Dec 162008
In rapid-fire style, Rock Town Hall wants to know what’s NOW PLAYING (or was most recently playing) as you read this post! How is it? Is there a story to tell? Would you recommend this to anyone? There’s not a minute to waste!
In rapid-fire style, Rock Town Hall wants to know what’s NOW PLAYING (or was most recently playing) as you read this post! How is it? Is there a story to tell? Would you recommend this to anyone? There’s not a minute to waste!
Ricardo Villalobos – Enfants (Chants), a recent ambient thing tht has a repeating gospel piano riff and some kids chanting in French. It sounds amazing at the minute but could be the type of piece that will burn out quick for me.
Speaking of Canadian bands, I’m listening to the newish album by The Dears, Missiles. I’m still debating submitting a top-ten list to the former home for the bulk of my rock hackery, and am sifting through ’08 albums to see if I can come up with a list I can live with. ’08 was one of the most dire years for music in recent memory (whereas ’07 was one of my favorites).
This Dears album, by the way, is almost categorically designed to annoy the majority of RTH-ers; an epic tracing of a raindrop down a window pane.
P.F. Sloan ANTHOLOGY.
I’m not really a fan. I find him annoying, both as a lyricist (tries too hard) and a singer (he sounds like a less poppy Chris Von Sneidern. I know that I have never been able to satisfactorily explain this, but I just can’t stand CVS’s voice and singing style, or that of any other power pop singer who has the same style–the Wondermints come to mind.) Anyway, this will probably be the last time I listen–it’s up for sale right now.
I really enjoyed that vid “Ticking Clock 2” but must admit to being a bit lost not having seen “Ticking Clock 1”.
This is great idea for a thread.
Most recently played (and acquired) was New Order’s 2001 “Get Ready”. I was reading about Zwan after your post in an effort to find out who the beautiful bass playing creature was, Paz Lenchantin, when I stumbled on this tidbit about Billy Corgan contributing to this 2001 New Order album.
I wasn’t really interested in getting it but did want to read more. And in reading the AllMusic review, the gist being
I went out and nabbed it and am really enjoying it. It isn’t like Movement which is much more a Joy Division album but more like Power, Corruption & Lies (the last one I liked) but with lots more layers and maturity. They’ve obviously learned quite a bit along the way.
Corgan only contributes vocals on one track and I’ll echo the AllMusic review:
Hey Sammy,
Get Ready is a great album! Very high-tech, yet quite rocking as well. Some fine Bernard Sumner riffs in there. I also love Power, Corruption and Lies. The last New Order album, Waiting for the Sirens Call was terrible.
A two-fer of David Bromberg’s first two albums. Sort of a cousin two or three times removed to ’70s singer-songwriters. Nothing confessional.
I had bought the first album back when it came out in 1971 and have always liked it a lot. I think I bought it because there was some tenuous Dylan connection, maybe as slight as a thank you on the jacket. At that point Dylan was doing nothing and in the first years of my Bobcat-dom, that was enough.
It’s a great folk/blues album. It contains my first introduction to Blind Willie McTell via what is still my favorite version of Dehlia, a fun cowrite with George Harrison called The Holdup, and a poignant tale of a 16 year old’s visit to a brothel, Sammy’s Song, among other pleasures.
For reasons unknown to me I never bought another Bromberg album, although a few years ago a comp of his Columbia material came out that I bought because it included a few tracks from this first album.
Halfway thru this first disc it holds up as strong as I remember it from whenever I last listened to it (decades ago?). I’ve yet to make it to the second album on this disc but I hope it returns even half the pleasure.
At home, I’ve got the latest Jenny Lewis album, Acid Tongue. Wow. I’m late to the party on this chick, but I am blown away. I spent a little time last on the Youtube watching clips. Color me amazed. Glad I picked this one up. And I plan on getting more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0CTfwphpes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Thz2SOKkGI
In the car, I’ve been enjoying Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour. I’ve downloaded each and every episode from the first two seasons. It’s cool stuff.
TB
David Bromberg played on Dylan’s New Morning album. Good guitar player, but one of the most annoyingly whiny singers I’ve ever heard.
The last thing I listened to was a Grand Kalle album I just got off of emusic — Vol. 1, Mokili Zala Ata Juste. No story really. I’m just trying to widen my knowledge of Congolese music, and Kalle was from the generation before Franco and Rochereau, both of them having started in his band.
Oats, I thought 08 was a good year, but not a great one. There were a lot of good things, but I’m still waiting for something as good as Sleater/Kinney’s The Woods. For me, that one has album of the decade written all over it, and nothing else is even close. I’d say the same about the 70’s and Exile on Main St. I suppose, too.
Yesterday I was listening to The Replacements – Pleased to Meet Me. I think today I’m going to take some Dad Rock with me and listen to old, thick blues rawk.
Well, I could be a wiseinheimer & say that I’m currently listening to John Cage’s 6’34.
The last thing I listened to was Marianne Faithfull At The BBC, which my friend Bob gave me as a Chrimble present. It covers her initial period (65′-66′) & kicks off w/a version of “Can You Hear My Heartbeat”. Pleasant stuff & I must say the pictures in the booklet are rather fetching.
On an utterly unrelated subject, Mr. Mod, do you remember Jeff Juden who pitched for your beloved World Champion Philles back in the mid-90s? He’s actually from the Witch City. I was looking up his stats in Baseball Reference.com & I was reminded of that fact.
Well, uh, now playing here at the studio is a cassette of a holocaust survivor describing her years in the camps, part of a huge transcription project we’re involved in. Makes you count your blessings in this holiday season, that’s for sure.
Do I get the “thanks for stomping on my buzz” prize?
Oats: Thanks for the heads up on the latest New Order. I’m loving Get Ready so much that I was poised to go for it.
Too often by the time bands get this mature in their playing and composition the tunes just aren’t there. But this stuff is block-rockin’!
After reading about archive.org, I decided to check it out, and I’m glad I did.
Now listening to: Ryan Adams, Live at Palais Theatre 2007. This is where he does the full-on country Dead trip, and there’s lots of really cool layered passages to groove on. Nice accompaniment to my end of semester paper grading.
Right now: My first very listen to a 60’s band call The Folklords. Sounding pretty darn cool to me. Anyone know of them?
Last couple of days I’ve been listening to the Have a Nice Decade box set (specifically Brandy, Dancing in the Moonlight, Chevy Van, Me and You and a Dog Named Boo) and Steely Dan (Kid Charlemagne, Kings, My Old School and Home at Last).
I highly recommend the early 70’s am hits. You’ve heard them all a 1,000 times before but I encourage you to take another listen and appreciate the production/engineering of some of that stuff. I really think record production kind of hit a peak in the early 70’s. People had figured out how to get the most out of the tools that were available but technology had yet to begin to run amuck.
A friend on Facebook mentioned he was going to see the Obits tonight at the Khyber. I found two tracks at Amazon. I can see how maybe they’d bring the rock live, but I’ve been out so much at shows lately (Neil Young/Wilco, the Photon band) that I’m gonna stay in and watch the sleet hit the windows.
cdm, you just said a mouthful, re: early 70s studio wizardry. Couldn’t agree more. True, folks are using digital technology to create interesting new squeaks and farts, but for pure quality of recorded sound, it just didn’t get any better than that.
I forgot to add that I consider Let’s Get It On (1973) to be the gold standard for arrangement/production/etc. There’s so much going on in that song (guitars, piano, organ, an unbelievable drum and bass groove, horns on one side of the mix, strings on the other side) but you can hear each instrument individually. Remarkable.
Interesting. My gold standard is “Backstabbers” by the O’Jays, recorded (of course) in the greatest-sounding studio of all time, Sigma Sound in Philly.
AC/DC – Black Ice (the concert is tonight), i thought it was time to give this a full listen…It’s 80% kick-ass and 20% tired and poorly writen (lyrically)I hope they play 3-4 of the strong ones and then hit the “hits” tonight
Dan Baird & Homemade Sin (self titled) – Best 3 chord record of the year (sorry Angus)and the addition of Jason & the Scorchers Guitarist Warner Hodges makes it even better. Faces + NRBQ + Dave Edmunds
They unfortunately played about 6 from the new album when I saw them in Philly.
I would really be happy with a 45 minute show from them. But still, they’re AC/DC, you know exactly what you’re getting. Great Spinal Tap-esque beginning to the show.
Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks – Los Campesinos.
Prolly my fave indie tweexcore pop-rock anthem of the year.
(intentionally pretensious). I think You! Me! Dancing! was posted around these parts last year, so if any of you liked that, this song is definitly worth listening too.
So what do you think of it, Oats? I didn’t like it that much at first and I’m still having trouble really getting into it, but it’s really grown on me. By contrast, their previous 2 albums were much more immediate for me. The new one also sounds a lot like the latest Radiohead album and (oddly) Roxy Music in spots.
I like it, but similar to the Dears album, I haven’t really been able to get into it. I should play it more. I absolutely loved her 1st solo album Rabbit Fur Coat and Rilo Kiley’s 2004 album More Adventurous. If you think Acid Tongue is good, wait until you hear those.
I’ll be there, though more for The Night Marchers than for Obits. I heard a few Obits songs on MySpace and though generally anything Rick Froberg touches is pleasurable to these ears (see: Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes), I wasn’t all that impressed. Hopefully they’ll be able to bring the rock live tonight, though. I’m also curious about the new band from the woman who was in the Red Aunts & Beehive and the Barracudas (sorry I forgot the name she goes by now). How was the Neil Young/Wilco show?
As for my np, it’s Billy Bragg’s new one Mr. Love and Justice. I love it and think it’s his best in 17 if not 20 years. Make sure to get the 2-disc version with the bonus disc being solo versions of each of the album’s songs. As is often the case with Bragg, many are better than the album versions!
I was compiling what should be final mixes from the band I’m in with Andyr, Chickenfrank, and Sethro. So I had to hear that crap for an hour:)
Diskojoe, I definitely remember Jeff Juden, one of the last of the Big, Hard-Throwing Projects that former Phils GM Lee Thomas brought to town! Schilling panned out and just enough of those big boys did the job in ’93. By the end of the Lee Thomas era I wanted nothing more of big, hard-throwing projects. Gimme Oswalt! I’m sure Andyr was also psyched about that reference. Where else did he play, Montreal and San Francisco? I’m afraid I remember that, yet I can’t remember all kinds of more useful information.
Right now on the didjital juke: Blind Faith ‘Had to Cry Today’.
In eighth grade I got invited to a party WITH GIRLS and I offered to bring my ‘record collection’. After I made the first cut getting rid of all the embarrasing stuff like ‘Snoopy vs the Red Baron’ and Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler I was left with three albums: ‘Alices Restaurant’, ‘Led Zepplin’ and ‘Blind Faith’.
Thank god for the Blind Faith…at least I had something to dance to!
I worked from home this afternoon and had these three songs on repeat for about an hour:
“Fortress” by Pinback
“Amy” by Ryan Adams
“Soundtrack to Mary” by Soul Coughing
(I find there are certain songs that I can play on repeat and get lots of work done – there is a developing playlist in iTunes called “Over & Over Again”…)
now playing: unfinished photon band recordings for the next album.
blue velvet by bobby vinton, is on the computer, gentlemen take polaroids by japan is on the turntable, and a bootleg of the last dead milkmen show is on CD in the car.
they did a bauhaus cover!!!
Those Gin Blossoms songs I’m being asked to reconsider.
Pinback is one of those bands I keep meaning to look into further and never do. I like what I’ve heard, “Fortress” especially.
Re: Photon Band, that was a tremendous show on Saturday.
What I’m listening to right now: audio of interviews with people bilked in that $50B ponzi scheme. Crazy.
thanks alex. we had fun…LOTS of fun…AND biscuits.
now playing (in me head): the phrase “ponzi scheme.”
oh, and for what it’s worth: i like pinback.