I've had my eyes (and ears) on these gringos for some time. Now I've got my poison quill on them. Don't let Atlanta quartet Gringo Star 's name frighten you-the joke will be on you. These guys write some damn fine pop songs, and they're getting a little polish on their forthcoming platter Count Yer Lucky Stars (out Oct. 25 on Gigantic Music ). For their sophomore LP Gringo Star went with producer Ben Allen, who lent his knob-twiddling skills to a couple of big-sounding records in Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere and [...]
I was recently asked by Spin Magazine to hang out at Stephen Malkmus' house and talk to him about random objects that were ineteresting or held some sort of significance to him. I closed the e-mail, changed my underwear and schemed how I would call in sick to my day job in two weeks. "There's something going around," I schemed. I rarely get star-struck these days-only Rhett Miller holds that distinction-but that's only because he's so darned good-looking. Malkmus is a pretty handsome fellow, too. And aside from a few more gray hairs, he's hardly [...]
It's officially been a couple of months since my last post-the longest drought in TDoL history. "What gives?" so say you three avid readers. Well, among the many things keeping me away from this blog (including a hack), I got hitched, and kickass, rock 'n' roll weddings on California's Central Coast don't plan themselves. Needless to say the ceremony went off without a hitch. Life is back to normal. And I'm feeling rejuvenated. Expect good things from here on out. So yes, there is a Mrs. TDoL ... although I don't advise ever calling her that unless you want [...]
It's no easy task to take the Ghosts of Music Past and turn them into something new. But Unknown Mortal Orchestra have cobbled together a mass of junky sounds and flesh and bone), and have created a true Frankenstein's monster (or The Modern Prometheus if you wanna get all snooty about it). Unknown Mortal Orchestra is a somewhat unknown, about-to-be extremely well-known trio from Portland, Ore., led by NZ-PDX resident and Mint Chick Ruban Nielson . And it's really ( reeeallly ) good. The band just released their self-titled debut on Fat [...]
I've had my head buried in the sand for the past two months. Between a full-time job that sucks my will to live (boo!) and planning a wedding (yay!), I have had little time to scope out new music. Not such a bad thing-it's been nice listening to music from my past with slightly wiser ears ( 5150 is the greatest Van Hagar album of all time!), and cozying up to old vinyl. My latest obsession: Digging for old country records. A friend recently turned me on to Steve Young , whose first two records-his 1969 [...]
Here's a little teaser from Viva Voce 's forthcoming long-player The Future Will Destroy You , out June 21 on Vanguard Records . The title track is lush and noisy. And the clip (filmed by Aubree Bernier-Clarke) shows the Robinsons in their home studio-Kevin taking the lead with a sassy beat, and Anita handling the lead vox, lead git, and Ace Frehley lead guitar! guitar strap, and Larry the dog handling lead headphones/awesomeness. I'm liking what I hear here. Ya hear? It's been two years since the release of Viva Voce's [...]
You'd have a hard time pinning down Psychedelic Horseshit ... though the band's name kinda says it all. The Columbus, Ohio two-piece coined the term "shitgaze" to describe their music, thus giving music scribes something to cling on to (Does this count as a pun? Maybe a really bad pun?). Their latest LP Laced is slightly less shitgazy, a little less soiled if you will. That's a good thing if you ask me. Lo-fi/shitgaze/pee-twee/poop punk-whatever you want to call it this week-has ruined many a good song. The new record [...]
I have a great idea! Instead of releasing new music Weezer should, from here on out, only record unexpected and wacky covers. In Vegas. Dressed as the Village People. Weezer recently covered Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" in the studio (they've also done Gaga and MGMT in the past), and I must say they did a pretty good job. But it's not enough for me. I need more. I need something zanier. More out of their element. Here are TDoL's Top 5 Zany Cover-Song Suggestions for Rivers & Co. ... or are they zany? [...]
A friend mine said this would make his "top 20 songs ever list." I'd have to agree with him.
Paul McCartney has always been the most polarizing member of that one band from Liverpool for several reasons: a) He's had the most prolific post-Beatle career, b) Lennon didn't live long enough to become cheesy, and c) because he's the cute one. When McCartney released his second solo record, Ram , in 1971, music critics chewed it up and spat it out and then spat it out again. As Robert Christgau put it: "... most of the songs are so lightweight they float away even as Paulie layers them down with caprices." [...]
Dallas trio True Widow makes huge racket. Not nearly as huge as the title of their latest long player- As High As the Mountains and From the Center to the Circumference of Earth -but big (and sllooooww), nonetheless. I guess it makes sense considering everything is bigger in Texas-including opening bass lines. Try "Skull Eyes" on for size-so good you'll forget the band gave themselves the hideous label "stonegaze." "Skull Eyes" - True Widow Like The Days [...]
How do you categorize Portland's Red Fang ? Four 30-somethings who wield mammoth rock riffs like young'ns and apparently have little regard for metal's conventions. They've been called metal, stoner rock, neo-grunge-all of which is just music critic-speak for "I don't know what the fuck to call them" ... ... Well, I don't know what the fuck to call them. They're not exactly metal (though that probably would be the most accurate descriptor). They're not just a rock band (or are they?). They're not stoner (musically speaking). And neo-grunge is just a slap in the fang. The [...]
I know you're excited ecstatic about those Kinks reissues, but this pair of reissues from Durango, Mexico psych, avant-garage band-and TDoL faves- Los Dug Dug's is something to truly get enthused about (I'm also kind of thrilled to have just written a sentence containing the words "psych," "avant-garage," "enthused," "ecstatic" and " excited " in it). Los Dug Dug's first two records-their self-titled 1971 debut and 1972's Smog LP-have been given the vinyl treatment. Needless to say, they're must-haves ... or consider yourself a have-not. The band looked north [...]
It's been nearly three years since The Days of Lore has checked in with Brooklyn's Crystal Stilts. In fact, my interview with guitarist JB Townsend waaay back on Nov. 7, 2008 was the first Q&A to appear on this here blog. Ah, memories truly are made of this. Good news: Crystal Stilts are still around, and they've avoided the sophomore slump with their latest release In Love With Oblivion (TDoL is still here as well, but has since suffered sophomore, junior and senior slumps). The new record is [...]
It's no secret that TDoL is an unabashed New Zealandophile. Give me meat pies, the 3Ds and Lemon & Paeroa and I'm a happy camper (more car camper than roughing-it camper). Give me Barbara Manning's In New Zealand and I'm an even happier car camper. So when I receive e-mails with the subject line "New Zealand band ... " I pay attention. Sometimes it doesn't pay off, but when it does, it's great- Mint Chicks , Surf City , Liam Finn , to name a few. I recently found "New Zealand's Street Chant" among [...]
Record Store Day . The name alone is enough to get music nerds, geeks, audiophiles, crate diggers, what have you, all hot and bothered. When I first wrote about RSD back in its first year (what feels like many, many, many moons ago), I thought, "All right, a day to show appreciation for the independent record store-a dying institution, the hub where people like you and me go to escape and spend hour(s) getting lost in the racks, meet other sick like-minded individuals and connect over that new Matthew Sweet release, or that old Saints record." No, really. [...]
I read that Xray Eyeballs frontman O.J. San Felipe includes lullabies as some of the inspiration for his music. Sounds kinda weird, but when you sit down and really absorb the themes of "Rock-a-Bye Baby" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" you realize that whoever wrote those was-if I may be so direct-a little fucked in the head. Xray Eyeballs are a little fucked in the head. Which is why I like them. Not to mention there's something to be said about a band that was noticed for a T-shirt before their music. And they look [...]
If you haven't heard Severance Package , it's about time you did. Now. The trio from Chico, Cali just released the video for "All Down Hill" from their 7-inch of the same name. The clip-directed by the band's bassist/voxist Robin Indar-tosses a rapid succession of images that all seem to point toward the ills of mankind. It's not pretty, but it sure is fun to look at. Severance Package is the natural progression from the members' previous bands Black Fork and Lott Lyzzyrd-dig the punk rawk spaz and lo-fi slop! They're definitely the weird little growth on [...]
Alela Diane knows her way around a pop song. And on her new album-which introduces Diane's new band Wild Divine-the Portland singer-songwriter balances the dark folk found on 2009's excellent To Be Still with sunnier pop melodies and sleeker production courtesy of Scott Litt (R.E.M., Nirvana). Calling the album "a battle between darkness and light," Diane manages to keep these friendlier songs from becoming radio friendly with a little help from her band (which includes her longtime collaborating father Tom Menig and her husband Tom Bevitori). Giving the songs their weight are Diane's distinct falsetto [...]
Neil Diamond. Horribly out of place in The Last Waltz . Spoofed brilliantly later by Will Ferrell. Forever associated with two decades of Vegas-style glitz, adult-contemporary pap and unfortunate hair and blouses (the cover of 1972's Hot August Night sorta says it all). Somewhere along the way he was dubbed "the Jewish Elvis." You have to rewind a little further to get to the good stuff. The essential stuff. Released in concert with Diamond's recent induction into the farce that is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Neil Diamond: [...]
The Days of Lore
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