Vinyl

Tuesday was a vinyl day:



Kid Kishore's 7" (Social Registry's 'Social Club No. 9') is pretty bonkers. Hyperspeed tempo and weird sampling throughout. Dude knows how to mash and meld, but to questionable success.



Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue is one of the most perfect pieces of music I own on vinyl, well-regarded as one of, if not the best jazz record of all time.


"So What"




Talking Heads' Fear Of Music, produced in part by Brian Eno, is certainly an excellent Talking Heads recording. The year was before my time (1979) but it was their 3rd record and 2nd with production help from Eno. "I Zimbra" and "Life During Wartime" stand out, though everything here is worth the spin.
Fun Fact: Gene Wilder plays congas on a couple tracks?

"Life During Wartime" from Stop Making Sense




DNA on DNA is a compilation of DNA's material released in 2004, and re-released this year on No More. This is not necessarily easy listening, rather it's quite the opposite - cascades of drum sounds mixed with thrashes of guitar clanging mixed with keyboard clanking mixed with some sort of vocal outbursts. The 2LP packaging is beautiful, all glossy with collages of gig posters and band photos. Recommended for fans of noise music, definitely not for everyone.

Regret

So a year has passed since my last compiling of a year-end list, the first one I had officially done for anything (which got butchered by my editor and isn't even worth reading anyway), and I sure have some heavy regrets about those decisions. My list went something like this

7. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
6. Kanye West - Graduation
5. Justice - †
4. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
3. M.I.A. - Kala
2. Radiohead - In Rainbows
1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

In an act of revision, I'd like to cut M.I.A. and Justice from that list, for they both fell into my "unlistenable due to overplay" category ("Paper Planes," "D.A.N.C.E.," and for that matter Kanye's "Stronger"). In those stale albums' absence, I'd like to add Nightfall Over Kortedala by Jens Lekman and Alegranza by El Guincho (and I think there's another I can't think of at the moment..), as well as bumping up Person Pitch a few notches.






James Pants

T.G.

Holler at Thanksgiving. It wouldn't be the end of the year without it, as it wouldn't be the end of the year without year-end lists. I'll have an official year-end list, something like a "Top 8 of '08" or something printed towards the end of the semester, which I will share, but here's some ideas kickin around for now, no ranks or any of that definitive garbage.

Albums:

Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III
Dodos - Visiter
Deerhunter/Atlas Sound - Microcastle/Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst/Gentleman's Pact EP
Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls
Excepter - Debt Dept.
Women - Women
Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual
Air France - No Way Down EP
Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing
White Denim - Workout Holiday/Exposion

Unless I have forgotten something major (or minor, I guess), then 8 of those will get written up in the year-end issue. It seems like I'd be selling myself short to simply do that, so here's my favorite live stuff from this year (even though there's more to come a.k.a. David Byrne, Parts & Labor, Teeth Mountain, hopefully more):

Deerhunter/Vivian Girls - 11/10 Paradise Rock Club
Radiohead/Animal Collective/Metric/Chromeo - 8/9 All Points West
Dodos/Tall Firs - 4/10 SMOG @ Bard College
Jamie Lidell - 6/7 Paradise Rock Club
Fleet Foxes - 3/30 The Grind @ Clark University
Felice Brothers - 9/7 Club Helsinki
Saul Williams - 4/12 Iron Horse Music Hall
Of Montreal - 10/10 Roseland Ballroom
Gnarls Barkley/Hercules & Love Affair - 8/6 Wilbur Theatre
Dan Deacon/Future Islands/Eric Hnatow - 5/1 Pearl Street Clubroom
A Place to Bury Strangers/Holy Fuck - 3/21 Middle East Upstairs
Thurston Moore - 9/17 Pearl Street Clubroom
Fucked Up/Vivian Girls - 10/12 Great Scott
M83 - 11/16 Pearl Street Clubroom
Caribou/Fuck Buttons - 3/25 Iron Horse Music Hall

I believe I'm probably forgetting more, but I must get on with the passing on turkey and mass-eating of side dishes. More lists, etc to come this week/end.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

Weird new Radiohead video for this/last (October 10 2007?/January 01 2008?) year's In Rainbows jam "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi." In a miraculous turn of events it's directed by the same guy (Tobias Stretch) that directed one of my favorite recent videos, Efterklang's "Illuminant." Weird stop motion puppet creepfests.

Radiohead - Weird Fishes - by Tobias Stretch

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi


Illuminant

No Age

No Age played Clark University's The Grind last night with Soft Circle and Silk Flowers. The show was pretty great in general despite the lack of crowd enthusiasm and long lag between sets.

Silk Flowers went on first, immediately recalling Joy Division's Ian Curtis' deep monotone, which (after talking to the singer, Avi) turned out to be a vocal effect, I'm pretty sure. The rest of the sound was summoned from electronic devices, keyboards, a drum pad, and two other drums. Though they skimped on actual instruments, Silk Flowers crafted some dark wasteland textures juxtaposed with a-ha synth-pop tendencies and chaotic, jumbled sample patterns to create something captivating. Avi (decked out in self-embroidered Mickey Mouse shirt) rocked back and forth with the mic or with his two drumsticks, seeming to keep more of the beat while the other two members, Peter and Ethan, wrapped sound around it, filling the room with sound.

Their 7" is rad as well, featuring three tracks, one of which I distinctly remember hearing them play ("Chance of Showers").

Soft Circle was next after a long break, I'm talking like 30 minutes. He was one man, placed behind a drum set with many gadgets strewn about his feet, samplers and pedals and the like. He was almost a one-man Caribou, looping sampled riffs and voice (rocking the fly no-hands-necessary mouthpiece) over each other before diving into a cataclysm of meaty drum rhythms. These kept attention for the most part, but some simply went on for too long and eventually the audience got the point, becoming bored of the same formula over and over again, no matter what sort of physical feat it was pounding away while keeping a beat and matching up with the samples.

No Age was straight killer, better than when I caught them at the Middle East over the summer. Randy Randall shredded straight up. He gets loud, as the amp size should have forewarned, too loud to hear his or drummer Dean Spunt's vocals (they've awful singing voices anyway, as far as I've gathered). No Age is the kind of band that makes you want to be in a band. It's just two normal guys on stage (or off, as Randall eventually meandered out into the meek crowd) playing loud, catchy music without frills or games. They played some new songs as well as all the songs that they should have: "Teen Creeps," "Boy Void," "Eraser," "Brain Burner," and ended with "Everybody's Down" by request. My advice: See these guys in a metropolitan area before they start playing bigger venues, preferably in a tight, hot space with some drunkards who wanna move.


Silk Flowers


Silk Flowers


7"


Soft Circle


Randy, No Age


Feedback


Randy


Randy on the floor


Dean Allen Spunt, No Age


Setlist

Chinese Democracy

So Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy finally officially comes out today, only at Best Buy. I've only heard the title track, streaming all over the internet...



...but the whole record's probably not going to be any better than WARSYNIUM. Berkshire County Power Metal.





Photos from the Masonic Temple, South Street in Pittsfield, MA

No Age. K-West.

So No Age is playing for free tomorrow night, Sunday November 23, at Clark University in their Student Center. Clark's had some cool people booking shows there for at least the past couple years, as they've hosted many acts including the Black Lips, Girl Talk/Santogold, YACHT/Snakes Say Hisss, Fleet Foxes/Blitzen Trapper, and a Dirty Projectors show I passed on. More recently, a.k.a. this school semester, they haven't publicized anything really,and it's difficult to find out information about shows at non-local colleges/universities without an in there.

However, I caught wind of the pending No Age appearance months ago and it's finally tomorrow. No Age has been receiving mucho notoriety for their new (this past May) record Nouns (Sub Pop) heavily due to the concept of hype. Don't get me wrong, the record's killer, but these guys aren't necessarily heading some crazy plane-shift. Quick punk outbursts ("Teen Creeps") and airy ambience ("Things I Did When I Was Dead," "Keechie") are the easy descriptors, but there's no single rallying force behind these songs. They're loud (who isn't), they're young (who isn't), they're 'arty' (who isn't). So what's not to like, right?

Eh, wrong, but it's a momentary relief from stuff that sounds boring, I suppose. They were solid when they last played Cambridge over the Summer with High Places (who were awesome, as is their records) and Abe Vigoda (who I missed intentionally) downstairs at the Middle East. Other highlights from the record include "Sleeper Hold" (more punk) and "Impossible Bouquet" (more ambient), but nothing really compares to their first big deal track "Boy Void". Check em out at Clark U without paying.

Unrelated:



New Kanye West 808s and Heartbreak has officially leaked and gee, I have too many opinions on it. For such a high-profile release, it seems that one would be guided as to what it should sound like. This is not the case. This may stem from Ye's confusing career: One forgets he started as a producer, and a big-time producer at that, prominently cutting tracks for the likes of Jay-Z, but he went on to put out his own record, 2004's College Dropout. While he does rap on this release, the best verbal parts of the record come in the form of baller guest spots (Jay-Z, Ludacris, Talib Kweli, Mos Def). His 'rapping' career trajectory has been at a down-slant ever since, with Late Registration dipping to feature some fairly crappy guest spots (Paul Wall, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Brandy) along with the good (Nas, Lupe Fiasco). Graduation saw Yeezy really blowing it verse-wise (all of "Drunk and Hot Girls", rhyming "shooting stars" with "shoes and cars" in "Flashing Lights") while the utter end coming in the form of 808s and Heartbreak ("How could you be so//Doctor Evil").

One may ask: If Kanye's not rapping, what reason's there to listen? You've got to delve back in time to his producer proficiency. Every noise on the new record sounds perfect, save the over-driven drum sounds (which, in a good way, resembles "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails). This record has been compared to a sort of Thom Yorke-style Eraser offering, and it's eerily fitting, though the tempo is more downcast for the most part. The lowered tempo has never been Kanye's strong point, but hey, it's a "break-up" record, right? He's rumored to be returning to rapper form for his next record, supposedly due out next summer, but for now the dead of winter sees this release.

Song-wise, there's few losers. I kept myself from listening to the endless versions of prominently leaked "Love Lockdown," "Heartless," and "Robocop," to good effect. The final version of "Love Lockdown" is great, the drumming mimicking some sort of beautifully synchronized African drum-line. "Heartless" was way more fun than I could have expected a song called "Heartless" could be, almost reggae keyboard lines complimenting that omnipresent auto-tune perfectly (speaking of which, the auto-tune's really not worth analyzing. It's everywhere, unavoidable. Deal with it.). "Robocop" is probably the most glorious track, with skittering percussion throughout in addition to huge drum sounds, orchestral flourishes, and extra-terrestrial xylophone tinkling.

That's not even the meat of the record, however. The best tracks are "Paranoid" with Mr. Hudson and "See You In My Nightmares" with Lil' Wayne. "Paranoid" sounds like if James Pants produced a La Bouche track in 1992, which means its got warm synth tones but you can bang it in the club with all that cheesy, dated percussion. "See You In My Nightmares" hardly has the ability to fail with Weezy in the hook. It pulses and eases in until the climax where Mr. Carter gets vicious. "You think your shit don't stink//Well you are Mrs. P.U." Well put, Wayne. Most everything Kanye says on the record sounds terribly important and pressing, evidence of his apparent emotionally draining breakup. We can only hope Mr. West gets over it and reclaims his position as one of the best party figures in popular music.

Day & Age

So the new Killers record Day & Age finally leaked in full, and damn are there some surprising songs. I've heard the first single "Human" on the radio at work about 300 times by now, so that's stale, but "Joy Ride" is fantastically tropical and bright, its saxophone parts nearly beating out the horns in Sam's Town's "Bones." Other highlights include "This Is Your Life," which channels Rusted Root for some reason, the synthed-out "The World We Live In," and the 7-minute epic album closer "Goodnight, Travel Well" complete with clock ticks, horn swells, and a crashing, tinkling climax. Great. Check it out now and/or buy it when it comes out on November 24.

The Killers - Day & Age

Also:



Verson of "Human" from the European Music Awards. Look at that spectacle. Amazing.

Also:



Keyboard dude from Tokyo Police Club pulled a Paper Route Recordz, releasing his solo EP The Lakes of Alberta digitally for free (for the low-quality version, otherwise $5). It's alllright, nothing too extravagant. At least if you don't like it you won't be kicking yourself for dropping the cash. He has hosted it on this site Bandcamp, where whoever's bands can apparently market their music. Check out the EP here.

Parts & Labor

Good News:



Parts & Labor are playing here in Amherst at Hampshire College December 11 at the Red Barn with Ampere, Bunnies, Grey Skull, and the oft-mentioned Eric Hnatow (who will also be playing at the WMUA Vinyl Fair/Record Fest Dec 6 with Teeth Mountain (some real good stuff on their Myspace), Rabbit Rabbit, and Brown Recluse Sings). This is good news since I missed Parts & Labor when they played up north in Bennington last Spring. I ALSO MISSED Parts & Labor's Dan Friel playing at WMUA's Fall concert (also feat. Eric Hnatow + Death Set) so I really earned this one, though it is on the same day Beach House + Tickley Feather play Pearl Street.

P.S.



Stephen Curry currently has 42 points after making a couple more three pointers for Davidson and they're only down 3 to Oklahoma. I think they were just down 18.

Also:



Great film.

Paper Route Recordz

So Diplo's Mad Decent label just released a mixtape from Hunstville, Alabama's Paper Route Recordz called Fear & Loathing In HuntsVegas, available for a pay-what-you-want download which you can access here. I only recognize Blaqstarr and Wale on the mix, but there's some characters such as Big P.O.P.E. and Money Addict who I'm interested in from names alone. Best tracks so far are definitely the Diplo remix of Big P.O.P.E.'s track "Don't Go" w/ Wale and "Shotz" by Untamed w/ Dawgy Baggz (another great moniker). It's pretty filthy at times, probably not for everyone, but the rumbling beats and loudmouth verses make me want to turn it up and drive with my window down (but alas, weather.com says it feels like 12°F).

Update: Ummm some of the best stuff here is on the last half of the mix, especially:

X.O. - "Grind Baby" (prominently features Weezer's "Say It Ain't So")
Paper Route Gangstaz - "Soul Glo (The Knocks Remix)"
Jhi Ali feat. Cooley Da Dude & Big P.O.P.E. - "Alabama"

Just download the record and if you're real interested there's a higher quality version plus some bonus tracks if you choose to pay $5+. Hooray for options.

Brother Sport

Come one come all, a studio version of "Brother Sport" from Animal Collective's next record Merriweather Post Pavilion (due out on Domino January 20) has surfaced via some French radio. Sounds even better than the high-quality live versions I've heard, even better than it sounded in person at All Points West. What's strange is that it's an album closer, the end of a highly anticipated record at that, the summation of the entire record released before any of the tracks leading up, no clue as to whether it's indicative of the rest of the sound or not. Good choice. You can't find it on ye olde internet anymore cos the WEBSHERIFF is on the prowl and posting it here is a no-go so.. gotta wait til January 20.

Unrelated:



Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets (1973) has been bowling me over the past couple days. I've never gotten too into the whole "Glam" thing, but I do have an appreciation for the Davids Bowie and Byrne, and stuff like this keys you in not only to who those artists were successful, but why those artists made great, timeless music. My infatuation with Eno began towards the beginning of college listening to his ambient work, namely Ambient 1: Music For Airports. I continued on to Here Come the Warm Jets and Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) and will forever make an effort to further familiarize myself with his work.

Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets

Related:



David Byrne's still performing the Songs of Brian Eno and David Byrne at Northampton's Calvin Theatre December 2, so get on that.

Sondre Lerche

Sondre Lerche played the Iron Horse tonight, and was very entertaining indeed. He played "Airport Taxi Reception" and "Two Way Monologue" and something from Faces Down as well as "Hell No," the duet with Regina Spektor from the Dan In Real Life soundtrack which he performed with opener Sylvie Lewis. Lewis didn't sound all that impressive in her support set, but dueting with Lerche was pretty spectacular. He played a bunch of new material, including "Good Luck" and "Words and Music," another duet with Lewis apparently appearing on Lerche's new record out next year. Peep the whole review here.




Unrelated:



Ride is becoming one of my favorite bands of the moment. I recently acquired their album Smile (1990, Sire), which is actually just their Ride and Play EPs back-to-back. Groans and walls of guitar sound dominate like contemporaries My Bloody Valentine. Basically these guys shred (see above press photo) and Ride's Andy Bell is in Oasis I guess, which I just learned. Until now I only knew Nowhere by them, also on Sire from 1990, and only really appreciated this song, "Seagull."



So 90s. Dude's gonna hurt himself tryin to sing, I believe. Take a peek at Smile and give em a chance.

Ride - Smile

Last Night and Tonight

So Last Night M83 killed Pearl Street, one of the best live acts I've seen this year by far. Drums sounded so tight. School of Seven Bells kinda sucked, but you can read up bout all that tomorrow when the review's published.











Also:



And tonight Norway's finest Sondre Lerche will be gracing the Iron Horse with Sylvie Lewis and Mr. Boomerang and I will be in attendance. Peep the preview here.

Lastly:



Before trekz occur, new collection of Kanye remixes and such, some heard before some new and fresh. Especially diggin the Nick Catchdubs "Champion" mix with "Mama Said Knock You Out." Peep that where you can find it, imeem took it down.

Felice Brothers

A gentleman who goes by the name 'The Dread Dormammu' just emailed me about an article I wrote a couple months ago covering the Felice Brothers show at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington, MA. Apparently he took some swell videos of the Bros. recently in Kent, OH and shares the same appreciation for their Americana haze as I do. Hopefully we'll get some of those clips up sometime soon for everyone to enjoy.

For now, check out the first Felice Brothers offering I ever heard, 2006's Tonight at the Arizona, which sounds like the name of a live record, though its actually their first studio album. It's some gritty, honest, soulful stuff from a few dudes over the border in the Catskills.


The Felice Brothers - Tonight at the Arizona

Jazz?

Just came across a couple of my favorite jazz records which I haven't heard in ages due to my hard drive's most recent implosion.



1. Miles Davis - On The Corner (1972)

This record just sounds like you're boppin' around in 1970s Harlem (or somewhere equally as slick) running into clubs, tasting a minute of their offerings, and bouncing back out to the next venue. All about John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock groovin' to their hearts' content. Great messy contemplation music.



2. Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)

First jazz album I ever gained an enormous appreciation for. This is a studying record, one to lay in the background and hit you more often than you'd expect. Often referred to as the first avant-garde jazz record. The difference between 1959 and 1972? The Ornette Coleman record features four musicians. FOUR. The Miles record? Twenty musicians. Ayo Technology.

"McDonalds cashiers in a country where cows are sacred"

I sure dig that line from "Afoot" off the new Gang Gang Dance record Saint Dymphna (Social Registry). It bleeds frustration, ignorance, and inevitability, but more so is just one piece of a quite brilliant sounding record by a band I had (unfortunately) forgotten about until buzz surrounding this record surfaced. GGD keep the tribal quota filled on the album, while entirely embracing any dance aspects they had explored before and beyond. "Desert Storm" kicks ass, "Bebey," the opener, is also great, swirling around until the beat drops to kickstart the album, just as the last track "Dust" trails off into oblivion. I'm disappointed I don't think I get to see GGD this time around. They played with Of Montreal in Boston 10/30 but I had checked Of Montreal in NYC 10/9 so I didn't make the trek, and GGD's playing with Marnie Stern (whose record is nuts) but nothing closer that NYC I believe.


P.S. One of my favorite cover arts of the year.

Check it out and if you like it, BUY it:

Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna

Also just stumbled upon this, a remix of "House Jam" off Saint Dymphna by XXXchange from Spank Rock. Peep that here.

That video's pretty great. It's called "Oh!" and it's by We Have Band from London. I'm iffy about the music, though there's parts I dig like the almost Liquid Liquid "Cavern" baseline. The "Oh!" Single comes out 11/24 so watch for that if you're enamored.

Also:




A Sunny Day In Glasgow are working on a new record, due out early next year. Last year's Scribble Mural Comic Journal really got me, with its thickness, chiming, and grooves in the vein of Slowdive or (recently mentioned) former tour buddies M83 or Asobi Seksu.


"A Mundane Phonecall to Jack Parsons"





Cloudland Canyon

Dedication 3

Paul Taylor Dance Company performed at the UMass Fine Arts Center last night and it was absolutely packed. First piece was called Arden Court (1981) and was very ballet-oriented. The music was jittery, and the dancers moved like nymphs, the incredible build of the male dancers highlighted in lifts and leaps. A single large rose was the backdrop as the dancers fought gravity nimbly. The second piece was Eventide (1997), an even more ballet-oriented piece, seemingly set in the Civil War South a.k.a. precisely reminded me of Gone With the Wind. This was a fairly boring affair, full of specificity and technique which went way over my head. The third piece was the clear favorite, Le Sacre Du Printemps (1980), a black, white, and grey exercise in brief, 2-D movement, with steps resembling the "Walk Like an Egyptian" video, Charlie Chaplin, or any early, early video game side-scrolling movement. The piece told some story of romance, the police, and a baby in red, with everyone eventually killing each other in the end until the mother goes nuts after her offspring is slain. Use of mirrors and illusions of mirrors were prominent, with much mimicking and symmetry. Totally reminded me of Spy Vs. Spy.

(Speaking of which, these are fly.)



So Lil' Wayne's Dedication 3 mixtape with DJ Drama just dropped so I'm giving it a listen. First track's a silly intro, second's a nearly seven minute track with endless DJ watermarks. Next track's ragging on Sarah Palin as well as yelling and laughing in general, followed by "Dick Pleaser," which is about, well, you guessed it (it's very filthy). Some dudes I'm not familiar with are all over song credits, Gudda Gudda, Willie the Kid, and Jae Millz. Up and up is Weezy's trajectory, with no sign of him ever slowing down. Great.

Lil' Wayne & DJ Drama - Dedication 3 Mixtape



Sesame Street Bandaids tonite - gentleman Max is sitting in and spinning some tunes so tune in, 91.1FM in the Valley or stream from wmua.org elsewhere. Giving away tickets for M83 + School of Seven Bells at the Pearl Street nightclub in Northampton Sunday so call in and claim em, first caller. Peep the preview here and listen for the M83 jam(s) on the show.


"Kim & Jessie"


"Graveyard Girl"


"Don't Save Us From The Flames"



Unrelated: Norwegian cutie pie Sondre Lerche will perform at the Iron Horse in Northampton Monday night with Sylvia Lewis.

Deerhunter/Times New Viking/Vivian Girls

Last night the Paradise ROCK Club was pretty full for Deerhunter et al, and I'm sure no one left disappointed. I'd never seen them before and it was a solid, solid performance. Honestly I'm still in shock at Bradford Cox in person. He didn't seem real. His bones were too visible, his skin stretched tightly over his sparsely-muscled body. After some applause to greet Cox, he joked "I'd blush, but I don't have any blood." Also, he claimed he almost didn't play the show due to nausea, but since Boston's a bunch of good sports he persevered. All the band started off looking bored and aloof, Cox whispering into the microphone. All the songs were hypnotic, trance-like, as the lights rainbow-flashed and strobed. They played nothing but great songs, inclding "Octet" from Cryptograms and more recent jams like "Microcastle," "Little Kids," and "Nothing Ever Happens." Before the encore, when the band initially left the stage, Cox left some feedback looping extremely loud from some sort of sound-making equipment. They came back and played "Hazel St." and "Cavalry Scars."








Before Deerhunter was Times New Viking, who really weren't that fun. The only thing I took away was the humor in that the guitarist consistently created blaring feedback noise every time the drummer tried to make banter. I heard about three words he said all set (which was only, like, 25 minutes), whether he was babbling or 'singing.' Most every song was prefaced with the fact that the song was either about or not about drugs, a sentiment which I'm sure provoked some laughs but as otherwise useless and self-satisfying. Each song sounded relatively the same, as they did when they played with Titus Andronicus over the summer at Great Scott. I'll see them again once they promise to include variation in their repertoire. Until then, they're not worth paying to see.



However, Vivian Girls rocked. I have such a soft spot for them, I can't help it. Maybe it's the extra-cute bassist (I don't have stage-crushes often). Maybe it's the immense pop hooks. Maybe it's the bored, wilting harmonies. Maybe it's the vast washes of guitar noise, who knows, but I really can't get enough of em. After waiting for the guitarist to come back from smoking a cigarette they played "All the Time," "I Can't Say," "Such A Joke," a new song I didn't catch the name of, "Wild Eyes," and "Tell the World," among others. It's silly to see audience member guys swoon over Vivian Girls, smiling broadly, glistening eyes, dreaming of what a romantic encounter with them would be like. I noticed at least 5 males doing this.





Unrelated: I'm diggin this video/single from Apache Beat. Only thing I've ever heard from them, but it's got my attention.









Alice in Chains
Vivian Girls
No Age
Black Dice