New Video : Beni Hem Hem

Iceland's Benni Hemm Hemm will be touring the US for the first time with a full 11 piece band, starting with their 7.5 appearance at NYC's Mercury Lounge. The band's sophomore album, Kajak, was released last month on Morr Music. This video, for "I Can Love You in a Wheelchair, Baby" is for a song from the band's self-titled debut album and features an Icelandic teenager auditioning for something called "Freestyle Keppni" with an interpretive dance / karaoke performance of the song. "Freestyle Keppni" could be anything from the local high school talent show to Icelandic Idol, for all we know. It's up to you to determine whether the omission of any actual loving in a wheelchair is a plus or minus.



7.05 New York, NY Mercury Lounge*
7.06 Boston, MA Middle East*
7.07 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s
7.08 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
7.09 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
7.10 Minneapolis, MN 7th St. Entry
7.13 Seattle, WA Crocodile Cafe
7.14 Portland, OR Towne Lounge
7.16 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
7.17 Los Angeles, CA The Echo #
7.18 Phoenix, AZ Paperheart
7.20 Austin, TX Emo’s
7.21 Houston, TX Proletariat
7.24 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn %
7.25 Wilmington, NC Bella Festa %
7.26 Washington, Dc Rock and Roll Hotel %
7.27 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s %
7.28 Brooklyn, NY Union Hall %

* = w/ Casiotone For the Painfully Alone
# = w/ Adam Franklin (of Swervedriver)
% = w/ Get Him Eat Him

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/bennihemmhemm

Ice Age : Long Island Hardcore strikes again

There comes a time - several, actually - when Long Island expats have to remember one of the best things of their adolescence spent wasting away on the oversized sand dune. Bands like this, knowing exactly the kind of ferocity and earnest attitude that comes forth in a live show, are the things that make you miss it most. With former and current members of This Is Hell, Up The Fury, Soldiers, Subterfuge, The Backup Plan, In The Company Of Heroes, Invade, Gabriel, and so on...this is Ice Age.

Audible: Ice Age - "My Own Luca Brasi"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/motherfuckingiceage

My New Hero: Mika Brzezinski

Watch.

Fields (not THE Field) Gets Remix't

I had a bit of a snotty aversion to UK's Fields because I so very much love Axel Willner - a.k.a. The Field, a DJ on Germany's Kompakt Records. Stupid, I know, but I finally got around to listening to their album, Everything Last Winter, and it's quite good. Not only is it quite good, but it's quite interesting how this entire, epic sweep of composition focuses around an acoustic guitar. That's their "thing," and quite an eye-brow raising one it can be.

Enough of the quite. Here are some remixes of "Song For The Fields" and "If You Fail We All Fail" - of course, the SebastiAn mix is divine (he really could have done more with vocals, though).

Audible: Fields - "Song For The Fields (Ewan Pearson Remix)"
Audible: Fields - "Song For The Fields (Album Version)"
Audible: Fields - "If You Fail We All Fail (SebastiAn Remix)"
Audible: Fields - "If You Fail We All Fail (Badlands Remix)"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/fieldsband

THINK...before you Post (dun dun dunnnn)

Pardon my French but...are you fucking kidding me?!



Many thanks to Kyle from Doghouse Records for making my night!

New Art Brut Video : Direct Hit

I've been trying to catch up on my music videos lately. It's all because of Klaxons creating that incredible video for "Magick" that completely blew me away. For a while before that, my interest in a band's video was minimal, at best.

Art Brut - one of the most interesting and entertaining bands out there at the moment - has just put out a music video for "Direct Hit," a song that is very Art Brut-ey on their new record, It's A Bit Complicated. Not that the song is poor, it's just not one of their best. There are definitely a few gems on the new record.

Also...is Eddie Argos wearing an American Apparel gold biniki top?



MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/artbrut

P.S. Today's heavy rotation of Ellen Allien's Thrills and Interpols Turn On The Bright Lights - incredible albums.

Interpol : Thoughts on "Our Love To Admire"

First thing's first...the new Interpol music video for their single, "The Heinrich Maneuver," is boring. If anything, the last moment may elicit a smirk, but overall - c'mon Banks. On the other hand, the feature story about their long and overdue build-up in the current issue of New York magazine? Ace.



My thoughts are still up in the air on the album. I do believe "Rest My Chemistry" is the best on the record, and opening with "Pioneer To The Falls" was a good choice for Our Love. My fears rest with the fact that a band of this nature just doesn't exist anymore - the New York Band. The Strokes have seen their peak, as have the other garage-y bands that exploded somewhere between 9/11 and the explosion of art-rock parade that placed Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the front an entire year after Fever To Tell came out.

In late 2002, I saw Interpol at the Bowery Ballroom. It was a sold-out show and the rest of the country still didn't care much for the band. I went alone, and I still really enjoyed myself despite the odd crowd that was there. Listening to the tracks on Our Love To Admire, I wonder: what will these songs sound like live? Listen, and imagine it - you're at a show on their latest tour, and "No I In Threesome" is playing. You're with a friend. You're probably drunk, swaying quietly in place while Paul Banks sings about the sweet breath of time.

Is it really that incredible? Something about this record just doesn't do it for me. It feels the band has become skilled at crafting songs, producing them to sound just as their chemistry warrants when they're mixing ingredients at practice. What's missing then? For me, the bias of Joy Division love may be holding me back. I hold Interpol's debut LP, Turn On The Bright Lights, on such a high pedestal that while I'm open to them changing, I want that same river of emotion to come pouring through. So far, the only place I see it - other than the epic and self-disciplined "Rest My Chemistry" - is the honest and simple beauty of "Wrecking Ball."

Also...let's not forget that I may completely eat these words in a few weeks time...

Audible: Interpol - "Wrecking Ball"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/interpol

Klaxons Remix Bazaar : Numero Dos

Ahh, The Klaxons. You know? This shit doesn't get old, and neither do the bajillion remixes that DJ's large and small have done for the songs from Myths Of The Near Future.

I think everytime I'm not sure what to write about, I'm going to pull a Klaxon's remix out and say HERE! Because...god...there are so many, and they're all so goddamn good.

Last time I released a track, it was the Soulwax Remix of "Gravity's Rainbow" - the kind of perfection that'll make you go apeshit on a dancefloor. And speaking of dancefloors, this particular mix done by Guns N' Bombs is the bagel to the cream cheesy dance parties that we all love.

Or, maybe it's the other way around...?

Audible: Klaxons - "Gravity's Rainbow (Guns 'N Bombs Freakout Remix)"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/klaxons
Missed: Numero Uno

It's All About Your Body Language [Get Physical]

Yesterday, a very important recommendation was inserted into a conversation. Simply: Get Physical's Body Language Volume 4, Remixed by Dixon (a.k.a. Steffen Berkhahn).



Considering its source, I acquired it that very night, and I have to admit that even in the middle of the first listen, it's one of those gorgeous mixes much in the way that Michael Mayer's Immer (Kompakt) is very much the Holy Ghost of minimal techno. I also want to put Kiki's Boogybytes Volume 1 (Bpitch Control) in there, but both Body Language V.4 + Immer go beyond.

What we have here is a really rich, thick blend of everything quiet and what could be just a hair below the loud line. In this I don't mean decibel levels, but rather the fullness of the compilation's imagery, eliciting a vibe that grows and glows much like a painting makes sense when a skilled hands guides it towards completion.

Choosing a track to post from a mix is a difficult and often blaphemous responsibility. I chose Thom Yorke's "Eraser" because it's something that music fans in and out of the electronic scene will probably recognize, but I highly recommend simply buying it all and taking it from there.

Have I ever steered you wrong? I love you.

Purchase:



Audible: Thom Yorke - "The Eraser (DJ Dixon / Body Language Volume 4.)"
Get Physical: http://physical-music.com
Dixon MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/justdixon

Liars' Liars : Making Mashed Potatoes Out Of 40+ Years Of Music

I really am so thrilled at the direction that Liars has taken their music in the last five years or so. I was indifferent in the beginning, considering the passable noise-art/art-rock jangleheads that they seemed to be. "Might as well be playing Fischer Price instruments," I snarkily remarked sometime around the release of their earlier stuff. Granted, I was secretly addicted to They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Mountain On Top, but I resisted getting my hands on the whole LP until I simply couldn't stop listening to "Mr Your On Fire Mr."

There are moments, even in the opening track to their latest self-titled release, that are unmistakably LIARS-ESQUE. Right at the 2:50 mark of "Plaster Casts Of Everything," there's that hint of the pseudo neu-grunge sound that tried to spill over the edges of the saturated post-9/11 New York City hipster pot, and then up comes the broom, sweeping the song away and into the rest of the record. (The first time I listened to Liars, out August 28th, my iTunes was actually on shuffle and it went straight to Trentemoller...very confusing.) Though it does sound a bit at times that Liars are treading ground that's been pissed on countless times already by the likes of Beck, Sonic Youth and Jane's Addiction, the threesome is clearly marking their own territory.

"Leather Prowler" is not for beginners: it's four-minute intermissionary track that turns out to really not be much of an intermissionary track at all. It's the part of the journey where you're stuck in the woods without a map, but your brain goes into autopilot; the veil of fear lifts, and you can go on. In this case, what you're moving on to is "Sailing To Byzantium" - a gorgeous track of shimmery electronics and steady drums. Everything beyond that just gets better and better. The remaining seven tracks on Liars dance all over the last 40 years of music, touching on the psychedelic, the cock-rock, and goth-esque (think Bauhaus). In a way, the album can be viewed as inconsistent, but even to call it that would be more a compliment than anything else...

Audible: Liars - "Cycle Time" (for the bike lover in you?)
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/liarsliarsliars

The Field In BOSTON. Need I Say More?

Actually, I will...I also turn 25, so be there pls.

Interpol : Pioneer Of The Falls

And so it begins. One by one, Interpol's marketing teams are rolling out tracks to the record, but not fast enough to get it all out in time for the upcoming July 10th release of Our Love To Admire. Today, by the powers that be, I was able to listen to three additional songs next to "The Heinrich Maneuver," and I have to say that "Rest My Chemistry" completely blew me away. After playing it three times in a row, I was at east that the record would blow Antics out of the water. Truth be told - Carlos D. will never have to go back to that laundromat in Brooklyn to support himself, and maybe he'll be a little more reserved about which strangers he does blow with in bar bathrooms.

Today, "Pioneer To The Falls" was unleashed to bloggers everywhere, and it really is a gorgeous take on the sadness that was spawned from "Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down" on their all-time top ten worthy debut album, Turn On The Bright Lights. At this point, no one's really looking for the NYC Boys That Could to out do themselves and the expectations that their first album placed on them.

But if the growth that occured between Antics and Our Love To Admire stays fairly consistent, then there is little place else for Interpol to go than down a spectacular path.

A 30-Second Teaser (laaaaaaaaaame) for "Rest My Chemistry" that says absolutely nothing about the song:


Remaining Tour Dates:
7-21 Norfolk, VA - Norva
7-23 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
7-24 Pittsburgh, PA - Byham
7-25 Columbus, OH - The LC Amphitheatre
7-27 Grand Rapids, Michigan - Orbit Room
7-28 Detroit, MI - MI State
7-30 Milwaukee, WI - Rave
7-31 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptain Room
8-01 St. Louis, MO - Pageant
8-03 Covington, KY - Madison Theatre
8-04 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
8-05 Baltimore, MD - Pimlico Race Course (V Festival)
9-08 Montreal, Quebec - Osheaga Music and Arts Festival


Streamin' Demon: Interpol - "Pioneer To The Falls"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/interpol

Klaxons Remix Bazaar : Numero Uno

Ahh, The Klaxons. You know? This shit doesn't get old, and neither do the bajillion remixes that DJ's large and small have done for the songs from Myths Of The Near Future.

I think everytime I'm not sure what to write about, I'm going to pull a Klaxon's remix out and say HERE! Because...god...there are so many, and they're all so goddamn good.

Let's start with a favorite - Soulwax. Ahh, Soulwax. This mix of "Gravity's Rainbow" is often whipped out at Hearthrob and the various parties that have been put on at Axis and after-afterparties.

Audible: Klaxons - "Gravity's Rainbow (Soulwax Remix)"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/klaxons

Fool's Gold Records : Kid Sister

Some random fact about me: I actually went to college with Nick Catchdubs. I'm not saying this to score any sort of cool points, but it's great to see people that were also a part of NYU's Arts & Entertainment paper, then titled Culture Shock (it's now just plainly known as the Friday edition of the Washington Square News), doing well for themselves. Another honorable mention is music writer Nick Catucci, whom I've actually never met but was the Music editor of CS before Brody Railton, who preceded me. Nick was a staple writer and staffer at the Village Voice, and has since moved on to New York magazine. Let's also not forget Catchdini's editorialship at The Fader.

That's the thing, nowadays, with the music industry - you pretty much have to have your hands in just about every possible pot that you can manage. It's not about monopolizing, but moreso about constantly being on your toes. People like us can get a bit jealous, sometimes of the simplicity of a drummer that is so passionate and focused on playing one, solid instrument and growing from there. Writers, bloggers, DJs, publicists, and managers all tend to be a little bit of everything, weaving in and out of professions. In my opinion, this doesn't cheapen the degree of difficulty to do any of these things...what makes a great writer/blogger/DJ/publicist/manager is understanding and flexibility in an industry that is constantly changing and seems, to many cynics, to be perpetually doomed.

Wow, okay, enough ramble...I've actually written to announce the launch of Fool's Gold Records, an NYC label just launched by Catchdubs himself, along with friends A-Trak, Dust La Rock (Minister Of The Arts) and David Dash (Spiritual Adviser). Their very first single is out, and it's Kid Sister's "Control," produced by Spank Rock's XXXCHANGE. Do I need to tell you that it's awesome? It's Kid Sister...you should already know this...

Audible: Kid Sister - "Control"
Purchase: Buy "Control" 12" from Turntable Lab
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/foolsgoldrecs

Right HERE'S The Spot : Basement Jaxx vs. Switch

I forget if I was ever really a fan of MeShell Ndegeocello. I was young in the early-ass '90s, and too busy with the likes of Crystal Waters and (shhhh) La Bouche (don't make me mention Real McCoy, k?), but I passed right over "Right Here's The Spot" off of Basement Jaxx's 2003 release, Kish Kash. I more or less ignored that album save the Siouxsie Sou guest on "Cish Cash." Blame it on the residual goth in me.

Nevertheless, a friend* recently passed this mix of "Right Here's The Spot" on to me, titled the Switch Drunk's at the Dogstar mix. Switch is a buddy of the ever-impressive Sinden (who is, well, hot and talented and hmm...), and this remix completely blows the original out of the water. Enough said - just listen!

*Edit (06.20.07): Oh yeah, and Paul from Aurgasm - the OMG to my WTF - came to me and said "Hey honeyyyy, who gave you the Switch song? Who loves you?" So, with all due respect, thank you Paul.


Audible: Basement Jaxx - "Right Here's The Spot (Swith Drunk's At The Dogstar Mix)"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/switchandsolidgroove

The 80s : What Were We McThinking?!

Thanks to Dany at Exitfare for melting a few of my braincells with this absolutely awful commercial from the 80s. Starring a skinnier, hairier (on the head, that is) version of Jason Alexander, McDonald's thought it would be marketable to server their hamburgers, uhh, separated...



I've lost my appetite, I think...

"The McDLT hasn’t been seen in America for about 15 years, but you remember it well: The hot stays hot. The cool stays cool. One half marketing genius, one half environmentally-unfriendly styrofoam waste." - Mike Davidson

Wiki: McDonald's MCDLT

Minus The Bear : Planet Of Ice

At long last, Minus The Bear have released a new album. Well, it'll be coming out on August 21st (omg can you wait that long?!) on the never-disappointing Suicide Squeeze. Titled Planet Of Ice, the record is not a stiff, cold partner to the melting effect that many of MtB's previous albums have had on their listeners. Compared to an album like Highly Refined Pirates, there's definitely a much more mature sound to Seattle band's songwriting structures, but there's still the electronic whirls and galloping drumbeats that the band is most recognizable for. Singer Jake Snider hasn't sold himself short - lyrically or in his ability to string his vocals into the songs like fingers through hair. "Knights," so far, may be my personal favorite, but then followed by a slower track like "White Mystery" - which includes a very funk-like bassline and harmonized vocals - it's obvious that this whole record is going to feature some of the variety that they're best known for. Also great is "Double Vision Quest," which is no "Pachuca Sunrise" (from their last LP, Menos El Oso), but has some of the best lyrics on Planet Of Ice.

Vinyl Collective / Suburban Home records will be issuing the vinyl--a gatefold 2xLP. Lovely! And...Dave Knudson, guitar extraordinaire - also known as "the guy that used to be in Botch" - is still mind-blowing...

P.S. Prepare yourselves for closer, "Lotus," it begins to fade out much like a Mars Volta song, and then boom! Six minute mark introduces a rather Pink Floyd-like jam in a very High Times cover story kind of way.



Audible: Minus The Bear - "Knights"
Visible: Minus The Bear - "Pachuca Sunrise (video)" hi / low / wmv
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/minusthebear

The Bedroom Trio [Is Not A Band]

(no, not that kind of bedroom trio...)

I've been hearing bits and pieces about The Bedroom Trio. Actually, back up, that's a lie...I've briefly seen their names mentioned in music news feeds and flipping through one of the many magazines on my kitchen table. Apparently, "The Bedroom Trio is not a band. It's a group of solo artists collectively spearheading its own genre called 'bedroom music' -- the sound of home recording fanatics, songwriters working casually at home crafting songs more confessional, more genuine and generally more creatively adorned and arranged than typical “lo-fi” or whatever other categories are employed to ghettoize indie solo artists." (from their press release)

Well, shit...I like the sound of that, but admittedly, I'm not a fan of all three members of TBT. One of the comparisons to Diamond Jim (nee Jim Greer) - a Bay Area producer that's worked with Head Automatica, MC Lars, and others. Compared at times to Stereolab - a band that I understand is amazing and life-changing, but I just never quite latched on. Also, while I was a bit underwhelmed by the last Lovemakers record (someone had turned me towards it when they found out I loved old Her Space Holiday), and Trevor Childs used to be Applesaucer bandmates with Scott Blonde, who later went on to create The Lovemakers.


sensitive d00dz...strum, strum, struuuum

Hands down, though, the winner of this triple pillow fight is Herman Jolly - a talented and, well, very handsome fella that can string good lyrics with even better melodies. Reminiscent of a cross between the Wilco/Ryan Adam's loving present with a lo-fi Pixies...reminiscent in a way that it never really existed. Some of the riffs could be an experimental Ben Gibbard, plucking away in his bedroom after spending a long night being the sober idolizer at a Brian Jonestown Massacre house party.

Ultimately, I'm not sure if Bedroom trio is necessarily something I'd like to hear more of, but the concept itself is quite awesome. I'd give it another go...

Audible: Diamond Jim - "Little Heartbreaker"
Audible: Trevor Childs - "Don't Get Old"
Audible: Herman Jolly - "Key On A Kite"
Audible: Herman Jolly - "1,000,000 Feet Below"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/hermanjolly (check "Negative Blues")

Anatomy Of A Douchebag

Stolen from a friend of a friend of a friend's MySpace comment section. Incredible...



Alternatives...
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douche
Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/douchebag

TAB is (not) a diet cola.

TAB - named after the trio's initials, not the awful drink - are a new explosion out of the surrounding Boston suburbs, but despite their lack of a label, they were still scooped up by Dinosaur Jr. (who are performing, of all places, Urban Outfitters right now, and in Harvard Square, no less...) as an opening act for their London show after the Hyde Park Calling Festival (which is starring the likes of Peter Gabriel, Aerosmith, Crowded House, and other big names).

Simply said, I wasn't sure how much I was going to love this on first listen. Never one for funk, and a bit too old to love classic rock as much as I did in high school, I checked out the rest of their MySpace tracks and what do you know - aside from the fact that I really loved Eagles Of Death Metal's first album, their second was a horror show and TAB is exactly what my ears and nether-regions would have love to have heard when they released their sophomore.

Plus, when you click on "Ron Mexico" (with its Strongbad-worthy guitar solos) on their 'Space page, a photo of Robert Goulaaaay pops up - that's a rap!


Hey there....you look hungreh!

Audible: TAB - "CYT"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/tabtheband