Sure. This drummer played drums in Storm & Stress and Micah Gaugh participated in a way that is completely unknown to me.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Micah Gaugh - The Blue Fairy Mermaid Princess
Sure. This drummer played drums in Storm & Stress and Micah Gaugh participated in a way that is completely unknown to me.
Pavement - Brighten the Corners
Pavement is one of the first bands I got into after a early high school "music discovery" phase and I've listened to them pretty consistently for the last ten years now. That's longer than I've been driving and longer than I've had most of my friends. I'm fairly certain I've spent more time listening to Pavement than I've ever spent with any woman, or even the sum total of all women. It's a weird relationship to have with a band. I think I originally liked them because they made noisy music and their lyrics were about absolute nonsense. I also liked them because it really seems like nobody in the band actually gives a shit. There's a great Beavis and Butthead episode where they just keep saying "Try harder! You're not trying!"
That got me through the first 8 years or so. Lately (the last two years I guess) I've mostly been listening to their later stuff because the song writing is so superb. The lyrics are still absurd and it's still weird but overall everything is more polished. For whatever reason though (and I feel like an idiot for this) I've just never really listened to their second-to-last album, Brighten the Corners. It just got lost in the bigger picture or something. Well in the last week I've been playing it nonstop and I'm ready to admit that I've been living the last 10 years in ignorance. Every Pavement album has a couple of really terrible songs and this is no different (I hate "Stereo" and "Date with Ikea"). Most everything else is very solid though and mixes the typical Pavement slyness with stuff that really gets stuck in your head. A smattering of songs below.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
VA - Let This Be Your Warmth
Here's a mix I did for Klankschap (means "soundscape" in Dutch), an experimental radio show based in Belgium. There's no particular theme to the mix; just a handful of some of my favorite tapes. It was recorded live on a cold day in December using two cassette players. Let this be your warmth.
1. Tim Coster - We (No Kings, 2012)
2. Kevin Costner Suicide Pact - And (Hooker Vision, 2012)
3. Hakobune - Whispering in their Presence (Sunshine Ltd., 2012)
4. Miracle Blues - Girls of Fullerton Avenue (Teen River, 2011)
5. Kyle Landstra - Full Spectrum Head Embedded Lifelike NIght Light (Sacred Phrases, 2012)
6. Albino Groupie - Untitled (Rotifer, 2012)
7. Kevin Greenspon - Waypoint (Bridgetown, 2011)
8. Tidal - Phoenix Follower (Chemical Tapes, 2012)
9. Lunar Miasma - Infinite (Moon Glyph, 2012)
10. Chris Rehm - ? (Self Released, 2012)
11. Sparkling Wide Pressure - Open C Formations (Paramita Recordings, 2011)
12. Torn Humorist - ? (Self Released, 2012)
11. González & Steenkiste - The Foot (Feathered Coyote Records, 2012)
12. Eternal Dreamer - IV (Calypso Hum, 2011)
13. Emaciator - Not Knowing, But Knowing (Monorail Trespassing, 2009)
14. No Mind Meditation - Feel What You Felt, See What You Saw (Paramita Recordings, 2011)
Monday, March 4, 2013
By Surpise - Criteria
Resolution 2013: listen to more emo. I'm doing my best. By Surprise's full length was one of my favorite albums of 2011 and I'm really happy that they're going to be making more music. This is a 3-song EP with some killer tracks that are already getting me stoked for summer. Today at work I came up with an excuse to leave for lunch so I could go drive around a bit and listen to this with the windows down. Great songwriting, sing-along choruses and great guitar parts that sound new and inventive without rehashing the same old indie/emo tropes that seem to affect a lot of these types of bands lately.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Brainiac
I've had this band on my computer for a long time but never really gave them a proper listen. I hate when I do that, it's like I'm so close to finding something cool and I can't blame anyone but myself for not recognizing music that I would love. Brainiac is awesome! In doing research for this post (ie listening to a ton of music in my bedroom) I found that they have a huge cult following of people who leave Youtube comments like "this band changed my life" or "listening to this song affects me emotionally." Their early stuff sounds like Nirvana and their later stuff sounds like The Faint (except better) and everywhere in between they sprinkle histrionic screaming, fucked up modulated vocals, icepick guitars and lots of spooky synths. I would call this "weird" in that they pack a lot of unexpected twist and turns in all their songs. Super fun band to listen to.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
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