Live: Sasquatch 2009

Music festivals have a tendency to become more about drugs and socializing than about music. That being said, here are the music highlights from this year's Sasquatch. I only attended Saturday and Monday, so Sunday is unaccounted for. Sundays was a 'rest' day. Unfortunately, I ended up drinking enough whiskey to turn the day into 'heatstroke' day.

Saturday:

Passion Pit: not sure what all the buzz is about. Seemed like a really white guy with a synthesizer trying to sound impassioned, failing. PA may have been malfunctioning.

Dent May: I knew he sounded good on record (I've called him Sinatra meets Ariel Pink a few times), but his stage present is also fantastic. He comes off as an adorable drunk. His band is super cute and all the song lyrics are prefect, funny, easy. Probably in my top three for the festival.

Animal Collective: There's really no point in explaining why I like this band. There set was prefect, I was on drugs, everything came together.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Karen O = still hot, great lyrics, songwriting, as always. She appeared younger and more girlish than I was expecting. I think the song "Maps" will be canonized over the next few decades.

Kings of Leon: This band rides the fence between the lands 'Americana' and 'critically acclaimed' rock. They're not astounding, but if you pretend that you still care about what is means to be 'an American' and what it means to listen to 'meaningful music' that people from the Midwest might like, the band sort of makes sense. Overall, probably too sappy/unoriginal for my taste.

Crystal Castles: Did not see them. Heard there were goths with pacifiers in the audience.

Monday:

Deerhoof: Is this band actually good? I can't tell.

Grizzly Bear: Never thought I would admit this publicly, but I think I like the Department of Eagles (related project) more. Grizzly Bear lacks the pop/rhythmic sensibility I need.

Santigold: At this point (2:50 PM), bored, stoned, too hot.

Fleet Foxes: This is one of my favorite bands and probably (next to Animal Collective) the band that will be the most popular in ten years. If they can record and tour three good albums (one down) they will probably be the most popular American rock band of my generation (b. 1987). They played two new songs and rearranged the vocal parts on a few others, notably "Mykonos."

Beach House: Besides a lot of PA problems, this set was amazing. A great way to close the festival: lazy, sexy, intelligent. Perfect summer melodies.

Girl Talk: Worst 'band' of the last five years? I had to walk through this show on my way to the parking lot. Terrifying.

Live: The Vaselines at Neumos / Herr Jazz at Vera

Ben stressed at center. Jake on the right. Photo via Keith Johnson and The Stranger.

Tuesday Night:

The Vaselines killed a set of pervy proto-punk for an audience of pervy proto punks [read: old] in Seattle. Notable moment: not being able understand the stage banter due to thick, arty Scottish accents, and being located on the all-ages balcony. I need more friends who are also 21+. But then again, old people seem to not be able to have fun without being totally trashed (last night's front row reminded me of this point, as most oldersters seemed to be either standing self-consciously or flailing wildly as if to recapture their youth via butterfly net). The songs were really tight, and probably a bit tired, but still totally worth the cover. The opening band blew hard, especially with their cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" which left me (unironically) uncomfortably numb. They sounded like a sickly child of the AC Newman and Ben Bridwell. KEXP will probably play them all day today.

Last Saturday Night:

Ben Funkhouser, singer/loud mouth of teen sensation Herr Jazz happened to accompany me to Neumos last night. He mentioned many memorable punk rock quips, most of which I cannot remember. We talked about K Records for most of both sets. He did add Niko Case to the list of influences by the forgettable opening band.

Anyways, on Saturday Ben, Jack, and Jake played Vera with buzztacular onomatopoeia-prog-screamo band Ponytail. Herr Jazz are a very healthy, well-fed combination of big and jangly post-Johnny Marr guitar, energetic jazzy punk drums, smoothish bass, and angsty vocals about DIY snacking and trying to 'get with' girls who are older than you at Olympia house parties. Way to be heteronormative dudes. I loved Herr Jazz's set because Ben couldn't really stop himself from playing covers (Beat Happening and Bruce Springsteen) and talking about migrant farm workers while the rest of the band started to unplug guitars and leave the stage (though obviously when I say 'stage' I mean they played on the floor). Way to be a passionate person/go slightly over your allotted set time Ben.

Those kids are going somewhere if only due to the fact that they all seem to care too much about music, being young, and playing to crowds of enthusiastic music people. They have a full West Coast tour planned for the summer. And they're playing my parent's house in June. Serriously, come. Tween northwest prog-punk sounds better in a grassy backyard.

Surprise / Excitement: Wavves don't suck

I saw don't-give-a-fuck retro-punk band Wavves (aka Nathan Williams and drummer Ryan Ulsh) at the University of Washington HUB basement on Friday. I was really expecting to hate the whole thing, due in part to some over-buzz/backlash surrounding recent lives gigs seen by certain bloggers and Stranger music editors from Seattle.

However, the show was mesmerizing, even refreshing, for it's complete lack of substance. There was one memorable line of strange banter which had to do with prescription cough syrup. Other than that, it was pure thrashing. When he did speak, Williams sported the kind of nasty attitude that will probably get him signed to major label, if he wants, though he is now on reputable indie Fat Possum.

The music was as bad-ass and heavy as I could possibly expect from a San Diego surf/punk stoner act. Contradicting much of what I have heard and read, Wavves are more than a GarageBand recording project for lazy music kids/burn-outs because they sound amazing. They fucking shred. The equation, as it stands now, in my somewhat ripped mind is: Brian Wilson + Ramones + Metallica (with an artistic awareness of Sonic Youth, if not an actual comprehension) = Wavves. Not a terrible combination.

The thing I like most about Wavves, is imagining myself listening to their music this summer on sunny afternoons. I'm pretty sure it's a good sign for everyone involved.

Club / Death / Nostalgia: Last Club Pop

(Full disclosure: I have DJed and promoted this club night. Nevertheless, I can't help writing something about it. The three year ride has been too meaningful, and at times too meaningless, to ignore.)

The night was plauged by a mixer that kept shutting down, a really trashy LA DJ/closer with his own party-pix crew, at least one fight, my lingering sobriety, and the sticky nostalgia that probably comes from ending a long, mixed love affair with a certain time and place for dancing. Thursday night at Chop Suey was sweaty with dancing kids and 21-year-old me felt like it was time to move on from the 18+ scene.

The 'last Club Pop ever' was typically debauched and more crowded than usual. Stranger music editor Eric Grandy was seen smirking at the door around 11:45, then later dancing on the floor. Talent buyer and promoter Michael Yuasa stood outside, bumming my smokes and deftly flirting with everyone. Like you'd expect for a last-Pop-ever, a number of people seemed to come out of the woodwork, like ALT bro termites scattering across Capitol Hill. One particularly social bro, looking confused and out of place in a sea of queer club kids, introduced himself to me and a friend on the terrace. Not recognizing him, we asked "is this your first Pop?" in a tone that implied "are you an akward virgin?" Of course, he said no, but that he hadn't been for a year.

Taking the bait he asked, "Do you guys come here often?"

My buddy replied tersely, "Do you even know who I am?" before turning away and leaving the guy, by himself, right inside the 21- rope line that separates 'jail-bait' from 'social drinkers.'

It was one of those precious Pop moments that makes you sure you're a pretentious asshole, and also makes you competely OK with that. Can't wait for those chill party pix.

Live / House Show: The Country Lips

Last Saturday night at 9 PM I was frantically trying to find something interesting to go within walking distance of my apartment. I live in a $500-a-room slum near the University of Washington, and it's two miles up hill to the nearest consistent music venue. I thought about biking to Ballard for a show at a marginal place called The Josephine; and I considered Ruff Jemz, a long-running dance party nearer to downtown that I never show up at, through I probably should. The time kept slipping by, I kept drinking and not figuring out transportation, and soul-filling music seemed to be less and less possible.

Around 9 a friend showed up and told me he was going to a house party in the University District. Not wanting to go to Ruff Jemz solo, and knowing that the Josephine was still miles away, I consented to go with him on the condition that I would bail and go to the Blue Moon or the Monkey if things got too, um, college. I had spend the better part of an hour pathetically looking through DIY house veunes for a cool show. This party seemed like the definition of defeat.

Much to my surprise, the house party was actually a house show, well attended and featuring a wonderful new country cover band called The Country Lips. Two other bands played, one called The Post Intelligencers, who sounded like entry-level college indie, and other who I barley even heard, let alone identified. But the Country Lips: this band is surely going somewhere, or more preiciecley, going strait to my heart and my liver. The band is esentially a combination of several bands including Song Sparrow Research, The Ragedy Annes, Doctor Doctor, and the Lonley H. I have seen all these bands before, and with the exception of seeing the Lonley H at the OFH a few years ago (being impressed at how young they were), I have not fully appreciated either their muscianship of the showmanship. These kids brought the roadhouse down with classic country tunes at what was essentially a typical undergrad house party. Classic songs like "Behind Closed Doors" and "On the Road Again" sounded as good as I've ever had the provlidge of hearing them. Country musuic in Seattle doesn't always seem like a good idea, but I think it usually is.

Live: The Golden Filter+The Presets+Copy/ Sebastien Tellier+Chairlift

Last night I saw the Golden Filter open for The Presets in Seattle. Both these bands would compose great video game soundtracks, if the goal of the video game was to make out with Italian UFO people from the beautiful desert planet of Astralia. I bet the game is already in production, with wire frames of imaginary humanoids and perfect textures in infinite pixels. All night, I kept seeing colors; the extensive lighting rig didn't let anyone relax for a second.

There is a remoteness and even a coldness of electronic music that scares many people away. On the other hand, that same musically-induced feeling of sonic alienation drew quite a crowd to Neumos. Folk rock is good for being happy and eating a full meal with people you care about, but sometimes people need to feel alone and just dance. I don't think the show sold out, but the devotion and intoxication of the 21+ scene led to unexpected dance/mashing that reminded me of seeing Franz Ferdinand in 2005 with a bunch of wild suburban teens. The Golden Filter played their practiced, shimmering, blogged-out minimal disco to much acclaim. The Presets closed the show with an hour of compressed vocals and binary beats. I missed Copy (Portland-based disco produced and brother of one of the members of Natalie Portman's Shaved Head) open, but I'd seen him before and dance music is mostly about how many people are out on the floor. It wasn't his fault, but he came on too early for a Tuesday night.

On Monday, the previous night, I spent the evening with the musical stylings of Sebastien Tellier at a smaller club in Seattle. I was expecting camp from the bearded, French, American Apparel-promoting, slightly pudgy, and self-described bisexual, and I was not disappointed. The man is a kitsch factory. For example, he leaves the stage after every song, apparently pretending to go snort something, but from where I was standing he was clearly just taking a swig from a water bottle. His music is great bombastic, swollen pop, but his stage antics are laughable. He has a great voice, but it's mostly obscured by the things his music has come to represent to a small segment of very self-aware, urban young people. In truth, I would have liked to see more young people at the show, the kind of imaginary young people that American Apparel uses to promote their products: bright, coiffed, sexy, and sharp looking. Mostly, the audience looked like older bloggers (and their friends) who had let themselves go sometime during 2006 in order to work more hours at Microsoft, Amazon or an ad agency (may I someday join their ranks). The opening band, Chairlift, probably contained the three most attractive people in the room. However, they either aren't that good, or their mix was completely off. I'll probably give them a second chance. They sounded enough like Wang Chung and I'm fairly superficial about these kinds of things.

Live/Bar: The Whore Moans at The Blue Moon

A few months ago I signed up to grip for a Seattle-based video production company. While on set for thirteen hours at a time, fantasizing about someday having a fun job that includes overtime and health benefits, I met Tristian, Mathiew, and Alex, three guys who do various related and unrelated video production gigs around town.

On Thursday I got a call for a video shoot in the University District. Alex was setting up a footage-grab for a live show at the historic Blue Moon tavern. We all met around nine, decided who was going to film who, and went out for a drink while the openers played. It was a fun evening and the Whore Moans were a fantastic bar band: loud and rowdy and sweaty. Also, this week the Blue Moon celebrated (read: drink specials) it's 75th year of being a fantastic dive bar, and this band provided the perfect Seattle garage rock soundtrack. While not particularity innovative, the band keeps things bumping with gravely bass lines, fast-enough drums, and typically saucy manchild screamo vocals sometimes in the style of Jordan Blilie (Past Lives, Blood Brothers). It was exactly the kind of uncomplicated rawk-lifestyle brand/experience I was looking for last night.

The Whore Moans are going on a full April/May US tour. I recommend seeing them while drunk and glistening slightly. It shouldn't be too hard.

Video: The Golden Filter "Solid Gold"

Easily the loudest and slickest new electronic act clamoring for attention in the last few months. The Golden Filter are currently touring with the Presets. If they sound like they do on record (and I didn't hear anything bad about their SXSW shows), look for this band to keep buzzing well into the hot summer months. The video is part cinematic teen athletic triumph, part Logan's Run costume ritual.

Solid Gold - The Golden Filter from golden filter on Vimeo.

Live: Busdriver (Natural History Museum)

Last week, as part of LA's Natural History Museum's First Fridays, local rapper Busdriver played a dizzying set of electronically charged intelligent hip hop. With a backdrop of stuffed animals, it seemed fitting that such a situation called for education. We were, after all, in a museum - albeit one filled with 20 and 30 somethings carrying alcohol and taking in more of who was around them than what towered above roped off and glassed in areas. That, however, didn't keep us from getting schooled in the prowess of Busdriver's insanely quick raps and interesting set-up. He was backed by two dudes on knobs, the occasional electronic guitar, and a well-used sampler. Such an organic performance sparked much veneration and kept us taking about it well after leaving what has to be one of the more interesting venues out there.

Tour and Box Set: The Vaselines

I just ordered my ticket to see the Vaselines on their short, seven date, North America tour in May. I missed the band when they played last summer at Sub Pop's 20th anniversary fest. Making the same mistake this year would be foolish. They're also releasing a three LP box set, called Enter the Vaselines, on May 5. Hardcore punks (in the devotional sense rather than the noisy sense) rejoice. Standard (tired) Vaselines anecdote: Curt Cobain was their biggest fan. All club dates will sell out:

05-10 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater
05-11 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
05-12 Seattle, WA - Neumos
05-13 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
05-15 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
05-16 Chicago, IL - Metro
05-18 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
Non-USA:
05-28 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival

Live: Mi Ami, Explode into Colors (Pehrspace)

A week ago, friends and I went to Pehrspace in Filipinotown to see Mi Ami. Happening upon them earlier in the month, we were way blown away by their ferocious take on noise and dance-punk. For only three members, the sound is extremely full; they make cacophonous dance music, accentuated by yelps and spasms from the leader singer. And live, they totally rip. Openers Explode into Colors described themselves as "three chubby, grungy girls from Portland, Oregon playing krautrock," and, we have to say, that was one of the most fitting explanations a band has ever given for themselves. Both bands come highly recommended, so do check them out!

Signing and New Album: Talbot Tagora

Apparently my favorite Seattle band just signed to the Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art for a new LP called Lessons from the Woods or a City, to be released July 21. I'm very excited for these kids and I hope they keep things complicated and politically fraught. It seems likely that Talbot Tagora will continue to be completely guttural, gritty, and blindingly intelligent. I'll post a newish video as soon as I'm on a computer that has Flash/not at work. (update:)


Talbot Tagora - Internet Fixture from Mark Greshowak on Vimeo.

Venue Review: The New Crocodile Cafe in Seattle

I was having a slow night, intellectually and socially speaking, so I headed over to the recently renovated Crocodile Cafe for a little 21+ local music from the bands Hotels, New Faces, Globes, and Romance. Outside for a cigarette I heard the live director, Roy, saying something like, "I'm gonna call it an early night. This is our first really local show. Tom Morello made me tired." Locals action not as hot as it could have been Roy? Roy was actually right. I noticed that we left the club at the same time, around 12:10.

I wanted a little rock action. What I got was a little Joy Division/Interpol/She Wants Revenge action. This was to be expected and I had seen most of the bands play before, but the extent to which every band sounded like a terrible copy of a copy of a copy of Joy Division was a little disappointing, above and beyond the disappointment I expect when I go to Belltown alone, on a Wednesday.

The venue itself is a sparkling palace of renovated (perhaps misplaced) 1990s Seattle nostalgia: exposed wood beams, vintage-looking fixtures, soft and hard lights, and the annoying pillar of the old Croc in the far corner, torn to shit, with a few remaining band stickers. The new Corc has an unpleasant cleanness that reminds me of what happened when people in Seattle started working at Microsoft, getting paid a lot of money, moving into custom built homes, and putting their kids through college-prep private schools. Still, the location is cool and there's the undeniable history of the spot, which opened in 1991.

Compared to the old show space, the floor is huge (fire department rated at 500+. Isn't that the same size as Neumos?), with a fairly high ceiling. When the bands started playing, the audience seemed reluctant to venture close to the stage, which was about six inches too high, making the more sheepish acts tower above a chatty sea of drinkers. Everyone seemed stuck to the bar, which was well appointed and staffed.

The bands, as I said, were fairly unremarkable. New Faces was surprisingly energetic, almost funky. Though, they were the youngest people around, by several years, and maybe youth still has something to do with rock and roll.

not exactly new, but awesome nonetheless!

I just for the first time actually listened to the Dirty Projectors/David Byrne song "Knotty Pine" Its amazing. Really really good, not that much Byrne, but amazing. Here is a link to download the song. I imagine that the album will rule!!



yay Dirty Projectors!

PAM Mix March 2009

This is something of a 2008/2009 buzz-band-kill compilation. I'm so buzzed by these songs, that in six months, these bands will either be a lot more famous, or almost completely forgotten. Pop music is so wonderfully fickle. Oh, also there is a slight Spring/Summer theme running through the mix.

1. Air France - "June Evenings" - More perfection from Sweden
2. Weird Tapes - "The Heavens" - Their EP was one of the best of club-ready selections of 2008
3. Bridez - "Live 4ever" - One of the rawest pop bands on the West Coast, negative SF queens
4. Dent May - "Meet Me in the Garden" - Areil Pink + Dean Martin
5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "The Tenure Itch" - [wistful sigh of pleasure]
6. Jimmy Buffet - "A Pirate Looks at Forty" - Dads everywhere know
7. The Virgins - "Private Affair" - Another great song about doing blow with old-money teens
8. Wavves - "No Hope Kids" - Biography of a generation via distortion pedal
9. Television Personalities - "Part Time Punks" - Beat Happening in London 1980

DOWNLOAD MIX

MP3: The Tough Alliance - "Hung up on a Dream" (The Zombies Cover)

Ok so, those Swedes I was talking about being all happy even given the lack of direct sunlight most of the year, well, they're back. Again. The Tough Alliance, everyone's favorite entirely serious bunch of jokesters have returned with a cover of The Zombies "Hung up on a Dream." Wouldn't you know, the song has cascading harps, plenty of reverb and gentle "la-da"s to transport everyone peacefully into springtime. As if the weather being 80 degrees and sunny wasn't enough.

The Tough Alliance - "Hung up on a Dream"

New Virgins Video + I'm On Spring Break

I just finished my last final. I'm wearing a Hawaiian shirt, drinking a lemonade, and thinking about making a VHS home movie about spring break. I'm on Myspace and I see this new Virgins video, which is perfect retro-sweaty 1990s uptown vibes. It's time to party.

MP3: Grizzly Bear - "Cheerleader" (Stream)

Entertainment Weekly is currently hosting Grizzly Bear's "Cheerleader" for our streaming pleasure. Their upcoming sophomore effort, Veckatimest, is due out May 26th, and this beefy track offers quite a pleasurable taste of what's to come. Much more direct than most of the psyched-out Yellow House songs, "Cheerleader" still offers plenty of intricate elements and engulfing structure that will only develop upon repeated listens. Click here to listen.

White Circle Crime Club

Last night in Seattle I saw a Belgian band play at a little place called Holy Mountain in the newly re-urbanized South Lake Union neighborhood. The venue was packed, on account of it being marginally all-ages, and also because hometown-heroes Past Lives (ex. Blood Brothers etc.) were playing.

The Belgian band, White Circle Crime Club, despite having a forgettably terrible name, really impressed me with the kind of animal vigor that comes from old-world bands that've been touring the American underground for weeks on end. Still hungry for fans, they looked better fed than any American bands (better fed than their one-time tour mates No Age) and they gave the somewhat crusty Seattle audience their money's worth of liberal European politics (the keyboardist had a shirt that read something like "this society's days are numbered"). The darkness of the venue and the shadow-kissed chiseled features of the late-20-something Belgian urbanites gave their show a hardened, Joy Division vibe. All in all: a night of quite ominous notes from the old countries, echoing in the brutal frontier cave-clubs of the New World.

Expensive shit

Amadou and Mariam
Blind couple from Mali


Fela Kuti
The king of afro-beat.

I have been obsessed with African music lately. Here are a few artists and where to get them.

Fela Kuti - Expensive Shit
http://www.mediafire.com/?7x9zzyt5lll

J.A. Adofo & City Boys International
awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com
(download the second album on the first page, "adeasa" in its entirety)

Yoro Diallo Dit Fernando Moutchatcha
awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com

Victor Uwaifo
awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com
(back in the archives)

Fela is afro-beat, a well known style of jazz, funk and traditional music blended together. the story on "expensive shit" is that Fela became so popular and rich that he decided to run for president of Nigeria, and the government knew he would win, so they planted a joint on him (marijuana laws are crazy in Nigeria) and tried to put him in jail, he ate the joint and swapped shit with another inmate and escaped prison. he put out "expensive shit" shortly after

J.A. Adofo is from Ghana, and plays a popular genre from the 1970's and 80's called highlife. He is the best highlife I've ever heard. listen to "Enfa Odo Ndi Ogoro" and "Adeasa"

Moutchatcha is a little known musician from Mali. i cant find any info on him. check out "San Wo San"

Victor Uwaifo is another highlife guy, but more focused on funk.

Fever Ray - When I Grow Up (Dan Lissvik remix)

A few posts ago, Erik posted Fever Ray's beautifully haunting "When I Grow Up" Video. If you haven't watched it, do so. Studio's Dan Lissvik recently gave the track a cheerful face lift and though I don't know if either one is necessarily better, the edit certainly adds some joy to the melancholic original. I'm still blown away that a country (Sweden) that gets barely any sunlight (like 4 hours in the winter) sounds like a giant beach party where the music is more reminiscent of California than music actually coming out of California. But, whatever, I'll take it. As long as I don't have to wear any shoes.

Dent May

Dent May (who, until recently, attached And His Magnificent Ukulele to his name) brings to mind a boozy, drugged out time spent in some rural, forgotten southern town. The careless meandering music that Dent May is responsible for probably has something to do with the fact that he, well, lives in Jackson, Mississippi and probably drinks a lot of booze and maybe dabbles in the occasional psychedelic journey. His subject matter borders on the practical ("College Town Boy," which addresses post-graduation indolence), the boyishly fantastical ("Meet Me in the Garden" has the protagonist waiting for a beautiful blonde, down by the pond) and the truthful (where in "I'm an Alcoholic," Mr. May is over being sober), and his song structure never ventures much past the occasional percussive element and the strumming of one magnificent ukulele. His debut The Good Feeling Music of Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele it out now via the Animal Collective-founded Paw Tracks. Check out his video for "Meet Me in the Garden" below:

New Look = Barlectro

Here's a video clip by a band who seem to have zero new ideas. But, both members are extremely attractive. They're playing in a London club and you can hear the sound of people talking and drinking over the sound of the band. Is Barlectro a new genre or an old genre? I feel like maybe people were more impressed my creativity/music/fashion in general in the 70s and 80s. I get a strong sense that, in these hard social/economic times (Sparks+Ableton+Banking Crisis), most people just don't have time to do anything about this band but think about trying to sleep with one or both of the musicians. New Look (amazingly shallow name) will never sell albums or have "fans," so why bother? Talent buyers at clubs don't pay that well.
New Look from Those City Nights on Vimeo.

Desolation Wilderness

I'm about to head over to the Comet Tavern in Seattle to see an newish Olympia band play with my friend Spencer (Generifus). Desolation Wilderness have a vinyl LP out on K Records. They sound like a couple hometown PNW dudes playing with reverb on a sunny afternoon. If you like soupy, warm, shoegaze occasionally punctuated by plucky guitars and drums, give a watch.
Desolation Wilderness - Come Over in Your Silver Car from Weston Currie on Vimeo.

Fever Ray

I found this haunting video on Vimeo the other day while looking through videos that various PNW directors and producers recommended. It reminds me of both Bat for Lashes and The Knife (this band is a solo project of Karin Dreijer of the Knife so that makes sense). However, this video is actually way scarier than either of those bands. Did you ever read Tintin? The book where he goes to South America involves a terrifying mummy who escapes from a display case in suburban England and goes on a killing spree. This video has very similar mummy vibes, but with an even more spooky accent of child nostalgia, which is what I would feel if I were to read those Tintin comics today.
When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Zero"

Well folks, it would appear that the once-lauded NYC power trio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, are back. The characteristic spazz that once made them so intriguing is in full force on "Zero," a song in which lead singer Karen O beckons us to throw on our leather, figure out our identity and dance like it's 2001 again and none of this Williamsburg business has transpired. Or, well the last part is implicit from the throbbing drums and recently-added synth lines. Listen here and see them at Sasquatch! in May.

Rad New Pet Shop Boys Song

Ponytail on VHS

I saw this band in the fall at a really shitty Seattle venue called the Nectar Lounge. I hope they come back soon. Clearly, VHS is a superior video format. (update: sorry about issues with the video sizing)

nostalgia

So, last year some friends and I went to Vancouver to see El Guincho. This video made me long for that night, which was every bit as magical as here shown. Except, let it be known that this NY crowd has nothing on us insomuch as dancing/losing-our-collective-shit is concerned. 

Mae Shi tear up the Holy Mountain

Many moons ago, the Mae Shi captured my heart with their ridiculously uptempo songs and beautiful pop compositions, bandaged together with ridiculous synths and crazy guitar. Then, in 2008, HILLYH came out. That record was a super hit, Pitchfork i think made it #8 of 2008. Its a rad fucking record. The lyrics seem super christian though, songs like "Lamb and Lion" and "Young Marks" display prominent christian themes. After hanging out with these dudes a few times, i got to talk to them about their lyrics, their music and some other shit. they're all really really nice dudes, friendly and open as could be. It turns out that they chose the old testament theme for HILLYH because the stories were so violent and interesting. I caught a last minute performance at the Helm gallery in Tacoma before last weeks show at Chop Suey, both of which blew my fucking mind. They're on tour with Metronomy, some electro act that i had no interest in. They played at 9:30. As usual, they brought the party to the weird Chop Suey crowd. Kids stood still for as long as they could before breaking out into dance. They followed through with an old Mae Shi tradition, throwing a huge sheet (rainbow) over the crowd and singing and dancing with everyone under it. They blasted through a 25 minute set, ending with a new track, "I Am the Red" which totally fucking ruled. Definetly one of the best live bands, and most fun to see, ever.

Bay Area Flannel Scene

I went down to the Bay Area last weekend to see my girlfriend and get friendly with the Oakland bar scene. I had fleeting notions of watching a favorite SF band (Bridez, for example, would have been sick) tear up some dark gay bar, but we ended up passing the two days exactly how I wanted to: drunk and laying in the sun.

However, I did spend some time - fairly wasted and in the nude - listening to the Fleet Foxes (a Seattle band) album on vinyl. I saw Fleet Foxes singer Robin Pecknold at the Department of Eagles show in Seattle last week. Apparently he cut his hair recently, leading to very few people noticing the beloved vocalist in their midst. Here's my favorite Fleet Foxes video, directed by Robin's brother Sean (who directs all their videos) ably assisted by one or two of my newish friends at That-Go productions. I heard a rumor that Sean and the band have a new video in the works.

Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

Super Underwealming Jeremy Jay Video

Well, he's on K Records. And he sounds like a slightly moddish italo dancing queen.

Robert M. Wolf's Videos // Abe Vigoda // Masters and Johnson

This dude I know from the Redmond/all-ages Old Fire House scene named Robert has produced two crisp videos in the last few months. Both pieces have a violent, clean quality that uses a few too many jump cuts. The theme of nature is also quite prevalent. The first video is for a band called Masters and Johnson from Seattle. I just saw Masters play on Thursday and those dudes are on the top of their woodsy-ex-suburbs, post-grunge game. The song is about a dog.

masters & johnson--our dog. from robert m. wolfe on Vimeo.
The second video is for a band you may already know. Robert has lived with Abe Vigoda on and off in LA. "Hyacinth Grrls":

ABE VIGODA--hyacinth grrls from robert m. wolfe on Vimeo.

Best Single Of 2009?

Animal Collective "My Girls" from Chad von Nau on Vimeo.

Animal Collective are the new Coldplay.

checking in

So it's been a second, but I'm here in LA and quickly engrossing myself in the bevy of activity that this place has to offer. The first night in town, I went over to this weird, free DFA/Scion party that featured DJ sets from The Juan MacLean and T & T (Tim Goldsworthy and Tim Sweeny), in additional to a live set from the PNW's very own YACHT. The night started with a local DJ duo whose name I forget, who were good but a little heavy on the bangers for me. When the two Tims took the stage, however, I was as a giddy as a schoolboy. Beats in Space, Sweeny's weekly NYC radio show has long been a staple for those electronically inclined with a penchant for cosmic sounds. And, it didn't disappoint. Actually, it far exceeded whatever hopes I had upon entering. I will even go so far as to say it was the best DJ set I've ever witnessed and I dare anyone to sate my dancing feet in the same way. It was super refreshing to see a DJ who was so intwined with his music that he knew exactly how long he could draw out a song, play it so that the audience could actually get a feel for it, and still make things exciting. And the selection! Amazing. Bravo for being authentic, Mr. Sweeny. Unclear to me was exactly what Goldsworthy was up to during the set, as he did a lot of pacing and standing. I think he was altering sounds with a touchpad he had, but that's mere speculation. But whatever, the dude helped found the best record label (yes, I went there) out there, so anything he does is cool by me. YACHT took the stage to a backdrop of pulsating computer images and proceeded to exude that same spastic energy for the next forty-five minutes or so. Now a two-piece, YACHT have kept the epic dance moves and brought it some bigger production and funky-ass grooves. Their set affirmed the greatness that is their recent Summer Song EP and is sure to be their upcoming LP with the DFA. And while the Juan MacLean set sounded like it was off to a great start, I was pooped and took off. 

A few nights later, I headed to infamous Echo Park to see local heros Mika Miko. While the opening band was an embarrassment beyond belief, the girls (and now male drummer) were as raw and catchy as when I saw them this summer. I'm unsure if they played anything new, but I am sure that the gay boys love Mika Miko. As, of course, everyone else does.

Then it was to the Henry Fonda Music Box to see Johnny and the Moon, Beach House and the Walkmen. The side project of Wolf Parade bassist Dante DeCaro, Johnny and the Moon had a half Alt-country, half basic-but-not-basic-because-we're-Canadian rock thing going on that was very pleasurable to start the night. Next was Beach House, the band I was there to see. I've been obsessed with Devotion for a while now, and seeing them live was every bit as simultaneously beautiful and haunting as hearing the record in the solitude of one's room. Victoria and Alex were joined by a drummer, and all three filled out the sound very fully and even added some really interestingly little tweaks. Highlights included "Gila," "Used To Be," and "Wedding Bell." And then the Walkmen put on the best show I've seen by them, dedicating "The New Year" to recently sworn-in President Obama. It was a great night from start to finish, and lest we forget the odd patio/lounge/make out room were you could escape between sets and catch some fresh air. Oh! and I knew I was finally in LA when I realized the dude in the shorts and Dolphins' jacket ahead of me was the Cobrasnake. Nothing like realizing silly things like that are actually just goofy looking guys with a camera. 

Other than that, I've been listening to lots of Van Dyke Parks and The Pharcyde, eating all the Mexican food I can get my hands on, getting my bearings on the city and enjoying the sun. 

Phew, I'm sleeeeeepy. That' s all for the time being. Going to see High Places on Thursday, Animal Collective (!) on Friday and then the crazy marathon lineup of No Abe, Abe Vigoda, Mika Miko, Wavves and others at The Smell on Sunday. And I thought I was going to quit my coffee addiction...

Department Of Eagles

A few weeks ago my girlfriend and I were driving to a bar in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. It was a cold, damp winter night in the emerald city. Fog from the ship canal crept up hillsides and down arterials. The holidays were in full effect, and North Seattle seemed to be in a deep slumber. We were listening to a burned CD which happened to be the new Department of Eagles record, Welcome to Ear Park.

"It's just so bad," she said anxiously, smiling.

"What?" I asked. I thought it sounded pretty good.

"Well, it's just that they got a really high rating on Pitchfork. And I love this album. And I feel bad about it."

The problem with popularity and the problem with developed taste is that sometimes the right art feels wrong for inexplicable reasons. This album is fantastic and I don't think there is any reason to pay any heed to Pitchfork's rating, except that Pitchfork seems to represent a certain kind of success, which may or may-not signal the end of authentically unacknowledged talent. But fuck that authenticity shit. There is great, completely obscure, music everywhere.

The point is, that night in Ballard, against the backdrop of a gentrifying nexus for what was old Seattle, I discovered a wonderful band with wistful, ghostly aspirations to songs that speak to dark city streets, darker personal histories, seeing old friends, and passing time with the people you care about.

Department of Eagles are currently playing a sold-out US tour. Tickets are still available for San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle dates.

Apes and Androids Video Shoot

Last weekend I helped out with a That-Go music video project for a Brooklyn band called Apes and Androids. The band's two principal characters, Brian and David were absolute darlings in front of the camera, and very nice people over catered Vietnamese food and a little light conversation about the Wu-Tang Clan. Between shots we watched rap videos on YouTube and tried to recall the greatness of 90s MTV production.

The band has a fairly glamorous, danceable sound. Apparently the ingenuity of their live shows is overwhelming (3D glasses applied to digitally-enhanced Michael Jackson videos?!) but Brian expressed some concern later, at a bar, that the band might run out of creative energy for live performance. I hope it doesn't happen before I get to see them.

The new video for the single "Golden Prize" should be done in a month or so. Until then:

SSION

I saw this band on tour with CSS in the fall. I guess they are trying to be queer rock icons. It's probably working. Video proof:




From a blog they did on the Vice website:

"We sold all of our merch in DC due to rumors that I had AIDS. OK, so maybe I might have mentioned that in passing onstage, but it was a joke. A joke!

p.s. I think CSS is the best band in the world right now! Seriously! We've decided to join forces and start a supergroup called CSSSSION. Be on the lookout for our debut album, The Devil's Dildo.

CODY CRITCHELOE"

Adieu, Adieu!

8 fucking years. 8 fucking years since The Pharmacy evolved out of the Terrodactyls and the Eds on Vashon Island. 15, 16, 19 year old kids playing garage punk, then moving to wild noisy synth laden awesomeness. I first saw the Pharmacy on Vashon Island in 2005, at the Ober Park building. It was their first album release show, for "B.F.F." I didn't know much about punk music, but i was fucking thrashing along to that shit. A year and a half later, after buying the CD and sort of listening to it, i went to see the last show with Joey, a punk dude who helped shape the Pharmacy into its synthcore popularity, and generally, a chill guy who was getting uncomfortable with the rising fame of his band. The show was at this lady, Jean's house, who put on shows for local kids alot. Dashel Schueler opened, so did Occupied Nation, and like some band from California. It ruled, I had an amazing time. Like a crazy fun time at this show. Then i got obsessed. Living on Vashon, there wasn't much to be proud of, we had the Crux, a teen center type thing that put on shows, that i was too young to go to, and The Pharmacy, Branta, Secret Dance Band, The Terrordactyls, Dashel and others who were from, or had Vashon kids in them. I listened to the Pharmacy obsessively until the end of my sophomore year, when they started to dick me around personally, and I backed out. My band got the honor of playing the Pharmacy's last show as a Seattle band, and I was super super stoked. It was an honor to play with a band that had influenced me in such a big way. I liked all of the opening bands, (TacocaT, A Million Years Ago and The Raggedy Anns) but i was there to see the Pharmacy. After some technical difficulties (that never got resolved), they started with a classic, that hadnt been played in over a year, and my internet namesake "Fedex Planes." That song was and still is my favorite song. Its pure youth, anger and readiness to party all in one big synthy noisy mess. Their set was great, a dispersment of classics throught new songs and songs from the middle of their career as a band. No matter who they are, they are a good band, and will continue to be a good band as they start their new life in New Orleans, Louisiana. So i bid you adieu, Brendhan, Scotty and Stefan. I'll miss you guys alot.

New Year Off To Rocky Start

It seems that all our writers are missing in action, Chop Suey, the club a few of us work at got shot up, and I can't find time to listen to the new Animal Collective album that I (somewhat ashamedly) illegally downloaded. On top of this, it snowed again in Seattle, canceling a night on the town, and all my winter-quarter college classes are really challenging and serious. 2009: I will begin complaining about you as soon as possible.

But enough of this. If you too feel the new year's blues, download the PA Mixtape (below) and try to imagine the good moments of last year, projected in to a new, freshly terrifying, calendar year.