(from Thursday, 8th January 2009)

Restless, turning. The last thing i remember was Dylans Tell Tale Signs, soothing my way into that familier slumber….

Suddenly Im in an unknown place, with friends of yore. The main event is boring me so I head to where the DJ is setting up. There’s an arcade Guitar Hero gaming system set up (in the style of Time Crisis, House of Dead, etc.) but the buttons are worn.

“1 Credit = 4 x 50p”

What a jip! A go at this or another pint. Im weighing that out when the DJ starts on me with his negative jive about how he’s ‘bringin’ the noise in 15 mins’. I say that’s plenty of time for one go. I ask him to turn it up. The game’s loaded with album covers from my mind (obviously I’m warped from iTunes) though on my first glance theres a blank square so I index the green button, meaning Go!

It’s then I realise that the screen has been chromatic the entire time and the song begins. It’s not making sense. Some crazed riff that shifts through higher and lower octaves, confusing… especially now that the volume indicator on screen appears every time I press a button or strum. I’m practically blind… Goddamn!!

My eyes open and I can still here the strange melody, my CD player reads ‘Track 2’… sure. In a flash I find out (through the use of the many remote controlled buttons) that it’s Kaki King.

A woman. Warping my mind.

Every time a 0 is involved with the turning year, people tend to go crazy over “the best _____ of the decade”. Lists come out about music and movies and tv shows and whatever. Well, I decided to do that. Because I’m a dork. What I ended up doing is a list of things for every year since the year 2000. I will talk about some of them and leave links to others that I think are fantastical and that I belive you (whoever you are) might enjoy. So. Here we go. Expect to see some bands that repeat, and some that you know I like, if you like me:

2000
Does anyone remember how fantastically catchy ‘Bohemian Like You’ was? The silly video with the karaoke-thing, etcetera? There was a lot of decent music coming out around this time, and I remember being consistently barraged by good albums. This wouldn’t continue through the rest of the decade. Californication would be the last time I would enjoy RHCP as a band.

Dandy Warhols (song – Bohemian Like You); Red Hot Chili Peppers (album – Californication); Smashing Pumpkins/Foo Fighters/A Perfect Circle(show – Summersault – Winnipeg Stadium); Nine Inch Nails (video – Into the Void)

2001
In 2001 I succumbed to sexy pop for a favorite song. Seriously. That song is awesome. Frusciante’s album was magical, and I think my video of the year is really the only choice.

Kylie Minogue (song – Can’t get you out of my head); John Frusciante (album – To Record only Water for Ten Days); Tragically Hip (show – Winnipeg Arena); Fatboy Slim (video – Weapon of Choice)

2002
Dave Grohl makes the list twice as a drummer in this year, and probably would have taken the album too, but from out of nowhere came what would change my mind about Canadian music in that I ended up following almost every project that Broken Social Scene had outside of it’s main band after hearing the album and seeing them live.

Queens Of The Stone Age (song – Go With the Flow); Broken Social Scene (album – You Forgot it in people); Broken Social Scene – (show – Pyramid Cabaret); Tenacious D (video – Tribute)

2003
I remember the moment I fell in love with Sit down Stand up. It was on the eve of the album coming out, and Radiohead played a live show that was broadcasted to Silver City theatres in Canada. When that song reached the crescendo into the fast ‘raindrops’ part, I was almost on the edge of my seat. Which I could also say about the Metric show. They were second on a bill of three that featured Hot Hot Heat as the main act, and were still relatively new, but downright sexy and exciting to watch. I’ve since seen them six more times.

Radiohead (song – Sit Down, Stand Up); Mars Volta (album – De-Loused in the Comatorium); Metric (show – Pyramid Cabaret); Buck 65 (video – Wicked and Weird)

2004
The second time a John Frusciante album makes my favorite albums. This album is widely regarded as his most ‘mainstream’ and is a fantastic, great-amazing thing, just like the Bowie concert, which was the last concert I ever saw at the ol’ Winnipeg arena.

Secret Machines (song – Nowhere Again); John Frusciante (album – Shadows Collide with People); David Bowie (show – Winnipeg Arena); DFA 1979 (video – Black History Month)

2005
I’ll never forget how many phone calls I got when Nine Inch Nails annouced that they’d be coming here. It was the first time I was going to see them, after being a fan since 1994. My phone rang off the hook, and for one song during that show, so did my emotions. I kinda quietly, completely lost it, and felt like a dummy. Ha! By the way, that Esthero video’s freakin’ hot, and I agree with every sentiment in it.

Sufjan Stevens (song – Come On! Feel the Illinoise!); Fantomas (album – Suspended Animation); Nine Inch Nails (show – MTS Centre) Esthero (video – We R in Need of a Musical Revolution)

2006
I saw Wintersleep by myself in front of about 30 people, and skipped work to get there. When I talked to the singer about this, he dedicated a song to me. How nice. As far as Nausea goes, I don’t know what it is about that song, but something in it drives me nuts. It’s way too good and it doesn’t even realize it.

Beck (song – Nausea); Regina Spektor (album – Begin To Hope); Wintersleep (show – The Collective); Eagles of Death Metal (video – Boy’s Bad News)

2007
National Anthem of Nowhere has become my most listened to track on last.fm, and I think the Wintersleep album has since become one of my most listened to albums. They will both continue to rise in numbers. If I did a song by song and album by album breakdown, these two would make somewhere within the top three. And it’s pretty cool that I got to see Mike Patton in any of his 34i83902439024 bands, but Peeping Tom blew me away.

Apostle of Hustle (song – National Anthem of nowhere); Wintersleep (album – Welcome to the Night Sky); Peeping Tom (show – Trocadero); Feist (video – 1234)

2008
God, In Rainbows is great. And Secret Machines live, that’s something so completely underrated, I don’t even know how to describe it to you. The power that they have to get an audience going, is a sight to behold and yet there were so few people there that I was kind of disappointed in the turnout. Oh, and yes, I realize that Feist gets the video 2 years running for the same album, but they’re both great videos.

Kaki King (song – Montreal); Radiohead (album – In Rainbows); Secret Machines (show – Pyramid); Feist (video – I feel it all)

2009
I know, it hasn’t been that long, but Them Crooked Vultures was exactly the album I wanted it to be. So there.  And as far as Spookey’s song goes, this is the second time I’ve talked about it in my blog. Previously appeared in my “songs you won’t see in Guitar Hero or Rock band“, and it’s just something to behold. Metric’s video was perfect, it was the video that I wanted them to have. Something sweet and cute instead of overtly dorky like all of their other videos. As far as Leonard Cohen’s concert goes, I hadn’t been a huge fan beforehand, but was introduced, and BECAME a large fan because of how amazing that concert was. Everything he did was perfect. The singing, the sounds, the engagement with the audience was fantastic. Top five concerts in my life, that one.

Spookey Ruben (song – Mechanical Royalty); Them Crooked Vultures (album – Them Crooked Vultures); Leonard Cohen (show – MTS Centre); Metric (video – Gimme Sympathy)

To celebrate LGBT Pride month music-blogger quietcore recently blogged an interesting collection of cover songs by LGBT artists. These blowin’ your cover-posts features music by gay(-friendly) artists inlcuding many of our community’s favorites.

Queer classics like “I will survive” (in a pretty laid-back version by Jill Sobule), “a little respect” (by wheatus and through all the electric guitars still as catchy as the original) or “do you really want to hurt me?” (this time by violent femmes) are no surprises in this context. While songs like “you don’t own me”, “my love” and “are u that somebody” provide more of my beloved SUBTEXT-flavour.

click and listen:

• pt. 1

• pt. 2

• pt. 3

Kaki King – Gay Sons of Lesbian Lovers

photograph © sakamoto junichi

kaki king

Katherine Elizabeth King é na verdade a cantora, compositora e virtuosa guitarrista Kaki King que desde 2oo3 compõe álbuns e música de um jeito extremamente complexo – as técnicas de guitarra e arranjos de Kaki são verdadeiras proezas humanas. Ela possui seus 30 anos, mas a bela artista, assumidamente lésbica e feliz com suas escolhas, possui todos os tipos de fãs através da sua arte de ‘técnica pela técnica’ e diversas apresentações gratuitas em público. Seu contato com outros músicos como o Foo Fighters e Tegan and Sara é bem íntima. Aqui para download o álbum ‘… Until We Felt Red’       Download

1 – Yellowcake

I still haven’t adjusted to daylight savings, so I’m too tired to get elbow-deep into theory tonight. That said, I always like sharing with ya’ll, so let’s look at some more music videos. We can watch TV and have a couple of brews too.

I’ve written on animation in music videos elsewhere. I keep thinking about animation’s relationship to the voice, the body, and the potentially gendered dynamics of all of this. One form of animation I haven’t read anything on and would love to explore further is live-action animation, which depicts “real” filmic bodies interacting with “unreal” animated ones. Think Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry from Tom and Jerry in Anchors Aweigh or key portions of Mary Poppins, otherwise known as the movie that got me through chicken pox.

Now let’s look at a couple of more contemporary examples of live-action animation.

She & Him
“Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
Volume One
Directed by Ace Norton

I think this clip does a good job of simulating the idyllic look of Disney’s early days, if only to exacerbate how creepy and scary those movies could be. Remember the “Pink Elephants on Parade” sequence in Dumbo? How about the “Night On Bald Mountain” segment in Fantasia, which I still cannot watch without covering my eyes. I can’t help but wonder if Alfred Hitchcock was inspired by Mickey Mouse’s shadow-projected broom-smashing sequence in ”The Sorcerer’s Apprentice“ when shooting Psycho’s shower scene. Scary shit, yo. So are the homicidal ghosts and animals in “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?,” warping a sweet song about unrequited love into something disturbing.

Since I can’t post the video without mentioning the violence inflicted against Zooey Deschanel, I’ll admit that I cannot decide what to make of it. Is it misogynistic? If so, is it pointed or making a commentary, perhaps gesturing toward Disney’s regressive politics or undercutting the lead singer’s sweet image? Is it simply pointlessly violent and anti-female? Does the presence of multiple Deschanels and the singer’s own self-inflicted murderous actions complicate matters?

I find the second clip easier to process. No need to worry about adorable critters and ghouls disemboweling you. 

Kaki King
“Pull Me Out Alive”
Dreaming Of Revenge
Directed by Doug Karr and Edward Boyce
Lead Animator: Patrick Jasin

I really love this music video (and if you’re an avid reader here, you might guess that my friend Kristen pointed me in its direction). For one, Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara makes a sweet cameo. It’s also formally interesting – great use of stop motion and I love Jasin’s laser-based animation. Also, I think the animation wonderfully visualizes what King yearns for in the song — for something to pull her up, push her forward, or keep her together. I reason that the lasers symbolize the intangible, internal qualities of personal strength. Thus, the animation extends from the live-action figure, blurring the boundaries within and outside of the female body in the process.

Very occasionally a group of people get together on the Touchedmix blog and post mixes on a particular theme. Last week, the theme was HEADS, with their features and their functions. I thought readers of this little corner of the music blogosphere might be interested in the two mixes I banged together.

*     *     *

OVER MY HEAD MIX
1. Aztec Camera – Head Is Happy (Heart’s Insane) (1985)
2. Crowded House – Pineapple Head (live) (1996/2006)
3. Johnny Cash – Mean Eyed Cat (1996)
4. The Dillards – I’ve Just Seen A Face (1968)
5. The Holmes Brothers – Smiling Face Hiding A Weeping Heart (2006)
6. Paul Anka – Eyes Without A Face (2006)
7. The Undisputed Truth – Smiling Faces Sometimes (1971)
8. Justine Washington – I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face (1964)
9. The Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes For You (1959)
10. Mississippi Sheikhs – I’ve Got Blood in My Eyes For You (1938)
11. Robert Mitchum – Mama Looka Boo Boo (Shut Your Mouth-Go Away) (1958)
12. Emile Ford & the Checkmates – Them There Eyes (1960)
13. Lewis Taylor – Blue Eyes (2000)
14. Andrew Bird – A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left (2005)
15. Nada Surf – The Way You Wear Your Head (2002)
16. The Sweet – The Lies In Your Eyes (1975)
17. Ben Folds – Doctor My Eyes (2002)
18. Josh Ritter – One More Mouth (2006)
19. Kaki King – Saving Days In A Frozen Head (2008)
20. The Lilac Time – The Darkness Of Her Eyes (1991)
21. Thomas Dybdahl – Pale Green Eyes (2009)
22. Ryan Adams – Halloweenhead (2007)
23. The Cardigans – Give Me Your Eyes (2005)

Download

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Justine Washington is better known as Baby Washington; this is the original version of the song covered to good effect by Dusty Springfield.

.

SENSES WORKING OVERTIME MIX
1. David Bowie – Can You Hear Me (1975)
2. Tim Buckley – I Can’t See You (1966)
3. Herman Düne – I Wish That I Could See You Soon (2006)
4. Devics – If We Cannot See (2006)
5. Richard Hawley – Can You Hear The Rain, Love (2001)
6. Scott Walker – You’re Gonna Hear From Me (1967)
7. The Righteous Brothers – See That Girl (1965)
8. Chris Montez – The More I See You (1966)
9. Cass Elliot – I’ll Be Seeing You (1973)
10. Blind Boy Fuller – What’s That Smells Like Fish (1938)
11. Smiley Lewis – I Hear You Knocking (1955)
12. The Supremes – I Hear A Symphony (1965)
13. Jim Messina – Seeing You (For The First Time) (1979)
14. Baby Huey – Listen To Me (1971)
15. The Jesus and Mary Chain – Taste Of Cindy (1985)
16. K’s Choice – A Sound That Only You Can Hear (1995)
17. Mull Historical Society – Watching Xanadu (2001)
18. Ron Sexsmith & Don Kerr – Listen (2005)
19. Rosanne Cash – I Was Watching You (2006)
20. The Magic Numbers – I See You, You See Me (2005)
21. Paul Anka – Smells Like Teen Spirit (2005)

DOWNLOAD

This is the first of two mixes prepared by Any Major Dude With Half A Heart, whose music blog lives HERE, concentrating on the physiognomy of the head theme.

1. Aztec Camera – Head Is Happy (Heart’s Insane)
2. Crowded House – Pineapple Head (live)
3. Johnny Cash – Mean Eyed Cat
4. The Dillards – I’ve Just Seen A Face
5. The Holmes Brothers – Smiling Face Hiding A Weeping Heart
6. Paul Anka – Eyes Without A Face
7. The Undisputed Truth – Smiling Faces Sometimes
8. Justine Washington – I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face
9. The Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes For You
10. Mississippi Sheikhs – I’ve Got Blood in My Eyes For You
11. Robert Mitchum – Mama Looka Boo Boo (Shut Your Mouth-Go Away)
12. Emile Ford & the Checkmates – Them There Eyes
13. Lewis Taylor – Blue Eyes
14. Andrew Bird – A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left
15. Nada Surf – The Way You Wear Your Head
16. The Sweet – The Lies In Your Eyes
17. Ben Folds – Doctor My Eyes
18. Josh Ritter – One More Mouth
19. Kaki King – Saving Days In A Frozen Head
20. The Lilac Time – The Darkness Of Her Eyes
21. Thomas Dybdahl – Pale Green Eyes
22. Ryan Adams – Halloweenhead
23. The Cardigans – Give Me Your Eyes

Download

Justine Washington is better known as Baby Washington; this is the original version of the song covered to good effect by Dusty Springfield.

Another lot of songs on the theme of heads (and other bodyparts) is on the So Much Beauty Out There blog, including songs by Etta James, Florence Ballard, Françoise Hardy, Serge Gainsbourg, Sparklehorse, Herman Düne, Lou Reed & John Cale, Palace Brothers, and much more.

mermaid girl. she kept is classy and sassy. you will be missed.

mermaid girl on oprah

-ILIBIB

Bon Iver & St. Vincent-Roslyn

Kaki King-Doing the Wrong Thing

Riceboy Sleeps-Happiness

The Antlers-Apple Orchard (Beach House Cover)

An Horse foi uma das coisas que eu conheci pelo Last.fm, aquelas recomendações: “An Horse parece com X, Y e Z, que você já escuta.”. A banda é legal, nada demais. Guitarra e bateria, apenas. Um homem e uma mulher, ambos australianos. E a primeira música do cd Rearrange Beds, Camp Out, é a música de hoje (de ontem também!).

This is a song for the one that i love,
I haven’t met them yet
but I’m quietly confident.

E foi procurando um video deles tocando a música que acabei achando um da Kaki King fazendo um cover da mesma. E eu nunca resisto à Kaki.

Eu odeio listas. Top 10 disso, daquilo e de sei lá mais o que. Mas quando vejo uma não me contento e sempre tento fazer. Ao final da pseudo-lista que faço, olho e penso “isso tá um merda, acho que não seria assim, em outro momento não seria assim.”

Ontem me deparei com um post sobre top 10 de álbuns da vida. Gente, como fazer essa lista? Não tem como. Eu tentei e saiu isso que vem logo abaixo. Mas cinco minutos depois da lista feita eu já não concordava mais com ela. Primeiro que eu acho injustiça serem só 10. Depois que eu tenho um sério problema: eu nunca acho que as coisas são simples. Especialmente coisas que envolvem escolhas e um número limitado. Eu sempre acho que depende do meu momento (mentira, os 3 primeiros da lista vão ser esses independentemente do momento).

Mas enfim, fiquem com minha lista “do momento”:

1 – alanis morissette – jagged little pill
Se não fosse esse cd eu escutaria música ruim até hoje. Jagged Little Pill chegou nas prateleiras quando eu tinha 9 anos de idade, chegou na minha mão 3 anos mais tarde. E tudo mudou dali em diante. A sensação é de que se não fosse esse cd, todos os nomes que seguem nessa lista seriam diferentes (e pra pior, muito pior).

2 – alanis morissette – supposed former infatuation junkie
No mesmo ano que Jagged Little Pill chegou nas minhas mãos, eu saí desespera pra comprar esse daí no lançamento. E esse é o cd que eu escuto em qualquer momento e falo “putaquepariu! que foda.”

3 – cat power – you are free
Eu poderia ter colocado o The Greatest aqui. Mas coloquei You Are Free pela habilidade que ele tem de me fazer sentir algo.

4 – kaki king – dreaming of revenge
Nunca pensei que um álbum quase todo instrumental fosse entrar no meu top 10 um dia. Mas “life being what it is” e “pull me out alive” (sim, a música que dá nome a este querido blog), que são cantadas, fizeram ele estar aqui. Sem contar que foi a a trila sonora do meu TCC e, consequentemente, o álbum que eu mais escutei no primeiro semestre de 2009.

5 – emily haines & soft skeleton – knives don’t have your back
Porque aqui eu encontrei uma Emily diferente, introspectiva, que não me fazia dançar. O cd é triste, mas é todo bom. Não me faz dançar, mas me faz pensar.

6 – metric – fantasies
Poderia ser outro cd do Metric, escolhi “Fantasies” e não “Grow up and Blow Away”, pela mudança que eles escolheram fazer. As letras continuam a me fazer dançar, mas as letras não são tão pesadas. Agora, danço sem culpa.

7 – cat power – the greatest
Pela habilidade de fazer um álbum bom, mesmo quando a vontade é de morrer.

8 – eliott smith – either/or
Porque se a Emily Haines faz coisas boas sozinha, foi ele que “ensinou”. E talvez pelos mesmos motivos do número 7 também.

9 – cardigans – the other side of the moon
Tudo muito diferente do que é feito por eles agora. E olha que eu adoro o agora, apesar de 10x mais pop. The Other Side of the Moon é um disco de lados b da época que o Cardigans por si só já era meio lado b. Como não gostar?

10 – Aqui eu não sei o que colocar.
Eu poderia colocar Mates of State (Re-Arrange Us), era a idéia original. Depois pensei que deveria ser Rachael Yamagata (Elephants… Teeth Sinking into Heart). Daí pensei ainda que seria injustiça deixar a Feist (Let it Die) de fora do meu top 10. Poderia ser Sleater-Kinney (The Woods). E agora, José? Acho que essa lista vai ser um top 9, pela minha falta de habilidade de escolher o número 10.

E não, minha lista não tem Beatles. Não tem bandas das antigas, não tem os fundadores da música ou os que inspiraram tudo isso que eu gosto hoje. Simplesmente porque eu não gosto deles (as vezes até gosto, mas não o suficiente), eu gosto desses aqui, que mal passaram dos 30 anos de idade (ok, Elliott teria 41, mas ele não chegou lá, infelizmente).

]]> http://stacyforsythe.com/2009/09/28/46-of-the-greatest-female-guitarists-of-all-time/ Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:17:46 +0000 stacy http://stacyforsythe.com/2009/09/28/46-of-the-greatest-female-guitarists-of-all-time/

46 of the Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time

Venus Zine applauds 46 of the world’s best

By Venus Zine Staff
Published: March 1st, 2008 | 12:25pm

Rolling Stone’s 2003 special issue about the “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” is an ambitious edition with Jimi Hendrix on the cover and accolades to the great players of our time. But the project is sorely lacking in female presence — there are only two women on the list: Joni Mitchell and Joan Jett.

To shine light on the great female guitarists of our time, we have selected 46 of the best based on an array of excellence factors, including either technical skill, standout performance, and style pioneering. To diversify the selection process, we invited guitar experts and music leaders from various genre backgrounds (read their bios below) to nominate their favorites.

Because of the large number of guitarist profiles, we’ve split up the editorial content into three postings. Click on the headlines below to read about Venus Zine’s 46 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Jennifer Batten

Christina Billotte

Kat Bjelland

Rory Block

Carrie Brownstein

Elizabeth Cotten

Brody Dalle

Kim Deal

Ani DiFranco

Tanya Donelly

Rosie Flores

Lita Ford

Suzi Gardner

Sue Ann Harkey

Polly Jean (PJ) Harvey

Jessie Mae Hemphill

Kristin Hersh

Chrissie Hynde

Sharon Isbin

Cordell Jackson

Joan Jett

Peggy “Lady Bo” Jones

Carol Kaye

Tara Key

Kaki King

Courtney Love

Lydia Lunch

Barbara Lynn

Christina Marrs

Satomi Matsumoto

Memphis Minnie

Joni Mitchell

Odetta

Pat Place

Liz Phair

Bonnie Raitt

Toshi Reagon

Michelle Shocked

Donita Sparks

Marnie Stern

Ruyter Suys

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Mary Timony

Sarah Utter

Tal Wilkenfeld

Nancy Wilson

THE PANEL
Meet the experts who nominated the guitarists

Abigail Aronson Zocher earned her bachelors from New England Conservatory of Music in Classical Guitar Performance, studies with David Leisner, and earned their Chadwick Medal for the outstanding graduate of the year. She earned her masters in jazz studies, studying with Mick Goodrick, Cecil McBee, and George Garzone. She has been on the Berklee faculty since 1995 and is an associate professor in their world-renowned guitar department.

Kenneth Bays is the editor of Blues Revue, the world’s largest blues magazine. He has written about folk, blues, roots, and pop music for numerous online and print publications, including Performing Songwriter, American Songwriter, and the All Music Guide.

Calvin Johnson has been working with underground culture since childhood. He is the incubator of many media experiments, including K Records, and lives within walking distance of the Dub Narcotic studio in Olympia, Washington.

Evelyn McDonnell is the editorial director of MOLI.com. She is the author of three books includingMamarama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids and Rock ‘n’ Roll and Army of She: Icelandic, Iconoclastic, Irrepressible Björk. She coedited the anthologies Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Pop and Rap and Stars Don’t Stand Still in the Sky: Music and Myth. A former senior editor at the Village Voice and associate editor at SF Weekly, her writing has appeared in Ms., Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and Spin. Her 1996 cover story for Option on PJ Harvey was named best interview in a magazine by the Music Journalism Awards.

Amy Phillips is the senior news editor of Pitchforkmedia.com.

Jaan Uhelszki was one of the founding editors of Detroit’s legendary Creem magazine. Since that time, her work has appeared in leading publications including USA Today, Uncut, MOJO, Rolling Stone, Spin, NME, Guitar World, and the Village Voice. Currently a senior editor at Rhapsody, she is the only journalist to have ever performed in full makeup with Kiss.

Nan Warshaw co-founded Bloodshot Records in 1994. Prior to Bloodshot, she was a DJ at punk rock clubs and for college radio, an independent publicist, a bartender, a club buyer, an indie booking agent, and also did work in the non-profit sector. Today she sits on the advisory boards of the Future Of Music Coalition and Rock For Kids. The current Bloodshot roster features a range of indie rock bands with roots inflections including Firewater, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, the Gore Gore Girls, Detroit Cobras, Graham Parker, and Waco Brothers.

To read the full article, go to:  http://venuszine.com/articles/music/2575/The_Greatest_Female_Guitarists_of_All_Time

I was walking home today from somewhere and was listening to a song on my ipod and thought to myself, “man that’d be fun to play on a video game thing”. And then I realized that logically speaking, it probably couldn’t be done. That song is on this list by the way. I rocked to it all the way home because it was quite long, and walked right into trying to find 5 awesome songs that probably won’t show up in Rock band or Guitar Hero.

5. Kaki King – Playing with Pink noise
She is the kind of artist where it would be rather difficult to find a song from her whole catalog that you could put into a video-music-game. I guess Pull me out alive would probably be the easiest pick. But honestly, this would be the kind of case wherein you’d have to have a person using both sets of buttons on a Rock Band guitar in order to even think of hitting the same amount of things that she’s doing. Don’t even think about doing Close your eyes and burst into flames. I think that’s on a level higher than that Dragonforce song everyone was all happy about seeing at the end of GH3. I wonder if she plays RB/GH. And if so, can she hit the buttons as fast on a plastic guitar as she can play a real one?

4. Led Zeppelin – Bonzo’s Montreux
I imagine it’d be difficult to get the folks at LZ incorporated to agree to put a bunch of songs in RB/GH in the first place, but as a test to how great he was, Bonzo’s Montreux would also be nearly impossible to transcribe into those drum buttons, especially when those crazy effects kick in. Because there’s a drum track with them, how does one play both? Does the singer hit those notes? Do you get two people drumming at the same time? Anyway, it’d be rather rough for anyone to play, seeing as how great the fills are, nevermind the amount of bass drum usage. I like how in the live version, everyone walks off stage. Thats great right there.

3. Spookey Ruben – Mechanical Royalty
In order to hear this song you’re going to have to find it on his myspace because unfortunately, Spookey isn’t as popular as I’d like him to be. But that doesn’t make this song any less of a difficult one to imagine in a video-music-game. It’s fifteen minutes of consistently changing things. The song is broken down into seven different parts, tracks that could essentially be their own and yet work as one large cohesive unit, some of which (especially the parts around 6:40) would be difficult to transcribe into wee little colored buttons. Also, who would play a fifteen minute song in a game and not get tired? Our attention spans are not the way they used to be. Everyone’s insane about Beatles Rock band and I think part of the reason why (besides the obvious) is because 95% of those songs clock in under 4 minutes. Opus-like tracks are probably frowned upon, but shit this would just kick ass to play all the way through. That first riff that invites you to come in, and that salsa-like weird tempo part around 7:30, if that doesn’t make you want to pick up a plastic guitar and rock out, then what the hell is wrong with you?

2. Fantômas – Page 27
I really could have put any Fantômas track here, because the pure logic behind having people play the insanely crazy stuff that they do is well, crazy. People would lose their voices and hands would fall off. Also, because of how short most of the tracks are, they’d most likely have to merge a few songs together, right? Imagine playing six songs where you have absolutely no idea what’s coming next, no matter how many times you play it. Imagine having a friend come over who wants to sing, and have him sing parts that include yelping, and just straight abrasive yelling. What neighbor wants to hear that besides me? I know I’d have a blast trying to find a friend to drum some of those parts too, by the way. As a matter of fact, out of all of the other ones, I’d want a downloadable Fantômas pack the most, just because it’d be freaking hilarious.

1. Focus – Hocus Pocus
Okay, so the actual “recorded song” on that one starts at about 50 seconds. But the point here is that it would not only be hell for most drummers that are pretty decent about hitting the buttons in a game when they practice enough, but this one defies all logic for vocal parts. All. There is no way in the world I can imagine someone singing eight minutes of that over and over again of random…..  How do you describe that? It is however, an extremely fantastic song. The whole put together of it is perfect. I don’t know that that band ever had as big a hit as this, either, by the way. I actually bought this album specifically to hear what the rest of the songs are, and they’re all somewhat crazy like this, so I don’t understand why they weren’t more popular. I guess a lot of people considered them a novelty act, or something. But you can tell how talented they are, right? So where was the problem? Maybe putting this hilariously fantastic song in a game will make them more popular.

There are a few (ok, MANY) songs that I’ve been listening to on obsessive repeat the last few weeks. Some are old, some are new but all have been tickling my musical fancy of late.

1. Nouvelle Vague – In a Manner of Speaking
2. Grizzly Bear & Feist – Service Bell
3. Q-Tip w Raphael Saadiq – WeFight/WeLove
4. Vanessa da Mata w Ben Harper – Boa Sorte (Good Luck)
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll
6. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
7. Imogen Heap – Aha!
8. Beach House – Used to Be
9. Earth, Wind and Fire – September (best fall song ever!)
10. Prince – When Doves Cry (sort of random)
11. Chet Baker – My Funny Valentine
12. Incubus – Quicksand
13. Incubus – A Kiss to Send Us Off
14. Radiohead – Karma Police
15. Kaki King – Life Being What It Is

Volcano Choir's debut full-length album, a minimalist milestone, hits shelves on September 22nd.

PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD Volcano Choir’s “Island, IS” MP3
WE GIVE IT: 15/20 Watts

Building off the momentum of Bon Iver’s critically-acclaimed 2008 release, For Emma, Forever Ago , Justin Vernon is now releasing the product of his collaboration with fellow Wisconsinites, Collections of Colonies of Bees. The indie supergroup, dubbed Volcano Choir, stemmed from an informal collaboration between the two sides, but was eventually realized to be something much greater than they originally anticipated.

When Vernon met Collections of Colonies of Bees, it was on tour during his stint as the leader of the Eau-Claire-based instrumental group DeYardmond Edison in 2005. Since then, the two sides had been sending each other ideas over the internet and taking turns fleshing out each others’ concepts. CoCoB’s Jim Schoenecker explains in his interview with the Milkwaukee Decider, “It wasn’t this conscious, ‘Hey, we’re going to start this band together, and here’s the material we’re going to work on.’ It was all very loose.”

What began as a mere back and forth interpretation of the two sides’ ideas slowly took form as the musical sketches settled into actual songs. The product, entitled Unmap, is one of the year’s most significant minimalist endeavors.

The album thrives on the ambiguity inspired by Vernon’s minimalist use of vocals (which, might I add, you can rarely understand). As the album moves through tracks such as “Husks and Shells” and “Youlogy,” it takes on a very liquid, and often ominous tone. However, the playful intertwining of Vernon’s crooning, and often-choral vocals, plus their Kaki King-esque guitar plunking, never let you lose sight of the true beauty in the songwriting.

The lack of structure suggested by the ambient and often acoustic soundscapes is shattered, however, by tracks such as “Island, IS” and “Still,” which take on the forms of Reich-inspired minimalist jams. It’s on these cuts that Volcano Choir is at its best. They take the pulsing, rhythmic concepts that are the base of all minimalist music, and use them to reach impassioned, distorted, but never forced crescendos (see the end of “Still”). The movement from order to chaos in both the structure of the songs and the album as a whole make the experience all the more meaningful.

Bon Iver fans tirelessly awaiting For Emma, Pt. 2, fear not. You’ve got your new manifesto. So sit back and allow Volcano Choir to both confuse and comfort you with Unmap.

-John Luposello

Earlier this year OIW were delighted to have one Anna Calvi grace the stage at the Old Queens Head. She was simply amazing that night (not forgetting the brilliant Louis Barabbas, Aaron King and Lail Arad). So we went to see her again at Camden’s Jazz Cafe last week with Kaki King and yep, it wasn’t the booze, she really is something else that girl!

Courtesy of her management (cheers Hiroki!), here’s two free tracks for you Oh, Inverted Worlders including “No More Words” which features Dave Okumu from Mercury nominated “The Invisible” no less. Anna has also just announced she will heading out on tour with Johnny Flynn this October so look out for those dates.

Anna Calvi – No More Words (feat. Dave Okumu) mp3

Anna Calvi – First We Kiss (Demo) mp3

Hell we’re good to you sometimes ; ) x

A Kaki King fez um cover de LoveStoned do Justin Timberlake. Não bastasse isso, ela deixou a música bem melhor (o que não é muito difícil, sendo ela a Kaki, nada contra o Justin). A música está no EP Mexican Teenagers e ganhou um vídeo oficial.

O vídeo foi produzido pela Polivision Productions em conjunto com os estudates da Rhode Island School of Design.

Quando se fala em Rhode Island School of Design eu lembro de The OC. Foi pra lá que o Seth (L) foi.

Es folgen drei musikalische Videos verschiedenster Stilrichtungen von der schon vorgestellten Seite TED.com.

Zu Beginn etwas Orchester (vorallem Arturo Márquez’ Danzón No. 2 kann ich empfehlen):

Darauf etwas Jazz (eher experimentell)

Und abschließend etwas Gitarrenmusik:

Kaki King: Pull Me Out Alive

This song is catchy as hell…. I’m not so much a fan of the chorus, but those verses are hard to beat.  I don’t even know what the fuck she is saying or what she is so delicately chanting on about.  But, I love it.  And her knack for tackling multiple instruments highlights her obvious prodigal musical talent.  The bulk of her songs are vocal-less, but I think her airy way of singing works well here.  Mostly.  And she’s cute, so that works well here, too.

The tyranny of
Trying to know
Everything takes
Over the freedom
Of the mind
To find it’s own
Course knowing
More about less
Endless long standing
Let’s end all violence
Farewell to thee
Stop when I grin (?)
Are we fainting of
The tendrils that
Siren and there
My mate and me

Pull me out
Pull me out alive
Pull me out
Pull me out alive

O take me to
Cities where all
The hot spots are
Inform the institutions
From the defunct
Soviet union
When every arrow
Will be defined as
Post war to be
A bomb college course
But if the universe
Is written in a breeze
You will

Pull me out
Pull me out alive
Pull me out
Pull me out alive

I was supposed to knit him a scarf for winter. This winter. Now the box filled with yarn is dust-covered and abandoned underneath my desk. I hit my toes against it every time I adjust myself. It’s one of those things I would burn in a great bonfire if I were the burn and purge type. I’m not, really. That and the moment for burning is past. So. There’s that.

It’s one of those nights. I pace my room or sit staring at the wall for longer than I care to document. Every so often I  focus on my eyes in the mirror until the pupils dilate and I feel real again. I pinch myself or call to my parents or pet my dogs just to check that I haven’t disappeared. I’m pretty sure that I haven’t.

They said a storm was coming. Hurricane Bill. Or Bob. Or some other generic B name. Who names these hurricanes anyway? The grocery stores were packed with concerned citizens preparing for the worst. Everyone battened down their hatches. BBQs were canceled and windows boarded up. Roads were closed. Would-be-beach-goers banned. Everyone tuned to the weather channel and waited. Waited for the worst. Another Hurricane Juan. Trees collapsing and basements flooding and damage, lord the damage.  It rained for awhile. Hard. It rained and then the wind picked up and then right when I thought it was going to really descend, well, it was right about then that Hurricane Bill passed us by.

Dammit, Bill.

It’s like that last fight you’re meant to have before you break up. The one where you air every little pissed off thought and every single age-old hurt that has been eating at you since the day you got together. The fight to end all fights. The fight where you scream and you cry and you hate hate hate each other. The one you have to take breaks from just to recover enough energy to keep on yelling. The one where you lie and say you always had a thing for his best friend or he says he wished he never kissed you on that goddamn stairwell. The one that leaves you empty. Hollow. Ravaged. Nobody really wants to experience the damage. Nobody really wants the relationship to crumble so violently and completely underneath them. But, when that fight passes you by. When you part ways mutually and without consequence. When you give each other the whole “let’s be friends” spiel and really believe it…

Well. Well, then you end up like me. Staring out your window at the gray above and wondering when the sky will fall. Feeling cheated when the rain spits and then stops and you can’t even muster up a real tear. It’s over and I don’t even really know when it ended. No hurricane and no goddamn closure. I’m left here waiting for I don’t know what with no company—just dusty memories and a lousy weather report.

Kaki King – Pull Me Out Alive

01. Mexican Teenagers (3:49)
02. Gouge Both Your Eyes Out (But Eat Only One) (2:15)
03. Lintoria (3:05)
04. Vivian Leigh’s Veins (3:01)
05. A Long Way to Go Before We Are Truly Danlike (4:36)

download here