Archive
Puscifer “The Mission” video
“The Mission,” from the forthcoming Puscifer digital EP…
I like Meats Meier, but I think this “little CGI Maynard” theme in his videos are getting a bit tiring to me. Oh well… good song. The C is For… -EP- comes out Nov 10th. Check out tour dates below…
- 10/29/09, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl, Palms Casino)
- 10/31, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/1, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/4, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/5, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/7, Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theatre)
- 11/10, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/11, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/13, Vancouver, BC (Centre For the Performing Arts)
- 11/14, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom) *I’ll be at this one*
- 11/16, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom) *and this one*
check back in mid-November for my reviews with photos
- 11/17, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/18, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/20, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/21, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/24, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/25, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/27, Houston, TX (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
- 11/28, San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre)
- 12/1, El Paso, TX (Abraham Chavez Theatre)
- 12/3, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
- 12/4, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
Yay, I get to see Maynard up close at Roseland (for $20+ extra, I opted for the Caduceus wine meet & greet, too). I’ve only seen him in a big arena for Tool or a big theater for A Perfect Circle. Should be fun…
~Dan – np: Regina Spektor – Far
PS- I’m gonna pass 100,000 hits on the blog either today or tomorrow. Yippie… thanks for all of you who visit and read frequently via the RSS feed.
Two from Jónsi of Sigur Ros
New video of Jónsi Birgisson & Alex Somers for their piece entitled “Sometimes I Get Scared“…
(warning, it’s not like Sigur Rós or Riceboy Sleeps… at all…)
“We started the video sometime in 2004 and forgot about it for a long time, then discovered it later and finished it. So don’t worry, we’re not going in a new direction of all crazy distortion songs or anything! We’ve always flirted with dirty sounds, but dirty sounds that are still very melodic. In this one we really let ourselves make something aggressive but still melody based… It was different and fun…”
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New song “Kaleidoscope (featuring Jónsi)” (available on iTunes and other eTailers) with DJ Tiësto… listen to it HERE for free (streaming).
~Dan – np: Eminem – Relapse
Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks (by Gabe Askew)
Someone should have a job at Pixar really soon… here is Gabe Askew‘s fan-made video for Grizzly Bear‘s “Two Weeks.” It’s very Michel Gondry-esque, but I think all done in the computer… it’s pretty damn amazing…
~Dan – np: Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant – Sister Phantom Owl Fish
two videos… Flaregun & Chali 2Na
Two cool videos, for different reasons… first up, from a friend in Cincinnati, Ryan Adcock. He’s got a new band with Craig Dockery called Flaregun. The debut album, Ten Sundays, has a couple of songs that are a bit Jebus-y for my tastes (especially compared to Ryan’s earlier work), but the album as a whole is really good. This debut video for the song “I Seek You” is pretty cool…
Flaregun’s Ten Sundays album can be had at CDBaby (or locally in Cincinnati).
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Next up, totally different style coming at you from Chali 2Na from Jurassic 5. It’s his lead-off single (“Lock S**t Down” with Talib Kweli) from his debut solo album, Fish Outta Water. I always loved Chali’s baritone, quick delivery. Some of the effects in this video are a little cheesy, but overall, it’s a pretty damn fun video…
Fish Outta Water is out now…
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy – On Stage: 6/19/09 (late set)
Attack Attack!’s Stick Stickly
This is the best worst thing I’ve seen in a while. I kinda love it…
(Note: if the Vimeo video above doesn’t work,
let me know and I’ll refresh the link)
So amazingly, A+ horrible that it’s A+ good… poop squat guitarist moves, jumping around flipping guitar over head, death metal vocals, dance breaks, auto-tune vocals (a la Akon, Justin Timberlake, etc)… I mean… what’s not to love/hate/love again? No matter how seemingly painful, you can’t turn away.
And if you just wanna watch the silly pieces forever, here are some animated gifs of the Attack Attack! “Stick Stickly” action (click for larger, or right click to save):
~Dan – np: The Weepies – Hideaway
Music Videos x 3
Tori Amos “Fire to Your Plain” from Abnormally Attracted to Sin
(click pic for video)
Dream Theater “A Rite of Passage” from Black Clouds & Silver Linings
(click pic for video)
Incubus “Black Heart Inertia” from Monuments and Melodies
So… yeah, the Tori Amos video is OK. Hard to distinguish anything great here, doesn’t seem unlike Tori, but doesn’t seem like great Tori either. I suppose we shall see when the full album arrives (May 19th).
The Dream Theater video is, well, good except when James LaBrie is singing John Petrucci’s inane lyrics. They’re so inane, I thought they were Mike Portnoy lyrics. ::rolleyes:: The only thing missing from the lyrics were mentions of dragons or doves (they’re interchangeable in the realm of prog rock lyrics). I love 3/5ths of this band (guitar: John Petrucci/bass: John Myung/drums: Mike Portnoy), but about only 1/5ths of its lyricists (John Myung). Ack… best part of this video is about 3/4ths in when Petrucci shreds it up… before LaBrie comes back in with more singing. No offense, but this video wreaks of prog metal gone… well… as planned, I suppose. It is comforting that the special edition of BC&SL (June 23rd) has a 3rd disc of the instrumental mixes of the entire album. Trust me… it’ll get the most spins from me.
The Incubus video is cheesy, too-O.C.-y. The song is actually pretty good, and I dig Brandon Boyd’s vocals. It’s part of a greatest hits release (June 16th) as the bonus song or what have you. IMO, it’s promising for the future album, assuming they’re working on one. At this point, I could go for guitarist Mike Einziger’s side project end>vacuum on album.
~Dan – np: Wussy – Wussy (2009)
Medeski Martin & Wood’s “Amber Gris”
click for Vimeo video linkThis is the music video for “Amber Gris“, the first single off of Medeski Martin & Wood‘s newest release, Radiolarians II. Radiolarians II is available now.
Video Credits: Filmed, directed and edited by Billy Martin. Digital Effects Artist: David Gottlieb. Additional camera operators: Leigh-Ann Beverly, David Kent, Alan Martin, Dakota Martin, Matthew Mcclain, John Medeski, Kenny Raduazzo and Chris Wood. Special thanks to David Gottlieb, Aaron Bessel, Bill Gilman, James Marshello, Matthew Mcclain , Grey Gersten and Leigh-Ann Beverly
~Dan – np: Guy Klucevsek – Dancing on the Volcano
Her Morning Elegance
So, thanks to Barry for pointing this video my way…
I’d never heard of musician/director Oren Lavie or directors Yuval & Merav Nathan before. This video for Oren’s song “Her Morning Elegance” reminds me of something Michel Gondry* would do (“in camera” special effects)…
Enjoy!
*– Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind, several Bjork / Radiohead / White Stripes videos, et cetera…
~Dan – np: The Bad Plus – These Are the Vistas
Holy F**k in-studio & Derek Webb news
It’s not that I intend to bring together two disparate artists for my music news post. I mean, I surely do love it… but it’s usually just a function of me liking way too much music, and news comes in to me in spurts that are as controllable as a trying to plug the holes in a colander. This post is brought to you by a foul-named (but primarily instrumental) Canadian electronic band that totally pwns (Holy Fuck) and a contemporary Christian artist for whom I still have a lot of respect despite philosophical differences (Derek Webb).
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Holy Fuck first… needless to say, Holy Fuck is in the list of artists that whenever I hear news about them… up it goes. They’ve been an obsession since late ‘05 / early ‘06, and they just keep gettin’ better. They make what’s best referred to as “live electronic” music. They’ve got a 23 minute in-studio performance on UK’s Channel M. Due to WordPress video posting capabilities, I am unable to do the streaming thing (it only seems to work for me for YouTube). So, click the picture to be taken to Channel M’s website:
>> Holy Fuck – In Session on Channel M <<
They play The Pulse, Royal Gregory, Frenchy’s, interview segment, Super Inuit, and Lovely Allen.
Holy Fuck’s albums are rad, instrumental grooves of deliciousness – – two self-titled LPs, along with a self-titled EP. The 2nd self-titled album is the best, IMO. You can pick it up from the Beggars Group (USA) or Young Turks (UK). They’ve also got some split 12″ vinyl. One last year with the band Celebration (no longer available), and one this year with Foals where they each cover the others track (it’s on vinyl – but you can DL the mp3s here). You can also check Holy Fuck out on the MySpaces.
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Derek Webb, formerly of the folky / hip-with-the-college crowd CCM septet Caedmon’s Call, has continued to make compelling music (which is the opposite that Caedmon’s Call has done without him, IMO). Anyway, per a recent emailing, he’s working on his follow-up to The Ringing Bell.
He’s collaborating with long time friend and former Caedmon’s Call bandmate Josh Moore on what is rumored to be a more experimental, electronic album. Teasing with programmed and decidedly more ‘inorganic’ elements, the album called Stockholm Syndrome is shaping up to be Derek’s “most ambitious album to date.”
We shall see. It’s expected out by May 2009. More info on Derek at derekwebb.com.
Dan – np: NIИ – The Slip
nine inch nails / NIN
Opeth “Burden” video
I’m not psychic… I just knew that a video was impending for Opeth… well, as correctly guessed yesterday, I’m following up two rap posts in a row with a Swedish death metal post. Well, sort of… the latest video by Swedish death metal band OPETH is here… it’s called “Burden,” and it’s barely even regular metal (sigh):
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/video/view.aspx?songID=2362
I guess making a video for a 10-minute long brutal onslaught isn’t all that “commercially viable.” Alas, we got “Burden” instead.
~Dan – np: Miles Davis – In a Silent Way
a new John Zorn book & more MBD
A biography John Zorn by John Brackett is available by Indiana University Press. John Brackett is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Utah. This is the full-length study of avant-garde American composer John Zorn.
http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=84773 (paperback)
http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=84699 (hardback)
“Brackett’s groundbreaking book . . . confronts Zorn’s contradictory modes of expression that couple the aesthetics of Stravinsky, Boulez, Duchamp and Godard with the transgressive sexuality and violence of Bataille, Genet and Maruo, brilliantly demonstrating how these powerful dualities of thought-real yet fantastic, pleasing yet horrifying-synergize to make Zorn’s compositional voice unique and seminal in the 21st century.” -Severine Neff, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Check out the Table of Contents
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And to be totally nonsequitur, here’s a cute new animated video for My Brightest Diamond‘s song “Inside a Boy“:
Oh, and by cute, obviously that is to mean killing aliens with marbles slung from a slingshot…
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Oh, and go vote. Tomorrow is D-Day…
~Dan – np: Piano Magic – Dark Horses -EP-
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.
Tagaq’s Official Page
Tagaq’s MySpace Page
~Dan – np: Radiohead – In Rainbows
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)
Radiohead “Nude” Video
Here’s a wicked cool, new fan-made video for Radiohead‘s song “Nude.” Don’t worry, just because it’s called “Nude,” it’s suitable for work (well, assuming you’re allowed to surf the InterTubes at work).
Vimeo (HD – higher quality, click picture below):
YouTube (“YouTube quality“):
The video is unofficial (but cool). It was made by Stefan Ringelschwandtner.
Extreme… and a Naked Video
Double-packed post… unrelated topics (Extreme & nakedness)… what else is new? For nakedness, skip to the bottom…
First off… yes, I like Extreme. The band from the early 90s. They were awesome. No regrets. They were so much artier than what aired on the radio. I saw them in 1995 (Bogart’s in Cincinnati), and it was one of my favorite shows… EVER. They broke up later that year (or in early 1996).
Anyway, they’re back together. New album, new tour. I’ll be flying to Cincinnati (on SkyMiles) to see them at the Union Center Blvd Bash on Sunday, August 10th… as my bro lives, like, 2 miles from there. They just put out a press release for their upcoming album…
(June 9, 2008 ) New York, NY – This summer, EXTREME will release Saudades de Rock (pronounced “sow-dodge“), their first studio album in thirteen years which will coincide with their first world tour in over twelve years. Saudades de Rock will be released on August 12th on Open E Records and distributed by Fontana.
The iconic rock foursome – vocalist Gary Cherone, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, bassist Pat Badger and new drummer Kevin Figueiredo – recorded their fifth studio offering at NRG Studios in Los Angeles with Bettencourt at the helm as producer and mixer. Saudades de Rock boasts 13 tracks, including the infectious roar of “Star,” the groove-laden, swagger of “King”, a raw funk rock anthem called “Learn To Love”, and the expressive ballad “Ghost.”
“‘Saudades’ was always a beautiful word to me,” Bettencourt explains about the Portuguese album moniker. “It expresses a longing; an underlying sadness for something or someone that’s been missing in your life, and never quite sure if it will ever return. In this case, for us, it’s Rock and Roll. Saudades de Rock.”
Gary Cherone adds, “I like how it expresses that longing we’ve been feeling to play for our fans and be together again.”
The multi-platinum, Boston-bred band’s 2008 ‘TAKE US ALIVE’ world tour gets underway on July 29th at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and will be anchored by a hometown gig two days later at the Bank of America Pavilion. In advance of the tour, Extreme will be a co-headliner on July 11th at the five day Rocklahoma Festival in Pryor, OK.
www.extreme-band.com
www.myspace.com/extremeSaudades de Rock track listing:
1. Star
2. Comfortably Dumb
3. Learn To Love
4. Take Us Alive
5. Run
6. Last Hour
7. Flower Man
8. King Of The Ladies
9. Ghost
10. Slide
11. Interface
12. Sunrise
13. Peace (Saudade)
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And now for the nakedness…
This video is brought to you by the Brighton Port Authority (a pseudonym for Fatboy Slim)… it is both clever, funny, and catchy… and nude… but cleverly so…
THE Brighton Port Authority (aka The BPA)
“TOE JAM” feat. DAVID BYRNE & DIZZEE RASCAL
(no actual nudity,
but still probably not suitable for work)
Delightful…
Opeth "Porcelain Heart" (video & my babble)
The first time I heard about Opeth was from a former roommate who had a mild lisp.
“Opus?”
“No… Opeth.”
“Opus?”
“No… Opeth.”
“OK, I hear you saying ‘Opus,’ but that’s obviously not what you’re saying… argh…”
Flash forward a few years, and I get into a prog band called Porcupine Tree. I had pretty much sworn off prog, as I was seriously getting sick of most of the prog bands with their singers who wear too tight of pants… anyway, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree turns out to be a fantastic singer, guitarist, writer, producer, et cetera. He does solo stuff, has side bands (Blackfield, No-Man), produces other bands, et cetera… I quickly gobbled up his stuff, and then I heard that he produced this Swedish metal band Opeth.
No, Opeth.
Anyway, Steven Wilson produced three of my favorite records of theirs: Blackwater Park, Deliverance, and Damnation:
Damnation was the oddity, though… it was primarily mellow. The other albums (even those not included above) always had mellow “interludes,” but the primary songs on the records were full-on Swedish progressive death metal, complete with “cookie monster” vocals and kick drum blasts that could knock the Pope right off his bejeweled seat. (I would have stated that the Pope was sitting on his bejeweled seat at a truck rally, but I know that that’s a given. So, I didn’t mention it. Obviously.)
Anyway, Damnation was a primarily non-metal, metal album. It was released simultaneously with Deliverance (which was the muy-metal, metal album to “relieve the haters,” perhaps).
Anyway, Opeth‘s next album, Watershed (not produced by Steven Wilson but likely still damn good), comes out on June 3rd. Here’s a video for the edit of the song “Porcelain Heart.” It dances on the cusp of what’s good about Damnation, but hints about what the non-edit sounds like:
Porcelain Heart
I’m looking forward to the album.
~Dan
Oh, for an example of the cookie monster Opeth, here’s “The Grand Conjuration” (1:06 for cookie monster):
I love it, too!
purty video
Holy Fuck’s “Lovely Allen” from Holy Fuck LP2
(it starts 20 seconds in… I don’t know why the gap…)
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck
http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/
Post-rock brilliance… with a groove your grandma can dance to, but a name she won’t. ;-)
~Dan
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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