only regaining my normal balance after the corrosive influence of clean air and lovingly prepared fresh foods now. So here's some stuff that's been dominating the iPod for a while, in one big blur. Good to get this new or novel material out of the way before we go all in for an orgiastic year-end blowout stuffed with crippling self-involvement. Priorities, and all that... Nine Circles - "Twinkling Stars" I have no real idea [...]
I know, it has been rather quiet around here lately. I have had a rather awful November on the personal side of things and that has kept me away for most of the month. Those of you who have spoken to me, know how ridiculous it has been. Between bizarre illnesses, strange accidents and other random events, I haven't been in a state to write much. Anyway, I promise that December will be better. We have a lot of things coming up, including the return of one of our most popular features of '06 and our various best of lists. [...]
(I won't be around to post this tomorrow, heading down to DC for the Ra Ra Riot/Jukebox the Ghost show, but I know you guys need to know what shows are going on especially with a night as busy as Friday. Have fun you wild and crazy guys!) Show Listing Friday November 30th: Los Campesinos! @ Bowery Ballroom [tix][mp3] The Clean @ Cake Shop [sold out][mp3] Oneida @ Europa [tix][mp3] Phonograph @
The facts are these. The Clean are playing three nights at Cake Shop, Nov 29 - Dec 1. (They're also playing Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia on Dec. 2.) It's the classic line-up with brothers David and Hamish Kilgour as well...
Well here's a bit of a mystery. Heather at Ugly Floral Blouse emailed me asking if I knew anything about The Clean playing Cake Shop at the end of the month. Um, no I hadn't. A visit to the venue's...
(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone - Sex Pistols John The Revelator - Son House Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers Tally Ho - The Clean Family Romance - Department of Eagles Cars And Girls - Prefab Sprout Twistin' The Night [...]
Things seem to have ground to a halt around here. It's not that we've run out of gigs to review - we've got a huge backlog - it's just that both of us have been suffering from a serious lack of motivation. JustHipper has a decent excuse: she started a new job last month and it's longer hours and a much longer drive so she's exhausted most of the time. I, on the other hand, had the dubious distinction of turning forty a couple of weeks ago and I can't say I enjoyed it very much. Turning thirty [...]
Judging from the still not quite triple digit You Tube views of the first five parts of the comprehensive Kiwi rock doc Heavenly Pop Hits: the Flying Nun story, not that many people out there are too excited about the fabled sounds of hobbit land. However, I know that the few people who do care, really, really care, so screw it. Here's the end of the film that wasn't available when I put up my first ecstatic notice . Part 6 here picks up right where Friday's post left off, with a discussion [...]
Jacques - Plants and Animals David Letterman has this regular segment (or used to) called Is This Anything? He and Paul Shaffer view a performance of some kind, generally acrobatic, usually involving noise, movement, color, misdirection, then deliberate on whether it's "something" or "nothing." The show's media-critiquing mechanism is deep rooted and as effective as anything on network television, so I probably don't need to highlight how these segments participate in an absurdist theater tradition or lend themselves to Dubordian spectacle discourse. Mostly, they're just funny in an [...]
We're continuing to slack around here at Shake Your Fist and have invited yet another guest blogger to do our work for us. But with guests this good, how can you possibly object? Jeannette Ordas is the talent behind the food blog Everybody Likes Sandwiches (which isn't, just to be clear, exclusively about sandwich making). I love Everybody Likes Sandwiches for lots of reasons, but if I had to pick three I'd say, 1) fabulous recipes, 2) writing [...]
The thing with being an obsessive music type, is that the need for discovery is pretty insatiable and it leads you to alot of dead ends. Perceived influences half mentioned in magazines, name dropped by smug bassists in interviews, or suggested by all knowing Amazon purchase bots fill the heart with the hope of discovery. More often than not, after securing the object of interest through persistent E Bay auctioneering or eagle eyed crate diving, you're left empty. Something doesn't sound like it was described, or the influence is apparent but a subsequent artist built from a [...]
Catfish Vegas presents...
Asleep on the compost heap
the finest kiss
Star Maker Machine
Merry Swankster
butch slap
BrooklynVegan
Instrumental Analysis
Pop Tarts Suck Toasted
Sound Bites
Some Velvet Blog
The Indie Credential
Shake Your Fist
The Corner Laughers “Poppy Seeds”
