Versus / Soft Power at Black Cat DC 12/12/09

let's get technical

Soft Power | MySpace Music Videos

Soft Power is sort of a late 80's "Underground" power / art / guitar band - Nice Strong Arm, Music From Elba, late 80's Sonic Youth but as if rewritten by some German art rock band from the early 80's. The band is fronted by the guitarist and guitarist/bassist who offer male/female vocal tradeoffs on the songs. The drummer ties this band together - innovative beats and knows the songs better than the others. There's a keyboardist who generally provides background with occasional riffs thrown in - I kind of like it when the keyboardist knows how to take the backseat.

The band does some interesting stuff with odd measures. I counted one songs that appeared to be in 15/8 and another that veered from 6/8 to 4/4. The drummer never stumbled on any of this. A band to continue to watch over the next few months.

Versus are a mid-90's to late 90's Teen Beat/Merge who (I think) were once local to DC but now live in Brooklyn and aren't really a "functioning" (touring) band anymore but are putting together a new set of songs. They've got guitar, bass, violin/keyboardist, drummer. They added a fifth member halfway through the set - I think he was covering bass but couldn't really see from my vantage point.

The pros for this band is that half their tunes are an interesting take on post-punk - where the "punk" part is defined as garage punk (so I guess its post-garage punk). These songs (and I can't name them) shimmer and throw in exciting twists at the genre. Richard Balyut (the nerdy lead), while not exactly a likable prescense onstage, does best when he's mixing/harmonizing vocals with the competent female bassist (Fountaine Topps?).

However, the other half of their stuff seems too 90's indie rock and antiquated. The thing is I don't know enough about their music to tell whether this was the old stuff or the new stuff. I'm thinking it was the old stuff I didn't like.

The problem with this band is the drummer. He doesn't know the meaning of loosen up. A kid playing pots and pan in the kitchen plays with infinitely more joy and ease than he does. It's in the wrists man - feel the beat, be the beat, it's like you are trying to hunt and kill the beat. Being as the drummer is the lead's brother I don't see them changing up anytime soon.

Like I implied above, I didn't really "get" the lead singer. He's kind of a nerd who thinks he's cool and I just find that, well, annoying to watch onstage (I don't like Carrot Top either). Judging from my +/- CD collection, Richard Balyut may be better suited for studio work than live appearances.

Jack Rose - 1971 - 2009 RIP

More sad news:

Jack Rose, a renowned Philadelphia-based acoustic guitarist, has died of a heart attack at 38, the Philadelphia Daily News reports.

Rose was born in Virginia in 1971. His professional musical career began in the Richmond noise band Pelt, which formed in 1993. But Rose is best known for his solo work, which he began recording in the early 2000s, releasing numerous EPs and LPs on a number of different labels, most frequently VHF.

http://klang.org/stories/219-1971-2009

Pelt - "Deep Sunny South"

• Buhbomp has links and videos
• Glenn Jones reacts

Al Alberts RIP

Just was squeezin' out a log in the water cabinet, reading this week's EW and come across the sad, sad news that Philadelphia's Uncle Al Alberts has succumbed. This is indeed the capstone of celebrity deaths this year for me!

As anyone who grew up in the 70's in Philadelphia and watched too much TV, Mr. Alberts curated a weekly show of proto-Jon Benets and 8 year old boys in suits, with spit-coiffed hair, trained to sing like Frank Sinatra. Mr. Alberts and his wife were sort of the local Jim and Tammy Faye except their religion was 30s and 40s show tunes and standards. Hosted on the twisted WFIL Channel 6 (which also featured the perennially sloshed Sally Starr, the ambiguously gay Gene London and legendary sky divin' anchorman Jim O'Brien), Mr. Alberts was just as freakish as the little kidults he hosted every week. Paul Begala could only wish to have his forehead topped by the Conway Twitty style hair apostrophe.

Despite all this, perhaps Mr. Alberts will (hopefully) be fondly recognized not for his Phillie freakshow but as one of the Four Aces whose graceful male harmonies soothe us even to this day.

Love Is A Many-Splendored Thin...

Stranger In Paradise - The Fou...

Image found at http://www.singers.com/jazz/vintage/fouraces.html

CORRECTION: Gene London was on WCAU Philadelphia (the CBS channel). As Wikipedia notes: "Early programs began with Gene London opening the door of his General Store and flipping the sign to read "Open for Business." As the kids passed by Gene, he palmed the tops of their heads and sang the opening theme song."

Arms - "Kids Aflame"

ARMS (Todd Goldstein) photo by Elizabeth Weinberg, June 09

This is lo-fi bedroom closet pop at its best - vocal harmonies mixed with banjo and finger snaps all fronted by a Neil Youngish nearly breaking vocals whining "They lie, they lie to your face / you were in love / you were on your way." The band does shows so there must be a band as well and not just a multi-tracking gargoyle behind this.

Group/project called Arms who released an LP this year that was massively and unfortunately (for them and anyone else who cares) ignored. Guitarist is also with Harlem Shakes but I have yet to hear of them so I just offer that as a factoid.

Here's a direct link to the subject MP3 [Arms - "Kids Aflame"] - but do go to the Arms site and check out the music tab for more. "Whirring" is another tasty piece of home recording for ya.

Apostle of Hustle - "Soul Unwind"

The band of the day is guitarist Andrew Whiteman's Apostle of Hustle from Toronto, Ca - home of the Space Needle and a bunch of fine restaurants and bus stations.

While the 2009 album ("Apostle of Hustle Eats Darkness", great name) was a bit uneven, perhaps too overladen in experiments and concept, this track, which incidentally is free, was the standout.

Not sure whether its the Broken Social Scene ca. 2006 vibe or the amped up drums and vocal recording distortions.

You can download "Soul Unwind" at RCRD LBL - here

Apostle of Hustle website

A Classic Education - free digital single

Today's band is an Italian bunch that make wistful yet dark lo-fi pop and cover old classics like "Spanish Harlem".

Anyway, Holiday Records has a digital freebie of their original "What My Life Could Of Been" b/w "Toi", a cover of a song from an obscure 60's movie. It's not the best I've ever heard this week and I certainly wouldn't order you to go out of your way to buy their records until I hear some more virtuosity and originality but it's free and at least worth the time it takes to click.

You can pick up the digital single at Holiday Records and learn more about the band at SoundSXP.

More links:

"Toi" video

Their tiny website streams this single

Acid Mothers Temple - Are We Experimental? LP

Warning, this music may not make you peaceful and loving as the cover suggests. In other words, you'd be foolish not to plug this into your earlobes prior to, I don't know, sacking a city.

Obvious tribute in the cover above which if you don't get well STOP READING NOW but it they froze Jimi, Noel and Mitch in a single moment of pure acid reflux, this might be the resulting melt. If other purveyors of so-called psychedelic music aren't malevolent as you would have liked and you just felt well lost at sea with it all, then this my friends is your lifesaver even if it is a eye-popping, ear-liquifying, tounge-scroggling noose.

I haven't always appreciated these geniuses too much before but I'm gonna have to stop being such as wuss.

Wired Stinky Pussy Luver - Aci...

Not for the faint-hearted or impatient. Other great song titles include: "Goodbye Big Asshole Emanualle" and "Ultimate Unhip Blues" (Mr. Acid Mothers Temple's guitar here is well real, real inspired - hail feedback and skronk!).

Here's more on Acid Mother Temple

Aa

In case you are ever stuck for a band name in Scattergrams that starts with A and you think your neighbor has already got Arizona Amp and Alternator, you can clue them into this Brooklyn 4-drum electronix noise band. But hell, I just make up band names - my relatives never know the diff.

This name thing, though, is making it hard to google them (hell-o AA Bondy, wtf are you?), and I guess that adds to the mis-teek. So they go by BigALittleA

Kinda reminds me of a tight butthole surffin' down the NYC sewer in that closing scene from Escape From New York that I imagined. The only thing that kinda makes me cringe, though, is I start to thinking about those dorks that dance around on stage with garbage can lids.

Some samplin's

Best Of Seven - BiG A little a

Aa (the band from Brooklyn) lala

Aa (the band from Brooklyn)'s website

Magik Markers side project

Why Mp3 Blogs and Pitchfork Make Music Suck

Pitchfork responded the next morning with a headline that would echo across the Internet: "Wavves Self-Destruct in Barcelona." Indie sites Brooklyn Vegan and Stereogum pounced on the story, and their reader comment sections quickly turned rancid.

"happy it didnt take longer for everyone to realize this band sucks," said one commenter on Brooklyn Vegan

From article on Wavves

It's all about the "next big thing" and then "how to take down the next big thing"... I don't know which is worse.

Super Awesome Happy Fun Set - DEERHOOF

The ATP set by Deerhoof is available for download at the every day awesome Free Music Archive.

The set includes "+81", "Perfect Me" and "Fresh Born"

The sound is "B"

Download Deerhoof at ATP here.

Deerhoof photo by Michaelcz under CC

TV Montage Song of the Week: "Kingdom of Rain"

Not great TV but I saw this on "Lie to Me" and had to share... missed it the first time in 2007. This is Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees) singing. The band is Soulsavers.

I'm gonna punch all your blood out

Greetings, reader.

Here's some stuff you oughta want or oughta want to know:

- WFMU posts 70's rock stars and celeb's anti drug commercials. These will certainly fill out those mix tapes.

- Turntabling.net is a cool vinyl blog - the mod is currently on a massive road trip to visit stores that sell vinyl. Give them gas or sandviches if you see them.

- I've been delisted from Hype Machine for lack of activity. I feel free.

Free Free Jazz. Made in Japan. And America.

You hate free jazz so do not download this. But I've loved Chris Corsano since he played with Ben Chasney on that Six Organs record. Here he's teamed with some free flowing 65YO alto sax player and a double bass.

The shit gets really intense about seven minutes in so let it build on ya. Via Brainwashed.

"Friendly Pants" Akira Sakata and Chikamorachi - buy it or dl it here if my direct link doesn't work.

O Sweet Mama... It's the Pens

I break radio silence for one of the few tracks these days worth breaking radio silence for. I found these young aspiring hoodlums out in my backyard throwing shit around, smoking reefer, breaking my swingset and shoving the sandbox dirt up their hoo-has. The cats are also missing.

Their myspace ID is "penispenispenis" and Rupert Murdoch regularily logs in just to see if its true.

"Networking" is glee for kids without glee.

"Networking" - Pens

Buy it here and listen to the title track of their crayoned masterpiece.

Note for parents: Coke Machine Glow doesn't get it.

Zombies on Your Lawn

Geez, what's wrong with bloggers these days - here's this great theme song from one of the greatest VGs of the year and no one is giving it love. We'll just have to fix that and make sure this gets some Hype Machine luv and lolz.

Laura Shigahara - "Zombies On Your Lawn"

(Great for kids mix tapes - proof).

Ms. Shigahara's blog has this perm-loaded (we'll only be offering our zombie killing lawn for a limited time). Snatch up the Japanese version as well (even MORE fun for kids mix tapes) and check out the link to the viddie she got shot for this song.

This weeks for real montage song

Maybe I should do a blog about music used on TV shows - seems to be the only thing I'm doing these days with this thang.  Ha ha.

 "La Maree Haute" stands for "High Tide" and it comes from the lovely and talented Lhasa de Sela, a Mexican-American who sings in French and has a brand new spanking 3rd album out.  

It was featured on the off-montage from this weeks' RESCUE ME (episode "Wine").  I guess since the episode concerned a French journalist simultaneously trying to get into Denis Leary's character's pants and writing a book about 9/11, it was appropriate.  Why do women throw themselves at this character?

"La Maree Haute" - Lhasa de Sela

Little Itty Bitty Weekly Best TV Background Song Posting

It's not exactly a montage piece (for that I would have used the odd music behind the final scene of "Rescue Me") but this song plays in the background of the great mythos-building episode of this weeks "Supernatural"

"A Little Bitty Tear" - Burl Ives

This song is also great for Asian girlfriend cellphone montages - check out this awesome piece of found art:

And of course, what mention of Mr. Ives wouldn't be replete without a nod to the world's greatest EP.

This week's TV montage song

"Hey Ya" by Ted

Eat Skull

Raven Sings the Blues has some new Eat Skull up.  You'd be foolish to ignore.