59 posts tagged “records”
A nice mix of psychedelia, garage, folk, and a little bit of a proto-punk freakout edge. A little bit acid, a little bit smack. And the band never got all embarrassing and shit as they got old, either, so it's okay if a hipster dork hears you say you're into it!
So how are all of you doing today? Good? Bad? What's on your mind?
First off, Laney (SortaHopeless) sent me this blog, which, I must say, is fucking awesome. Who knew Garfield was so much better without Garfield in it? (Hey Jim Davis! There's still time! Burn Garfield out in a blaze of dadaist glory!)
Also, those Velvet Cacoon records are really good, even if the band doesn't think so.
Also, here's some pictures:
I got $50 in belated birthday cash today.
Combined that with $20 I already had.
And I went record shopping and blew most of it on metal.
I've listened to the Wormwood 2x7", and the first side of the LP so far. And I have to say, they're pretty good. The 7" is pretty raw, but the LP is kinda hit and miss, but when it hits, it hits pretty hard. Unfortunately, the female vocals are pretty terrible, and sometimes the keyboards are just too much. Wormwood is two bassists, a drummer, a keyboard player, and a singer who also does extra percussion and sampling. I definitely dig it. The vinyl is also limited to 1000 numbered copies (mine is #696).
I've heard a couple tracks by Velvet Cacoon and was hooked instantly. Here's hoping the rest of the LP's are just as great!
Oh, and this record. It's really, really fucking good. Having a Mastodon shit all over your band's chest is definitely a good thing.
And yes, it sounds like the kind of thing Kemado would put out. If that scares you, then you might want to steer clear.
They're playing here in Boise on March 4th, with Fu Manchu. I'm fuckin' there.
Also, looking forward to The Sword with Slough Feg and Children, Converge with Baroness, and I might also make it out to New York Dolls (although I don't know yet; Mahjongg is playing the same night with Calvin Johnson, and that sounds way more appealing than seeing a band that's all old and shit pretend to be young). Also might make it out to Vampire Weekend, and 65daysofstatic.
Loaded and The Velvet Underground are two albums I should've had a long time ago. To be fair, though, I've never been as big on their later stuff. Doug Yule was a pretty piss-poor substitute for John Cale, and John Cale seemed to be the part of the band that was keeping it weird and experimental, which is what I liked so much about The Velvet Underground in the first place.
Still, their last two albums (at least, the last two legitimate albums) were full of what amounted to really awesome pop songs. I think "After Hours" and "Sweet Jane" might be two of my favorite Velvet Underground songs.
Also picked up the Undying Glare 7" by Bone Awl. Seriously, this band kicks so much ass. Some of the best black metal to ever come out of America. Granted, that's not saying much, because America is responsible for a lot of terrible black metal, but it's still definitely worth checking out.
Well, I admit, there was a miscommunication, totally on my end earlier. So how's that book, Jeff? We still do need to chill if you're ever in town.
Either way, I ended up at the Record Exchange. Hung out with the (bored as fuck) employees a bit, while maybe six or seven people total just kinda chilled out and browsed vinyl while the CD section sat empty. I love being out on Super Bowl Sunday for just that reason. You can go out and have yourself peace and quiet all at the same time. I ended up with a bunch of shit I probably should've already had. Loaded and the self-titled by The Velvet Underground, Recent Songs by Leonard Cohen, and the less-essential Strung Out in Heaven by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who never fail to put out stuff I dig.
So I actually know who's playing in the Super Bowl now, and I don't feel I'm any better or worse off for it. I asked my mom. She also said Tom Petty didn't play any songs she knew. She said my dad knew one of them. I think one Tom Petty song is about all I know, or care to know, as well. It's not that I don't like his stuff, it's just that I can't see myself liking his stuff.
Also, I have a metric assload of beer in the fridge. I've got a bottle of Deep Ender's Dark Porter (Anderson Valley), Old Boardhead '07 Reserve (Full Sail), Arrogant Bastard (Stone), and some German beer called Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock (Brauerei Heller-Trom). I'm about to drink the porter right now. It's poured a coffee colored dark brown with a creamy head and a nice chocolate-coffee smell. Maybe a hint of cinnamon? More coffee than chocolate in the taste. Goes down nice and smooth. Oh yes. It's good. This bottle won't last long.
Well, okay, I really have a really hard time writing about either of these bands. Especially about specific releases. There's just not a lot to say about them. You kinda buy their records and know what to expect from them.
So I guess I'll start with the one I listened to first. Ease Down the Road was Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's follow-up to I See a Darkness, and it's about as upbeat as he gets. It's still delivered in a similar style, but with a strange glimmer of hope through it all. To be honest, I still like I See a Darkness a lot better, and I like The Letting Go a lot better, too, but this might just need some time to grow.
And Explosions in the Sky are yet another band I really have no idea what to say about. Which is not really a bad thing; it's just, once again, that when you buy an Explosions in the Sky record, you have a pretty good idea what it's going to sound like. Really, I think it would be a quite fair assessment to say that all their records sound pretty similar, aside from the first one. Like film soundtracks without films. Instrumental post-rock, more or less by the numbers. And that's not a bad thing. All the songs here are really good. The only bad thing I can think of is that Temporary Residence tends to make the packaging look really nice to cover up the fact that they probably use some of the cheapest recycled vinyl this side of Ebullition Records (and they're a hardcore label, so they can get away with it). I don't think I've ever bought a Temporary Residence vinyl release that didn't have at least a couple audible scratches and pops on it the first time I played it. If this label put out vinyl as nice as your average 180g Constellation or Southern Lord plates, it would probably be among my favorites (next to Constellation and Southern Lord, anyway). Unfortunately, they typically seem to drop the ball on it, which is a shame because they put out a lot of really great stuff.
So basically, the point is, both these records are pretty non-essential unless you're a fan of the artists. If you're not already, listen first to I See a Darkness and Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever, respectively. I enjoyed both of these too, but they're definitely not very good starting places for either.
Well, here I am, after a good night's sleep. Sort of. I didn't sleep last night, so I figured I'd sleep like a log tonight. And, well, I did. Except I woke up at 3:00 in the morning. Which is strange because I'm usually up until 3:00 in the morning. Or later. I should probably stop doing that. I IM'ed Alex, though, and he, Jake, and Erik were still hanging out. Which in itself is kinda bizarre. Not that that's abnormal in any way, but I probably would've been there, had I not decided I'd rather play guitar 'til noon, last night.
Went to bed (well, kinda fell on my bed, "rested my eyes" for a minute, which turned into a few hours) at like 7:00 PM. Wake up, and it's still dark out, and the paper's not even on the doorstep yet. I guess it's still better than waking up in the mid-afternoon. But I'm still gonna be goddamn tired by like 5:00 tonight.
I got some new records yesterday. They were kind of a belated "Christmas present." Insound had them backordered when my mom ordered them, but they finally came. I got Ease Down the Road by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place by Explosions in the Sky. I haven't listened to the latter yet, but the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is exactly what you'd expect from him, post-I See a Darkness. I'll write more about it later, though.
I also finally have a new box for my record collection, so I can fit all my stuff in it again. Here's what it looks like now:
Ain't it pretty? I have more records than both of my parents combined. I think that's awesome rather than excessive, for some reason.
Anyway, I'm gonna scrounge for some food. I think I have some Field Roast vegan sausages lying around to make a sammich with. By the way, Field Roast's stuff is damn tasty, and I'm pretty sure it's all vegan. You should give it a try.
I've got a few things I need to do sometime in the next couple days. I'm going to make drew a mix CD ('cause I, unfortunately, do not have a tape recorder), and then I've gotta get that Christie Front Drive record mailed off to him. I might stick a couple other things in there, but I'm undecided on what those things will be, right now.
Oh, and there are a couple shows I'm looking forward to. Liars and No Age are playing at the Neurolux, end of this month. The New York Dolls are playing at the Sleazy, end of next. I don't know how "right" it could possibly be without Johnny Thunders, but I doubt I'll ever get an opportunity to see the New York Dolls ever again, so I might as well!
