Posts
All Comments
We typically don't ever blog on the weekends here, but in the spirit of spring cleaning our desktop we decided it would be a good idea to finally get rid of some MP3's we've had laying around for a bit --without all the superlatives/puffery. Because we're just no-frills like that.
SubEx: What was the motivation behind calling your album The Intervention? Were there any ulterior motives, i.e.do you consider this a wake-up call of sorts to the DFW hip-hop scene?
I know we've been on Mr. Robertson pretty good lately, but I promise this will be it for awhile. Head over to DC9 at Night to check in with my most recent dealings with Robertson, where he shares details on upcoming releases, and most importantly, an unreleased track.
Chelsea Callhan is no stranger to the Dallas music scene. When she’s not busy working with Art Conspiracy, booking some of the best music bills in the city, you may spot her manning a set of turntables as DJ Dirty Cha Cha. For the last 6 years she’s handled the booking duties at the trailer-park themed Double Wide bar, and in that time has made it one of the most consistently legit bars for bands to perform in Dallas. She also throws some of the craziest parties in town; Case in point, her annual Cinco De Cha Cha birthday bashes. All this and I have yet to mention her Manhandler Management company which handles acts like Dallas' Hello Lover. It's no wonder, really than, that she was voted 'Best Local Music Advocate' in the 2009 Dallas Observer Music Awards.
What does it say about me that I just spent the last 11 minutes of my life listening to the new Tom Petty song twice back-to-back? That I probably own his entire discography? That I might be one of the few Americans that actually didn't think his Super Bowl performance was "boring"? That I've probably seen local cover band Petty Theft more than once? Sadly the answer to all of these is 'yes'.
It's no secret that DEVO are planning a triumphant comeback in 2010 with a new album and tour in the works. As such I've been bombarded with many DEVO promotional videos and materials hyping their return. One fun little example is the seemingly pointless DEVO Color Study, which is a website that fans can interact with to find out their "DEVO color". [ed. note: I am an orange]. Only the colors have no meaning, for instance what does it, in fact, mean to even be an orange in the first place? Perhaps nothing.
One thing that AnonymousCulture (formerly Anonymous????) hopes to make clear on his latest full-length is that he is more than just a man, he is a culture. This mentality is perhaps why he felt like the DFW hip-hop scene so desperately needed an intervention in 2010 --or it could just be all the attention our area has been getting over the last year for the ridiculous instructional dance tunes of people like The GS Boyz, and B-Hamp, or the lyrical confusion that is "Ice Cream Paint Job".
With the recent popularity of the cheeseball Glee television program it seems that everyone's inner geek is suddenly rising to the surface. All of a sudden it's not gay or uber-dorky to admit one's affinity for watching melodramatic teens sing their adolescent frustrations out in 5th period glee club. It is also for some reason unbeknown to this writer perfectly acceptable to use the forum of Twitter to express ones excitement each week's episode, or to take the whole debacle a step further by live-tweeting while watching episodes.
I know typically our popular Guestlist posts only appear once a week, but sometimes rules are made to be broken. Swede rockers The Soundtrack of Our Lives, who just released a new digital EP on the heels of their recent double album Communion, will be bringing their brand of catchy pop and grandiose sing-a-long choruses to The Granada Theater tomorrow (Sun) night along with California garage rockers Nico Vega. As such we are honored to have been given this gift of a double helping of guestlists for the week. And while it might be a tad self-serving, it is also a bit insightful as well. Just think of it as a second Christmas.
A few weeks ago we introduced you to White Hinterland's new sound which they will unveil on their upcoming Kairos disc. Listen closely and you may notice a subtle acid-washed ukulele on their newest teaser single "No Logic". I think that makes about 4-5 songs featuring ukes that we've blogged about in 2010. Can anyone say trend?
Other than simply playing in two of my favorite mid cities bands (guitarist for the County Lines and bassist for Hard Times) Brad Dougher is one hell of a beer drinker, fun guy to be around, and an all around nice guy, as anyone who has ever spent even as much as two minutes around the guy would gladly attest to. As it turns out, he also happens to be a pretty fine writer as well. Kudos to Mr. Dougher for sending us the shining example of what the Guestlist is intended to be. Other local artists take note. That being said, we'll get right to the list without as much of the puffery you are normally accustomed to...
Awhile back songwriter/Bridgetown Records main man Kevin Greenspoon sent us the label's Winter Sampler. We're wishing we would have posted the link sooner as the supply of many of the label's small run bedroom records are dwindling. Download the sampler here. Like what you hear? Just send Mr. Greenspoon $20ppd to get all 6 records from the sampler.
While not a new record by any stretch of the imagination Woods' Songs of Shame was one of the gems from 2009 that I regretfully didn't have time to get around to back when it was. The songs on Wood's latest full length range from brief 90-second ideas to ten-minute forays into skeletal psychedelia. With their high energy, pure rock and roll performances,they'll definitely be a good one to catch while you find yourself dizzy amidst the SXSW chaos next month.
Hugh Cornwell, the legendary lead singer/guitarist of the British new wave/punk pioneering Stranglers is about to embark upon a U.S. tour. While this is probably not a big deal to most of us considering he's not coming remotely near DFW, there is still a bit of exciting news to accompany this bit of news; Cornwell's latest solo effort, Hooverdam, is now available for free download via his website. It's the perfect accompaniment to a night of drinking cheap whiskey in a cheap hotel while discussing the merits of the grunge music and/or child-rearing. It may sound like a ridiculous conclusion to jump to, but trust me, I've just spent the last few hours doing just that --with absolutely brilliant results. Just a tip "Delightful Nightmare" is perfectly sinister and delightfully haunting. All in all it's one of those albums that sounds like it could just as easily have come out 15 years as last week, and as such serves just as fittingly as background music as it does being the main event/cruising tunes.
I'm not going to lie, pretty much the only reason I decided to check out Andy's Airport of Love was because I found out they had a limited edition cassette out titled, "Actually, I Am Sasha Fierce." It's true I judged an album on its title, but hey it's one of the more creative ones I've heard in a bit. And while on whole the thing is so lo-fi it would drive even Alan Palomo crazy, there are still a couple of decent listens mixed in.
A new American indie pop label that gives away free music every Friday? Yes. We scour the world for the greatest new songs so you don't have to. No stone is left unturned. You are a child, and we are your parents.
Earlier this week we marveled at the recent emergence of local song-and-dance man Roy Robertson, from his addition to the ever-growing NX35 lineup, being featured on this past week's local Edge show, and showing up in several local blogs. All this newfound attention has come so unexpectedly, it has caused many of our Tweeps and SubEx commenters to ask us just where this so-called Roy Robertson character came from. In this quick and painless Q&A we shoot Mr. Robertson some oddly-phrased third-person quandries in order to answer this very question.
After a little dry spell, The Guestlist is back in action with a brand new list from none other than Denton’s own Matthew Gray. As front man of the vibrant and ethereal Matthew And The Arrogant Sea, Gray has been a very busy man as of late. While even maintaining one band can be complicated enough, Gray also fronts another band called Writer… Oh and on his time off from that, somehow Gray has found the time to book many of the awesome shows that are brought to you at Dan’s Silverleaf, as well as co-head the programming team for the exciting and upcoming NX35 Music Conferette. Did I mention that MATAS is about to head out on a West coast tour with none other than Denton’s own Midlake? Yeah. Which if you haven’t heard of them lately, then surely you must’ve been in a cave searching for Horcruxes with Dumbledore. But even through all of that, Gray has graciously still found the time to do us a solid and has given us this week’s Guestlist!
A new American indie pop label that gives away free music every Friday? Yes. We scour the world for the greatest new songs so you don't have to. No stone is left unturned. You are a child, and we are your parents.
Fun fact: Back in high school YACHT’s Claire L. Evans ran Geekrocklove, purportedly the #2 most popular Weezer fansite at the time. So their decision to cover Blue Album gem "Holiday" during their iTunes session is not, perhaps, as out of left field as it initially appeared. While I call it a cover, it's a pretty loose definition of the term, as pretty much only the words are the same --and even then they've taken some liberties. Still, it's a great new "take" on one of my favorite nerdrock classics.
A new American indie pop label that gives away free music every Friday? Yes. We scour the world for the greatest new songs so you don't have to. No stone is left unturned. You are a child, and we are your parents.
My favorite mashup duo, The Hood Internet, have some new stuff to download on their blog. Among them this blending of R. Kelly's "Ignition" with Major Lazer's "Keep It Going Louder". While I was over there grabbing it for myself I also noticed there were a few new shirts and hoodies and things for sale.
Only a matter of days ago I had never heard of Roy Robertson before. As of this morning, however, I have a handful of his tunes in frequent rotation on my iPod, I have learned he's been added to the ever-growing NX35 lineup, and heard one of his tracks on KDGE's 'Local Edge' program. Sure he may have come out of nowhere, but he's got the songwriting chops and affinity for crafting the type of poppy alt-folk that those kids living up in the little d really eat up. And the fact that his voice is vaguely reminiscent of a more-sober Tim DeLaughter won't hurt his cause in this region either. Check out my favorite of his tracks, "Book Burner," which I believe will be on his upcoming record, and is now streaming on Robertson's MySpace page. Be sure to stick around for the ending which grows to be pretty epic.
A new American indie pop label that gives away free music every Friday? Yes. We scour the world for the greatest new songs so you don't have to. No stone is left unturned. You are a child, and we are your parents.
Oh how I wish I were going to be in town tonight. Not only have I still not been to the new Trees (I know, I know), but I am missing the best bill The Edge has put together thus far in their little quest-to-open-edgefest concert series. Head to the Big D tonight at 7 to check out the finest acts from the little d: New Science Projects, Dust Congress, Daniel Folmer, and SubEx fav Ryan Thomas Becker who will be stepping in at the last minute for Matthew Gray (who is unable to perform due to illness).
I used to think that Tom Waits was sort of a joke. Then again, back in high school, I also used to think that Dashboard Confessional was the greatest thing since the discovery of popcorn. But after recently seeing his hilarious dialogue with Iggy Pop in “Coffee and Cigarettes” and, even more recently, his amazing performance as the Devil in “The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus”, I have come to discover the genius of this all-around artist.
While I can enjoy small doses of heavy rock from time to time it is typically not my first musical choice. Yes, I do own a pair of black jeans, but that's about as closely as I come to fitting into the metal community. But when Shining, a group of 5 Norwegians, bring saxophones and jazz fundamentals into the mix it serves to make the resulting chaos seem markedly more tolerable --or at least exponentially more fascinating. Maybe like, say, a Drug Mountain but with loads more purpose. Their most recent ear-crushing achievement, Blackjazz, also contains cover of King Crimson’s classic “21st Century Schizoid Man.” It was released Tuesday via Indie Recordings.
On this day in 1959, a plane crash killed some of music’s greatest rock & roll pioneers. 
More from the 'not new but new to me' file, Brooklyn-based quintet Acrylics released released their All Of The Fire 10" on Terrible Records, a new label formed by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear and Ethan Silverman. Interestingly, the record was produced by Taylor himself at his church-studio in Brooklyn, Terrible Studios, and not surprisingly it shows all the care of Taylor and his bandmates put into their own remarkable 2009 effort.
It doesn't take much imagination to picture Dent May recording his slightly off-kilter crooning in his doublewide trailer home parked in the tiny town of Taylor, Mississippi (pop. 300). What's more impressive, however, is how effortlessly May makes you forget you are listening to an album dominated by an instrument as oft-slighted as the Ukulele; This feat is even more astounding when one considers the album's title is The Good Feeling of Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele.
While James Husband's (aka of Montreal's Jamie Huggins) debut solo album A Paralax I isn't new per se, it was only recently that I had a chance to check it out. Not surprisingly, it sounds exactly like one would expect; Melodies abound, hooks are in no short supply, and yet it fails to ever explore new territory or seek to be anything other than milquetoast. Fairly or unfairly Husband is never able to really step out of that Kevin Barnes shadow --a feat made even more impossible by the large sticker on the front of the album instructing record store employees to file Husband's album under 'of Montreal' in lieu of its rightful placement with the rest of the H's. While it didn't blow my hair back, the bonus Under The Covers album and Polyvinvyl sampler records both included with A Paralax I made me feel like I at least got my money's worth; Although the covers disc really only served as further proof that Husband is only truely at his best when performing other people's songs.
