One of the best compliments you can receive as a musician is the notion of irritating music writers. The Dead C has always been one of the most difficult groups to describe. Like many psych rippers and no wavers, much of the Dead C’s repertoire specializes in noise and structure breakdown. But simply labeling it as noise is shortsighted, as the Dead C operates as more of an improv group. There’s always been “structure,” more or less, and if you listen closely, the Dead C often comes across as a damaged Spacemen 3, Space Needle, or other fuzz-heavy, post-punk-informed groups with the word “space” somewhere. There are solid songs throughout, always head warping, and always fed through multiple demonic filters to cultivate that otherworldly presence. Continue reading ‘Navigating the Dead C’
Post-punk pioneers Wire were oft recognized as a group in a strange nether region – one that was too artsy to be punk, too punk for the art kids. Wire was angular and minimal, with gorgeous melodies remaining subtle and rewarding. As such, it makes total sense to extract those under-the-surface pop structures, add dense layers of sound that the band sometimes hinted at, and reimagine this begrudgingly poppy gem as shoegazing, whose artists also tended to be begrudgingly poppy. Continue reading ‘Imagining Wire As a Wall of Sound’
Gotta shout out to Evan at Swan Fungus again for locating more difficult-to-find holy relics. Today, it’s a Dead Meadow bootleg, sometimes referred to as a Live on WFMU recording, though Evan points out that it’s actually a somewhat lost Peel Session.
Dead Meadow releases some of the highest caliber Hawkwind-esque mind-melters today. Of course, in the studio, you can saturate each track with reverb and panning techniques to make anything sound pretty good. This is where Dead Meadow prove themselves as an awesome band – they absolutely smoke live. “Drifting Down Streams” is cultish. Continue reading ‘Dead Meadow Peel Sessions’
A friend of mine once wrote that his first experience seeing Six Organs of Admittance live caused pure dimension, in addition to believe things that were not true. He was convinced his apartment had a fourth room, which it did not, and he was ready to take a hammer to the bathroom to discover it. This, of course, only scratches the surface concerning the mystical power of Six Organs’ incandescent, eastern tinged, enveloping psychedelic modal noodling. It’s barely conceivable what some would do to grip the rarest of Ben Chasny’s repertoire. Lucky for us, RTZ (Return to Zero) curates some of the rarest and some of the best on one priced-to-own brain burner. Continue reading ‘Six Organs of Admittance Returns to Zero’
Mayhaps you’ve noticed that my mailing address listed on the About page has a big ol’ strikethrough across each line. Or mayhaps you’ve noticed that all the Local Action links have completely changed. Astute observers may ascertain that, indeed, Mr. and Mrs. Kenny Bloggins are movin’ on up… or out, or your preferred adverb. We’ve left the Windy City for the River City. Continue reading ‘Update Your Books, Por Favor’
