Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Low - Drums and Guns


Judging from what little I've heard off the new Low album, Drums and Guns, we're in for a serious treat. Once again, they've teamed up with producer-extraordinaire, Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney, Sparklehorse), as they did with their previous effort, The Great Destroyer, to create what Low fans expect out of this Duluth, MN trio: minimalist indie-rock tunes that quietly scream less is way more.

I'd imagine there's a sect of Low fans out there who weren't thrilled with the more sonic approach Low took with The Great Destroyer. After all, Low is known their inconspicuous melodies that sneak up on you and attack when you least expect it. Destroyer showed a new Low: a more full, plush and, dare I say, accessible sound for Low-heads to digest.

Drums and Guns, on the other other hand, seems to dip into some of the more familiar Low arrangements; while still broadening their horizons and redefining their sound. Alan Sparhawk (guitar/vox) showcases shocked and damning lyrics (wait 'til you hear the opener, "Pretty People"), yet his ferocity is balanced by laid back, simple break-beats and complimenting angular guitars.

  • Low - breaker (via sub pop)

  • Low - hatchet (via noisefortoaster)


  • Drums and Guns comes out on 3/20/07 via sub pop records.

    Monday, February 26, 2007

    Arcade Fire on SNL



    Arcade Fire never let ya down when it comes to their live performance. Above is the second song they played the other night on SNL, "Keep the Car Running." Up until I heard this song for the first time last week, I wasn't officially on board with all the hype surrounding their new album, Neon Bible. Not that I wasn't looking forward to it, I just thought that there was no way they could top 2004's Funeral.

    You can download the live mp3 here. Pretty good stuff if you ask me. It's not nearly as over the top as some of their arrangements, but I think its subtleness is really what draws you in.

    More notably, perhaps, was their first performance of the night. The band delivered a decent rendition of "Intervention" [also off Neon Bible]. Apparently breaking strings really upsets Mr. Winn Butler [see below]. You can download that live mp3 here.



    Both mp3's were courtesy of knkmusic [update: hyperlinks to the mp3's were taken down per knkmusic's request].

    Wednesday, February 21, 2007

    Who Fucking Cares?



    I know I'm late at chiming in on this, but it's only because I've truly had enough. Smith was a friggin' clown and anyone with half a brain could've predicted that she'd completely self destruct; it was just a matter of time. Who gives a shit what her mother has to say in the courtroom? Who gives a shit what any of these complete shitbag attorneys have to say about where they should bury her fucking body? I heard one say, "while we're fighting over this, her body is decomposing." Shit, her body started decomposing years ago!

    Let's not lose perspective here. She used to be a "hot blonde" who initiated a shit-storm on some wealthy Texas family when she lured their senile father away by blinding the poor geezer [far from poor, in the literal sense] with her fake cans. She was a stripper and then posed in Playboy. What the fuck has she done since then that deserves any hype? Was she successful in any facet of her life after Playboy? She was never a legit model once she piled on all the lbs. She had some T.V. show which allowed America sneak a peak at just how fucked up she was. We could throw some cameras in a looney bin and watch them fling shit at each other, but I'd hardly consider the patients "successful T.V. stars."

    I should just stop here cos now I'm all worked up. This bitch was crazy and it's unfortunate that she let herself spin out of control the way she did. I'm not convinced, however, that she ever was "in control." Just another wack-job that played the media like a fiddle. They, in turn, played her and look where she ended up...

    New Music Roundup



    Lots of great stuff being released these days. It's truly a task to keep up with all of it. Luckily for you, I'm a nerd and I've put together a little mixer for you to wrap your ears around.

    Arcade Fire - keep the car running [via 6 eyes] - from Neon Bible-3/6/07
    Feist - my man, my moon from The Reminder-5/1/07
    the Blow - pile of gold from Paper Television-out now
    Low - breaker from Drums & Guns-3/20/07
    Calla - bronson from Strength in Numbers - 2/20/07
    Bright Eyes - four winds from Four Winds EP-3/6/07
    Neko Case - buckets of rain (b.dylan) from Live at ACL-out now

    Tuesday, February 20, 2007

    We came, we saw, we kicked some...


    I just got back from the StL and I'm trying to thaw out after a rippin' sweet extended weekend. Some highlights included:

  • Trivia night at Lemmons. The goddamn presidents category really screwed us over.

  • Friday. Well, Friday was a blur but I do know that I've been kicked out of nicer places than O'Connell's Pub.

  • A sweet hang sesh' on Saturday which included George Michael tattoos and Guitar Hero 2 [well documented by KBO over here]

  • A b-day bash with some solid dudes for Nighthawk's 26th. We caught a Blues game (and a wicked buzz), which was bitch.


  • There were plenty of other highlights, these are just a few. Will back later with some more post'age. Lots of new tunes have been sent to me; many of which you'll be able to find here. Check back later. Cheers.

    Friday, February 16, 2007

    Review: WORLD/INFERNO FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY

    Devout Dudes Mag’ers out there may remember reading Tom Gabel of Against Me! gush about how much he’d love to tour with this band back in Issue# 8. Well, as luck would have it, the fine folks at Chuunksah Records hooked us up with a copy of this supremely bitch “circus-related, Halloween-tent-revival’s” latest joint. In Red-Eyed Soul, W.I.F.S. deliver maniacally orchestrated punk tunes about women, wine, and freedom. Imagine the Pogues drunk on Red Bull and Vodka, covering Oingo Boingo songs. Very boss!

    Check out their tunes here. Buy their album here.

    Tuesday, February 13, 2007

    V-DAY



    I'm off to St. Louis for a few days. Apparently, it's snowy as all get-out up there. Should be good times regardless. Hey St. Louis peeps, anyone down for some sledding and brandy? Get at me...

    Here's a quick Valentine's Day nod for all of you love birds and losers. I feel obligated to go on an anti-Valentine's rant, but I think I'd be wasting my breath. Most people agree that it's a hallmark-holliday, however, we still cave and make some sort of an occasion out of it regardless. So that's just what I'm doing...

    the Mountain Goats - love love love
    M. Ward - let my love open the door [Pete Townshend cover]
    Jets to Brazil - cat heaven
    Outkast - happy valentine's day
    LL Cool J - i need love
    Dan Potthast - my favorite song
    Billy Bragg - valentine's day is over

    Monday, February 12, 2007

    Baseball Banter...Arcade Fire...


    Only 2 more days before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Can't friggin' wait. Cards play their first exhibition 2 weeks from today against Florida Atlantic University. We're totally gonna kick their ass.

    Rick Hummel wrote an interesting piece regarding what to expect out of the 2007 season. It can be found here. Aside from his predictions that either the Dodgers or the Mets will win the World Series, he proclaims that this year will be the THE year for the National League All-Star team [they've lost the last 10]. That totally makes sense to me. You know T-La is going to treat this game just as he would treat a Cards playoff game. Plus, as Hummel points out, the game's in San Francisco, where Larussa's family lives, so he'll want to make sure he looks good in front of family and friends.

    On account of the season being right around the corner, I thought I'd share this funny video featuring 3 Cardinals: Eck, Spez, and, the newest addition to the infield, Kennedy.


    Also, on a compltely unrelated note, big ups to y.a.n.p. for posting Arcade Fire's cover of "guns of brixton" [below].

  • Arcade Fire - guns of brixton [by the Clash, duh]
  • Wednesday, February 07, 2007

    Anticipating SXSW...


    The sxsw music festival is right around the corner and I'm starting to get excited. I doubt I'll get to go for the next few years on account of moving back to the StL, so I'm going to make the best of this one. Don't get me wrong, I ain't gonna drop $3-hundo on a badge; I'll be hitting all the free day parties, as usual.

    As usual, the list of bands is truly impressive [500 and counting]. Posted below are some of the acts I'm particularly amped to see.

  • Against Me! - problems

  • Apostle of Hustle - rafaga! [recommended!]

  • Bishop Allen - click click click

  • Black Lips - i've got a knife

  • the Good, the Bad & the Queen - history song [via a.d.]

  • Voxtrot - mothers, sisters, daughters & wives


  • Stay tuned for more sxsw updates and reviews from the festival...

    UPDATE: An official preliminary list of bands has been posted.

    Ultramagnetic MC's


    I bought this LP years back almost solely based on the album cover. Of course, it's Kool Keith's impeccable flow and Ced-Gee's club-wrecking beats that really make this record a must-have.

    Ultramagnetic basically took what Run-D.M.C. did in the beginning of the '80's and upped the ante. While the latter's beats were fresh and innovative at the time, Ced-Gee built off that and threw in experimental funk samples, which eventually sparked D.J.'s across the land to take notice and start using samples as well.

    Posted below are two bangin' Ultramagnetic tracks. The first is off their 1988 debut, Critical Beatdown, and the other is from their latest release, The Best Kept Secret.

    RECOGNIZE!

  • Ultramagnetic MC's - ain't it good to you [buy]

  • Ultramagnetic MC's - mechanism nice (born twice) [buy]
  • Tuesday, February 06, 2007

    DUDE OUT!


    Dudes Magazine will be throwing a super-wicked release party in honor of issue #9. For the uninformed, the party is this Friday, February 9, at Lemmons [5800 Gravois, StL, MO] and will feature the rock'n'roll stylings of Kings of Pop, the Pubes, the Reebs, and the Disappeared.

    Be sure to head up there and swoop up your copy the latest ish'. Aside from all of the usual budweiser-induced content, #9 features interviews with the Hold Steady, the Draft [3/4 of Hot Water Music], and Toys That Kill.

    For [slightly] more info, head to Dudes Magazine site.

    Monday, February 05, 2007

    Best Halftime Show Ever!



    For those freedom-hating "Americans" who didn't watch the Super Bowl last night, I really feel sorry for you. Not because you missed one of the sloppiest Super Bowls in the history of the NFL [8 turnovers, 9 is the SB record], but because Prince absolutely killed it in Miami last night. The Artist shredded through about a 12 minute set, which included "We Will Rock You" [intro], "Let's Go Crazy," "1999" [short interlude], "Baby I'm A Star," "Proud Mary" [CCR], "All Along the Watchtower" [B. Dylan - brief], "Best of You" [Foo Fight.], and, the rather fitting, "Purple Rain." IT WAS FRIGGIN' AWESOME!

    I've plead my case to many-a-folk about this, however, nobody seems to care enough to heed my advice: Prince's new material is just as strong as his older stuff; check it out for yourself. Musicology [2004] is rediculously good. Pretty much every song is great. And while I've only heard about 3/4 of his latest release, 3121, I can say that it's about equally as awesome. His guitar playing seems to be getting almost better. The dude flat out shreds. Posted below is "Black Sweat," which was the first single off of 3121. So now that football is over, can we please just fast-forward to baseball season.

  • Prince - black sweat [via cable & tweed]
  • Friday, February 02, 2007

    God Hates Awful Music by Idiots

    My friend Susan sent me this...


    Thanks, I guess? No word as to whether this is a hoax or this creep is serious. I do think it's worth pointing out that he's wearing a particularly gay shirt, and has a mustache that would make John Waters jealous. Either way, Sue said it best: "I'm not sure what sort of emotional response I should have while viewing this. I don't like the message, but I do like the smoke effects."