Oct 22 2012

From the MoSS? Pit: The xx

the xx performing

Up close and personal with Romy, Jamie, and Oliver.

I try to write these in short order after seeing the show, but this one took a little bit longer to get going. Several reasons for this…

I stayed in a $40 hotel in Rochester after the show. You might imagine the sort of room you can get for $40 on a Friday night; I will tell you that whatever image you’ve conjured up in your mind, take it down a notch or two. I rolled in about 2 a.m., went to the front desk to “announce” I was there (I say “announce” because I had to shout over the TV, which had the episode of Family Guy on Adult Swim cranked up to 11), and waited for the clerk (fresh from his role as a zombie on The Walking Dead, if one can judge a book by its cover) to stop talking about his taxidermy habit and offering to have dinner with me in his office before I could just go to my room and shower. (Cue the Bernard Herrmann music.) Eventually I got to my room and crashed for a few hours before hitting the road at 7 a.m.

I left Rochester early not only because I was staying at the Bates Motel, but because I needed to get back to my old stomping grounds to attend a benefit for my good friend Aaron. It was a great day, not only because I was able to see a bunch of good friends, but also to see how well Aaron is doing. Much like Wu-Tang Clan, Guillain-Barre Syndrome ain’t nothin’ to fuck wit’, yet Aaron is already kicking its ass just months after the diagnosis (and that’s with an extended, scary stay in ICU in the interim). A lot of people came out and a good amount of dough was raised for my friend and his family, and I walked away from the live auction portion of the festivities with a gift for Tracy: a hot air balloon ride for two, complete with some bubbly to drink while in the air. Thankfully my dad didn’t follow through with his threat to run up the bid on me…

I also didn’t want to write my thoughts about the show immediately afterward for fear that I would knee-jerk my way through it, saying things like “This is without a doubt the best show I’ve ever seen in my life” or “You know, Romy actually is kinda cute” or anything else filled with hyperbole.

So here I am, nearly 48 hours after the final notes of “Stars” had run their course, and I’m left thinking…

“This is without a doubt the best show I’ve ever seen in my life.”


It would be more accurate to say “This is arguably the best show I’ve ever seen in my life,” because I’ve seen some pretty cool shows, especially lately. M83 at the Pageant earlier this year was killer; Portishead in Chicago last year is the one that might still hold the throne even after this xx spectacle. And there’s the first time I saw Explosions in the Sky, which was pretty special; The Cure on the 2000 Dream Tour was epic, too, going nearly three hours and playing a ton of stuff off Pornography.

But this…this was amazing.

Romy and Jamie

Perhaps more than anything else, consider the nature of the xx’s music. The personal feel, the minimal instrumentation that allows the emotion of the music to expand exponentially. The show was played at First Avenue, which isn’t exactly the largest venue in the world. Also consider that I was able to be right up front, along the rail just in front of Oliver Sim, adding to the intimacy of the moment.

And all my best-laid plans for the show came together. I was flying solo (or with all my friends, right?!) for this one, so I decided I was going to nerd out, drive up to the Cities early, and be the first person in line outside First Ave. I would go in, grab a pint of something from the bar, and then park in front of the stage.

Two other dudes had the same plan, so I was third in line when I got there. The line got longer and longer during the ensuing hour between my arrival and when doors opened, and I soon was bumped to fourth in line when the second guy in line was joined by his daughter. She was wearing red pants and a sweet jacket, which prompted a text message exchange between me and Todd (who was in Florida) in which we reminisced about the girl with red pants and cool jacket at the Gardens & Villa show in Iowa City during last spring’s Mission Creek Festival.* It must be the uniform of choice for cool music girls everywhere. The xx fan girl later asked her dad if she could get a tattoo when she turned 16, but only “if it means something to her.” (He said no.)

(* – Gardens & Villa and the Girl with the Red Pants were the only things we enjoyed about our night out at Mission Creek—Dirty Beaches and The War on Drugs were complete letdowns—so we didn’t write a “From the MoSS Pit?” entry. We should have, though. The funny thing: we were behind Girl with the Red Pants the entire show, so we were all under the impression that no one could rock red pants the way she did AND have it all put together from the front as well. When she finally turned around…boy, were we wrong. Todd’s better half agrees with this sentiment, by the way.)

Some people walked by and glanced at the poster announcing tonight’s lineup. The three college kids behind me in line joined me for a laugh when a passerby uttered to his friend, “Who’s playing—oh, Double X.” This name-bungling was one-upped by a panhandler who, after being rejected in his quest for spare change, asked the guys in front of me, “Who’s playing?” One of them responded, to which the panhandler said, “Who? Ex-Lax?” A shitty thing to say, to be sure. (Ha!)

Oliver and Jamie

Oliver and Jamie during the encore.

Soon enough it was time to go in. I quickly got my pint and grabbed my spot at the rail. Two very nice women, April and Jessica, stood next to me (young Red Pants and her dad also landed on the rail, on the other side of A&J). The floor quickly filled up. Not far from me, I noticed a guy in a Flogging Molly shirt who had been pacing around outside First Avenue begging to buy anyone’s extra tickets. At one point his ladyfriend smelled a clove cigar that was being smoked by someone in line, and she offered to buy one of those. Flogging Molly Shirt comes around the corner and says, “I’m trying to find us tickets, and you’re buying cigarettes!” I later heard that he bought two tickets for $120 apiece; face value with fees was $38, and that included a legal digital download of the Coexist album. (But still a shrewd purchase, if you ask me.)

You know what else ruled about this show? It started 30 minutes EARLY. 2:54 took the stage at 8:30 even though the show was billed as starting at 9:00. And they were great. I thought they sounded a little heavier live than what you get from their recorded material, but that’s not a criticism. (Todd included them on our May mixtape, if you want to hear a sample.) The band was well received, and they kept things moving along by playing an economical six-song set.

2:54

2:54

John Talabot was next. I like his music just fine, but knob tweaking punctuated by the occasional series of crash-cymbal pounding isn’t the most thrilling equation for live music. It was the exact kind of show I feared I might get with M83, to be honest; where M83 succeeds by playing a lot of it live, Talabot and his button-pushing sidekick just sort of stood there. Frankly, the xx could have worked out a deal with Talabot where they said, “Look, how about we just play your music during the stage transition from 2:54 to our set?” and it would have been just as valuable. I will listen to John Talabot again this year, I’m sure, so I’m not ripping on the music (for the most part). It just didn’t work for me as a live act.

John Talabot

John Talabot

Talabot’s was a relatively short set as well, and then it was go time.

Sometimes I prefer it when a band sounds ragged live, so I know I’m getting an experience that differs from “just hitting play.” I’d rather bands like the xx don’t sound that way; I want the perfection, and I want the atmosphere they create on the record to be present in this live setting. But I don’t want an exact carbon copy of the album, either. Can you run through the material as if it’s a perfect take, but not have it sound exactly like the songs I’ve played ad infinitum?

The xx can do that.

Sure, the minimalism of the music allows for better odds in terms of solid reproduction of the sound. But they sounded great, both in voice and in instrument. And Jamie xx is a man on a mission behind his setup, pounding out beats on pads or grabbing drumsticks to beat away on real drums or plinking away at piano work.

To my ears, Coexist just gets better with each listen, and the new songs sounded fantastic here. Scroll back up to watch the opener, “Angels,” and take a look at “Sunset” below.


I really liked the way they reworked a couple of the old songs, particularly “Crystalised”:


And they incorporated one of the best songs from the first album (“Shelter”) within one of my favorite songs on the second album (“Swept Away”) and pulled it off seamlessly.


They played every song from xx, and nearly all of Coexist. The encore was a three-song blast of “Intro,” “Tides,” and “Stars,” and after my chest was pummeled by the last few blasts of bass toward the end of “Stars,” my heart was full.

Oct 1 2012

From the MoSS? Pit: The Avett Brothers

fabulous fox theatre

The Fab Fox before the show.

I thought I’d be writing this post in early 2012, seeing as the Avett Brothers were going to play a show in Iowa City around that time. Since shows at the Iowa Memorial Union Main Lounge rarely sold out, I waited and waited and waited to buy my ticket and then when I finally thought seriously about getting my ticket…fuck. Sold out.

My beloved Sleigh Bells maybe filled half the room when they played there in April. That’s hyped-as-fuck Sleigh Bells. With $18 tickets. Half-filled ballroom.

The action on the Avett tickets told me a couple of things:

I am lazy, as I waited weeks to take action on those tickets. (I did not make the same mistake with the xx, whom I will see at the sold-out First Avenue show!)

The Avett Brothers must be really good live, if they are selling out a room in Iowa City with little media hype, no SNL appearances, not soundtracking commercials, no new album out, etc., etc.

The first point was simply a reiteration of known fact. The second point was driven home by their performance at the Fabulous Fox Theatre (which is indeed quite fab) in St. Louis.

It was worth the extra drive, if you ask me, for a number of reasons.

t and c

12 years!

First off, the show gave my better half and I the chance to celebrate our anniversary in a way that differed from your typical dinner at the local Biaggi’s or Red Lobster or at home with some Papa Murphy’s. Let’s leave the little fella with my folks, drive a few hours, get a hotel room, enjoy a big city, enjoy some tunes, sleep in the next morning, drop in on some family, and come home to our boy who could hardly stand being away from us those 32 hours or whatever.

(It’s been 12 years as of Sunday. We’ve experienced a lot AND it feels like time has flown, if that makes sense. And with only a few exceptions, she still hates my music. I love her anyway.)

Second, we were able to hang out with our good friends JD and Sondra (the latter of which went to the Sleigh Bells show 30-some weeks pregnant, totally earning the respect of the MoSS? crew), sitting in the outdoor dining area of Kota Wood Fire Grill, drinking drinks and eating eats and enjoying the ambience of an urban arts scene quite different from a typical night in downtown C.R. It was good to get away and yet enjoy the comfort of our friends’ company.

Third, there’s no way standing around the cavernous IMU Main Lounge could hold a candle to sitting in the balcony of the gorgeous Fab Fox, with its ornate touches and outstanding acoustics.

The stage was set for the Avetts to dominate…and dominate they did.

The evening was billed as, um, “An Evening with the Avett Brothers,” which meant no opener. In old guy speak, that also meant we’d get more than two hours of music from the headliner and still be leaving the theater around 10:30. Winning! (Right?!)

The Avetts opened with “Die Die Die” and proceeded to kill it for the next 140 minutes. These guys can do a little bit of everything: raucous romps, slow burns, mournful moments. They criss-crossed through the catalog with ease. They profusely thanked the crowd every two or three songs. They had energy to spare throughout the set.

And if I were to start a “fantasy band” league, I’d have to rank Seth Avett as one of the blue-chip players. That guy can do so much so well. He played his guitar with reckless abandon, he showed great touch when manning the keys, and sang his heart out. And he did his best to propel the beat via stomping the stage at every turn.

Scott’s no slouch either, providing the signature banjo sounds and his own solid vocal work, and Bob Crawford owned the stand-up bass.

Perhaps the greatest moment of the night came just past the halfway point of the show. A single overhead spotlight shone down on Scott and Seth as they sang “Murder in the City,” a song from their 2008 EP The Second Gleam. The brothers stood within the small-diameter circle of light, singing “Always remember there was nothing worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name.” The simplicity of the song strips the lyrics bare, and their delivery comes off as sincere rather than hokey.

Then Scott walks off, leaving Seth alone in the spotlight, where the younger brother absolutely stunned the sold-out theater with his rendition of “Souls Like the Wheels” from the same EP. It was nothing short of magical to hear him deliver line after line, punctuated with the last verse:

Souls like the wings
Spreading out away from bad memories
Make us capable of taking off and landing
Alive with understanding
Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go
Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go

You could hear a pin drop for a few moments before the room came alive with hoots, hollers, applause, and screams of joy. It was one of those moments where I once again found myself entranced with live music, the kind of moment where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

It was also the kind of moment where you might fear the show, or at least the main set, was over. But nah…instead the stage lights come up, the rest of the band takes their places, and Seth says, “OK, I think we’re getting warmed up now.”

I didn’t shoot any video (too scared, as there were venue staff everywhere) but I see someone shot a song from the encore, another intimate affair from the Brothers Avett. Enjoy.

Something about live music in St. Louis. I’ve seen six shows there (The Cure, Jose Gonzalez, Explosions in the Sky, Interpol, M83, the Avetts) and all six were superb. Can’t wait to go back. And hopefully next year I’ll hit the Pygmalion in Champaign-Urbana…

Sep 30 2012

From the MoSS? Pit: Pygmalion Music Festival 2012

In an odd twist of fate, your favorite MoSS? scribes bought tickets to different concerts for the same weekend. Since Chris was already booked up, I needed to quickly drum up a support crew for my trip to the Pygmalion Music Festival 2012 in exotic Champaign-Urbana, Ill. I put an ad in the local hipster paper hoping for a quick response.

Wanted: Concert support crew for middle aged pop culture blogger. Applicants must love music, fear no danger and have access to gas money. Nunchaku skills a plus but not required. Safety NOT guaranteed.

Unfortunately, response was less than enthusiastic. As a backup plan, I recruited my wife and another couple to come with us. We all piled in the MoSS? Mobile and took the long drive to Illinois. The trip to Champaign was uneventful. Directions were good and we made it to all destinations without incident. The return trip is another story. We may have taken a wrong turn and ended up 45 minutes out of our way. Now, as our group leader/driver, I take full responsibility but I do blame the Pygmalion Fest schedule. The headliner Best Coast didn’t go on until almost 1AM. I’m old. With only 3-4 hours of sleep, its a wonder we didn’t end up in Lake Michigan. Luckily, one of the top notch support crew members caught my mistake and we all remained dry.

Back to the festival. We started the night at very cool bar in downtown Urbana called Crane Alley. I can’t recommend this place enough for people visiting the area. They have like 42 billion beer varieties, B+ jambalaya and a drink called The Sex Panther. I didn’t have The Sex Panther that night. In a town full of college girls I didn’t think it appropriate since my wife was with me. The last thing I needed was excessive amounts of senior pictures being thrust my direction since apparently I am like catnip to underage coeds.

After dinner and drinks, we left Crane Alley to head over to the show at The Canopy Club. As we walked out of the bar, I heard the familiar sounds of the band Tennis. They were playing an outdoor venue as the opening act for shit-rock band, Dirty Projectors. (I swear I could burp the alphabet to bagpipes and it would sound better than Dirty Projectors). The music was coming from a parking lot about a block away so we walked over to take a look/listen. I love Tennis’ record, Young and Old, but was still pissed at them. Tennis was supposed to do a show in good old Iowa City back in July. As a matter of fact, I bought tickets to that concert the same day I bought the Pygmalion tickets. If only I had known the evil red-headed monster, Conan O’ Brien, was lurking behind the scenes to ruin everything. He booked Tennis to play on his “show watched by dozens” which forced them to cancel the show in Iowa City. No more Team Coco for me. Team Fallon all the way now baby. I was able to get a little video of them singing my favorite song from Young and Old, “Petition”.

[Disclaimer: Chris is usually the mastermind behind these MoSS? Pit posts. He takes video with his highly superior iPhone. I’ve a got a crap Android and concert video generally sounds like a rhino farting into a bass drum. Yes, my video from the evening is less than good]

We watched Tennis until it was time for us to head to our show at the world famous Canopy Club, deep in the heart of the U of I campus. Doors opened at 8PM. They scheduled 6 opening acts and headliner Best Coast was to go on at 12:45AM. This was going to be a marathon not a sprint.

As we walked in the main stage area the group Withershins was playing. They are a self described shoegaze band from right there in Champaign. We only caught about a song and a half but I really liked what I heard. They have a ’90s distortion rock sound to them. I was reminded of Dinosaur Jr, Smashing Pumpkins or Sonic Youth. Here is a link to their Bandcamp page. The new record isn’t a bad listen.

http://withershins.bandcamp.com/album/silver-cities

Zeus

The next band up was Zeus. A classic rock influenced outfit from Toronto. That’s in Canada. These guys look and sound like they were transported here from 1971. I downloaded their new album Busting Visions to listen to during the trip and really enjoyed most of it. Unfortunately, I didn’t particularly think they were that great live. Don’t get me wrong. They were fine. I just wasn’t feeling it at that point I guess. They did play a fun cover version of the Genesis song “That’s All” but other than that I didn’t find them too memorable. Take a look/listen for yourself with the shitty video I took of them doing their song “Are You Gonna’ Waste My Time?”.

Hospitality

After Zeus was Hospitality, an indie pop group from Brooklyn. That’s in New York. I was pumped to see them but nearly missed the show. The support crew and I were having drinks and gabbing in the upper level seats at the Canopy Club when I heard some music coming from the lobby. Apparently, they decided to alternate acts from the main big stage to the small intimate stage in the front. I quickly got down there and was able to shoot this short shitty video of “Friends of Friends” until the rest of the horde arrived and got in my way. Enjoy!

They did put on a great show though. I enjoyed their self-titled record but the live show sounded even better. They even played a few new songs. Judging by the crowd reaction during those songs, the follow up LP is going to be good.

Once again, this was all happening at times that I am normally in bed. So, I needed a pick me up. Luckily, my top notch support crew smuggled in some mini vodka bottles and we knocked back a Red Bull and vodka.

1st Red Bull and Hawkeye “Hot Guy” Vodka time

Lord Huron

Next up on the main stage was Lord Huron from Los Angeles. That’s in California. This was a band I was on the fence about. I have their EP Mighty and listen to it on occasion but they are not a go to band in my iPod playlists. Lord Huron’s music is full of vocal harmonies and amazing percussion and they definitely showcased that during the live show. Here is my shitty video of “The Stranger”.

2nd Red Bull and “Hot Guy” Vodka time

Best Coast

After Lord Huron was Laetitia Sadier. She was playing in the front lobby area. I familiarized myself with her music before the show and was not a fan. So the crew and I stayed in our upper deck seats and knocked back yet another Red Bull and vodka while the roadies set up the Best Coast stage. Reports from the hipsters that sat behind us were positive about the Sadier show. Again, I was less than interested.

1AM. Finally Best Coast time. After a long night of music and drinks we were all ready for the show to start. Apparently, Bethany from Best Coast had a similar evening because one of the first things she mentioned in between songs was the lateness of the showtime. She also admitted that she may have had a few too many libations and was struggling not to get sick on stage. Now that’s the Rock and Roll lifestyle baby! You couldn’t tell based on her performance though. They played a mixture of old and new songs and they all sounded great. Here is my shitty video of the “The Only Place”.

Later on, the booze may have started kicking in because she started forgetting song titles. I did get shitty video of her arguing with a kid in the front row about a song title. I believe her exact words were, “Fuck that. I said it wrong! I’m sleepy!”

Hey kid! Don’t fuck with my girl Beth!

After that she started forgetting song lyrics. They actually started the song “Bratty B” over because she screwed up the words. I caught some shitty video of the 2nd attempt at “Bratty B” and subsequent apology before the next song, “When I’m With You”.

She ended the show with “Boyfriend” and hurried off the stage with her hand over her forehead. I was certain there would be no encore. Most of the crowd filed out of the main stage area. I was in the front lobby waiting for the female support crew members to use the bathrooms when I heard the much smaller crowd in the main room cheer. Best Coast was back on stage. Boot and rally! They played a one song encore. A cover of the Nirvana classic “About a Girl”. I didn’t take any shitty video of the encore as I just wanted to enjoy the final song.

It was a long night but well worth the it. You can’t beat fun with great music and great friends.

Much too late. Can’t wait until next year.

Sep 27 2012

Road Trip Revelations

My job sometimes requires me to spend a lot of my day in the car. I don’t mind too much. It gives me time to think, reflect on my life and most importantly listen to great music. On these trips I sit back, relax and turn up the tunes. After many hours alone in the car though, I tend to have quite a few random and moronic thoughts. These are just a few of the revelations I came away with on the road.

Be leery of the “Lost ‘80s Hit”

I was listening to the ‘80s channel today and there was a segment called “Lost ‘80s Hits”. They usually play some song that was really good but has been collecting dust on the record shelf. I love when they do this. In the past, I have been reintroduced to great old tunes like, “Romancing the Stone” by Eddie Grant and “Mother’s Talk” by Tears for Fears. So I was all prepared for another great “Lost ‘80s Hit” when over the radio comes a song called “Superwoman” by Karyn White.

I was completely confused. I’d never heard it. Not only that but the song was awful. She starts the song off by singing about coffee and cream and what she made for breakfast like she’s narrating her day. How was this a “Lost Hit”? How was this even a hit? What constitutes a hit? Shouldn’t people have had to hear the song to label it a hit? When I got home, I asked my wife if she knew the song. Not only did she know it but she sang along when I played the YouTube clip. But one person having heard a song does not make a hit. Admittedly, I listened to a different kind of music back then but I still heard a ton of pop songs on the radio. How did this one slip by? I decided to do a little digging to prove or disprove the hit status of this horrible song. Here are the Billboard Chart rankings for “Superwoman” by Karyn White.

Billboard Adult Contemporary – It reached #12

Billboard Hot 100 – It reached #8

Billboard Hot Black Singles R/B Songs – It reached #1

So technically it was a hit. Apparently there were a lot of “Superwoman” lovers. What were you all thinking? No offense Miss White.

What’s with the 6AM phone conversations?

I leave for work fairly early in the morning. When I do, I just want to sip my coffee and listen to Howard Stern on the radio. Lately, I have noticed that a lot of the people driving around me at that early hour are on the phone. I may get a random call at 6AM from a co-worker but they are very brief and full of sleepy monosyllabic words. This is generally how those calls go:

Co-worker: Are you on your way?

Me: Yes.

Co-worker: What time are you going to be here?

Me: Eight.

Co-worker: Okay. Hurry up.

Me: Suck it…(click)

The people I see driving are not having these basic early morning conversations. No, they are having very animated and seemingly important conversations. Heads are bobbing. Fingers are waving. Hands are gesturing. Who are you all talking to? Besides annoying co-worker guy, everyone that I know is in bed and they wouldn’t be too happy to have me call them at 6AM to chat. “Hey Chris. You weren’t asleep were you? Did you see last night’s episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo?” I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how that conversation would end.

It’s like these people have the “If I’m Up, You’re Up” mentality. It’s a very selfish attitude to take. Kind of like a toddler. “I’m up. I’m the most important person in the world. I want to talk to you. Wake up and listen to what I have to say. I don’t care if you’re sleeping. I I I Me Me Me .”

I don’t want to keep disparaging women drivers in these posts but I must admit that at least 90% of the morning talkers are women. Maybe these ladies were running late and hadn’t finished arguing with their significant others yet.

“I’m not done fighting with you yet so I’m going to call you when I get to high speeds on the freeway!”

I used to work with a woman who would walk into the office every morning at 7:30 with her cell to her ear already cussing out her husband who she couldn’t have left more than 10 minutes previously. What could he have possibly done in that span of time to piss her off? I always wondered why he even picked up the phone. Don’t answer that phone dude. Have some self respect!

This all has to stop. It’s not natural. We should all be miserable sleepy zombies, plying ourselves with caffeinated beverages in order to make it to our miserable destinations and barely tolerate another miserable work day.

Twisted Sister can read my mind

As always, after a few hours on the road today I flipped the station over to Hair Nation in need of a metal fix.It was as if Dee Snider read my mind because Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock” was playing. Yes, Dee. I wanna rock too. I turned the stereo up as loud as it could go and fist pumped along with Dee and the boys. It may have looked something like this scene from one of my favorite movie comedies, the aptly named, Road Trip.

Here’s the awesome original music video. 

All in all it was a pretty good trip.  Plenty of tunes.  Plenty of morning talkers. If you see me cruising down the interstate sometime, go ahead and wave. I might just fist pump you back.

Sep 19 2012

Today’s Random Song in My Head, “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”

I don’t really have anything clever to say about today’s song stuck in my head. I heard it on the radio the other day and have been singing it ever since. Never been a big Das Racist fan but I do like some of  Heems’ solo work. At first, I though it was terrible. It’s the same thing over and over. Two dopy guys getting food at a combination fast food restaurant. One getting food at the Pizza Hut side and one getting food at the Taco Bell side. So stupid. So repetitive. So genius? Yes, after three days of having this song in my head I have decided that it is genius. Love it. Listen to it several times a day. My wife hates it and me as a result. What do I care? I’m off to buy a personal pan pepperoni pizza with a side order of nachos supreme. I’m at the Pizza Hut. I’m at the Taco Bell. I’m at the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

Sep 17 2012

MoSS? Monthly Mixtape: September 2012

Side A : Todd’s Picks

1. Eternal Summers, “You Kill”

2. Bleeding Rainbow, “Pink Ruff”

3. Houndmouth, “Penitentiary”

4. DIANA, “Born Again”

5. Wild Nothing, “Nocturne”

Side B : Chris’ Picks

1. Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, “Young, Dumb, and Drunk”

2. Pet Lions, “Lightning Bolt”

3. King of Spain, “Motions”

4. The xx, “Tides”

5. Freeze-Tag, “Eskimo”

Aug 28 2012

Road Trip Revelations

If you’ve read any of my previous “Road Trip” posts, you may have noticed a certain pattern to them. I usually start with some thoughts on whatever new music I’m listening to. Then, I share a few observations about the road or driving in general. Finally, I close it out with some comments on a long forgotten hair metal song. If you were hoping for a change in format this time… too bad. Take heart people. Routine is good. You always know what to expect. No shocks. No surprises. Life may pimp-slap you at every turn but you can always rely on “Road Trip Revelations” for some stability. Doesn’t that make you feel all safe and secure? And away we go…

My job sometimes requires me to spend a lot of my day in the car. I don’t mind too much. It gives me time to think, reflect on my life and most importantly listen to great music. On these trips I sit back, relax and turn up the tunes. After many hours alone in the car though, I tend to have quite a few random and moronic thoughts. These are just a few of the revelations I came away with on the road.

Most of my Favorite Bands Have Stupid Names

Here’s a list of a few bands I’ve enjoyed this year: Japandroids, Tennis, Youth Lagoon, Pop Etc, Bear in Heaven. All pretty dumb sounding names. Even when a group has a decent name, they have to go and spell it weird like Diiv (pronounced Dive) one of my current favorites. I don’t know why this trend is happening but my theory is that all of the good band names where used up by 1978. Post 1978 we had band names like this:

One of my favorite things in the world is when I’m listening to a new band and my wife asks me their name. I’ll answer her with the stupid band name already knowing that her response will be a sarcastic “Well of course it is”. She has a hard time getting past the stupid band name. My favorite response to her is “Aerosmith was already taken.” This usually pisses her off and we go back and forth about band names and how Aerosmith sucks. Well, new Aerosmith sucks. Hey, that’s not bad! Why couldn’t you start a band and call it The New Aerosmith? Didn’t that happen all the time back in the day? When the Yardbirds broke up wasn’t there a New Yardbirds about two minutes later? After The Animals disbanded, The New Animals came stampeding out of the rubble to help heal the world’s broken heart. Just a thought.

What’s with the Biker Wave?

Did you ever see the biker wave while driving down the road? I just recently noticed it. When two motorcyclists get close to each other while driving in opposite directions they lower their left hand down and sort of point to the ground. What’s that all about? Where did they learn that? Is it part of the motorcycle safety course? Are they pointing down to remind the other biker to watch out for the ground? “Hey man, we are rocketing across the earth at breakneck speeds on a high-powered two-wheeled vehicle. Don’t fall off. It hurts.”

1st biker waves: “Remember, the ground hurts us.”

2nd biker waves: “Yes, I understand. The pavement is our enemy.”

It is pretty cool to witness. I want a secret wave for us music-loving mid 30’s dads driving around in SUVs. Maybe we could just stick our thumbs up and then point them to the back seat. This could signify that “I would like to turn up my music louder but I got these damn kids in the back seat watching a Spongebob DVD and I can only play my music at barely audible levels.” Let’s work on that one guys.

I Don’t Care About Your Stick Figure Family

Over the last year or so you may have noticed a new trend amongst mini-van drivers. “The Stick Figure Family”. Little decals of stick figure people to represent everyone in the mini-van driver’s family. I must ask why? Why do you want the world to know that you have 3 kids? Going by the stickers, one boy and 2 girls. The boy is the oldest and based upon the baseball bat over his stick figure shoulder he must like baseball. The oldest girl must love soccer based upon the soccer ball in her stick figure arms. The youngest girl is in a stroller so no one really knows what she likes yet. In time we will know because mini-van driver idiot will update the stick figure as soon as stick figure baby slips on her first ballet shoes. One day I saw a van with two adult stick figures and 10, yes 10, variations of the stick figure kid. A standard mini-van has a seating capacity of 7. How are you getting 10 kids plus 2 parents into that Dodge Grand Caravan? The answer is you’re not. You’re taking 2 cars to the “I Have 10 Kids and Hate Myself Convention”. Your stick figure family is a fraud and I hate you too.

Europe isn’t “Superstitious”

As always, after a few hours on the road I was in need of a hair metal fix. So I flipped the station over to Hair Nation . Today I was greeted with the sweet sounds of Europe’s “Superstitious”. It had everything I wanted in a hair band break. High pitched vocals and those keyboards you’ve come to expect from Europe in other songs like “The Final Countdown” and “Carrie”. The special treat comes at the 3:20 mark when after the last scathing guitar solo, the boys slow it down a bit with a funky bass driven pre-chorus bridge. Break it down for me fellas.

Keep on walkin’ that road and I’ll follow
Keep on callin’ my name I’ll be there
And if a mirror should break it’s easy to take
Cause deep down I know that you care
I´m not superstitious

All in all it was a pretty good trip.  Plenty of tunes. So many stick figures. If you see me cruising down the interstate sometime, go ahead and throw me a “Dad Wave”. I might just “Dad Wave” back.

Aug 23 2012

The Search for My Personal Soundtrack: “The Pink Room”

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how cool it would be to have your own theme song or soundtrack. I was sort of inspired by Peter Griffin from The Family Guy.

But what song would I use? You could go a lot of different routes. If it’s going to play in the background all day long, you better like it. Also, I don’t think it should be some epic arena rock song that has multiple style and tempo changes throughout. No, the simpler the better. Sometimes while playing my guitar  I come across a chord progression that I enjoy so much I want to play it for hours on end. That’s what I think my personal soundtrack should be. Simple. Repetitive. Kinda bad-ass.

Today I came across a perfect soundtrack song candidate, Angelo Badalamenti’s “The Pink Room”. A weird little instrumental that was used on the crazy-cool TV show Twin Peaks and also in the awful follow up movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. It meets all of my soundtrack song requirements. Cool guitar riffs, it repeats over and over and I never get sick of it. The song title is cool too. “The Pink Room”. I’m guessing it’s a euphemism for “lady parts” like the Sheena Easton song “Sugar Walls”. I do love a good euphemism.

WARNING: Massive euphemism overload coming up.

I’d like to “paint” the “sugar walls” in your “pink room”.

Let’s get back on track here. Listen to the song below.

Having a song this cool playing in the background all day would have to change your life. This is what I imagine would happen if this song was my soundtrack:

My bald head would instantly grow a perfectly primped pompadour. My vehicle would turn into a classic 1950’s era motorcycle. Wherever I went women would be both frightened and titillated. Knowing they should keep their distance, they try to ignore me but the attraction is too overpowering. I’d shoot them a knowing glance. They would turn away blushing. Men would look suspiciously at me as I light up an unfiltered cigarette. That’s right. With this song as your soundtrack you can smoke anywhere you damn well please. Who’s gonna stop me? The local sheriff approaches.

Sheriff: “Where were you last night Johnny?”(My name would now be Johnny. Todd is not an appropriate name with this song as your soundtrack)

Me: “Nowhere. Everywhere. What’s it to ya Copper?”

Sheriff: “Laura Palmers’  body washed up at the lake this morning. The Log Lady said she saw you two together last night and The Backwards Talking Dwarf corroborated her story.”

Me: “Laura who? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey man, I’m married.”

Sheriff: “You’re going away for a long time Johnny. Cuff him boys”

Me: “Uhhhh…There’s been a big mistake. I don’t know any Log Ladies and that backward talking dwarf always freaked me out. My name is Todd. This was just supposed to be a fantasy about having a song as the soundtrack for your day. Does anyone know how to turn this song off?”

So apparently I’m not cool enough to pull this song off as my personal theme song. I’ll keep looking though. Until then I guess I’ll have to stick with whatever songs happen to be on the radio. It’s probably safer that way. I’m way too pretty to go to jail.

Aug 15 2012

Original vs Cover: “Head On”

Is imitation the highest form of flattery? It can be. Take the cover song for instance. Nothing is more polarizing in music. The artist that covers a song either makes the song their own or totally misses the boat. There is rarely an in-between. Have you ever listened to a cover song and thought “That was OK I guess”? The answer is no, you haven’t. It’s either ” That was great” or “That really sucked “.

This is an example of a very bad cover song. Careful. Not for the squeamish:

What can a person say after witnessing such a catastrophe? My sincerest condolences to Pink Floyd fans. If we all stick together, we can get past this. Move on but never forget.

One of my favorite songs is The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On”. It might be in Todd’s Top 10 Songs of All Time list. Well…that may be tough to commit to. Maybe my top 100. It’s at least in my top 1000 of all time. How about this…it’s in my “Top 10 Songs of All Time Compiled on August 15th, 2012 at 5:15 P.M. CT”. That list may change tomorrow or as soon as another song plays on my iPod.

Back to the matter at hand, The Pixies included a cover version of “Head On” on there final full length album, Trompe le Monde. My Pixies obsession has been well documented on this blog so you can guess that I love their cover as much as the original song (Oddly enough, the Pixies version is not on any of my “Tops of All Times” lists. There are very specific rules governing these lists and at this time cover versions are strictly verboten. Legislation is being drafted right now that would allow their future inclusion. Contact your local governing body to voice your support). In their version, Black Francis and the Pixies gang decided to crank up the volume a bit. In doing so they changed the over feel of the song from dark and moody to frantic and angry.

Take a listen to both and tell us which you prefer in the poll at the bottom.The Original or The Cover?

The Jesus and Mary Chain original.

The Pixies cover.