Largehearted Boy has a live version of No Children by The Mountain Goats where the audience sings the entire song because of John Darnielle's ailing voice. It's why I go to shows, for that great Live Concert Moment. Darnielle's line at the end is perfect: "I can not tell you how awesome that was for you". I sent it to a friend and she wondered how could everyone know the words. Its simple really. It's in their blood. [link via gh]
2. This is not the time to play that Japanese song that you just know will kill it. I played a Larry Levan remix of some late 80’s Japanese house track and all of a sudden felt as though I had just played their equivolent to "Getting Jiggy Wit It."
David Letterman:
"The White House says that North Korea now has missiles with the capability - listen to this - the capability of being launched out of North Korea and landing on the West Coast of the United States. The capability that they'll launch them in Korea and land on the West Coast of the United States. I was thinking about that. Hell, that's Leno's problem."
Video I uploaded to Youtube: Chris Benoit Dragon Suplexes Chris Jericho
The long awaited Mike Patton project Peeping Tom is now in stores. It's a pretty good album, but lyrically a step back for Patton. He's written far more interesting lyrics than "Roll it up and smoke it again" on other projects. But still, it's Mike Fucking Patton.
When I first saw the cover, I remembered this snippet from a long newspaper profile on him I had read a long time ago:
"Among the CDs Patton has picked out, one can't help but notice, is a Melissa Etheridge album. What gives? 'I like the cover art on this,' he says unapologetically, holding up its silver cover with the singer peeking through a cut-out keyhole. He ends up actually buying it."
Here's the cover of the Melissa Etheridge album mentioned, Your Little Secret:
And here's the cover of the new Peeping Tom album:
I only remembered that because I too am a packaging nerd. Plus I have a Cliff Claven memory for useless things.
Friday evening started out as a total fucking dud. But I guess frustration and waiting puts me in the perfect mood for the doom drone of Liars, who's Friday night show was pleasantly not cancelled this time.
About the Liars discography, I loved the dance punk of the EPs and the first album. It was 2002-3. Dance punk was good. I still think it's pretty good. I thought the second album, the witch one, was even better. Totally fucked up and still completely different than any album that year. It was pleasing to see a buzz band practically kill the "sound" it was most known for. I didn't really get the backlash to it. Was it called "disappointing" because it wasn't dance punk? Or because it was pretentious?
Here's the thing though, ALL music is pretentious. Every single note played or recorded ever. Art is pretentious. But here's also the other thing, it's already got a built-in defense: it's art! So calling out music as pretentious is almost a bullshit moot point. That Sufjan project, that Grandma Fiery Furnaces album, The Mars Volta: you either like it or you don't. And if you like it, and it's something that connects for you, what's the point in resisting it? Don't be a pussy. Like what you like. And if you don't, then you don't. We already know it's pretentious.
Mini-rant aside, They Were Wrong So We Drowned was a perfect segue for this third album, Drum's Not Dead. Almost everything in this third album is foreshadowed in the second one: the dark lyrics, the drumstick clanging, the falsetto, and of course, the drums.
I fucking love drums. Have you heard Dave Grohl bang on QOTSA's "Song for the Dead"? Have you seen Danny Carey or that Mars Volta drummer live? Or Conrad/Jason sharing duties for Trail of Dead? Drums are the skeleton of the sound for those bands. Hell even the drummer for Walkmen is great.
If drums are the skeleton then Liars are pure skull. Lanky lead singer Angus even has the consistency of a caveman in a suit two sizes too big. The lighting for the show was almost always squarely on the drums the whole time. I saw it live, but I still have no idea how they can get their drums to sound like that. I think it's in how they mic the drums, but mostly the drums themselves. For one of the songs, the drummer sat on the floor and drummed the kickdrum with his sticks! The other guy would switch between a guitar, some pedals, and his drums.
The place was far from sold out so the show was noticeably "in-crowd" free, only the fans. Which means when Angus sang "Fly fly the devil's in your eye shoot shoot" the crowd yelled back "WE DO! WE DO!"
They played all of the faster songs from Drum's Not Dead and I think only one of the slower ones. All the doom tracks from They Were Wrong were played, but not "Room on the Broom" or "They Don't Want Your Corn", which are the two tracks from that album that sound more like the first album. No compromising. They obviously didn't play anything from the EPs or the first album. They didn't bring any keyboards.
One of the best shows I've seen this year. Oh and they didn't get up and go backstage between the last song and the one song encore. Because that's pretentious.
I got about half way through Reign in Blood on National Slayer Day before I got bored and turned to Transformer di Roboter. This track gives metal a much needed Glitch/Noise/Videogame make over. You can find more Transformer di Roboter downloads on their Myspace. For more cinematic video gameness, check out Zombi. They're not really metal, but on the mostly metal label Relapse.
Most heavy metal is obsessed with the devil, and Lucifer is a essentially a Biblical/Christian figure. So most Satan loving heavy metal is essentially Christian Rock, just louder and with drop D tuning. I think I'm ready for some secular darkness. And smooth fonts.
Apparently Lucifer was in heaven till he hung the toilet paper the wrong way and God kicked him out. Thats what happened.
God: "for fucks sake, it goes OVER and not UNDER. you know what Lucifer, i can't have this fight any more. get the hell out" Lucifer: "where am i to go?" God: "I just told you, hell"
This is what happens when you're raised by TV. Also, if you hang the toilet paper under, you are the devil.
Yup, thats about right. Her last EP was called "Break the Bone and Suck the Marrow From It" after all.
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I heard the new Junior Boys album today and wow is it ever blowing me away. Wow. Holy shit on "Double Shadow". Holy shit. It's not out till August on Domino.
Q: Where does the MTV show "Yo Momma" rank on the Unintentional Comedy Scale? -- Eddie D., Charlotte, N.C.
The show itself ranks in the high 70s, Wilmer's hosting job ranks in the mid-90s, and the part when Wilmer says, "Dis is your show ... YO MAMMA!" and crosses his arms over his chest is a solid 100. That kills me. It's never NOT funny.
