Let's Talk About...: End Hits, Portland Mercury

New Justin Timberlake Song: SQUEEE or "No Thank You, Please"?

Wm.™ Steven Humphrey — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:01:00 -0800

As Erik SQUEEEEEEE'd about last week, Justin Timberlake has FINALLY returned to the studio to record some actual goddamn music, and today he debuted his newest song "Suit & Tie" with rapping duties fulfilled by Jay-Z. It's the first single from his upcoming new album The 20/20 Experience to be released later this year. Read more about that here.
But back to "Suit & Tie." Well, of course I like it. It's got shades of Marvin Gaye, R. Kelly, and god knows who else... I'll have to listen to it more. BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK? Check it out, and vote in the legally binding poll over on Blogtown!

UPDATE: If this gets yanked from YouTube, you can listen to it here.

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Study: "Illegal" File-Sharers Buy 30% More Music

Andrew R Tonry — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 01:09:10 -0700

Something worth considering before the music industry—or any other creative endeavor—goes on suing their own customers: users of P2P file-sharing networks buy 30% more music than folks who don't share songs online.

Or so says The American Assembly, a think tank tied to Columbia University.

U.S. P2P users have larger collections than non-P2P users (roughly 37% more). And predictably, most of the difference comes from higher levels of ‘downloading for free’ and ‘copying from friends/family.’

But some of it also comes from significantly higher legal purchases of digital music than their non-P2P using peers–around 30% higher among US P2P users. Our data is quite clear on this point and lines up with numerous other studies: The biggest music pirates are also the biggest spenders on recorded music.

H/T: Torrent Freak

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Unearthed From The Pile: Marques Toliver

Andrew R Tonry — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 02:07:01 -0700

Every six months or so I clean off my desk. Time to do something with all those notes, taxes, receipts, ash, batteries, earplugs, breath mints, lighters and the rest. Of the many items that pile up are news clippings I tear for reminder or further review. One such was Marques Toliver, from the New York Times, the week of April 18th, reads as such:

This classically trained violinist from Florida has spent time busking in East London, but he has now shifted his considerable talent to the unusual hybrid of baroque R&B. In his hands, it is fascinating: Mr. Toliver croons fitfully about spirituality over intricate string solos, joking dryly between songs to break up the bleak tension. His debut EP, “Butterflies Are Not Free” (Bella Union), is promising throughout. — STACEY ANDERSON

Which led me to this pair of mesmerizing live performances:

I guess Toliver came to Portland a year ago. Anyone see him?

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My Name is Prince! I'm over Fifty!

Bobby Roberts — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:30:00 -0700

Prince Rogers Nelson was born today, 54 years ago. He was funky. He maintained that funkiness until the age of seven, at which point it leapt forward along the evolutionary scale in a way the race of man had not seen before, and would not see again until he turned 20 and released For You, his debut album. At that point, Nelson worked tirelessly to hone and refine the funk, his weapon of choice, into an apocalyptic missile of music, deploying multiple payloads upon an unready populace for most of the '80s and '90s.

Unlike most fallouts, this purple precipitation was welcomed as it descended from the clouds, spattering against the barn roof, slicking up the wheels under the little red Corvettes tooling down Alphabet Street. That period is still celebrated, even now: There's The Prince vs. Michael Experience at Ted's on June 9th (by the way, there's no question - Prince wins that fight), and Jackpot Records is screening the ridiculous 1984 comedy/melodrama Purple Rain at the Bagdad Theater on June 15th & 16th.

Of course, in the '90s, dude got super-fucking weird, became kind of a self-parody and fell the fuck off in alarming fashion while stashing a stockpile of tantalizing funk bombs behind the doors of his oft-referred to vault.

But after the jump, we can ignore all that. We can, instead, remember, via the miracle of YouTube, some of his finer moments, at least until his crazy ass orders his army of lawyers to pull any and all evidence of his former majesty from the internet.

For example, this is one of his biggest hits, Kiss. But the extended version below is a little more obscure, which is a shame because the song becomes this goofy, towering funk opus after the three minute mark, complete with Prince as a grumpy old man getting in a fight with his girlfriend over watching himself on the television.

Prince was also very generous with his funk: The Time were a band built specifically to deliver jams Prince considered maybe a little too musically nasty to go on a "Prince" record by the time 1999 had come around, as he'd established a "sound" for himself. On The Time's first album, Morris Day's vocals were the only thing that Prince hadn't already recorded. That had changed a little by the second album, but songs like 777-9311 were still pretty much 100% Mr. Nelson.

Two more examples of his songwriting generosity: Sheila E's A Love Bizarre, where you can still hear Prince still singing backup.

And The Bangles' Manic Monday.

Which brings us to Prince's softer side. He's really well known for ballads such as Purple Rain and The Beautiful Ones, and for Nothing Compares 2U, which a bald Irish chick turned into a massive hit. But maybe one of his most memorable songs ever is a bluesy little falsetto b-side called How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore, featuring Prince on piano, stomping the floor for percussion, and that's it.

For the sake of being kind, we're going to skip that weird period in the early '90s where he was somewhat confused/entranced by hip-hop, and thus made some pretty embarrassing musical choices. Instead, lets represent most of that decade's output via this live performance from 1991's MTV Music Video Awards

Prince - Get Off [Live] by Vilosophe

Which finally brings us to an aspect of Prince that seems to always surprise people, even though it shouldn't if you ever heard Let's Go Crazy - Prince can shred. In fact, Prince might be one of the best to ever play the guitar, and is possibly the finest guitar player alive right now. The argument can be made, and it usually starts with this performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony from 2004. Watch for Dhani Harrison's facial expression when he realizes his face is being melted off, and pay close attention to Prince's exit, where he throws his guitar skyward, and walks away without waiting for it to come back down. Which of course, it never does.

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The Cry! & Billy Jeans' Mixtape

Andrew R Tonry — Thu, 31 May 2012 22:47:18 -0700

In the years since their tragic exit, Portland has seen it's share bands pay homage to the Exploding Hearts' plucky mess of punky glam pop. Most can be discerned by hair cuts alone—long on the sides, bangs cropped caveman short.

The Cry! are no exception, but their Hearts-inspired "Modern Cinderella" is an exceptional tune, an unshakeable mix of hooks and tongue-in-cheek self-depreciation. Can't help but smile when, after love (or lust) goes sour and the overlooked protagonist is "headed home on the bus."

LISTEN:
The Cry! - "Modern Cinderella"

Check out more at The Cry!'s Bandcamp. The group is in the midst of a national tour. They return to Portland on June 23 to play the Kenton Club. More info at their website.

—

I found The Cry! on a mixtape compiled earlier this year by the Mean Jeans' Billy Jeans. As he explains:

Sup? Here’s a mix of my favorite bands that Mean Jeans have toured or played with in the past year or two. Some total punk, some pop, some local Portland bands, whatever; all of these songs rule and they are all bands that are playing and touring now. Hopefully there’s some stuff you’ve never heard, get their records! - Billy Jeans

Indeed, lots of good stuff here. Highlights, besides "Modern Cinderella," include The Barrecuda's "Dog Food," Zulu Peals' "," White Fang's "Alien," and White Wires' "Don't Call Me When You're Ill."

The whole track list is available below the jump. But you can just skip that and download the Billy Jeans' mixtape here.

Tracklist:

01. Pangea - River
02. Boom! - Get A Grip (demo)
03. White Wires - Don’t Call Me When You’re Ill
04. Big Eyes - Now That You Aren’t Mine
05. Barreracudas - Dog Food
06. White Fang - Alien
07. Tough Shits - Hombre de la Cocaina
08. Diarrhea Planet - Warm Ridin’
09. Zulu Pearls - Feel Me
10. The Cry - Modern Cinderella
11. Therapists - I Need It
12. Liquor Store - Banned From The Block
13. Underground Railroad to Candyland - Body of the Bird

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Annual Report: Beer on the Rug Records

Chris Cantino — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:01:21 -0700

We'd certainly be remiss in our duties if we failed to hype you on fledgling "record label and fun machine" Beer on the Rug, so here's the gritty: First thing you gotta know about this Midwestern tape outfit is that they deliver 100% on the indulgent party promise of their namesake. This is no-holds-barred, ADD pill-times galore, irretrievably deep down the h-pop k-hole: mulched elevator swag, dorm room synth-dorking, and unapologetic DIY dorkpop. It doesn't get much more zonked than this, folks. And just take a look at that artwork. What you see is definitely what you get—and with BOTR releases, it's always A-OK to judge a record by its cover.

In just 12 months time, the crew over at Beer on the Rug has garnered a lot of buzz with releases by the likes of Laserdisc Visions, CVLTS, and Napolian, but what's got us even more stoked are their stacks of soon-to-be-released titles that I'm not gonna spoil for you just yet. Instead, let's have a look and listen to this superb trio of their newest drops, including the debut LP from local Gnar Tapes/White Fang founder Erik Gage's newest alias, Free Weed.

Free Weed - Beer On The Drugs C19
Gnar mom Erik Gage joins BOTR’s ranks and blasts off axe in hand, shredding already spaced faces to flecks of carbon dust. This spliff riffin’ bong pop is not recommended for consumption by DARE members or the faint of heart. Features rubber burnin’ sensations like “Sci-Fi,” “Friend of the Guitar,” and “Caprica”. Pop this bad boy in your home stereo and blaze loudly for good measure.

LISTEN:

Free Weed - "Friend of the Guitar"

Macintosh Plus - Floral Shoppe
Imagine the aphrodisiacal scents present inside this boutique - the wafting air permeates the room with a sticky sweet fragrance borne of yearning buds and vibrant blossoms. Mesmerizing and captivating in its slow burning brilliance, “Floral Shoppe” sees the enigmatic entity behind this project and Laserdisc Visions employing structural sleight of hand and chakra cleansing frequencies with aplomb and finesse. Macintosh Plus subverts minds to heal hearts with her freshly manicured bouquet of love stoned tunes rendered impervious to wilting or fading by nature of their own inherent luminosity.

LISTEN:

Macintosh Plus - "ÃÃÃÃ 420 / 現代ÁÃÃÃÃ"

Boy Snacks - Boy Snacks C24
This hot pop is defined by its bubble fresh! Have you met the body butter?? It’s too delish for this guy!! Boy Snacks for President! Tres chic Vice Prez interior design guru x-Glam Smith shows up to work on her hoverscooter ~ she works at ESPN as a very VIP sporters reporter when she isnt trailblazing w/ her PTA meeting cuties! Boy Snacks is a diva but he’s great!! I heard he gets tipsy on champagña to make this stuff but you cant really trust People magazine these days ~ LOL! Boy Snacks C24 features fruit gushin’ slammers like “Kiwi Melon,” “4G Kush,” and “401(k)-hole”!

LISTEN:

Boy Snacks - "Vista"

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Is This Crap? Mac DeMarco - "She's Really All I Need"

Chris Cantino — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:19:35 -0700

The most intentionally weird dude of 2012's first quarter has got to be Mac Demarco. Mac's ADD-aesthetic has shape-shifted enough times in the past couple months that it's impossible to predict what you're gonna get from the guy, and his non-commitment to style is a refreshing take that you don't expect from your typical DIY pop dork. Like I said, the guy's all over the place—just search his name to reveal photo and video of him assuming the costumed personas of imagined AM-dial pop stars, practicing outlandish accents, and sitting on the toilet. Demarco's soon-to-be-released Rock and Roll Night Club is similarly chameleonesque—one minute he's sounding like a sloppy Bowie, the next like some late-to-the-party Brooklyn buzz band, and at times even like (dare I say it?) Ariel Pink. It's disorienting in the coolest way, and overall a rather creative record.

But this video, man... he messed up. It's not a terrible song, but the treatment is pretty much everything wrong with the resurgence of throwaway cable access-style media. Blatant Tim and Eric green-screen posturing, armpit-sniffing, WAY too much air guitar, and some guy faux-masturbating at the end... It's awkwardly immature, screaming out, "Hey, I'm a freak! I'm pretending to not give a shit, please love me!" Give me a break. No, I'm not missing the irony. If you're going to make a bad joke out of your music, at least make it a good bad joke.

Such a shame, too. The trio of tracks uploaded to Bandcamp a couple months ago had me anticipating one of the best (if not strangest) new voices of the year. I'm torn—DeMarco has potential for sure, but I'm hating this latest turn from him. Clearly, I need a little help deciding if this is crap or not.

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The Trend Must End

Andrew R Tonry — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:42:28 -0800

If you're a band that requires folks—or inquisitive music journalists—to "like" your shit on Facebook before allowing them to listen to your music you can go to straight to PR hell, a place swarming with jacked up marketing gurus where you'll only be treated to marketing speak for the rest eternity and all your ideas are truncated at 140 characters. Burn famewhores, burn!

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Annual Report: 100% Silk

Chris Cantino — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:02:04 -0800

It's been just over a year since Amanda Brown, co-owner of preeminent outre-psych label Not Not Fun, first launched off to release dance records under the imprint 100% Silk. At that time, NNF was relentlessly saturating the underground market with acclaimed mutations of psych, drone, and trance, but Brown wasn't content to simply ride that wave. She was already busy predating the current vogue in rave and house music, as exemplified first by her collaboration with Matrix Metals' Sam Meringue under the ego LA Vampires, and soon after with the announcement that Silk was to begin curating the releases of like-minded artists. Now, just over a year later, Amanda and 100% Silk are already lining up their 26th release, and the label is one of the fastest-rising on the planet.

For a better idea of what Silk is getting at, peep this bitty from their mission statement: “Making 45 RPM 12 inch singles of diamond-life dance & bliss-disco & basement luxury grooves by friends and lovers from all over the world.” Think of Silk as an auteur of mulched, bedroom casino music, crowned with an aesthetic penchant for over-processed pads and a refreshing absence of exclusivity. Seriously though, don't just take my word for it. Instead, chew on these gum-snapping new drops from Silk (including one from "Prince of Portland" Paul Dickow, AKA Strategy) and make up your own mind.

Strategy - Boxy Music
"Prince of Portland Paul Dickow turns his no-nonsense Nudge-sludge awesomeness into revved-up, avant tech-house arousal as Strategy. The moniker has found Dickow checking out hooks in his Community Library and niche-in’-out nooks on Kranky. With SILK he separates: “Skanking Stabs” stomps with reverb canned-can drums, bouncing in a dancehall vault. “Feel The Earth” is not your daddy’s acid jazz, with its bouncing house arresting piano bar tipped jar. “Starry Day” soft serves up a swirl of 80’s vamp funk, contempo computer chocolate chips, and haywire Cyberdyne scheming sequences. The dueling “Bolly Valve” tracks mix Arabic woodwind skill scales with whisper sizzle clatter data. Limited edition, with hot pink pop art Neu-bout-town jackets designed by the artist. Strategic move for winning your love."

Polysick - Flow FM
"Tune in Tokyo, Rio, Rome, to Flow FM, Polysick’s choppy, blip-bloppy, reality-byting radio station. Channel glide between robotic-chaotic dub, ecstatic acid static, sunny synth sampladelica, Jack-the-Risker groove stabs, Rowdy Rick Dees-sleaze, organ-doning vogue-zoning, crunk color wheelies, sweet jellies and sick jams. And now a word from our SILK Sponsors: Flow FM has the sleekest sounds on the blare-waves."

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Really Fucking Gross...

Andrew R Tonry — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:00:54 -0800

..when mere hours after someone dies press releases start appearing in your inbox, meticulously packaged and sent bearing starched, meaningless missives and followed promptly by laundry lists of collaboration and production credit.

You are soulless hounds and ye shall not profit!

Then again, I lose no sleep for Whitney Houston. And shame on those who pretend to.

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Verbatim: Jason Urick on I Love You

Chris Cantino — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:21:13 -0800

Verbatim, from the mind of Portland newcomer and unconventional sound artist Jason Urick regarding his beguiling new record I Love You for Thrill Jockey:

"This record was recorded and pieced together during a very transitional period of my life. A lot was in flux in regards to location on the planet and people and relationships within said planet. My feeling regarding these changes had a tendency to fluctuate between very excited and confident with uncertainty and alternatingly unsure and nervous, sometimes fluctuating between the two rapidly from second-to-second. I became very hyper aware of the relationships of opposite emotions and started to notice these types of relationships more and more around me. Around this time I was recommended by a friend to watch the movie I Love You by Marco Ferreri. In this movie Christopher Lambert plays a character that falls in love with a talking keychain. More specifically a keychain that only said the words 'I Love You' when whistled at. Around that time I was starting to mold the material that would make up this album into more cohesive pieces. I began to use the phrase 'I Love You' as a mantra of sorts while working on this material. Running the phrase over and over in my head until the words started to break down and render the phrase foreign again. In these meditations I became more at peace with the music making process and more unsure/unfamiliar with it at the same time. This feeling spilled over into my understanding of myself going from feeling very in tune in body and mind to completely adrift in a large universe, again in very rapid succession until all that remained was a vibration. It feels silly and potentially useless to describe such personal and brief experiences in words, however it is my hope that within the record I am able to communicate these ideas/feeling to sound where it might make more sense." -Jason Urick

Thank you, Jason, for sharing. And welcome to Portland.

Below, stream Urick's new video for "Ageless Isms," directed by Portland's own brilliant art freak Ashby Lee Collinson. Collinson's treatment of Urick's noise and manufactured electronic environments succeeds by building upon the music's rapid development and conclusion of motifs in a disorienting, yet sincere and thought-provoking style. It takes a rather delicate touch to balance the organic and synthetic poles of I Love You, a contrast that would surely have splintered in less capable hands. So, if you'd like to get to know Collinson (the mastermind behind Experimental Half Hour's Princess Dies) a little better, you can start by checking out her fund-worthy video project over at Kickstarter. And don't forget to attend an intimate evening with Urick this Sunday, January 22, as he headlines a night of fringe local talent at Valentine's.

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Moore vs. Ranaldo

Chris Cantino — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:25:39 -0800

Only time will tell if Sonic Youth is actually going to disband, but for now, at least, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore are turning their attention towards their solo careers. I certainly hope they continue to make music together, but for the time being they've taken predictably divergent paths. Ones that Mercury readers must vote upon.

So, who will reign supreme in this Sonic battle royale?

Age: 53
Height: 6' 6"
Best solo album: 1995's Psychic Hearts
The Good: In terms of sheer output, both musicians have been pumping out an insane amount of non-Sonic Youth material for years, but Moore's has been more highly regarded by critics. Probably due to his more prominent use of melody and collaborations with more noteworthy folk. Hunting down all the records Thurston's appeared on over the years would be impossible, but it would be worth it—there's something of value in most all of them.
The Bad: He might be on the downswing. Thurston's last record, the bittersweet Demolished Thoughts, was terrific, but it lacked the edge of his best Sonic Youth material.

Age: 55
Height: 5' 11"
Best solo album: 1997's Amarillo Ramp
The Good: He's got that underdog factor working for him. Thurston was seemingly the clear favorite in this bout, but that may have changed this morning when Ranaldo shared "Off the Wall," a a killer track from his first song-based solo album, Between the Times and the Tides. The single is remarkably melodic for Ranaldo, and listening is required—participating in the poll without hearing it will delegitimize the results!
The Bad: The underdog factor is a double-edged sword, and if he doesn't push himself creatively, his records are going to fall flat. A bad Lee Ranaldo record has potential to be incredibly boring, but one with enough fresh new ideas could be mind-blowing.

LISTEN:

Thurston Moore - "Circulation"

Lee Ranaldo - "Off the Wall"

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Dan Deacon on Conlon Nancarrow

Andrew R Tonry — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:41:35 -0800

On the recently re-named Sound of Young America (now known as Bullseye), host Jesse Thorn gets an enlightening bit from Dan Deacon. The way Deacon describes music is marvelous. He may never get to see a new color, Deacon says, but with music the palate and spectrum are ever expanding.

One of the artists who helped Deacon hear a new color is Conlon Nancarrow, a composer who wrote pieces that could only be performed by player piano. Conlon's righteous torrents of notes are a stunning precursor to electronic music. I never realized that the blipy and wobbly sounds we associate with computers—especially early 8-bit and 16-bit Nintendo-like synthesizers—could result from playing scales at top speed. The best example of all is embedded in the interview.

LISTEN: Dan Deacon on Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
Dan Deacon, The Song That Changed My Life by Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

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R. Kelly's Love Letter Cruise

Chris Cantino — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:20:56 -0800

All aboard!

That's right, it's the R. Kelly cruise. From the McRib-lovin' mind that brought you "Bump n' Grind," Trapped in the Closet, and urinating on underage girls, Carnival is proud to present the Love Letter Cruise, embarking next October for a five day excursion through the Bahamas. If we needed any furthur proof that Kelly is the voice of our generation, this is it.

It isn't cheap (tickets start at $1500), but the cruise features a wealth of entertainment, including a fashion show and modeling contest, mock game show, waterslide fun, and even a wellness seminar! Sounds like a great time to be had by all—let's just hope they chlorinate the fuck out of that pool (because of, you know... the pee).

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Cleaning Off My Desk

Andrew R Tonry — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:52:34 -0800

All kinds of stuff been piling up. Probably a lot of it since lost. For a time, all I could think about was Cass McCombs, who I recently saw and wrote about in what might just be a bitch of a story. It'll be in print Thursday. And let me add: don't miss Thursday's show at Doug Fir. Really, you must hear "Bradley Manning" in all its live glory. Amen and hallelujah.

Let the cleansing begin:

- A$AP Rocky and his crew used Nurses' "You Lookin' Twice" as a loop for a live free-style. Which makes me wonder all the more: why the hell isn't Dracula a smash hit? Who's missing out and fucking up here? Something is screwy with the embed so WATCH IT HERE. It's tight.

- Can Noel and Liam Gallagher just become subjects of a clinical study of the ego? I don't care at all about their music but these fuckers are and have always been stunning to watch as they unravel into limey, slobbering, jagged, and sometimes radical cunts under questioning. To wit:

New York Times Magazine : Aerosmith’s Joe Perry once suggested that cocaine isn’t particularly expensive. What’s expensive are the decisions you make under its influence. Agree?

Oh, yes, yes indeed. I got a £110,000 supercar that was built for myself, and I didn’t even have a driving license. They said it would take about a year and a half to build, and I was thinking, Great, I’ll have easily learned to drive in a year and a half. Like a small dog, I completely forgot about it and started partying with supermodels, and about a year and a half later somebody delivered it to my house, and I had no idea what they were talking about.

Get the whole interview here.

- Elvis Costello is right to tell fans not to buy his new box set that the label priced at over $200.

“Unfortunately, we at www.elviscostello.com find ourselves unable to recommend this lovely item to you as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire.”

...

“If you should really want to buy something special for your loved one at this time of seasonal giving, we can whole-heartedly recommend Ambassadors of Jazz [by] Louis Armstrong," the singer went on, pointing out that the Armstrong box set offers 10 albums for the same price as the Spinning Songbook.

He added: “Frankly, the music is vastly superior.”

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You Might Really Like Turf War

Ned Lannamann — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:20:00 -0800

I keep listening to Turf War's debut album, Years of Living Dangerously, over and over again without really meaning to. I think I got addicted to it. And for good reason: It's a terrific, hooky record that gets by on attitude more than anything else; the word that invariably comes up in Turf War's press releases is "rowdy." Rowdy, yes, but but it certainly doesn't sound sloppy—these songs are tight little kernels of rock 'n' roll that urge you to, quick, learn the melody and memorize the words so you can sing along already. The Atlanta band—and, yeah, I suppose that press picture isn't gonna do them any favors—cuts right down to the bone of what makes music fun. I find myself referring to the Replacements when I've mentioned Turf War to friends.

LISTEN:

Turf War - "For the Last Time"

So, yeah, you should probably listen to Turf War. Here's the first track on Years of Living Dangerously, and if this grabs you, I'm certain you'll love the rest of the album. Ian St. Pé of Black Lips produced it, but Turf War don't share Black Lips' drugged-out, seamier qualities. Rather, they get by on pure youthful exuberance. Their music feels the way a good beer buzz felt when you were a teenager. I have to say I love it.

Turf War don't have any West Coast dates scheduled yet, but don't expect a band like this to be contained to the South for much longer.

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Occupation/Preoccupation

Chris Cantino — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:07:32 -0800

"The United States has over 700 military bases on foreign soil in sovereign countries, where we have no declaration of war. (Occupation/Preoccupation) seeks to gather covers by American musicians of songs that originate from each of these places." -occupationpreoccupation.org

Brian Mumford of Dragging an Ox Through Water's ambitious new project Occupation/Preoccupation is an inspiring example of music's potential to mobilize people into political action. In protest of the hundreds of American military occupations throughout the planet, Mumford and others are actively organizing musicians to speak out against unnecessary military interventions by covering songs indigenous to those affected regions.

The newest addition to the project, "The Army Kills Its People," is contributed by Mumford himself. The lyrics call attention to the constitutional monarchy of Bahrain (which is occupied by America's 5th Naval Fleet), to whom the United States is considering the sale of $53 million of military equipment despite the regime's violent repression of the Bahraini uprising's pro-democracy politics.

"This song by Saleh Al-Durazi was recommended to me by Bahraini activist Zainab Alkhawaja as one of her father’s favorites. This cover came into being with some extremely generous translation help (beautiful, direct and heavy lyrics).

I came into contact with the Zainab when, on Saturday April 19th, 2011, Masked Bahraini security forces broke into her home and severely beat her father Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, a prominent human rights activist, before taking him away unconscious along with Zainab’s husband and brother-in-law. As has been the case with much of the activity revolving around the “Arab Spring”, Zainab broadcast the details of the events minutes after they happened via twitter. I’d begun following her updates during this ordeal, and contacted her shortly afterward. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja was recently sentenced to life imprisonment for his peaceful human rights activism by a Bahraini military court, a verdict which has sparked international outcry." -Brian Mumford

LISTEN:

Dragging an Ox Through Water - “The Army Kills Its People” (originally performed by Saleh Al-Durazi)

Those interested in getting involved can contact Mumford at occupationpreoccupation@gmail.com

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R. Kelly's Book Has the Greatest Title and Cover Ever

Ned Lannamann — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:15:54 -0800

Attention, book writers and designers: You might as well give up now. Because R. Kelly has written a book, and it possesses both the best book title and the best book cover that has ever been conceived. If one could, indeed, fairly judge a book by a cover, this would be—and I don't think I'm exaggerating—the greatest work of literature ever created.

It's simply astonishing. Take a look.

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Network Awesome

Chris Cantino — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:12:27 -0700

You love Youtube, but having to wade through a river of shit and advertisements to get to the best vids doesn't always appeal to you. Do you ever wish that someone would just cut the fat? Well, it looks like you're not the only one. In this age of internet overload, curatorial video sites are poised to become a pretty huge thing, and there's a whole drove of them coming together at the moment. There are especially a lot focusing on music and art, but none are as consistent, well-defined, or straight up weird as Network Awesome. The network isn't constrained by any traditional rules, and its focus on broadcasting recycled TV culture and experimental films/animations in a linear format is fascinating, to say the least.

Yesterday's episode was particularly "awesome," kicking off with curator Mark Brown's 120 Megabytes, a spin on the MTV classic 120 Minutes. The segment features "visionary interactions between sound and vision" that pay tribute to the resurgent retro aesthetics of memes such as Portable Grindhouse and Computers Club. After Brown's selections came an appropriately spooky treat with the experimental (and NSFW) George Kuchar film Pagan Rhapsody, a collection of videos spotlighting magnetic tape manipulation, and a documentary on the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop. Pretty awesome, I'd say.

After the jump, you can view a smattering of my favorite videos from yesterday's broadcast.

Boxcutter - "Passerby"

The Alchemists of Sound (BBC documentary)

George Kuchar - Pagan Rhapsody (NSFW)

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Introducing Orange Milk Records

Chris Cantino — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:17:06 -0700

It's probably about time you got up to date with new periphery label Orange Milk Records. Last week we spotlighted their most recent release, Sean McCann's Open Resolve, and we really didn't imagine it could get any better than that. But after test-driving their stacked list of recent and upcoming releases, we were proven wrong. Good thing, too. Now you get to reap the benefits of our cherry-picking, because we're cluing you in on some of the best sounds from an experimental label that's jumped quickly (and quietly) to the front of the pack.

Click the jump to look and listen, and read what Orange Milk has to say about some of these records.

Giant Claw - Midnight Murder
"Giant Claw makes music that sounds like the soundtrack to a dystopian children’s book published in 1981. This album is a real wonderland of synthesized sound. A beautiful and creepy homage to early electronic music." If you're into this one, you NEED to go after his newest release Tunnel Mind immediately.

Sundrips - One Hundred Hints
"A new piece of dark guitar and synthesizer moans and sequences from modern masters Sundrips. Ryan and Nick at their most rich and deep and heavy!"

Piper Spray - Omnicron Girls
"Russia's Piper Spray gives us bizarre electronic pop. This is experimental stuff when it works on an established and trodden musical realm and subverts from within."

Sean McCann - Open Resolve
"The album solidifies Sean's hold on both the ethereal world of drone and the ever-deepening world of analog synthesizers. It has the ability to sound harrowing and sublime, often within the space of a single track, and its McCann's craftsmanship that weaves shimmering worlds of noise together to feel like worlds made of glass and wire." -Altered Zones

Stay tuned for more from this up and coming label, with more releases on the way from Caboladies, La Big Vic, Mark Dwinnel, and Portland's own Weather Exposed Skeleton Music.

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Presenting the Cleaners from Venus

Chris Cantino — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:33:34 -0700

Are you one of those assholes that thinks the '80s were complete shit? Have you always been into the more eccentric British songwriters of the '60s and '70s (Barrett, Hitchcock, Davies) than glammy aesthetics and cocaine? Do you not listen to anything with synthesizers "on principle"?

Get over yourself. Or, since that's not likely to happen, just check out Cleaners from Venus. This could be the your "transition band," the one that makes modern music start to sound palatable. Listen, I'm not saying Ariel Pink isn't completely full of shit. I'm just saying that once you get into this band, you pretty much stop caring about all other music for two weeks.

To be clear, this band isn't just for fence-sitters. Cleaners from Venus are absolutely one of the greatest (and least known) pop bands to come out of Britain in the 1980s. So why haven't we heard more from them? Well, bandleader Martin Newell was basically obsessed with DIY culture and self-releasing his music. After being jilted by the music industry with his former band Plod, Newell retreated and began to self-record albums "on a four track in a bedroom in shameful poverty." The reclusiveness of this approach translated into most of the Cleaners' early stuff being released in small batches of cassettes Newell dubbed in his kitchen, and they've been in heavy bootleg rotation since then. The band never knew any mainstream success, but more and more people are starting to take notice. With the reissue of Newell's Songs for... a Fallow Land earlier this year on Fixed Identity and a growing cult following in the US, it seems the band is finally poised to win over the listeners they've always deserved.

On March 13, 2012, Captured Tracks will release remastered recordings of the first three Cleaners records: Blow Away Your Troubles (1981), On Any Normal Monday (1982), and Midnight Cleaners (1982). The collection will be released on vinyl, CD, and digital, and includes bonus tracks, rare photos, and extensive liner notes.

Check out "Renee (Who's Driving Your Car?)" below, and make the time to do some reading up on your new favorite band.

LISTEN:

Cleaners from Venus - "Renee (Who's Driving Your Car?)"

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On The Beach is Probably a Good Thing to Listen to Today.

Raquel Nasser — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:33:04 -0700

Today is a good day to listen to Neil Young's On The Beach. Not that there is ever really a bad day for what is arguably the tidiest collection of Young's best work, but as the heavenly ceiling hangs roughly five feet above our stupid heads, let his grim representation of Los Angeles—that fabled, sun-bathed city we might just be entertaining visions of—offer some solace. People are still miserable when it's nice outside.

So what if there are only forty-six minutes of "daylight" remaining. So what if our Circadian rhythms are preparing to enter the gauntlet of gloom that is the next seven months. SO FREAKING WHAT.

Just listen to this; it should make you feel better, or exponentially worse.

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Comedian Hari Kondabolu on Das Racist

Andrew R Tonry — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:48:35 -0700

Back in April I interviewed Das Racist for a short feature in the print edition. I remember it went poorly. The phone was passed from member to member like an unwanted chore. The whole thing felt like a hangover. Finally Ashok took over and we got to talking semi-coherently. Nonetheless, "Racist Jokes" is a story I've since become pretty unhappy with. It happens.

Comedian Hari Kondabolu took on profiling group in the latest issue of Spin. It's the cover story of the "comic issue," edited by Patton Oswalt. When it comes to sorting through Das Racist's jungle of seeming contradictions, Kondabolu is almost too perfect for the job. He's got a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and once worked as a community organizer. More importantly, he's Ashok's older brother. (I've also written about Hari. That piece I'm content with.)

Kondabolu's "These Colors Don't Run" is a marvelous portrait of modern, independent rap and social politics in America. It's funny, skeptical, and scholarly. The opening bit:

My little brother Ashok, or "Dap" as he is known and I refuse to call him, is DR's hype man. His job is to know all the lyrics to the songs and enthusiastically repeat them onstage, often while dancing, which somehow makes my occupation as a professional comedian sound stable by comparison. This is reflected in how our relatives in India describe us to curious friends and neighbors: Ashok gets transformed into a "singer" and I become a "lawyer." This is much more respectable, I suppose, than "crazy man who talks to strangers" (me) and "crazy man who yells at strangers" (Ashok).

When I was first told about my brother's job, I didn't know how to feel. Part of the confusion, I suppose, was that I hadn't bothered listening to the music, despite knowing that my brother, his best friend since high school Himanshu Suri (Heems), and Hima's Wesleyan University classmate Victor Vazquez (Kool A.D.) were performing regularly in Brooklyn and Ashok was excited about it. Part of me still sees Ashok's existence on this planet as a result of my parents not wanting me to be bored. The possibility that he could have a life and destiny unconnected to my own seemed absurd.

Then Kondabolu delves into Das Racist's contradictions:

Their lyrics are a reading, listening, and viewing list for a later time—you can dance and nod your head to the music now, but if you want the full experience, start Googling.

After reading articles about DR over the past couple of years, the question that comes up repeatedly is: "Are they joking or are they serious?" This has followed them since 2008, when their song "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" went viral. Was it simply a funny song about two friends going to the wrong fast-food restaurant, or did it say more about the state of American culture? Does the repetition in the song symbolize the Mobius-strip repetition of chains that appear throughout the country? Or something more? They officially responded in the song "hahahaha jk?" from last year's mixtape Sit Down, Man, with the chorus "We're not joking / Just joking, we are joking / Just joking, we're not joking."

Get the whole thing.

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Mikah Sykes on Compensating Musicians

Andrew R Tonry — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:31:23 -0700

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Bootsy Collins' Life in Funk

Andrew R Tonry — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:29:47 -0700

Last month Bootsy Collins showed up in the Chicago studios of Sound Opinions for what turned out to be a terrific interview. Really, it's a history lesson as seen through star-shaped rainbow sunglasses. The legendary bass playing alien is the human embodiment of funk.

Bootsy started out with his brother Catfish before being picked up by James Brown in what was actually a sly firing of the previous incarnation of the JB's. There's a lot of great stuff on James' heyday plus the nuts and bolts of funks music origins. From Brown, Bootsy finds another groundbreaking guru in George Clinton. There is a large, eclectic family aspect to the musical world Clinton has cultivated, Bootsy explains.

Asked what would be the ideal entry point to the massive catalog of Funkadelic, Parliment, and Clinton's many other projects, Bootsy takes his time, wanting to get it right. "Wow," he says in deliberation, before offering up Maggot Brain. Indeed, it's one of the great records of all time, including one of the great guitar solos ever put to tape. In case you've never heard it, or been put off by the more flighty compositions of Parliment Funkadelic, just know that Funkadelic is itself a markedly different group. They get dark and heavy along with the bevy of weirdness. It is as much a rock record as it is funky. "Super Stupid" beats punk at it's own game.

So, without further adéu, get over to Sound Opinions and lend Bootsy your ear.

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