I first heard Franklin Bruno when I picked up an album from his band Nothing Painted Blue (ØPB). I'm not sure what led me to the purchase; perhaps a good review in a fanzine or simply the visual appeal of the album cover, but it was a fortuitous purchase. A Baby, A Blanket, a Packet of Seeds started what has been a 20-year streak of dependably outstanding releases. My look back was precipitated by Bruno's own. He just released a collection of his solo odds and ends from 1992-98, dubbed [...]
Comienzan las semanas temáticas en Una Piel de Astracán. Desde hoy y hasta el viernes haremos un repaso a ese movimiento femenino en auge en la genial década de los 90, que consistía, entre otras muchas ideologías feministas, en situar a la mujer como artista dentro de la escena musical porque hasta ese momento, lo hacían más como groupies que como músicos. Empecemos este repaso con Slant 6. No hace falta indagar muy profundo para notar que varios de los sonidos presentados por Dischord se transformaron, con el tiempo, en influencias inevitable dentro [...]
Τον Μαίο του 2003 ξαναείδαμε στα ράφια των δισκοπωλείων άλμπουμ με το όνομα των αγαπημένων Blur στο εξώφυλλο. Το Think Tank έμελλε να είναι το τελευταίο άλμπουμ τους συνοδευόμενο απο αντικρουόμενες κριτικές. Από άλλους χαρακτηρίστηκε αριστούργημα που ανταπεξείλθε στην ιδιαιτερότητα των μεταβολων στο σχήμα της μπάντας ενώ άλλοι προσποιήθηκαν οτι ήταν ένας σόλο δίσκος του Albarn ο οποίος έτσι κι αλλιώς δεν ήταν καλός. Πράγματι, μερικοί ζηλωτές της εκκλησίας του Αγίου Coxon δεν το αποδέχονται ως άλμπουμ των Blur μιας και ο Graham είχε ήδη εγκαταλείψει την μπάντα. Ως αποχαιρετηστήρι ο γράμμα άφησε στο [...]
The late singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt had quite an interesting outlook on lyrics and life. This point is epitomized by a 2005 New York Daily News quote: " Other people write about the bling and the booty. I write about the pus and the gnats. To me, that's beautiful." And while living partially paralyzed since the age of 18, until his death last Christmas , Chesnutt managed to live his dreams and make significant contributions to both the music industry and to the lives of his many collaborators. Vic [...]
Slightly out of the usual Beat scope, but looks like interesting viewing and reminds me of being young... "BAD BRAINS has announced that it is in the final stages of production for its acclaimed documentary. No release date has been set yet. The yet-untitled film was directed by Mandy Stein and Ben Logan and traces the history of the band from their formation in Washington, D.C. in 1979 to the present day. In addition to tons of footage from [...]
Filed under: News , R.I.P. During his life and throughout his influential career, Vic Chesnutt always had a number of musician friends in high places -- he was covered by everyone from Madonna to Smashing Pumpkins and he collaborated in the studio with an intimidating list of esteemed artists that's too long to get into here. Most recently, his band -- in the studio and on the road -- included members of Fugazi , Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Silver Mt. Zion [...]
When given the assignment of writing about an album I should have heard in my quarter-century of music listening, I realized there are far too many albums that fit that category. I enlisted the help of friends on Facebook and in real life to tell me their thoughts on essential albums a music appreciator should have heard start to finish. My embarrassment grew more and more with each suggestion. How could there be so many?? And so many classics?! The Beatles, The Clash, Fugazi, The Rolling Stones. Yes, I had heard of these bands and have more than [...]
I'm not going to tell you that the records I enjoyed most are the best of 2009. But I will suggest that you might like a few things if your tastes and mine are simpatico. The band Canadian Invasion made a great record called Three Cheers for the Invisible Hand. They didn't get a lot of blog love, except when they covered a Vampire Weekend song. (I preferred their Fugazi cover.) The only place I
Nos últimos dias tenho-me dedicado com bastante afinco à recordação de alguns oldies goldies. De Helmet a Sunny Day Real Estate, passando por Fugazi e Faith No More, acabei por terminar este ciclo retrospectivo em 2007, com estes Menomena e o seu "Friend and Foe" , quanto a mim, a melhor coisinha que foi lançada nesse ano. Chegada aqui, lembrei-me de há uns tempos ter lido qualquer coisa relativamente a um novo álbum da banda para 2010. Após alguma pesquisa, lá encontrei a notícia/entrevista da Pitchfork que dava conta da boa-nova. [...]
Tim Harrington came onstage in purple tights. He had clothespins fastened tightly to his beard like a Walmart witchdoctor and sported a tan tunic. This latter didn't last long though, as Tim prefers to put his corpulent belly front and center. Tim didn't say a word, and his band was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he silently danced around the stage for four or five minutes, leaping and twirling and stopping short and glaring at the audience. The macabre ballet soon entered the aisles, Tim waltzing up and down with entranced gazes trailing in [...]
photo from Consumer Reports I can't remember a previous January where there has been this much new music coming out, but I'm old and my synapses don't connect they way the use to. I do remember maybe a few releases trickling out at the end of January and then not much happening until March or April. Well, it's a new decade and we've hit the ground running, out with the old, etc. The last few weeks have been total pop overload, and to give you an idea of the crazy amounts of good [...]
Down To Earth "Prisms" preview French prog/rock trio Down To Earth have released their second full length album " Prisms ". Preview on Deep Elm . "Even though they sound different, each song on Prisms is connected. Our overall concept was for each song to represent a different part, a different soul, a different color of the human experience" says lead vocalist Nicolas 'Niko' Aigrot. "Prisms is about how we view life through different facets of our personality [...]
Ve ne avevamo già parlato all'interno della nostra rubrica I Tesori Nascosti , ma il nome Sunny Day Real Estate probabilmente continua a non dire nulla alla maggioranza della gente. Eppure i Sunny Day Real Estate sono stati in qualche modo fondamentali per l'evoluzione musicale: venivano considerati "emo" prima (precedentemente c'erano i Fugazi e i Rites of Spring, ma era una scena diversa) che il termine venisse snaturato e ridicolizzato da una serie di band agghiaccianti nella loro pochezza musicale. Notizia di oggi (via NME ) che i Sunny [...]
At first glance, a band named Bully in the Hallway from the Chicago area sounds menacing, cutthroat, maybe even mob related. Well don't judge an album by its cover. The only thing that will throw you on the ground is their jolting sound, backed by five regular guys in pursuit of bringing rock back to the Windy City. Their story's fairly simple. Billy Kenefick and John Matthew Simon used to go around bars pretending to be in a band, and one day they decided to act on it. Along with some old [...]
"Spark1duh?" aka "Dusty Wallets"......... "The Iggy Pop of Hip-Hop". Live shows are full of mic swinging, beer chugging, shirt ripping good times. A very eclectic mix of styles transformed into hip-hop, with a punk rock identity crisis. Picture Fugazi, meets the Wu-Tang Clan, or Black Flag, meets the Beastie Boys. No chains & guns rap here. SPARK1Duh - EVERYTHINGS FINE.mp3 EVERYTHINGS FINE.mp3 (5 MB) [...]
If you're keeping tabs on Fugazi members, this might interest you; an article in Tokion's January issue pointed out that video artist Brent Green of Nervous Films , occasionally performs live and when he does, Fugazi's drummer, Brendan Canty heads up the percussion section. As a director, Brent Green uses stop-motion animation, hand-drawn titles and his own narration to create dark, art-house films that are beautiful and foreboding at the same time. Brendan Canty is an accomplished DC musician known for his contributions to DC's emo/hardcore music scene as a singer for Rites of Spring and drummer [...]
by john ziegler Much digital space has been filled trying to describe Ava Luna's sound. Critics and commentators have called it electro-doo-whop, electro-pop soul, post-punk dance-a-tronic pop-a-whop, and other combinations of the words electro, pop, soul, and doo and whop. When the band lists its own influences (James Brown, Stax, Fugazi) it's easy to see where they are coming from, from which precipice they are shouting. Yet no band in recent memory has so enjoyably and ponderously pooled their [...]
a. some Frantic Mantic songs, pay as you wish HERE > Members of Division of Laura Lee and Frodus. b. the Ultimate cup of Espresso.. Espresso, Intelligentsia from Department of the 4th Dimension on Vimeo . c. the new XX video at FADER HERE > d. Doze Green in action.. OFF THE WALL :: Doze Green - Studio Visit Teaser from friendswelove.com on Vimeo . [...]
Via: Coachella Call to Artists -Recycling bin Artwork Call to Artists. Get TRASHed This Year At Coachella. Inspire thousands to recycle and win Coachella tixs. 20 artists will be selected to turn a 96 gallon recycling bin into a work of art. Over the last 7 years, everyone from Hunter S Thompson to Fugazi has taken their turn recreating [...]
For any band coming out of DC that makes harder, punk inspired music, it's a basic fact that they will garner comparisons to Fugazi. With the immense impact the band had (along with the Dischord imprint) on defining a sound for the District, it's pretty inevitable. But while it might be an apt reference point for the music of Imperial China, this band is as much about innovating as they are about honoring the familiar. They channel a post-punk sound through elements of math rock and experimental electronics, all the while still managing to maintain a sound that [...]
This Week's Other Releases
Cover That Don't Suck
Reuse Recycle Remix - February 8
