Mudhoney ain’t so sweet

I was reprimanded  today by a certain KEXP DJ for falsely accusing Mudhoney of riding the coattails of the Grunge movement. Apparently they FOUNDED the grunge movement. I always thought they were just given a cookie and granted one song on the Singles Soundtrack… one song too many. I guess I would have known better had I been born here and forced through their droning sets at the Sit and Spin, nodding my head and discussing with my flannel-clad brethren, over steaming lattes, how progressive they are. Luckily, I’m not local. This gives me the distinctive ability to separate myself from the local bands and having an opinion other than “ALL-THINGS-SEATTLE-ARE-TOTALLY_AWESOME…”

Yawn.

Now note, I’m not ranking on all things Seattle. I just think that there is a line we need to draw between opinion and loyalty. As in, ditch your blind devotion for a second and listen to the sophomoric “Where is the Future” (found here) and tell me, HONESTLY, that this doesn’t sound like the runner up to the Ballard High Battle of the Bands. Try not to laugh. This is the song that was deemed worthwhile by our KEXP dj. Not only worthwhile of playing, but worthwhile of defending. Yikes. Where is the Future of indie radio..? I’m tempted to ask, but they get a little protective over there if you offer up anything besides praise. 

And check out the lyrics”I want to fly with my personal jetpack. I want to visit my family on Mars.”
Ooooh, what futuristic vision. Where are the little green men? Didn’t Arnold go to Mars..? He must be awesome too. Please, someone explain to me what the hell the attaction is to this band… BESIDES that they’re from Seattle.

 If you’re truly sado-masochistic, check out the brilliant repetition in Hard On For War on the same link above… (=shutter=)

 Mudhoney and spice and everything nice. THAT’s what boring girls are made of.

Popularity: 25%

Shins’ Album Release on Yahoo!

In a poke to the eye of my always-sensitive music taste, news of the Shins’ release Wincing the Night Away was today on Yahoo!’s home page.

The album, released midnight on Jan. 23rd, was — I admit — heavily anticipated. But Yahoo!? Without the midnight release it wouldn’t have gotten the press it did; I’m aware that that has a lot to do with it.

When is “alternative” music no longer alternative? Rhetorical question — I think that was answered in the early 1990s when grunge became Big Radio’s darling.

The line between alternative and mass market is a blurry one.

Popularity: 23%

What’s Catching My Ear Lately

Larrikin Love — touring Great Britain through February (see below) — check out their music here (hover over the upper right bird on the TV set :-))

Popularity: 32%

I should really go to sleep, but I’m listening to Six Organs of Admittance’s “Dark Noontide” which is some amazing spooky shit…

So…you’re sitting around and want to see a show this week?  Well it’s a good week…

Tuesday, 1/23 — Funhouse ::: Sean/Times of Despeartion/Fortress of Victory

Three slaying duos that will make you rethink that Black Keys or White Stripes have any legitimacy — a lot of good shit this night.  Sean — a great jazz drummer and a slaying keyboard player doing sick grind and the best jokes you’re bound to hear all year.  Rules to life…..always see Sean shows when you’ve got the chance.  Fortress of Victory — victorious victorious victorious.  Times of Despeartion I’ve never heard.  They’re from Portland. 

Wednesday, 1/24 — Rendezvous ::: Six guitar players doing solo sets!!!  This should be cool.  Highly recommended above all is the incomparable Brad Dunn.  He was recapping a guitar workshop of Nels Cline’s he went to in Vancover…something along the lines of this, “Thanks for all the wonderful advice and tips.  But I play a guitar with a screwdriver jammed underneath the 17th fret.  What do you have for that, Nels Cline?”  Check it out!

Thursday, 1/25 — Rendezvous :: The Quit — they’re lead guitar player is Nash McBride.  you’ve got to lvoe that name.  It’s also a benefit for cancer research or some such thing.  The Quit is catchy. 

 Saturday, 1/27 — Monkey Pub ::: Wah Wah Exit Wound/Noh-Suspend — Noh Suspend is from Japan.  For a bit of bad logic, here we go…Boris and Green Milk from the Planet Orange are from Japan.  They are two of the most incredible bands I heard in 2006.  Why won’t Noh Suspend be cool.  Yes, I admit it, Wah Wah Exit Wound IS my band, but whatever.  I’ve got a lot of objective confidence in us.  Prog-psych…check it out.  Buy Anthony’s poetry book…he’s the bartender. 

 The moral to the story?  Never pay more than $10 for a show and you’ll see some great stuff.  Most of all — go see Fortress of Victory and Sean!!!! Tomorrow!!!

 Also — if you haven’t heard Six ORgans of Admittance go pick up an album.

Popularity: 20%

Monolators and Upskirts

Lobo Saloon saw a superb lineup last Friday with LA band the Monolators and Seattle’s The Upskirts plastering the Lobo’s tight quarters with bushels of tight punk-pop. Check back here for reviews on these bands.

Popularity: 40%

rbally: Live Music Feast… and Mogwai

[editor’s note: rbally.net has closed its doors. See my comments below.]

rbally.net is the best thing since iPods and 42″ plasmas, and it features (free) mp3 tracks of live shows. I recently dug into Mogwai at the Gothic Theatre. [As I write this that URL is down. I’m hoping this situation is temporary.]

I’m going to turn this into a Mogwai thread somehow starting… well, now.

After listening to this live version of Glasgow Mega Snake (from their mostly-brilliant 2006 release Mr. Beast), I’m just shaken to the core. The song is all business; it’s an instrumental earthquake of the highest order. It’s brutal, melodic, stunning rock music.

It’s good on the studio album, but it’s even better live IMHO. And it the show just happens to be at the venue where I saw the Pixies in 1990 and 1991 on their Bossanova and Trompe le Monde tours, respectively.

Incidentally, the sound on this live recording is outstanding.

Listen to Glasgow Mega Snake [mp3]

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Interview with Ill Papa

Desmond Dunmore, aka The Black Diamond Pearl, aka Ill Papa is a self-described “countrity soldier” (1/2 country — born in Button Willow, California, near Bakersfield — and 1/2 city). The 34-year-old Seattle singer is shy of even one album, but is putting out solid tracks without aid of a studio. He is an ex-member of mid-1990s Seattle band Kill a Crop.

Listen to Ill Papa’s Carpet Ride [mp3]

Ill Papa on Soundclick

How do you write music?
I’m not a beatmaker. Beats just come to me, put them to a rhythm that I hear in my head. This is what it would sound like if it was a live band. I use Sonic Foundry Acid Pro.

Describe your music
Truth is there. There’s nothing fictitious about the lyrics. I call it “atmospheric journey”. If people listen to the lyrics, what’s being said, they’ll hear the journey.

Current bands you’re into?
Incubus, metal, Roots, Snoop Dogg, Floetry, Kanye West, what people call conscious hiphop. I love Outkast, Goodie Mob, Eric B & Rakim, EPMD, Wu Tang Clan, Method Man Red Man. Punk? Green day. Growing up in foster homes forced me to have an open mind.

Likes?
Old kung fu flicks.

People?
I listen to whatever people have to say.

Did you have any musically influential people in your life growing up?
I got my influences from listening to classic rock n dicso, Joplin, Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield, and the Doors. I grew up in group homes and foster homes. Nobody that did music that I knew influenced me personally. My music is diverse because I was in a diverse atmosphere. A lot of the heart and soul of music came from where I grew up, Charleston South Carolina and Kern County California.

Popularity: 24%

Album Cover Quiz

This is probably very difficult for anyone under thirty, and even difficult for anyone under forty. Many of the bands are 70’s and 80s rock, classic rock, prog rock, and metal. Click the image to take the quiz. There’s 54 covers on the quiz.

credit

Popularity: 40%