Gene Wilder

Späte Jubiläumsfeier? Frühe Weihnachtsgeistbeseelung? Wirtschaftskrisenreaktionskräfte? Gutmenschentum? Oder gar einfach nur schnödes Marketing? Vielleicht alles zusammen – in jedem Fall eine feine Sache und vielen Dank dafür!

Indie-Online-Dealer Insound bietet nämlich 50 mp3s seiner Top-Seller von 2009 als Download an. Kostenlos, für umme, lau und als Geschenk noch dazu! Und da sind durchaus Heroen wie Sonic Youth, Dinosaur, Jr. oder Jarvis Cocker dabei. Wer nicht die Katze im Sack kau…äh… sich schenken lassen will, kann sich die Tracks vorher als Streaming-Radio anhören. Man kann sie nämlich nicht als Paket runterziehen, sondern muss sich jeden Song einzeln ins digitale Gedächtnis laden. »Och nööö….wie nervig…puuh…ach…« höre ich da schon wieder einige übersättigte und extreme-convenience-ierte Datenautobahnlinksblinker maulen. Aber sowas unterstützt die Wertigkeit von Musik, die in den letzten 10, 15 Jahren ja schon gelitten hat. Dass man eben nicht nur mal wieder schnell sich noch ein paar hundert MBs auf die Festplatte schaufelt, weil’s gerade so schnell geht, im Vorbeigehen, auf die Hand. Und dann in ein paar Monaten zufällig wieder in den Untiefen des digitalen Vermächtnisses findet. Sondern dass man sich schon kurz Zeit nehmen muss und vielleicht mal wieder was bewusst wahrnimmt.

Wenn also bloß schnödes Marketing – dann mit einer feinen Prise Gutmenschentum.

Hier geht’s zu den kostenlosen mp3s der 50 Insound-Topseller 2009

Und hier zu noch mehr kostenlosen mp3-Appetithappen, die Insound sowieso anbietet

Sonic Youth is playing tonight in NYC, which got me thinking about Coco.

Coco is the daughter of Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, the guitarist and basisst for Sonic Youth.  I remember hearing about her being born and getting all fuzzy and warm feeling for how awesome of an upbringing that would be.

So I thought, since she’s probably nearly an adult now, let’s look her up.

Coco (on the left) hanging out on the set of Gilmore Girls in 2006

Look at how adorable and not famousy this girl looks.  She just looks like a cool ass kid you’d want to have lunch with, unlike other rock royalty (I’m looking at you, Francis Bean)

…anyway, you can read all kinds of fun stuff about Coco here, but my favorite factoid is that she’s in a band called Lightbulb.  But also, she was in a Dinosaur Jr. video with her dad.  SWOOOOOOOON

On Friday there were Dinosaurs in Cleveland!

No not that—thankfully. Wow that show was so damn bad. God I hated that baby. It made me want to build a time machine or (buy a DeLorean) so I could go back in time and punch baby Dinosaurs in the face. Anydooozle….Back to the Dinosaurs at the Grog Shop okay technically it was Dinosaur Jr. You know these guys:

Errr actually these guys:

A slightly older version, but they sort of prove the fine wine theory. That’s right in my vague, way off the beaten path way I’m saying that Friday the missus and I went to the Dinosaur Jr. show. It had been a long time coming—In more ways than one. Dinosaur Jr. was one of my fav bands as a ute (OH snap a My Cousin Vinny reference!), and a clear inspiration to Kurt and Nirvana. I of course like too many bands never got to see them. Then they disbanded in 97. What is this a history lesson in Dinosaur Jr.? Screw that go do your own leg work! It’s called Google people! We bought the tickets for the show like 6 years ago (more like June or so) but it seemed to take forever to arrive. So the big night approaches and how do we prepare for it? Well none other than the Rock mantra of sex and drugs! Yeah that’s right the wife and I got home from work and took a nap! Now that’s a swerve! Could I use anymore exclamation points? We slept for about two hours and then headed over to the show. The place was packed with a unique mixture of cool 40 year olds, teens and the douche kind of 30-40 year olds (The “I was at their first show man” types.) We survived the wannabe Dresden Dolls band that opened for them—who were a lot better (read as not as sucky) than their MySpace page led us to believe. As the band took the stage what happened? A herd of mutant giraffes swooped in front of us. Fuckers. I mean we are smurfs here and from where they were there was no real difference of sliding in front of us on the d-low. I’m pretty sure they were just 12 year olds on steroids! Here are the results of part of the show being behind these urban Giraffes. You know the hold the camera high over ya head and wave it like you just don’t care and snap away?

Then we were invited in front of some cool people (and fellow smurf people) Side note: God damn you Microsoft Word acknowledge Smurf is a fucking word!

Anydiddle. This is when the shit hit the fan and got fun. Nearing the end of the 2 hour show the moshing began. Nothing is lamer than old farts and young idiots slamming into each other. So as this got out of control (when is it in control) my wife decided to police it. You know my tiny barely 5’2 wife? Then the smurfettes that were alongside of us were inspired by her spunk and decided to chip in. First they just pushed the idiots away but this of course made the idiots think they were playing along. Enter the kidney punching. There really is nothing as hilarious as three short girls punching giants in the kidneys, backs, and necks. It was sort of hot too.

A crude recreation of the event:

So, when I woke up this morning afternoon I read through the blog post that I put up last night this morning, and it’s come to my attention that I appear quite the emo kid. I’m not, don’t worry, I just suffer from all of the things that a nerd might, and when I was writing that post, those feelings were at more of an extreme than usual.

In other news, I’m attempting to learn “Pick Me Up” by Dinosaur Jr., a band that I’ve only recently discovered. The problem is, tabs are scarce and I haven’t found any solo tabs at all, so this may turn out to be one of the few songs that I learn by ear! I’ve already started on the solo and am sinking my teeth in slowly but surely. Who knows, I might put a video up on Youtube when/if I finish learning.

Speaking of youtube, I have an account, with some videos of me playing guitar! Click here to go to my channel =)

That’s all for now I think, folks. I’ll update with something more interesting tomorrow or something!

Relevant song lyric of the post: Dinosaur Jr. – Pick Me Up

“I’ve been wasting all these years
Still you haven’t disappeared”

Closing KoLd Quote:

“Emo? A useless stereotype that one may attribute with me based on one post on a blog. It’s unlikely, but most of my life is held on the precedence of improbability.”

#79: Red Hot Chili Peppers/Stadium Arcadium (2006) — I’ve already noted that John Frusciante is one of the best guitarists of all time. As a collective, any band than can pull off the prolific feat of a double album in this day and age and have a sizable chunk of that music trully showcase why a band should be a Hall of Fame act is considerably impressive. Check out: ‘Snow (Hey Oh)’ ‘Wet Sand,’ Storm in a Teacup,’ and ‘Turn It Again.’

#78: Dinosaur, Jr/Farm (2009) — Before Nirvana, there was Dinosaur, Jr. That was 16 years ago in my mind…and in MY mind, my formative years took place just before the alternative era…I was listening to the Pixies by way of the U2 Zoo TV tour, and naturally found myself turned on to Mascis and Murph and the 1993 commerical breakthrough, Where You Been?…this was back when MTV played videos, kids. ‘Start Choppin,’ and ‘Out There,’ garnered several spins in the tape deck (yes, remember walkmen? No, no the band…) Jump ahead to today and they’ve never sounded so good (with Barlow back in the fold)…every song a testament to why J Mascis should be remember for the guitarist and songwriter he is. Check out: ‘Pieces,’ ‘Plans,’ and ‘See You,’ for a brief tutorial.

#77: Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson/Break Up (2009) — o.k. we all know the story – Pete woke up one morning and decided to do a duets album. Save for the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss record, there haven’t been too many duets records this decade that have been able to truly cross lines and blow people away. As with anything over time, this album is an update on a theme, but it works (addressing both the past and present musically) – in the end, it’s a beautifully crafted pop album. Scarlett’s voice is truly a gift and a great foil and muse for Pete’s music. In a nutshell, it just works. Check out: ‘Relator, ‘I Am The Cosmos,’ and ‘Clean.’

#76: Our Lady Peace/Spiritual Machine (2001): Up until ‘01, was a damn good year for music and competitive for my ears, OLP was the only music coming out of Canada worth my time. OLP probably produced their most artistic and well balanced album that year, save for the whole conceptual, sci-fi b.s. The music stands the test of time, and holds up remarkably well. Check out: ‘In Repair,’ ‘Are You Sad?’ and ‘Made to Heal.’

#75: Nonpoint/Statement (2000) — these guys, like fellow East Coast Nu Metalers Sevendust, made a household name for themselves by just constant touring…I can’t tell you how many times (ad nauseum) they have ended on local bills. So much so that perhaps their message is a bit watered down these days. That aside, 10 years ago Statement was released and the crunchy metal along with a lead singer was the right amount swagger, sway and full-on rage fit the time in place. Bear in mind I was 23 and was still one for the pits. In fact I think it was crushing blow to the spine and jaw at a subsequent show that finally made me hang it up. When you ‘re having a bad day and want to imagine breaking sh*t…this is what one listens to. Full album is a TANK. Check out: ‘Endure,’ ‘What a Day,’ and ‘Tribute.’

#74: Head Automatica/Decadence (2004) — I remember the first listen of this album (my expectations were low, seeing as I just never got into Glassjaw – surprising, I know…), but I love a lead singer who can completely re-invent himself for a new project and that’s exactly what Daryl Palumbo does for Head Automatica. Decadence is a hard-rocking pop gem. The boys in H.A. get the party starting and never let up. Such great lyricis, such great funky rock. Check out: ‘At the Speed of a Yellow Bullet,’ ‘Brooklyn is Burning,’ and ‘Beating Heart Baby.’ — and you’re hooked.

#73: Thirty-Six Crazyfists/A Snow-Capped Romance (2004) — 36CF’s second album and second entry on my Top 100 of the decade. They don’t call it a sophomore slump for nothing folks – I can’t tell you how many bands I’ve seen crash and burn this decade b/c of it. 36CF cleaned up some of Brock’s vocals (but not the heart-on-sleeve reverence of his lyricism) and continued to bridge that gap between the hardcore sound remniscent in late 90’s acts like Handsome, Deftones and Flaw while maintaining a metal following for their brash, angular guitar-work. In other words, not for the weak of heart. Checkout: ‘The Heart and the Shape’ ‘Skin and Atmosphere,’ and ‘Waterhaul.’

#72: The Duke Spirt/Neptune (2008) — during my brief tenure at R.S. there were only a handful of acts that really got my juices flowing and made me want to bend over backwards to promote them despite many obstacles. Liela Moss is a true rock n’ roll frontwoman. That powerful European voice …fits into the hipster melodies crafted perfectly around her. The band is equal parts Spiritualized, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. God love ‘em. Another great ‘road,’ record. ‘The sky is more certain than you will ever be/the rainclouds are angry at you and at me/forgive me baby/I’m not all that you see/I would understand your heart/if I could feel it…’ Check out: ‘The Step and The Walk,’ ‘This Ship Was Built to Last,’ and ‘Wooden Heart.’

#71: Smashing Pumpkins/ZEITGEIST (2007) — It’s hard to say whether or not this release might’ve ended up higher had it not been for the past two years of Billy slowly jumping the shark and Jimmy finally jumping ship. I was a believer as promo built for the album and the Pumpkins returned to active touring duty for the first time in seven years. Yes, I say Pumpkins b/c I still believe the Pumpkins were really just Billy n’ Jimmy anyway. Save for ‘Starz,’ this album, when put together completely after you bought the final Best Buy version (and added the iTunes and Target exclusive tracks), is a formidable asset to the discography. While 2000’s MACHINA was the formal swan song of the band as SP diehards new it; this is the rock album fans wondered if they would see after Mellon Collie. Check out: ‘Bleeding the Orchid,’ ‘Tarantula,’ and ‘Stellar.’

#70: System of a Down/Toxicity (2001) — at the turn of the century, nu metal was on its last legs. Korn’s Issues was released in (1999) and they would only release one meaningful album over the next 10 years. Limp Bizkit were also fading away. Godsmack’s Awake came out in 2000 and, save for newcomers Mudvayne, could widely be considered the mainstream hard rock success as a heavier new scene in metal began to develop. S.O.A.D. debuted in 1998 and three years later launched Toxicity with all the manic tendencies of eccentric frontman Serj Tankian, railing about multiplying, leaving keys on the table, and pogoing at swinger parties. Beyond that Daron Malakian was creating metal riff’s that spoke to the masses while an Armenian percussion and backdrop offered a well-rounded, Grammy-winning style that set the band apart from its peers. Check out: ‘Chop Suey,’ ‘Bounce,’ and ‘Deer Dance.’

Poster de "Melt Banana" de Michael Hacker

Bienvenidos a una nueva edición de J1m’s Picks, la reseña semanal con los 10 links más jugosos de la semana en materia de cómics, ilustración, videojuegos, porno y demás menesteres de cualquier procastinador respetable. Todos los enlaces han sido publicados por los redactores de Zuplemento en nuestro twitter durante la semana,  y esta compilación va especialmente dedicada a los chigüires que no se han enñadido al guateque. Asi que inflen sus flotadores y sumerjanse en esta pileta sin fondo de basura en línea.

09 NOV A day in the life Un corto interesante animado del ilustrador Harry Nesbitt: “A timelapse animation that follows the life of an uninspired city dweller”.

09 NOV Ware esta en todas partes La imágen de arriba es la portada de un libro con diseño, colores, tipografías y composición, cuya autoría podría atribuirse a primera vista al dibujante de cómics  Chris Ware, pues bien, la cosa parece pero no es, este enlace habla sobre la influencia de el Sr. Ware en el Diseño Gráfico, la Ilustración y los Cómics de la actualidad.

10 NOV Dodgem Logic la nueva publicación del guionista de cómics más cool del planeta: Alan Moore, conocido mundialmente por obras como Watchmen, V de Vendetta y un largo etcétera, se estrena este noviembre en el Reino Unido, aparecerá bimensualmente, e incluye cómics escritos y dibujados por el propio Moore, asi como otros duros como Jamie Hewlett y Kevin O’neill, la imágen de arriba corresponde a la portada del primer ejemplar, y para un extenso artículo/entrevista sobre la misma haz click en el enlace.

12 NOV Michael Hacker Gig Posters este pana es un ilustrador radicado en Austria, que se dedica a realizar posters de los toques que hacen en la ciudad de Viena, así, Sonic Youth, The Melvins, Mastodon y Dinosaur Jr son solo algunas de las bandas para las que ha trabajado, y la imágen que adorna el intro de este post, es otra de sus creaciones.

13 NOV Entrevista a Liniers & Kevin Johansen estos panas siguen de gira con su show de música e ilustraciones en vivo, el TeamZup los entrevistó hace unos meses (y aparte le chuleamos a Liniers la portada del SDZ#80, EPIC!) a su paso por Caracas, así que mientras Ze se activa a subir nuestra entrevista, acá les dejo una que realizaron en hace unos días en España.

13 NOV Sasha Grey Wonder Woman bueno el título lo dice todo, la estrella porno más cotizada de los últimos años se pone el trajecito de amazona justiciera, para sodomizar malhechores con su lazo, disfruten del resto de la galería haciendo click en el link.

14 NOV Wired Best Sci-fi flicks (I) & (II) la revista Wired elaboró dos listados con las mejores películas de ciencia ficción de la historia, antes y después de Star Wars.

14 NOV Charles Burns Mega Gallery siguiendo con la campaña zuplementisitica de veneración a los Tres Reyes Magos (Burns, Clowes y Ware), acá les dejo una extensa galería de imagenes de Burns, la misma incluye varios trabajos originales e inéditos, un goldmine.

15 NOV 101 hottest Slave Princess Leia pics para mantener la onda softcore de este post, otra galería con eye-candy geek, algunas de esta jevas están más ricas que la actriz original…nuff’ said.

15 NOV Hardest Videogames of all Time, no jugué todos los que salen en la lista pero algo está claro, o nunca jugaron Punch-Out de NES, o se olvidaron de ponerlo en la compilación, sin embargo coincido con el primer puesto a ver que opina ustedes.

Y bueno se acabó lo que se daba, los espero la próxima semana porque “el cómic es cultura“.

Das ist doch mal was. Gestern hatten wir das Thema “Musikindustrie und Angst vor dem Netz” und gratis Musik – heute legen wir nach. Insound feier Geburtstag. Es gibt 50 x lecker Musik für null Taler. Wer mag folgt diesem Link.

Wer ist dabei? Newcomer und Einsteiger, welche es nötig hätten zu verschleudern? Weit gefehlt, schaut selbst, denn geschenkt gibts:

Cymbals Eat Guitars, Grizzly Bear, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Japandroids,Sonic Youth, Sunset Rubdown,Cold Cave, Passion Pit, The Antlers, Girls,Wavves, Phoenix, Dan Deacon, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Beirut, Camera Obscura, HEALTH, Woods, Dinosaur Jr., Neon Indian, Deer Hunter, The Dodos, The Vaselines, Fever Ray, Washed Out, Neko Case, M Ward, The Thermals, Yo La Tengo, Isis, The Boy Least Likely To, Thee Oh Sees, Iron and Wine, Handsome Furs, White Rabbits, Jason Lytle, The Tallest Man on Earth, Marissa Nadler, Vivian Girls, Blank Dogs, Black Dice, YACHT, Langhorne Slim, Clues, A.C. Newman, DOOM, Asobi Seksu, Jarvis Cocker…

… ne Menge. Denkste das ist genug? Wenn nicht, hier gibts mehr für umme. Gefunden bei stylespion

Der hier ist für zwischendruch:
Einfach schön: Bic Runga – The Be All And End All

so half of sb was in shropshire yesterday, half was in singapore.  with the obamachine.  (not actually with.  at the same time as). and he’s in singapore, not shropshire.

the one half of sb was concerned about the other halfs (halves?) eating.

as the concernee, i had a nice night thanks and  this is what i just had to eat.

kind regards  x

(for no reason other than picked up my old external drive and not heard this for ages  - dinosaur jr, freak scene)

Beck – Sea Change – 2002

Violão, batidas de bateria espassadas e orquestra de violinos. Basicamente o Sea Change é isso. Músicas calmas com Beck cantando divinamente. Conheço pouco de Beck, mas esse álbum faz qualquer um virar fã deste sujeito. É bom desde a primeira audição. Trilha sonora perfeita para dias tristes e chuvosos. Lembro que quando escutei Lonesome Tears eu repeti a audições várias vezes. O final apoteótico com a orquestra é lindo. The golden age, Lost cause e Sunday sun são outras que estão no topo das favoritas. Mas digo com toda certeza que você não vai pular nenhuma faixa. Ah, e as letras são fofíssimas.

Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond – 2007

Quando comecei a ouvir Dinosaur Jr. eu percebi que eles gostam de deixar um clássico em cada década que passam. Tem lógica né? Foram importante para os anos 80 gravando o You’re Living All Over Me e nos anos 90 deixaram o Where You Been (que eu gosto bastante mas acho que nem é classificado como clássico pela mídia “especializada”). Não poderiam ficar fora desta década afinal alguem tinha que lembrar como é que se faz rock de verdade. E tinha que sair das mãos fantásticas de J. Mascis. O cidadão que mais faz solos fodas. Impossível não se viciar em This Is All I Came to Do e não fazer air-drumming em It’s Me. Mais uma vez digo: Não vai pular faixas.

Here goes metroB & Franko

1. Tiga – Beep Beep Beep
2. Fan Death – Veronicas Veil (Erol Alkans Extended Rework)
3. Solomun – Clouddancer
4. Solomun – Boys in the hood
5. Femme fatals – Look up
6. The Fall – Reformation!
7. xrFarflight – Triangle
8. xrFarflight – Slow Motion Hospitalism
9. Dinosaur Jr – Forget The Swan
10. xrFarflight – freq. ghost
11. Like A Stuntman – Fake Beards
12. The Canoe Man – Four Chairs And A Chair
13. Tschilp – Aark
14. xrFarflight – Castles Made Of Sandwiches
15. Gravenhurst – Animals
16. Binoculers – Easy In The Morning
17. The Walkabouts – Thats How I Live
18. xrFarflight – Mountain
19. Die Sterne – Deine Pläne

Sleep well.

Guitarras, melodias, solos de guitarra, mais solos de guitarra, tudo isso somado a skate e bmx.

É, o Dinosaur Jr. voltou… e além de voltar com a velha formação e, consequentemente, à velha forma, a banda lança um disco digno de seus primeiros trabalhos, na década de 1980.

enjoy!

“Show me how you do that trick”…

… demandait Mary Poole à Robert Smith lorsque ce dernier réalisait des tours de magie, sur une plage du sud de l’Angleterre, pendant leur vacances d’ados.

La décennie suivante, en 1987, juste avant d’épouser Mary, alors sa compagne, Smith se souvient de cet épisode et écrit la chanson “Just Like Heaven“. Celle-ci commencera par “Show me, show me, how you do that trick” cette fois-ci dans le sens, “Par quel magie, m’as-tu séduite ?”

En 2009, à cinquante ans, Mary Poole et Robert Smith sont toujours mariés. Et The Cure fonctionne toujours en famille.

Le guitariste Porl Thompson (guitare lead et rythmique), présent par intermittence dans le groupe depuis 1976 est marié avec la sœur cadette de Robert Smith (chant + guitare lead et rythmique), Janet.

Quand au bassiste, Simon Gallup, il marié avec la sœur de Porl Thompson.

Pour l’anecdote, les images de bord de mer que l’on aperçoit dans clip de Just Like Heaven (à voir ici) proviennent justement de cette plage où Robert Smith et Mary Poole jouaient, ados. Cette dernière apparaît même dans le clip – l’apparition fantomatique en blanc.

Ci-dessous deux reprises très différentes de Just Like Heaven.

D’abord la  version de Katie Muela.
Attention, elle peut provoquer des somnolences. Donc à éviter d’écouter en conduisant.
Mais finalement je l’aime bien. Elle fait ressortir le romantisme de la chanson.

Puis la version de Dinosaur Jr, dont Robert Smith lui-même considère qu’il s’agit de la meilleure reprise de Just Like Heaven.

“Show me how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream” she said
“The one that makes me laugh” she said
And threw her arms around my neck
“Show me how you do it
And I promise you I promise that
I’ll run away with you
I’ll run away with you”

Spinning on that dizzy edge
I kissed her face and kissed her head
And dreamed of all the different ways I had
To make her glow
“Why are you so far away?” she said
“Why won’t you ever know that I’m in love with you
That I’m in love with you”

You
Soft and only
You
Lost and lonely
You
Strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water
You’re just like a dream

Daylight licked me into shape
I must have been asleep for days
And moving lips to breathe her name
I opened up my eyes
And found myself alone alone
Alone above a raging sea
That stole the only girl I loved
And drowned her deep inside of me

You
Soft and only
You
Lost and lonely
You
Just like heaven

Na Superstar door Sonic Youth, start ik een reeksje zalige covers.

Lou Barlow has the rare privilege of being musically monumental in two different respects. The major one is as founding bassist for indie legends Dinosaur Jr., whose heavy noise exploded over speakers in the ’80s and whose comeback has exploded the usual cliches about rock reunion tours. The second one is as a lo-fi recording legend, a man with some songs and a four-track whose influence extends well into this day, thanks to the resurgence of lo-fi with shitgaze and the like.

I had a chance to talk to Barlow during a tour stop in Texas, where I found him highly amenable: which I have to thank god for, because I was personally battling a hideous flu that had me keeping an empty trash can and a bottle of ginger ale close by. The conversation is below.

David Berry: I understand that you’re opening for Dinosaur Jr. with your solo project. How’s the opening slot?

Lou Barlow: It’s been going great. I don’t know what anyone else thinks, but I think it just absolutely couldn’t be any more perfect than it is. (laughs) I’m sure there’s people that might disagree, but I don’t really care about them right now. (laughs)

DB: I’m sure you’ve been asked this a lot, but I’ve never talked to you before, so: how has the actual reunion been? You guys are obviously a band that had your problems in the past.

LB: Yeah. We get along better than we ever have, which isn’t saying much, but still. (laughs) But I adore Jay and Murph, in their way. And people seem to enjoy seeing us together, and that makes it a lot easier for us: it’s not like us against the world, the world is with us. There’s a lot of positive energy for us if we choose to open our hearts and let it in, and I think we’ve been doing that, and we’ve been fueled a lot by the goodwill.

DB: Has the process changed any from before?

LB: Not really. I guess I have a little more input overall. We have a manager, who’s a really good middleman for a lot of things, he can smooth out a lot of stuff and get us going on some stuff that just the three of us might not be able to do so easily.

DB: How has your perspective changed on Dinosaur Jr. after being away for so long and doing your own thing?

LB: Every band, every situation is the way it is because of the personality chemistry involved. Music and the way people play together is a really mysterious thing, and has a lot to do with things you just can’t put words to. I’ve had incredible conversational chemistry with people I’ve collaborated with, and had great things come out of that, but then those things are very short-lived. Something like Dinosaur operates in kind of a mysterious way: there’s not a lot of direct communication, but as slowly as we seem to move, it seems to be pretty consistent. We also took a 20-year break in the middle, which probably has something to do with it. But that’s interesting to me.

DB: Your reunion has been fairly unique, in that usually when bands do this, there’s the sort of stench of trying to cash in on past glory for the retirement fund. But you guys seem to have picked up where you left off, and some people have even said that you’re better now than before. Why do you think it’s working so well for you guys?

LB: I think it’s just the way we play together, there’s something really idiosyncratic about it. It’s impossible for us to imitate that sound without each other—I mean, maybe it got imitated, but it did sound like an imitation. When we get back together and play together, it’s kind of like, I don’t know, ‘Gen-u-wine Dino-saur. Why settle for anything less?’ It’s almost like a brand that we have, and as long as each record has the three of us playing together at more or less the same time, it’s going to be there.

DB: I first was exposed to you through your other stuff, actually, and I’ve got a pretty big interest in lo-fi and the like, so I’m curious, as one of the kind of pioneers of the modern interest in it, what do you think of the lo-fi resurgence? I mean, the one thing that’s really different now is that it’s so much more obviously a choice—before, it was kind of a necessity for people who only had four tracks. Anyway, though, what do you make of the the kind of comeback?

LB: I think the thing that people fail to mention is that lo-fi, what people consider lo-fi, is just a texture of music. And it’s actually a really pleasing texture. What people refer to as hi-fi is really just a perception of music that was developed in the ’70s, with the rise of recording studios, and that particular sound, that very isolated, ‘clean’ sound got accepted as being high fidelity.

The lo-fi thing, to me, just sounds good. If you go back to the really great, classic records of our time, they all have this element of what is now considered lo-fi: Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, whatever. You’re talking—like, the hits of the ’50s were recorded into one mic in the middle of the room. And now bringing back that kind of aesthetic is ‘lo-fi!’ No, this is a reintroduction of what actually made rock and roll what it is, and provided the appeal for the music which was systematically hunted down and killed for, like, a couple of decades in recording.

Basically, high-fidelity recording is really easy now: because of digital recording, you immediately have a clean sound. If I had had that when I was kid. Four-tracks, I mean, you’re paying $500 to record four tracks onto a cassette, and that was a lot of money then. You pay a similar amount of money now, and you can do whatever the fuck you want, if you have the will. Get a good mic—or even a shitty mic—and plug it into your laptop, and you can make a ‘high-fidelity’ recording.  Anyway, I just think it’s a texture, and it’s very integral part of what makes a great record.

DB: So why did hi-fi take over, since those roots were one person with a mic?

LB: It’s the same reason that, in the 1950s doctors actually discouraged women from using breast milk, because they finally came up with something better than breast milk. People honestly believed that. There’s always the idea that something man-made or new is somehow superior to something that comes easiest or is natural. That’s part of the human condition.
And it’s also people creating their own industry and making money from it. They have everything to lose by people saying, ‘Fuck you, I’m going to record a hit song with one microphone into Garageband.’ Now that even the whole record industry is destabilized and the power of radio is gone, that’s just more of that. And it’s cool—it’s great.

DB: Was that kind of ‘fuck you’ behind your decision, or was it wanting the texture you were talking about?

LB: No, I just wanted to make music and I wanted to be alone. There was no way I could go into a studio and pull out a ukulele. At that point, the people who are working in studios have no—I mean, they could be great people, but they’re still going to be like, ‘Okay you’re here, and we’re going to try and capture what you did in the cleanest way possible. so what we’re going to have to do first is … .’ I needed to be alone to write.

And I also grew up on an incredibly rich history of DIY recording, and punk and post-punk. In 1980, when I was really discovering music and starting to have the desire to make my own, I was listening to the Young Marble Giants and stuff, and then all the hardcore punk started coming out, and it was really gnarly sounding, and recorded at home and lo-fi and fuzzy as fuck, so I thought, ‘Great. I could do that too.’ It just all felt very accessible to me, and possible, and I knew there was this whole other world where simplicity was a beautiful thing, and music wasn’t judged on the athletics of it, it was judged on the melodies and the sentiment behind it. That’s what made me feel the world was safe for me and my own music and maybe actually playing it for someone else at some point.

DB: Do you still need to be alone to create music?

LB: Definitely. I’ve had collaborations with people where we can sit down and have a musical free-for-all, but that’s a pretty rare thing. It’s just hard to do with people right away. I definitely people to start alone, and even when I do collaborate with people, I like to have that alone time.

01. Sideways Shuffle (Leftside Wobble edit) // Linda Lewis
02. Chealsea Hotel // Iron and Wine
03. I Want You To Know // Dinosaur Jr
04. The Approach The Throne // Clues
05. Dressed To Disgress [Nero Remix] // Boy Crisis
06. Ambivalence Avenue // Bibio
07. Ride On Vark Rodeo // Argonaut
08. Two // Antlers
09. Can’t Sleep (Marcus Rombo Pop Remix) // Adrian Lux
10. Foni Tu Argile // A Hawk And A Hacksaw

]]> http://axeley.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/born-to-weed/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:00:29 +0000 Axeley http://axeley.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/born-to-weed/

Oui, je sais, je m’en veux aussi. Cela fait bien longtemps que je n’ai pas poster quelque chose de descend mais que voulez-vous la vie est plus compliqué que l’on ne croit (Oui, vous l’avez tous pensé, c’est de la m*rde). Bref, tout ça pour vous dire que même si je reviens à vous c’est un peu à poil que je me présente. Et oui, les coups de cœur sont rares ou/et vieux de quelques mois et/ou déjà connus de tous le monde mais ainsi soit-il, voici mon article de la honte.

1. Lou Barlow – Bulletproof (La Roux)
2. Datarock – Give It Up (Chateau Marmont Remix) ♥♥
3. Jeffrey Lewis & Laura Marling – Brain Damage (Eminem)
4. LCD Soundsystem – Bye Bye Bayou (Alan Vega)
5. Girls With Moustaches - Moonchild(Born to Weed) ♥♥♥♥
6. Robbie Williams - Do You Mind? ♥
7. Crookers – Candy Candy (Feat. Teki Latex & BIG-O)
8. Good Shoes – Wrong And Right
9. Arctic Monkeys – Balaclava
10. Fight Back The Heart Attack – Fight Back The Heart Attack ♥♥♥

About it.

1. Alors, oui, je hais La Roux…Mais je viens de me rendre compte que c’est en fait sa voix qui m’herite car Bulletproof interprété par Lou Barlow, ça fout des frissons.
2. Rien que de voir “Datarock” ca me met en émoi puis, Chateau Marmont, ca relève du malaise…Le résultat est là, c’est du retravaillé, parfois un peu sur-haché mais ce rythme SMDien vous défoncerais une mouette. C’est du lourd.
3. Une petite reprise toute mignonnette très moldy peachesienne, ca vous débouche les narines en ce temps hivernale. C’est juste un petit plaisir à vous offrir lorsque  votre face commence à s’écraser contre la vitre d’un obscure train de banlieue…
4. Je ne vous cacherais pas que je préfère l’original, mais tout de même c’est un morceau bien agréable et quelques nouvelles des LCD Soundsystem, ça ne se refuse pas!
5. J’aime ces matins où on l’on retrouve dans sa boite mail des bijoux comme ça. Le genre de bijoux qui vous collent à la peau comme une sangsue. Allez là je peux vous le dire, c’est du TUBE.
6. Après analyse détaillée du dernier album de Robbie Williams, j’en arrive à la conclusion que ce n’est pas si terrible que ça. Bien sur, c’est pas énorme mais ca s’écoute plutôt bien. Puis, il y a cette chanson, déjà entendu, pas révolutionnaire, qui vous décoche le déhanché qu’il faut…Alors bon, on craque et on le met ici.
7. Clairement, les Crookers sont des blaireaux. Néanmoins, il y a des moments où j’aime les blaireaux…
8. OH OUI! Good Shoes en concert, la banane cloue mes zigomatiques à leur apogée. Du coup, je replonge et, merde, c’est trop bon.Ps : Under Control
9. OH OUI OH OUI! Demain le concert des Arctic Monkeys, je ne crois pas que je me sens. Ca y est extase. Balaclava, c’est LE bijoux de FWN!
10. J’hésitais à la mettre dans ma playlist, car c’est vraie qu’elle ne m’enthousiasmait pas plus que ça. Puis en y revenant, en l’écoutant sur un quai abandonné, dans ma chambre la nuit, dans un parc…elle commence à vivre et prendre forme. Finalement, je crois que j’en suis tombée amoureuse.

Pix : Alex Kapranos, juste pour le plaisir d’antan.

Crédit : Silvio Tanaka

Golden Plains have announced the first batch of acts to appear at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre on March 6-8 2010.

Pavement
Dinosaur Jr
Calexico
Dirty Projectors
The Big Pink
Tame Impala
Midnight Juggernauts
Super Wild Horses
Monotonix
Gaslamp Killer
Nashville Pussy
Jeffry Lewis and The Junkyard
The Cruel Sea
The Crayon Fields
Ransom
Andee Frost
Wooden Shjips
Royal Headache

http://2010.goldenplains.com.au/

If you miss the 90’s this friday Dinosaur Jr. is playing at the Fillmore! This is my favorite song.

when skipping around san francisco you can find some things that are hot or cold, this breakdown transends some things that have been but on my hot or not radar!

• Walt & El Grupo – white HOT!
  with the world on the brink of war, and the Nazi influenced growing in South America, the U.S. Government sought help from a bunch of artists. Check it out at the Metreon 15 for a limited time only magical experience!
• Bob’s Donut & Pastry Shop - Yummy in my Hotness Tummy!
  Located on the ever friendly Polk street this donut haven has the best treats on the block for under 2 dolla dolla bills.
• Dinosaur Jr.- Hot Excitement!
  I recently was introduced to the tunes of Dinosaur Jr. by the likes of one of my best friends and love who never fails to bring music to my ears.  This Friday, they are playing at the apple loving Fillmore where their is bound to be some magic!
• Green Days’s American Idiot Concert Extended Again- Not so much!
  an avid reader of the SF Weekly I love to mock the eyeliner clad Green Day who for months has been extending their musical at the Berkely Rep for 45 dollars you should be a little more friendly to your fans boys.
• Kate Gosselin- What tha Not!
  I read on the yahoo gossip site that Kate Gosselin is thinking of acting and would like to do voice over. does anyone else think that this is one big whoop of wtf? Im so over hearing about john and kate Im Blogging about them, lame, good luck kids.
  
  

Speaking to a friend last night, he recommended a song by the band Slint. This track is off the soundtrack to the controversial 1995 Larry Clark film Kids (see wiki if you don’t know about it). The movie’s soundtrack was put together by Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr fame which also included tracks by Daniel Johnston and The Beastie Boys.

Slint were a post-rock band from the early ’90’s. This 7 minute track Good Morning Captain (from the band’s second release, 1991’s Spiderland) was once compared by the Guardian to Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven saying “the extraordinary Good Morning Captain is [Slint's] Stairway to Heaven, if it’s possible to imagine Stairway to Heaven bleached of all bombast.” If your a fan of Godspeed You Black Emperor! or Mogwai, this is for you, as the album has been created by these band’s and other in the genre as an influence on their sound.

Dinosaur Jr. tienen un lugar reservado en el corazón de cualquier fan de la música (vamos-a-llamarla-así-que-mas-da-si-todos-nos-entendemos) alternativa. Eso es tan cierto como que tras el Without a sound (un disco correcto pero algo flojo) y con una separación de 8 años por medio y una vuelta al redil de Lou Barlow hace ya cuatro años, parecían una banda finiquitada, destinada a tocar sus viejos hits con la distorsión pasada de rosca rozando lo inaudible (como en el Primavera Sound del 2008 sin ir más lejos).

Pero salta la sorpresa con su última referencia tras 25 años de carrera y primera para el impronunciable sello Jagjaguwar (hogar de bandas inquietantes como Ladyhawk, Oneida o Swan Lake). Farm es un disco lleno de energía, de tralla y guitarrazos contundentes. Un supuesto lógico y continuación del  extraordinario Where you been pero con cinco lustros de por medio. Los suficientes como para que sean descubiertos por una nueva generación y sacados del pozo del olvido por los nostálgicos. La química entre Mascis y Barlow funciona perfectamente. Si el primero compone la mayor parte de los temas, brillando en un inicio apabullante con Pieces, I want you to know y una balada clásica en el estilo de Dinosaur Jr., Plans, Barlow dice “aquí estoy” en sus dos composiciones, la brillante Your Weather con un irresistible eco a sus Sebadoh y ese esplendido cierre Imagination Blind que podría haber firmado Neil Young. Para las ediciones especiales queda la afinada versión de Whenever You´re ready de The Zombies. Esta “granja” ha llegado justo para convertirse en uno de los discos del año.