Thelonius Funk is the Third in a Perfect Pair

2012-02-08T12:43:00.001-08:00

Things you don't expect to read/hear at the office: "I've farted in(to) a trumpet" #winning

2012-02-06T20:06:00.001-08:00

AT&T is to customer service that a sandpaper glove is to masturbation.

2012-02-04T18:11:00.001-08:00

Fire at our apartment building...go Saturday night excitement! :/

2012-02-04T12:40:00.001-08:00

Woman next to us looks like Baron Harkonnen after botched sex change...

2012-01-29T23:20:00.001-08:00

...getting close to done. Working title is "peoples instinctive travels..." you guess the pop culture reference #atcq

2012-01-29T21:47:00.001-08:00

"Kings of Leon" is the new Nickleback. And "Drake" is MC Hammer #thatsrightIsaidit

2012-01-28T23:42:00.001-08:00

A Tribe Called Quest is the greatest hip-hop group of all time, period...#troof

2012-01-28T16:34:00.001-08:00

Prepping for Tough Mudder 2 = swim in 55F water...7-10 minutes is quite enough to make your head feel like a compressed Slushee brick. #ow

2012-01-25T22:44:00.001-08:00

Darth Taper: http://ping.fm/QSzzR

2012-01-25T20:47:00.001-08:00

Works in progress from last weekend...

2012-01-25T20:33:00.001-08:00

Just ate Thai food with Commander Taco...which sounds surreal when you think about it. #neato

2012-01-24T10:20:00.001-08:00

Today, for the first time in literally decades...I had a complete brain-freeze while "on the mic" speaking publicly. I'm livid with myself.

2012-01-24T00:08:00.001-08:00

Next month will be my 7th show at Barefoot Coffee Bar; this will be mostly new works, including a lot of b+w illos and a few new abstracts.

2012-01-23T22:45:00.001-08:00

HaandBryggeriet makes 'Dobbel Dram', a "Norwegian Double IPA"...goes very well with Jambalaya (which is tasty, but not Norwegian at all)

2012-01-21T02:25:00.001-08:00

Late night Friday. Tried getting into art studio mode and failed. Watched "Colombiana" instead. Luc Besson action flicks = golden.

2012-01-19T17:13:00.001-08:00

If you are a fan of classic NYC House music, MAW is doing a rare live show in SF (w/ Miguel Migs): http://ping.fm/Ryc5K

2012-01-18T22:08:00.001-08:00

The revelations of dubstep: http://ping.fm/8ETqW hooolly wtf.

2012-01-18T14:22:00.001-08:00

Lunch at Los Cubanos with Megan, Andrew, Schmalz, Nav and 6583475683 others...excellent. Also...food coma.

2012-01-16T17:54:00.001-08:00

...not something you expect to find in the office bathroom.

2012-01-12T11:27:00.001-08:00

Did a semi-impromptu presentation in front of large group...had to invoke long-unused tech-evangelist skills. #nottooshabby

2012-01-11T09:30:00.001-08:00

Drove before dawn to attend a 6:15 AM interval workout with colleagues, and my CEOs personal trainer. #wthwasithinking?

2012-01-10T23:32:00.001-08:00

Looks like I'll miss SCALE this year...bummer. Big Ups to Ilan and Gareth and Co for putting it on every year in LA...next year I'm back.

2012-01-08T18:10:00.001-08:00

Kahua at Tarboosh in RWC.

2012-01-07T14:52:00.001-08:00

Chowder and smoked brisket sliders...at the Dutch Goose.

2012-01-05T12:37:00.001-08:00

I'm waiting for Bieber fever to just be reduced to a mild sinus infection addressable with over the counter pharmaceuticals

2012-01-02T21:50:00.001-08:00

ITVs "Whitechapel" was a pretty sly take on a modern Jack the Ripper mystery...takes a while to warm up, but eventually does the needful.

2012-01-01T17:10:00.001-08:00

Bezerkeley at dusk...now on to the south bay...

2011-12-31T22:31:00.001-08:00

Wayfare Tavern...

2011-12-29T23:00:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow night; the Missus got tix for Maz Jobrani at the Improv. #haha

2011-12-29T16:52:00.001-08:00

http://ping.fm/RLAIe #microsoftcloudfail

2011-12-27T21:18:00.001-08:00

Shabuway...is the way to go.

2011-12-26T23:57:00.001-08:00

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was pretty good. I can understand why some folks won't like it, and its not Sir Alec Guinness, but it works.

2011-12-24T02:24:00.001-08:00

Parallel 37...

2011-12-23T23:36:00.001-08:00

I'm at the top floor of the Marriott in the bar...there is a woman here who has had so much plastic surgery she looks like a Klingon.

2011-12-20T19:58:00.001-08:00

http://ping.fm/M2yx2 BSS + BBC One = boomshakalaka!

2011-12-19T22:52:00.001-08:00

I need to start doing split workout sets ASAP, or I will struggle like last time through #toughmudder. Show n' prove...

2011-12-19T06:11:00.001-08:00

Hello Monday...why do I feel like I just got punched by a catatonia-grenade. #cannotbraintoday

2011-12-17T03:03:00.001-08:00

Drakes' "Jolly Roger" Imperial Dark IPA (2011) is possibly the only interesting thing to ever come out of San Leandro (seriously).

2011-12-17T00:57:00.001-08:00

http://ping.fm/33p8q Subnav mix w/ Drake, Beirut, Little Dragon and otherwise random+fun

2011-12-17T00:20:00.001-08:00

Sherlock Holmes II = not quite as good as the first film, but still good flick. Noomi Rapace & Stephen Fry were great supporting cast.

2011-12-16T02:11:00.001-08:00

First saw the #brounfellinis live at the Ajax in '93...today I watched them at Yoshi's SF and they still burn at high heat. Support locals.

2011-12-15T21:31:00.001-08:00

When you've had a bad day, don't be a mope or do 'retail therapy', just go out into the world and rock thangs like a hustla' (works for me)

Sine Die

2006-11-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

All things must pass, and this is no exception. This blog will stay archived here, but no new posts will be forthcoming, as I have moved my blogs to zeruch.net and vox.com respectively (the latter being the successor to this one).

Thank you folks. The ride continues.

Jo Beng's debut album

2006-11-02T01:28:00.000-08:00

Jo Beng
P-Phonic Records 2004

While there are a few promising bits on this album --a riff here, a beat there, and occasionally an entire cut like I Told You So-- this is mostly a tepid retread of neo-soul lite with somewhat flat production and her vocals veer around too much in terms of focus: from sounding in a Erykah Badu approximation (like the aforementioned I Told You So) to a postive-vibe inducing slink to just somewhat faceless R&B.

I am not totally writing her off, just hoping that with time she will develop her sound into something more cohesive and distinct, as it is clear she has a solid vocal prowess and can work with a variety of idioms.

Channel's Future Unclear

2006-11-01T06:53:00.000-08:00

Clear Channel, a firm I have nothing but virulent contempt for, appears to be trying to sell itself off, and maybe (although the article tries to paint it with a far rosier brush than I would have given CC credit for) there has been some irregularity in trading of CC shares lately. This would appear to be tied to the fact that their earnings are down and in at least one case have been downgraded as a stock.

Mariah Gets The Boot

2006-10-30T02:00:00.000-08:00

In a sign that taste can prevail at a mass scale, Hong Kong seems to have balked at meeting the vacuous demands of low-ticket selling wretch Mariah Carey. Given that she exemplifies tasteless and classless but thinks that by giving the appearance of surface charm (read: expensive but otherwise gaudi wardrobe and utterly lacking in tact but great at pronounced posturing) she can be something other than what she is; another sexually underwhelming and aurually overbearing pop wench.

Scritti Politti - Early

2006-10-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

Scritti Politti
Early
Rough Trade 2006

Mention Scritti Politti to most folks and they will recall the mid-80s slick and sly arty pop machine, if they remember them at all. Few seem to recall they started as a post-punk outfit in a similar vein to Public Image Limited and Joy Division, except less angry and more emphatically political leftists. Green Gartside is a man who loved the philosophy of Derrida, and the being as D.I.Y. as anyone.

Given his now legendary reclusiveness (he has made only two albums in as many decades), and his penchant for not really showing any interest in this period of his output, one has to be gleefully surprised that all these early EPs have been collected for reevaluation by the masses. Apparently, it is partially due to him being sick of being asked about it, if you read the liner notes he provides.

It is dirty, quirky, and very much a product of that period in time in England, with a very busy and earnest sound; kind of like a hummable The Pop Group. Some of the cuts could be on radio today, and fit right between Bloc Party and whatever bands cheaply imitating the Gang of Four and Joy Division are popular these days.

Skank Bloc Bologna, Is and Ought the Western World and Bibbly-O-Tek are indicative of the clanging, drunken, sputtering fun of those early years, with two cuts harkening ever so faintly to the future of the group in the now classic Lions After Slumber and The Sweetest Girl.

If you are thinking of looking into the early 80s post-punk movement, put this on your shopping list right along with all the other classics.

Of note: this album has nothing to do with their current release White Bread Black Beer (nominated for a Mercury Prize this year).

Level 42 - Retroglide

2006-10-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Level 42
Retroglide
2006

A dozen years since the last true studio album and almost twenty since the classic lineup recorded together, Mark King and Mike Lindup are back as Level 42, with Boon Gould having contributed writing and Phil Gould having rumoured to have done unattributed arrangements on a least one cut. While this falls short of a true reunion, the sound is a welcome --if incomplete-- return.

Level 42 left a wake of not only commercial pop success throughout the 1980s, but influential cred with what would become the jazz-funk and acid jazz movements that followed. Originally a quartet of King, Lindup and the Gould brothers, they married Return to Forever jazz fusion chops to white-soul and New Wave. Differences over the direction of the band caused the Gould brothers to vacate in 1987, with Gary Husband (Bill Cobham, Allan Holdsworth) filling the drum chair, and a rotating cast in the guitar seat (including Jakko Jacyzyk, Holdsworth and the late Alan Murphy). They struggled to find an identity from 88-92, and eventually ended on a high note with Phil Gould returning to the studio with Lindup and King for the very underrated Forever Now album.

From there King took the name and basically toured the band into semi-obscurity as basically a nostalgia act (complete with steady releases of live material of questionable quality) with session players in tow (including Husband and King's sibling), until events seemed to finally bring things somewhat full circle. Apparently this album idea started with all four original members working, as well as unofficial 5th man Wally Badarou (Talking Heads, Grace Jones, Da Lata). It broke down to what we have now.

So what do we have?

This is not the best album they could have probably made, as the lack of Phil Gould is truly lacking. While Husband is a more than capable drummer, his feel is radically different, and it is Gould's deceptively simple trap kit slink I miss the most. That being said, this album is a King and Boon Gould collaboration in the composition department, and that has kept King's cheesy tendencies at bay. There are lots of solid hooks and melodies, and while not as many full bore tracks as I would like, the album is not the ballad-laden mess of King's last solo album, One Man.

But when the group goes for broke, it really succeeds, especially on the lead of cut Dive into the Sun; punchy synths, layered vocals and the kind of bass work that shows you why King is nicknamed "thunder thumb." Rooted is a thick slice of anthemic pop-fusion that works extremely well, as does the neo-soul informed All Around and . Where the album falters is in most of the slower tracks, like the dull UK bonus track All I Need and Clouds. Where it succeeds, is in the very laid back Ship.

As the title implies, this album does go very retro to the period and style that made Level 42 multi-million selling chart toppers, but I don't think making the cover of the NME was the goal, as much as just capitulating to being shameless uncool and just having a damn good time.

Which is why this album is one of the better releases of 2006.

Babs is a Boob

2006-10-25T06:10:00.000-07:00

...yes, I know, she has two of them. I am saying she is one. The self-absorbed, guile filled, pop fluff y and irony-free ditz diva apparently values herself as a political target.

So much so that she has security requirements that most federal political figures are not entitled to, and that would probably be the envy of a drug cartel overlord.

The only bombs her security complement is ever likely to find is extra copies of her albums laying around.

What an imbecilic crone.

Bernie Worrell - All the WOO in the World

2006-10-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

Bernie Worrell
All the Woo in the World
1978

When I was a little boy, I would go to the library and borrow records and tapes to listen. One record I was fascinated by was this one, but mostly because of the risque cover (you are young, impressionable, and have no idea what to make of anything on a P-Funk or related album sleeve), and the use of the word WOO the same way my younger brother approximated the word "Smurf." Too weird for a mind just getting into ELO and Rush.

So I missed out back in the mid 80s, and by the time I had fully wrapped my mind around the connection to the P-Funk mothership and the brilliance of Bernie Worrell, I could not find the album, as it was then long out of print. However, sometimes in your most unfunky moments, a gem will appear in the record store to save you.

For those that are truly living under a rock (be it a punk, hard or emo one), Bernie is an American institution. A child prodigy who was composing complete classical and jazz style works before adolescence, and whose technical proficiency puts him well beyond almost anyone else in modern popular music (and yes, I include folks like Stevie Wonder and Keith Emerson in that class). Following his genre-bending trajectory will take you from all of George Clinton's best efforts, through extended stints with the Talking Heads, Les Claypool, and Bill Laswell. His session resume also includes Fela Kuti, Keith Richards, Mike Watt, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Mos Def.

All the Woo in the World was Bernie's debut solo release, and was clearly an extension of his efforts as a core of the Parliament-Funkadelic core offensive line. It is uneven in that is seems to have no real common theme or style (which seems to be a regular criticism of this album), but all the cuts are completely listenable, fun, and often make it impossible to not want to have a party. Numerous P-Funk colleagues make appearances, and the P-Funk tendency towards head-knodding mayhem is very much in attendance; many tracks move with a kind of casual jam-riot given the big lineups. Of special note is the dual guitar onslaught of Funkateers Michael Hampton and the woofully underappreciated Eddie Hazel. They lay down slinky grooves and burning leads, with a gold star to Hazel on the 12 minute thumping opus, Insurance Man for the Funk.

I'd by a policy.

Radiocrunk

2006-10-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

So someone has done eight crunked out instrumental covers of Radiohead tunes. Thom Yorke never sounded so street.

Whodini - Freaks Come Out At Night

2006-10-20T03:34:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest hip hop jams of the 80s, and one I heard repeatedly. Apparently, Mr. Janet Jackson (aka Jermaine Dupri) was a dancer for these guys way back in the day.

The video was not broadcast too much, as MTV really did not cater to what would become called urban radio much, but Ecstacy's flat-rimmed Zorro hat is still well remembered by those of the period.

King Leopold was never this Funky

2006-10-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

There is a deeply wonky reference in that title, but today's random recommendation goes to Congo by former Groove Theory frontwoman Amel Larrieux. A tight, loping pulse with layered vocals has a measured bustle to it, and is on her sophomore release, Bravebird.

I have not had the chance to pick up her latest, Morning, but it is on the checklist.

The Freesound Project

2006-10-16T03:33:00.000-07:00

Really simple. Free sound samples/loops.

Hair Metal Quiz

2006-10-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

So, here is the quiz. I got 12 of 16 right. I am not sure if that is worth admitting to or not.

Davis Bowie Top 10

2006-10-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

My own peronal top 10 songs by David Bowie (yes, this is a bit of a filler post):

1. The Heart's Filthy Lesson
2. Golden Years
3. I'm Afriad of American
4. Heroes
5. Fame
6. Time Will Crawl
7. Let's Dance
8. Jump They Say
9. Black Tie White Noise
10. Young Americans

The Nazz

2006-10-12T03:57:00.000-07:00

This is the first video and song by the Nazz I experienced way back in the early 80s (although the song is from the 60s), and still enjoy it to this day. Nazz member Todd Rundgren has since had the band Utopia, various solo projects, numerous production credits (including Bourgeois Tagg and XTC) and currently singing in a revamped version of the Cars.

But here is the start of it all:

On U Sound Returns (maybe)

2006-10-10T02:28:00.000-07:00

On U Sound, that venerable --if not always well administered-- label led by sonic auteur Adrian Sherwood, seems to be going through a resurrection of sorts, and the future looks interesting.

While ther are still some of the lingering problems from the last iteration of the site (odd typos, too many sections yet to be built out), the redesign looks good and what is there looks promising, especially since many members of the On U Sound universe appear to be in ascending phases of activity.

Fight Club.

2006-10-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I am reminded that simple concepts can lead to wonderfully novel things. In this case, someone answered the question:

What if all your old 12" vinyl album art came to life and engaged in guerilla warfare upon itself.

And therein lies the Rub....

2006-10-05T02:15:00.000-07:00

...specifically, Itstherub.

More mash-up, remix goodness.

Sur la Mash-Ups

2006-10-04T02:01:00.000-07:00

What happens when you get the French and mash-ups? You get this. Never did I think Justin Timberlake and Siouxie together would be so oddly fun.

Allan Holdsworth @ Yoshi's

2006-10-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

Allan Holdsworth, Alan Pasqua, Chad Wackerman, Jimmy Haslip @ Yoshi's of Oakland.

Holdsworth is one of those guys destined to be loved by musicians and ignored otherwise. This is partially because his music is very idiocyncratic, and also because the long known rumor is that his business and promotional sense is next to nil. In person he seems very shy, almost to the point of Forrest Gumpism. On stage, this carries over to his demeanor (he barely moves at all save his fingers), but usually one is so transfixed by what he does on a fretboard, you really do not notice much else.

His resume is a little bit all over the map; he played with Bill Bruford in both Bruford, and in the first iteration of prog-rock supergroup U.K., played solos with both Level 42 and Heavy Machinery, and as it relates to this show, did an early stint with jazz juggernaut Tony Williams.
This show was supposed to be a tribute of sorts to both he and Pasqua's time with Williams. In a way it was, as you could hear some of the vamps and transitions from thatperiod, but it was all engulfed in what was really a showcase for Holdsworth and Wackerman. This is not a bad thing mind you, but if you came for a mimicry of early Lifetime! you were in for a sore disappointment.

Pasqua is an able player, and had some firey solos, and even Haslip was given a spot or two to deliver some chops, but cut after cut, it was Holdsworth and Wackerman firing on all cyninders. And not everything is just soloing fusion madness, but this is where tasty composition actually comes into play. This is not Chick Corea Elektric Band, or Najee. This is original sounding jazz fusion with a lot of energy but not a wankfest. It was a great show.

Also, this is the second time we have been to Yoshi's where it has been recorded for later release. The first was for a Bill Bruford's Earthworks show ironically that turned into a live album. In this case, it was being videotaped in HD for DVD release early next year.

The prelude to this show was dinner at Yoshi's which is covered in detail here.

Avril is Awvull

2006-10-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

So, I have never thought particularly highly of Miss Lavigne, given that her voice is shrill, her music dull, and her entire public appearance a combination of utterly daft blithering and posed marketable rebellion for people that barely graduated the Disney Channel for edginess.

Now the snot-nosed little glamor-puss shows that its not about what is outside, but whats inside. And whats inside is phlegm, that erupts from her talent-deficient maw when the "punk" princess is not given her proper respects. Case in point here.

What a trollop.

Kurt Rosenwinkle - Enemies of Energy

2006-09-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

Kurt Rosenwinkel
Enemies of Energy
2000 GRP/Verve

I am far from good with non-fusion jazz guitarists. I mean, everyone at least knows the biggies (Django, Charlie, Wes) plus a few others that might stand out, like Charlie Hunter and Rodney Jones. But often jazz guitar has suffered from an auditory sameness to me. Rosenwinkel is a bit of an interesting find.

He's got a good support group behind him, with Ben Street and Jeff Ballard keeping a solid pulse and Scott Kinsey adding some bold color. Mark Turner has never impressed me much as a leader, but here he fits into the overall sound well. His tenor sax is crisp. Rosenwinkel himself has an edge to him, even when playing more lilting passages. He has more of that Grant Green vibrance than the often cringe-worthy Wes Montgomery hackery that happens in jazz (Wes was brilliant, but he has been second-rate imitated into nuisance).

As of late, Kurt has been collaborating with Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.

Strange and Ironic

2006-09-25T02:51:00.000-07:00

So in one of those strange moments, I found myself finding myself.

I was at Kucharo's studio today working on drum tracks with him on Warr guitar, and during a break I suggested he try listening to some Moloko. So he fires up iTunes and when he does a search it also brings up a DJ set release calld Afro Disco 2 by one David Roman. It sports a rather unique cover, namely:

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vinyl remixXXV by ^zeruch on deviant ART

Of course, I mention this, because the image is mine. I [re]created it and posted it in October of 2002, where it has been ever since. Imagine my surprise, seeing as I was never asked for permission to reprint or distribute. The irony was not only finding it while randomly jamming to music, but that the image itself is a remix of sorts; it is part of a series called the Vinyl Remix, which is whereI take 12" vinyl record sleeves and use them as the foundational canvas for me painting over them.

In that case it was the album cover of the band The Teardrop Explodes (most notable for having had postmodern rock posterchild Julian Cope in it). Oddly enough, their style of cranky, psychedelic, and very arty-pop bears no resemblance to the broken-beat/nu-jazz excursions of Mr. Roman.

I have sent an email looking for some clarification, as this very well could be that he had nothing to do with it, and he could have had some guy do the cover for him, not telling him of where the source image was derived.

The funny thing is, I am known for my bias towards musicians, and have often allowed use of my work or done work for musicians for much less than I would for other clients -- sometimes for as little as a copy of whateve product the work(s) will appear on and proper accreditation on said product(s), or if they are local, guest list status for a gig or two.

video: Staci Lattisaw and Puffy

2006-09-24T02:36:00.000-07:00

Let's see. We have an R&B diva past her prime (Staci Lattisaw peaked with Nail it To the Wall in my opinion), a very cut and paste style video from the period, complete with big hair and loud fashion. So why do I point this one out in particular? This may be the first appearance of Puff Daddy/Diddy/Dummy, with some whacked out angular haircut and even dopier look.

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China Crisis - Flaunt the Imperfection

2006-09-20T03:57:00.000-07:00

China Crisis
Flaunt the Imperfection

I never really noticed CC in the 80s, and barely rememebered the name of them in the 90s, but finally saw a bargain copy of Flaunt the Imperfection and took the chance.

It is well produced pop in an vaguely arty way. They clearly like social commentary and playing with words much as guys like Cy Curnin of the Fixx and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, but they lack the cleverness of the former and the anthemic power of the latter.

Sometimes the melodies make you think of Squeeze, sometimes Curiosity Killed the Cat, and flashes of stolen Prefab Sprout circa Two Wheels Good. And it is that kind of almost shiftlessness that makes them listenable, but I can see why they never gained a strong toehold in the US. The production is of good quality for the time, which I attribute to Steely Dan's Walter Becker at the helm.

The strong cuts are King in a Catholic Style, which starts off like a Howard Jones uptempo knock-off, and Wall of God which sports a vocal line oddly reminescent of David Byrne in his Talking Heads period. Overall, a decent slice of 1985.

Miguel Migs - 24th St Sounds

2006-09-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

Now I have been a fan of the soulful House grooves of Miguel Migs since first encountering them with the various early Naked Music label releases. Let's face it, it is nice to know that Santa Cruz can produce more than Sarah macLachlan fans and a University with a banana slug for a mascot.

That being said, this one does not bubble as consistently. The basslines are less compelling, and the Rhodes vamps sometimes appear to be on autopilot, even though they still sound great. What sells this 2cd set is the mix session of disc two, where you get a real build up and release feel instead of the discrete cuts laid out in a rather staid manner of disc one.

Mel B - Word Up

2006-09-19T04:32:00.000-07:00

Melanie Brown is not capable of properly covering a Cameo song, even if she performs it looking like the love child of Larry Blackmon and Jean Beuvoir. To her credit though, her version is not as bad as the one let loose upon us by Korn.

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Akufen - My Way

2006-09-19T00:40:00.000-07:00

Akufen is one of the monikers employed by Canadian Mark LeClair, and My Way was my first experience with what seems to be getting referred to as microsampling, which seems to excite hipsters as interesting in and of itself. It isn't, no matter how many times you ramble about Deck the House being the centerpiece track of this album. It strikes me as well within the bounds of Plunderphonics, although as rendered by someone with severe ADD.

What is interesting is that he appears to have quite an ear for what he does with microsampling, which is to say he makes glitchy, yet fluid sound constructs from bits of across-the-band radio, shortwave and whatever else he is able to acquire as a sound foundation to deconstruct and lay over spartan house loops. Helped by some masterful mixing/panning technique, this record is a sleeper hit in the making. Repeated listens are necessary.

The album skates around minimalist house ideas, hints at dubwise, and alludes to some of the same dense atmospherics of Ben Watt, Leftfield, Adrian Sherwood and Wally Badarou.

Finding the Last Exit

2006-09-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last Exit was one of those supergroups destined to never be really known until after their demise as to how insanely powerful avant-jazz and no-wave made as bedmates. With a backline of Bill Laswell and Ronald Shannon Jackson, serrating guitarist Sonny Sharrock (most known in the popular eye as the composer of the Space Ghost, Coast to Coast theme) and squonk supplied by saxophone wrestler Peter Brotzmann. Dissonant, pulsing, and ranging from the cacophonic to the schitzophrenic, this is pure force.

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Shovel Chestnuts in my path....

2006-09-15T03:24:00.000-07:00

When I first heard De La Soul, I knew something was up. This 7 minute EPK film from 1989 shows them launching one of the most creative careers in hip-hop.

Raising (the profile of) Arizona

2006-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

So, the latest indie addition to music documentaries is High and Dry, about the music scene in Tuscon. I found out about this looking for what ever happened to the Machines of Loving Grace, which I had wrongfully assumed was a NYC or LA based outfit. Apparently groups like Giant Sand and Supersuckers also call the desert oasis home.

To quote: HIGH AND DRY pays tribute to the influential and eclectic community of musicians that has emerged from Tucson, Arizona over the past 20 years. Through performances and interviews, the documentary captures the struggle of one small town's big music scene.

It even has its own myvapidspace page.

In Geosynchronous Orbit and Looking Dapper

2006-09-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

In celebration of a resurrected Good Looking Organization, I have been listening largely to a nonstop mix of the first five LTJ Bukem-helmed Earth compilations (as well as Volume 7, but the rest I need to find in the stacks).

While I discovered LTJ's efforts shortly after Goldie and Roni Size, it was he that really bridged my love of 70s funk and soul with a jungle consciousness that has never stopped appealling. GLO, along with its sister label Looking Good and the various sub-boutique imprints all had a consistent level of quality, both in terms of the music and in the overall packaging. Nookie, Makoto*, Artemis, Blame, Tayla, Big Bud (sometimes with the late Weldon Irvine), Blue Mar Ten, PHD & the Funky Technician, Doc Scott, and the Amalgamation of Soundz among so many others.

* especially the almost straight acid jazz cut (with Lori Fine on vocals) currently in my ears: You're Divine.

A Positive Infestation

2006-09-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

So, after finally scoring the latest by the adventurous collective, Bugz in the Attic, Back in the Doghouse, I have to say...oh, yes.

Broken Beat meets classic 80's funk and soul. The most delicious tweaked out synth bass since Me'Shell N'degeocello made her solo debut, and a full bodyrock dancefloor beat assault.

Groove Collective - People People Music Music

2006-09-11T02:39:00.000-07:00

Ever since I discovered a used copy of Groove Collective's debut (a radio promo actually that I got in a bargain bin before the actual street release date), I knew these guy were true playas...of music. Deeply informed by every jazz, soul, funk, afro-beat, electronic and hip hop variation that can be transmuted and mixed to make the movement of butts occur and ears perk up. They have produced a steady stream of albums that are technically ambitious but never for the sake of perfunctory action. These guys play for the crowd, and the crowd wants what their name implies.

On this release they move back a bit to the furious acid jazz styled dancefloor funk, but still move forward with tracks like the broken beat and baritone sax fusillade of Set Up, the retro-soul in the vocal cut What If, and the channelling of Feli Kuti like high-life vibe in DFU (fans of Fela, Tony Allen and Antibalas take note). It is all there and all sonically delicious and aurally nutricious. There is a more than respectable take on the Herbie Hancock standard Speak Like a Child as well, and the spacey late night slow jam Outermost.

There is something to be said for a band like GC that really isn't anything other than a great groove band; it is not straightahead, it is not acid jazz, funk, neo-soul, broken beat, disco, or anything else. It pulls from all those styles the same core sense of groove and fluid pulse that makes for serious headknodding and smiles all around.

So pick up People People, Music Music...then go pick up everything else, starting with the debut and work your way up.

As an aside, the Missus and I caught Groove Collective live a few years ago in SF (they broke the place down to atoms), and at one point I met GC drummer/co-founder Genji Siraisi and asked him about GC side project the Repercussions, as I was unable to find a copy of their second LP, which was a Japan-only release. His repsonse was that even he didn't have a copy of it anymore. So if anyone reading this knows how to get a copy, I have money and a desire to acquire.

Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group - Live

2006-09-08T02:23:00.000-07:00

Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live

This is a live collection documenting the tour subsequent to the timeless Beck release Wired, and at its best, it builds on the muscular, peerless power of that period of Beck's output, even if it ocasionally trips over itself. The backing band is of course led by ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist Jan Hammer, but otherwise not as interesting as past Beck sidemen like drummers Richard Bailey and Narada Michael Walden (another Mahavishnu alum).

The opener is Freeway Jam, and it is a juicy piece of jazz-rock, with an almost southern tweak to it in spots. Lots of furious playing, but none of it aimless. In other spots, songs seem to reflect various motifs; funk vamps reminiscent of Stevie Wonder (who wrote for Beck the classic Superstitious but ended up recording it himself at his managers request) and staccato peaks of crisp melody lines, delta blues snarl (especially on She's A Woman) and some incendiary fusion shredding. While Beck's expressiveness has improved over the years, the truth is he seems to have been born into music with a fully developed and highly resolute musical persona. Even when the material is not his best, his personal contributions in performance are very much up to snuff.

About the only weak spots are the few vocals (Jan...stick to the ivories wouldja? Thanks), the one notable exception being the vocoder on Full Moon Boogie, which just skates through pretty cleanly, as does the aggro electric violin by Steve Kindler. I think my favorite track right now is the long and involved madness of Darkness/Earth in Search of the Sun, which is a mutant piece of electrified chamber-fusion that builds a slow but relentless climb to fruition. The Hendrix meets Mahvishnu blues-freakdown of closer Blue Wind is also memorable.

Ice Magazine R.I.P.

2006-09-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

In a bit of sad news, Ice Magazine, the lo-fi but high-quality music trade rag, is der kerplonk as of March.

Bad Brains live at CBGB's

2006-09-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

In the early 80s DC Jahcore (yes, i made that term up because I figured I needed to join the trend of naming every band its own genre with a prefix before *core. Although at least in the case of the Bad Brains, the fact that they kind of are their own genre is actually generally accepted, no matter what moniker you put on it) band Bad Brains recorded 3 nights of their sonic maelstrom at CBGB's. I have learned from that great place Ropeadope that the footage of those shows is finally getting official DVD release.

MVD is the actual company releasing it, and the order page is here. It has many of tracks I consider essential, such as Big Take Over, Coptic Times, and The Meek Shall Inherit. I just wish Sailin' On was there.

There really is nothing like a fusion of jazz-chops with Rastafarianism and DC Hardcore at a velocity and intensity that runs hotter than the surface of Mercury.

Nelly Furtado - The Grass is Green

2006-09-07T03:18:00.000-07:00

Nelly Furtado
The Grass is Green

Well, since she is now back and the darling of the TRL set once more, let's take a look at Nelly Furtado. Or rather at one of her older, singles, because at this point you can't get anyone to shut up about her current album (which I like, but I think is weaker than her sophomore album, Folklore).

The Grass is Green was a decent enough release, but the magic of this single is the B-sides, in this case 2 non-lp version cuts...well, one is magic, the other is a bit of a parlor trick. My Love Goes Deeper is a soulful, mellow track that would have been better than the version that ended up on the actual album. Party on the other hand, sounds more like a good quality demo, but falls a bit short of the mark (especially the inane breathy bits about 4 minutes into the cut).

John Abercrombie - Night

2006-09-06T03:10:00.000-07:00

It starts with a cluster of dirge like notes, almost Depeche Mode in character, but then traverses some ECM filter and becomes some kind of floaty jazz chords inflected with kind of a strange Reggae structure, which i guess is why the cut is called Ethereggae. It is actually the weakest track here, and the sole songwriting credit by Jan Hammer. It simply gets a little too off into the cheesy keyboard sounds (this was after all, recorded in 1984, right around when he was getting rady to score the Miami Vice theme). Oddly enough, the rest of his playing on the album is subdued and much more tasteful and supportive of the material.

The title track is appropriately named. The whole vibe is nocturnal, and this carries throughout much of the rest of the tracks. Quiet without being lightweight, there is a bounce in Jack DeJohnette's drumming and Abercrombie just plays every note with a mature aplomb. His tone is not apeing Wes Montgomery, nor is it cloying in the way Pat Matheny gets on some of his more straightahead releases. It is often sparse in terms of notes, but the space is filled with the resonance and ringing clarity of his rather distinct tone. The album closes with the one Abercrombie uptempo composition, 4 On 1, which is just a bunch of horses bolting out the gate. Bebop frenzy timekeeping with scalar runs by Ambercrombie and bursts of bth clean and contorted notes by saxman Michael Brecker and Hammer on organ (or a synth organ that sounds respectable).

This is not the best thing John Abercrombie has done, but it has some inspired moments worth investigating for both the jazz guitarist muso and the casual laid back jazz listener.

Jhelisa

2006-09-05T00:37:00.000-07:00

It is rare when I find a soul artist whose material makes little to no flaws, but Jhelisa Anderson is one of them. The first time I heard her I didn't even know it was her, as I first heard her as a semi-anonymous vocalist with the techno frontiersmen The Shamen, namely on their big splash statesite, Boss Drum. *

Her own work is notably removed from the acid-house dance music of the Shamen, and I discovered her outright in the early 90s on one of the Dorado label compilations of which I am almost sure it was either the song Friendly Pressure or Sally's Knockin' At Your Door.

In any event the woman clearly draws from both her family tree (daddy is James Brown band stalwart Bobby Byrd), and the various soul movements from the acid-jazz/neo-soul camps, as well as delta blues, rare groove and folk. She has a new album out, that wa almost washed out with Hurricane Katrina, and she is touring. Go...see...her. If you can't, here are some video clips and links to give you an idea:

This first one is very impressive, as I loved the jungle electronica of Inner City Life when I first heard it by Goldie (one of the first jungle/drum n bass singles I ever picked up), and here it is fully reworked into a jazz invocation, with the Re:Jazz collective;

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The next is simple, links to her myspace presence, and her new album EPK and miscellaneous info.

* of note, she has also done session work with big stars like Bryan Ferry and Bjork. And for you trivial pursuit people, she is the sister of Carleen Anderson, who sang on the seminal Young Disciples album Road to Freedom and briefly did a stint with the Brand New Heavies, as well as solo and session work. Both are the daughters of vocalist Vicki Anderson and James Brown band stalwart Bobby Byrd.

Jazz is the Teacher, Funk is the Preacher

2006-09-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

...and throw in the kitchen sink, and call them the Punk-Funk All-stars.

What happens when you mix the following elements:

Vernon Reid (Living Colour, Decoding Society, Yohombe Bros.)
Joseph Bowie (Defunkt, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Yusuf Lateef, the Contortions)
Melvin Gibbs (Decoding Society, Rollins Band, John Zorn, Caetano Veloso)
Ronald Shannon Jackson (Decoding Society, Ornette Coleman, Power Tools)
and guest James "Blood" Ulmer

?

You get some pretty amazing stuff played on tour. It is busy, growling, ecstatic, and fun.

Having heard some of the live footage from their July performance at a festival in Amsterdam, I have to say that this is a ridiculously muscular and noisy outfit doing some refreshingly uncontrived material. It borrows from the back catalogs of all its members, and the result is stuff that collides Tony Williams Lifetime and Ornette Coleman's PrimeTime, No Wave with No Regard for Rules, deep Delta blues with wide floods of post-punk derived cacophonic mayhem.

There are two shows on dbtree.org

Love and Rockets - No New Tale to Tell

2006-09-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

This was the video/song that introduced me to Love and Rockets (and which I worked back to Bauhaus eventually, but not before also seeing and hearing Peter Murphy for the first time via his Cuts You Up single release). I recently saw the Bauhaus Gotham DVD and have to say...pretty impressive, in a morose and overly macabre way.

fm416 - Canada has Beats to Go

2006-08-31T22:45:00.000-07:00

I think the above is self explanatory.

Now go there and listen.

DJ Qbert

2006-08-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.devilducky.com/media/47798/

This is where I think turntablism (along with the less showy but deft skill exhibited by guys like DJ Logic) as both a sampler unit and a functional instrument collide.

Molly's Yes - Wonderworld

2006-08-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

A shame this act never got off the ground on its major label debut at its time of release, as they would have beaten Hoobastank at its own formula (although in quick retrospect, that really is not a very high bar to clear) and probably deserved a sophomore try.

A kind of Maroon 5 pop sensibility with the anthemic bombast of a Big Country, this band has at least a trio of very listenable cuts: Frida Kahlo, Hypnotic and the centerpiece And She. There is also the very catchy and clearly geared for radio Fall Down, the moody but otherwise equally AOR 33 White Roses and the riff and chord romp of the title track.

While occasionally pretentious in a way clearly derived from the 80s influences they have in their pop-rock mix, lyrically they are slightly stronger, even when the production makes them too glossy for their own good. They had a above par vocalist in Ed Goggin and the band could clearly play well, but that production sterilizes some of the grit that the songs and the performances hint at (Pro-Tools is both a boon and a bane, no?).

This will still appeal to segments of the fanbases of U2, Foo Fighters, M5, Third Eye Blind, Goo Goo Dolls, Collective Soul and even Cheap Trick.

Harmless but fun.

Random Newsbits

2006-08-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it would appear the Sony has asked for a gag order of sorts, and in the process gagged itself, by opening its mouth to switch feet. I can't say i have any sympathy for this kind of legal chicanery.

In concert photo news, there is a lovely batch of images from a recent James Blood Ulmer show (featuring Vernon Reid, and what looks like Reid's keyboard assassin, Leon Grunbaum).

Also, Avril Lavigne got married. No one cares. Her music is still insipid and her interviews show someone with an IQ that makes Sid Vicious seem like a neurosurgeon by comparison.

It looks like Killing Joke have pseudo imploded again, with longtime bassist Paul Raven booking to tour with Ministry, and questions about what on earth they are doing in the air. One can assume based on history that Coleman probably lost his marble (singular) once more in some apoplectic bender.

The Seedy Arkhestra - Puzzle

2006-08-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

Fishbone changed my musical life in 1991. I was on Senior Trip in LA. We had gone to Balboa Beach and I picked up two albums in a hole in the wall music shop on the boardwalk; Sailing the Seas of Cheese by Primus, and The Reality of my Surroundings by Fishbone. The former got a few listens, the latter was on constant rotation for weeks and regularly returns to the deck to this day.

One of the magical parts of Fishbone was singer and multi-instrumentalist Charles Dowd, who was the sensitive soulster in a troupe of fusion/punk/thrash/phunck-junkee militants. He left after their Give a Monkey a Brain and he'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe, and I thought he dropped off the face of the earth. Instead, he released Puzzle under the Seedy Arkhestra moniker in 1997...and then dropped off the face of the earth.

After years of looking, I found that sole Seedy release, and it is a sweet release indeed. Dowd did not have the benefit of the stellar production team he had during his Fishbone days (everyone from David Khane to Terry Date were known to sit behind the boards) and there is some sense of "what if...?" in that regard, but this disc captures the roots of the guy largely responsible for tracks like Everyday Sunshine. It is his knack for songcraft and thematic shift-on-a-dimeyness (I am hereby deeming that a word) that works here.

Where can you get the classic Motown soul of Shing-a-Ling and later have a roots reggae informed Despite the Tears, co-written and with guitars and backing vocals by the late Jeff Buckley. And Jeff is not the only guest here worth noting, as appearances by vets and upstarts alike pepper the joint; Don Byron, Josh Roseman (JR Unit, Groove Collective) , N'Dea Davenport (Brand New Heavies), Amp Fiddler, and David Ryan Harris (John Mayer, Follow For Now) all make the rounds. There are jazzy passages, dub and roots, Motown and Stax, quirked out pop, and a feel that calls up Brooklyn and Trenchtown at a house party.

The only vestige of the cacophonic punk-funk sound of Fishbone is evident on the closer, Flog Your Dead Horse, which appears to be a parting epitaph for his former bandmates, and includes an absolutely caustic solo by Buckley (one of the few recorded instances of his guitar prowess at full bore). The rock-steady that permeates the album is what happens when you move up a step from No Doubt's forays into the genre (although Gwen is better looking than Chuck by any measure), and the tunes are what you step to when one gets tired of "singer songwriter" types that lack any self-deprecation or the faux soul of today's bump-grind-and-grab the cash R&B automatons.

This really deserved more attention than it received.

For Fishbone completists and seekers of goodness overall.

Cyndi Lauper - The Body Acoustic

2006-08-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

Cyndi Lauper
The Body Acoustic

To her credit, Ms. Lauper has been one of the few remnants of the 1980s who have been able to maintain a scaled down, but legitimately musical career since her initial big success in the first half of that much maligned decade. Her voice had to outlive her haircut.

She always had a distinct voice, and on this release, she puts it in some interesting contexts; largely acoustic, but the purpose here is reworks of her older material with collaborations that take the music quite often far afield of its original recordings. Money Changes Everything is a backwoods alt-country track with Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday, and the folky pop of All Through the Night features...Shaggy? While it isn't the best cut, for whatever reason, it does not totally fall on its face either.

While it will most likely appeal to the Santa Cruz coffeehouse set, her remake of Time After Time (one of two songs here with Sarah MacLachlan) is almost too conventional. It doesn't improve or really detract from the original; it just wasn't necessary. The same could be said of True Colours (although the use of real strings is a nice touch). Conversely, one of the few tunes that is all Cyndi is She Bop, which in its new arrangement goes from high speed anthemic pop-rock to a dark, almost Warren Zevon-esque elegy (although its closing ends kind of flat). Sisters of Avalon was a very solid improvemnet from its original, with layers of acoustic guitars and full harmonies between Lauper, Ani DiFranco and Vivian Green.

The real gems of this album is Above The Clouds, which has a repeating piano vamp and the flourishes courtesy of Jeff Beck, of which it is well established as impossible for him to not play tastefully and which Cyndi sings with grace. The other is the ska meets j-pop weirdness of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, a meeting of Ms. Lauper and the Japanese duo Puffy Ami Yumi. Yes, you heard that right.

Part of the reason I think this all works is that Lauper has always been actually mindful of how to sing a tune, and that she likes working with competant people. In this case she had the production services of William Whitman (whose credits include Cyndi's debut as well as the Fixx, Dexter Gordon, and Dar Williams), and session players like Mark Egan, Rob Hyman and Jamie West-Oram. The result is something quite coherent, given the span of guest spots and remaking of arrangements.

Good job, yo.

Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins

2006-08-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

Jenny Lewis & he Watson twins

This was a curiosity I had to try at the local listening station and then pickd up. It is alt-country pop done extra alt and laden with all the irony that one would expect from someone trying to channel both Bob Dylan and Barbara Mandrell.

Sometimes it works musically, as is the case with The Changing Sky; a kind of a feminine take on what could have been a Traveling Wilbury's b-side (and let's face it, Jenny Lewis is a lot easier
on the eyes than anyone in that outfit...have you ever seen Jeff Lynne). Oddly enough, she covers a Traveling Wilbury;s tune (Handle With Care) and seems to do the reverse...she screws it up royally.

Big Guns too is musically a joy, but the lyrics are (as so often happens with too much worldly angst and suburban irony) a little leaden. You Are What You Love is terribly catchy. A kind of twisted shuffle, It fails really badly with Rise Up With Fists, It Wasn't Me and Happy, which either suffer from morose arrangements, or just kind of sluggish, phoned in performances.

The Watson Twins are a surprise joy, with their harmony vocals working sublimely.

Petracovich - We Are Wyoming

2006-08-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

I have heard this referred to as "bedroom folktronica" and I suppose this is as useful a descriptive (and catchy for marketing purposes) term for what is laid out on 2005's We Are Wyoming. I am not sure if this is what the sound of Wyomingians are, but if it is, Wyoming sounds pretty chill and pleasant.*

Based on her RupertMurdochpage, they/she is Santa Rosa based, and seems to gig round the Pac Norwest, when she/they are not busy making folktronica in their bedroom.

The sound is quiet and has much of the lo-fi but clean elements in post-rock but otherwise played very much in the coffeehouse folkiness range. It uses the typical minimalist beat constructions with acoustic bits interlaced over it (piano, guitars, and a string or brass bit here and there; in this case cello and trumpet) and a few less typical things (wurlitzer, kalimba, harmonica). It is an easy sound to ignore in the sense that it can easily fade into the background, but it is also eay to enjoy if you are actually paying attention. Jessica Peters has a softness to her voice that does not come off as pretentiously airy, but naturally tends to float over the spacious but delicate layers underpinning her sound. The use of harmonized vocals in spots fills the proceedings up nicely, and some of this leans towards realms frequented by folks like post-'Til Tuesday Aimee Mann, debut period Imogen Heap, and Leslie Feist (particularly her solo material, not her work with Broken Social Scene).

This will grow on you I suspect.

There is a little DIY promo video for Petracovich right over here. Downloadable to boot.

* I have been to Wyoming. It's too bloody cold, but the people are nice.

TF's Buyers Guide Recommendations

2006-08-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

...is not this.

While I like the idea of a standalone unit that does a closed-loop conversion of tapes and vinyl to cd, the design of the TEAC GF-350. While not connecting to a computer is a minor irritant (what if I want to fit several albums onto one disc?) the idea that I need special watermarked cd's that cost more and are difficult to find, and a price tag I find less than commensurate with what is offered (400 USD), and the showstopper is that it builds DRM into the cd's it creates.

That is flat out garbage, as after the Sony debacle and the general idiocy that such useless tripe can wreak on a machine (although I only know second hand, as I play my cd's mostly in a cd-stereo or on a linux box, as that is where my jukebox for the house is), I am not inclined to give that much control to an exogenous party for my money.

To add injury to insult, the sound quality transfer is apparently less than stellar.

No thanks.

KGC is a drug against bore(dom).

2006-08-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

Given that the lineup includes 2 key members of KMFDM and the indestructible Dean Garcia of Curve, I have high hopes for KGC.

Richard Butler returns, and other similar stuff.

2006-08-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

So I am back a little early and ready to return to rambling incessantly about music I like (and occasionally about music I don't).

Over the past months I had been hearing about the return of Richard Butler, most famous for his stint as the semi-androgynous, semi-arty and fully raspy-voiced frontman for the Psychedelic Furs, a band I generally liked throughout the 80s when I associated them with various Hughes movies with Molly Ringwald.

I had known that he fronted a second outfit in the 1990s, Love Spit Love, but had never really taken notice of them. However, recently I found both LVL's sophomore album and a promo copy of Butler's new solo debut in a bargain bin at Rasputin's in Fremont. So I picked them up on a nostalgic lark, as I had also been listening lately to the Furs again; you never can get enough Pretty In Pink or The Ghost in You.

So the short and the long of it is that LVL (at least the Trysome Eatone album) was a kind of update of the Furs sound, with a guitar attack closer to the very early post-punk that Butler and the Furs emerged from with some very polished production. I think this album would actually do better today then upon its initial release in 1997, as this is exactly the sound bands like The Bravery and Interpol are mining, with less grit and less mileage. This is especially apparent on songs like the crunchy Little Fist and the dark stomp of Sweet Thing. There is some really artsy dynamism and almost full metal heft to parts of More Than Money, and the catchy Believe. There are some dead spots, but all around this was a steal at the price, and any adolescent goober that drools over the latest Killers single needs to re-evaluate what the real deal is.

Now Richard Butler had been out of the spotlight for a decade and seems to have admitted in interviews to have gotten into painting and going through a divorce, the death of one of his parents, and otherwise building a series of human experiences to power this rather low-key debut solo album. The opener, Good Days Bad Days seems to be an introduction of sorts to the period that led to the making of this album. It is a delicate bit of arty pop arrangement (including rolling strings and a sustain-heavy guitar section). His voice still has the raspiness, but is tempered by a growing melodicism. This album is in some ways very much a throwback to his Furs days, at least in terms of the darker tones, but it is much more intimate and personal. There is an almost off-kilter Bowie-esque feel to Satellites, and a rather sweet beauty to Maybe Someday.

Much of the instrumentation reflects the background of collaborator Jon Carin, who has done work with the Furs as a session keyboardist, but has also had stints with Pink Floyd (Roger Waters-less) , the Dream Academy, Bryan Ferry, Live and Roger Waters (Pink Floyd-less). This means there are folk, art-rock, and electronic flourishes, which suits the melancholic core of this album very well.

If you want introspective and moody without the lightweight somber emo tendencies, then go for Mr. Butler's eponymous solo album, if you want some more kick go for Love Spit Love...or pick up one of the bazillion Psychedelic Fur's comps and get a little of both along with some mid 80s synth pop and new wave fun thrown in.

Less of More-issy.

2006-08-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

I have never been able to stomach the obnoxious cro-emo whining of Morrisey. Even worse in most cases is his snivelling tunes, which instill the kind of social torpor as only a man who personifies drab pretentiousness.

In his latest bid to replace Elton John as the most pointless effette blowhard in the UK with a modicum of celebrity for past achievments that were never all that thrilling to start with -- he threatens people who engage in animal experiments. Ohhhhhhh, he and his fringe buddies will "get them". The big twit makes a threat.

What are you going to do. Sob and whinge them into submission? Headbutt them with your depressed Elvis anvil hair? Oh, I know, you'll sing to them. That is enough to make anyone comatose. Just ask your girlfriend.

Dolt.

video: Mondo Grosso - Life (live)

2006-08-20T05:03:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite Mondo Grosso tunes, done live. I prefer the version sung in English & Portuguese, but this more than makes up for it by featuring an entire Japanese cast playing off some gonzo Rio carnival motif

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Announcement

2006-07-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

I'll be on hiatus until Sepetember 1st everyone. I apologize, but I have some projects to complete that have every spare moment essentially occupied.

I will be back with all new content on the 1st.

Strange things about your family you never knew...

2006-07-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

...about, and would have never suspected to ask:

My father, who normally listens to Benny Goodman, Lizst, and Carlos Paredes, apparently likes classic period Barry White.

I never knew.

Stuff and Things

2006-07-04T00:53:00.000-07:00

So I have a few little bits and pieces here:

1. New audioblogs of interest...Scattermish. It is an Aussie DJ with a rather eclectic palette. The other is The Rub, which is a trio of remixologists. Both blogs have an underpinning of hip-hop and funk going on.

2. Now if your speed is more classical, I will not leave you out in the cold. Classic Cat is a directory of public domain performances of classical works sorted as well as providing links to where you can purchase similar material. Get your Mahler-on, yo.

3. Todays video is the 1983 R&B classic by Loose Ends, which to this day still sounds as fresh as it did at its initial release (even if the video itself is hokey as all get out).

Thelonius Funk is the Third in a Perfect Pair

Sine Die

Jo Beng's debut album

Channel's Future Unclear

Mariah Gets The Boot

Scritti Politti - Early

Level 42 - Retroglide

Babs is a Boob

Bernie Worrell - All the WOO in the World

Radiocrunk

Whodini - Freaks Come Out At Night

King Leopold was never this Funky

The Freesound Project

Hair Metal Quiz

Davis Bowie Top 10

The Nazz

On U Sound Returns (maybe)

Fight Club.

And therein lies the Rub....

Sur la Mash-Ups

Allan Holdsworth @ Yoshi's

Avril is Awvull

Kurt Rosenwinkle - Enemies of Energy

Strange and Ironic

video: Staci Lattisaw and Puffy

China Crisis - Flaunt the Imperfection

Miguel Migs - 24th St Sounds

Mel B - Word Up

Akufen - My Way

Finding the Last Exit

Shovel Chestnuts in my path....

Raising (the profile of) Arizona

In Geosynchronous Orbit and Looking Dapper

A Positive Infestation

Groove Collective - People People Music Music

Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group - Live

Ice Magazine R.I.P.

Bad Brains live at CBGB's

Nelly Furtado - The Grass is Green

John Abercrombie - Night

Jhelisa

Jazz is the Teacher, Funk is the Preacher

Love and Rockets - No New Tale to Tell

fm416 - Canada has Beats to Go

fm416 - toronto college radio hiphop

DJ Qbert

Molly's Yes - Wonderworld

Random Newsbits

The Seedy Arkhestra - Puzzle

Cyndi Lauper - The Body Acoustic

Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins

Petracovich - We Are Wyoming

TF's Buyers Guide Recommendations

KGC is a drug against bore(dom).

Richard Butler returns, and other similar stuff.

Less of More-issy.

video: Mondo Grosso - Life (live)

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Strange things about your family you never knew...

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