It's been a rough one..

Sorry folks for the inactivity. This holiday season's steam has fogged my windows and my musical insight has been impaired. Of course at the end of the year we have the 'best of' lists coming out...but is there any good music from the past 12 months......

I'll let ya know soon enough, but here's some stuff that came out 42 years ago...



Too bad the Stones didn't put anything out this year....

ATTN: Hipsters. It's Over For You (The 2010 Year in Review)

Contrary to what you might've read everywhere else on the internet, almost NO GOOD MUSIC WAS RELEASED in 2010. Actually, quite a bit of good came out of the "avante-garde" scene (to make a huge genre generalization), which was sort of the 'story' of music criticism this year. Will we be hearing Columbus Discount artists in Jamba Juice in 2012? No, because I truly believe this widespread 'appreciation' of 'difficult' music is a fad brought on by the utter lack of good pop music being made anymore. Seriously, the health of pop music in general can be monitored with every new Weezer release. Some twisted irony that is - they're still relevant!

It turns out all of my predictions for this year were wrong, too. The Beach Fossils album came and went without a peep due to a glut of sound-alike bands (that I previously did not know about) who also released records. I guess they're gonna break up and get marketing jobs now. Neither Chairlift or the Magic Wands released anything, although I'm still waiting with a half chub for that Chairlift record in '11.

So what was good on the pop side of life this year? Not Hip Hop. The Disney trifecta of Roscoe, Drake, and Rick Ross teamed up to make this the worst year for radio rap since... I don't know when. Ever? Kanye, of course, kept tricking white kids into think he's an artist and black kids into thinking he's the next Puffy. Wrong! Puffy developed artists much better than he, e.g. B.I.G, Ma$e, The LOX, Lil' Kim. Real shit. Kanye: we here at TNRR think you're a gauche, middle-class imposter. The Man Who Would Be King, my nizzle. Step off. You made some good beats for Jay, that's it. I know Drew downloads your albums stat when they come out, but I took one look at your 30 minute video and said "Fuck Outta Here". Quincy Jones has my back, natch.

Anyway, as far as rock goes, only 2 things made in the last 365 held my attention. First, Wild Nothing's Chinatown gets my vote as Single Of The Year:

The 'if-New-Order-were-a-shoegaze-band' (or is it the Furs?) sound is instantly fresh, and it perfectly distills the Chillwave trend into a memorable three minutes. We'll still be listening to this song in 2020. The album it comes from, Gemini, is pretty strong, too.

My other favorite thing is a little band called Seapony. This quiet gem drifted into my ears a couple months back and I find myself returning to it whenever I get too bummed out reading Year End Best Of lists (none of which mentioned them)

Honorable mention goes to Best Coast, I guess. I saw them at Hopscotch and it was really the only moment during the whole thing I enjoyed. Here's their cover of the famous Lesley Gore hit, and although it came out last year, I'm including it because it's fuckin' timeless:

Local Heroes award goes to Raleigh OG's Future Islands. I heard this song In The Fall back in March and it was one those rare moments of being blown away. A lot had to do with the smoke & light show, but still. It marked (for me at least) their coming of age. They're a national band now. So hats off to them. I still remember what you told me about porn and RPGs at my house, though, William!

So that's pretty much it for pop (I'm not going to focus on the surfeit of good 'difficult' music this year, put out most prolifically by labels like Olde English Spelling Bee, because it's not really for everyone, and there's simply too much of it). The rest was an army of me-too hipsters treading the same old territory (Beach House, Deerhunter, Girls, Liars, Wavves, bands with names like the aforementioned). Who cares about that shit? Pitchfork, obviously. If you want to be bored out of your mind, check out their year end list. Unlike years past, I actually tried listening to everything on their list, and it only made me more depressed. Most of that shit everyone will have completely forgotten about in 5 years, even Pitchfork themselves! See that's what so funny about these felchers... they just endorse popular opinion, and a lot of what they tell you to like, they don't even like! Listen to your heart folks and USE YOUR HEAD.

Finally, this is a farewell for The Truth, for now. I'm gonna be way too busy this semester trying to graduate and transition into the "real world" to publish incisive and hard-hitting posts (ha-ha) on here. I expect I'll return in approx. 6 months. Until then, our other contributers are gonna have to pick up the slack (I'm looking at you, Scotty!). So, to say sayonara, here's "Never Ending" sung by Connie Francis. If anyone can find me an mp3 of the original version used in the rad movie Flight of the Phoenix, hook it up!

Are your parents more hip than you?

Here's an alternative look at the 1960's, the decade you thought you loved. It's just a bunch of conservative propaganda-type bullshit (I can't believe something like this could be made by government-sponsored TV), but if you can get past that, there's actually a lot of good footage here. The takeaway line probably comes in Part 5: "the '60s replaced pleasure with happiness". Hmm... And of course the biggest buzzkill is that the most popular musical act of the decade is not the Beatles, no, but someone by the name of Engelbert Humperdinck. Figures.



Oh, but that's not all you little weirdos. If you really wanna see how cool our parents were, check this clip of Pink Floyd when they were killing it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr0hdXPH92M

Watch Macca at the end do some PR, translating what just happened for all the squares. The Floyd also played around the same time at the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream event - look at that fucking setlist - a 'happening' in the classic sense of the word. John Lennon was there. Were you? See him do some wandering around in the clip farther down the page. But first, here's more early Floyd...

What the fuck is this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTfDUyUkVYE

Intelligent, candid, point-counterpoint analysis of pop music? When you compare that clip with this (remember that nightmare?) you begin to make the case for the devolution of man.

Back to Lennon. It's cool to see both of them in their Sgt. Pepper era looks. They must have just shot the cover of that record at the time these were filmed. Both clips are collected in the documentary Tonite Lets All Make Love in London which, you can already guess, is ESSENTIAL. Something Drew (I'm sorry, 'The Myth' - is that some kind of 24 Hour Party People reference?) should have on DVD but doesn't. The opening sequence:



Here's another look at the 14 Hour Dream. This is some kind of promo video, better quality, but notable for the smooth psych jam "Revolution" by Tomorrow, which could pass for a Ride or Telescopes song circa 1991 easily.



Finally, here's the song about the event (or was the event's title taken from the song?) by the Syn, accompanied by a hot video:



Yes, the '60s fucking Ruled. Case closed. Enjoy your weekend.

How It's Done

I'm about to call it a night here after one terrible fucking day, but before I do, I need to share some things that are pulling me back from the brink. In honor of the book-everyone's-reading-right-now, Life by Keith Richards (which you can read as an instruction manual for how to live your life) let's turn back the pages of time a little bit...

If this doesn't make you wanna get up and say "Yeah!" then you should buy yourself a casket buddy cause yer probably DEAD!

How high is this guy?

And if you were to look up "How It's Done" in the Encyclopedia, it would redirect you to the entry "Keith Richards", and you would see only this:

(Yo Drew, I think we've found our title graphic)

...Sunday Meditation?

So many years ago in my day of slanging music for the man, with my pal The Truth; I came up with a genre in my head of "chill/'yellow'" music. I created some cd's called morning mixes before ever getting to a super genre I named Sunday. This comprises of a whole lot of music you see. Plenty of eastern folk will really blow your mind, but just listening to Van on repeat for a while might allow the drift to take hold.

anyway....


even if you know this one, and can still get around the moment of shrill, its right on with the vibe.



and this one is a gimme. It embodies the Sunday vibe perfectly.


So nothing fancy just some mellow for the monent.

Once more unto the breach

So it's definitely procrastination season - as you can tell from all this outpouring of content from me - not only from school, but from the real shit (a quality, well-thought out post) I'm keeping from you guys, for a rainy day.

Until that day comes, here's yet one more thing you all should know about. The ever-excellent blissblog reminded me of a good band I was digging awhile back but forgot to really follow up on: Fox. Short for Noosha Fox, the lead singer (but not the songwriter), this video is her from her solo period, after Fox broke up. Never heard of Fox? That's good, because you're in for a treat, as every one of their songs sounds different and every one is basically more inventive than any other band from the 70s you've been taught to respect. That's the kind of shit we invest in here at TNRR. As for this video, I'm sure all you ironic-disco lovers this will get your nips perked, but don't get too comfy cuz like I said, their style varies a lot.

School is in session

Watch Rich & Linda rock that folk-hippy style to the moon. If only I could go to Boone or Asheville and see shit this good... Drew already knows to cover this song, but he's also going to have to do it better than this:

You're gonna need help, man. Enlist me.

UPDATE: No sooner did I almost log off for the night, did I come upon this excellent bit of education in stagecraft. People must wonder why I'm so down on all the young gunslingers of today. Well, it's because I don't see much of this:

Note how P. Hook keeps the bass low, how the drummer doesn't do a lot of fucking around, how B. Sumner stays focused on delivering tasty lines, and leaves the attention where it belongs, on the weird & hypnotic Mr. Curtis (who shows off his dancing chops around 2:30)

I see too much of this:

One for the fellas (straight porno)

Here's something to kick back to this weekend that's a little less homo than watching a bunch of muscular dudes tackle one another. It's a clip of Come As You Are (don't mind if I do) covered by Girl Crisis - sort of a jokey side-project of various indie rock honies from Brooklyn (Au Revoir Simone, Telepathe, some others). Basically, I'd make it my mission if I lived in Brookliyn to sleep with every one of these chicks. It doesn't hurt that they're good musicians too.

That's my #1 muse Caroline Polachek in the back on the vibes. I don't care if Fred Durst produces Chairlift's next album, that's my shortie right there.

Not Rock Nor Roll

So tonight I hope I did the right thing by missing out on some new indie dancefest in downtown Raleigh. I'm sure we will all hear about it over the coarse of the weekend, and though some of my friends will try to ensue jealousy on my behalf, I will not be jealous of the sweaty time. I haven't been to the new Kings Barcade on Martin Street, but I soon will just not tonight. I know I might be for the progression of music, or...nope.



and whats with the melody rip of "How will I know" by Whitney Houston


It's lasts nights Ariel Pink show at the Cats Cradle that would have really had me moving.


Perhaps, he's right. I need the visual. I can't watch 2 guys jump around without something that really thumps.
So tonight, instead of going to see Javelin or last night's Haunted Graffiti, I sat at home listening to my Cerrone record that I picked up at (you guessed it) the NC flea market. (this is the video edit)

OUTLAWS: Operating Under Thug Laws As Warriors

(You're gonna wanna roll that blunt right about now)

So I finally got around to watching the Biggie & Tupac documentaries (Bigger Than Life and Life of An Outlaw, respectively; both streamable on Netflix) and I gotta say, I think Tupac's edges it out a bit. It's interesting... comparing the two, Biggie comes off as "realer" but Tupac as simultaneously more phony and psychotic. Big Skye (one of Pac's sideline guys, in the group Thug Life, which, if you aren't hip to the album Thug Life, Vol. 1 yet you should kill yourself. seriously.) calls him an "educated nut", and that about nails it. It's evident in their attitude towards guns: Big dropped out of high school and toted gats while doing drug deals nonchalantly, while Tupac was being tutored by an artsy new-age San Franciscan white lady, but later Pac becomes a gun aficionado, does interviews at the shooting range, discussing the technicals of armor-piercing bullets, etc. This basically explains everything about their personalities, and leaves the impression that, if not for rap, B.I.G. would've probably ended up in jail, while Pac might be a college professor at Howard U.

This isn't to discredit Pac though; indeed, he has the better story and movie, and crew, and collected body of work, really. I know you don't believe me. I didn't believe me for a long time. But check the title of this post - that's one of the Pac-fathered crews, aka Dramacydal:

Or fuck with this for a second:

Play all of the Dramacydal stuff on Youtube, and you'll realize there's no shortage. Then realize they didn't even release one album. Instead, these guys were all involved in a constellation of west-coast crews loosely involved with 2Pac, and all of it sounds just as fresh, if not more-so, than Junior M.A.F.I.A.

Pac was apparently big on stayin' true to the game, always curating new artists on the come up. Here he directs some prototypical West Coast joint (this is about as '93 as it gets):

Anyway, I could go on about the films, how Shock G - where is he now? - is more of a compelling screen presence than Method Man (Bigger Than Life's main interviewee), etc, but no one really cares what some white dude in the suburbs of 2010 thinks about all this shit, do they?

Más classics:

Thug Life - Bury Me A G

Da Brat (feat. Notorious B.I.G.) - The B Side

Dramacydal (feat. The Notorious B.I.G. and 2 Pac) - Runnin

That IS Rock and Roll

Inspired by that 2 minutes of pop magic that Drew dropped on us, as well as frightened by that image of geezer parking lot rock - is that guy playing a Bogner amp? - I decided to share another slice of essential youth culture. This one comes from Black Flag (the good, pre-Rollins vintage) and I think it may be my favorite punk record of all time. I'm pissed I can't find my excellent sounding vinyl ripped mp3s of this, so Youtube will have to suffice. If you want to remember what ROCK feels like, find the vinyl and turn this shit up to 11:

Here's the same song done by the Rollins unit much later on... not nearly as good, but I'm still giving these guys style points...

... and I'll take that over a hundred-fold of dorky shit like this:

Not hating on the Pumpkins, but the straight laced cover of one of their lamer songs embarrasses me. Way to rip off their logo too, guys. Oh, and I'm not "giving it up" for your motherfuckin "string section". Dorks!

Goals in my life...and ongoing dilema..

We all strive to do our best, right? I mean, you get up every day and you give a damn. Some people get up and and actually do give a damn and become something special or great. I'd like to do great things one day, but I really hope that my dreams never end up becoming anything like these guys in the photo above. This is too familiar of any shitty bar around on a Saturday night or earlier that day at the opening of the new Harley Davidson in the parking lot.

Realistically I'll probably take things over on my own, but it sure would be nice to get up with some fellas like this...

Sorry for the delay../(delay/delay)

Brian Eno interviewing Brian Eno

The Endorsement: All Day Records

If you want to see what a real record store looks like, check out All Day Records at 112A E. Main St. in Carrboro. Lacking the annoying 'rockist' viewpoint of CD Alley and the plain ignorance of Schoolkids, All Day Records is stocked with nothing but the finest, gold label shit in ALL genres, old & new. The day I snapped this pic, I picked up Curtis Mayfield's Got To Find A Way for 7 bucks like it was nuthin. You ever see that hanging out in the other shops? Nope. I think I skipped by some original English-pressed Magazine albums on the way there, too.

That's just sugar on the tip of the tongue for ADR's selection - most of the stuff in there I had never even heard of -- thankfully. Why? Because you won't get tired out digging through the used bins past all those Police, Madonna, Talking Heads, and Prince albums you see all over the place and don't want. They're not there. This should immediately put a smile on your face. It's like being in a liquor store with all top-shelf booze, no Jose Cuervo or Aristocrat. They also sell cool vintage stereo equipment.

The store's owner is Ethan Clauset, a dude that's about as legit as they come. He designs websites, DJs killer parties, and knows way more music than I do. You should be thankful someone like this is wasting his time in North Cackalack. Go see him asap in downtown Carrboro, right across from Weaver St. - so you can go preen with your new records in front of frumpy librarians while you have lunch.

Drooby dooby doo where are you pal? We need POSTS, stat!

A Moment Alone

Hey kids, Truth here. Looks like this I have blow the dust off this ol' blog AGAIN because dear Drew is too busy living that life in the nation's cleanest, possibly whitest, town. So here it goes, I'm gonna keep it shorter and sweeter this time out...

First up, we got some Harold Budd when he was tweaking out in irrelevance in the 90s. I imagine only a few college kids from back then that are now history professors or something heard this one.

Next, Nate Dogg (???) comes pretty weak on this G-Funk from '98. I included it mostly because I feel sorry for the guy, apparently this album was supposed to be released in '95 and got shelved for years only to surface after P-Diddy and the Fam had changed the game. Bummer!

Saddar Bazaar ('Central Market') are an obscure hindu-concept band from England that no one ever cared about. I'll bet there are A LOT of British bands like this out there....

Finally, some real Indian music to round things out. I'm not sure who this group is, but the album, MahaMantra ('Great Chanting for Deliverance' - word.) is nice.

Harold Budd & Hector Zazou - And Then She Stepped Aside

Nate Dogg - These Days (feat. Daz Dillinger)

Saddar Bazaar - Freedom Rider

UPDATE: having trouble large files like Indian mantras to Rapidshare, so in the meantime here's a little instrumental ditty. Note to Drutabaga: I've got big mashup plans for this one involving possibly Mobb Deep, so cue up Ableton big baby!

Grace Jones - Don't Cry (It's Only The Rhythm)

Alright, like the Mr. Rogers of music I'm gonna put on my coat and shoes and whistle on down to see Gayngs tonight. You heard right, I'm going to see a show! (Disclaimer: my GF's making me go.) The problem with Gayngs is, my favorite song of theirs is a cover of a Godley and Creme (from 10cc) hit, of all things. So on that note, here's what I'll be imagining tonight at the Cat's Cradle while nursing my Bud Lite:

This guy is Wack!

The worst part isn't that he doesn't quite know what he's talking about; it's when you actually go to his page and where he has the songs listed to compare, the link sends you to an Amazon.com page selling the mp3s !!!!!WTF!!!!

OK Kirby, clearly you've never expressed enough creativity in your life to see the difference between good and bad art. History tends to repeat itself and I would bet that your taste is about as good as your haircut. I wonder if the rest of the Volumes will bring up the invention of the 12" Without the the remix, there is never progression, and so, you don't get this:

Last Days of Summer

It's time to say farewell to that best of seasons. It's been a good summer; not epic, but very enjoyable. I must confess, this post is a bit perfunctory, just feeling ever so nostalgic and at a loss for words. I could rail on Drew for kicking his blog to the curb like last week's garbage, but I'm not going to. After all, I'm going to his show tonight, where he'll no doubt perform unnecessary covers of über-standards to a bunch of half-awake dudes in Siemens t-shirts.

Instead here are some quick words of advice about to how to make the most of Fall: don't go to any shows featuring musicians over the age of 45; don't buy any music currently featured in Spin or Alternative Press magazines (if they still exist); visit Pitchfork once a season at most; do not form a 2 person band, esp. if one member is a girl; don't reminisce about how you saw Flava Flav at Hopscotch; don't reminisce about Hopscotch; visit the Louis St. Lewis exhibit on Franklin St. this month; if you're going to the State Fair, make sure you smoke the stickiest weed beforehand, find the Wisconsin Cheese stand, and ride the Music Express (just like Snooki on Jersey Shore), in that order, then leave; read fiction; don't wear a baseball hat unless you have a mitt on your hand; no fat chicks.

Alright, I'm breaking out to the mall. Till next time.

Donald Byrd - Where Are We Going

The Smashing Pumpkins - Summer

Meme-In-Progress

I sometimes wonder why I still subscribe to a certain college radio station listserve, when most of the emails are for sub requests, japes involving obscure Euro-disco, or pretentious ramblings. But then occasionally someone posts something like this, and I am reminded.

Untitled

Here's a nauseating reunion with surprising solid results. Drew's gonna get a disproportionately large boner for this one, knowing his proclivity for dads who play fossilized rock songs - who's the dad on the mic here??? Oh, that's the dude from the Jazz Butcher (listen to 'Racheland', I'm too lazy to post it). Kevin Shields is also hiding somewhere on stage.

Good content coming soon, I promise. I'm gonna go back to listening to Atlantic Starr and take a bath now.

That IS Rock and Roll

In case you were wondering, Stephen Kijak's "Stones in Exile" documentary about the making of Exile on Main St. is now on video. If you're a Netflix customer, head on over there to stream it... NOW. If we accept that Rock 'n' Roll is dead, this movie should be its fucking headstone. The summer the Stones spent at the Villa Nellcote in the south of France, making hit music, jamming with hangers on like Gram Parsons (above), and getting high all day with supermodels is probably the high water mark of rock history. It doesn't get any better or more stylish than this. My only complaints about the movie are that it's a little light on graphic details (which the guys probably didn't want to go into- they've got grandkids now 'n shit- or they just can't remember, equally likely), and the dorks they interview at the beginning and end: Kings of Leon guy, Sheryl Crow, Benecio del Toro, wtf?! Were these the only three losers hanging out near the soundstage or what? How about Andrew-fucking-Loog Oldham, get that geezer off his Sirius radio show and start telling some stories! Still, watching this documentary is time well spent. Check it out.

New Noise

Now that I schooled you all on some obvious shit with the last post, I'd like to talk about something semi-fresh and inspiring that's been happening - and is happening - right now. I've been following the 'new noise' sound (groups like Emeralds and Oneohtrix Point Never and probably a lot of others that I'm just unaware of) with passing interest for some time now; it seemed like a fad that was popular with the college-radio circuit, that could either pass away or start gaining momentum. From the outset, I knew that whoever was behind Oneohtrix Point Never knew what was up, and had serious style, but I kind of relegated it to the 'get around to listening when I have the time' pile, because enjoying this kind of music takes a lot of time and requires you to be in a certain mental/emotional state (i.e. really high). It's like Dark Side of The Moon with the Rock turned down to 0 and the Drugs turned up to 10. Anyway, seems that while I wasn't paying attention, everyone got hip to this sound and OPN is on the verge of 'blowing up', which apparently means selling 2000 copies (holy shit!) of their latest album Returnal. Maybe we'll all be listening to this in the mall before long, I don't know. What really caught my attention, though, is the series of 'music videos' (sort of audio-video mashup pieces) that OPN has on Youtube. These aren't mind-blowing, but they're in a way some of the coolest pieces of art I've seen in a long time. He's apparently released them along with others on a DVD (does anyone have a burn of this? HIT US UP!). They could definitely point the way to a new sound/aesthetic that is completely untapped, and for that, I am excited. Let's hope someone else comes along with as much vision as this guy has (Drutones, I'm looking at YOU baby!)

Stay Tuned

I'm trying to put some cool shit up for you guys, but having some trouble, so in the meantime I'll hit you with one of the best (and thankfully, least talked about) entries in last year's nü-emo phenomenon 'Chillwave', a genre that will probably cease to exist this year due to hipsters' extreme fear of seeming trendy.

Memory Cassette (aka Memory Tapes) - Call & Response

While you're groovin to that, and in honor of Arcade Fire's new, soon-to-be-celebrated turd of an album, you can read these wise words by Jon Savage (the guy behind stuff like this):

"Is there anything going on today in music that's interesting you?

It's difficult. It's definitely an age thing. Most modern rock I just cannot listen to; I think it sucks. People like Arcade Fire... suck. What are all these men doing with these old-guys' beards, and they're in their late-twenties, and they've got these horrible brown beards that are a different color from their hairdos? What is that all about? It's retarded. It's boys trying to be men. One huge major suckathon, I'm sorry. It just doesn't rock. Rock music has got to have that primal urge in it. It's gotta make you want to drive your car 130 miles per hour, take class-A drugs, have bad sex, and just be irresponsible and vile.

Pop music has become a victim of its own success. When I was a kid it was definitely marginal, it was for the weirdos and the freaks and the mutants and the people who wanted to be different. And now it's just the same as everything else. So I tend to listen to a lot of electronic music. Because it sounds modern. You know, like it was made in 2010."

See, motherfuckers? I'm not so 'out there'. Hell, we could take that as the TNRR manifesto. Vindication is sweet when it comes from guys like Savage and Green Gartside (of Scritti Politti, who writes nuanced and subtle music that most people can't understand - see below):

"People who enjoy this album [Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible"] may think I'm cloth-eared and unperceptive, and I accept it's the result of my personal shortcomings, but what I hear in Arcade Fire is an agglomeration of mannerisms, cliches and devices. I find it solidly unattractive, texturally nasty, a bit harmonically and melodically dull, bombastic and melodramatic, and the rhythms are pedestrian. It's monotonous in its textures and in the old-fashioned, nasty, clunky 80s rhythms and eighth-note basslines. It isn't, as people are suggesting, richly rewarding and inventive. The melodies stick too closely to the chord changes. Win Butler's voice uses certain stylistic devices - it goes wobbly and shouty, then whispery - and I guess people like wobbly and shouty going to whispery, they think it signifies real feeling. It's some people's idea of unmediated emotion. I can imagine Jeremy Clarkson liking it; it's for people in cars. It's rather flat and unlovely. The album and the response to it represent a bunch of beliefs about expression and truth that I don't share. The battle against unreconstructed rock music continues."

He gets it. Do you?

Scritti Politti - The Word Girl (Flesh & Blood)

I'd like to meet this guy

My point has nothing to do with the video other than the music that's playing. If somebody today put together a composition like this, we'd all be drooling at their hat's and shoe's. 80 years later and this sounds better than anything that will come out this year!



or not...its a cool video otherwise

Sunday Meddditation

this is more of what I was going for...

New Wack Swing

I'm gonna tackle the Hot Albums of July in today's post. And if you make it all the way through, there's a treat waiting for you, promise. First up, local faves The Love Language (allusion to Teddy Pendergrass doubtful) released their 2nd album yesterday, and sorry I'm behind all the dorito-pounding bloggers out there and doing this review a day late. You can still stream it on the Merge website if you're like me with a lot of time to waste. Because let me disagree with everyone on this, and say that's just what this album is - a waste of time. Does anyone not "love" this record? My initial glance at the reviews seems to indicate not (Pitchfork will probably have their review in by the time you read this, so we'll see), but other than their lead-off single 'Heart to Tell', which is just a big rip off of an Elvis song, there's exactly 2 other decent songs on this record. The rest are just a bunch of weak production gimmicks filled with lame white guy hollers drenched in slapback. I wanna help Phil Spector out of his leg irons just so he can come down here and slap these rookies. The thought of people bawling praise all over these dudes and even fathoming bandying the word 'genius' about makes me wanna put my dick in a pasta machine. I mean, I'm glad someone from the hometown is making some noise, but can we get some cooler representatives please? Next!

To the right of our local heroes is another civic representative of sorts, except from a town far, far away... on the - you guessed it - Best Coast. Somehow, when predicting the bands to watch in 2010 earlier in the year, I left this chick (Bethany somethingoruther) out. My bad. Her album isn't due out until later this month, but you can stream it here. It's going to be big, and thankfully I've pre-reviewed it for you, because yer gonna get mighty sick of the term "pop gems" used to describe these songs in the papers. To make one thing clear, I don't hate Best Coast*. This girl has one of the most unique styles in the underground right now, which isn't saying much, but it's saying something. She released a string of singles, EPs, cassettes, and polaroids of beachlife last year, and each one made me feel good. Her music is like candy; a bag of Laffy Taffy, let's say. They have slightly different flavors, but all of them taste basically the same. You could eat them forever, and be totally happy doing so, but then you'd get sick and die. Best Coast's songs give you that same tingly, unfulfilled feeling as a good Laffy Taffy. You eat one, you crave more, yet you don't really want any more. That said, Crazy For You will be one of the best albums released all year, which says something about the state of pop music, don't it? When candy is king... you'd be better off not wasting your time with any of it and just head straight to the links below and hear where Paul Simon gets his shit! (Hint: he's not listening to the Love Langauge!)


*We here at TNRR endorse you, Best Coast. We are your friends - provided you are a Lakers fan and you don't get ANY fatter, capice?


And now for something you busters totally DON'T deserve. These songs represent a cross-section of traditional Bolivian music. I was just going to post a couple of these tracks, but they're all so damn good I decided to wet you with the whole album.

Live It Up

Sunday Meditation

I like how Bowie is playing a Stratocaster!

A Band You Never Knew You Liked: Strawberry

Okay, so there's actually something of a story behind this one. The year is 1999, and I'm at the Record Exchange on Hillsborough St. I'm going through the used bin and I come upon a band I'd never heard of with an interesting name/album art combo. As is usual in such situations, I took the bait and plopped down $4 for the CD. I can't remember my first experience with the album, I probably wasn't blown away, but I remember liking the song 'Kiev Trains'. I recall listening a few times, but then the CD mysteriously disappeared and I quickly forgot about it. Fast forward 7 years and my friend Zack plays 'Kiev Trains' at a party. I ask him what was up with such a strange coincidence, and it turns out he's had the CD all these years, albeit without the case (which I still have; I'm looking at it right now). He laughs and then claims that this album, Brokeheart Audio, by the basically-unknown Canadian band Strawberry, is one of his favorite albums! I say, "well, ahh, shucks, can I have the CD back now? I haven't heard it in awhile." I never get it back... which was only a problem until earlier this year, when the dudes from Strawberry posted their discography for free on some website.

Strawberry was a band from Prince Edward Island, Canada, and other than some shows opening for Modest Mouse back in the day, are almost totally unknown. Turns out Brokeheart Audiois the only album that got released on a label, and I have no idea how it ended up in The Record Exchange. I'm still not blown away by any of their music, most of it is fairly diluted late-90s indie rock, and it hasn't aged well. But fuck, it's still as good as a lot of Modest Mouse! All said, I think these guys deserve their due, and they're finally getting the retrospective treatment from us here on the most world-wide of webs.

Strawberry - Kiev Trains

Strawberry - Strobelight

Drew Needs To Post More! Eernie Isley Needs To Teach Guitar Lessons! I Need A Life!

The world is a fucked up place, right kids? You bet your ass it is. From the moment you are first spanked for doing something original, to the time you learn Santa is a more of a fictitious marketing tool used to push merchandise than a benevolent, magical old man, to the indignity you feel when your lips make first, cold contact with your boss's ass cheek, to paying taxes on Social Security that you are told nearly every day you AREN'T going to get, you learn that life is a steady succession of bummers. I was reminded of all this earlier this year when I lost my girlfriend to the frontdouche of a local band. I eventually got her back, because I am The Truth after all, but still... made me appreciate those little things, you know? That's why there's TNRR; because life is too short and too shitty to go through it listening to bad music. TNRR: Giving you the tools to play loud!

On a different topic, does anyone have a scanner they can sell me? I'm tired of stealing stock pics from the internet. I have a much better picture of Stevie than the one above (more on that later), but I can't make it digital. Also, Drudrones - give me more control over the blog!

Band Of Susans - Hope Against Hope

Delegation - Oh Honey

Cruel Summer

I'd have to say that I've been feeling the way Spaceman looks in the picture below and therefore haven't takin the wheel of this blahg.....We can thank the Truth for revitalizing this site. But? Mr. Briggs, though the Spiritualized discography may be weak; if you had the opportunity to have a encounter with any 'cool' UK band members from the early 90's, I'd doubt you would decline...perhaps a jam with Mr Kember ??

http://www.blogotheque.net/Spectrum,3752


As for the hot temps that we've dealt with so far, here's some more hotness

A Field Guide to the Spiritualized Discography

I've had some free time lately after being put in the penalty box over at What, so I've been trimming the hedges of my music library, so to speak. And somewhere along the line, I listened to a lot of Spiritualized, and since their career trajectory is the most simple kind (one of steady decline), and their discography is uncomplicated, I decided to share my thoughts for those of you who may be new to these drug addicts and you completists alike. There really should be no room for argument here, you should just accept my word as fact and spend your time worrying about more interesting bands. Here's everything you ever needed to know about the Spiritualized albums:

1992 - Lazer Guided Melodies - Essential

1995 - Pure Phase - Great

1997 - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space - Good

2001 - Let It Come Down - Ok

2003 - Amazing Grace - Ok

2008 - Songs In A&E - Pretty Much Garbage

- As with any discography, each 'era' includes the associated EPs, singles, B-sides, video appearances, etc.

And incase you needed evidence, what is more convincing than the ol' Youtube video? This shit is from the way back - on MTV! If they played this tomorrow, you'd think there was some kind of armed coup going on at Viacom - and basically proves my point.

Fuck You!

Sorry for the long absence everyone; I've been off doing rad shit (sike!), and Drew has too, like playing sold out shows at the Carolina Theater with dancing underage girls in his live act! Gotta love it! Anyways, it's the middle of summer and although I want to kick both our asses in gear with more posts, I can't promise anything. But I can post a little teaser to get your mind right:

Birdland - Hollow Heart

Roy Ayers Ubiquity - The Memory

Grist for Raditude

Here's the fresh catch of the weekend ya'll. I hope it inspires you to go out and make the world a better place. Above is a picture of Mick driving a rad car called a Morgan (they're made of wood)... in St. Tropez. Does it get any radder? I bet your favorite indie-folkster-cum-4th-grade teacher isn't doing that! By the way, I'm gonna be doing that, as soon as I get off my ass and start serving my fellow man, dig?

Completely unrelated to that (or is it?), I've recently come upon a couple of remixes that I'd like to share. It should come as no surprise to most of you that I'm a big fan of the remix. The ability to completely reimagine a song with a sampler or new instrumentation ranks among the greatest cultural contributions of the 80s and 90s. And I'm always on the lookout for rare ones. Note: I'm a fan of the official remix - done by people with actual talent in a studio - not the endless amateur mismashes on YouTube made by anyone with Ableton and a bag of cheetos. Anyway, the first track is the Sylk 130 remix of that Donna Lewis hit I was talking about awhile back. [two Donna Lewis posts in the first 3 months of the blog?! Drew's definitely pissed he gave me posting privileges!]. The second is the U.K. mix of the Warren G banger, "This DJ". I accidently happened to notice this version is subtly different than the main U.S. mix, with a different intro and beat. So you gotta be payin attention! Or you won't catch this stuff, because nowhere did it say 'remix' on it. Unfortunately, they only released the clean version (common for a lot of alternate mixes back in the day - what can you do?). Sorry my turntable sounds like it was made by Fisher-Price. ¡No trabajo, no Hi-Fi!

Donna Lewis - I Love You Always Forever (Sylk 130 remix)

Warren G - This D.J. (U.K. mix)

All Intentions

With regards to my friendo the Truth, he may be right and very influential most of the time; there can always be a place for flaw. True Pitchfork media is a pothole full of tight jeans with undone ties and a new swagger of sports coat. But if you weed through the mess and find something worth reading.. (we all know that the taste may suck, but the writing is good) you may find more overinduldged over saturated watered down crap. Sooo.....this brings me to the Four Tet interview. If you have not picked up the new album, do so. I know we are only 1 & 1/2 months into the new decade but There is Love in You will rank among the best in the future. Anyway, I can go on and on about how Mr. Hebden is a genius and how he could be changing the face or rock and roll...well, maybe not. He does however plug a local fav of his. Check out some new unrock music coming from across the sea.

What's with all these bands leaving out 'the' in their name?

Don't you hate it when a trend gets going and everyone silently hops on board and starts relating whatever the idea is to you like it was their own, when they obviously just lifted it from someone else, who stole it from someone else, etc. until everyone is running around doing/saying the same thing, until someone calls them on it and then they feel like unoriginal ass-clowns? It's like that with bands right now, who name themselves a plural noun, but intentionally leave out the 'the' (the same thing happened 10 years ago, but back then everyone intentionally left in the 'the'). Problem is, it's stupid and a pointless decision. I'm gonna mint a new rule about bands: if you're the genuine article, leave in the definite article. If you're a fucking poser, go ahead and be ____s. It's different, and hey, everyone is doing it. Ironically, the first time I remember seeing a name like this was that awful Chapel Hill band Cities who were around for 6 long months and actually released a record on Yep Roc back in 05-06. I remember how awkward their name sounded then. And now - shit - look what we got on the roll-call: Emeralds, Girls, Mountains, Lights, Lanterns, Savoirs, Crocodiles, Grooms, Laarks, Ahleuchatistas (double shitty for leaving out 'the' in a foreign language), Brakes, Maps, Soulsavers, Espers, Headlights, Islands, Pens, Nurses, Ganglians, Woods, Noisettes, Eulogies, Clues... this is just a partial list from Pitchfork's reviews just from 2009! Oh, and I'm not counting bands with compound-word names like Turbo Fruits, Best Coast, and Fruit Bats - those are still wrong, they just don't seem as annoying as the short, single word ones. I wonder if 'Douches' exist yet. If not, Drew I got a new name for your project! (j/k man, I can't quit you. you know that)

Seriously, when was the first time you can recall a band with this type of name? Before 5 years ago, I can only think of two exceptions: Melvins and Eels. I think it might've been a mini-trend among psychedelic/krautrock bands in the early 70s too, but who gives a shit about that really, that's definitely not where these kids today are drawing inspiration from. If you happen to meet someone in a band with a dumpy plural noun name, tell them you're going to copy all of their music illegally to your hard drive, just like they copied their band name from someone else. Enforce creativity now before the world gets any duller!

Point Taken

I think everyday of something to post or talk about with people but the more I spout on about this 'so called' medium we call music, the more I tend to be ignored. It's not because my taste sucks. Perhaps its that corporate Irish pub that overpowers my voice. But I need to acknowledge that I did set this site up to point out the death of rock.




and these guys are supposed to know better! If a singer is going to have personality surely a skirt is not necessary. So in continuing with the R&B vibe that the Truth is going for; Sade still has it.(kinda)



here's to the panic attempt!

A Lesson in Rock

You guys are in for a treat today. Above is PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE that Rock once existed, and in it's highest form. Why is it so hard for people living today to understand? Besides obvious coolness, there are three small, but important, lessons to be gleaned from the above photos. Please close your web browser and meditate on them after reading.

1) Sling Your Axe Low

- Look at how low Dee Dee's got his bass! It looks like a Wild Stallion trying to charge away while he pounds thunderous BASS NOTES out of it with the help of his huge Ampeg. You can bet he's not playing bass "chords" that low, no, he's thumping out G-A-C and meanwhile vibrating clitorises all the way in the back of the room. Johnny's no slouch, either; he's got his Mosrite hung at a respectable level, WAY below where these rookies are slinging from today. [Remember when it was cool for awhile - in the early 2000s - to play guitars at nipple level? While playing technical Emo-metal? Thankfully those days are behind us]

2) FULL STACKS

- I'm not gonna have that argument with the guy that's like "man, I got this little combo, y'know, and it sounds really good mic'ed, it's all I need." It may be all you need, Pee-Wee, when you're playing to foster children at La Petite Academy, but it doesn't sound good. Don't let a soundman come near your shit with an SM57, ever. They're gonna run that puny signal through an Aphex 'Aural Exciter' and it's going to excite no one, and you're gonna be up there 'rockin' and everyone's wondering what they're drinking next cuz they're so bored. Let the amps do the work. Just look at Johnny in photo 4 - TWO AMPS! Two full-size cabinets. (Make sure they say 'Marshall' or 'Orange', etc. on them. Not 'Replica' ) You know what size club they're playing in? Not big. When he plays that power chord in G you're gonna feel it as well as hear it.

3) Lead Singer With A Personality

- Not many bands do the free-mic'in lead singer these days, presumably because they want to save money and shit and have people work double duty, which I can understand, but you need to realize what you may be missing out on. Just check Joey out up there. He's got it. First of all, he could play in the NBA if he had muscles; dude's really tall. Second, he's got a killer leather J on, one that you can't buy at Old Navy (you might be able to nowadays). And third, he's got the voice, the jeans, the vibe, the stance, and writes good lyrics. Bingo. And he's doing a cool salute to get you kids to ignore your curfew and party and find out who you could be if you were actually awesome like him.

That about sums it up; the School of Rock is fun, eh kids? Now, to those of you who would say "But Truth, my town sucks, the only shows I go see are wimpy 'folk' bands [ever notice how folk is the new emo?] and political hip-hop; how can I ever truly Rock?" I would say to you, 'The above photos were taken at The Pier in Raleigh' (a part of the now-vanished Cameron Village Underground, I think). You can do it. Just imagine how the song below sounded in that tiny space in that shitty town, before you even knew what to expect b/c of Myspace or stupid blogs like this one. Bliss. Now, go forth to your gig at the chain Irish Pub and tear the motherf***ing roof off.

The Ramones - Oh Oh I Love Her So

We Are Alive

Almost a month and no activity on here. Drew - post on yer fucking blahg! Don't tell me you started this shit just to share that plagiarized Best-Of list with the 3-10 people who already know your wack taste in music. Now I have to make a post just to make sure this place registers a pulse. I thought I'd share one of the best R&B jams of 2008, by none other than Ms. Mariah Carey. Nicely underplayed too, I think, at least around here. I'm not sure if Carey classifies as a cougar yet, but a glance at the pop charts over the past 2 decades reveals she's been around for quite some time. Impressive that she can still churn out tracks like this (or at least find producers to) that rank among her best work. Seriously, I haven't liked a song of hers this much since Dreamlover, which used to give me a chill as a little whippersnap. I'm also including the full complement of promo-only remixes. I don't usually like electro remixes of hip-hop/R&B songs, but these... well, I'm posting em ain't I? There's also a rap mix featuring that poser Rick Ross, but it's surprisingly shitty, so I'm not including it, as well as the usual assortment of instrumentals & radio edits that are basically redundant, and you can find them elsewhere if you really want them. Merci beaucoups, fuckers!

1. Touch My Body

2. Touch My Body (Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel Club Remix)

3. Touch My Body (Craig C Club Mix)

4. Touch My Body (Subkulcha Remix)

5. Touch My Body (Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel Dub)

6. Touch My Body (Craig C Dub)

Bands to Watch in 2010

Happy New Year everyone. Wow, I can't really believe the last decade is finally over. The naughties sucked, right? Let's see, we saw the decline of the music industry and the rise of the American Idol empire, lots of shitty 'garage' and 'disco' records, Lil Wayne's discography eclipsing Frank Sinatra's in size, a 4th grader elected for 2 terms as President, speculative housing and dot-com bubbles, and religious nutcases flying planes into two of the coolest buildings in New York. All we had to look forward to each year were new models of iPod. Sounds pretty fucked, no? Well, I've got good news for you: the next decade will probably be better; in fact, there's already signs of improvement. Here are three, selected from my least favorite genre of music.

1. Chairlift

If you know me, you know that I'm almost never stoked on new 'rock' bands. And I'm even less stoked when they appear on a little label called Columbia. But as soon as I heard one of the songs below (about a year ago today) I knew something was different about this one. The force was strong. I forgot about them for awhile, and then in September, I saw them blow out the weak ass sound system at Local 506, in what was the Best Show Of The Year. There were about 20 people at the show, and I didn't recognize anyone (always a good sign). The best songs were the new ones that aren't on the record (again a good sign). Why is Chairlift, 3 kids from Brooklyn who are on a major label and have songs on iPod nano commercials, one of my picks for this year? First, the chick in the band, Caroline Polachek, is (at least) the next Grace Slick. She's a once-a-generation type combination of sex appeal, style and songwriting ability. [and btw, don't you pussies try to send her a mixtape neither; I call fucking DIBS] Second, they're kids - only 23 - which, in my prejudiced, age-discriminating view of rock history means they've got at least 2 or 3 more great albums left in them. Mark my words, these guys have masterwork potential. So how is their current album? My response to that is, 'ehh'. It's a little slick IMO (make sure you find the original indie-label mixes, and not the Columbia remastered edition), and the songwriting is a tad immature, which is forgivable since they were 21 when they wrote most of the songs. This post is about potential, okay? Not about shit you should already know about. By the way, those in the know got their hands on the first, tour-only EP informally called 'Daylight Savings' which has a bunch of different, still-rad songs on it. If you've got it, HOOK ME UP.

Rating (how many times better they are than the Annuals ): 5000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmGaGWat3ps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsOzK_JAO0I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVDAJuOdurQ

Interview

2. Beach Fossils

This one is primarily for Drew, preempting the discussion we'll have in about May/June, that'll go something like this:
Drew: Have you heard the Beach Fossils?
Me: Nope.
- They're all over Pitchfork right now, and because everyone's talking about them, I felt like I had to jump on the bandwagon.
- Uh huh.
- You'll probably like them alot, they've got a sound that I can't quite identify; I think it's one of those cds of British bands from the 80s you told me to buy that I never listened to.
- Probably.

And because I grow tired of having such discussions with D, I'll just go ahead and get everyone hip right now. The Beach Fossils haven't released a record yet, but when they do they'll have their moment under P-fork's cataract eye, and everyone will be like "ooh, neat", they'll play some super-jampacked show at a local club, and then they may or may not be forgotten. Who cares, really. It's just a band from Brooklyn that doesn't sound like every other band from Brooklyn.

Rating: 7000.

http://www.myspace.com/beachfossils

3. Magic Wands

I'm reluctantly including this band because "2" just seems like a meager amount of things to be stoked about, and because these guys (actually a boyfriend/girlfriend combo *yawn*) released an EP last year that made it onto NO ONE'S best of list (always a good sign for music like this). They may firm up or may flop this year, but either way you haven't heard the last of the Magic Wands. [Attention passengers of the Poser Express:The XX remixed one of their songs - get happy!]

Rating: 2000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCwxTQmjMMk

http://rapidshare.com/files/332332657/02-magic_wands-starships.mp3.html