If the idea of New Wave bands in the the UK brought to mind serious-faced young men in skinny ties, chopping away at guitars, or staring intently at Korg synthesizers , in Los Angeles and its environs, it seems to have been associated with camera-friendly female vocalists often supported by jobbing session musicians looking to cash in on the latest craze. What is most surprising is how enduring some of that music has proved to be. Take for example Missing Persons. Like Berlin, or SSQ , they had the requisite fashion-forward [...]
Sylvester's Over and Over is by far one of my favorite classic dance tunes. Released in 1977 on Fantasy Records , the Ashford and Simpson penned anthem was a staple for D J Larry Levan and his faithful Paradise Garage acolytes. It too has found a permanent place in my nightly "party records" rotation. Of course with a singer of Sylvester's caliber, it is easy for the vocal performance to outshine the musical arrangement, but to me, the latter wins in [...]
Missing Persons bezeichnet eine US-amerikanische New-Wave-Band, die 1980 gegründet wurde. Zu den Gründungsmitgliedern gehörten der Gitarrist Warren Cuccurullo, der Schlagzeuger Terri Bozzio und seine Frau und Sängerin Dale Bozzio. Kurze Zeit später kamen der Bassist Patrick O'Hearn und der Keyboarder Chuck Wild als Verstärkung dazu. Die erste Schallplatte, die von Warren Cuccurullos Vater finanziert wurde, nahm die Band 1982 im UMRK-Studio von Frank Zappa auf. Part 1: The Best Of Part 2: The Best Of [...]
The Whore Moans ::: Photo by Josh We've spared no few words in praise of The Whore Moans , Thee Emergency , and the Hopscotch Boys on this blog, so it was a privilege to be sponsoring them all on one bill for the special occasion of the Blue Moon's 75th anniversary celebration. Suffice it to say that all three bands lived up to their billing, while a fourth band who was new to us, High Class Wreckage , ended up playing up to the strength of the rest, starting the night off [...]
If our absolutely kick-ass poster , the Seattlest endorsement , the Stranger Staff Pick , or the jaw-dropping line up of local rock hasn't convinced you to come to our Blue Moon Anniversary Celebration show tomorrow night already, well, you may be hopeless. (Or, alternatively, going to see The Thermals.) I am not exaggerating when I say tomorrow night's line up is my dream local line-up. This is the line-up I've been trying to put together for almost three years, and it's finally happening tomorrow: the Hopscotch Boys, Thee Emergency, and the Whore Moans all on my favorite stage. [...]
Birthday Suits ::: Photos by Josh Last night the Whore Moans returned from tour with a set at the Sunset Tavern, backed by What What Now and Minnesota two-piece Birthday Suits . Holy S they were loud. Who knew two dudes could make that much noise? After resting up, the Whore Moans will next be playing a Blue Moon Tavern 75th Anniversary Show on Saturday April 11 a show Sound on the Sound is sponsoring. Also on that bill will be one-off appearance by the recently dormant Hopscotch Boys . [...]
After I watched the commencement of spring training and witnessed the mid-point of my "spring" semester, springtime weather appeared imminent. D.C. did not really reinforce that sentiment by giving us a few inches of snow on the first day of March, but I am headed back up to New Jersey on Friday for what will be a week with minimal work and decent weather (hopefully). Spring break is nearly here and I plan to use it to my full advantage. I will be headed back up to NYC for good in the fall, transferring to a school in a city [...]
Hey everyone, Drake 's back this week (er... last week) with some kind words about the new Dan Auerbach record (which I liked too, but maybe not as much as him), and some lukewarm affection for the new Lily Allen release, which is a hit with the kids, except for the naughty bits. -ed. Drake's Take: New Releases 02.10.09 Been awfully busy, missing the last couple weeks worth of new releases - which really can be boiled down to releases from J Tillman , [...]
I know almost nothing about Chuck Yay-Grr. All I know is that a long time ago Dave from The Hopscotch Boys and, uh, some other people, played in a band together. For reasons I'm too lazy, and too sick to even think about researching right now, they broke up. Now, again for reasons I can't even begin to think about, they're getting together tonight at Ye Olde Sunset Tavern for a one-night reunion show. Don't take my ignorance and slothful laziness as a sign that this show isn't going to kick ass. Every photo/image/blood-soaked cell phone video I've [...]
Been awfully busy, missing the last couple weeks worth of new releases -- which really can be boiled down to releases from J Tillman , Doug Randle and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart . This week we've got the latest releases from Lily Allen , Dan Auerbach (Black Keys,) Charles Spearin , Sam Bisbee , Golem and Miranda Lee Richards . Playlist: New Releases 02.10.09 [...]
I've long flirted with the dream of retiring after playing Ibiza . It doesn't need to be any fancy sort of massive foam-filled lazer-lit extravaganza; any ol' dingy bar, or even a parking lot, would be fine. Just get me there, and its a wrap! That said, I, by way of nothing to do with me , have taken one giant step towards reaching my dream. Apparently Santogold is performing at WMC 's centerpiece event, Ultra Music Festival . [...]
It's been quite some time since the HT Crew got together for an old fashioned cookout. With the year rapidly ending, we figured we'd round up the gang, throw some logs on the fire, crack open a few Anchor Christmas Ales and do some grilling for another rousing rendition of At The Barbecue . About six months back we offered up our favorite albums of the first half of the year , this time around we thought we'd check back in and find out [...]
The Trucks Finale ::: photo by Josh The holidays are over, we're back to our day jobs, and it's still snowing...all things that make us sad. But nothing compares to the woe we feel about a number of our favorite local bands calling it quits during 2008. We thought 2007 was brutal for our favorite bands (and it was!) but 2008 kept the brutality going-taking The Trucks , Hopscotch Boys , Iceage Cobra , Das Llamas , and Ms. Led to the big gig in the sky. We [...]
Sneezy and Blowdog of the Hopscotch Boys ::: photo by Abbey Tonight these two will be hosting their 5th Annual Blue Moon Christmas Pageant, snow be damned and we guarantee you it's an event worth donning snow-shoes to get to.
It's that time of year again — the turkey leftovers are gone and we're hearing Christmas music in every store in town, so it must be time for best-albums-of-year lists. After screaming matches, insults and a fist fight or two, the dust has settled and the Stranger Dance staff stands before you united with our humble list of the Top 15 Albums of 2008 . We've also listed our personal top ten lists below. As always, please let us know how foolish we were (both collectively and individually) for leaving your favorite band's [...]
Hopscotch Boys :: Groundhog Day @ The Blue Moon :: photo by Abbey Every once in a great while, like every 5,000 snaps, you catch exactly the moment you hoped to catch. This photo, of Blowdog from the Hopscotch Boys getting hit in the face with a can of Rainier during one of the craziest shows I've ever witnessed survived, is doubtlessly one of those photos. In another year sadly filled with break-ups of a number of phenomenal bands, no loss was as great as the Hopscotch Boys. Despite going to every [...]
The Gentry Sex by the Unit (In Music We Trust) Sex sells. And Hillsboro's the Gentry takes that adage literally on its second album, Sex by the Unit. Driven by a New Waver's sensibility for electronic hooks and spiked with ragged guitar licks covered in grime and Pop Rocks, the quartet's latest packs a wallop into its seven-song, 28-minute disc. Sex is an overriding theme, as evidenced by the disc's sparse, shiny condom-wrapper packaging. Sex as commodity and impulse is addressed with kinky sadism on "Awkwardness!," as singer Gino [...]
Hey guys, sorry this is coming a few days late and is one of my only recent post. Yours truly picked up an honest to god day job, and thus my contributions to Sound on the Sound have been suffering/non-existent. I promise you, that this will change in November, now that I've gotten a bit of handle on the day-job and that best of/end of the year posts are right around the corner. Without further ado, I present to you the songs and albums that have kept me sane in this largely music-less month. * A [...]
With some surprisingly electric characters... Randy of Junkface and The Metal Shakespeare Company from Portland Sonic Smith/Matt of Thee Emergency and Lavender Lunchbox JJ (or Douchebag) of the Blue Moon and the Hopscotch Boys Since it's a Tuesday and you don't want to miss a single strum of the guitar-get there early, say 9ish. We recommend, even though it's a Tuesday to walk in and begin [...]
Massive Attack – Heligoland (Review)
Cover That Don't Suck
Massive Attack's Heligoland Goes Online
Yeasayer O.N.E.
