Fatal Flying Guilloteens — named for a line from a Wu-Tang Clan cut — change so much between releases it’s best to enjoy the SHIT out of every incarnation; you’re NOT going to get a repeat next time around.

Scared Of Chaka aren’t as dear to my heart as FFG but they have quite the backstory. Turns out they did a split with Flake Music (so thaaaat’s why they seemed so familiar), as one of their members is/was none other than current Shins bassist and Broadcast Oblivion member Dave Hernandez. 

But back to the Fatal-to-the-Flyin’-Guilloteens: They’ve been one of my favorite barnyard bands for years now, and if they don’t get a sweet slice of the garage-rock resurgence there’s no justice in this world. On this particular 7″ they offer “Stallion” and “C is for Coward.”

Both tunes are vintage early Guilloteens from the Now Hustle for New Diaboliks — fantastic title, that — era, from the production to the riffs to, especially, the fresh, makin’-time-with-yr-girl vocals. FFG were a street-fighting band, all cock ‘n’ balls, strut ‘n’ swagger, lay ‘n’ lunge … you could tell from their every track they just didn’t give a flat-top Fuck.

They sound(ed?) like no one else.

Scared Of Chaka, god bless ‘em, completely defeated my expectations. Thinking they’d be all watered-down and tentative like so many indie-rock outfits (including The Shins, who have fallen WAY off and what, James Mercer’s an actor now? fuck me … ), I slapped their side on only to be slapped right back by primal, break-neck drum/bass synchronicity, fuzzy four-track boombox riffs and loose, snotty vocals.

Cool! I’m reminded of early Makers, Sonics, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and so many more my head is hurting, no, BUSTing. I gotta go choke something …

Deveriam lançar essa porra em DVD. Nem que fosse só com essas duas músicas e mais nada.

Ascolta

Dziś ostatni dzień wakacji, więc i dziś parę płyt, które w wakacje mi towarzyszyły, ale do tej pory moja sympatia do nich na blogu nie została ujawniona.

God Help the Girl „God Help the Girl” (Matador/Sonic Records)

Filmu jeszcze nie ma, ale za to jest już ścieżka dźwiękowa. Stuart Murdoch, na co dzień mózg operacji pod tytułem Belle & Sebastian, jest autorem libretta (o ile tak to można określić) do musicalu zatytułowanego – niespodziewanie! – God Help the Girl. Premiera obrazu nastąpić ma gdzieś w okolicach końca 2010 roku, ścieżką dźwiękową możemy cieszyć się teraz. I choć szczegóły scenariusza filmu są wciąż bliżej niesprecyzowane, to na podstawie ścieżki dźwiękowej można jakieś wnioski w tym temacie wyciągnąć. Obstawiam, że będzie tak: dziewczyna (niech będzie, że Alice) przyjeżdża do dużego miasta, którym jest zachwycona, ale którego jednocześnie się boi. Spotyka parę życzliwych jej dusz, ale na jej drodze staje jakiś niedobry chłop, który namiesza jej w głowie tylko po to, by zaraz ją porzucić (dziewczynę, nie głowę). Alice na chwile się podda, ale z pomocą przyjaciół dokopie draniowi, z na końcu znajdzie pracę, faceta, który jest uosobieniem cnót wszelakich, i będą żyć długo i szczęśliwie.

Scenariusz oczywiście może być zgoła inny (powyższa propozycja to pójście po linii najmniejszego oporu), ale z pewnością to będzie dziewczyński film. Bo płyta jest baaardzo dziewczyńska. Żadnych tam krzyków, wrzasków, tylko eteryczne, ładniuchne letnio piosenki. Pełne wdzięku, za sprawą zaproszonych do projektu pań: prym wiedzie tu niejaka Catherine Ireton, której delikatność przywołuje skojarzenia z Niną Persson na wysokości pierwszych dwóch płyt The Cardigans. Pojawia się również parę innych pań, a dla przeciwwagi Neil Hannon z The Divine Comedy, co by na chwilę zdarzyło się straszno, a przynajmniej groteskowo. Premierowe kompozycje, które właściwie mogłyby zostać podpisane „Stuart Murdoch solo”, to kolejna już wycieczka o cztery dekady wstecz, kiedy pop to był POP: rozbudowany, przebojowy, melodyjny, rozbuchany, wzruszający i cieszący zarazem (jakoś Sława Przybylska przychodzi mi do głowy). Na God Help the Girl znalazło się również miejsce na znane już dobrze kompozycje macierzystego zespołu Stuarta, w tej kategorii wypada najlepiej Funny Little Frog. Choć właściwie znamy to wszystko na pamięć, to kolejny raz poddajemy się urokowi  ulotnych kompozycji. Zdecydowanie: nie tylko dla dziewczyn w powłóczystych sukienkach do samej ziemi.

7/10

Regina Spektor „Far” (Sire/Warner)

Pitchfork zjechał, NME zjechało, a Q i Guardian wręcz przeciwnie. Może faktycznie metryka jest u mnie niezgodna ze stanem duch, ale jestem zdecydowanie po stronie tej drugiej grupy, choć doskonale rozumiem przeciwników tego krążka. Bo gdyby spojrzeć na Far z perspektywy poprzednich krążków Reginy, można odnieść wrażenie, że to krok w bok, o ile nie do tyłu. Bo wszystko tu takie wygładzone, ładne i wypolerowane, zupełnie inne niż miało to zwyczaj być wcześniej – Regina to kolejna dziewczyna z fortepianem, nie operowała jednak słodyczą, a czymś w rodzaju rozedrgania i niepewności. Far to więcej niż tylko obowiązujący flirt z popową, łatwą konwencją. To całkowite jej się poddanie. Ale nawet w tym ułatwionym środowisku panna Spketor bryluje i czuje się jak ryba w wodzie. Napisała parę przebojów (jak choćby Laughing With czy Two Birds), obśmiała modę na lata osiemdziesiąte (doskonale ironiczne Dance Anthem of the 80’s, które świadczy o doskonałym wyczuciu i pewności siebie), zakochała się, odkochała, a teraz jest jej w ogóle bardzo dobrze. Jeśli Kate Nash nie chce, byśmy zapomnieli o niej wraz z drugą płytą, powinna przygotować coś w rodzaju Far właśnie, coś co stanowi kompromis pomiędzy szczytami list przebojów a własną, introwertyczną stylistyką. To trochę wstyd porównywać Nash do Spektor, to mimo wszystko inne kategorie wagowe, nie jest jednak tajemnicą, że obie panie to psiapsióły, a sama Regina stwierdziła, że marzy jej się prawdziwy hit. Pewnie dlatego też na liście płac pojawia się Jacknife Lee (wcześniej: U2 czy Snow Patrol) a także Jeff Lynne, lider fabryki przebojów znanej jako Electric Light Orchestra. Sprzedaż płyty pokazuje, że decyzja o rewitalizacji wizerunku była decyzją co najmniej dobrą (pierwsza trójka w USA, dziesiątki w Szwecji i w Australii). Ale chyba jeszcze bardziej od faktu, że Spektor skojarzyło znacznie więcej ludzi, cieszy, że być może tylko na chwilę, ale jednak zawsze, porzuciła nostalgię i nonszalancję na korzyść radości. Takiej zwykłej, ludzkiej radości, z prostych i banalnych w gruncie rzeczy zdarzeń: niebieski fortepian, pyszna poranna kawa, burza loków.

8/10

The Phenomenal Handclap Band „The Phenomenal Handclap Band” (Friendly Fire)

TV on the Radio, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Calla, Mooney Suzuki, The Dap Kings (band Amy Winehouse) and many many more. The Phenomenal Handclap Band (dodatkowy punkt za nazwę) to najmocniejsza w tym roku w indie-światku supergrupa. Radosna zgraja. Punktem wyjścia jest groove rodem wyjęty z najmodniejszych w Nowym Jorku w latach siedemdziesiątych klubów. Tu rytm jest odmieniany przez wszystkie przypadki, ale jednocześnie stanowi podstawę do realizacji najbardziej szalonych pomysłów aranżacyjno-produkcyjnych. Paradoksalnie, to nie jest muzyka taneczna wprost, raczej przez serię skojarzeń zabiera w dziwaczną podróż. Jak zwykle w przypadku tego typu projektów, bądź co bądź jednorazowych, przyjęta konwencja ułatwia podjęcie przez autorów nawet najbardziej ryzykownych/nienaturalnych kroków. Sporo tu wariactwa, zważywszy, że (niech będzie) to wykrzywione disco wygrywane jest na gitarach. Bywa niestety zbyt zachowawczo, szczególnie w kwestii temp: są momenty, w których aż niewyobrażalne, że takie mózgi nie wpadły na pomysł, by z deczko przyspieszyć. Słychać niezaprzeczalny potencjał, szczególnie w tych numerach, które albo pogrążone są w radosnej psychodelii (genialne 15 to 20 czy Tears) albo zaskakują sprawnością godną najmocniejszych soulowych wyjadaczy (Dim the Light). A może to po prostu miał być eksperyment, odpoczynek od podstawowych projektów członków bandu, a nie żadna tam chęć złożenia hołdu złotym czasom muzyki tanecznej?

6/10

‘Greetings From Mars Arizona’ é un reportaxe sobre a gravación do disco Damage de Jon Spencer Blues Explosion en 2003 e incluído posteriormente nun DVD para a edición europea do álbum. Damage conta con invitados de luxo como DJ Shadow e Dan ‘The Automator’.

Nulle Part Ailleurs (aka NPA) foi un programa de entrevistas do Canal + francés que estivo en antena dende setembro de 1987 ata xuño de 2001 polo cal pasaron as maiores estrelas do cine, da música, da televisión ou da literatura entre outros. Pero ímonos centrar na parte musical porque realmente impresiona a cantidade de grupos e artistas de primeira liña que actuaron no programa: dende clásicos como Jimi Page e Robert Plant, David Bowie, Iggy Pop ou AC/DC pasando polos grupos punteiros dos 90 como Nirvana, Radiohead, Sepultura ata bandas que estaban totalmente fóra do mainstream como The Jesus Lizard ou Helmet.

Ésta é a primeira parte das deceas de vídeos existentes do programa. Irei recopilándoas porque paréceme moi interesante todo o elenco de artistas que actuaron nese plató.

Aquí en España tíñamos ó programa Lo + Plus (basado na idea do NPA) presentado por Máximo Pradera e Fernando Schwartz, un dos mellores programas da súa época e con invitados de nivel. A única pega que tiña eran as actuacións musicais: mentres en Francia levaban a Jeff Buckley aquí actuaba Rosario Flores.

Spain is different. Disfruten.

1. Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – ‘Rock’n'Roll’

2. David Bowie – ‘Scary Monsters’

3. Radiohead – ‘Karma Police’

4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue – ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’

5. The Jesus Lizard – ‘Thumper’

6. L7 – ‘Drama’

7. Portishead – ‘Glory Box’

8. Sonic Youth – ‘Sunday’

9. The Smashing Pumpkins – ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’

10. Sepultura – ‘Refuse/Resist’

11. The Breeders – ‘Cannonball’

12. Deftones – ‘Change (In The House Of Flies)’

13. Depeche Mode – ‘It’s No Good’

14. The Cure – ‘Boys Don’t Cry’

15. PJ Harvey - ’Good Fortune’

16. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – ‘Weil’

17. Nirvana – ‘Rape Me’

18. Helmet – ‘Pure’

19. A Perfect Circle – ‘Judith’

20. Soulfly – ‘Tribe’

Tiny Masters of Today may be young, but that's not to say they aren't talented.

At first glance, Tiny Masters of Today sounds like a typically gimmicky band name.  Then you find out that, at 13 and 15, its two founding members are relatively pretty tiny.  And with their rambunctious, fun-loving brand of punk, they’re well on their way to being masterful, too.

20 Watts’ Jett Wells caught up with Ivan, Ada and Jackson in between sets at the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island on Saturday.  Tiny Masters were one of our most-anticipated sets — and after talking to this hilarious trio, it’s easy to see why.

20W: How long have you guys been playing?

Ivan: Me and (Ada) have been doing this for three or four years, and Jackson has been playing with us for the last two years.

20W: You guys are 13, 15 and 19 years old, respectively. How did you all get to this point?

Ivan: I picked up the guitar when I was 8 or 7 years old.

Ada: I started playing keyboard when I was 8 years old and we just started writing songs and playing music for fun.

20W: Like in your parents’ garage?

Ivan: No, the basement.

20W: At what point did you start playing live shows?

Ivan: The first show we did in 2007 was written up in Newsweek Magazine, and we got a lot of attention from that. And I don’t know. There was the buzz from MySpace too.

20W: How many bands do you know that are like you guys at this level?

Jackson: Not a lot. It’s awesome. I’ve been coming to Siren for the past five or six years. It’s awesome to play here, and especially on such a nice day like today.

20W to Jackson: Are you from Brooklyn like Ada and Ivan? How do you know these guys?

Jackson: These guys? I don’t really know them that well. (He laughs sarcastically). Ivan’s a friend of a friend from another band. They contacted me on MySpace.

Ivan: We just play a lot of the same parties.

20W: Do you guys go to school or not?

Ivan: Jackson graduated already, but Ada and I still go to school. I’m going to be a sophomore in high school and Ada’s in the 8^th grade.

20W: How do you guys balance school and work?

Ada: We are pretty careful trying to only perform on school holidays. It’s pretty hard though.

Ivan: Yeah, we try to miss as little school as possible.

20W: Yeah, but it still happens, right?

Ivan: Yeah, but only like five days a year.

20W: In your first album, Bang Bang Boom Cake, you worked with big names like Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kimya Dawson. How did that happen?

Ivan: Our former drummer Russell (Simins from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) was just really connected. He was just a New York guy and knew everyone, including Karen.

20W: Well, that’s pretty awesome. What was it like working with her?

Ivan: It was pretty cool. It was like woah!

Jackson: Were you excited? I was excited.

Ivan: Karen’s really nice. She’s my bro.

Ada: Your bro?

Ivan: My bro!

20W: So what do all of your parents think of this band?

Ivan: I mean, they’re supportive.

Jackson: Yeah. I used to play in another band, and they liked that one, because I played with my brother. They also like this one, because they like these two (pointing at Ada and Ivan). They’re parents. My mom isn’t too fond of Ada.

Ada: Your mom loves me!

20W: What’s it like playing big shows like this? Is it daunting at all?

Ivan: Usually we play small shows, but have done some big shows before, like Lollapalooza last summer. We also did a festival with Paramore.

Jackson: That was pretty weird.

20W: What are the pressures of being such a young band playing alongside famous veteran groups?

Ivan: I don’t even really consider myself that skilled of a guitar player. Sometimes it’s really nerve-racking, like when we played with the Raconteurs. Jack White is a pretty good guitar player.

20W: What are your favorite parts of being rock stars?

Jackson: The food.

Ada: I like traveling. I don’t like the actually traveling part, but I like being there.

Jackson: Yeah, so food, traveling and experiencing the cultures.

20W: What’s it like being rock stars and not being able to party like rock stars?

Ivan: In England, Jackson can party. He parties hard there.

Jackson: That’s true, so I don’t even remember it.  It’s pretty much like a big family trip. We just watch movies in the van with the parents. There’s great family loving.

20W: Do kids at your schools know about the band?

Ada: Some of my friends are here, but the rest don’t really care. It’s not like a big deal.

Ivan: Yeah, but 12-year-olds haven’t heard of us.

20W: Where do you guys see yourselves in ten years?

Ivan: It’s hard to tell. It’s so far in the future. I have to finish high school and I’d like to go to college. We’re going to keep it on a day-to-day basis.

– Jett Wells

That lyrical snippet is from Doug Martsch’s band Built to Spill. It’s from the track “I would Hurt a Fly” off of Perfect from now on. For a long time this was one of my favorite songs and albums out of the 90’s right next to White Trash Heroes from Archers of Loaf.

I really fell in love with how music could change my mood or make me feel with bands like The Pixies, Built to Spill, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Nirvana, Guided by Voices, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., The Amps, Madder Rose, Jon Spencer, and many more. This all occurred during the 90s for me. I started stumbling across all these artists, spending money left and right on CDs, LPs, and even *gasp* TAPES. I can thank this decade for forming my love/obsession with music. So this week, I’m going to play tribute to that, and ignore my urge to play late 70s, 80s, and recent stuff. I’m going to bring you some of the albums that came out in that decade of music that brought sound to my life.

Listen in this Wednesday from 8pm till 10pm, at KRUI 89.7 fm or online here.

I’ll bring you the playlist soon.

As you all know, it’s summer. For many, a fun and sticky time. A time that involves drinking, BBQ, and pool parties. I checked all three off my list this weekend. Hope you did too.

Because it’s summer, and it’s a fun and sticky time, I’ve been listening to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s Orange on the regular, which my partner and I found in a discount bin. A song like the “Bellbottoms,” the album’s opener, should explain why.

The first time I heard the JSBX (now going by Blues Explosion) was on the Tibetan Freedom Concert album (the same one Cibo Matto is on). Spencer was doing his Elvis schtick, going over real stupid with banter like “When we’re talking about freeing Tibet, we’re talking about . . . LOOOOOOOOVVVVVVE.” The first time I saw them was their video for “Dang!” (another Orange single) on Beavis and Butthead. I can’t find a version from the show, but you can imagine their reaction. A lot of screaming. A lot of “Yes! Yes! Yes!!!” I felt similarly. I still do. This video is crazy.

But what does all this have to do with Winona Ryder? Indeed, what do three sweaty guys have to do with this blog?

Well, the second time I saw JSBX, it was their video for “Talk About the Blues.” The band goes on a heist while actors play them in performance. Guitarist Judah Bauer is played by Giovanni Ribisi. Drummer Russell Simins is played by John C. Reilly. And frontman Jon Spencer is played by someone who a more glib person than I might call Gen X’s Audrey Hepburn. Yes, Ms. Winona Ryder.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I love the concept of a female lip syncing a man’s song in music video. If I directed, say, LCD Soundsystem’s music videos, I’d have a woman or a girl pantomiming for James Murphy every time. Imagine how much better a song like “Losing My Edge” would be if the music video showed a teenaged girl lip syncing some neurotic guy’s monologue about how old he is and how much he knows about music in deadpan. See what I mean? YouTube sensation.

To me, having a female actor stand in for a male singer destabilizes what for many is a clear marker of gender — the voice — and renders that voice inauthentic or alien or wrong. It also makes more explicit and parodic the inherent performativeness of rockist male posturing and, you know, performing in a music video. This of course is itself a process of faking authenticity — trying to con the TV audience into believing that the recorded voice is any way connected to the soundlessness that the video’s performers are actually (not) producing. Having a woman in a man’s place pronounces the artifice at work. Her presence also potentially comments of the limited space for female participation in music culture by contending the exnomination of masculinity through heightening man’s visual (but not aural) absence. In short, it’s gender fuckery.

This is further enforced by how Winona is dressed and styled. While she already looks a little bit like Spencer (similar coloring and willowy figure), having her dress, imitate his posture, and replicate his performance style makes the con a bit more convincing. I also think that having Ryder play the lead singer is important — making a clear case for the feminized presence of the frontman in rock music (indeed, the other two actors are male). Perhaps casting Ryder also feeds into Terri Sutton’s assertion that alternative rock’s masculinity in the mid-1990s was embodied by “soft boys” who were sensitive, androgynous, and awkward. When you open her chapter in Trouble Girls: The Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock, who should appear on the first page? A picture of JSBX.

Obviously, there’s a clear indebtedness to drag going on. However, this tactic doesn’t always yield transgressive or progressive results in music video. For example, model Gemma Ward’s performance in the music video for John Mayer’s “Daughters” creeps me out because her childlike appearance (along with Mayer’s authorial presence in black in white, lip syncing and playing his guitar) seems to further enforce the song’s patriarchal bent. And even in “Talk About the Blues,” I’m never wholly convinced that Ryder’s drag is successful. I never forget her breasts, for example. I also wish that she was playing her guitar instead of using it as a prop, as Ribisi and Reilly are both clearly playing their instruments.

But I think the effort is important, and should not be overlooked. So keep your eyes and ears open for female actors in music videos. Especially when their bodies don’t match up with the voices supposedly coming out of their mouths.

Ya está rulando por ahi el disco de supergrupo men without pants. Por un lado está Russell Simins, batería co-fundador de The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion hace quince años, y por otro Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, que aunque destacó con Gorillaz ha trabajado con DJ Kid Koala, Mike Simpson (Dust Brothers), Daryl Palumba (con quien fundó Head Automatica), Eels, Mike Patton (Faith No More) y Primal Scream. Se han puesto de acuerdo para publicar un disco bajo el seudónimo Men Without Pants contando con el apoyo de amigos como Sean Lennon y miembros de Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Pierces, Blonde Redhead o The Mooney Suzuki

Según su sello, Men Without Pants recuerdan un poco a los Blues Explosion, aunque no alcanzan “ese grado de locura creativa”, haciendo hincapié en su naturalidad y en unas “estructuras digamos más estandarizadas, lo que hace que se haga más que agradable la escucha”. Califican así a “Naturally” como “sucio, agresivo, macarra, melancólico, nostálgico, encarado…” (desconcierto)

1 And the Girls Go
2 Double Life
3 Superfine
4- My ballon
5 Let’s Meet in Real Life
6 Never Gonna Do That Again
7 Rock Show
8 If You’re Thinkin of Me
9 Keep On Movin
10 Right Now
11 The Beginning
12 I Do
13 Godbye

Particularly appropriate that this would come over the transom a couple of days after seeing the Chrome Cranks at Santos Party House: the debut seven-track album by Chicago band the Cool Devices shares a no-holds-barred, roaring ferocity and a smart, riff-oriented post-Stooges vibe with the recently reunited LES New York legends. This effort has more of an authentic Detroit feel than most of the innumerable Stooges imitators out there, frontman Jason Frederick assailing the mic with relentless, snotty energy. The whole thing has a live-in-the-studio feel, well-rehearsed but with a spontaneity that’s hard to get just doing the songs track by track.  Right off the bad, they take it to redline with (This Is Not A) White World, muted guitar chords sputtering with natural distortion with more than a bit of an early Jon Spencer Blues Explosion feel. Some fiery tremolo picking kicks off the second track, Fatso, snarling riff-rock with trebly Farfisa or what sounds like it by Casey Meehan of Jitney (another good band recently reviewed here). 

Once I Became One Of Those is careening and atonal in the Chrome Cranks vein, practically death metal but with swing instead of stomp. Come Get Me has the guitar punching a single chord over and over again as Frederick rails and the organ kicks in at the end of the verse, an effects pedal left oscillating wildly at the end. The absolutely evil, chromatically-charged The Line Starts Here staggers along with growly Stranglers bass over some tricky time changes. The big, obvious hit is Primitive, dark second-generation minor-key garage rock also evocative of the Stranglers with that oldschool organ swirling as the chorus hits a peak. The album winds up with Someone Stop Them, running a1-3-4 riff over and over again like a less sludgy Thee Hypnotics as the organ distorts, then hands over the reins to the guitar which eventually goes apeshit while Frederick screams the tortured mantra of a title. A Guantanamo parable? 

Another triumph for upstart Chicago label Rock Proper, who in a remarkable spirit of generosity make their albums available for free download: get the whole thing here. If this is any indication, they ought to be a great live band: Chicago fans ought to go see them at their cd release show on May 28 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W Belmont.

Con un nombre más propio de un artículo periodístico deportivo que de una banda se presentan los británicos, creo que ingleses, The Jim Jones Revue, surgidos de las cenizas de The Hypnotics. Una banda de rock and roll pero tal cual. Parecen haber salido de los años 50’s, también me recuerdan en alguna cosa a Jon Specencer Blues Explosion. En mayo están de gira, las fechas más abajo, y para calentar motores os dejo su primer larga duración editado el año pasado por Cargo Records.

The Jim Jones Revue: ’s/t’ [Cargo Records, 2008]

1. Princess & the Frog
2. Hey Hey Hey Hey
3. Rock n Roll Psychosis
4. Fish 2 Fry
5. 512
6. Another Daze
7. The Meat Man
8. Make It Hot
9. Who’s got Mine?
10. Cement Mixer

Descargar/Download

Fechas de The Jim Jones Revue en España:

07·05·2009    Balcon De La Lola    Bilbao
08·05·2009    Estudio 27    Burgos
09·05·2009    Porto Rio    Oporto
10·05·2009    Mondo Club    Vigo
11·05·2009    Porta Caeli    Valladolid
12·05·2009    Gruta 77    Madrid
14·05·2009    Durango Club    Valencia
15·05·2009    Japan Rock Club    Villareal
16·05·2009    El Casino    Vidreres, Girona
17·05·2009    Rocksound    Barcelona

]]> http://bigearflux.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/a-reverse-willie-horton/ Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:37:15 +0000 carajas http://bigearflux.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/a-reverse-willie-horton/

Pedra. Mais uma vez, anos 90 mostrando a que veio.
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion , bandinha de ny que o cadu já tinha mandado ai um vez, num bootleg ai pra variar. Primeiro disquinho dos caras, tiragem de apenas 500 cópias, antes mesmo do primeiro de estudio.

The cover image is a reverse of Clarence Thomas, his wife, and George Bush at the Thomas’ swearing in ceremony for the supreme court (19th October 1991).

1991 – a reverse willie horton, jon spencer blues explosion

Drums – Russell Simins
Engineer – Kramer
Guitar – Judah Bauer
Guitar, Vocals – Jon Spencer

1 Twenty-9
2 Typecast
3 Watermain
4 History of Sex
5 Chicken Walk
6 Big Headed Baby
7 Support a Man
8 Lovin’ Up a Storm
9 Comeback
10 ‘78 Style
11 Whitetail
12 What to Do
13 40 lb. Block of Cheese

Deluxe 2000 [1999] <- Download

Quando postamos a discografia comentada do Thee Buthers’ Orchestra, faltaram dois discos tão indispensáveis quanto os CDs oficiais. Um deles é Deluxe 2000, CD-R lançado em 1999 pela Ordinary Records. Até então, as demos eram praticamente ensaios gravados, por isso Deluxe é um marco na carreira dos açougueiros, o primeiro momento em que usufruíram os recursos de um estúdio.

A empolgação com as possibilidades do estúdio rendeu flertes com a eletrônica. Vale mencionar que Deluxe saiu um ano depois de ACME, quando Jon Spencer usou algumas bases eletrônicas para produzir seu disco mais groove. Esta deve ter sido a inspiração para Caustic Disco e She’s My kind, as faixas mais swingadas dos Butchers. As músicas que mantém a sonoridade clássica do TBO acabaram sendo regravadas nos discos oficiais, então nem vou falar sobre elas.

So Easy 

Fuckbook [2009] <- Download

Condo Fucks foi o pseudônimo escolhido pelo Yo la Tengo para lançar o disco Fuckbook. O título do álbum é um trocadilho com Fakebook, de 1990, uma espécie de tributo acústico aos ídolos da banda – a maioria deles nomes consagrados dos anos 60. Fuckbook é bem diferente, com guitarras no último volume revisitando grupos que vão de Troggs a Richard Hell. Na carreira do YLT, a única relação que me vem à cabeça é com uns shows super toscos que o trio fez com o Jon Spencer há um tempo atrás. Pois é, Yo La Tengo lançando um disco tosco. Fuckbook é rock de garagem, sujo e urgente. Um improvável encontro entre Sonic Youth e Billy Childish.

What'cha Gonna Do About It? (The Small Faces)

MEN WITHOUT PANTS
My Balloon

I gotta say, I’m pretty surprised with today’s song, ‘cuz when I first told you guys about Men Without Pants last July, they were weeks away from releasing their first album, but being the uber-perfectionists they are, Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Mercury Rev) and Russell Simins (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) trashed the early recordings and started over! And the song that leaked out today is so far on the musical spectrum from that earlier Song of the Day that I hafta wonder how all over the place the rest of the album will be! You need help remembering what I’m talkin’ about? OK…here’s ‘Double Life’, the song I leaked back in July…..

Now back then I said ‘Double Life’ was a gritty, dirty, ass-kickin’ bit of straight-up Rock & Roll that “hits you like a mash-up of White Zombie, QOTSA and Stone Temple Pilots”…but ‘My Balloon’, with the gals from Cibo Matto handling the vocals, is all sweet and frilly and full of sweeping strings & pianos and…pretty!!! How in God’s name are these two songs gonna live in harmony on the same album?!! I dunno either, but Naturally drops April 7th (they promise!) and you can stream a few more cuts (with other guest vocalists like Sean Lennon, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Pelle from The Hives) over on their MySpace page in the meantime.

Boss Hog [1989] Drinkin’ Lechin’ & Lyin’ <- Download

Numa época em que suas crias mais bem sucedidas descambaram para a eletrônica, a volta do Boss Hog é um alívio. Se bem que “alívio” não é um termo adequado quando o assunto é o combo liderado por Jon Spencer e pela deliciosa Cristina Martinez, uma das bandas mais profanas da no wave, e com certeza a mais sexy a pisar no palco do CBGB.

Cristina Martinez e seu marido Jon Spencer se conheceram em 85 durante um show do Jesus and Mary Chain. No ano seguinte, Cristina teve uma breve passagem pelo Pussy Galore, tocando a terceira guitarra, berrando e se apresentando nua nos caóticos shows da banda. Em 89, quando o Pussy Galore estava quase implodindo, Jon Spencer começou a se dedicar a outros dois projetos, o Jon Spencer Blues Explosion e o Boss Hog. Além do casal, completavam o Boss Hog o baterista Charlie Ondras e mais dois guitarristas, o também ex-Pussy Galore Kurt Wolf e Jerry Teel, parceiro de Cristina no Honeymoon Killers. Esta foi a formação do primeiro registro da banda, o EP Drinkin’ Lechin’ & Lyin’, gravado na casa do produtor Steve Albini e lançado em 89 apenas em k7.

Eles lançaram mais 4 discos e sumiram em 2001, quando só restava o casal Spencer da formação original. A banda voltou a se apresentar em dezembro de 2008, para alegria de quem se decepcionou com a sonoridade moldada para as pistas dos últimos lançamentos das crias hypadas YYYs e The Kills.

Sugar Bunny

Trigger, Man

People ask the question… what’s a RocknRolla? And I tell ‘em – it’s not about drums, drugs, and hospital drips, oh no. There’s more there than that, my friend. We all like a bit of the good life – some the money, some the drugs, other the sex game, the glamour, or the fame. But a RocknRolla, oh, he’s different. Why? Because a real RocknRolla wants the fucking lot.

Archie, RocknRolla, 2008.