Archive
Talkdemonic on LOOK Sessions
Post-rock duo Talkdemonic is wrapping up their tour. They stop by Eugene’s Sam Bond’s Garage on Friday night (2/24). The first of two LOOK Sessions was posted the other day… “Summer Glass.” Check it!
3/1 update: “Revival” from the same Look Sessions…
* Favorite Instrumental Albums of 2011 *
As I start this post, I will say that this is all very subjective and really put together for my own purposes. I’ll also state that, yes, some of the music below does have some vocals (i.e.- the Goddamn Electric Bill & Mike Patton CDs). For the most part, it’s sequestered to a track or two on a long CD of mostly instrumental goodness. My list, my rules, and/or my breaking of the rules. With that being said, all of the artists below tend to be in the jazz and instrumental frame of reference anyway.
As said before… I’ve been buying less music… or, at least a lot less mainstream (major label) music. This is also my fourth year now that I bought more instrumental CDs than vocal CDs. I think as I get older, I am drawn more towards jazz and other instrumental forms of expression. Hopefully my spilling out of music that I like finds interest with someone else. But if not, thanks for stopping by… check out the artists’ webpages, Facebox pages, yadda yadda yadda. Some of these also made it on to my 2011 Mix CD (free streaming/download).
OK, now on to the best of what’s hit my ears this year…
Note: Ric Hordinski’s Arthur’s Garden (which made it on my 2011 Mix) is technically a 2012 release, hence its absence above.
Where do I get most of these jazz and other instrumental releases? My #1 favorite source for jazz is Downtown Music Gallery in New York. Manny and Bruce and their great staff are superb… and being the official distributor for John Zorn’s Tzadik doesn’t hurt my affection for them. I usually do a monthly Tzadik order (if the releases strike my fancy), and they have a ton of other non-Tzadik jazz and avant-garde releases as well.
And, no, I’m not affiliated, I don’t get a commission, and beyond my initial “big tax refund / gotta get caught up on Zorn order of 2005,” I haven’t gotten a discount with DMG. I just love and support what they do.
Enjoy the New Years’ weekend!! Be safe! See you in 2012.
My Other Favorites of 2011 Recaps:
- Fave Concerts & Photos of ‘11 are recapped *HERE*
- Fave EPs/Vinyl/Live/DVDs/more of ‘11 are *HERE*
- Fave Vocal Albums ‘11 are *HERE*
- Old Years:
- 2010: Instrumental, Vocal, EPs/etc, Concerts,
- Best of the 2000s Decade (1-10, 11-20, 21-25)
- 2009: Instrumental, Vocal, EPs/etc, Concerts
- 2008: Instrumental, Vocal, EPS/etc, Concerts
- 2007: Vocal, Instrumental, Concerts
- 2006 & 2005
~Dan – np: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Talkdemonic “City Sleep” & Radiohead ‘TKOL Live from the Basement’ DVD
If you came here for the My Brightest Diamond (Portland 11/6) show review, photos will be posted HERE soon.
If you came here for the Puscifer (Seattle 11/7) show review & photos, go HERE.
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Portland post-rock duo Talkdemonic just premiered their video for “City Sleep” (from their newest album Ruins) on MTV Hive. The video was directed by Alicia J Rose. And don’t worry, the high-pitch buzz goes away about 2:30 minutes in as the video gets really interesting…
Talkdemonic is Kevin O’Connor & Lisa Molinaro
talkdemonic.com
Radiohead also just announced that their The King of Limbs – Live from the Basement performance will be released on 32-page booklet DVD, Bluray and digital download on December 19th. There are also performances of “The Daily Mail” and “Staircase,” which haven’t been released yet. “Supercollider” has been added as a bonus track. It’s available on TKOL.com and in other shops (and Amazon) near the end of January.
Tracklisting:
1. Bloom
2. The Daily Mail
3. Feral
4. Little By Little
5. Codex
6. Separator
7. Lotus Flower
8. Staircase
9. Morning Mr. Magpie
10. Give Up The Ghost
11. Supercollider
~Dan – np: Jeffrey Foucault – Shoot the Moon Right Between the Eyes (The music of John Prine)
Talkdemonic – Daytrotter Session
Portland, OR-based post-rock / electro-acoustic group Talkdemonic has a Daytrotter Session up now… four songs, in-studio for FREE…
http://daytrotter.com/article/1494/talkdemonic
1) CSJ9 2) Shallow Doldrums 3) Bering 4) March Movement
Past Daytrotter Sessions I’ve blogged about (and dug):
new post-rock gems
AristeiA – How to Kill a King -EP- :: This band from Portland caught me by storm like the warrior’s prowess that their Iliadic name suggests*. This debut CD is truly great post-rock for fans of Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and others in that vein. My favorite track is “Feedback King,” and it’s all-in-all a solid outing. Their packaging of the CD is also quite unique… it’s a hand sewn golden pouch** with oversized liner cards and a paper sleeved CD. It doesn’t fit nicely in my standard rack (between Argyle Park & Arrested Development); but it definitely stands out and shows that they put effort into their record as a whole, not just the music. I’m excited about seeing them live in October when I’m up in Portland for work. Check them out at:
….http://www.myspace.com/aristeiaband
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Talkdemonic – Eyes at Half Mast :: Yet another band from Portland, but I got into them back when I lived in SW Ohio. I finally got a chance to see them live (review link) in February. They are a great two piece that is more on the subtler, gentler side of post-rock. Perhaps “electro-acoustic chamber rock” is their subgenre. :) Anyway, Eyes at Half Mast picks up where their past two records left off… nary a disappointment. I’ve been waiting for this record since they mentioned it as “upcoming” at their show in Feb…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mogwai – The Hawk is Howling :: Much more enjoyable to me than their recent tour (review link). I can control the volume… yay! I dig this record A LOT. This Scottish band, or band from Scotland (so all three bands are from places that end in “land”), has put out some consistently great records. This one bounces back from their mellower Zidane with more gusto, more power, yet still retaining the melody. You know… the melody that gets drowned out in their live show (::rolleyes::). Anyway, I think this record will stand up as one of the better releases in 2008.
2008 is a banner year for great instrumental music. Every year I get more and more instrumental music, but this year is shaping up to be the first year ever where instrumental music beats out vocal music on CDs making their way on my shelves (and it’s by a landslide at this point). These three records above are a good indication why I’m leaning towards the vocal-less preference lately.
~Dan – np: Ani Difranco – Red Letter Year
*– gotta love Wikipedia
**– though it is fraying a bit, they could have used some pinking shears***
***– gotta love Wikipedia
REVIEW: Talkdemonic @ Sam Bond’s Garage (Eugene, OR – – 2/9/08)
Sam Bond’s Garage is a small venue with good pizza and beer on tap. Small venue meant having to show up early (ugh). I showed up at around 8:30 for the 9:30 show. Alas, the band, Talkdemonic, was all set-up and ready to go. Score!
Then… around 9pm three guys walk in, talk to the guy up front, and then go tell Talkdemonic that they are the opener and need to set up. So, Talkdemonic need to move their stuff from the stage so this other band (Heavenly Oceans) can set-up. Unscore?
By 9:50 or so the Heavenly Oceans were playing. They are a three-piece instrumental band from Eugene… guitar, drummer, and percussion/ blowy-toy-piano guy. Kind of a surf-rock-meets-exotica band. To explain (as my wife didn’t know what I was talking about, I figure others won’t either), “exotica” can be easily called “spy movie music” (Ennio Morricone, et al).
Anyway, I dug (the) Heavenly Oceans a-plenty. They sell these their vinyl albums with these things called “compact discs” in them… which is a nice treat for an audiophile who also wants to be able to rip the music to an iPod. :) Alas, I didn’t pick up their record on Saturday (I was short on cash), but I shall hunt it down sometime in the near future… so, not unscore… Score!
Talkdemonic, went on next… I got into them while browsing the racks at Gem City Music in Dayton, Ohio, a few years ago. Talkdemonic is a two-person band from Portland, Oregon. It’s Lisa Molinaro on viola and Kevin O’Connor on drums. They also have a laptop with pre-recorded beats, banjo, whatnot. They also busted out a blowy-toy-piano (what the hell’s it called?). Antithetical to their naming, they are instrumental (not talky) and quite delightful (not demonic*). They play what might be called electroacoustic chamber rock, or post-rock.
They were much rockier than expected… I even had to bust out the earplugs due to scoring such a close seat. :-) I’m horrible with their song names (as I am with most other post-rock outfits). I do know that they played “Final Russian” and “Manhattan ’81.” I also think they played “White Gymnasium” and “Cascade Locks.” They played a great mix of songs, regardless of my knowledge of names (*blush*). They also played some new songs from their forthcoming third record (due out later this year). Seeing as Eugene’s only 1.5-2 hours away from their homebase, I hope I’ll see more of Talkdemonic in the future.
*- assuming a standard definition of “demonic,” mind you… some people do indeed find demonic music delightful. I may even be considered one of those people from time to time.
The required linkage:
http://www.myspace.com/talkdemonicmusicmaking
http://www.myspace.com/heavenlyoceans
Next shows:
* Ornette Coleman @ PDX Jazz Fest, 2/15
* SFJazz Collective (with Dave Douglas, etc) @ PDX Jazz Fest, 2/15
* Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) @ WOW Hall, 2/21
* Belà Fleck, the Flecktones, and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra @ PDX Jazz Fest, 2/23
word,
Dan – np: Ornette Coleman – the Pulitzer Prize winning Sound Grammar
Music is Best. -FZ
1) Lala is fantastic… it helps having a rabid music obsession and living on a doctoral stipend a possibility.
2) Nellie McKay is playing the Shedd Institute this Friday. M & I have tickets. I’m sooo stoked. I heart Nellie. I’ll post a review-blog afterwards. Other shows in the near future (hopefully for me) are… Melt Banana (see below), Múm/Talkdemonic (see below), John Zorn’s Moonchild (Mike Patton/Joey Baron/Trevor Dunn), Iron & Wine (early Dec), David Bazan (mid-Dec), Do Make Say Think (maybe)…
3) Melt Banana (from Japan aka MxBx) are coming to Eugene’s W.O.W. Hall (~5 miles from me). And it’s $10. They’re a hardcore/noisecore/screamo band (the 2 songs on their MySpace player are not really indicative of their overall sound, IMO)… like John Zorn’s Naked City with less jazz or Mike Patton’s Fantômas with more velocity/ferocity… and Japanese “singing.”
4) Icelandic electronic-soundscapers Múm are coming to Portland’s Crystal Ballroom, and Portland instrumental band Talkdemonic are opening. It’s cheapish, but I don’t know if I am going, yet. We shall see how this month progresses… but it is a show that excites me. Múm are like a more electronic Sigur Rós, in many ways (to me)…
5) Shortly after 1999 or 2000, when I heard about them from a 1¶ blurb in SPIN, Sigur Rós quickly became one of my favorite bands of all time. Their new 2-CD collection, Hvarf-heim, is going to have one CD of “hits” and one CD of acoustic songs. Also, out on the same day, their Icelandic concert documentary DVD, Heima, looks bucking frilliant. The trailers (here -and- here) are astounding when it comes to colors and cinematic vision, IMO.
6) Radiohead are “selling” their new album, In Rainbows, as a “pay what you can” for the download version. They’ve also got this for the physical product fans (decidedly not pay what you can):
Tracklisting:
CD 1 AND VINYL
15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE
CD 2 AND VINYL
MK 1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK 2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH
4 MINUTE WARNING
Ooo… shiny…
~Dan