I wasn't kidding when I said I was giving away some Mother Hips loot to coincide with the first The Days of Lore Presents event. TDoL is giving away two pairs of tickets to the show, which goes down Friday, April 16 at the Doug Fir , and will also feature Monarques and Jared Mees & the Grown Children . TDoL is also giving away two vinyl copies of The Mother Hips' excellent new LP Pacific Dust . To enter, just become a fan of [...]
I honestly haven't paid much attention to Band of Horses since their debut back in 2006. In fact, the last time they even entered my consciousness was when a nice lady at a Portland strip club thought I was a member of the band. That was weird. Well, Band of Horses is still truckin' and just released a new video for the song "Compliments." Not too shabby. And some fun, picturesque morphing going on. The band's new record Infinite Arms is out May 18.
A concept album loosely based on America's bloodiest war? By a band named after Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedy? Fucking count me in. New Jersey's Titus Andronicus brings us The Monitor ( XL Recordings ), a record that could have easily buried itself under all that angst and pretentiousness if it wasn't so much fun. It works because the album perfectly skirts the very fine line between artiness and drunkenness (both of which bookend godliness). We get sloppy 2 a.m. singalongs, we get not-so-subtle references [...]
Like rock 'n' roll? Debauchery? Rock 'n' roll and debauchery skipping hand in hand in a golden field of wheat? Uh ... me, too. The first The Days of Lore Presents show featuring San Francisco's The Mother Hips is coming to the Doug Fir Friday, April 16 (the key word here being "the"). Joining them are a couple of great Portland bands in Jared Mees & the Grown Children and Monarques . All three make sweet, sweet rock 'n' roll ... you and I will take care [...]
It must have been summer 2005 when I first saw Nothing People . The party had died down, and I decided to go for a walk. The Big Dipper was clear and bright that night; it looked as if you could reach out and touch it. The light came from my left, ripping open the sky-triangular with three tiny, flickering dots of light-and moved much faster than a typical 747. I followed its trajectory for what must have been two seconds before it disappeared into the cold, black night and I ... ... I actually [...]
The Besnard Lakes have added a little nightmare to their latest batch of dreamy psychedelic pop songs. The Montreal group's core members-husband-and-wife duo Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas -tell dark tales through sunny Beach Boys harmonies, a contrast that gives me a welcome case of the willies. The Besnard Lakes just released The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night- the followup to 2007's equally pretentiously titled The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse -a mouthful of an LP filled with seven-minute epics and rumored to have been recorded on the same mixing [...]
[Ed. Note: It's no secret to anyone that The Days of Lore loves The Strange Boys (I mean, unhealthy). The band's debut handily made the top spot on the TDoL 2009 year-end list. Sheesh, you think I'd have already written something on their latest record Be Brave . Well, I did for one of the publications that actually pays for my opinions on music. Since I hate repeating myself, here it is. Enjoy!] 0riginally published in the Chico News & Review, March 11, [...]
The Commercial Appeal just reported that Big Star's Alex Chilton died of an apparent heart attack today. He was 59. Chilton got his start in the '60s as a member of the Box Tops before going on to join Big Star in 1971. The band released a trio of gorgeous power pop records in 1972's #1 Record , 1974's Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers in 1978. Commercial flops, the records went on to influence [...]
I was in Mexico for a week and a half only to return to find that every blogger and their mother had written about Ryan Adams releasing a new metal record. It was fantastic news ... I thought I had actually missed something while I was gone. I spent a solid 10 days without a single note of American music entering my cochlea (save for a couple of Rock Band sessions that included an arthritic, 8-minute rendition of Metallica 's " ... And Justice For All"). No iPod. No nothing. The [...]
I come to you from the past. I wrote this almost a week ago so that it would reach you in the future ... as we meet here at this very moment in the present. ¿Confundido? As you read these words I am in Guanajuato, Mexico-the birthplace of Diego Rivera -perhaps inside the very house he grew up in ... that or I'm looking at dead people at the Museo de las Momias . And there's a very good chance I have a cold Negra Modelo in one hand [...]
I recently watched Davis Guggenheim's It Might Get Loud , the documentary that takes a gander at the electric guitar by way of the calloused fingers of David Evans , James Page and John Gillis . Yeah, I've never heard of 'em, either. And I really liked it (save for maybe the trio's flimsy rendition of The Band's "The Weight" at the end)-especially the backstories of Jimmy Page and The Edge (Page's early days as a young virtuoso skiffle player, and The Edge barely knowing what to do with [...]
I recently watched Davis Guggenheim's It Might Get Loud , the documentary that takes a gander at the electric guitar by way of the calloused fingers of David Evans , James Page and John Gillis . Yeah, I've never heard of 'em, either. And I really liked it (save for maybe the trio's flimsy rendition of The Band's "The Weight" at the end)-especially the backstories of Jimmy Page and The Edge (Page's early days as a young virtuoso skiffle player, and The Edge barely knowing what to do with [...]
The first time I threw on Quasi 's new record American Gong , I thought I was listening to a different band. Not that it doesn't sound like Quasi, there's just a certain-if I may borrow a quote from drummer Janet Weiss -" joie de vivre " to the new record. Quasi is an interesting band in that it's almost always felt like the side project to the members' numerous other projects-multi-instrumentalist /vocalist Sam Coomes ' Elliot Smith collaboration Heatmiser , Sleater-Kinney , and now the Jicks . [...]
What's this? Scooped by Pitchfork, Stereogum and Urban Outfitters?! I even know a couple of the members for crying out loud. La-La Land's The Delta Mirror has been making the rounds through the blogosphere-places that make artists' dreams of fame and fortune come true overnight ... but are way less bitchin' than The Days of Lore . I kid, of course (or do I?). Onward. The trio of Craig Gordon (vox, guitar), David Bolt (vox, gadgets) and Karrie K (vox, bass) uses the descriptor "electro [...]
I recently watched "We Are the World" redux , which premiered during the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The new version-which was actually in the works before the earthquake in Haiti-was led by co-writer Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones , and features a who's-who of today's hottest stars (at least that's what they tell us). Now, far be it from me to pooh-pooh a good cause, but the whole thing feels contrived ... I came away feeling more icky than inspired. Of course, using the old clip of Michael Jackson [...]
When I think of power pop, I immediately think of The Knack -"My Sharona" is arguably the example of what a power pop song should be. Knack guitarist/vocalist Doug Fieger died today at the age of 57 after years of battling cancer. It was reported today in The Detroit News . Fieger told the paper in January: "I've had 10 great lives. And I expect to have some more. I don't feel cheated in any way, shape or form." And well he shouldn't. The Knack performing [...]
"We're already three songs into the next LP," says Goodnight Loving guitarist/bassist Colin Swinney . "Beginning this Thursday we'll be going back in the studio to hopefully finish the rest." I like the sound of that. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin four-piece has been receiving steady play over the last few months here at TDoL HQ . The Goodnight Loving's ragged rock 'n' twang is the sound of a freight train chugging down a lonesome, dusty trail-fully embracing traditional country music, and tussling with '60s folk and garage. Of course, it only made sense [...]
The Thermals released a new song today in honor (or should I say, honour) of the winter Olympic games being held in Vancouver. "Canada" is available for download at iTunes, or you can cop yourself a free listen right here . The song is true Thermals-catchy, raucous, fun, and it's nice to finally hear drummer Westin Glass on a recording. Is it just me, or do the "Whoa whooooa whoas" throughout the song sound ready-made for a Pepsi commercial? Not that there's anything wrong with that.
It's funny, I used to lump Spoon in with bands like the Gin Blossoms ... I don't think anyone wants to be lumped in with the Gin Blossoms. My apologies, Mr. Daniel. I put Britt Daniel more in the Jeff Tweedy school of making music that is beautiful and sometimes a little weird and cranky. Take the first single off the band's latest Transference . "Written In Reverse" is sweet and spastic, and the video is in black and white and features a large mirror. And you [...]
The Drive-By Truckers are rock 'n' roll. Lead Trucker Patterson Hood dredges up tales of love, life on the road and life in the South-it's pure, gritty and, of course, it ain't always pretty. It's been a long road for the Athens sextet, perhaps evidenced by the fact that there are more former members than there are actual members. But Hood and co-founder Mike Cooley have kept their rock machine rolling, quite prolifically I might add, steadily releasing albums and always touring. The Truckers' 10th record- [...]
The Days of Lore
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