Mar 13, 2009, 10:16am
100b
It's been almost a year and a half since I posted about Plushgun for New Band Day. Since then, Dan Ingala and friends have been signed to Tommy Boy Records, released two EPs and their debut album ( Pins & Panzers released last month), and had their music featured on both TV and film soundtracks. Good for them - nothing makes me happier than to see a truly deserving musician or band meet with success. It's a rare thing to find music that is stunningly beautiful and makes you dance at the same [...]
Mar 10, 2009, 12:36pm 100b
Stolen from Stereogum , recommended by No Age - ok, so I'm not especially original today but I can't help it, these Crocodiles are fantastic! There's not a lot to say that Stereogum (and many others) hasn't already said (especially the Jesus And Mary Chain comparison, so true), except that while most people seem to be pimping "Neon Jesus" (which is very good indeed), I'm actually more taken with "Summer Of Hate" (below). Also, I like how their genre on CrocodileSpace is listed as 'visual', which somehow makes sense. Crocodiles' debut album, Summer Of [...]
Mar 9, 2009, 6:50pm 100b
It's quite a comeback. No matter what you think of her, her music or the never-ending drama that is her life. You gotta admit that it is impressive that only a year ago she was branded madder than a hatter, and now she's back with what looks like another successful album and tour, aptly called Circus . It feels like she only just pulled herself together (i.e. hasn't publically displayed any behavior that could be interpreted as mentally unsound in over three months), and she and her PR machine are already hard at work to reinvent her persona and [...]
Mar 8, 2009, 6:58pm 100b
This month, my favorite albums all happen to be by American bands, and they all seem to celebrate tradition and nostalgia. Americana at its finest. The bands I've picked as the cream of February's crop seem to be rooted in the past, but they made the old familiar sounds their own in exciting new ways. Most people have that one band that for some reason makes them cross the line from appreciative fan to mental like Mel from Flight Of The Conchords. I am a total Mel for The Black Keys and with that comes the absolute and [...]
Mar 7, 2009, 4:37am 100b
The goofy-looking guys you see before you are Woodhands, from Toronto, Canada. Remember them from high school? Maybe freshman year at college? They were the guys you cool people probably thought were geeks (note that I didn't say us cool people). Now they have the kids up and moving it to the beats they weave and you might even wish you were them a little bit. Woodhands, not the kids, though that might also be the case. Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt bring a purely-created (no samples or nothing) dance vibe meant solely to rock the party. And, [...]
Mar 4, 2009, 6:40pm 100b
I'm sorry, I have to get this off my chest. I'm somewhat of a documentary freak. Bean always teases me for frequently starting a story with 'I saw this documentary...'. I've even watched a documentary about doors. Not the band, that would have been cool, but about the different kinds of doorways. Most of the time, I'm able to hide my extreme docu-dorkery, but a few years ago I shamed myself in a literature class. One of my class mates was supposed to lead a discussion about Ernest Hemingway. I'd read a few of his novels, I'd read [...]
Mar 4, 2009, 3:52pm 100b
Those of you who have a freakishly good memory may remember that our last 100best post before our little hiatus, honored Pearl Jam. To continue our celebration of grunge giants, we could not leave out the reigning kings of the genre. Their distinctive sound still echoes in numerous bands. That's why even their tragic and sudden ending, ill-adviced merchandising and rumors surrounding the band cannot detract from the great impact they had. aDawgg: When a song is the propellant for nearly instantaneous musical success, it serves as blessing and [...]
Feb 26, 2009, 2:22pm 100b
Pamela Des Barres is now very well-known for having been a prominent groupie to some of music history's most famous (or infamous) rock stars during the cultural explosion of 1960s California, but her book I'm With The Band is a far more innocent affair than that reputation implies. Unlike some of her groupie contemporaries, Des Barres makes no claims to having been the inspiration behind classic songs and does not hold museum exhibits of related, ahem, works. It may sound funny to say this about someone who has had her memoir published, but I never [...]
Feb 25, 2009, 8:11am 100b
I realize this is only relevant to those in the UK with a Sky Digital hook-up thingamy (please excuse my extremely technical lingo there, I hope you can follow it), but has anyone else noticed that one of the Sky menu muzaks (we like to call them Sky Jamz) is a total rip-off of The La's "There She Goes"? Which is annoying on its own what with the principle of it and all, but since it sounds so much like the original, it immediately morphs into the real song in my head. Which means that anytime I watch [...]
Feb 24, 2009, 3:38pm 100b
I came across British band Peoples Person Club the other day on the myspace. Their joyful, high-energy tunes piqued my interest but, as is often the case, their page gave no info. So. Very. Frustrating. Seriously people, it makes it really, really hard to write about your band. So for pete's sake, give us a name, initials, a witty anagram, or even just the number of members in your band. Something! Geez, these days you have to hire freaking Magnum PI for some basic information. Grmbl - sorry about the rant. Anyway, my investigation continued and I got [...]
Feb 23, 2009, 10:39am 100b
If you were born or a youngster in 1970s America and your parents were at all open-minded, former-hippies, progressive, or anything remotely related to anything smacking of equality between races or genders, then there is a good chance you had a copy of Free To Be ... You And Me . I certainly did. And I must have listened to it constantly, because I can still sing along to most of the songs. A project lead by Marlo "That Girl" Thomas - with guest appearances from singers Diana Ross and Harry Belafonte, former football player Rosey Grier, [...]
Feb 20, 2009, 11:37am 100b
I have a confession to make: all I want to do right now is play with redesigning 100b and nothing else will capture my attention properly. (That's advance warning that it may look kind of ugly or wrong around here once I get going, by the way.) Anyway, that means that I'm skimping on this edition of From The 100(mail)b(ox) and picking out just one band that deserves some attention. The Loom has been waiting in our inbox since October, waiting for our sorry asses to get around to noticing them. Sorry about that, guys. From the ever-creative [...]
Feb 19, 2009, 1:02pm 100b
Pamela Des Barres is now very well-known for having been a prominent groupie to some of music history's most famous (or infamous) rock stars during the cultural explosion of 1960s California, but her book I'm With The Band is a far more innocent affair than that reputation implies. Unlike some of her groupie contemporaries, Des Barres makes no claims to having been the inspiration behind classic songs and does not hold museum exhibits of related, ahem, works. It may sound funny to say this about someone who has had her memoir published, but I never get the impression [...]
Feb 18, 2009, 6:11am 100b
During our extended break to charge our 100batteries from late-December to early-February, the crew at 100b decided to fold in some new topic themes. One of these new categories is Some Other Stuff. Essentially, Some Other Stuff does exactly what it says on the label - gives us an opportunity to write about just about anything we want within reason. Television, movies, other areas of music, or pretty much whatevar tickles our fancy. If you've noticed an unexpectedly black masthead (like ours above) or avatar on your digital travels the past few days, then chances are you've bumped [...]
Feb 16, 2009, 3:56pm 100b
The beginning of the noughties saw the emergence of what was called the 'New Rock Revolution' or the 'Garage Rock Revival'. Whatever it was called it was an exciting time that put mostly unknown sixties influenced garage rock bands in the spotlight. They repackaged the old sound and spirit of proto-punk bands in a new and exhillirating way. The 'movement' was fronted by such wonderful bands like The Strokes, The White Stripes and The Libertines, and a whole slew of what were known as 'The' bands followed. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (still known to us as the loudest [...]
Feb 13, 2009, 5:45pm 100b
Due to a serious bout of stupidity on my part, I skipped TWO posts this week, the first week of our glorious comeback! Our two-month break clearly hasn't sharpened my senses, but in spite of appearances I am excited to get crackin', starting with this post about the Academy Awards. Exactly eighty years ago, give or take a month or three, the very first Academy Awards was hosted. It was a private dinner attended by less than 250 guests with entrance fees at a mere five dollars, and the whole ceremony lasted only fifteen minutes. Now, it [...]
Feb 13, 2009, 6:13am 100b
While music television and radio were dominated by the sounds of Technotronic, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, Soul II Soul, Milli Vanilli, The B-52s and The The among others - and I was exiting The U2 Phase and settling into my now life-long Hip Hop Phase - a band from Washington, D.C. packaged up the output from their 1988 and 1989 EPs and released them as 13 Songs . That band, as most of you would probably already know even if I hadn't given it away above, was the now legendary Fugazi, a band that started a musical revolution [...]
Feb 10, 2009, 11:08am 100b
I guess there was a little burn-out going on, because our long 100break was also a big fat music break for me. I barely listened to anything and I most definitely didn't discover any new bands. Luckily, our inbox was flooded and I recently (um, yesterday) discovered Sheffield's Screaming Maldini waiting for me in there. Screaming Maldini are students Nik (producer/writer/various instruments), Tom (drums), and Andy (trumpet) who left previous bands to form something both more interesting to hear and to play than what they were involved in. They took themselves to their studio in the [...]
Feb 9, 2009, 10:00am 100b
We're back! All refreshed and ready to get back to our regularly scheduled nonsense. And what better way to celebrate than with a little Partridge Family?! I know, I know - I've posted about the Partridge Family before and you just wish I'd just up about that damn (super-awesome 70s bubblegum) TV family already. But this isn't really about the Partridge Family themselves exactly - more about the absurdity of record companies. So everyone knows that the Partridge Family actors didn't really play on those records - other than Shirley Jones and David Cassidy's vocals, that [...]
Jan 9, 2009, 10:54am 100b
Y'all may have noticed that we've disappeared around these parts - we've decided to extend our traditional holiday break for a little longer this year and spend some time recharging our batteries and a little remodeling around the blog. There may be posts in between, and we're not sure exactly how long it'll take, but we'll definitely be back soon! Jamie T - Back In The Game
Avicii – Two Million
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
H&M Lookbook Mujer y Hombre Otoño 2012.
