I’ve mentioned my love of skirmish games in the past – games usually involving only a handful of models, where each is significant, where each matters. Prime examples would be GW’s Necromunda and Mordheim games, both of which were pretty bloody awesome, even if they’re currently not in general production and you have to get your bits and bobs from their online store.

Well, until Privateer makes me squeal with glee by releasing an Iron Kingdoms squad-based skirmish game, preferably with a character development system of some sort, I have to look at other options.

Enter Malifaux.

A game still very much in its early days, it’s a squad-based skirmish level game set in a gothic/horror/steampunk/wild west kinda setting. Okay, I’m not into horror stuff as a general rule, but I do dig steampunk (I blame Privateer entirely for that), and I can get into a Western setting, so my curiosity was piqued enough to do some further research.

After staring at the models for a while, I chose a crew and ordered the rulebook. Yes, this contravenes the directive to actually know what models do before choosing a faction and investing, but I’m nothing if not a creature of whimsy, and dammit, I liked what I saw. Rules be damned, I have difficulty enjoying a faction if I don’t like the way it looks, so choosing based purely on the model aesthetic wasn’t *too* far off my normal procedures anyway.

I read the book, I played a test game against uberpainter Hank Raab and skinny Khadoran Rich “Orcasaurus” Godwaldt (Moonova had to skedaddle, unfortunately). I fully assembled my models, cleaned ‘em up and hit ‘em with some Privateer white primer. Let’s take a look at some initial impressions.

The System

Here’s some significant in miniatures gaming: No dice. Everything’s based on a deck of cards… and yes, you can use a regular household deck of cards if you don’t want to fork out for an official Malifaux deck. 52 cards in four suits + 2 jokers and you’re good to go.

This takes some real mental adjustment, and I’m thinking will be one of the hardest initial hurdles to getting people interested in the game, but even after a single game of say, at least half a dozen turns so you have time to try things out, players will be comfortable enough with the card mechanic.

It works thus:

Everything you want to do – cast a spell, shoot an opponent, poke ‘em with a stick, whatever – has a target number, and in some cases a target suit. You check the appropriate stat on your model, then flip the top card of your deck. Add your stat to the number, compare to the target, and right there you know whether you succeeded or not. For the record, many interactions are duels – My stat+card against a target number of Your stat+card.

Now that’s pretty similar to a dice-based mechanic – my stat+roll vs your stat+roll… but here’s where it gets funky.

You can cheat fate, or spend soulstones.

Cheating Fate: As well as having your deck, every turn you have a hand of cards. Once in each interaction, you can replace the card you flipped with a card from your hand. You might want to do this to increase your total, or to change the card to a suit you need , since some spells and abilities require both a target number and a specific suit.

Soulstones: In Warmachine terms, these are your Mk II Warjack points, and whatever points you had left over in your list. Say you were building a 25 pt Malifaux Crew, but only bought 22pts worth of models. You’d get 3 soulstones right there, plus whatever was listed as your Master’s cache value. So if that cache was 4, you’d get 7 soulstones to use during the game. The way these affect the game is, you can expend one (as long as the character you’re activating has the ability to use soulstones) to flip a second card from the top of your deck, and add it to the existing card, giving you a higher total and potentially two different suits if your action required them.

Example: My dude, Bob, wants to shoot your dude, Jim.

• My combat stat is 3, I flip a 9 of Masks, for a total of 12. Your defense stat is 4, you flip an 11 of Crows, for a total of 15.

• Right now it looks like I’m going to miss, so I Cheat Fate with a 12 of Tomes I had in my hand, bringing my total to 15, equaling your defense total – I’m hitting.

• You don’t have any cards higher than an 11 in your hand, so you can’t Cheat Fate to make your total higher, but Jim is your Master, so you spend a soulstone and get to flip another card – a 7 of Rams – and add it to your total, so now you have a combined total of 22, and both the Rams and Crows suits.

• I’m gonna miss, but Bob doesn’t have the soulstone ability, so I can’t raise my total any further. I miss.

• If it turns out your Jim had a passive ability that triggered whenever he defended with a Rams card, you could fire it off now too.

It all sounds a bit complicated, and there’s always abilities which will affect the values further, but one or two tries and you’ll have it down pat.

The neat trick here is that by cheating fate, you’ve got the option to (in Warmachine terms) boost the attack roll after seeing whether or not you miss – you can counteract a low number – but your resources are limited. Much like your Warcaster with his focus, you’ve only got so many cards and so many soulstones to ‘boost’ with. Do you use them now, on this attack, or do you camp them to boost your armour?

Additionally, you can keep whatever cards you want in your hand each turn, while the rest cycle back into the deck. Do you keep high number cards in your hand for next turn, knowing that that leaves a higher proportion of low number cards in the deck, or do you keep the lower number cards in your hand, increasing the chances of your flipping a higher value card initially or when you use a soulstone?

Then, there’s the additional scope for buff and debuff effects. Not only might you be able to increase or decrease a stat value, you can pull a Vlad/Calandra. In terms of a buff this means flip an extra card and use the highest value. In terms of a debuff, flip an extra card and use the lowest. There are abilities that can put out a two cards buff or debuff, meaning you’re flipping a total of three cards and using the highest or lowest accordingly.

And of course, the red joker is essentially a critical hit, and the black joker is a critical miss.

Another variation from what we WarmaHordesers are used to is the activation order. Each turn, initiative is determined by a card flip (which you can cheat fate or use a soulstone on if you want), and then the winner gets to activate a single model. Not his entire crew, a single model.

Players then alternate activating models until everyone’s activated.

This can be freakin’ critical, because by and large most effects don’t carry over from activation to activation – they end at the end of the turn.

Case in point, in our test game Rich was able to activate his master, Pandora, first. He then slapped a handful of debuff effects on my master, Rasputina, before I could set up a single defensive measure. Nothing.

I then had to pass a willpower test to do an action at all, a second one to attack Pandora, and then – only after I passed both – was I able to flip for an attack. These willpower tests were debuffed so I was flipping two cards and taking the lowest, and if I didn’t cheat fate or use a soulstone to make sure I passed the test, I took damage. It was freakin’ brutal.

In activating that one model to try to get the last minute win with her three actions, I used something like 6 soulstones, every card in my hand, and approximately half of my deck with flips and cheats and soulstone use et al. I don’t care that it didn’t work in the end, we were playing to learn the game and it was freakin’ epic as Rasputina tried to fight through everything Pandora had thrown at her. Much fun.

Now, if I’d been able to activate Rasputina first, I could have summoned ice collumns, a defensive windwall/snowstorm, whatever. Or, I could have activated one of my other models, and simply walked it over to block line of sight. There were options, but since Rich had initiative, he got to get his assault in first while my defenses were down.

So yeah, the card system looks awkward and confusing at first, but lo and behold, it’s actually viable, and potentially gives you a lot more control over the game then dice do. It’s worth at least sitting in on a demo to get a feel for it before you balk and thumb your nose at it.

To be continued…

Alright. So I can see how these websites/blogs/fansites can end up three years out of date now. My lack of motivation, inspiration and free time have kept me away from jackercrap. I suppose it hasn’t been that long and I had already stated that my updates would no longer be daily. I’ll stop crying now.
I wanted to give a quick summary of my trip to New Hampshire. I also wanted a helmet but I’m still waiting…
Day 1 – Gerry and I left New York around 7pm and arrived at his girlfriend’s parent’s house in Connecticut around 9pm. We did the obligatory shooting of the breeze and I watched Gerry and the father talk about the new truck. It was life altering to say the least.

Day 2 – After staying the night and picking up some supplies we needed for the cabin we left for NH around 7am. The drive alone was about 6 hours but we stopped at a grocery store and Whallmart to stock up on phoods. By the time we got to the cabin it was snowing lightly and our butts were numb. We quickly unloaded my packed to the roof van and got settled in.

Days 3-7 It’s hard for me to distinguish specific days in my mind once we were actually at the cabin. Most days included some backgammon and Scrabble. Gerry had never played backgammon before and he really blossomed into a wonderful backgammoner. That’s a word right? Could I use that in Scrabble? So yeah…wake up around 9 or 10 in the am and begin breaking the fast. Then would come the morning crap in the outhouse. For reals yo. We were “roughing it” as they say. We were also “throughing it” too. Then the afternoon was generally spent doing music related stuff and luning the ch. We sampled all sorts of sounds out there like chipmunks farting. At night we’d watch a movie or two and we were always dining the ner. We watched Drag Me To Hell, Trick ‘r Treat, Adaptation, 12 Monkeys, UHF, Brothers Solomon, Primal Fear and the appropriate Cabin Fever. I hadn’t seen Drag Me To Hell and Trick ‘r Treat previously and I really enjoyed them both. I haven’t lost hope for the future of horror just yet.

In terms of leaving the cabin we only made a couple trips. We went to a nearby lake and shot some footage for possible inclusion on one of our upcoming youtube smash hits.

We also got some local pizza one lonely evening. We got to play some Terminator 3 (would’ve preferred 1, 2 or Salvation) pinball and I watched Gerry shoot stuff on one those Buck Champion 6000 deals.
Day 8 – We woke up early for the long ride back to NYCitti. We made a quick stop in CT to drop off the stuff we borrowed. The shower I took when I got home felt so delicious. We took two “showers” while we stayed at the cabin. We would boil some water which we would dump into a bag (a shower bag!) with a little lever to slowly let out water. We had to do this outside in freezing weather in a little shower cubicle while the turkeys and pheasants watched.

I could go on and on about all the little details of our trip but…what happens in cabins is shown on TLC late at night. It was a great trip. The ends.

We definitely need some Transylvanian Concubine for our Halloween preparations! Don’t you?

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• The Decemberists
• Marilyn Manson
• Portishead

I also suggest the music genre:

• Cello Music

Click here for more info on Rasputina – Thanks for the Ether – “Transylvanian Concubine”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Rasputina - Thanks for the Ether

Bueno como ya vimos en el post anterior la literatura Steampunk es muy amplia, hoy lo que toca, son los grupos de musica Steampunk. Parece mentira, pero hay grupos que la musica que tocan la denominan de ese genero o los fans los engloban en ese genero.

Vamos a dar un pequeño repaso por algunos de los más (y menos) conocidos de estos grupos. Empecemos pues…

Abney Park

Este no es un grupo novel, sino todo lo contrario pues ya tienen unos cuantos discos a sus espaldas, se llaman Abney Park (echadle un ojo a lo currada que está la web) y que son el grupo Steampunk más famoso del mundo. Tienen un vestuario y estetica muy currada y las canciones estan bien.

Web: http://www.abneypark.com/

Beat Circus

Aunque se les puede englobar en la corriente musical de Dark Cabaret, es una banda con ya unos cuantos años de antiguedad y que cuenta con muchos seguidores. Su musica es cuanto menos peculiar y es como poco bastante tetrica.

Web: http://beatcircus.net/

Dr. Steel

Su nombre completo es Phineas Waldolf Steel, y el es un musico americano residente en el sur de California, es bastante conocido en los ambientes goticos, Steampunk y Rivethead. Ademas de ser un cantante (ver mas adelante) tambien es un showman que hace sus gags. Para muestra un boton:

Otro de los puntos a destacar es su web, que a mi particularmente me gusto mucho y que me recuerda mucho a los menus del Fallout…

Web: http://www.doctorsteel.com/

Dresden Dolls

Los Dresden Dolls son un duo musical americano llegados desde Boston (Massachusetts). El grupo fue formado en el 2000, y esta compuesto por Amanda Palmer (voz, piano, armonica y ukelele (si, leiste bien)) y Brian Viglione (bateria, percusion, guitarra, bajo y voz). Ellos se describen como “Brechtian punk cabaret”, Forman parte de la corriente Dark Cabaret, pero tiene reminicencias steampunk, y la web tiene algo que me da escalofrios…

Web: http://www.dresdendolls.com

EZ3kiel

Este frances esta en la palestra steampunk desde 1999, y lleva 4 discos a sus espaldas. Su musica es instrumental y alguna que me parece más dance que otra cosa, y tambien mucho trip hop. Este grupo a mi entender es steampunk mas que nada por las portadas de los discos…

Web: http://www.ez3kiel.com/

The Faraway Tree

Este grupo llegado desde Nueva Zelanda (mira como los Kiwis xD), esta compuesto por Daniel Gifkins, Nigel Duncan, Hayden Gifkins y se definen como musica Indie, segun varias webs que consulte los catalogan como Steampunk, pero es mas instrumental que otra cosa…

Web: http://www.myspace.com/landofthefarawaytree

The Muse

¿Que es que alguien no conoce este grupo?. Muse es una banda inglesa de rock alternativo, originaria de Teignmouth, Devon. Está compuesta por Matthew Bellamy (compositor, voz, guitarra, teclado y piano); Dominic Howard (batería y percusión). y Christopher Wolstenholme (bajo eléctrico, teclados y coros). Tras el lanzamiento de su cuarto álbum, Morgan Nicholls colabora con la banda durante los conciertos, haciéndose cargo de teclados, samples y de algunos coros.[1] Su música cuenta con influencia de compositores clásicos, especialmente, aquellos de la era romántica, tales como Sergéi Rajmáninov. La banda es famosa por sus enérgicas actuaciones en vivo y los excéntricos intereses del líder Bellamy en la conspiración global, vida extraterrestre, teología y el apocalipsis.

Web: http://muse.mu/

P.d: Muy mal por la parte de Muse que pone unos videos en youtube a una resolucion de pena y encima con unos pixeles como barcos de vapor de grandes…)

Ben Houge

Más que un musico como Bisbal Abney Park, Ben es el encargado de de poner sonidos en muchos de los juegos a los que estamos acostumbrados a viciar, de hecho trabaja en Ubilol Ubisoft. Desde luego a trabajado en juegos tan miticos como: Tom Clancy’s EndWar, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, la saga Half-Life, SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle, King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity, entre otros. Y ya solo por trabajar para la mitica empresa de videojuegos Sierra (que el Diox de los jugones tenga en su gloria) ya se merece estar aqui. Toca generos tan dispares como Electro-Acoustica, Coral, Vocal, liturgica, orquestal, etc. Vamos un autentico crack, la pega que para trabajar en juegos tan chulos tiene una web digna del siglo XIX…

Web: http://www.benhouge.com

Sxip Shirey

El se define como compositor/diseñador de sonido/performer/cuentacuentos/”curandero”. Criado en Nueva York, este artista crea una musica inquietante y curiosa.

Web: http://sxipshirey.com/

Unextraordinary Gentlemen

Este trio crea una musica bizarra y muy barroca, mezclando instrumentos clasicos con cajas de ritmos y demas parafernalia futurista. La estetica es Steampunk abogan -habitualmente- por un punk-folk extraño con ciertas excepciones y a partir de ahí juegan mucho con el factor estético.

Web: http://www.unextraordinarygentlemen.com

Vernian Process

El grupo fue creado en el 2003 y segun ellos mismos cuentan su inspiración es el escritor frances Jules Gabriel Verne (1828 – 1905). Ellos dicen que la estetica Steampunk es genial. Ya cuentan con 5 albums a sus espaldas y una cosa que no os debeis perder es el video que os adjunto…
P.d: De este grupo pongo dos videos no porque sean especiales, sino para que se pueda ver su faceta instrumental y la vocal, eso si el primer video es imprescindible de ver…

Web: http://www.vernianprocess.com/

Emilie Autumn

Emilie Autumn (nacida el 22 de septiembre de 1979 en Malibu, California) es una cantautora, poeta, violinista y pianista, actualmente vive en Chicago. Se le diferencia por su estilo de interpretación teátrica y la mezcla de música clásica y música electrónica. Sus más notables instrumentos son el violín clásico, el violín eléctrico, el piano y la viola de gamba.

Web: http://www.emilieautumn.com/

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails (abreviado NIN) es una banda estadounidense de rock industrial fundada en 1988 por Trent Reznor en Cleveland, Ohio, Estados Unidos. Como su principal productor, cantante, compositor e instrumentista, Reznor es el único miembro oficial de Nine Inch Nails y el único responsable de la dirección de la banda. La música de Nine Inch Nails abarca un gran número de géneros musicales, aunque mantiene un sonido característico utilizando instrumentos electrónicos y procesamiento en el estudio de grabación. Después de grabar cada nuevo álbum de estudio, Reznor forma una banda de músicos para las giras y conciertos. Esta banda suele ser cambiante y hace arreglos en las canciones para ajustarlas a las actuaciones en directo. En el escenario, NIN suele utilizar elementos visuales espectaculares para sus actuaciones, entre las que destaca el espectáculo lumínico. Los Videos como el que pongo aqui tienen claras reminiscencias al Steampunk.

Web: www.nin.com

Rasputina

Rasputina nunca dijo ser Steampunk, aunque realmente tiene ese aire.

Web: http://www.rasputina.com/

Voltaire

Se llama realmente Aurelio Voltaire Hernández y nacio en el 1967, en Cuba es un famoso cantante de la escena gotica americana. Tiene canciones muy pegadizas y ademas de cantante tambien hace animacion, dibuja comic y es profesor en la escuela de artes visuales de Nueva York.

Web: http://www.voltaire.net/

Tool

Tool es una banda estadounidense de metal progresivo surgida en 1990 en Los Ángeles, California. Ha vendido más de trece millones de discos en todo el mundo y ha ganado tres premios Grammy hasta la fecha; ha encabezado giras y prestigiosos festivales y ha producido exitosos álbumes que alcanzaron grandes niveles de ventas gracias a su estatus de culto en el mundo de la música. Está formada por el batería Danny Carey, el guitarrista Adam Jones, el vocalista Maynard James Keenan y el bajista Justin Chancellor, que sustituyó a Paul D’Amour en 1995. Sus videos tienen ese regusto steampunk…

web: http://www.toolband.com/

Nightwish

Nightwish es un grupo de metal sinfónico procedente de Finlandia, conocidos en todo el mundo por sus fuertes y melódicos riffs de guitarra, atmósferas de órgano y sintetizador, potente batería y claro sonido de bajo que hace un buen contraste con su apoyo filarmónico/orquestal. Nightwish es considerada una de las bandas más representativas de este género.

Su género musical es bastante discutido. Cabe señalar que son muy reconocidos por haber brindado una gran diversidad de cualidades de power metal llevándolo a un nivel muy potente, y a la vez combinando al género con metal sinfónico, algunos toques de folk y thrash metal siendo éstos los que ponen a debatir la etimología de su música.

Web: http://www.nightwish.com

Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance es un grupo musical procedente de Australia, compuesto por Lisa Gerrard y Brendan Perry. Dead Can Dance se formó en Melbourne en el año 1981 estableciéndose inicialmente en Australia. Al no tener grandes perspectivas de éxito en ese país se trasladaron a Londres donde tras un año firmaron para el legendario sello de rock alternativo 4AD, convirtiéndose en una de sus bandas más importantes. Continuaron trabajando juntos hasta adentrados los ‘90, cuando comenzaron a trabajar por separado. Lisa Gerrard retornó a Australia, mientras Brendan Perry se fue a Irlanda, lugar en que compró una vieja iglesia, Quivy Church, en la cual vive y trabaja.

Web: http://www.deadcandance.com/

Regina Spektor

La artista nació el 18 de febrero de 1980 en Moscú en el seno de una familia judía. Su padre, Ilya Spektor, fotógrafo, fue también violinista aficionado, mientras su madre es profesora de música, y enseñó en un colegio de música en Rusia, y actualmente lo hace en una escuela pública básica en Mount Vernon, localidad ubicada en la misma ciudad en la que ellos residen.

La familia abandonó Rusia en 1989, durante la Perestroika, cuando a los ciudadanos rusos se les permitió emigrar del país. En su páis natal, Spektor tocaba el piano desde que tenía seis años, y escuchaba bandas de rock, como The Beatles y Queen. Cuentan que de pequeña Regina soñaba con ser concertista clásica de piano y que los primeros años de su nueva vida en Norteamérica, habiendo tenido que dejar su instrumento en su lejano país de nacimiento, los pasaba la niña practicando escalas en cualquier superficie plana, ya fuera el tablero de una mesa o el alféizar de una ventana. Sus videos son como goticos, pero molan las cancioncillas…

Web: http://www.reginaspektor.com/

Evanescence

Evanescence es una banda estadounidense de metal gótico fundada en Little Rock, Arkansas en 1998 por la vocalista Amy Lee y el guitarrista Ben Moody.

Después de grabar dos EP independientes, Evanescence EP, Sound Asleep, y Origin en el año 2000 con ayuda de la discográfica Bigwig Enterprises, la banda lanzó su primer álbum de estudio, Fallen, con la discográfica Wind-up Records en el año 2003. Fallen vendió más de 15 millones de copias alrededor del mundo y la banda ganó dos premios Grammy. Un año más tarde, la banda lanzó su primer DVD en vivo, Anywhere but Home, el cual vendió más de 1 millón de copias alrededor del mundo. En el 2006, la banda lanzó su segundo álbum de estudio, The Open Door que hasta la fecha ha vendido más de 5 millones de copias en todo el mundo. Y si amiguitos y amiguitas a pesar de que son un grupo conocido y famoso no me direis que tiene un aire Steampunk…

Web: http://www.evanescence.com/

Portishead

Portishead es el nombre de un grupo musical británico, de tendencia trip hop, formado en Bristol en 1991.Su segundo álbum Portishead, salió a la venta en 1997 e incluyó el sencillo “All Mine”. Además, grabaron un concierto con acompañamiento de orquesta en Roseland, Nueva York, donde fueron interpretadas sus canciones más famosas. Éste, salió a la venta en 1998 con un DVD del concierto. En 1999 colaboraron con Tom Jones en una canción de su álbum Reload. Y no me direis que el video es Steampunk si hasta sale un tio con una camara de carrete, tecnologia obsoleta xD.

Web: http://www.portishead.co.uk/

VNV Nation

VNV Nation es una agrupación de música electrónica originaria de Londres, ahora establecida en Hamburgo, que combina elementos de Electronic Body Music (EBM), Música Industrial y Synthpop, para formar lo que ellos llaman Futurepop. Los miembros son Ronan Harris y Mark Jackson. VNV Nation es la abreviación de Victory Not Vengeance (literalmente, Victoria No Venganza), un lema que hace alusión a la idea de que uno debe buscar el triunfo y no refugiarse en los lamentos. Temática que es tratada a lo largo de la discografía del grupo y que caracteriza su sonido.

Web: http://www.vnvnation.com/

Hannah Fury

Bien esta cantante solista es ideal para todos aquellos que quedaron enbelezados con la voz de Liv Kristine (exs theatre of tragedy y actual Leaves Eyes). Viene en esa apuesta lo de esta blonda cantante!. Se puede decir que esta englobada dentro del Gothic Rock.

Web: http://www.mellowtraumatic.com/

The Clockwork Quartet

The Clockwork Quartet es una banda de musica que mezcla elementos de, musica experimental,folk y neo-victoriana. Es una de las bandas que traigo que más me gustan. Claramente te los puedes imaginar tocando en un mundo Steampunk, y encima su musica no suena nada mal. Su musica esta caracterizada por los “sonidos steampunk”, esto es maquinas de escribir, relojes, etc, ademas actuan caracterizados…

Web: http://www.clockworkquartet.com/

Oingo Boingo

Este grupo tiene videos con claras reminiscencias a este estilo, y como nota curiosa “Danny” Elfman (antiguo lider del grupo), es conocido principalmente por escribir música para las películas de Tim Burton, con quien debutó en 1985 como compositor de bandas sonoras con su película La gran aventura de Pee-Wee y con quien mantiene una extensa colaboración hasta el día de hoy o crear el famoso tema de la serie televisiva Los Simpson que, entre muchos otros trabajos, le han otorgado un gran prestigio a lo largo su ecléctica carrera musical.

Web: http://www.boingo.org/ (Es una web de fans pues el grupo murio hace muchooooo tiempo)

Switchblade Symphony

Switchblade Symphony es un grupo estadounidense (san Francisco) formado en 1989, compuesto por Susan Wallace y Tina Root. El nombre de este grupo se debe a que es un grupo que mezcla muchos géneros, entre ellos; Gothic Rock, música orquestrada, Trip-Hop y Synthpop, creando un Darkwave bastante especial.

Este grupo es la leyenda noventera del Darkwave, creando el look de muñeca de trapo gótica (No confundir con las Gothic Lolitas, ellas emulan a muñecas de porcelana, no de trapo), al parecer inventaron o al menos popularizaron los Dread Falls (Muy utilizados por los Cybers), claro que ellas lo usaban para obtener el look de pelo de lana.

Web: http://www.myspace.com/30511393

Vermillion Lies

Aunque son un grupo de cabaret, Vermillion Lies es justamente uno de estos grupos conceptuales. Cuentan la historia de dos hermanas que se separan; en el 2004, después de años incomunicadas se reencuentran y al no tener nada más puro que decirse, se comunican por medio de música, la intercambian y mezclan, al darse cuenta que la batahola es lo bastante agradable, se fusionan en una misma sustancia y Vermillion Lies cobra vida: una arpía únicamente separada por el día de nacimiento.

Web: http://www.vermillionlies.com/

Deadly Nightshade Botanical Society

The Deadly Nightshade Botanical Society son Erica Roberts, Robert Hazelton, Robert Gardunia y Anastasia Oleinikov. La banda empezo a tocar en Agosto del 2007. El primer disco que sacaron fue, Clockwork Dreams.

Web: http://www.deadlynightshadebotanicalsociety.com

Bueno creo que ya estan los grupos que yo personalmente diria que son o tienen algun toque steampunk, aunque hay que aclarar queno existe ninguna banda Steampunk perse, son diferentes evoluciones del Pop y el Heavy Metal y en algun caso Folk, con una gran dosis de pura estética nada mas; para escuchar música Steampunk habria que realizar un pequeño viaje en el tiempo y remontarse al siglo XIX.

Entradas Relacionadas:
Recopilacíon Tematica Steampunk (I): Literatura

Fuentes:
Gothicba.com
Foro y Comunidad Steampunk Spain
Ilusiones a Vapor
Alrededor del Mundo Steampunk
Wikimedia Commons
Lastfm

As hump day approaches (and I await an inspection from my landlord, which means cleaning the house — props to my partner for mowing our shaggy lawn), I thought I’d kick out some jams. Or rather, highlight some ladies who’ve kicked out other people’s jams, making them their own in the process. I have selected the following covers, all performed in concert by female-only bands, to simulate a rock block on the classics station.

Let’s start it out all tart and British. Here we have The Raincoats covering “Lola” in a concert they performed last month. Originally by The Kinks, the song tells the story about a man being seduced by a transvestite. In their famous revision, however, the pursued is a proper English lady singing as man, adding at least two more levels of queerness.

Next up is Rasputina’s cover of Heart’s “Barracuda,” reminding all of us that cellos can rock just as hard as electric guitars. 

Finally, we close with Sleater-Kinney, a band whose sound was heavily indebted to rock legends like Led Zeppelin and The Who. But they also came of age during new wave’s brief but delicious reign, which is why I wanted to include their cover of The B-52s’ “Rock Lobster.”

And if I had anything to do with programming a classic rock station, early B-52s would totally be on our playlists because a) Ricky Wilson was an awesome guitarist and b) it don’t get more classic than Farfisas, bee-hives, and bikini whales. Bonus points for getting K Records impresario/Beat Happening frontman Calvin Johnson, who is famous for his monotone, to fill in for the considerably less monotone Fred Schneider. Plus, like Heart and The Raincoats, The B-52s are a veteran act who can still dance this mess around, as several ACL festival goers can attest. If given the chance, I have no doubt that S-K still can too.

I especially liked Tuesday’s chance to get into the music and the beginnings of our understanding of phenomenology, so I wanted to elaborate on some of the thoughts and questions I didn’t get a chance to say in class. They’re also here with videos for you to enjoy and start a discussion on.

So as I left the class and am re-engaging with what little of phenomenology I know, I began to wonder how much subjectivity one can dive into. Can this subjectivity be allow to tangentialize into divergent points and fetishes for critiquing abilities, or is this going too far? How much is this topic “personalizable”? As far as I know, I was left with the phrase “situated in subjectivity”, so I was wondering if there would be a clarification on that, as my mind is already out “over there” in Russia (metaphorically speaking) about what kinds of things we can be subjective about, and when a phenomenological critique can start to become a rant about someone’s personal opinion gradiosized for all to see.

But as I started to take a look at the music again (I posted videos of everything I’m referring to below this), I couldn’t get over the phrase of “metal” to describe what I was hearing and the intent of the artists. For those who don’t know, I am not talking about the material something is made out of, or the type of music. I am talking about the intense, almost purely masculine feeling, of being able to take one’s inner rocker out and using that to describe a situation. For example, a sentence like, “Dude, Arch Enemy’s set last night was so metal!” reads as a compliment of the intense experience of the show (Arch Enemy is a Norwegian Death Metal band that features a female lead who can viscerally scream better than most guys). The reason for this aside? I felt the intent of Rasputina’s song was to showcase how metal a cello can be, and how metal the experience of pairing up electronics, cellos, and hard rock can be. It was pretty epic.

But then I took this metal feeling and then trying to take this intent to other versions of the song, and trying to see if I could use my own subjectivity to get at the possible intent of other rockers trying to play the same song. I first thought of the Guitar Hero 3 version of the song. It is meant to be played as a warm up song for a long session of Guitar Hero. It is quite robotic to play it, as one doesn’t get to “feel” the music, but one has to play the track the exact same way the exact same time, which I feel takes away from what the song should be. It also is the same recording every time, so the only different experience there is depends on how many times a player misses the notes. The only way to get metal out of this is, of course, depending on the player, but for some, the only way to get metal is to get 100% (see video below). There just isn’t the same feeling any more with this song and Guitar Hero. Also, there is little possibility of interacting with 2 or more people on this song to bring out the metalness of it. So, I think if Rasputina got ahold of this, they wouldn’t have the same type of experience, and frankly, probably wouldn’t even like it.

So then this interaction made me want to go look back at the original version of the song as well. As I found the live version shown below, I started to listen and re-engage with another intent: the original band giving us a personal take upon one of their classics. They are free to make it as different in the lyrics (to a point) and the overall action, as they are supposed to make it a personalized experience of listening to the song while seeing the band play the song. This is not the type of normal interaction while listening to the music. Heart brings its own metalness to the table, but it is distinctly their own metalness – the metalness of improvisation.

I also wanted to mention why my subjectivity led me to mention a slightly unheard of game: Shadow Hearts. It is historical fiction situated in the Rasputin-era of Russia, but the music reminded me of some of the battles and the totality of the end experience of playing this game (but not the monotonous grinding). Please take it for what its worth.

Rasputina’s live Barracuda:

Guitar Hero’s version of Barracuda:

Heart’s live version:

Shadow Hearts (the battle against a form of Rasputin):

Huch, es sind tatsächlich wieder zwei Wochen vergangen und das Projekt Hörsturz geht in die dritte Runde. Der von mir vorgeschlagene Song wurde nicht gezogen. Nicht so schlimm, zumal einer der Gründe an dem Projekt teilzunehmen für mich eh war, neue Musik zu finden. Dann wollen wir mal sehen, was für Songs diesmal vorgeschlagen und gezogen wurden.

Black Strobe – I’m A Man

Leider nicht ganz meine Musikrichtung. Ich kann gar nicht wirklich sagen, wieso, aber das Gesamtkonzept des Liedes löst bei mir eher Schulterzucken aus. Im Radio würde ich es nicht wegschalten, aber wäre mit Sicherheit nicht traurig, wenn es vorbei ist. 1,5/5, und das tut mir Leid.

Malcolm McLaren – Double Dutch

Der erste Gedanke hier war tatsächlich ein Augenrolle mit dem Ausruf “Mach’s weg!” Falsche Stimmung für das Lied, fürchtete ich schon. Aber nach nicht einmal einer Minute verflog dieses Gefühl. Ich würde es mir sicherlich nicht mehrfach hintereinander anhören, aber mal so zwischendurch, immer mal wieder, kann der Titel durchaus gefallen. 3,5/5 [weil allein die Tatsache, mich von einem “Oh großer Gott, welch Rotz” zu einem Grinsen und einem Kopfwippen im Takt zu bekommen, einen halben Punkt wert ist]

Rasputina – Transylvanian Concubine

Das ist tatsächlich bis jetzt das erste Lied, das ich vorher schon kannte. War damals auf dem ersten Buffy-Soundtrack vorhanden. Ich erinnere mich noch, wie es anfangs das Lied war, was ich gar nicht mochte, und dann stundenlang in der Endlosschleife gespielt habe, bis meine Mutter mir gedroht hat, die CD wegzunehmen. Ich finde, das ist eines der Lieder, die Zeit brauchen, um ihre Wirkung zu entfalten. 4/5

Bluejuice – Vitriol

Das Lied ist klasse. Aber das leicht wirre Gebrabbel am Anfang… Nach mehrmaligem Hören hat das Lied den Weg in meine Favoritenliste gefunden. Punkt Abzug trotzdem für den ewig langen Monolog am Anfang.4/5

Café Sureal – No Comment

Das ist… interessant. Mich nerven ein wenig die dauernden Wiederholungen von “I’m the waitress”, ansonsten ist der Song ganz nett… 2,5/5, damit kann ich leben.

Und ich bin fasziniert, welch breites Spektrum an Musik man hier findet.

So, und was schlag ich jetzt vor? *grübel*

Cellist Rubin Kodheli is a busy sideman in the New York scene, perhaps best known as a member of lush, hauntingly atmospheric art-rockers Edison Woods. He’s also a composer, and considering how gracefully he leaps from genre to genre as an ensemble player, it’s no surprise that his own band Blues in Space spans many different styles as well.

There are five songs on this captivating ep (it’s up on itunes), a mix of clever, playful and frequently ferocious instrumentals. Three of them have a crunchy metal edge in the same vein as Apocalyptica or Rasputina in a particularly enraged moment; others are quieter. Under the layers and layers of cello, soaring, grinding, roaring or wailing through an army’s worth of digital effects, there’s also Justin Sabaj’s tasteful, incisive guitar and Garrett Brown’s percussion, from a pounding metal thump to judicious tribal beats.

The first track, Like a Tree is full of evocative soundtrack-style vistas, swaying and ornate with an eerie, stark cello passage about halfway through before returning to its earlier atmospherics. As its title would imply, Apocalypse is straight-up thrash metal – it’s a showcase for Kodheli’s virtuosic ability to transpose metal guitar voicings to the cello. This particular apocalypse is pretty much done with destroying the world by about halfway through, eventually fading out with an evil oscillation.

With its blithe, pizzicatto stroll, Happy Minor evokes another genre-bending New York string ensemble, Ljova and the Kontraband. The self-explanatory Rage is a wild, crunchy metal number, its darkest segments interestingly played with clean tone without any of the crazy electronic effects. The last cut, The Greatest swirls around atmospherically for a couple of minutes before exploding with more sizzling metal riffs. Throughout the songs, Kodheli shows off an impressive restraint, a welcome change from the self-indulgence in most metal. He’s more interested in hooks, and in developing a mood. There are definitely plenty of indie films in development who would get good mileage out of the stuff here. Blues in Space play le Poisson Rouge on August 19 at 11ish with special guest Eleanor Norton of Divahn on cello.

Music is an incredibly important part of my life. While I find I am drawn to certain musicians and bands, I appreciate all types of music. Here’s my lenses dedicated to my favorites.

–
Eagles of Death Metal
The Exotic Birds
Apartment 31: Goon Moon videos
Our Videos to Admire: Interpol videos
Jeordie White
Josh Homme
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails Video Vault
Option 30 Video-o-Rama
QOTSA Video-A-Go-Go
Rasputina
Them Crooked Vultures
Trent Reznor
Capital T: Trent Reznor Videos
Twiggy Ramirez

A cantora Amanda Palmer, da banda de rock The Dresden Dolls, acaba de lançar um livro de fotografias nas quais aparece morta. O projeto, chamado “Who Killed Amanda Palmer”, é uma parceria com Neil Gaiman, o genial escritor da clássica série de HQs “Sandman“.

O trabalho já estava sendo desenvolvido há 14 anos e as dezenas de fotos seriam apenas imagens da capa e do encarte do primeiro disco solo de Palmer, lançado em 2008. Mas aí a cantora conheceu Gaiman – que acabou se tornando seu namorado – e o projeto se expandiu. Em sua versão final, cada foto do livro é acompanhada de um conto do escritor-namorado, divagando sobre a morte de Amanda.

Com fotografias de Beth Hommel, Kyle Cassidy, Lauren Goldberg, Tegan Quin (da dupla Tegan and Sara) e da própria Amanda Palmer (ou seja, ela tirou fotos do próprio cadaver), o livro só está a venda nesse link e lá você também confere algumas das fotos.

Uma maneira bem interessante de criar um projeto multimídia, “Who Killed Amanda Palmer?”  também rendeu uma série de clipes com as músicas do CD (que inclui uma parceria com a ex-Rasputina Zoë Keating e com Annie Clark). Um bom jeito de conhecer esse ótimo trabalho, que mistura rock e punk com pitadas de cabaret e um certo humor negro.

I was invited to substitute for Miz Peggy Lou while she’s away from the studio, this Friday and next (25 July).  Her show is called Awake & Willing, and if you haven’t heard it, you should.  Seriously.  She plays rekkids every Friday night, 10pm – 12am (GMT -06:00). Except for tonight.  And next week.

I had a really good time, nervous though I was.  My collection and knowledge of music can only hope to one day meet Miz Peggy Lou’s.  Her shows are so well considered and are obviously crafted with a great deal of love and humor.  And she’s just effin cool.

I hope I was able to do her some small measure of justice, and that, if she heard it, she laughed and felt delicious.

Now, I’ve just gotta do it again (and better) next week.

Thanks, lady.

Thank y’all.

Hokay.  Here we go:

Artist / Song / Album / *Notes

United Future Organization / On Est Ensemble Sans se Parler – L.O.V.E. / United Future Organization

Kimya Dawson / I Like Giants / Remember That I Love You / *One of my favorite modern songwriters.  Her work is brilliant.  Honest.  Beautiful.  This was for Miz Kitty Cat Carol in Key West.

Mac Rebennack (a.k.a. Dr. John) / Sahara / Medical School / *Early in Mr. Rebennack’s New Orleans career.  This gentleman is just brilliant.

Yma Sumac / Malambo No. 1 / Mambo! / *Oh mah gawd, Miz Yma Sumac.  She can shatter the glass and rumble the floor right out from und’neatcha.  A true diva from Peru, high in the Andes mountains.  Legend goes, she learned to sing from the jungle birds.

Pink Martini / Lilly / Hold On, Little Tomato! /

Randy Newman / Marie / Randy Newman Songbook, Volume 1 / *Thank you, Mister Richard, for bringing an influx of Randy Newman into my life.  What a wonderful gift.

Jolie Holland / Mexican Blue / Springtime Can Kill You / My favorite living vocalist (well, right after Yma dies; she’s old.)

Regina Spektor / Lady / Begin to Hope

CocoRosie / Butterscotch / La Maison de Mon Reve

Rasputina / Rose K. / How We Quit the Forest / *This song is about Rose Kennedy, after the lobotomy.  Check out the creepasaurus worse-than-murderer, “Dr.” Walter Freeman, who both invented the procedure and supervised Rosemary’s butchery.

Or surgery.

Whatever.

Pink Martini / Una Notte A Napoli / Hold On, Little Tomato!

Leonard Cohen / Teachers / Songs of Leonard Cohen / *Still breathtaking and brilliant, over 40 years later

Charles Bukowski / Grammar of Life / King of Poets / *King or not, he’s at least the most bitterly romantic.

Tom Waits / First Kiss / Orphans:  Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards / *Would that my own first kiss would have been from such a romantic figure.

Iron & Wine / Cinder & Smoke (demo) / Our Endless Numbered Days

Joanna Newsom / Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie / The Milk-Eyed Mender / *Have you seen this tiny lady play her gargantuan harp?I mean, like, in reali life; YouTube ain’t gonna cut it for this kinda performance.  It’s absolutely jaw-dropping.  Her voice is bigbigbig, and the rhythms she uses in her playing have distinctive West African influences. Like no one else I’ve seen.

Chris Thomas King / Deepest Ocean / Chris Thomas King / *Got his start at his dad’s club in Baton Rouge, the locally infamous Tabby’s Blues Box.

Irma Thomas / Medley: Coming From Behind (monologue) with Wish Someone Would Care / A Woman’s Viewpoint: The Essential 1970s Recordings / *I challenge anyone to bring me one single human, on the face of the earth, who can pack more emotion, more searing passion into her voice, into her every breath.  I dare you to find someone, anyone, who can tear out her own still-beating heart and serve it so beautifully, so irresistibly, you can’t help but eat it, even if you weep with every muscle’s mastication.

Oh, Miz Irma…

Your skill is unmatched, great lady.

Lucinda Williams / Hot Blood (WXPN Live at the World Café) / Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

Magnetic Fields / Asleep & Dreaming / 69 Love Songs / *The only album of love songs I will listen to repeatedly.

…Only.

Tom Waits / On the Road / Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards

Yr Mom’s Forever (with Miz Mary GoRound) / Coon Huntin / Drama fo yo Momma (2009) / *Local New Orleans artist.  Listen to Mary GoRound, the ‘Merican with Romanian influences, right next to Gogol Bordello, the Romanian with ‘Merican punk influences.  It’s an interesting and revealing contrast.

Alana Sveta / So Be Glad / Birth & the Atomic Bomb (2009) / *Miz Alana waltzed into the club where I worked one night, and started playing the piano.  The restaurant had closed; we were cleaning up; her voice floated back into the kitchen and we all slowly came out to meet the pixiechanteuse who had piped us outta the kitchen to dance and sway.  And she’s sweet as can be, to boot.

Ween / Cold Blows the Wind / The Mollusk / *I knew it was kinda risky/ridiculous playing this on WWOZ, but I figure everything goes together if we can just find the right context, the right segue. This was close, but not quite as on-target as I’d hoped.

Michael Franti & Spearhead / Is Love Enough? / Yell Fire!

Dr. John / Black John the Conqueror / The Sun, Moon, and Herbs / *Black John the Conqueror and Franti’s Is Love Enough segue into each other remarkably well, both in terms of musical styles and the tenor of their lyrics.  I love it when that happens.

The Cramps / Route 66 (Get Your Kicks On) / Flamejob / *We miss Lux; love Poison Ivy.  Hope her heart is holding up okay.

Artist / Track / Album / Year / *Notes

They Might Be Giants / Lie Still, Little Bottle / Lincoln / 1988 / *Likely one of the funniest, smartest, most flexible bands around.  They do all the voices.

Rasputina / Why Don’t You Do Right / Thanks for the Ether / 1996 / *A fetish for 18th century dresses and cellos.  Lots of cellos.

Billie Holiday / Willow Weep for Me / The Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945 – 1959

Jolie Holland / You’re Not Satisfied / Springtime Can Kill You / 2006 / *Miz Holland’s adaptation of Riley Puckett’s “Though You’re Not Satisfied”

Alex North / Stan and Stella / A Streetcar Named Desire / 1951 /

Dave Holland Quartet / Conference of the Birds / Conference of the Birds / 1972 / * Holland’s first release as a bandleader.  Don’t know if he’s in any way related to Miz Jolie.

Don Cherry / Guinea / Old and New Dreams / 1979 /

***In honor of Nikola Tesla’s Birthday, inventor of radio, as well as the man who made AC power and vertical propulsion possible:   ***

Don Cherry / Orbit of La-Ba / Old & New Dreams / 1979

Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra / Rocket Number Nine / Beyond the Purple Star Zone (Immortal Being) / 1980 / * Holy crap, the story around the recording of this album is intense musical artistry.  Or commitment or insanity or genius or somethin.  Whatever it is, I am stunned, delighted, and happy as all hell I got to share a tiny bit of this set of music with you.

Revolution Void / Factum par Fictio / Increase the Dosage / 2004

Nina Simone / 22nd Century / Tell It Like It Is / 2008 / * Another compilation of rareties.  Beautiful photographs of Miz Simone on the cover.

* Also watched film of Huey P. Long’s speeches from the senate floor this week.  Powerful stuff.  Long wasn’t really into the color-line thing, didn’t really recognize it.  Saw a big ol fat line between the Freaskishly Wealthy and Everyone Else.  Pissed off a lotta racist crackers and filthy rich plutocrats along the way.  Acquired a massive popular following.  Assassinated in 1935.

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers / The Freedom Rider / The Freedom Rider / 1961 / * with Wayne Shorter and Lee Morgan.

Cannonball Adderly Quintet / 3 tracks:  Walk Tall; Afro-Spanish Omlet; The Scene / 1969 / * Live at a Chicago meeting of Operation Breadbasket, introduced by no less than the Reverend Jesse Jackson.  Hawt.

Ornette Coleman / Happy Hour / Virgin Beauty / 1988 / * One of the first two Ornette albums I ever heard, the other being Body Meta.  Still delicious.

Herbie Hancock / Hang Up Your Hangups / The Best of Herbie Hancock / 1979

Eric Dolphy / Mrs. Parker of K.C. (Bird’s Mother) / Far Cry / 1960 / * Love Jaki Byard’s piano in this piece. Love love love.

United Future Organization / Poetry and All That Jazz / United Future Organization / 1993 / * Yeah, that’s Jack Kerouac playing cool-and-awed witness to the jazz club scene.

Shirley Horn / This Hotel / I Remember Miles / 1998 / * Listen to the weight of her piano and her enunciations.  Then segue into:

Diamanda Galas / Si la Muerte / Malediction and Prayer / 1998 / * English translation from the (much more fluidly eloquent) Spanish:

If death should come asking for me
do me the favor
of telling him to come back tomorrow
because I still haven’t paid my debts
nor finished a poem
nor said goodbye to anyone
nor prepared clothing for the trip
nor delivered that package I promised to
nor locked up my desk drawers
nor told my friends what I should have
nor sniffed the fragrance of the unborn rose
nor laid bare my roots
nor answered an overdue letter
because I haven’t even washed my hands
or known a son
or gone hiking in unknown countries
nor do i know the seas seven sails
nor the song of mariners
If death should come
please tell him I understand
and to wait a bit
because I haven’t kissed my sweetheart goodbye
nor shaken hands with my family
nor dusted my books
nor whistled my favorite song
nor reconciled with my enemies
tell him I haven’t yet attempted suicide
nor seen my people freed
tell him if he comes to return tomorrow
that it’s not because I fear him but
I haven’t even set off along the road.

Shirley Horn / My Man’s Gone Now / I Remember Miles / 1998 /* Miz Shirley with Miles’ sound:  that  unmistakable, clear, viscous, honeyed trumpet.  Aching.  Beautiful.

Miles Davis / Miles Runs the Voodoo Down / Live at the Fillmore East / 1970

Ginger Baker & Tony Allen / Ginger Baker & Tony Allen Drum Solo (Live at Berlin Jazz Festival 1978) / Fela Ransome-Kuti and Africa 70 with Ginger Baker Live! / * original recording in 1971, rereleased with Berlin Jazz Show bit in 2006

Tito Puente & Mongo Santamaria / Afro Blue / Tito Puente – Greatest Hits / 1997

Brothers and Sisters, don’t forget I’ll be substituting for Miz PeggyLou’s “Awake and Willing” show this coming Friday, from 10pm until midnight.  It’sa more open musical format, so I’m excited to see what transpires.  Hope to hear you then.

Okay, that’s it for me, darlin.  Sun’s up, which means I gotta go t’bed.  I’ll get to just touch noses with Otter before it’s time to go play ottergames and leave me to sleep til sunset.

And oh, I love to sleep.

Love you,

~mockingbird~

Like something of a hybrid of Rasputina, Diamanda Galas and This Mortal Coil, this is a timely, imaginative update on the Joan of Arc legend. Actress/chanteuse Amanda Moody’s stage show casts Joan as intercessor in the troubled life of Joanne, an agoraphobic whose daughter has just disappeared in an unnamed, wartorn foreign country. Somewhat obliquely, it’s a telling parable about violence and redemption or lack thereof. Esssentially, this cd, distributed by the esteemed Starkland label, is the soundtrack album, Jay Cloidt’s orchestration alternately haunting and atmospheric with layers of keyboards and a lush string section featuring Kronos Quartet cellist Joan Jeanrenaud. Moody’s voice is as dramatic as one would expect here, ranging literally from a whisper to a scream. 

The opening track, hypnotic with stark, plaintive strings, quietly and assuredly implores a young soldier to go home. Two poignantly atmospheric chamber pieces set the scene for the frantic, anguished, goth-tinged If I Leave the House, cellos ablaze as they reach a shrieking crescendo. After Prayers, macabre vocalese over ambient washes of sound, layers of strings and keys, there’s the stomping Born in Blood, like Siouxsie done ambitious, 80s performance-art style. The rather sarcastically gospel-tinged 10,000 Silver Doves recasts the Joan of Arc execution as a present-day murder. Miracles, a stark aria, sees the narrator sardonically and bitterly remembering her dead daughter as an infant. Surprisingly, the show ends not with a screaming crescendo but with the vivid wartime ballad Born for This. While Cloidt and Moody are best known for their work in the  avant garde, this album is as accessible as it is potently relevant.

I thought it would be cool if I started doing a weekly playlist kind of thing. I hope this works, I’m not sure if the HTML is correct. Anyway, to start this off, I’m going to do a playlist of the Top 10 songs this week on my iPod(Dennis).

Enjoy!

EDIT:  Alright, HTML is being lame, click the pop-out player link to get to the playlist.

SOUNDTRACK: RA RA RIOT-The Rhumb Line (2008).

I have a hard time describing this album.  It has a lot of ingredients that don’t make sense individually, yet which work very well. I would almost resort to calling them pretentious rock, but that seems so derogatory.  Vampire Weekend falls into this category of highly literate pop too, and we know how much  I love that album!

Ra Ra Riot play catchy indie pop, but their main instruments are cello and violin. And yet they’re not anything like Rasputina’s string-laden goth music.  Rather, they write catchy poppy songs that are punctuated with strings.  I even wanted to say they don’t have a  guitarist, (they do) but I guess that just shows how well his licks meld with the rest of the music. And, indeed, on some tracks, the guitar is up front and wonderful.

They also get labelled pretentious because one of their songs (and one of their catchiest) has lyrics from e.e.cummings, or rather, they use his poem “dying is fine)but Death“ as the lyrics for the song “Dying is Fine.”  They also cover Kate Bush.  Now the Futureheads covered Kate Bush a few years ago, so perhaps Kate is the next go-to artist for covers.

Ra Ra Riot wins extra points for covering a fairly unknown, and utterly bizarre song, “Suspeneded in Gaffa.”  This happens to be one of my favorite Kate songs, so I’m a bit critical.  However, they do a very good job of making it a pop song (There’s enough weird stuff in Kate’s version to never give it mainstream acceptance).  And the strings work very well for it.

Ra Ra Riot was also featured on that paragon of good taste: the show Chuck [And since I have mentioned the  music of Chuck on many occasions, I would be remiss if I didn't send a shout-out to this site which lists all of the songs in Season One--gotta update Season Two fellas].  Chuck played “Can’t You Tell” in a romantic scene, and it worked quite well.

So, after all that, what can I say about the band.  They may be too commercial for some, but I think their combination of strings, intelligent lyrics and good vocals is pretty great.  Incidentally, in case you were wondering, a rhumb line  (or loxodrome) is a line crossing all meridians at the same angle, i.e. a path of constant bearing. Following a rhumb line requires turning the vehicle more and more sharply while approaching the poles (thanks Wikipedia).

[READ: May 26, 2009] South of the Pumphouse

So this book is by Les Claypool, lead singer and bassist of Primus.

Claypool’s lyrics are typically stories, full of weird characters in weird situations.  Oh, and fishing.  Lots of fishing.  And that sums up this book pretty well.

The book is set in El Sobrante, California, a redneck haven that has not progressed along with the rest of the state.  Earl is a fisherman and meth addict.  In that order.  Fishing is Earl’s life.  His father fished every weekend, and Earl and his brother Ed went with him.  Rain or shine.

Since he was a kid, things have changed in their fishing waters: many of the fish have been fished out (due to commercial fishing mostly), and there have also been new limits capped on the size of the fish you can bring home. Back in the day, you couldn’t keep the small fish, but now, you also can’t keep the really big ones.  And so the days of Earl and Ed’s uncle catching a 300 pound sturgeon are long gone.

For sturgeon is what their family always fished for.

Earl’s brother Ed was a more sensitive kid.  As soon a he was able he left El Sobrante for Berkeley (there’s a joke about Phish, which is clearly gentle ribbing from one member of Oysterhead to another), where he proceeded to do just about the most unthinkable thing: he married a black woman.

When Ed and Earl’s father died recently, Ed made plans with his brother, who had not seen in over a year)  to go fishing.  He anticipates a day of memories, catching up with his brother and a mushroom experience in an old familiar hangout. When Ed learns that Earl’s old buddy (and tormentor of Ed) Donny Vowdy will be coming along, his dreams of a beautiful trip go down the tubes.

When Don shows up, he picks up where he left off: calling Ed Pee-Wee because he dressed like Pee-Wee Herman (in actuality he was dressed like a mod, but Don didn’t know what Quadrophenia was).  He proceeds to make gay jokes and racist jokes and sex-bragging jokes.  Ed grows more and more angry as the day goes on.  Things only get worse after Ed takes his ’shrooms; his buzz is killed over and over by Don’s comments.

As the day progresses and nobody catches anything, the teasing and bickering grows more intense.  And yet, for all of Don’s awful qualities, he is a pretty funny storyteller.  And one of his more outlandish stories finally warms up Ed’s cold shoulder.

But just as soon as things start thawing in the boat, one act causes everything to come crashing down in a violent storm.  And at the same time, Ed’s line snags a giant.  THE Giant sturgeon that lives south of the Pumphouse.

The book was an easy read.  The chapters were short and the action moved along very briskly.  Although the first chapter felt a little sluggish, by the time the story really kicked in, I couldn’t put the book down.

For the record,  I don’t care about fishing at all.  But a good story is a good story regardless.  It’s not a masterpiece; it’s not going to win any awards, but it’s clearly a story that Les had to get out, and I’m glad he did.

I also appreciated that he gives Donny the line from Primus’ greatest hits album.  When Donny tells a joke to the boys that no one laughs, he busts out:  Well, they can’t all be zingers. (The book and CD were both released in 2006, so I’m not sure which came first).

Or, as the New Yorker editors would have it, reëngagement. I swear, that’s too stuck up even for me.

Anyway, just to liven up the rebooting of pannaceaeae, I thought I’d share some more music. This time around I’m featuring a couple of husky-voiced sirens.

First up is Jo-Ann Kelly, a woefully underrated blues musician of the 1960s and 70s. She was there when the Rolling Stones were digging on Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, when the original Fleetwood Mac was creating the British Blues revival, when Stefan Grossman and Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison were unearthing their touchstones: Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Fred McDowell, and others. Like her countrywoman, the soul-inflected Dusty Springfield (“Son of a Preacher Man”), Jo-Ann Kelly had a wonderfully evocative alto coupled with the intelligence and sensitivity to make her songs immediate and tactile.

Jo-Ann Kelly • Key to the Highway: Rare and Unissued Recordings 1968-1974 (1999)• “Put a Record On” (1974)

I chose this song for more than one reason. First and most important, it’s beautiful and great. Second, I want it to represent my return to blogdom from short lived and self-imposed exile.

Katell Keineg • Jet (1997) • “Olé, Conquistador”

This is from the Brittany-Born, Welsh-raised, Dublin-residing songstress’ second album. I was mesmerized by her debut, Ô Seasons Ô Castles (1994) and saw her perform live sometime between that album and Jet. The opening act was the corset-wearing, cello-playing trio Rasputina, but that’s not important because they were relatively humdrum. Ms. Keineg on the other hand, was spellbinding, even though she occasionally played her guitar so stridently and rhythmically as to snap strings. The song I chose isn’t my favorite of hers, but it has been on my mind this past week, so I thought I’d give it and me some release. Besides, it’s got thunderstorm sounds, and I’m a sucker for thunderstorms.

For some reason I was drawn to this song this morning, like the Sirens.

I’ve been a fan of Rasputina since “Thanks for the Ether” came out in 1996. Their twisted elegance and Victorian themes expressed via cellos in a rock band is very appealing. I studied the cello, so I am biased. Anyone who appreciates anything gothic should definitely check them out. Their sound is unique as are their songs and I have to believe they might have had some influence over some of the Baroque Pop groups of today. (Arcade Fire, I’m looking at you.)

PS: As far as I know this song has no actual connection to Pirates of the Caribbean, but it was the only complete copy of the song I could find.

Click here for more info on Rasputina – Cabin Fever – “Sweet Water Kill (The Ocean Song)”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Rasputina - Cabin Fever

A particularly well-conceived art-rock doublebill. Both performers are people whose music lives between the lines, thriving on subtlety, understatement and ellipses rather than grand gestures. Serena Jost, when she’s not dabbling in modeling or getting work as a sidewoman (she’s a classically trained cellist who did time in Rasputina), leads a semi-rotating cast of characters through a vast landscape that spans the world of classical balladry, artsy pop, surf music, no-wave funk and straight-up rock. Wednesday night at le Poisson Rouge she had the benefit of keeping things fairly austere and low-key since she had a great sound system at her disposal. This time out she had the melodic Rob Jost on electric bass, multi-instrumentalist Rob DiPietro playfully and artfully handling the drums and in place of her regular axeman Julian Maile she had Pete Galub (just reviewed here leading his own band) handling lead guitar duties while she alternated between cello, piano and acoustic guitar.

Galub transformed the group, bringing the melodies front and center while adding an artsy, early 70s tinged bluesy feel that ran the gamut from plaintive to towering and majestic. The most dramatic moment came on the bridge during the long partita I Wait where Galub took Maile’s Dick Dale-ish lines deep into the Middle East, tossing the baton to Jost with a flourish where she grabbed it, held on for dear life and kept the revelry going. Then he took the usually stark Almost Nothing and added a vivid solo, part fiery blues and part big ornate ballad, that wouldn’t have been out of place in the Ian Bairnson playbook. Jost had been singing with her usual full, round and inscrutable clarity – she’s so direct that it would be impossible for there to be no subtext – but picked an insistent new ballad to cut loose and wail, as she did on another new one which she played on cello. Cellists don’t usually let their hair down to this extent, but Jost did.

By the time frequent Jenifer Jackson collaborator Matt Kanelos and his band the Smooth Maria hit the stage, the tables had all filled up, depression or no depression, a heartwarming sight. Nice to hear him cut loose on vocals, too, unadorned, casual and unaffected, much like the opening act. Backed by an excellent lead guitarist with a noisy edge as well as a subtle, swinging rhythm section, he alternated between acoustic guitar and piano, playing mostly new songs from the band’s brand-new cd Silent Show. While Americana is his fallback space, many of his songs have an undercurrent alternating between tastefully jazzy complexity and an almost minimalist, purist classical sensibility. The influences combine to create a dreamy yet focused, frequently poignant late summer atmosphere, replete with longing for something that doesn’t always overtly make itself known. Like Jost, Kanelos can be hard to read, all the more reason to listen closely. 

The big 6/8 piano ballad Rain evoked early 70s Pink Floyd (circa Obscured by Clouds), hypnotic and eerily edgy, Kanelos going completely rubato as it built to a big crescendo and then subsided to the point where he could step back in without any altercations. The night’s opening number, Abandoned Town reminded of middle-period Wilco with its “we won’t go back, we won’t go” insistence and noisily ringing crescendo of guitar chords. Another number felt like Chet Baker doing southwestern gothic, Kanelos and his lead player taking turns playing off and then on the beat as it wound down at the end. The crowd, quietly attentive to the end, went crazy for an encore and after a wait that didn’t bode well, were rewarded with a nostalgic ballad that Kanelos played solo on piano.

Every day, our top 666 songs of alltime countdown gets one step closer to #1. Friday’s song is #460:

Botanica – The Truth Fish

The title track to the NYC noir art-rockers’ classic 2004 cd Botanica vs. the Truth Fish – the only album by an American band not named Rasputina to thoroughly condemn the Bush regime for 9/11 – it’s a scathing broadside addressing the “code orange bullshit of Machiavellian ordeals” of the ensuing months and years, a fiery gypsy dance mutating into a phantasmagorically swinging cabaret tune and then back again. The link in the title above is a ferocious live clip from a recent European tour. If you want to see this live, Botanica frontman Paul Wallfisch frequently plays it at his weekly Thursday Small Beast residency/salon/show at the Delancey starting around nine. 

Zoe Keating is a lot of things, but never call her “New Age”.   Keating is something of a rarity in music.  For starters, she plays cello, and has enjoyed success in the all-female, all-cello rock band, Rasputina.  Most recently, however, Keating has drifted more to the classical genre of music, with one little (well, major) difference.  Technology.

Keating uses computers to sample what she plays on one cello to make it sound like there are 16 actual cellos playing (In fact, her album is called One Cello x 16:  Natoma), when in fact, it is only one.  Pretty freaking sweet.  If this sounds familiar to anybody, it’s because Imogen Heap (who Keating has opened and toured with) does a lot of stuff like this.

Keating’s sound is very unique and very expressive.  Below are two videos of her playing “Sun Will Set” and a cover of Muse’s “Time Is Running Out”

where poetry is born

Indica certainly has what it takes to make it as a real contender amongst bands. The music is entertaining but challenging and does not settle on a single genre just in an attempt to be easily categorized as a simple genre band. Also their words are remarkably deep – I was pretty close to them on stage and heard lot of the English pretty well even though she has a slight accent – and the images and the ideas are more than powerful, they are like contemporary poetry in a sonnet form – they really rock. The girls themselves perform brilliantly and put on a strong show – so much so that they outshined all their more established hosts. I think they have an edge worth paying attention to and are a Nordic band we can truly be proud of for once. I really hate when me write “oh they’re so hot”. No, they may be hot too, but why don’t you write “Oh they’re amazingly complex composers who write wild new symphonic works in pop or they are true poets who put real literary observations about life into simple settings. Don’t underestimate this band. I usually get disappointed quickly with music – Indica hasn’t disapointed yet. It’s one pleasant surprise after another.

This is a phenomenal band we should all be proud of in Nordic countries. First off, their music does not compromise by inhabiting a single boring genre. Instead, it crosses over and is as rich as a symphony of moods. Second, the words are phenomenally strong in the English. From what I could discern in the concert (I was as close as I cold get without being shoved) they have a real talent for deep ideas and beautiful images – so unique that it is like the best of contemporary poetry mixed with the ancient sonnet and besides this the performances are utterly captivating. I think this group will stand it’s place anywhere in the world as long as they don’t sell out and sacrifice their depth to please a certain crowd. They have what it takes.