UPDATE 2011

….so here is the deal.  I have been on a bit of a hiatus but I think I’ll be back stronger than ever in the new year albeit doing things a little differently.  I’m still collecting youtube videos over on my youtube channel BUT with the help of some new little toys I picked up for Christmas this year, I’m going to be doing real mixes – not just song playlists, but actual DJ style mixes of the music I like the most.  Still not sure if I have the space to host those here, but I’ll let you know where the final place will be that those mixes will reside.

This is a huge step for me – the one thing I wanted since I was a young kid was a set of turntables as I was HUGE into making mix tapes for people at a young age – from lining up albums, to 8-tracks carefully rewound to the exact spot needed to start the track on cue , to crude cassette “remixes” to custom CDs and iPod playlists.  Early on I saw the value of two turntables and a mixer but at no point in my life did I ever have the money to invest in something like that until I got older and by then I had taken the leap into making music and the money for something like that was spent on instruments instead.  So this year I purchased a MIDI DJ set up with Traktor Pro that will allow me all the mixing tools of a traditional turntable set up, but with the added flexibility of being able to capture any sound in my collection – both digital(MP3s) and analog(records, tapes).  I’m still in the learning stage of figuring out a work flow and how to crossfade tracks smoothly but I’m shooting to be up to speed to start some mixes soon with the intent to make those available for people to listen to immediately.

 

So with that, I will see you around soon with lots more to share.  Take care.

So much to do, so little time

…and really – who needs another music blog?  Still listening to lots of music, but I’m giving up on talking about it in lieu of writing more music.  Maybe I’ll log back in and share a few of my tunes in the near future.

The soon to be obscure

…just thought this was a cool video and song that will probably be forgotten in the near future.  The guy who posted this on youtube apparently makes/edits videos.  Here are a few of his videos.  I’m guessing he is from Austin because most of the bands he works with tend to be local/former local bands.

Trunk of My Car by Volcano, I’m Still Excited – a former Austin band(who I assume are now defunct).  In a weird way, the first guy’s voice has a little bit of an awkward Chet Baker quality to it.  I really appreciate that.

Handful of Billions by Sound Team – this one is edited to clips from the movie “Network”.  Of course Sound Team is excellent but the now defunct Austin band with the spectacular rise and fall.  I was really sad to see them break up and fear they may too slip into obscurity.  I had several unofficial recordings of theirs through a friend of a friend of a friend and their demos and unreleased stuff were even better than their rather good recordings.  It’s a shame to see that output gone although the members have mostly all rejoined in various projects in other bands around Austin(most notably Bill’s {{Sunset}} project).

Chet Baker – You Don’t Know What Love Is – okay, I couldn’t resist a little vocal Chet Baker video since I mentioned it above.  His voice has a very sad quality to it – very smooth but dangerously vulnerable.  I guess it easily follows that he was one of the more heartbreaking(if only because he lived through the addictions) cases of a jazz great who succumbed to an out of control drug addiction.  Baker lived a HARD life because of it…but back in 1956, he had it all – the horn, the voice, the looks, the sound.

The Very Best Post

…so sometime early last year Gorilla vs Bear started pushing this new discovery of an album in the works – an London based artist from Malawi collaborating with English producers on a true world influenced album – that is to say, drawing on influences not just outside of the English speaking world, but inside of it too(funny how “World music” translates to “not our world music” to most Americans/English).  Anyway, he highlighted various teaser clips and remixes from Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit and updates on the new album.  Well it was finally released late last year and is truly one of the few things in the over saturated blogo-sphere that has actually lived up to the hype.  Best of all, the great music comes at no cost – you can download it for free here. I have noticed he has really started to catch on with people familiar with the original songs that he reworks on his album (tackling MIA’s mega hit Paper Planes and giving Vampire Weekend’s Cape Cod KwassaKwassa a song suitable for it’s namesake).  Regardless, for free it’s worth checking out.

Kamphopo by the Very Best – catchy as fuck.  This reminds me of a story.  Back in college I once drove 3 days to the Yucatan in Mexico.  On our way back on the last day of travel our car broke down a few hours south of the Texas border – essentially in a sparse stretch of dessert in between a couple of towns.  After sitting on the side of the road for a few hours, a helpful family stopped and offered to drive to the nearby repair shop to get us a radiator hose(our’s had split which was causing the car to overheat).  In exchange they asked if we could help them drive a little more comfortably to the border town we were also going to be traveling through.  An hour later with a new radiator hose, we were on our way to Matamoros with two of their kids quitely riding in the back seat.  On the way, we decided to put on some music to avoid the awkward situation.  We decided to let the kids in the back pick the music and their choice was the Doors greatest hits.  One of the boys(who knew no English) gleefully sang the entire album perfectly all the way through – not really knowing what he was singing.  I would like to think of myself as much like that boy as I sing along to this song sung in Chichewa.  By the way, the backdrop for this song is an Architecture in Helsinki song.

Heart it Races by Architecture in Helsinki -I think maybe now your starting to understand why it’s a free album.  I’m sure these bands dig the reinterpretations of their work, but I bet the record labels have a different opinion.

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa by The Very Best – hey, that’s a Vampire Weekend song…right?

The Authors pick their top albums of 2008

…posted this in a few places but didn’t even think to put it on this blog.  Anyway, the band I am in is called the Authors.  Justin and I put up our top releases of 2008 and for the interest of the music lover who might stumble across this blog, it’s listed below.  Most of these have already been featured here although I need to get on the ball and put up the “Very Best” Esau videos(thanks to gorilla vs bear for turning me on to them).

Justin’s:
1. Cut Copy “In Ghost Colours”
2. Friendly Fires “Friendly Fires”
3. Vampire Weekend “Vampire Weekend”
4. Fleet Foxes “Fleet Foxes” & “Sun Giant EP”
5. TV On The Radio “Dear Science”
6. Esau Mwamwaya + Radioclit “The Very Best Mixtape”
7. Hercules & Love Affair “Hercules & Love Affair”
8. Kanye West “808 & Heartbreak”
9. M83 “Saturdays = Youth”
10. Crystal Stilts “Alight of Night”
——————————————-

Ben’s top 11 in no particular order
Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
Vampire Weekend – S/T
Fleet Foxes – S/T
Hercules and Love Affair – S/T
M83 – Saturdays=Youth
Dr Dog – Fate
The Ruby Suns – Sea Lion
Chad Van Gaalen – Soft Airplane
Little Joy – S/T
Women – S/T
The Walkmen – You and Me

Honorably mentioned
Vivien Girls – S/T
Atlas Sound – S/T
Nigeria 70 (compilation)
Esau Mwamwaya + Radioclit – The Very Best Mixtape
Crystal Stilts – Alight of Night

Cuban Doo Wop

It’s news to me too.  I present Los Zafiros.  As it turns out there was a documentary released on the group early last year(08).  NPR covered the story here.  I intend on checking it out sometime.  It’s so amazing that doo wop was being made this well in Cuba of all places although it’s noteworthy that Los Zafiros’ career started in the 60s when Doo Wop was already ten years old in the US.  I’ll have to do a post in the future about great international acts doing American music.  I have a compilation somewhere of vietnamese artists doing psych rock songs in the 70s/80s although it might be difficult for me to find something like that on youtube.

Y Sabes Bien by Los Zafiros

Bellecita by Los Zafiros

Stuff white people like – the music video edition

…someone mentioned the #11 thing that white people like (Asian girls) and it reminded me of these 80s songs. We had a thing for cheesy rip offs of vague asian melodies in the 80s huh?

Hong Kong Garden by Souxsie and the Banshees – you have to go to youtube to see this one since embedding has been disabled. So much for trying to promote someone’s 30 yr old music…

Turning Japanese by the Vapors – there used to be a rumor that this song was about masturbation because if you imagine someone making a face where they squint their eyes and curl their lips to expose the upper incisors, resembling the stereotypical image of a Japanese person, it would be during masturbation and orgasm. The songwriter however clarified that the song is about loving someone so much that you feel like your turning into someone else entirely.

Fish Heads by Barnes and Barnes – wait for it…1:35 into the video, “Rolly Polly fish heads are never seen drinking cappuccino in Italian restaurants with Oriental women.” Yes – I know it’s a stretch but where else does fish heads fit in except in a Dr Demento post and Barnes and Barnes would be way too obvious for that one.

More good stuff to look forward to in 09

…just noticed that the Black Lips are scheduled to have a new release early in 09. I can’t wait! Between my wife and I, we nearly wore out our copy of their last release. I think I already did a Black Lips post but screw it – here is another video.

Katrina by the Black Lips – it’s worth noting this song was recorded way before the hurricane Katrina fiasco.

..and the Animal Collective are suppose to have an early 09 release.  I’m looking forward to it as well. Their newer albums have been more and more accessible so I’m curious to see if this one ends up bucking the trend or continues.  I think most of the guys in the band write songs so it seems like each album is really just a reflection of who happened to write the most songs that made the cut.  My favorite songwriter from the band is Panda Bear but I really love that wall of sound aesthetic.

Fireworks by Animal Collective – this is really a tough band to just listen to singles to.  You really have to sit with an AC album and listen to it from beginning to end and “let wash over you like a fine paste”(shout out to my boy Kenny Mayne).  I also noticed it tends to be better listening to them in headphones so your fully immersed in their sonic world.  

the reluctant female folk musicians

For this post I want to focus on a couple of very talented musicians who choose to walk away from promising music careers and as a result their music sunk into obscurity up until the last few years.  

It Hurts Me Too by Karen Dalton – In 2004 Bob Dylan wrote that Karen was his favorite singer when he first came to Greenwhich Village – in fact they even performed together a few times in those early days of the folk movement along with underrated folky Fred Neil.  Karen recorded two albums in the late 60s/early 70s before dropping out of the music scene all together.   Most music historians argue about what exactly became of her after she dropped out.  It seems the popular belief now is she split time between a desolate cabin in Colorado and staying with old friends in upstate New York.  She died in 1993 from complications of AIDS after spending 8 years living with the disease while fighting drug and alcohol problems.  Fun Fact (in an otherwise dreary post) – Karen’s mother was full Cherokee Indian.   

Tonight by Sibyelle Baier – the story goes German born Sibyelle recorded a handful of tunes in the early 70s when she was both a musician and actress.  She decided not to pursue those early careers and instead moved to America and concentrated on raising a family.  30 years later her son Robby compiled a CD to give as gifts to family after finding the original recordings his Mom had made.  One of those CDs ended up in the hands of J Mascis who in turn passed it on to some of his record label friends at Orange Twin who turned the CD into an official release.  Sibyelle is said to be working on a new album now.  

Diamond Day by Vashti Bunyan – In the mid 60s Vashti was discovered by Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham and released her first single – a Jagger/Richards tune- to little fan fare.  She then started writing her first album while on a commune with folk singer Donovan.  She finally released that album in 1970 but the album never found it’s audience and a frustrated Vashti retreated to live a rural life raising her 3 children and tending to animals.  In that time, her album had become a bit of a collectors item completely outside of her knowing it.  In 2000 the album was re-released and Vashti became a bit of an influence on the newer indie folk movement with Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Animal Collective, and members of Mice Parade working with her.  She now tours and is recording new material again.  

Art Rock guys who play Latin Music

…because there may not be another blog showing the many sides of guys like Arto Lindsay and Marc Ribot.

Aurora en Pekin by Marc Ribot – if you like this I highly recommend his two albums with Los Cubanos Postizos. They are basically a tribute to one of this earliest musical influences – Arsenio Rodriguez (who I featured in this blog a while back).

Disposable Head by Marc Ribot – here is the art rock side of Ribot(who also plays guitar with Tom Waits). Some of it can be difficult to listen to but I did really like his album Yo, I killed Your God which sounds like punk jazz for lack of a better term.

Mar De Gavea by Arto Lindsay – I don’t own any of his latin albums but that needs to change. His voice reminds me a lot of Caetano Veloso’s son Moreno.

Blonde Red Head by DNA – Arto was the lead singer of DNA(and the Ambitious Lovers) back in the 80s. This excerpt was taken from the movie Downtown 81 (with Basquiat). This is also the song that gave the band Blonde Redhead their name.

…and just because I mentioned Moreno Veloso above…

Duesa do Amor by Moreno Veloso – FINALLY a good youtube clip featuring Moreno’s music. He has a loose association with two other musicians who he plays with quite a lot. They take turns with who “leads” the band, but it’s essentially all the same. Moreno leads on “Moreno+2” and then there is “Domenico+2” which he plays on…you get the idea. I don’t think the 3rd one has made an album just yet but the first two are fantastic – especially Moreno’s album.