Somehow the kids dig prog rock. I'm not quiete sure how you get to Captain Beefheart from what it is today as a truly misunderstood and wide genre of music. Prog rock used to be a dirty hippie word until the math geeks slowly adopted copious notes and the notion that it's ok to mix your metal with your jazz. Mostly though it's just a "Other" category. Now it's cool. Not sure how the leap happended but it did. Somewhere in the basement stax is the vinyl for Songs for the Terrestrially Challenged (1995) LP [...]
7:00 am: Driving to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl flea market, we listen to our favorite radio show, Chuck Cecil's The Swingin' Years —a show that has been on the air in one place or another for the last fifty-five years. Anyone who lives in L.A. and isn't listening to this show every Saturday and Sunday morning (on 88.1), you're missing out. 8:52am: Sitting at the Rose Bowl food court feeding Coop yogurt while my brilliant wife scopes more [...]
The only thing cooler than putting a song together is taking it apart. Or more specifically, creating something that sounds taken apart and then reassembled with a total disregard for traditional ideas of shape. Such was the stock in trade of U.S. Maple, one of the most interesting indie bands of the late '90s/early '00s. If the guitars sound all Beefheart-y, it's because they were on the same wavelength. Which I guess would be a bunch of wavelengths at once, a very specific order masquerading as chaos. As for those raspy vox, sure, they're a little creepy, but wasn't rock [...]
Gli amori, quelli belli, sono quelli a prima vista che ti fanno prendere e buttare tutto senza senno. Gli amori a prima vista sono quelli che neanche ti ricordi del perchè sei arrivato a quel punto nè in che modo, ovviamente. Gli amori, tolti quelli della vita, che la vita possono anche rovinartela (e cosa c'è di più bello di farsi rovinare la vita per un amore andato a male? pensateci) sono a volte film, dischi, gruppi. Il mio amore, spassionato, attuale e spero futuro sono i Lucertulas . Vedo i ghigni per un nome [...]
coming back to damnit off sang phat editor Tags: sang phat editor , u.s. maple
Just about a year ago I posted some music from an incredible band called Diaper. The album, The Brown Suit , was pretty much non-existent as far as Google was concerned when first I heard it. The only information I had when I wrote up my little review was that the band consisted of Todd Rittmann, Pat Samson and Kera Schaley. Todd and Pat later went on to form the band U.S. Maple. You might recognize Kera's name from the credits of Nirvana's In Utero . She played cello. Anyway, with any obscure album I [...]
Todd Rittmann of U.S. Maple has a new band called D. Rider . The video above of their song "Touchy" should give you an idea about how the band sounds, but if you want the real experience, you're going to have to see the band live. Luckily, D. Rider have scheduled a few northeastern US tour dates for later in January (including one right here in New York City at Cake Shop on January 29). Check out the full schedule after the jump. D. Rider tour dates: Jan 26 [...]
![The Eight Days of Hometapes Part 1, a Christmas miracle! [Curiosities #31]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2201975_lg.jpg)
I meant to drape this little bit of tinsel a long time ago, but I'm space-y as Kevin this time of year and vulnerable to long bouts of eating, drinking and overall indulging. For instance, last night Penny and I indulged in a metric ton of taco chips and watched movies. Normally I'd stop eating at some point but HEY, IT'S THE HOLIDAYS. Hometapes know, perhaps more than anyone, that Christmas only comes but once a year, and must be celebrated to the utmost. Hence the creation of the Eight Days Of Hometapes series, eight Christmas/holiday tunes by [...]
A list of the best albums of the decade compiled by Chris Besinger of Minneapolis' STNNNG.
A week or two back when I took in Moon —excellent movie, by the way—I saw the preview for a new documentary called It Might Get Loud . The premise is simple: Jimmy Page, the Edge, and Jack White all get together and talk guitar. They jam. They discuss their approach to the instrument. Their egos drape over them like suits of armor. Here's the trailer: Though I'm not a big fan of any of these guys or their bands, the doc still looks appealing to me. It seems like it's trying [...]
la-underground.net Download: Sean Carnage's Mondays mega-mix We asked Sean Carnage—interviewed to mark his four years of D.I.Y. all-ages shows here—to make a mixtape that captures a bit of what he loves about music in L.A. Download and listen above and annotated tracklist by Sean below: Realicide "Resisting The Viral Self" Just a brief sample from Robert Inhuman, whose music [...]
D. Rider Mother of Curses (Tizona) D. Rider's Mother of Curses is at once artful, playful and sinister -- a cacking 1930s cartoon villain sentenced to hang because of what he did to the heroine jus... Continue reading "CD Review: D. Rider, Mother of Curses" >
It's Sunday again, and as per usual, nothing exciting is happening anywhere in the world. People sleep late and hope they can relax for a few hours before the new work week begins. Meanwhile, I've reached the exact middle of my own work week, so I'm way closer to my next weekend than you are! Ha! In trying to write an introductory paragraph, I asked Ilya what topic I should pontificiate on. He said "cupcakes," then giggled softly. "Cupcakes are really what's in right now," he said, and giggled some more. Yup, I know what Ilya did all [...]
Chicago, IL based US Maple was born out of the ashes of two other bands - Shorty (which included Mark Shippy and Al Johnson) and Mercury Players (which included Todd Rittman and Pat Sampson). Early line-up of the band also included drummer Jim Kimball (Jesus Lizard, Laughing Hyenas, Mule, Denison-Kimball Trio), but he left and [...]
Associated Entries: Lake Of Dracula, Mount Shasta Originally named Snailboy, this Illinois band included future members of another Skin Graft act - US Maple, as well as members of Nursery and Muckrackers. Throughout the early and mid 90s, they released a string of singles, EPs and one LP on such labels as Gasoline Boost, Worry Bird, [...]
Associated Entries: Lake Of Dracula One of the most recognizable Skin Graft acts, Mount Shasta formed in 1993 and included members of Dirt, Shorty and Phantom 309. Inspired by the likes of Cows and Butthole Surfers, quartet was also dead set on becoming even more extreme than their peers. Much of the artwork for their albums [...]
MySpace Page Associated Entries: Flying Luttenbachers, Hatewave Along with Colossamite and Holy Smokes, LoD were Skin Graft supergroup that was active in the late 90s and included members of Flying Luttenbachers, Scissor Girls, Jaks and US Maple. They were named after a 1971 Japanese movie of the same name. Their first (and final) self-titled studio album came [...]
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