Albums You Might Have Missed (June 24 - June 30)

One of these days. ONE OF THESE DAYS! Bam! Pow! STRAIGHT TO SUNDAY NIGHT! Or if this pattern continues I may end up just having an edition of "Might Have Missed" go up on Tuesday. Hmm, weird. Keeping a tight if sorta inconvenient schedule is not normally how procrastination works. Damn it procrastination! You take the fun out of procrastinating!



Bass Drum Of Death 

Bass Drum Of Death
(Innovated Leisure)
June 25, 2013


I really dug these guy's debut album, GB City back in 2011. It was criminally underrated then and they were a criminally underrated band. After it seemed like everyone was getting into the stripped down, rock n' roll, two-piece free love (and the little fact that The Black Keys were ridding really high about that time), Bass Drum Of Death just seemed like another flash in the pan trying to catch some of the sweet, sweet critical acclaim before their descent into obscurity. But GB City didn't sound like every other wannabe trying to sound like Ty Segall. The reverb soaked production was there, but if you removed all that fuzz you got the feeling you'd still get some tight songs; the kidna songs that actually hearkened back to the early days of 60's  garage rock (The Sonics, The Kingsmen, The Trashmen. Lots of The _'s) as opposed to sounding like some 20 somethings who heard the word "garage" and assumed that was indie for "NEEDS MORE REVERB."  That proto punk swagger of The Stooges mixed in with the bluesy swing of the Mississippi Delta is still present on Bass Drum Of Death, and Josh Barret's only gotten better as song writer and arranger. Since moving to Innovated Leisure and getting more of a paycheck this time, it's safe to say his days of recording entire albums in his basement with shitty equipment are behind him. That's not to say that the allure of a paycheck has tamed the blistering furry that is Bass Drum Of Death. No, you still get the half hour of foot stammpin', hook heavy, fuzzy, shake rattle' n' roll, you got last time around. Just a lot more of it with cleaner sounding production on top as a bonus.



Bosnian Rainbows 

Bosnian Rainbows
(Sargent House/Rodriguez-Lopez Productions)
June 28, 2013


Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has returned with yet another brand spankin' new band. After The Mars Volta ran it's course (Omar got bored) and he announced that new At The Drive In material was never going to happen and he'd like to move on (after being informed that a majority of people actually LIKED At The Drive In more then Mars Volta), he retreated back to his home in El Paso, and reemerged with a new band and sound, Bosnian Rainbows. While I still hold reservations of Omar being the exact kind of person anyone thinks of when the word pretentious gets thrown around, I will say that Mars Volta actually sounded like a pretty good idea for a few albums before he got so far up his own ass and it became a pointless 8 minute long, jerk-off session. But Bosnian Rainbows restores my faith in believing Omar CAN still make cool music when he acknowledges that maybe his ideas are a little much. With Bosnian Rainbows, the band is much more of a think tank trading ideas, and it finds the balance between pushing creative boundaries while still being accessible. The prog rock rhythms of Mars Volta have been traded out for some gorgeous electronic soaked experimental rock trappings. There are grooves, there are melodies, There are even honest to god enjoyable lyrics. And the crooning, seductive vocals of Teri Gender Bender (presumably her stage name), complements the music nicely.



India.Arie 

Songversation
(Motown)
June 25, 2013


India.Arie's an Atlanta girl and because of this, I've got a knee jerk reaction to spotlight the accomplishments of the talent of my city. But man, if you haven't heard of India.Arie, her latest is as good a place as any to get on board. This girl for the lack of a better word can "siiiing". Her voice might be considered a bit weaker if you compare her to titans like Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera; But rather then letting her voice be a weakness she turns it to a strength. The production on Songerversation complements her well, highlighting her whisperer, soft croon with some creative song arranging. From the more in your face, hook heavy up-tempo numbers to the slower piano and guitar ballads (instruments which she plays on by the way), to dazzling in some jamming bossa nova tunes on one practical song, India.Arie's not afraid to experiment with the neo sou/R&B format to make something that stands out. Her creativity as producer shines through, even when her lyrics are a bit lacking.



Lighting Dust 

Fantasy
(Jagjaguwar)
June 25, 2013


Lighting Dust is something of an enigma to properly describe and it's existence is even harder to explain. The duo of Amber Webber and Joshua Wells from the Vancouver based heavy rock/psychedelic band Black Mountain, decided to nurse a side project that started off as a showcase for their sparse, sad acoustic songs that didn't fit in with Black Moutain. Then Lighting Dust evolved to include hazy electronic elements, drone, and some flirtatations with goth rappings. Now on their latest album, the stripped down effect is still present, but where its usually been stripped down guitars up to this point, Fantasy showcases stripped down synths that sound lifted right out of an 80's Casio. The result is a confusing but enjoyable mix of slowcore, ambient electro grooves that, if left on in your car, might make you feel like you've suddenly woken up in time for the final act of Drive. 



Palms 

Palms
(Ipecac Recordings)
June 25, 2013

After Isis decided to formal dissolve with dignity back in 2010, the music world has been somewhat curious as to what they would do next. Their latest project, Palms, has been in the works for a little over a year now ,but when rumors had began circulating that they were going to try something different from Isis, with Chino Moreno of Deftones contributing vocals, my initial response was.......I kinda would have liked it  if you COULD just be Isis with Chino on vocals because that sounds kinda kickass. But after hearing their debut album as Palms, I can say that it kicks ass in a different sort of way. The heavy stoner-riff sound of Isis is traded in for a more atmospheric, post-metal feel that just sounds beautiful. The gentle sonic swells sudden shifts into chaotic crescendos are just the kind of patterns that Chino's voice seem made for. But that's not to say Palms don't bring any of their Isis past with them. The jazz-tastic guitar noodlings, the crashing highs followed by quite lulls, and the creative sound exploration are inherent to Isis's indentity after all. But it's nice to hear them be gung-ho about trying to use those Isis powers on something new and enjoyable.



Rose Windows 

The Sun Dogs
(Sub Pop Records)
June 25, 2013


Continuing our trend of debut album from a new band we have Rose Windows from Seattle, who tentatively describe themselves as hard hitting hippies. That's the kind of phrase that's so perfect at describing their sound, I wish I had thought it up. Rose Window sure don't sound like they're just recording their first album, and for having a band of 7 members, they manage to balance everyone out so it doesn't all sound like so much aimless cacophony. Their sound easily invokes the flue playing antics of Jethero Tull, the spaced out heavy hitting keyboards of The Doors, the guitar soloings of Led Zeppelin, the other worldly feel of Genesis (The Peter Gabriel one), and the vocal stylings of Jefferson Airplane courtesy of Rose Window's primary vocalist, Rabi Qazi.


Smith Westerns 

Soft Will
(Mom + Pop Music)
June 25, 2013


The Smith Westerns are very much still a band that's growing up trying to figure out ultimately what they're going to end up sounding like. While their debut album was the sound of a bunch of teens banging together instruments in a flurry of lo-fi, garage rock goodness, you got the sense that there wasn't a lot of depth behind the noise. Sure it sounded good but kinda disposable. But then their follow up album, Dye It Blonde in 2010 showed some surprising new variety. Smith Westerns toyed around with a lot less fuzz and a lot more crafty song writing to make a creative throw-back, power pop record. Now with Soft Will it seems they're still trotting in that direction of "less in your face guitars" and more" attention to gentle melodies"; but while Dye It Blonde felt like a strong step forward, Soft Will sounds a lot less sure of itself. The power pop hooks are toned down for an almost alternative country twang, and there are far fewer uptempo rolickers. The word boring would be an adequate word to throw around in describing this album, but I prefer the term "slow burner". True it doesn't sound as fun as their debut or as compelling as their follow up. But  if your in the mood for a more introspective sounding album, Soft Will fits that description nicely.


Transplants 

Warzone
(Epithath)
June 25, 2013

This band was sold to me as Travis Barker from blink-182 on drums (yes he looks docuhey but he's much MUCH better then everyone gives him credit for) and Tim Armstrong of Rancid on vocals. Surprisingly enough, an idea that awesome has only put out three records and Warzone is by far the strongest yet. After nixing that hokey rap-rock format of their's, Warzone cuts right into what you'd wanna here from a union like this; tight, hooky punk rock lifted right out of the sun drenched early 90's with Armstrong's growl and Barker's drum fills. It's fun, it's catchy, and a dream come true for anyone raised on Solcal neo punk.


Wale 

The Gifted
(Maybach Music Group)
June 25, 2013


Wale has certainly grown bigger in the rap game, and The Gifted may be his most ambitious album to date; featuring collaborations from Ne-Yo, Nikki Minaj, CeeLo Green, 2-Chainz, and Jerry Seinfeld (that last one's not a typo). Not a bad place to be in for a guy who essentially started out by being good at spitting out club anthems who's lyrics really didn't matter as long as you had someone or something to bump n' grind too. But here Wale uses that husky deliver of his to actually put out some heavier lyrics dealing with some pretty depressing subjects; loneliness, isolation, the futility of wealth and fame, crushed dreams, and failed heroes.... So yeah! Probably not going to be featured at any club anytime soon. But Wale's flow is still incredible and the outro featuring Jerry Seinfeld has to be heard to be believed.

10 Underrated Rock n' Roll Films

Movies are either too expensive or you've been successful banned from every theater withing 20 miles of your house. What to do now you ask? You get your ass on Netflix, order some take out, and scour the interwebs for these rock movie classics. Sure when you think the quintessential rock movie it's easy to rattle of the big ones; This Is Spinal Tap, Tenacious D and the Pick Of Destiny, Hard Day's Night, Almost Famous, that shitty movie where Mark Walhberg fronted Judas Priest. But beneath the more obvious choices, there are plenty of underrated classics in the making. Or technically cult classics, I suppose. Which in hindsight may have been a better title for this entry....

BUT! My journalistic mulling aside, 10 rock n' roll adventures that are worth checking out.


10) Airheads (1994)

Far too many for my liking are woeful unaware of Airheads; the under the radar 90's comedy starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler as musicians in a shitty rock band. When the trio's band, The Lone Rangers, fails to get any radio play, they settle on the relatively simply plan to cut out the middle man, (for rock n' roll!) break into a radio station, arm themselves with super-soakers filled with hot sauce, and force the station manger to play their EP over the airwaves. Needless to say this plan quickly derails right around the same time they realize 1) they are about as competent at hostage negotiations as they are at playing music (which is not very), and 2) radio stations do not at all work that way. (Speaking as a jaded radio DJ myself I can safely say the power of radio to promote artists has only waned since this movie came out). But that's all right! Because what they may lack in musical chops or sense, The Lone Rangers make up for with their unbridled enthusiasm for "rocking all night" , and "partying ever day"; a simple message that endears them to public. If you've ever had at least one friend who believed in air guitaring at every show you went to, no matter how silly he looked, you'll know exactly where these guys are coming from. It's funny, with cameos aplenty (Bevis and Buthead call in to harass a DJ, Lemmy Kilmster stands there and looks impossibly cool), and expounds the message that as cliche as as it might seem, it really is "all about the music man". Not being cool, or even being very talented. But knowing in your heart you're doing what you love. Even if it does make you look a little crazy to everyone else.

9) Purple Rain (1984) 

Weirdly enough, more people are aware of this being the name of a Prince and the Revolution album rather then the title of a movie; concluding for themselves that the movie was made first as an afterthought, and the music that Prince cranked out for the soundtrack was just so damn good, it become a chart topping seller over night. Purple Rain is less screwball comedy like Airheads, and more of a surprisingly good drama piece that borrows heavily from Prince's actually life; even the part where Prince foreshadows never wanting to have a normal name ever again, by calling his charter "Kid". This in a movie that uses every single opportunity to use real people's names. (including Morris Day and The Time as the Cobra Kai to Prince's Daniel-san. Yeah that's right. THAT Morris Day) The story centers on our protagonist, Kid, growing up in an abusive household, taking out his frustrations on his band, becoming a bizarre closed off control freak, and nearly torpedoing every relationship he holds dear thanks to his obsession with success and not wanting to be like his father...

So maybe a lot less "borrowing from true events" from Prince and more "re-living every low point of my life in front of everyone I know". I'm starting to wonder if writing Purple Rain simply started out as a therapy project that got of hand. Suffice to say the music is incredible, and if you don't cry at the ending when "Purple Rain" plays, you are dead inside.

8) Rock n' Roll High School (1979)

 I could almost swear Rock n' Roll High School was written by a think tank of actual high schoolers who happened to be Ramones fans; which in the year this movie came out, consisted of approximately all of them. The movie is cheesy wish-fulfillment fantasy at its best, and has a plot that feels like the exact kind of thing that would end up being mined by future generations for Saturday Morning cartoon lineups. But that sheer earnestness of it all makes it impossible not to love. Oh and the fact that The Ramones play themselves as high school dropouts doesn't hurt things. But the real draw is the heroine of our story, the awesomely named Riff Randle,who gets the whole school hooked on The Ramones (and subsequently expelled if the ending's anything to go by), through a combination of her optimism, blatant disregard for public education, and dancing like a manic at every given opportunity, when she's not describing her increasingly elaborate fantasies involving her and one Joey Ramone. Yeah, she's kinda awesome is what I'm trying to get at. And the "all Ramones all the time" isn't a bad addition either. CAUTION: Getting "Rock n' Roll High School" out of your head (even after reminding yourself it's basically just "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" in a slightly different key) will be harder then forgetting your now growing crush on scarily adorable, but hyper unstable 70's women.

7) Rock Of Ages (2012)
Yes, I said it. Damn it, I don't care what your citric said, I don't care that ever fiber in your being is reflexively screaming "IT'S A MUSICAL! DOESN'T COUNT!" Put aside the bias for a sec and believe me when I say that Rock Of Ages, is a surprisingly good movie. Is it silly? Yes. A bit camp? Oh sweet mother yes. But that fact that it's a jukebox musical of a ton of 80's glam rock hits that you must have heard at some point in your life (don't deny it), makes it the ULTIMATE karaoke movie. The plot's the simple, "guy meets girl, he wants to rock, she wants to be a song writer, they work at the same bar, and hilarity ensues!", kind of fodder that's sweet if you're into that sort of thing, but if you're not is barely there to distract you. Think of it like those glittering animated screens in DDR. And Tom Cruise as the fictional rock star Stacye Jaxx, is an hilariously dead on depiction of any number of rock stars from the Sunset Strip. Though my money's on equal parts Axel Rose and Jon Bon Jovi. As rock n' roll movies go, this one's gonna hinge more on how you feel about the kind of music. And if you hate hair metal bands, odds are nothing will get you to like this movie so it's a safe skip. But if you're indifferent to it or in fact love it, this movie's much better then most think.

6) SLC Punk (1998)
If you ever wanted to know just what all the thrashing was about amongst punk rockers, have wondered just what it was that those gangly young men did when not loitering around malls hissing "poser" under their breaths ever five minutes, or just needed a good jumping board to get into punk rock and hear what you missed, this relatively unknown classic fills all those needs. Boasting a killer soundtrack consisting of The Specials, The Exploited, The Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, and more, SLC Punk follows two punk rock fans in Salt Lake City who struggle to keep true to their punk rock/weekend anarchist identity in the face of everyone the know growing up and moving on...okay so full disclosure; it's kinda a depressing movie. But still, I highly recommend it. Even if it does seem like a cruel bait and switch to make you fall in love with the punk rock scene before pulling away to show its characters growing increasingly jaded by it. The ending will have you debating your friends for months over what it really means, but there's some good news. A sequel has been green lit for 2014 entitled Punk Is Dead. It looks like you'll have at least a year to see if you were right all along.

5) Singles (1992)
What SLC Punk did for punk, Singles did for grunge. Both in boasting a "best of" soundtrack of sorts for the genera (Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Alice in Chains, and The Screaming Trees), while also airing out the dark realities of the Seattle scene (drug use, self-loathing, narcissistic musicians). The story centers on a group of 20 somethings living in an apartment block in Seattle. Think Friends only with a grunge soundtrack if you will. It gets the extra bonus points for 1) Cliff Poncier (played by Matt Dillion), the douchey musician who just steals the show every time he opens his mouth and 2) his band mates all being  real-life members of Pearl Jam; including Eddie Vedder being his self-esteem whipping boy. Also Alice in Chains swing by as themselves playing a basement show. There's even a "blink and you'll miss it" cameo by Chris Cornell as "confused looking guy standing next to a car alarm". If you recognize half of those names, and own a stitch of flannel, this movie is worth a gander.

4) 24 Hour Party People (2002)

Continuing out trend here of music genera specific movies, we have 24 Hour Party People. This time, the genera of choice is that enticing brand of experimental punk rock of Manchester, from the earl 80's to the late 90's; centred on the exploits of one eccentric record label owner who was at the center of it all. Steve Coogan plays Tony Wilison, the head of the famous Factory Records; the very same label that signed groundbreaking post-punk acts like Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, and Happy Mondays. The great thing 24 Hour Party People does is have a great sense of humor about itself. If your a fan of this genera of music, you already know there's a level of pretension that's unfairly associated with its fan base. And to be fair, it was a reputation that was almost as equally encouraged by musicians as it was by the fans and journalists. What 24 Hour Party People does is take the real events, spice them up with a sprinkle of dramatization, and deconstructs the whole scene as having been spawned entirely off the suggestions of a couple of really drunk men. A lot of the humor form the movie really relies on you having done your homework to appreciate the more subtle jokes. But if you're all ready well versed in the history of Factory Records and the names being thrown around (and have an appreciation for dry British wit) you'll be delighted.

3) The Harder They Come (1972)

Ohhhh shit. Now were  are getting into the really good stuff. I'm really, REALLY glad I get to tell you all about The Harder The Come (No it's not a skin flick, despite what the cover would have you believe). When it comes to understanding reggae, Bob Marley is used as the starting point. Not to take anything away from Bob Marley (though Exodus was and still is overrated as shit), but to start  with him, criminally overlooks the early days of reggae; back when it had a much more stripped down, rock steady, dance hall ready beat; the days of musicians like Prince Buster and Aton Ellis who laid down the groundwork for what would would become ska and rocksteady. And from the scene, perhaps no artist was more influential then Jimmy Cliff, who blended those sounds with his own funky experiments, creating the earliest notes of reggae. But that's not what we're here to talk about. No, what's at issue here is the classic story of The Harder They Come, where Jimmy Cliff, playing an exaggerated version of himself, struggles to find work before becoming a star reggae singer. And that's where you'd expect the story to end. The artist struggles to break into the music industry, makes sacrifices, learns lessons along the way, and finally makes it. But in The Harder They Come, Jimmy Cliff reaches this zenith with still another 40+ minutes of movie to go. Thats' when you realize the rest of the movie is actually about how Cliff became a marijuana runner; fighting of hordes of rival gang members by day, while maintaining his music career and packing the dance halls by night. It answers the question "what if Walter White from Breaking Bad had a part time job as a lounge singer?" years before anyone thought to ask it. Throughout the movie Jimmy Cliff is basically a mis-mash of Han Solo, Shaft, and Jimmy Cliff (which is a full time job). The fact that this soundtrack may have single handily broke open the US markets to other young reggae artists (like Bob Marley for instance) is just the icing on the cake.

2) Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure/Bogus Journey (1989/1991)

I'll admit, I cheated a bit on this one. While there's no doubt in my mind that Bill & Ted is anything BUT underrated, I'd feel like it's an easy one to skip over in terms of a rock n' roll movie. Granted, the time traveling phone booth and the journeys through time and space and hell ARE kind of the center pieces of these movies. But the rock n' roll cream filling is ultimately what really ties these movies together. Bill and Ted you see, aren't just destined to be the best rock band in the world. They're destined to unite to world and bring about world peace by the sheer brilliance of their hard rocking (demonstrated throughout the course of two movies by them playing really shitty covers). I'm putting both movies in because while Excellent Adventure is the better movie, Bogus Journey, had the better soundtrack, featuring Steve Vai shredding all over the damn place.

1) Wild Zero (1999)

What happens if you took Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park, made it not suck, made the band anyone else but Kiss, had that new band give a damn, and then crossed their adventure over with a forgotten George Romero script? You'd have the single greatest rock n' roll movie of all time, Wild Zero. It stars the Japanese garage rock band Guitar Wolf. Its members are in order: Guitar Wolf (the dynamic leader), Bass Wolf (the charming, if occasionally violent stoner), and Drum Wolf (the endearing team heart). When aliens arrive to earth and raise the dead, aspiring musician Ace knows the only smart thing to do is to turn to his idols, Guitar Wolf , (self proclaimed the coolest band in the world), and hope that they happen to be as good at killing alien zombies as they are at being awesome. SPOILER ALERT! They are. Armed to the teeth with exploding motorcycles, laser guided musical instruments, and enough guns to put 50 Cent's crew to shame, Guitar Wolf  spend the movie's entire 98 minute run being awesome. How rock n roll is this movie? The fact that the band take the time and energy to enthusiastically shout "Rock n' Roll!" in broken English throughout the course of this movie every time someone so much as sneezes, puts somewhere between "very" and "ridiculously so".

Bomb Track Thursday! (The Phantom Menace)

A nifty little feature I'm doing weekly to spotlight any singles released for the week. With the time of tracks being rapidly released almost hourly from a whole swath of musicians thanks to this new fangled "internet" upon us, it's easy to get overwhelmed by everything that's out there.  And through being overwhelmed it's easy to forget that a lot of this stuff that's out there is free! DISCLAIMER! No, not free as in "and herp ba derp, hear's how you can torrent that shit!". But free as in the artists genuinely WANT you to download their tracks. Think of it as a free sample at an all you can eat buffet that's totally legal. Frankly, I'm the one saving YOU money.

Sooo without further ado, here's a sample plate of what's been released on the intertwebs lately for your listening pleasure....






Beautiful Swimmers - Son (new album in it's entirety) - Electronic/Dance


Blouse - "No Shelter" (first single from their upcoming album, Imperium. 9/17) - Indie pop/Shoegaze


Medicine - "It's Not Enough" (second single off their self-titled LP, and their first one in 18 years. 8/6)
                                                                                                                        Noise Pop/Shoegaze

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes - "This Life" (self titled album. 7/23) - Folk


Devo - "Auto Modown" (track from their upcoming release of rare demos. 7/9) - No Wave/Garage Rock


Porcelain Raft - "Think of the Ocean" (track from new album out 8/20) - Electronic/Dream Pop


METZ - "Can't Understand" (released through adultswim's Summer Singles Series) - Post-Hardcore/Noise


No Age - "No Ground" (album, Object, out 8/20 through Sub Pop) - Noise Rock/Experimental


Deer Tick - "The Rock" (From the band's 5th album, Negativity, out 9/24) - Indie Rock/Alt Country

Trailer For Big Star Doucmentary; "Nothing Can Hurt Me"

In the grand scheme of things, it can be argued that Big Star where just a foot note in American music history. They didn't have a powerful, chart-topping single. They didn't start a revolution. They weren't even commercial successful. They released three power pop albums from Americans heartland that failed to chart thanks to terrible mismanagement by their record label, seemingly lost band members with ever record, and  eventually broke up, convinced that they hadn't accomplished anything. But for some reason or another, Big Star's lack of commercial success led to them becoming the grandfather of indie rock. Big Star was optimistic, in retrospect almost naively optimistic, that they would be something great. When Alex Chilton meet Chris Bell those dusty years ago in that awkward place when the 60's where over and the 70's hadn't yet begun, they shared a vision that could only be dreamed up by the optimism of youth. They reasoned that the 50's had Buddy Holly. The 60's had The Beatles. The time was ripe for the next icons in music. They would simply fill a need.

Taking their name from a nearby big box store, and naming their first album #1 Record, may have been tempting fate. Naming their follow up album Radio City in hopes for more air play didn't help things either. But for all their missteps, and crushing blows delt by the reality of a poorly run record label, Big Star trudged on with more jaded optimism till eventually the tank burned out. Chris Bell left the band after their second album failed to go anywhere thanks to the album simply not being available in record stores, and died in a car accident  a few short years later, believing he was a failure. The rest of the band simply fizzled out to be forgotten. But miraculous they weren't. Thanks to the simple merit of, that while few could get ahold of their records, those that did loved what they heard. Without being aware of it, or wanting it, Big Star woke up years later to find out that the music world decided to make them into cult heroes without letting them know.


And THAT's the magic behind Big Star. Those three albums, #1 Record, Radio City, and Third, may have been simply known as a trilogy of  great power pop albums that would be staples of classic rock radio today, along side Cheap Trick, and Tom Petty. But because they weren't' successful, they become something so much more. Without intending to, blinded by the simple love of wanting to play the music they wanted to hear, they inspired a legion of bands; from R.E.M to Dinosaur Jr., to Nirvana, to Pavement, to Built To Spill, and so many more indie rock staples. Basically, anytime you've heard an album form a band that you liked that did something cool and you loved, Big Star played it decades ago to empty rooms and deaf ears. And maybe that's their contribution in the grad scheme of things. To a generation of aspiring guitar heroes and garage bands, Big Star set the bar for indie rock years before it would be called that, and created a legacy without knowing.

Anyway, now that I've gotten all my fanboying out of the way, I was trying to simply say that Big Star have got a documentary out that's been finished since March 2012. It's finally getting a limited screen showing in select cites starting July 3rd. The documentary, called Nothing Can Hurt Me, looks fantastic and the accompanying soundtrack to the film is a literal "Best Of" of sorts by Big Star, containing mastered tracks.
Coinciding with the release of the movie to select cites, Kurt Vile, Mike Mills, Chris Stamey, and Jody Stephens (the sole surviving member of Big Star), are speaheading a concert in Central Park New York on June 30th. Look for video aplenty to be posted. Till then enjoy the trailer bellow.

MGMT Announce New Album (Finally)

Rejoice true believers! Believers in the case being anyone who remembers buying Oracular Spectacular freshmen year of college, and being thoroughly disappointed with this band sine afterwards. After months of teasing and speculation, MGMT have finally cleared September 17th as the release date for their self-titled album on Columbia Records. So far all that can be gleaned from it is that one single the band prepped for Record Store Day, "Alien Days" (which can be heard here). It's probably premature to judge an entire album based on that one little song, but it's certainty telling that MGMT have announced that for the new album, they're scaling back from the big band set-up used on Congratulations, to that old day set up of them just being a fuzzy electronic duo. This is by all accounts, a good first move. No bones about it; Congratulation kinda sucked. Or to be more politically correct about it, it was a "challenging album". I'm not expecting MGMT to stay the same kids who banged out feel good grooves like "Time To Pretend", and "Electric Feel". I understand that that they do need to grow up. But if that's the case, I can accept Congratulations as a product of their awkward teen years; the ones when they started experimenting with shitty drugs, and found out that they didn't make them more interesting.

Weirdly enough "Alien Days" sounds reminiscent of Radiohead. And if that's a hint as to what direction MGMT is heading in now, they could do alot worse. Tracklist posted bellow.

01 Alien Days 
02 Cool Song No. 2 
03 Mystery Disease 
04 Introspection 
05 Your Life Is a Lie 
06 A Good Sadness 
07 Astro-Mancy 
08 I Love You Too, Death 
09 Plenty Of Girls in the Sea 
10 An Orphan of Fortune

Iron & Wine Streaming "Rattling Bone" from the Lone Ranger Soundtrack.

The release date for Disney's, The Lone Ranger Soundtrack, has been green lit for July 2nd, and will feature artists ranging from Iggy Pop to Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. Iron & Wine have their contribution to the album "Rattling Bone", available to be streamed at SPIN.com here. And for all intents and purposes, it's a great one. I'm a sucker for westerns and I feel like Hollywood's been spoiling me lately with them every year. What with, that remake of True Grit, staring the Dude and that remake of 3:10 To Yuma, starring Batman...okay so a lot of remakes staring people I liked in other roles. But still, I can't deny the love I get from a good ol' fashion western, and a soundtrack that capitalizes on that trend in the best way, is a win for me. Iron & Wine's contribution starts off as mellow folk rocker, before turning things up, and I'll admit, I'm a bit emamoured with it.

In slightly other news, I understand that a lot of decent people (key word here is decent) are worried that Johnny Depp's' portrayal of Tonto (a fictional charter made up by white men in Hollywood to be caricature of a culture they didn't give to shits to bother understanding) might veer on the offensively bad side. And there's also the worry that Johnny Depp, for all his posturing about not meaning to offend anyone, will hide behind the bullshit "it's art" excuse used by so many Hollywood elite to perpetuate racial stereotypes. Believe me, I get it. I loved Django Unchained, but looking back it felt very uncomfortable; especially being the lone black man in a room full of white people that I felt might be laughing a bit too hard at Samuel Jackson's nigger tirade. However, it does look the film crew and Johnny Depp did their best to incorporate some real historical elements into Tonto's charter (for starters giving him a damn tribe and actually asking people of that tribe for input; The Comanche). I understand that everyone's doing their best job to add some real depth to what was organically a horribly racist character. And I also understand that some of the Native American communtiy will be understandably offended anyway, as it's well within their right. But so far, Disney gets my applause for really trying.

By the way, a fun little comment I found from a poster on the Huffington Post article where I got most of the details from (which I suggest reading). It's a great comment to have in reserve the minute anyone starts going off on a  "everyone's too sensitive these days", rant.


People were always offended by this kind of thing. It's just that in decades past they didn't have the power to say so. Which made everyone else assume it was somehow okay.


Word Adam L. Brinklow. Word.

Arctic Monkeys New Album Track List Announced.

In a bit of a surprise move for everyone, the Arctic Monkeys have announced the full track list and release date for their upcoming album, AM, due out September 9th on Domino Records. After prepping us with some teasers for the new album, ("R U Mine" way back in February of last year and the more recently released "Do I Wanna Know", that's only been out for a few days), the rest of the pieces seem to be falling into place for the Monkees (the temptation to call them just that cannot be just me), to launch a full on tour in support of the new material. Most interestingly, Josh Homme will be featured on AM, though it's unknown at this time to what capacity. Seeing as Alex Turner was willing to contribute lyrics, guitar, and some barely their vocals for Josh's newest album with Queens Of The Stone Age, it's not too out of  the realms of possibility to except he'll be at least heavily featured on one song. I can't tell if they're just really tight like that (this is not Homme's first collaboration with Arctic Monkeys. "All My Own Stunts" from Suck It And See featured his backing vocals), or if it's a series of musicians doing solids for each other until one of them is even. But whatever they've got going on I like it. Suck It And See wasn't my favorite Arctic Monkeys album, but it did have some catchy as hell singles.("Don't Sit Down, Cause I Moved Your Chair", comes to mind). And if the early tracks for AM are any indication, it looks like they'll be in the hit making business for the foreseeable future.

AM:

01 Do I Wanna Know?
02 R U Mine?
03 One for the Road
04 Arabella
05 I Want It All
06 No. 1 Party Anthem
07 Mad Sounds
08 Fireside
09 Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?
10 Snap Out Of It
11 Knee Socks
12 I Wanna Be Yours