Archive
Greydon Square, Ani DiFranco & Steven Wilson
Atheist rapper Greydon Square comes back strong on his latest album, The CPT Theorem. This is his third album, though his debut (Absolute from 2004) is long out-of-print… so it’s only the 2nd album of his that I am lucky to own. His album The Compton Effect was one of my favorite albums in 2007. This album branches out more beyond the primarily atheist lyrics, more about his life and other topics (to some extent). I’m on my 2nd time through, and I’m diggin’ it. Fav track thus far… “Cubed.” The album is on some internet stores, specifically iTunes. Give it a listen… as well as his last one (The Compton Effect), too…
In non-atheist rap news, Ani DiFranco‘s got a new song posted to her MyScpae page*. The song is called “Smiling Underneath.” I dig its more “band-oriented” sound. Her new (20th studio) album, Red Letter Year, comes out on 9/30/08.
Yep, 20 albums in, what, 18-19 years?! Crazy… but I dig just about all of ’em.
Regarding Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson, of whom I posted a news bit 2 weeks or so ago, there’s a YouTube trailer for his upcoming solo album, Insurgentes:
Coming up this weekend for me… King’s X and Extreme playing on the same stage. Woot! How’s that for diverse music in one post: atheist rap, hipster folk, progressive rock, the founders of grunge, and a hair band. :)
*– MyScpae is a new networking site for people who can’t tuckin’ fype.
Jude’s Cuba CD
It is now officially available from CD Baby…
http://cdbaby.com/cd/jude4

1 Cuba
2 Beautiful Bleached-Out Blonde
3 The Rider Comes
4 The Rider Comes 2
5 In The Country
6 Everybody Party On the Dance Floor
7 Helmut Dance
8 One of These Days
9 Outside My Window
10 Prima Ballerina
11 G-Blues
12 My Bonnie
Yes, honey*, I got the Gaiananda Band‘s Live CD, too…
~Dan
*- No, Steve K., I’m not referring to you as honey… this time…
more Nellie McKay
Here’s a video from TEDtalks with Nellie McKay singing “Mother of Pearl” and “If I Only Had You”…
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/nellie_mckay…

You can also download the video and audio. Check the links in that page (multiple file formats, plus podcast links). The audio version is over 19-minutes and includes more content…
- The In Crowd (a serious song in a cute voice)
- Dog Song
- Mother of Pearl
- If I Only Had You
- “Goodbye” (guessing on title)
- Clonie
Ani DiFranco – Red Letter Year (9/30/08)
This just in from Righteous Babe Records…

Ani’s last album was released in 2006, which kinda feels like a decade ago, given her tendency to spoil us with an album (or two) a year. But never fear, DiFrancolytes, for a brand new Ani record will be released on September 30, 2008.
It’s called Red Letter Year, and it’s more than worth the wait. These 12 songs have benefited from a couple years of tender loving care, under the watchful eye of Ani and her co-producer/partner Mike Napolitano. And if you’ve caught an Ani show recently, chances are you’ve been treated to a couple of ’em. This is focused, layered, joyful music, starring the Little Folksinger, her inventive three-piece band and a cavalcade of guest musicians.
“I feel like I’m back again,” Ani shares. “I’m out in the world and back in my happy self, ready to have a party.
“Come September, she’ll be passing out the ultimate party favor: Red Letter Year.
Be on the look out for updates concerning the new release, such as new tracks, photos, and videos, all to be posted right here and on the rest of the interweb over the next few weeks.
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Now she’s at 9.38 months between CD releases (and 6.62 months between releases if you count the “official bootlegs”). Yep… she’s prolific (and I’m an accountant). :)
Well, it’s off on “vacation” for me… have fun. I won’t be posting until probably Sunday the 27th, and that’s only if there’s some cool music news…
What’s The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?
Some say your nose
Some say your toes
But I think it’s YOUR MIND
A continuation from this post 4+ months ago… Lagunitas Brewery’s Frank Zappa beer #4… is in my hands (and mouf)…
Behold, the We’re Only In It For the Money Belgian-style Triple Ale… a tribute to the 40 year anniv of the album of the same name… WOIIFTM was actually FZ album #3 (and Lumpy Gravy was #4). Beer crafters got a date wrong? Too much beer on the job? I forgive ’em… :)

Yum. Triple yum, actually. And, yes, the cover of the album (and beer) is a spoof of Sgt. Pepper’s.
FZ beer 1 was Freak Out! Ale
FZ beer 2 was Kill Ugly Radio Ale (aka for the album Absolutely Free)
FZ beer 3 was Lumpy Gravy Ale
FZ beer #5 should be Cruisin’ with Ruben and the Jets, by my count… we shall see.
Glen Phillips & Jonatha Brooke
Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) and Jonatha Brooke (of The Story) are going out on the road together this fall.
I’ve seen Glen a multitudinous amount of times, and it’s ALWAYS a treat. My latest outing of his was reviewed here (2/21/08 WOW Hall, Eugene-OR). I saw Jonatha Brooke back in April 2001 (I love Plumb and 10 Cent Wings). It was with a girl who I eventually married, and while Jonatha didn’t start anything with our relationship – – her show was a good excuse for a date with this cute girl I had recently met.


Anyway, as luck would have it, they’re playing the fabulous Aladdin Theater in SE Portland on Thursday, November 6th. I saw Jude there last month. I’m up in PDX for work that week (tentatively); so it’s shaping up to be a good concert week (Ozomatli & Chali 2Na are at Crystal Ballroom the next day, Friday the 7th).
Glen Phillips & Jonatha Brooke Tour Dates (so far per Pollstar)
10/16/08 Boston, MA – Wilbur Theatre
10/17/08 Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
10/18/08 NYC – The Concert Hall
10/19/08 Fairfield, CT – FTC Stage One
11/02/08 Alexandria, VA – Birchmere
11/06/08 Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
11/09/08 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
11/12/08 Los Angeles, CA – Largo
11/13/08 Agoura Hills, CA – Canyon Club
11/14/08 San Diego, CA – Anthology
12/02/08 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom
12/03/08 Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
Steven Wilson’s Rad Self
Steven Wilson is a musical hero of mine. He’s the guitarist/singer/songwriter for Porcupine Tree, Blackfield (with Aviv Geffen), and No-Man (with Tim Bowness). He’s produced several other artists, most notably Swedish metal band Opeth. He’s got several other solo or collaboration side-projects like Bass Communion, I.E.M., and a song on the debut Office of Strategic Influence record (with another hero of mine — Kevin Moore & Jim Matheos). He’s a veritable berry farm harvest of prolificity… er… um… or something.
Per his web’s splash page, now he’s got a “proper solo album” in the works:

Niiiiice…
While “TBD” at this time, knowing SW’s prior output level, Insurgentes will likely be out by year’s end.
http://www.swhq.co.uk/ (Steven’s webpage)
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In unrelated news, Ozomatli (SoCal Latino rock/hip-hop outfit) & Chali 2Na (baritone rapper from Jurassic 5) are teaming up for a tour. Chali 2Na and Cut Chemist (also from J5) were the “hip-hop angle” on Ozo’s 1st album (in 1998). Cut is not on this tour (he’s been busy with DJ Shadow). Ozomatli & Chali 2Na will be in Portland (Crystal Ballroom) on Friday, Nov 7th – – and I’m currently scheduled to be up at a client that week… hmmm… here’s the rest of their tour plans (as of now):
10/26: Voodoo Music Experience – New Orleans, LA
10/27: Warehouse/Numbers – Houston, TX
10/29: Stubb’s – Austin, TX
10/30: House of Blues – Dallas, TX
10/31: Liberty Hall – Lawrence, KS
11/1-11/2: Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO
11/5: Wilma Theatre – Missoula, MT
11/6: Big Easy – Boise, ID
11/7: Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
11/8-/11/9: Showbox – Seattle, WA
11/12: Senator Theatre – Chico, CA
11/13: Crystal Bay Casino – Crystal Bay, NV
I really dig Chali 2Na… he’s my fave rapper from J5 (though Marc7, Akil & Soup are great as well). He’s done a lot of stuff recently with jamband Galactic that’s worth checkin’ out, too.
http://myspace.com/ozomatli
http://www.myspace.com/chali2na
~Dan – np: Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins – Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins

Radiohead, Italian Mountain Jazz & Tagaq-Patton
Three unrelated music things that turned my crank (the good way) this week…
Radiohead‘s new, technologically-bitchin’* video for “House of Cards“:
*– that’s the technical term. The video was created without the use of a camera.. at all.
Update 7/19/08: The Radiohead video (above) is now downloadable for free from Radiohead’s Dead Air Space blog HERE.
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Check out where jazz trio Dave Douglas, Donny McCaslin, and Luis Bonilla got to play (Rifugio Antermoia, Trentino, Italy – July 10, 2008 – photo by Max Bacchin):
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And now for a fun, experimental collaboration between art-noise rocker Mike Patton and Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq.

The song is called “Fire-Ikuma,” and it’s from Tagaq’s upcoming album, Auk~Blood. There was an external link to an mp3 sample of the songs… alas, it’s been removed. :( Anyway, it’s a good song… especially if you like experimental, world music with a throat music (or Mike Patton) slant.
Katie Reider (1978-2008)
Katie Reider was a great lyrical and vocal talent in Cincinnati. I got into her back in 1998 or so… shortly after Wonder came out. While living in Cincinnati, I got a chance to see Katie many, many times… opening for other bands, playing her own shows at York Street Cafe, JoBeth bookstore, et cetera. I felt as if I knew her as a person (though I really didn’t). I guess that stems from the fact that she was a very open person, on stage and talking with her audience before or after a show. Her band was also great – the playing from Dave Eberhardt, Josh Seurkamp, and her brother Robbie (who played with her earlier on) melded her singer-songwriter songs into a very cohesive group effort.

In 2006, Katie Reider developed a tumor in her upper left jaw that progressed into her sinus, skull base and left eye orbit. Over the course of one year, the rare facial tumor took away her sight in one eye, her voice and most importantly, her ability to perform. We last saw her last summer at the Taste of Cincinnati festival. She appeared in good spirits, normal looking, but was much skinnier from some of the tests early on in her treatment.
She had moved to New York to be closer to specialist who could treat her. I didn’t know the severity of her condition until earlier this year, they posted pictures of her deterioration to the 500Kin365 MySpace page. It saddened me greatly then, but it seemed as if progress was being made (specifically this post on July 1st, 2008). As of a post Monday morning on her family’s health blog, Katie Reider’s fight with the tumor came to an end at 7am on Monday, July 14th.
This is something that saddens me deeply (I’ve had to pause and cry several times while typing this). Some artists I have seen or followed musically who have passed on impacted me deeply (Elliott Smith’s passing hit me like a ton of bricks). Katie Reider is not an exception to this deep impact on me. She was a jewel in the rough in the onslaught of many mediocre singer-songwriters. She was a genuine person trying to bring her joy to others around her. She was a wounded body, stricken by something that medicine doesn’t know how to take care of yet.
I don’t know if there’s an afterlife. I don’t think words do any justice along those lines. If anything, I’m just glad that she’s finally at rest. I just hope that she knew that she was and is a joy in many peoples’ lives. I thank her for her impact on my life. She made good music that made me happy to have open ears and a youthful vigor to see live music in my hometown. I wish for her family and friends the peace that she’s finally done with the pain.

If you feel moved, you can help support her young family with a donation here:
http://www.500kin365.org/
I have nothing else to add but my gratitude.
~Dan
Mogwai & Music Fest NW

The only band I really care to see at Music Fest NW 2008 (in Portland) is Scottish post-rock band MOGWAI. Hence, I had written it off as, “nah, ain’t gonna bother.” I mean, Mogwai is great – – I’ve seen them before (at my 1,000th live music performance seen), but driving up to Portland on a Wednesday (Sept 3rd) isn’t high on my list. I had written it off…
…until now.
Plans changed at work, and some interim fieldwork for a client of mine that was going to happen in mid-July is now happening in early September… right during Music Fest NW. Alas, I’ll get to see Mogwai, and will likely only have to drive across a river to the Roseland Theater. Yay!

~Dan – np: Miles Davis – The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions

pulling hrabbits out of hrats
No, this isn’t about magicians pulling rabbits out of hats… or scientists (pulling habits out of rats?). This post is all about Mr. George Hrab (aka “Geo”).

I found Geo’s podcast last October. It quickly shot up to being one of my favorite podcasts, then I got his CDs from CDBaby (I♥CDBaby), and I loved his music even more. He’s got a love for Frank Zappa and the Talking Heads, interesting fauna, science, skepticism (of woo-woo and other things), big band arrangements, great drumming, humor in music, seriousness in music, constant learning / teaching (reading through his liners, that’s apparent), and maintaining all around professionalism as a musician. He has his own music plus he drums (& conducts the bidness end of things) for the Philadelphia Funk Authority.
Anyway, via his podcasts, he puts out about an album’s worth of comedy & rockin’ gold every week… for free. Every Thursday morning, it’s on my “must listen now” rotation, no matter how big my backlog of other podcasts may be.
Geo’s Podcast RSS:

Geo’s Podcast on iTunes (FYI… podcasts are free):

Geo’s also a big dork. I say that in the good way. He recently wrapped up his “Occasional Songs for the Periodic Table” songs… 118 elements… 75 minutes (or so). Some great stuff… the songs / the lyrics
His CDs are great… and his packaging on them is superb. He puts a lot of thought into the unique way that he packages each one. From the sprawling art of Minutæ, the tin case and prescription look and feel of Vitriol, the textbook / field study guide arrangement of Coelacanth, and the sleek dualism of Interrobang?!.
A clever, Brady Bunch-ish video for “The Assumption” from Interrobang?! “The Assumption” is sort of indicative of his pop music side, but he also gets funky, rocky, proggy, instrumental and vocal songs, et cetera on his records.
Sample some of his other songs on iTunes or CDBaby (samples in both venues). Some of my favs from each album…
[sic] (1996) “[sic]” (#10)
Minutiæ (1999) “Minutiæ (Sheer Brick AM)” (#12)
Vitriol (2001) “Monkey Hip Dysplasia” (#1)
Coelacanth (2003) “The Coelacanth Sighs” (#8 )
Interrobang?! (2006) “Who Dogs the Outlet” (#12)
His book, called Non-Coloring Book, is compiled from blog posts, podcast bits, and additional new material is also quite funny. I got it on Lulu.com via the PDF version for only $3.95. It’s also available as a physical book (for slightly more).
Anyway, this is my “I love George Hrab” post. Soon, you’ll write your own “I love George Hrab” post, I’m sure.
http://www.geologicrecords.net/ (his record company)
http://www.geologicpodcast.com/ (his podcast)
http://www.georgehrab.com/ (his blog)
http://www.phillyfunk.com/ (his funk band)
Nellie McKay in PDX
Friday, August 15th… Nellie McKay at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge. Tickets procured… woot!

We saw her last fall at The Shedd in Eugene… fantastic show (here’s the review). We’re totally looking forward to this show… she’s a veritable fireball of energy and wit – – equal parts virtuoso and silly.
http://nelliemckay.com/
http://www.myspace.com/prettylittlehead (official)
http://www.myspace.com/nelliemckay (fan)
ryan seacrest & buttmachine
Ryan Seacrest says “buttmachine” and “that 1 guy”… yes, you read that correctly… Ryan… Seacrest.
Crazy, butt good exposure for a longtime personal favorite artist… http://www.that1guy.com/
The two Butt Machine videos:
I hear “Butt Machine” is the “new RickRoll” (blog link)… it’s also featured on the new The Weeds soundtrack (Showtime show).
Michael Einziger = end.>vacuum
In 2003, a side-project release of Michael Einziger‘s totally caught me off guard and shot past many familiar names in my musical interests to become my favorite CD of 2003. That CD was Time-Lapse Consortium‘s Live at the Roxy Theatre 1/24/2003:

FYI, Michael Einziger is the guitarist for rock band Incubus (the fuzzy guy below).

That Time-Lapse Consortium CD still feels fresh and exciting to me. It totally caught me by surprise.
Anyway, just today, a bulletin was posted on the Incubus MySpace page, which led me to this endvacuum.com note from Mike:
simply stated, end.>vacuum is a jagged collection of orchestral music i have been writing for the past year. a horrendously turbulent, and at times serene, aural interpretation of complex patterns and geometric shapes that assemble themselves firmly into my consciousness. a 40 minute-long insomnia-induced orchestral anxiety- attack. (sounds like heaven, right?)
under normal circumstances, i play guitar in a band called incubus. but last year i was forced to stop playing for several months due to a wrist injury that required surgery, as well as a time-intensive recovery. without the option of picking up a guitar, it was during that idle time that i began to write music for the orchestra, which became like a musical game of ‘tetris’ for me. a huge challenge on both cerebral and intellectual levels. I don’t know if it’s any good, either.
rather than record this music and release it as an album, i thought it would be much more risky and fun to for the maiden voyage of ‘end.>vacuum’ to happen as a live, unedited performance in front of my family, friends, and fans. with all mishaps intact.
the music will be performed in nine movements, by a group of musicians i am calling ‘the graviton modern ensemble‘. it will be a mixture of professional philharmonic players and friends. throughout the piece, i will play a variety of different instruments (sans guitar) alongside my brother, benjamin einziger, and my good friend blake mills. suzie katayama will be conducting.
to make this event even more heavenly, the first part of the program will consist of a lecture by my friend and esteemed british physicist, dr. brian cox. he is a world-renowned scientist who acts as a science correspondent for the BBC, and is currently conducting monumental research at the large hadron collider at CERN. the large hadron collider is a particle accelerator, and is the most powerful/ complex/expensive machine ever built by humans (google it). his talk will be a discussion on particle-physics and the mind-bending potential for major discoveries at CERN in the near future.
all this could make for an amazing evening at UCLA, or it could be a train-wreck. we’ll all decide that together.
So, yeah… a new non-rock, compositional piece from Michael Einziger. I’m stoked. I don’t know if it’ll be in the same vein as Time-Lapse. I doubt it, but I don’t really care. I’m sure it’ll be some interesting music.
The skinny:
Michael Einziger’s END.>VACUUM
A Realization in Nine Movements
August 23, 2008 at UCLA’s Royce Hall
endvacuum.com

Mike Patton & the Metropole Orchestra 2008
Mike Patton has been known for off-the-wall stuff… Faith No More did crazy stuff, Mr. Bungle even more so… Fantômas is for some entirely crazy stuff. Hemophiliac, PainKiller, Naked City guest vocals, Moonchild, and many other collaborations with John Zorn are also in the crazy, avant-garde camp for Mike Patton.
However, Mike Patton also has a fondness for the more accessible. FNM cover Lionel Richie‘s “Easy,” Mr. Bungle had “Retrovertigo,” Patton’s Ipecac Recordings put out records by classically or instrumentally adventurous but still accessible Ennio Morricone (exotica / spaghetti western / classical / movie scores), The Tango Saloon (jazz / spag. western / tango), Flat Earth Society (big band), Kaada (multi-instrumentalist / movie scores), and Eyvind Kang (some of his classical compositions).
Mondo Cane is a 1962 Italian shock-documentary film (read more here). It’s also the name of Mike Patton’s “60s/70s Italian pop” project. And “60s/70s Italian pop” involves orchestration and some good ol’ crooning…

(photo: Monique Hofland)
A recent concert with Mike Patton and the Metropole Orchestra ( Paradiso Hall, Holland Festival June 2008 ) was filmed and is available in its entirety here:
http://www.fabchannel.com/mike_patton_concert/2008-12-06/
I’m only through the first 5 songs, but it sounds great. If tentative or skeptical, check out “Ore D’More” (#3) for a sample of the crooning.
I love this guy’s music. It’s true.
Jude’s Cuba
Jude Christodal just updated his blog with this entry:
(snippet from his blog)
The Cuba cd is being pressed.
Somehow I thought it had reached this phase when he mentioned it at his recent show in Portland – – alas, at least it’s now off to “the pressers.”
~Dan – np: John Coltrane – Live at the Village Vanguard (1961)

((O)) planets have aligned ((O))
I’ll be in Portland* on Monday, October 6th for work.
*-Portland, Oregon. Maine, quit asking!! It’s not gonna happen.
Icelandic ambient/post-rock/rock band (pick one) Sigur Rós will also be in Portland on Monday, October 6th… for work at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (downtown).

I just got a ticket to their workplace to see what their daily grind is like. This’ll be my 5th time seeing them… and I’m stoked. Each time is surreal / magnanimous / phosphorescent / pah-nah-men-ah.
Sigur Rós can come see me at my work for free that day, because that’s how *I* roll. Jonsi, call me. ::gestures::





















