Sometimes the last place I want to be is in this urban metropolis. You feel me? With more than fifty percent of the world’s population living in cities, it was only a matter of time before indie rock got the blues.
The Seattle outfit Whalebones takes my thoughts and expresses them concretely in their video for “I Don’t Wanna Live in the City No More”. The blues-inspired guitar riff rolls along while the bass line adds subtle flourishes between psychedelic guitar solos. It’s an ode to the simple life. The bygone era when you lived for yourself, and by yourself. ATG
There is no musical category called "drone rock," trust us. If you go into Sam Goody or Musicland and ask where the drone rock records are you might get beaten up or laughed at.
". . . a Bergman film set in a Hoboken record store: abstract and intimate, sweetly whispering, raging like a distant thunderstorm." -- Chris Norris, SPIN Magazine
Yo La Tengo’s live shows are electrifying events, never the same as the last, and it’s onstage that their dynamism is most visceral.
It is the first year anniversary of the passing of Mark Linkous. I wanted to mark it with a brief look back on this man's incredible musical contributions to the world.
We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you." - March 6, 2010
Linkous' dramatic, lush music often came from a place of pain. In 1996, Linkous actually died for two minutes after ingesting a dangerous mix of Valium and antidepressants while on tour in the U.K. behind Sparklehorse's 1995 debut Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. He recovered, but the incident left him crippled — he laid unconscious for 14 hours, cutting off circulation to his legs. He suffered a heart attack when medics attempted to straighten his legs, and underwent seven surgeries to save his damaged limbs. But after the incident, he recorded 1999's Good Morning Spider, 2001's It's A Wonderful Life and 2006's Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain. "For a while there, I was really scared that when I technically died — which I guess I did for a few minutes — that the part of my brain that allowed me my ability to write songs would be damaged," he told Rolling Stone in 1999.
Camera Obscura formed in Glasgow in 1996, releasing a slew of singles leading up to their debut CD Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (2001, UK). The band slowly built up a loyal following in their native land, including the likes of legendary BBC DJ John Peel, who championed the band early on. Merge Records released Camera Obscura's U.S. debut, Under Achievers Please Try Harder in the winter of 2004. Indie pop fans across North America quickly became hooked on Camera Obscura's lovely, enchanting melodies and undeniable hooks...
A nice sampling of electronica, indie pop, and "knee slapping" indie covers; again many small artists covering some of the world's greatest... You just can't be beat a classic song. Enjoy!
Yours Truly and High/Low Film were there to capture Andy Cabic of Vetiver and Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats performing the Bobby Charles' tune “I Must Be In a Good Place Now,” in a 100-year-old cabin on the Bundschu property.
Now the Swan it floated on the English river
Ah the Rose of High Romance it opened wide
A sun tanned woman yearned me through the summer
and the judges watched us from the other side
I told my mother "Mother I must leave you
preserve my room but do not shed a tear
Should rumour of a shabby ending reach you
it was half my fault and half the atmosphere"
But the Rose I sickened with a scarlet fever
and the Swan I tempted with a sense of shame
She said at last I was her finest lover
and if she withered I would be to blame
The judges said you missed it by a fraction
rise up and brace your troops for the attack
Ah the dreamers ride against the men of action
Oh see the men of action falling back
But I lingered on her thighs a fatal moment
I kissed her lips as though I thirsted still
My falsity had stung me like a hornet
The poison sank and it paralysed my will
I could not move to warn all the younger soldiers
that they had been deserted from above
So on battlefields from here to Barcelona
I'm listed with the enemies of love
And long ago she said "I must be leaving,
Ah but keep my body here to lie upon
You can move it up and down and when I'm sleeping
Run some wire through that Rose and wind the Swan"
So daily I renew my idle duty
I touch her here and there -- I know my place
I kiss her open mouth and I praise her beauty
and people call me traitor to my face
I am starting a new series on this blog for the quickly approaching BBQ season. Plans are in the works for a roadside BBQ hut for the summer months, so I want to catalogue the food and the progress of a possible business venture in the near future.
My kids love food that bursts with love. So our final day of March break was spend smokin'
It starts with smoke and meat seasoned with
Goodness - Secret Rub
Smoke for hours and hours, lid closed, and try not to look too much!
The Decemberists treat high-concept nerd-dom like their one true calling. Writing story-songs about forest queens and evil rakes, naming one of their albums (2005's Picaresque) after an obscure form of fiction, and generally making liberal use of their liberal arts educations, the group were one of the most unique bands to surface in the 2000s. It helped that they infused their songs with a warm, woodsy tunefulness, which made the narratives go down easier and earned them loyal listeners... RS
"Trying to create a narrative, you have to have a beginning, a middle, and an end," said Meloy, in a 2003 Pitchfork interview. "A song should follow the same pattern as a short story, or a novel, in microcosm. So having a good strong character and a good strong storyline is what can make a good song."
There is this long farmer's road close to me that has turned into a family favourite for our walks... The air is so wonderful today - crisp and fresh; and at the end of the walk we came across a few Inuksuks
Arts and crafts with kids is fun - hard fun. Our first shot at an animated action Power Ranger fight... The process is very cool; the results... don't blink!
I was simply told to follow - it was a hell of an adventure... The warm weather we are having has melted two feet of snow in two days - amazing to be in the wild!
This one, an instant classic, doesn’t draw its power from throwing Claire Boucher into all sorts of unexpected situations, though that is fun. Instead, that power comes from how utterly ebullient Boucher looks in every one of those situations, dancing around looking starry-eyed and unselfconscious no matter who happens to be surrounding her at that particular moment. And in its gorgeous hi-def cinematography and its general all-consuming happiness, it makes the blurpy sidelong electro-jam signify as actual pop music.
Maybe nothing speaks to the influence this record's had on the current crop of indie rockers more directly than the amazing number of high-caliber artists who expressed interest in contributing to the compilation. So although Drive XV launches with single covers of each Automatic song, we will add exclusive versions from even more artists... SG
