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Veto – Sorta Happy Songs for Very Happy People

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on March 13, 2009

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veto Veto - Sorta Happy Songs for Very Happy People

With little fanfare, the Danish Music Awards were held in sunny Copenhagen earlier this month to recognize the country’s best musical talent. While this may seem like a trivial event in the global scheme, it’s probably worth checking out the listening preferences of inhabitants of the world’s happiest country.

Band of the year honors went to VETO which manages to put out largely electronic music without sounding sterile, bored or excessively “euro”. Front man Troels Abrahamsen delivers vocals with an uncharacteristic Scandinavian soul and imbues songs with a dark broodiness which defies any adjective approaching ‘world’s happiest.’

Despite a slot at SXSW a few years ago [Editor's Note: Still waitin' for my free SXSW badge, DUDES] , VETO hasn’t garnered much acclaim on this side of the pond. Their latest release, Crushing Digits (Tabu Records), is set for release in the UK next week but no word on a US release date. Until then, it’s one more reason the Danes are happier than you are.

MP3 :::
VETO – From A to B
VETO – You Say Yes, I Say Yes

Dumb Band Names, Vol. I – What the Fuck?

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on March 12, 2009

in Noise Consultations

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f-bombs Dumb Band Names, Vol. I - What the Fuck?

I was caught in the internet vortex the other day and ran across some old cuts by The Crucifucks. It brought back the vivid memory of when I was just a young pup and my mom found a hand-labeled cassette in my case featuring said band. Needless to say that Maxell XL90 hit the wastebin in a hurry.

Not particularly a big loss as The Crucifucks were a mediocre band hawking the same kind of marginally informed political rants typical of hardcore in the mid ’80s. But I was in junior high and listening to a band with the “F” word in the name gave me street cred. Not sure if it’s a form of arrested development or an extremely sheltered childhood which leads grown-ups to believe that use of the word “fuck” is somehow the ultimate statement. But apparently this banal formula is still intact since I’ve lately run across a fuck-ton of “fuck” bands.

Yo La Tengo cashes in with its alter ego, Condo Fucks, and a new covers CD appropriately called Fuckbook. Aside from that does anyone really think Yo La Tengo is *that* good or just a beneficiary of critical hype/having the balls to write 17 minute songs? [Editor's Note: I dunno man, Yo La Tengo is pretty fuckin' rad] Fuck Buttons – frequently referred to as F*** Buttons – join the club along with Holy Fuck, Fucked Up and an endless number of minor bands with correspondingly minor wits.

Do you remember the Ass Ponys? It was always good for a titter when you could claim them as one of your favorite bands. What about Throbbing Gristle? Alien Sex Fiend? But you can no longer get anyone’s attention by simply being suggestive. You need to ‘make a statement’ about how it’s ‘just a word’ over which people shouldn’t get so upset. And if it gets attention/endears you to critics so be it.

Dumb Band Names, Vol. I - What the Fuck? The dudes in Holy Fuck have already reaped benefits via a mini-controversy when Canada’s parliament pulled arts funding by citing them as recipients. Dutifully insulted that anyone would take issue, the band shrugged and claimed, “…really what the term ‘holy fuck’ is about—it’s a way to say ‘hooray!’” So why didn’t they name the band, “Hooray!”?

But what pisses off the man pleases the critics. The subtext is that an obscene name means you’re somehow anti-commerical and ‘all about the music.’ Accordingly, all of the “fuck” bands have earned Pitchfork praise with Fuckbook ranking an 8.3, Holy Fuck’s latest clocking a 7.9, Fuck Buttons’ Street Horrrsing hauls an 8.6 and Fucked Up’s The Chemistry of Common Life is off the charts yall with an 8.8. That’s some really fucking good music.

Of course “fuck” isn’t the only overused unoriginal moniker out there. Maybe there’s something like those baby names books but for bands. Do you really think millions of moms independently came up with Chloe, Addison or Liam?

There are the exclamation point bands which are the rough equivalent of every bullshit company with a website that rebranded itself with a “dot com” in the late ’90s. We’re cool! it says. Panic! At the Disco. Against Me! You Say Party! We Say Die! Los Campesinos! And of course the band known as !!!. Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly known as Godspeed You Black Emperor!) was arguably there first though some historians would go as far back as Wham! As evidence of an easing of this trend, Panic! At the Disco decided it wasn’t that excited and became Panic At the Disco.

Then there are the “go” bands; Go Panic! (bonus points for the !) OK Go. The Go! Team (more !), The Go Find, and the Go Fuck Yourselves. Actually I made up the last one so you can still use it for your band if you want. Just credit me in the liner notes dude. Etymology of “go” bands is probably The Go-Go’s or to a lesser extent The Go-Betweens.

The “wolf” bands; Wolf Parade, Guitar Wolf, Wolfmother, Sea Wolf, Peanut Butter Wolf, and AIDS Wolf. Probably derived from either Howlin’ Wolf or Peter Wolf.

The “crystal” bands; Crystal Antlers, Crystal Castles, Crystal Stilts, The Crystal Method, and Crystal Skulls. Most likely derivatives of Crystal Gayle.

If I had to go way out on a limb and predict the future of dumb band names, I’d put my money on the vampire meme. What with Vampire Weekend and that whole Twilight thing taking over the world, it won’t be long before we’re rocking to stuff like Bite My Neck Say Yeah and Vlad! The Impaler.

Here’s my favorite fuck band, Jackie O’ Motherfucker. Maybe posting an MP3 will get us some more fucking blog traffic.

MP3 :::
Jackie O’ Motherfucker – Backyard Raul’s Unisex Reprise

New Super Furry Animals Release Set to Drop

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on March 10, 2009

in News

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SFA460 New Super Furry Animals Release Set to Drop

Prolific psych popsters Super Furry Animals will release their ninth studio album, Dark Days/Light Years, on March 16^th via digital download on the band’s website. Details on the forthcoming slab have been scarce but the latest is that it will feature a guest vocal from Franz Ferdinand’s Nick McCarthy [Editor's Note: boooooooooo!] and include 12 tracks including one named “The Very Best of Neil Diamond.” Fans of “Cracklin’ Rose” are likely to be disappointed if SFA’s latest is anything like its past paeans.

superfurryanimals New Super Furry Animals Release Set to Drop The band’s last go-round was nearly two years ago with 2007’s Hey Venus! and frontman Gruff Rhys has more recently been busy with Neon Neon, his side project with Cincy native, Boom Bip [Editor's Note: yay!]. Yet another of the megabands spawned out of Creation Records’ heyday, Alan McGee plucked SFA for the label back in ‘95 and soon released Fuzzy Logic to critical acclaim. Reviewers frequently lumped them in with Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci as the torchbearers of “Welsh rock” in yet another example of why overeager attempts at categorization are often ill-advised in hindsight.

I like to now and then check out McGee’s blog over at the UK Guardian to see what the old Creation boss is listening to these days. With his keen A&R ear and provocative posts like, “Animal Collective: The New Hall & Oates?” (which predictably generated more flames than Mrs. O’Leary’s cow), he’s always a fun read. In reminiscing about his discovery of SFA, he claims that the band was intended to be the “Blur to my Oasis” referring to the top of the Brit-pop rivalry between the two bands.

Of course SFA never succumbed to the ridiculous swagger (although Mogwai couldn’t resist slagging Blur as “shite”) but has been quietly consistent and understated to the point of turning down millions from Coca Cola for the use of “Hello Sunshine” in its ads. McGee points to the band as woefully underrated but, as Carles at Hipster Runoff would say, “don’t yall h8 it when mainstreamers discover ur fave alt band?”

Hey Venus! was the band’s first of three contractual releases on Rough Trade. Response was overwhelmingly muted from fans unaccustomed to such a conventional album from a band known to twist Steely Dan samples pretzel-like into something like “The Man Don’t Give a Fuck.” Still, the album features some of their catchiest work to date including tracks like “Run-Away” which conjures up Beach Boys harmonies and a Ronettes backbeat.

The superficial reviews often compared the album to Fuzzy Logic though the two sound entirely different to me. There’s a span of over 10 years between the two releases and the nuance and maturity of Hey Venus! is apparent after repeated listens. While SFA’s albums in between have featured a daring willingness to experiment, their most recent release shows a restraint which says ‘yeah we can go there, but we won’t.’

Rhys has claimed that Hey Venus! was intended to be a “loud” album and that most of the more eclectic tracks were made part of his solo album, Candylion. There are even odds as to whether Dark Days/Light Years marks a natural progression or embarks on something entirely different. I’m sure Alan McGee is waiting with bated breath and hoping the next release transforms our planet into a “Super Furry” one.

After eight solid efforts over more than a decade it’s hard to know what would break the band into the bigtime alt rock world of, say, Miley Cyrus’ latest crush, Radiohead. “Hello Sunshine” was already floated on an episode of The OC and Zach Braff doesn’t have anything currently in production. But ask Thom Yorke what he thinks of being the new tween sensation and maybe superstardom doesn’t look all that appealing.

MP3 :::
Super Furry Animals – Run Away
Super Furry Animals – The Man Don’t Give a Fuck

Locrian is Perfect for a Sunn O)))-ny Day

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on March 9, 2009

in Praise and Malaise

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l_0c327a4395f341f88af3036ce62a7be5 Locrian is Perfect for a Sunn O)))-ny Day

I had an opportunity to sit down with the latest release from Chicago drone duo, Locrian, but hadn’t packed my bag for the transcendental journey on which this slab of sound sent me. Drenched Lands is 6 tracks clocking in at just over an hour and thick with layers of droning synth and strings. Despite the traditional association of the locrian mode with metal, Locrian is surprisingly easy on the ears, bringing in a slow tide which eventually crescendos into a powerful swell. There’s a raw fury lurking underneath the glassy smooth sea giving you one hell of a ride without ever smashing you onto the rocks.

The opening track features a repetitive Slint-like riff backed by subterranean synth which leads seamlessly into the pulsating “Ghost Repeater.” Closing my eyes I saw Kurt Russell on the barren ice in John Carpenter’s The Thing. This is the modern-day counterpart to Morricone’s masterful score of one of the creepiest films of the last half century. Drenched Lands indeed conjures up desolate post-industrial landscapes teeming with hidden peril.

“Obsolete Elegy in Cast Concrete” punctuates the mood pieces with stabbing guitar attacks and distant howls building frantically to a reprise of the album’s melodic opening. The alternating dissonance and consonance pushes you right to the edge of discomfort before lulling you back into the fold. The 30 minute epic final track, “Greyfield Shrines”, brings the storm to shore with an unyielding torrent of feedback and noise which eventually relents so you can breathe again.

I’m not a fan of unbridled noise which feels a bit too much like each musician is off on his own personal journey. But Locrian imposes an order on the chaos and the result is a surprisingly mature effort which feels a lot more dangerous than it is. Drenched Lands is a harrowing thrill ride down a dark, remote highway but there’s no risk here of running off the road.

MP3 :::
Locrian – Epicedium
Locrian – Obsolete Elegy in Cast Concrete

Modern Day Murder Ballads

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on March 7, 2009

in Super Swingin' Mix

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ssm4 Modern Day Murder Ballads

There’s nothing I love more than a good old fashioned murder ballad. Maybe it’s the juicy juxtaposition of the details of a grisly crime uttered sotto voce style over a plaintive dirge. Or maybe I’m just sick. But this isn’t about me. This week TDB brings you modern day murder ballads from some of today’s hottest new artists! You get hangings, stabbings, scorned lovers and much much more. This very special collection is only available through TDB and is not sold in any stores. And if you act now, we’ll include matricide as a bonus gift! Continue reading ‘Modern Day Murder Ballads’

Things are touch and go for Touch and Go

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on February 24, 2009

in Noise Consultations

. Comments

logo2 Things are touch and go for Touch and Go

First Muzak and now this news; Touch and Go Records is shuttering its distribution arm and laying off staff in response to that economic crisis thing. Perhaps it’s not surprising given that most labels have been absolutely decimated not only by the economy but by the sea change in music consumers’ purchasing behavior.

The major labels have long operated based on a ’swing for the fences’ business model with the presumption that pouring enough money into a release can somehow strongarm it into being a hit. But despite the deep pockets, majors have historically released 9 losers for every winner. Touch and Go, on the other hand, relied on shoe-string budgets and word-of-mouth promotion to goose its releases. Needless to say, its downfall doesn’t bode well for the state of less robust indie labels.

With that backdrop, let me wax on ya about the sheer volume of music available and the effect it’s having on listening habits. The other night I found myself on Last.fm until I had to prop my eyelids open with pencils. It was like diving into a swimming pool full of Oreos with a pint of milk in hand. Sheer bliss for a while as I reveled in the limitless pleasures available, but ultimately disappointing as I realized the limits to my physical capabilities.

mix-tape Things are touch and go for Touch and Go At some point in the past 10 years I stopped listening to albums and started listening to songs. It began innocently enough with mix tapes. These were purely labors of love with hours spent winding and rewinding tape, scattering CDs across the floor and avoiding the ultimate mix tape sin – having the tape run out in the middle of a song. But with the constant evolution from CD changers to MP3 players, the ability to instantly call up an obscure cut from your library of thousands of files (formerly known as “songs”) became universally available.

It used to be that buying CDs was a near-religious experience. Bringing it home, dropping it in the tray and scouring the liner notes while relaxing on the sofa. It was an event. More recently I sit at the laptop with earbuds and skim through a limitless amount of streams, samples and downloads. We’ve gone from a fine dining experience to the Golden Corral buffet.

There’s an upside here. As consumers we can easily access a massive variety of music from our homes. Buying music used to mean taking a risk and, at $12 a pop, not a cheap one. One way of separating the wheat from the shit used to be trust in labels. SST, Sub Pop, Touch and Go, Creation, what-have-you. Labels established reputations and reputations created allegiances. I can’t help but wonder whether the decline of label relevancy has hurt the established names in the biz.

So what say you all? Is the online distribution and sampling of music making labels less relevant? Rather than plunking down $12 on a Touch and Go release do you spread your dollars around?

The average listener who consumes major label hits probably isn’t going to stray into Touch and Go territory. But the avid music fan – Touch and Go’s core audience – is likely to stray elsewhere if given the opportunity at no risk.

Regardless of what precipitated the decline, Touch and Go is an icon in the indie world and its releases will live on long after the label. Here’s a few gems just to jog your memory a bit (and maybe even spur you to purchase the entire album).

MP3 :::
Brainiac – Kiss Me, You Jacked Up Jerk
The Black Heart Procession – The Old Kind of Summer
Bad Livers – Jesus is on the Mainline

The Lime Spiders – The Cave Comes Alive!

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on February 17, 2009

in Contraband

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limespiders The Lime Spiders - The Cave Comes Alive!

Back in the old days when people actually frequented record stores, you’d find the savvy music fan trolling the cut-out bins for those cute little babies thrown out with the bathwater. For sometimes as little as a buck or two you could take home the major label flotsam which was put out of print and had the case (or sleeve for you purists) unceremoniously marked like some Hester Prynne of rock and roll. I bring to you here the fruits of my loving labor after countless hours rescuing the cast-offs.

Back in the 1980s Australia was hot. That Crocodile Dundee guy was everywhere and Olivia Newton John was getting physical in her unitard. On the music scene, acts like The Church, Nick Cave, The Hoodoo Gurus and The Divinyls were getting equal time on college radio and it was, like, all blowin’ up huge for the Aussies. Even Tom Cruise had to get his own little piece of Aus by locking up Nicole Kidman.

limespiders2 The Lime Spiders - The Cave Comes Alive! The Lime Spiders crawled up out of the Sydney scene during the era but had the punk edge of Radio Birdman or The Scientists rather than the poppy frat-friendly lilt of the Go-Betweens. Steeped in psychedelic influences, the band started out doing covers of hits by groups like The Litter, Cream, The Haunted and The Liberty Bell. After years of touring, 1987 finally brought the debut full-length release of The Cave Comes Alive. Behind the strength of singles like “My Favourite Room” the album ran up the college charts in the US and prompted typical rock critic categorizations like, “the Sex Pistols on acid.”

The Cave Comes Alive features some standout original tracks like “Rock Star” which mocks the suffering artist schtick with a chorus spun from threads of The Kinks‘ “All Day and All of the Night”. Classic covers of The Electric Prunes’ “Are You Loving Me More” and The Litters’ “Action Woman” have a newfound urgency leaving behind the laid-back bounciness of the originals in exchange for grit-gargling vocals and windmill power chords.

It’s a solid effort with the cover art alone well worth the purchase. Unfortunately the album is long out of print but most of the cuts are available on the Nine Miles High compilation re-issued by Australia’s Raven Records. The Spiders haven’t released any new material in well over a decade but have been playing gigs in Australia as recently as last December. With the appearance of The Stems at last year’s SXSW there may be a revival afoot in the classic Aussie garage bands. Let’s hope it shakes loose some cobwebs and gets The Spiders back in the limelight.

MP3 :::
Lime Spiders – Action Woman
Lime Spiders – Rock Star

Elevator Music Going Down?

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on February 15, 2009

in Probably Unrelated

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jobim-image012 Elevator Music Going Down?

Filing for bankruptcy last week, Muzak – purveyor of smooth sounds and easy-listening classics to offices and malls everywhere – revealed that it will be unable to pay its nearly half-billion dollars in debts. Since 1936 the company has been sedating the masses with a catalog which now numbers over 2.6 million songs. Is Muzak finally getting the shaft? Or is there a ground floor opportunity here for an acquirer? Regardless of its future or your thoughts on the genre it created, Muzak has a storied past as part of American culture. Continue reading ‘Elevator Music Going Down?’

Stuff White People Play and the Legacy of Dr. Hoffmann and Bo Diddley

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on February 10, 2009

in Super Swingin' Mix

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ssm4 Stuff White People Play and the Legacy of Dr. Hoffmann and Bo Diddley

Any discussion of white boys playing the blues generally has to involve a purist going on about how “derivative” or “inauthentic” it is with frequent references to long-dead always obscure bluesmen with claims that they were the originals.

But, once you face the reality that everything and everyone is somehow a product of influences and predecessors, the argument fizzles. Just bring up the fact that Wallace Willis, a Native American, wrote Swing Low, Sweet Chariot back in the mid 19^th century and then walk away from the blank stares. In reality it was the adaptation of that tune by the Jubilee Singers that made it a timeless classic. I’ve made my point so let me put the lid back on this can of worms before it turns into a Ken Burns project.

The lesson my friends is to appreciate the music for what it is rather than trying to DNA test it for lineage. It’s the serendipitous melding of experiences and influences that keeps music fresh. While I like Mozart and all, I’d be pretty disappointed if we hadn’t moved on to other things in the last 300 or so years.

By this time you’re all thinking, ok I’m with you but… who is Dr. Hoffmann and where does Bo fit into this? Continue reading ‘Stuff White People Play and the Legacy of Dr. Hoffmann and Bo Diddley’

Jesus Ama Los Swervies…

Published

Xavier Van Zandt

on February 6, 2009

in MP3 and Noise Consultations

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swervedriver-2008 Jesus Ama Los Swervies...

…so says the bold proclamation on the backside of Swervedriver’s 1993 album, Mezcal Head. And while one can only speculate, I’m a firm believer that, sandwiched somewhere between The Rapture and The Temptations, you’d find Swervedriver on JC’s ipod.

My first taste of the band was back in ’91 on MTV of all places. Yes kids, it was back before the advent of the internets and easy access to MP3 downloads and streams. It was also when the “M” in MTV stood for “music” not “mindless” and alterna-VJ Dave Kendall hosted the regular “120 Minutes” program announcing bands with his lispy British accent. “Next up, Swuuuuuhhvdrivahhhhhhh!!” From the kitchen I heard the machine-gun drum riffs opening “Rave Down” and it was the beginning of a 15 year love affair. Of course, as with most love affairs, the sex sometimes got boring and I would occasionally get drunk and wake up to The New Pornographers. But after all this time I still get turned on by the fat-bottomed bassline in “The Other Jesus”…

Landing at Creation Records in the early ‘90s was probably more curse than blessing for the band despite some of the legends spawned by the label. Sheer A&R genius couldn’t keep Creation from bleeding pounds sterling and, after the release of Raise and Mezcal Head, Swervedriver was ultimately flushed by not only Creation but A&M which had distributed the band’s CDs in the US. By the late ‘90s you’d have had better luck finding that Moby Grape first pressing than Swervedriver in your local record emporium. Recorded right before the band was punted into record label purgatory, Ejector Seat Reservation was never released in the US and would become one of those elusive collectibles only available in hand-wrapped cellophane. And in one final kick in the nuts by the record industry, Swervedriver was subsequently signed then sacked by Geffen before it could even release its final studio effort, 99^th Dream. Lesser bands would’ve packed it in.

But enough industry insider bullshit. What about the music you say?

Raise chugs along like a freight train, opening with the sheer muscle of “Sci-Flyer”, dripping with fuzzy wah-wah goodness and a brutish rhythm section that sits heavy on your chest and dares you to breathe. Perhaps the only shortcoming here is Adam Franklin’s lost-in-the-wilderness vocals which simply lack the horsepower to rise above. While the band was often tagged as shoegazer – whether due to its thick layers of guitar or Franklin’s unassuming stage presence – take a listen to something like Sugar’s “What You Want It To Be” and you’ll hear more similarities there than you will in anything by My Bloody Valentine. The B-side cut “Flawed” borrows from SST-era Dino, Jr but without the trademark slop of Mr. Mascis.

With the band’s follow-up, Mezcal Head, the Swervies slow things down with sprawling epic hypno-drones routinely stretching past the 5 minute mark. “Duel” lives up to its name alternating between growling power chords and delicate arpeggios. It’s the third album, Ejector Seat Reservation, where the band’s sound turns the corner from stock-in-trade tube stack to a Byrds-meets-the-MC5 kinda thing. Jangly guitars, harmonizing and synth cut through the slabs of distortion and Franklin’s vocals actually sound like a feature rather than a bug.

After a decade supported by little more than a couple of modest fan sites and Adam Franklin’s occasional solo work, Swervedriver staged a reunion tour last year and its first three albums have finally been “reissued, reissued, repackaged”. I caught them last May at Denver’s Marquis Theater and they burned down the house with an ear-splitting show every bit as tight as my last encounter with the band at Slim’s, San Francisco in ‘98.

Back then, as a cash-strapped deadbeat, I wandered up to the modest merch table and could only scrape up $10 toward a $15 shirt. In a rare gesture of rock ‘n roll charity, the grizzled roadie spotted me the difference. My ex now has custody of the shirt, but I still recall the incident as emblematic of a band in it for the long haul. Despite the occasional siren song of the ‘next big thing’, Swervedriver keeps me coming back for more.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m happy to say that this is the first article by new contributor Xavier Van Zandt, an American writer currently on assignment in Tajikistan. Far out. He’ll be introducing himself soon, but the dude knows his shit and seems to be nicer than I am. Look out for more good stuff from him. Since the Decibel Tolls now has three writers, the names with be included at the end of the article, which presumes that you, the reader, cares which one of us scaliwags waxed intellectual today.

MP3 :::
Swervedriver – The Other Jesus
Swervedriver – Year of the Girl