It looks as though Chicago’s Riot Fest is turning into one of THE new yearly music festivals that you need to add to your must see list. With artists like Elvis Costello, Iggy and The Stooges, and Built to Spill announced so far, the 2012 Riot Fest (and Carnival!) promises to be a barnburner for sure. You can purchase Early Bird tickets here!

Be sure to like Sock Monkey Sound us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more news about this years Riot Fest and some announcements of our own regarding the opportunity to win tickets to this years festival!

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New LP We’re All Better Than This Out in June on Count Your Lucky Stars Records

Rockford’s very own Joie De Vivre (www.facebook.com/joiedevivreband) has announced their European/UK tour dates which kick off June 13 in Prague. Houston, TX’s Football, etc. (another Count Your Lucky Stars band) will be their support for most of the UK dates. Joie De Vivre will be touring in support of their new album, We’re All Better Than This, due out in June on Count Your Lucky Stars.

Joie de Vivre have blown up all over the internets as of late. One of the tracks from their forthcoming new album “I Was Sixteen Ten Years Ago” premiered at Alternative Press. These guys are gonna be HUGE. I can’t even get them on the phone anymore, which is odd considering 2 of their members and 1 of the touring members co-founded Sock Monkey Sound. I guess you know a band is going somewhere when they stop returning your calls. Good for them, I look forward to purchasing the new record when it arrives at Culture Shock.

Football, etc. (www.facebook.com/footballetc) continue to support The Draft, released last year on CYLS. The album is now available in its second pressing.

Joie De Vivre 2012 European tour dates:

•  13.06.12 – Czech Republic – Prague – Chapeau rouge
•  14.06.12 – Germany – Berlin – Marie Antoinette w/ Tera Melos
•  15.06.12 – Denmark – Kolding – venue TBA
•  16.06.12 – Denmark – Copenhagen – Musikcafeen
•  17.06.12 – Sweden – Stockholm – Club 43
• 18.06.12 – Sweden – TBC
•  19.06.12 – Norway – Oslo – Revolver
•  21.06.12 – Germany – Hamburg – Frappant
•  22.06.12 – Germany – Mainz – Haus Mainusch
•  23.06.12 – Germany – Menden – Autonumzentrum
•  24.06.12 – Switzerland – Porrentruy – Galerie du Sauvage
•  25.06.12 – Italy – Milan – TBA
•  26.06.12 – France – Toulouse – Connexion w/ Prawn & Ape up!
•  27.06.12 – Spain – San Feliu – venue TBA
•  28.06.12 – France – Clermont Ferrand – Le Raymond Bar
•  29.06.12 – France – Paris – La Miroiterie
•  30.06.12 – UK – Milton Keynes – Craufurd Arms (matinee)*
•  30.06.12 – UK – Sheffield – Tye Die Tapes HQ*
•  01.07.12 – UK – York – Stereo (matinee)*
•  02.07.12 – UK – Newcastle – The Central
•  03.07.12 – UK – Leeds – Fox & Newt*
•  04.07.12 – UK – Swansea – Mozarts*
•  05.07.12 – UK – Cornwall – Live bar*
•  06.07.12 – UK – Brighton – Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar*
•  07.07.12 – UK – London – About Time Festival @ The Bussey Building*
•  08.07.12 – Belgium – Antwerpen – JC Den Eglantier (matinee)
•  08.07.12 – Holland – Enschede – The Loch
•  09.07.12 – Germany – Aachen – AZ* = with Football, etc.

Football, etc. solo dates:

July 8, 2012//Manchester

July 9, 2012//Nottingham

www.cylsrecords.com

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FREE: Subscribe to Andy & Reggie's Songs About Stuff and Things on iTunes to receive all episodes

Season 1 Finale

Download Episode File | Or Subscribe to our show on iTunes to receive up to date free episodes automatically. FREE. Episode Summary: 05-14-2012 | Presented by Rockford College Radio and Sock Monkey Sound.  “Poor Places” is Season 1′s finale, episode 12 in Andy & Reggie’s Songs About Stuff & Things Radio Hour.  3 hours of songs about poor places including the entire “Make It In Rockford” city compilation released on vinyl in the early 80s.  The boys say goodbye for the summer and spin many songs by Bruce Springsteen, Judah The Lyrical Rev, Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s, Fats Domino, The Handsome Family, John K. Samson, Jeff Tweedy & Jay Bennett, Bob Dylan, Lauryn Hill, Neko Case, Bonnie “Prince” Billie and much more.

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Chicago’s newly reactivated Inspector Owl rock their own brand of poker in the humorous video for “Mousey” off their most recent self-titled album which you can check out  and download on the Inspector Owl Bandcamp page.

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Adam Yauch

Today, music lost one of its greats. Not just one of the best emcees, not just one of the best rappers, but a person who truly helped shape the sound of so many different musical groups of both today, years past and the future as well. Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys lost his 2 year bout with cancer today.

I remember being a kid and bugging out every time “Fight For Your Right” came on. My little brother Peter and I would act like a couple of lunatics, bouncing all over the room and screaming along to the chorus at the tops of our lungs. There’s a video of us doing this in my parent’s home movie collection. It happens to have been the same day they brought home my baby sister, Libby, home from the hospital. There were all sorts of balloons that people had brought my mother during her stay. Peter and I were jumping around in them. I remember the feeling of the static electricity on my hair as we were dancing around frantically to the song. It’s one of those memories that I’ll never forget.

As the years went by, I became an avid fan and listener. Their music marked some very memorable events in my life. Not only the welcoming of my baby sister home, but also the first album I bought with a “Parental Advisory” warning, the first time I took mushrooms and a slew of other life events.

The Beastie Boys had such a universal appeal that their music transcended many boundaries. From their beginnings as a brash punk rock group to the definitive sound that they formed throughout the last three decades, the Beastie Boys constantly evolved and showed us something new. Even their last release, “Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2″ was a great listen full of kickass tracks. Thirty years in the music business and still making awesome music is a feat few accomplish.

MCA will truly be missed in not only hip-hop, but music as a whole. So, grab a forty of OE, slam some of it, put some orange juice in it and pour it out for one of the best ever to do this hip-hop shit. “My man MCA got a beard like a billy goat!”

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Brandon Robins is the co-founder of Our Label, a Chicago based fan-driven record label that turns music fans into music talent scouts, Record Executives, and Promoters by empowering them to discover new artists, influence music production, and share in the successes of the musicians they promote.

OurLabel provides emerging artists with the opportunity to expand their fan base, fund their projects, and produce their music. The company offers artists professional services, guidance, and support covering the production, marketing, promotion and distribution of their music. Learn more about Our Label on their FAQ page.

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Shannon Stephens – Photo by Sherry Loeser

Shannon Stephens may hail from Seattle nowadays, but her roots are founded more in the middle of America. Back in the 90’s in Michigan, she formed an impressive folk partnership with Sufjan Stevens, among others, in Marzuki. Based on that impressive pedigree, one may expect a lengthy list of musical adventures took place. However, after the split of Marzuki, Sufjan went on to be well…Sufjan, and Shannon Stephens took a break. A long break. A span of eight years passed before she released The Breadwinner in 2009. Now in her mid-30s, Stephens is more polished and confident, if re-acclimating to the scene. While a younger artist putting out their third release may still be searching for that voice for sustainability, Stephens simply does not have “energy to give a shit what people (think) about me anymore”.

One can hear that attitude in her new record, to be released May 22nd, called Pull It Together on Asthmatic Kitty Records. Stephens applies a fairly direct approach to her music. While many female singer-songwriters and vocalists are searching for a kitschy or unique sound (usually squeaks?), Stephens relies on a very natural and glossy voice. A good example of these no-nonsense vocals can be heard on “Cold November”, this writer’s personal favorite on the record (although “Down the Drain and it’s Gone” gives it a helluva run).

Stephens said, in 2009 (altmusic.about.com Aug 4, Anthony Carew), she had felt a kind of jealousy that many of her peers had gone on to achieve some degree of musical success. She focused on other things; family and other priorities took the place of music. Pull It Together showcases, more or less, this jilted feeling. It is not a cute album, but it does not get too gritty either. There’s a tempered sensitivity that maybe only someone in Stephens’ position can understand. Some tracks could have benefited from maybe a little more dirt in the teeth.

But this boils down to simple preference, and one should make an independent conclusion.

It must be assumed that trying to find your niche, again, is a process. In the rain-drenched musical oasis of Seattle, there are easy-to-find barometers. If we place Damien Jurado as the luminous godfather, David Bazan as some sort of mystic stepson, Head & the Heart as the carefree cousins, Pickwick as the soulful black sheep, Death Cab as the rich uncle, and Carrie Brownstein as the quirky neighbor kid, we could place Shannon Stephens in this pantheon as a phoenix-esque prodigal.
She still has some work to do, some kinks to work out, some groove to get in that pocket to maximize her potential, but she is back on the radar. And that is a good thing for music.

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Cosplay dance party!

Spider-Man + Red Power Ranger Slash Fiction LIVE

Day one and two impressions here and here.

Sunday is apparently the unofficial family/kids day of the C2E2 show. It was definitely less crowded on the show floor, but in no way less fun and strange. For instance, the first thing we saw when entering the convention Sunday were Spider-Man and Red Ranger cosplayers bumping and grinding to techno music at the Marvel booth, to the amusement (and horror) of onlookers.

The day became more family friendly at the DC Comics for Kids panel. This panel showcased some of the upcoming DC titles for younger readers (Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Superman Family Adventures, and of course, Tiny Titans). The creative team behind all these titles, Art Baltazar and Franco, were present and gave some insight into the process of writing the books (for example, the Green Lantern book has to gel with the cartoon, whereas in Superman Family Adventures, “anything goes”). The highlight of the panel however, was the Q&A section. Imagine kids, starting at age three, asking questions about superheroes. Whatever you’re thinking, it was actually multiple times cuter, funnier, and more entertaining. Like great jokes or literature, it would be difficult to paraphrase and do these questions about pets and bugs justice; it really was something you needed to experience yourself. I’m really glad we made it to this panel, it was probably the most I smiled during a very smile-filled weekend.

Next we checked out the Marvel “Next Big Thing” panel. Highlights here for me were the previews of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Captain Marvel and James Asmus’ Gambit books. Both creators did a great job selling me on their books, which sound like very fun reads.

The final panel of the day (and the convention) for me was Reading With Pictures’ guide to using graphic novels in the classroom (this is relevant to me, as I recently got my teacher’s certification). The founder of RWP, Josh Elder, and the other panelists (two elementary school teachers) spoke in detail about how to integrate comics into curriculum, and made suggestions of books that worked well in the classroom. Elder plugged their current book and the Kickstarter for the legit comics-friendly textbook (that meets standards and everything) they are trying to get made.

The Reading With Pictures panel was a great way to close out the C2E2 weekend, and a good segue back into the real world. However, after a colorful weekend of cosplay and comics, the real world seemed pretty drab in comparison. Well, at least Wizard World is only a few months away…

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C2E2 show floor, complete with mysterious empty wheelchair

Marvel Vs. DC

Day one thoughts here.

Saturday was much more crowded than the previous day, but it still remained a comfortable experience throughout. My biggest dilemma on the second day was whether to attend Marvel’s Avengers Vs. X-Men panel or the DC New 52 one. They were occurring at roughly the same time, and whether this was coincidence or a sinister plot by the companies to make fans choose a side is unknown. I ended up going to the Avengers Vs. X-Men panel and was not disappointed (though from what I read, the DC panel was excellent as well).

At the AvX panel there was palpable excitement in the room, from not only the audience, but the creators as well (despite not all of the series architects being present). I had read issues #0 and #1, and was already sold on the series when I went in, and the panel only served to get me more invested. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to watch a Powerpoint presentation as when they were showing slides of art and covers of upcoming issues.

On the other end of the comic spectrum, in Artist Alley I discovered an awesome independent book by Justin Peterson, Very Near Mint. The black and white, digest-size books have a clean, hip, expression-filled art style and characters and scenarios that bring to mind bits of Scott Pilgrim and Clerks. Not only is Very Near Mint great to read for the art, dialog, and story, but it’s also really fun to hunt for all the comic references in the book as well (there are MANY). Peterson raised the money for both volumes on Kickstarter (which is how he is producing volume 3 as well). Great book and a really nice dude; order the book (and funny and rad prints) here.

Props from Captain America: The First Avenger that would be auctioned at the con

Also, the cosplay at the show on Saturday was some of the best I’d ever seen. Dear ginormous Voltron dude, Faith from Mirror’s Edge, and Morrigan from Dragon Age: your costumes were amazing. I would have totally asked to take your picture if I didn’t feel incredibly weird about that sort of thing.

Although the venue was great and the crowd wasn’t stinky, the sheer amount of people present was exhausting. We cut Saturday short and opted to go check out Cabin in the Woods (which ruled). Check back soon for day three impressions, which is basically the Return of the Jedi of stream-of-consciousness C2E2 thoughts.

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FREE: Subscribe to Andy & Reggie's Songs About Stuff and Things on iTunes to receive all episodes

Download Episode File | Or Subscribe to our show on iTunes to receive up to date free episodes automatically. FREE. (NOTE: New episodes, after they air, take 24-36 hours to appear in the iTunes episode feed. If you can’t wait, use the ‘Download‘ link above!) Each new episode airs at noon, central time, on Mondays, on Rockford College Radio. Each podcast episode will also be available to download for free via SockmonkeySound.com!

Episode Summary: 04-23-2012 | Presented by Rockford College Radio and Sock Monkey Sound
“Hot N’ Saucy” is episode 11 in Andy & Reggie’s Songs About Stuff & Things Radio Hour. The boys spin songs by Hall n’ Oates, Jay-Z with Radiohead, The Band, James Brown, Los Lobos, Ben E. King, Georgia Satellites, Phil Collins and more. Thom tells a story about Talian nachos, and the Rotello Brothers send in a song about the nachos for all to enjoy.

Jaydiohead

Episode 11 Playlist:  Hot n’ Saucy

1. Don’t Do It – The Band
2. Alright Alright – Trevor Menear
3. Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win (Featuring Santigold) – Beastie Boys
4. You Make My Dreams – Hall & Oates
5. Fall In Step – Jay-Z with Radiohead (Max Tannone Remix)
6. Mother Popcorn – James Brown
7. Talian Nachos - Rotello Brothers
8. Saint Behind The Glass – Los Lobos
9. Always – Atlantic Starr
10. Keep Your Hands To Yourself – Georgia Satellites
11. Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) – Ben E. King
12. Mr. Bojangles – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
13. Somebody’s Baby – Jackson Browne
14. I’m On Fire – Dwight Twilley Band
15. Do That To Me One More Time – Captain & Tennille
16. I’m On Fire – Bruce Springsteen
17. Against All Odds – Phil Collins

Dwight Twilley Band

Episode 11 Credits
Created & Produced by: Andy Whorehall
Executive Producer: Thomas Derby
Written by: Andy Whorehall, Reggie Railroad Reynolds, Thom Derby, Zak & Noah Rotello
Song Selections by: Andy Whorehall, Reggie Railroad Reynolds, Katie Maringer
Guest Narratives: Thomas Derby
Episode Sponsors: Derby | Reynolds, Olympic Tavern
Episode Shoutouts: KNOW BRAD FRED! TALIAN NACHOS!
Episode Thank Yous: Rockford College Radio, Zak Rotello, Thom Derby, Phil Collins

<< Request songs, order butter burgers, and leave messages for Andy & Reggie at their Official Show Web Site! Click here. >>

 

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What? Joie De Vivre, Into it. Over it. The Please and Thank Yous, Droughts

When? April 6, 2012

Where? Subterranean in Chicago

Didn’t that band break up recently? Yes

Joie De Vivre were an emo band from Rockford, IL that existed from 2007 until 2011. The band meant a great deal to a small number of people and nothing to a great many more. I fell closer towards the positive end of that spectrum (as evidenced by the two hundred times I wrote about them). I liked listening to Joie De Vivre’s music a lot but I wasn’t so bummed out that I cried at their last show (Geoff Schott). I felt saddened by the break up because I wanted to listen to the group create more music (an incredibly basic portrayal of break up melancholy) and also because breaking up is stupid.  Johnny Ramone stole Joey Ramone’s girlfriend and they continued being a band for a good 15 years after that. My thinking at the time was, “Why would anyone stop making awesome music instead of doing the opposite?” I’m kind of an unreasonable person. Either way, that last show in May of 2011 was a great outpouring of affection for the group and the bands that it had made friends with over the years. It was like an Irish wake except not as fun (You can’t have booze at an all ages show). It allowed for closure. Breaking up is stupid but at least everyone had some catharsis about it.

Rockford, IL has a really shitty education system and it kind of shows because the members of Joie De Vivre apparently didn’t know what the phrase, “broken up,” meant. They kept working on a new album. Then, about 6 months later, some guy was like, “Hey would y’all like to go on tour in Europe?” and they said yes. That is a very conflicting set of events to hear about. I’m not sure if my reaction to the announcement was emblematic of anyone else’s but it went something like this, “I knew you dummies weren’t broken up.  Thanks a lot for making everyone sad, assholes.” Then my reasoning kicked in and I thought, “Who cares? How many times does a band you know get the chance to fly halfway across the world to play music?” The answer is zero. Zero times ever. It’s a fucking awesome opportunity.

Here’s the end game: Joie De Vivre are playing shows again and they have a new album coming out in the next 4-12 months. They’re going to spend most of June and July playing shows in several European countries and one of them will probably get the clap from some Dutch hooker. Sure they accidentally pulled a bait and switch on their fans, but people make mistakes. Would you prefer that they not play any shows or record new music? That would be stupid.

This is not a fair review of Droughts. I only saw one song by Droughts but it was fairly solid,  shouty post punk.  There are lots of bands that sound like Droughts (and vice versa) but it wasn’t bad. I’m really tired of reviewing shouty, Chicago post punk. Brandon Lutmer said they were fantastic. He has a well informed opinion of the matter.

The Please & Thank Yous are a punk rock band from Chicago. I’ve said some funny things about them in the past . They play pop punk like they’re on a mission to rewrite the past and take the minor success of Pennywise for themselves. Fresh off a 6 or 8 month break from playing shows, TPATY had a revamped lineup (new boys on guitar and bass to join the Sonic & Knuckles core of singer/guitarist Geoff Schott and drummer Marcus Nuccio) and it showed. Shit was tight and punchy. By, “shit,” I mean the musical performance. TPATY performed lots of new songs off of their (probably) upcoming 2nd album.  Shit was tight n quick.

Taking pictures in the dark is hard

Into it. Over it. is the music of a guy called Evan Weiss. He lives in Chicago and plays everywhere, and quite often. It’s the sort of music that I like to call, “Earnest Guy With an Acoustic Guitar,” music. Take a few seconds to imagine that and you’ll get the full picture. He had a song about Humboldt Park that did not have the chorus, “I live here because I can’t afford Logan Square.” I like to make up fake criteria and then judge people based on that. To his credit, he was a very adept guitarist with really strong tone. That really improved the overall experience.

Joie De Vivre doesn't actually like basketball

What has changed about Joie De Vivre? Well they have different haircuts and two new members. Since the initial break up, Horn guy Paul Karnatz and organist Zach Staas both moved thousands of miles away from the rest of the band (I can’t blame them). In their place, a couple of fellows called Mark have stepped in to play. Does it make a difference? Kind of. Mark Jaeschke of Chicago’s The Island of Misfit Toys is playing basically the same trumpet parts that were recorded by Karnatz. The big audible difference is that where Zach Staas’s approach to the organ was often, “Hey Danger, here is $20. When I point at you I want you to put a beer on my organ,” Mark Gustofsan was more like, “I’m going to play notes.” It often showed.  Much credit to all of the band. Despite protests of, “We didn’t really practice. I’m sorry,” the performances were much more muscular that one is often accustomed to.  Set opener, “You Ruined Everything That Was Ever Good,” felt like a nice hearty shove to the torso. It’s entirely possible that this band will enter its second life with some fists in addition to the twinkles. Worse things have happened.

Some guy kept yelling, “Sellout!” and, “Judas!” during JDV’s set. That guy must be a pretty clever person who knows a lot about music and sticking it to women of the fine-ass persuasion.

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Twilight Fan Fiction?

Fifty Shades of Grey is the book that the world is talking about.

A brief summary for anyone who hasn’t heard of it yet: Ana fills in for her roommate and best friend, who needs to interview the young millionaire, Christian Grey, for the college newspaper. The creepy Grey quickly begins stalking.. er, seducing the clumsy, naive, borderline moronic Ana. Using new computers, fancy cars and private helicopters, Grey whisks Ana away from her mundane life and into a world of BDSM fantasy. The books deals with Ana’s struggle to reconcile her love for Grey with her reluctance to get the crap beat out of her.

The book is gaining infamy in teacher’s lounges and women’s groups around the nation. I had a very hard time reading it for several reasons:

For starters, E.L. James’ writing is just not very good. The book can be compared to reading something written by a not-very-smart 15 year old. The grammar and spelling mistakes printed into Twilight were terrible, but this ends up coming up worse than even that. James re-uses phrases frequently. By the fifth time Ana “shattered to pieces” with an orgasm the magic was lost. And if she wasn’t shattering, she was spiraling.

Both of the main characters was inconsistent and poorly developed. We get just enough information about Grey to be intrigued, but he’s such a jackass that I lost interest quickly. Ana was just insufferable. I’m sorry, but what 21-year old college student in publishing/journalism nonetheless has had limited exposure to having a computer! Ana has never had a smartphone or her own computer. Yet, she is pursuing a career at a publishing house? Further, Ana has never had a boyfriend, never been drunk despite drinking with her roommate constantly, and never held hands with a boy. She is just a little too naive to be a believable character.

The author goes even further to personify Ana’s subconscious and what she calls her “inner goddess.” Anything that occurs in the book, especially when Christian is involved, has them either hiding behind a couch (subconscious) or doing cartwheels (inner goddess). These two actions were repeated to infinity, making me want to throw my kindle across the room.

The absolute biggest problem with the book is the relationship between Christian and Ana. I don’t know much about a BDSM lifestyle, but I have had my share of VERY poor relationships. And outside of the sexual relationship, Christian’s behavior was borderline emotionally abusive. Very similar to Twilight, Ana also turns her back on all her closest friends to pursue this relationship with Grey. She does this against the advice of her best friend, who constantly warns her that something’s not right, which would be a red flag for any sane person.

There is something in the BDSM culture that’s called “consensual non-consent.” The way I understand it, it means that you act like you’re not interested. That adds excitement and struggle to the sexual encounter. I can see where James was trying to get at this with some trysts between the “lovers,” but it results in Ana simply being coerced because she is bullied into the relationship.

In a recent 20/20 interview, James admitted that to research for the book she visited a sex store, but it grossed her out. She did the majority of her research on the internet. This definitely shows in the lack of depth of the book. Also even though I know next to nothing about the world of BDSM there were several parts that just felt like assumptions to me.

(I’m really trying not to give too much away here)

It’s fine with me if you would like to engage in that type of release, but when Ana feels compelled to engage in a sexual relationship she is not at all comfortable with because she is afraid to lose him, I get nervous. When she cowers and gives in because she is afraid he is mad at her, I get physically ill.

I’m not about censorship in art, and I guess because this is a novel it is a form of “art” (however poor). But I really think that we should exercise caution before glorifying characters that are not able/willing to stand up for themselves and making heroes out of very abusive men. This book is selling itself as “romance” when it’s a thinly disguised story of emotional and physical abuse.

Behind that, it’s just a Twilight fan fiction with different names. Disgraceful.

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RIP Levon Helm, Dick Clark, Greg Ham

Within the last 2 days  Dick Clark (82), Greg Ham of Men at Work, and now Levon Helm (71), drummer and singer of The Band, have passed away. Here are some videos featuring these guys. Rest in peace.

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Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs locks hands with fan at their Toronto show at the Opera House.

The only predictable thing about Kaiser Chiefs’ performance at the Opera House Tuesday night was that it was a banger of a show.

Along with his band-mates, front man of the Leeds-based post-punk band, Ricky Wilson, challenged the venue’s notoriously poor sound quality with fan-favourites such as Ruby, I Predict A Riot and Every Day I Love You Less And Less –and most certainly won.

Toronto-based Teenage Kicks (A Night With Teenage Kicks) started the show, pouring their melodic, indie hearts out to the oddly eclectic crowd of fathers, sons, husbands and wives of young and old. The five-piece band were not short on enthusiasm, as lead vocalist, Pete van Helvoort, sang and danced his bearded face off with more manic energy than a Rockstar.

Teenage Kicks set the atmosphere for a night of post-punk with a dash of rock n’ roll, with songs such as The River and Brooklyn Bridge.

Yeah, their harmonies were a little off, and the venue’s sound quality caused the bass to distort most of the [musicality], but the rawness and passion of their delivery was not overlooked.

The Kaiser Chiefs swiftly followed the opening act, introducing themselves with a series of flashing strobe lights and the Dire Straits’ riff, Money For Nothing.

The crowd’s anticipation was soon satisfied, as Chiefs’ drummer Nick Hodgson – sporting the typical Britpop bowl haircut – strode across the stage to his seat, followed by band-mates, Whitey, Simon, Peanut and Ricky.

Kaiser Chiefs frontman, Ricky Wilson, sings to Toronto's Opera House crowd.

It was clear the sound quality had significantly improved, as the Kaiser Chiefs used their own equipment, and dove straight into their set-list with songs Every Day I Love You Less and Less, Never Miss A Beat, The Angry Mob and Na Na Na Na Naa.

The Opera House’s packed audience were swaying and jumping to their favourite Chiefs’ songs, but all eyes were fixed on lead singer, Ricky Wilson, flailing his tambourine carelessly in the air. Their performance was clearly about feeling, not about composition, as the bass forcibly thumped, and Wilson deliberately chanted off-pitch, post-punk-esque vocals.

Wilson flaunted his expertise as front-man by skillfully throwing the mic-stand in the air, catching the microphone mid-air, and jumping onto the barrier fence.

After jumping into the audience and onto one of the bar counters to guzzle a Heineken in between songs, he began enticing the audience to clap and sing along, as he pounded the microphone to his chest.

“Come on Toronto, I need you to roar like a Toronto-saurus,” encouraged Wilson.

The audience gladly complied.

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I first heard Company Flow in 1999. Technically, it was the Indelible MCs track off of Lyricists Lounge Volume 1 but hey, who’s counting? The style that they had was something so different from anything that I had heard at that point that I became a fan almost instantly. El-P and Bigg Juss had a delivery and word choice that was far from what I was accustomed to hearing. Coupled with the El’s off-beat production, the combination made for a sound that was fresh as fuck. I was an avid listener of Wu-Tang and The Roots  but mostly liked punk and ska at that particular juncture in my life. Their sound and ethic was more akin to the punk music that I listened to and was part of my indoctrination to a culture that would take me to a lot of places, both literally and figuratively.

After hearing that one track, I scoured the internet to try and find Funcrusher Plus, Company Flow’s one and only album that featured all three members: El-P, Bigg Juss and DJ Mr. Len. Funcrusher Plus was officially released July 28, 1997 on the long defunct Rawkus Records. Despite outright disses to major labels on the album and laboring under the motto, “Independent as Fuck”, overall sales of the album were above and beyond the 100,000 plus mark. While this might not seem impressive in 2012, this was well before the advent of widespread e-commerce and internet promotion. After short tours on both coasts and Europe, the group disbanded. Juss and Mr. Len kinda fell by the wayside, while El-P would go on to found one of the most influential indie hip-hop labels, Definitive Jux and release two critically acclaimed albums on his own. None of them would achive the same type of success that Funcrusher Plus had independent of each other however.

Funcrusher Plus has stayed on steady rotation in my car, computer, wherever I might be for over a decade. I’ve gone through two physical copies of the CD and have digital version of it on not only my external hard drive but computer as well. As cliche as it sounds, if I had one album to listen to on a desert island, it would be Funcrusher Plus, no doubt about it.

Being that I have listened to this record hundreds of times, but never had the opportunity to see Company Flow live, I got hella excited when I heard they were doing some performances in New York mid-2011. I was highly doubtful that they would make their way anywhere near Chicago but I was at least stoked that they were working together again. Maybe they would cut a new track, maybe they would make a few tracks, maybe they would start work on a new album…

Well, there was still no news of a reunion, but I heard that they would be playing Coachella. Much to my surprise, they decided to add one show, in one city on their way out to California. That show would be in Chicago.

I bought tickets the day they went on sale and so did a few of my other friends. The thing about Company Flow is that if you’ve heard the record and ever listened to any sort of off the beaten path hip-hop, you’ll dig it. It was the blueprint for Aesop Rock,  most of the Anticon shit and probably a ton of stuff that I could give a fuck less about because it just isn’t the genuine article.

We arrived in Chicago around 7pm, killed some time walking around and eating at a place called Yak-zie’s which sucked. I’m pretty sure the only reason they’re still in business is because of their proximity to Wrigley Field. They put what’s call “Tang” sauce on their food which is basically shitty hot-sauce. The burger was meh, my Budweiser sat empty on the table for more than 10 minutes before I was even asked if I wanted another one. Here’s a tip: The bigger the bill is, the bigger the tip is as long as the service is prompt and courteous.

We put off going in to the venue for as long as possible. The Metro has adopted a “No In & Out” policy which makes you stay and pay six bucks a beer rather than going to your car during shitty sets and shotgunning Schlitz. When we arrived Qwel was on. Qwel is a one time member of Typical Cats and is a Jesus-loving weirdo. He looks more like a Kinko’s employee than a rapper. Don’t get me wrong, he’s got some ill shit in his catalog, it’s just few and far in between. His DJ, Maker, was the redeeming quality to the set.

The next act was 4th Pyramid. I saw this lackluster excuse for a hypeman back in 2007 when Murs came to Logan Square Auditorium. He sucked then and he sucks even worse now. How this guy hasn’t given up and got a real job is beyond me. There can’t be anyone that finds his music entertaining. He raps with a lisp, enough said.

Motherfucking finally, Company Flow came on. It was everything I hoped the show would be. They did all of my favorite tracks from Funcrusher: End To End Burners, Lune TNS, 8 Steps to Perfection, Patriotism and pretty much any track that I would’ve wanted to see live. El even did Last Good Sleep, a haunting ballad that describes the domestic abuse his mother endured at the hands of his stepfather. It doesn’t pull a single punch. The energy from both of them was dope. El’s charisma shines on stage like David Koresh with a mic. Juss had a mechanical presence that matched his flow perfectly. Mr. Len was ill as fuck. He was a consummate professional and master of his craft, executing some of the illest scratching that I’ve ever seen live and I’ve been to tons of hip-hop shows and seen a lot of different DJs. You could tell that they were having fun and a lot of it. To me that’s what making music is about, having one helluva good time. El and Juss both professed their appreciation multiple times during the set. The crowd was full of fans that knew every line to every track, no matter how obscure. After two encores and performances of new material from both El and Juss, they called it a night and left the stage.

Have I seen better performances before? Definitely. Have I had more fun at a live show? Yes. However, it was super duty tough work to the fucking max and impressive that even after a decade and a half, these two MCs and a DJ could come together for a kickass performance and rock the stage like it was 1997 all over again. I expected what most hip-hop shows are: a room full of dudes nodding their heads to a four count and like five girls looking bored. The energy was more akin to a punk or metal show for most of the performance but there were still like 5 girls total in the crowd but I’m married so I could care less.

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William Steig may have been a genius but, sadly, his picture book legacy has certainly done a disservice to his talent as a writer. Although Abel’s Island is disjointed, including the occasional untied up loose end, his prose flows like the sweet nectar of life that is a pressed cup of Peet’s Kenya. In other words, his writing makes you smile, brightens any type of day, and leaves you in amazement that anyone, child or adult, could go through life without experiencing it. Oh, Abel is a well-to-do mouse. He gets caught up in a hurricane and swept out to an uninhabited island. He must learn to survive in many ways, but really he learns who he really is and what his talents really are. (I’m looking up at the ceiling, which means up to where the white, old man doG in flowing robes is and I’m winking and giving you the thumbs up, William Steig. You fooled everyone!)

- JW

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NERDS

As someone who has been to quite a few cons in the past, there were many familiar sights upon entering McCormick Place for the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) this past weekend (April 13-15). There were giant, multimedia-rich booths for the big two comic publishers (Marvel and DC), smaller booths for other publishers, art schools, websites, etc., a packed Artist Alley featuring a variety of creators (most related to comics), and merchant booths selling everything from back issues of X-Men to corsets to katanas. The crowd included convention stapes such as the dudes with the dolly carts stacked with comic boxes and cosplayers ranging from classic superheroes to characters from modern geek favorites like Adventure Time.

What was immediately different about C2E2 however, was the overall feel and experience. Yes, there were lots of people, but it was also in such a large venue that it didn’t feel over-crowded compared to other conventions. This was great for two reasons: one, you could easily maneuver from one end of the show floor to the other, giving you freedom to peruse the floor at your own pace, rather than being forced down aisles like livestock at a factory farm. With that imagery in mind, the second great thing the C2E2 show floor had going for it was the smell, or more specifically, lack thereof. In my three days at the show over the weekend, I never once caught a nose-full of “nerd stink” (which for the uninitiated, is a combination of B.O., a dumpster outside of a Chinese restaurant, and farts). Perhaps this is due to the mainstreaming of geek culture making good hygiene the new standard or the larger venue allowing the stink to disperse properly, or maybe a combination of both. Regardless, I was grateful.

The highlight of my first day at the show was meeting and getting signatures from the incredibly talented (and super nice) creators of Morning Glories, artist Joe Eisma and writer Nick Spencer. This is a book you should be reading; nearly every issue feels like a season finale of a great TV show. If there is any justice in the universe, this series will get an AMC or HBO adaptation and be enormously popular one day.

Nerdist podcast

The bulk of my Friday evening was spent at The Vic for the (sold out) live Nerdist podcast. Host Chris Hardwick and co-hosts Mark Mira and Jonah Ray all came on stage individually to do short standup bits before recording the podcast (which had special guest Alison Haislip from G4). While they do touch upon some mainstream geek stuff (Star Wars, Doctor Who, superhero films), the Nerdist folks are comedians first and foremost, and damn good ones at that. It was a great show (in spite of some awkwardness involving a large drunk man who kept rushing the stage and yelling weird things, distracting the entire theater from the show at hand. He was, naturally, sitting immediately behind my girlfriend and I) that you can download here, at some point, I think.

Thoughts from days two and three coming soonish.

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Tom Waits (© Photo By Kirk West)

“My kids are starting to notice I’m a little different from the other dads. “Why don’t you have a straight job like everyone else?” they asked me the other day. I told them this story: In the forest, there was a crooked tree and a straight tree. Every day, the straight tree would say to the crooked tree, “Look at me…I’m tall, and I’m straight, and I’m handsome. Look at you…you’re all crooked and bent over. No one wants to look at you.” And they grew up in that forest together. And then one day the loggers came, and they saw the crooked tree and the straight tree, and they said, “Just cut the straight trees and leave the rest.” So the loggers turned all the straight trees into lumber and toothpicks and paper. And the crooked tree is still there, growing stronger and stranger every day.”

Tom Waits

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From their Facebook page, Teenage Kicks. Jeff, Cam, Pete, Christian and Pat (from the left)

On a deserted island, these guys would only need generators to survive.  Well, the generators would at least power up their amps so they could jam.

But in Toronto, before their gig at The Hideout as apart of Canadian Music Week, Teenage Kicks need three simple things to get by: monitors, hot water (for their throat coating tea), and friendship.

“We hang out more than most bands do,” says lead singer and guitarist, Pete van Helvoort.

We are sitting in the band’s white panel tour van behind The Hideout on Queen West in Toronto, in a lively parking lot.  Colourful graffiti dances on the walls and a homeless man trudges around with a shopping cart full of cans, murmuring to himself.

Jeff van Helvoort, bass player, is in the front seat with Pat Marchent the guitar player.  Cam Brunt, the drummer, is in the back seat with Pete and I, tapping his fingers on the van window sill.

“We don’t know any different, so we all spend quite a bit of time with each other.”

A loud gargle interrupts Pete, mid talk.

It’s Jeff, his younger brother, gargling on some hot tea – it’s his preferred drink before a show, especially this one in particular because they played the night before.

“I lose my voice a lot,” he says.  “And I always fear losing it.”

But you wouldn’t be able to tell because Teenage Kicks are a down to earth rock n roll band, just doing their thing.  They seem not to have a care or bother in the world.

They are even still stoked about their performance from the night before.  They played the Phoenix Concert Theatre with Treble Charger, which was another CMW show.

“We wanted to play there for a long time,” says Pete.

“It’s also cool to get those opportunities,” adds Jeff.

Teenage Kicks have been a band for just under two years now and even though it’s been a short time, they are playing big shows.

Like in October when they opened up for AWOLNATION at Toronto’s Sound Academy, playing in front of more than one thousand people – not bad for a band hailing from Guelph, Ontario.

But Teenage Kicks are not your typical band.  They do not drink and party to excess, but they do like to have fun.

About a month earlier, they played a show at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario.

“Since it was a school thing, we got a good amount of money, free dinner and put up in a hotel room,” says Jeff.

Now, they only had two rooms between the five of themselves and their friends, so it was going to be tight.  But one of the other bands on the bill, Dinosaur Bones, didn’t stay the night and still had a room booked.

So, Pat went to the front desk with a friend and said they were Dinosaur Bones.  Pat and his friend explained that the rest of the band was out getting girls and they just wanted to crash.

The clerk behind the desk expressed his sympathies.

“I’ll put you guys in rooms where there is no one beside you and no one below you.  Have as much fun as you want,” and then he paused.  “But not too much fun!”

Jeff and Cam then burst into laughter at the memory.

“We are a pretty tame band as far as that stuff goes,” Cam says.  “Peter’s the dad of the band, he keeps everyone in line.”

Eventually Pat and Pete leave the van to go and check out the other bands.

Christian Turner, Teenage Kick’s other guitarist, eventually shows up at the van.  He was home having spaghetti and taking a nap.

Pat suddenly returns to the van.

On the sidewalk patio, the band is no different than they were in the van.

We are all sitting around a table in front of a sliding class door, chatting – Jeff has a thermos of hot tea, everyone else is smoking and drinking water in preparation for the show.

“Peter and I don’t like to talk too much [before shows],” Jeff explains over some tea.  “Like over loud music … cause it fucks us over.”

A couple minutes later, the sliding glass door opens, unleashing an overwhelming cluster of noise.  The bar back comes by and closes the door.

“Hey, if this door opens again, please shut it,” he says.

Teenage Kicks agree to help out the guy.

And oldie of Teenage Kicks, take from their Facebook page.

For the next couple of minutes, drunk people keep opening up the door because it’s so hot inside, but the band keeps shutting it.  It’s the ultimate comedic power struggle as the drunks can barely stand and sweat noticeably drips from their brows.

Teenage Kicks are respectful though, but they want the quiet more than anything.

Finally, the bar back comes over and shuts the sliding door for a final time, jamming it with a broken broom.

“Hey, no outside drinks,” he says pointing to Jeff’s thermos of hot tea.  “Put it away when you are done.”

Just as soon as the bar back finishes his sentence, Pete comes from the van carrying a white kettle, full of water for even more tea, and looking for an outlet to fire it up.

Everyone erupts with laughter and Jeff agrees to put the thermos and kettle away.

As it gets closer to show time, Jeff stands up from the table.

After their 30 minute set (click here to see live stuff!), everyone in the crowd pats the band members on their back as they walk by, congratulating them on a job well done.

The band isn’t big enough to have their own roadies yet, so they somewhat struggle between tearing down their gear and responding to everyone’s kind gestures.

But as they load up the van with their gear, it’s clear they have one thing one thing on mind: their first east coast tour of Canada.

In preparation, the guys are going to clean out their van and Pete is planning on giving everyone money for food, so they don’t go hungry.  It’s only a 6 concert tour, but anything could happen.

As for Pat, his food plans are slightly different from the rest of Teenage Kicks.

“I don’t know if you know, but it’s fast food coupon season,” he explains.  “There’s A&W ones and MacDonald ones, I’m going to bring some of those.”

Teenage Kicks' east coast tour poster, from their Facebook page.

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Monet, art, boredom.

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Download Episode File | Or Subscribe to our show on iTunes to receive up to date free episodes automatically. FREE. (NOTE: New episodes, after they air, take 24-36 hours to appear in the iTunes episode feed. If you can’t wait, use the ‘Download‘ link above!) Each new episode airs at noon, central time, on Mondays, on Rockford College Radio. Each podcast episode will also be available to download for free via SockmonkeySound.com!

Episode Summary: 04-16-2012 | Presented by Rockford College Radio and Sock Monkey Sound
“Boredom” is episode 10 in Andy & Reggie’s Songs About Stuff & Things Radio Hour.  The boys talk about what bores them, John Mayer, and they fulfill online & phone song requests by Russell Gillespie, Erica Softley, and Alex “Danger” Stewart.  Songs by Lupe Fiasco, Built To Spill, Al Jolson, Sparks, Paul Westerberg, Cracker and more.

Lupe Fiasco, The Cool

Episode 10 Playlist: Boredom

1. Good Ol’ Boredom – Built To Spill
2. March of the Pigs – Nine Inch Nails
3. Fighters – Lupe Fiasco w/ Matthew Santos
4. Lazy – Marilyn Monroe
5. Lazy – Bill Frisell
6. Lazy – Al Jolson
7. Zutto – Boredoms
8. Boredom – The Lovin’ Spoonful
9. Nothing To Do – Sparks
10. Nothing To Do – Icehouse
11. World Is Full Of Crashing Bores – Morrissey
12. Nothing To Do But Today – Isley Brothers
13. Vultures – John Mayer
14. Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep – Mogwai
15. Boring Enormous – Paul Westerberg
16. Useless Stuff – Cracker

Episode 10 Credits
Created & Produced by: Andy Whorehall
Executive Producer: Thomas Derby
Written by: Andy Whorehall, Reggie Railroad Reynolds, Thom Derby, Russell Gillespie, Erica Softley
Song Selections by: Andy Whorehall, Reggie Railroad Reynolds, Russell Gillespie, Erica Softley, Alex “Danger” Stewart
Guest Narratives: Thomas Derby, Alex “Danger” Stewart
Episode Sponsors: Derby | Reynolds
Episode Shoutouts: Lawn mowers, art, poverty, John Mayer
Episode Thank Yous: Rockford College Radio

<< Request songs, order butter burgers, and leave messages for Andy & Reggie at their Official Show Web Site! Click here. >>

 

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Ayal Nistor

“Bring the Sunshine” is the latest music video from My Second Surprise and the Perez Brothers (www.perezbros.com), you may remember the Perez Brothers  from Kapwoski’s “Section 8″ video we posted last year. Once again the dircting duo came up with another humorous and interesting clip to accompany some great music.

Lead by Israeli born front man Ayal Nistor, My Second Surprise has had international success with their last video for “Perfect Cure” winning an Israeli Grammy and finding play on MTV Europe. Their second album “Time to Move On,” was mixed by Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Iron & Wine) and offers a unique blend of folk pop and an indie rock.

Filmed in the sunny hills of Oakland California, the video for “Bring the Sunshine” has been described by the Perez Brothers as the surreal collision between Yogi Bear and Grand Theft Auto. The only thing that’s missing is the airplane. Enjoy!

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FYI, if your a fan of Aesop, the also check out the first single off El-P‘s latest project “Cancer For Cure” entitled “The Full Retard”. El is the former owner and head of Definitive Jux, the record label that was home to Aesop Rock. El has long been one of my favorites to do this hip-hop shit and he does it better than most. “Cancer For Cure” drops May 22nd, 2012. Expect a full review after I lock myself in my office and listen to it for two days straight.

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It’s really good.

See for yourself below, watch Jarvis Cocker and Pulp perform “Common People” and “Like a Friend”.

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Bomb the Music Industry!

Early into this sold-out show at The Beat Kitchen, there was a palpable feeling of tension and excitement in the crowd, almost as if there was a (pardon the pun) bomb ready to explode.

The first band, Chicago three-piece North by North, played a (surprising) blues/garage rock hybrid. Not what I was expecting for a show like this, but they were an interesting and entertaining opener that the crowd responded well to.

Devon Kay & the Solutions, another Chicago band, followed with their brand of pop-punk. I was not familiar with them going into the show, but was pleasantly surprised by their performance; they were super energetic, fun, and the songs were catchy with some pretty good lyrics. The crowd absolutely loved them and went kinda nuts during their set, stage diving and circle-pitting.

A slight aside: in my younger days, I never really understood how jumping off a stage or running around in circles pushing people and being pushed at shows added to the enjoyment of the music. Now, as a grown man, I still don’t. But everyone seemed to be having a nice time, and the band was able to continue, even with a stage full of audience members for their last song. As crazy as it was during Devon Kay’s set, the place only got crazier for Bomb the Music Industry! (Note: in case you didn’t know, the exclamation point there is part of the band’s name. I’m only noting this here because that sentence sounds really air-heady and dumb (rather than just poorly-written) if you’re not aware of the band’s always-on punctuation. I don’t envy people who work for Alternative Press and are constantly writing articles about Panic! At the Disco and trying to make sentences not sound weird).

BtMI! began their set with “Campaign for a Better Weekend,” a build-y song that starts mellow then erupts into a speedy punk rock verse and sing-along chorus. Once that verse kicked in, the place (figuratively) exploded. The entire center of the room became a sea of movement (luckily, I was against the wall on the left side, narrowly avoiding being swept into the center of the punk rock hurricane. Did you know there are coat hooks on that wall at The Beat Kitchen? They are quite handy for hanging your jacket if you’re an old man like myself or hanging your shirt if you’re a dude going into the pit and want everyone to see your tattoos).

Bomb the Music Industry!

They played through a very Vacation-heavy set (which was awesome for me, because I love the record) including “Vocal Coach,” “Can’t Complain,” “The Shit That You Hate,” and “Hurricane Waves.” There were songs from other releases played as well, like “The First Time I Met Sanawon,” “25!,” and “I Don’t Love You Anymore.” The set and setlist were great and the band (which for this show included Rick Johnson of Mustard Plug on bass) was energetic and funny (despite showing some annoyance at stage divers running into them and their equipment), but it felt incredibly short. Before I knew it, the show was over and all the under-21 folks (which appeared to be the majority of the crowd) were filing out the side door, shiny not only from sweating profusely, but from the joy that only comes from being young and experiencing a rowdy punk rock show.

Photos courtesy of Lindsey’s iPhone because I totally forgot my camera.

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On this episode of Sock Monkey Sound we welcome Carrie Colliton, Co-Founder and Director of Marketing for Record Store Day, which is happening April 21, 2012. Riding shot gun is super friend of the show Jim Hanke, musician and blogger of all things vinyl at ratheryouthanher.tumblr.com.

Bring your baby to Record Store Day!!!

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Doki Doki Panic

In just under 15 minutes, this EP represents Japanese rock at its most awesome, nerdy, and insane. The two bands (Babymetal and Kiba of Akiba) alternate tracks on the split, resulting in a record that’s incredibly fun and entertaining.

If early 2000s tween J-Pop group Mini Moni were possessed by Satan, it would probably result in something not entirely unlike Babymetal. If you can’t seem to imagine that unholy union, check out this video of Babymetal’s first single, 2011′s Doki Doki Morning:

The J-Pop/death metal ensemble kicks off the EP with “Iine,” which blends their combination of pop and technical death metal even more seamlessly than their debut release. Oh, and there is a rap breakdown in the track as well. And quite a bit of electronica. Yet somehow, it works.

The next track, by Kiba of Akiba (whose name references Tokyo geek-Mecca, Akihabara), is an excellent melodic death metal song about, I think, having an awesome time on message boards. It’s called “Party @ The BBS” and is extremely tight, high-quality stuff, with some ridiculous riffs and rad dueling vocals.

The third track is Babymetal ”answering” Kiba of Akiba’s “Animation With You” (a song about watching anime). The interpretation is pretty spot-on, with a few endearing added tweaks.

Kiba of Akiba closes things out with an ultra-bizarre cover of “Doki Doki Morning.” The vocals are all over the place, and while it’s a pretty tongue-in-cheek cover, it’s also tight, excellently produced, and even pretty intense at times.

Although this four-song release may appear completely unapproachable and too bizarre and gimmicky to be worth your time, I implore courageous and curious music fans to check it out anyway. Even if you despise J-Pop and loathe technical, melodic metal, you may still find yourself enjoying this infectious combination.

Babymetal X Kiba of Akiba – EP is available exclusively on iTunes in the U.S. for a way-less-than-import price of $3.99. Get it here.

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What is this? A quick review of a store brand soda

Why? Because I’m bored and I thought it would taste like Dr. Pepper. Also this

Your name is, “Fuck you,”? I thought it was Alex. Not really. I’m just being combative.

I was walking through the refrigerated section of my local Whole Foods the other afternoon with my ladyfriend (she’s from two towns over. You probably don’t know her) because WF is the only place I know that sells the right sized coffee filters for the device I use and also because that place is delicious. She was getting curried beets or grilled tofu or something so I was casually browsing various liquids.  One can on the soda shelf jumped out at me.

That has, “Dr,” in the name. It must be a Dr. Pepper knock off.”

Quick sidenote: Dr. Pepper is my favorite of all sodas (especially among dark colored sodas).  I get a little silly about it.

I picked up the can of Dr. Snap and started reading the label.  Several signifiers drew my attention. It had a 365 label which is the Whole Foods organic store brand (and known to usually have delicious products). That was a good sign. So was, “Sweetened with 100% Cane Sugar.” That excited me even more. There are two reasons for my excitement.

1. I have had very good experiences with organic root beer that is sweetened with cane sugar.  Yes I sometimes buy small batch root beer. I am a fucking lunatic.

2. You can’t get cane sugar Dr. Pepper anywhere outside of West Texas. There is one bottling plant in some nowhere town in West Texas that refused to follow the corporate mandated switch over to corn syrup in the 1970s. Grocery stores within about a 100 mile radius of that plant sell cane sugar Dr. Pepper but otherwise it is always made with corn syrup.

My head was flooded with possibilities. What if this was a Dr. Pepper knockoff that is made with cane sugar? They obviously couldn’t get all of the 23 flavors but they might get to 20 or 21 flavors like Mr. Pibb. Cane sugar Mr. Pibb sounded very good and it was only 65 cents. I can afford to potentially waste 65 cents every now and then.

I bought the soda.

When I got home I sat down in the chair, opened the can, and started drinking.

A dream died that afternoon.  Not like a major dream death that might cause me to spin into depression, or even a moderate dream death that would ruin my day.  It was a small dream and it certainly ruined the 5 o’clock hour of Wednesday.

It did not taste anything like Dr. Pepper.  As I continued my way through the can, I pondered the flavor profile in my head.  “There’s too much cherry. It’s not very bubbly. It’s somewhat bubbly but less than Coca Cola. I don’t think this has caffeine. It does have a bit of a dark, cola flavor. Not much though.”

Dr. Snap tastes like what might happen if one poured a glass that was half RC Cola, and half Stewart’s Black Cherry Soda. I enjoy both of those sodas a little bit. It’s not actually all that bad and it tastes much better than most other 65 cent cans of soda. On the other hand, it has, “Dr.” in the name and that gave me false hopes and now I’m sad.  Soda shouldn’t make you sad.

Final Verdict: Disappointment.

 Here is a video of my experience

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EP’s are one of the hardest things (for me anways) to review for a couple reasons. Most of the time it simply has to do with the lack of time available for the artist to be able to draw you into their sound. Sure, a single release can be more difficult to hook someone but there’s a 50% chance of success versus failure. An EP on the other hand can be a mixed bag. To steal an album title from another artist to explain this; you could have two hits and a miss.

Released a month ago, Rockford native Dane Penn’s debut “Ghosts of Departure” EP is slow to start with the opener Come Undone (not to be confused with Duran Duran’s Come Undone). A plaintively strum guitar is joined along the way by some drums with no real tonal distinction (I think there are 3, maybe 4). The drum sounds pulled on this record are very flat sounding and generally lack a sound associated with a traditional kit. That’s fine, I think it works stylistically and is very reminiscent to me of Prairie Prince’s understated drumming on XTC’s fantastic late 90′s album Apple Venus Vol. 1. The raw quality adds an overall empty and barren feel to the entire EP, allowing the other instrumentation to really take up sonic space. Eventually the instrumentation builds into a crescendo  towards the end of the song, but for my taste, didn’t happen soon enough to really hold my interest throughout the tune. On the whole, and as an opening song to the EP, I really feel that it fails to give me the best of what Penn has to offer right from the get go. Not that an opener should be upbeat, I just don’t think it should be 6+ minutes long. Then again, conventions have been broken plenty of times when it comes to songcraft.

The second track “Shaking” might have been a better choice to bring listeners into Dane’s world, if that was the intention. There is a hook there to attract listeners and is a bit more upbeat; I found myself humming the verse the other morning while making breakfast. When a song gets stuck in your head you know there’s something there that is infectious; luckily this was the good kind.

It’s a slow burn throughout most of the album and never really stretches beyond the slower output that some might be accustomed to in the singer songwriter, folkie genre. The lyrical content generally focusses on longing, having, losing, loving, isolation… you know, the usual stuff that gets written about in thoughtful and hushed mid-tempo jams with acoustic guitars. Penn vocal approach is very reminiscent of David Bazan, not the angry and rocking Bazan, but more the early Pedro the Lion output. The waver in his voice lends a sincerity to what he sings while tipping you off to the fact that

“Firing Range”  is the perfect track to place before the closer. Understated and expressive, it does what it should by being the calm before the storm that is the final track “Lady of the Dale”, possibly the strongest song in the bunch.

While not a perfect debut, Dane Penn lays the groundwork for some promising music in the future. Like I said before, the EP is a slow burner that doesn’t blow up but is instead a nice little campfire out in the woods.

You can purchase the album online either at the Cassette Company Records website or at Penn’s Bandcamp page.

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Carl Mays

“Tony LaRussa Forevah” – Thom Derby

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Episode Summary: 04-02-2012 | Presented by Rockford College Radio and Sock Monkey Sound
“Curve Balls” is episode 9 in Andy & Reggie’s Songs About Stuff & Things Radio Hour. In-studio performance by Donkey Boy (USA).  Songs centered around baseball and life featuring:  Whiskeytown,  Joie De Vivre, The Baseball Project with Craig Finn of The Hold Steady.  Bill Cosby, Reggie Jackson, Joe DiMaggio and Thom Derby chime in.

Joie De Vivre – The North End

Episode 9 Playlist: Curve Balls

1. Take Me Out To The Ball Game – Ed Meeker
2. Take Me Out To The Ball Game – The Andrew Sisters
3. Take Me Out To The Ball Game – William Hung
4. Wrigley Field – Wesley Willis
5. Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit The Ball? – Buddy Johnson
6. Joltin’ Joe Dimaggio – Les Brown & His Orchestra
7. Death Threats – Reggie Jackson
8. Don’t Call them Twinkies – The Baseball Project w/ Craig Finn
9. Your Love – The Outfield
10. Curve Balls – Donkey Boy (USA)
11. Upper Deck San Diego – Joie De Vivre
12. Empty Baseball Park – Whiskeytown
13. Baseball – Bill Cosby
14. Swing, Brother, Swing – Willie Smith (The Lion) & His Cubs
15. Baseball – Birddog
16. DiMaggio Retires – Joe DiMaggio
17. (Love Is Like A) Baseball Game – The Intruders
18. I Wanna Be a Baseball Star – Freddie Holt
19. Here Lies Carl Mays – The Baseball Project

Episode 9 Credits
Created & Produced by: Andy Whorehall
Executive Producer: Andy Whorehall
Written by: Andy Whorehall, Reggie Railroad Reynolds
Song Selections by: Andy Whorehall, Reggie Railroad Reynolds
Guest Narratives: Thomas Derby
Episode Sponsors: Derby | Reynolds, Miller High Life
Episode Shoutouts: Miller High Life, Tony LaRussa
Episode Thank Yous: Rockford College Radio

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John Singer Sergeant (aka John Dufilho)

It’s possible you haven’t heard of John Dufilho but the Texas-based multi-instrumentalist is responsible for a lot of great music, whether as founder of The Deathray Davies and I Love Math or as drummer with psych-pop Elephant 6 collective Apples in Stereo. With eight albums to his credit since 2000, Dufillho has another 45 or so fully finished songs sitting in his back pocket – a collection Apples’ frontman Robert Schneider calls “a production masterpiece” and describes as “high art.” Dulfilho is releasing 14 of these tracks under the moniker John Singer Sergeant, whose self-titled debut will be released on April 10 on Kirtland Records.

John Dufilho from The Deathray Davies. (Photo credit: Howdy, I'm H. Michael Karshis)

On his first full-length album since 2008, John Singer Sergeant finds Dufilho taking a high-minded route: the name refers to 19th Century American painter John Singer Sargent and the album lives up to its namesake with a colorful, impressionistic sonic palette buzzing with creativity and full of inspired collaborations. Dufilho recorded, performed, and mixed the 14 backing tracks entirely by himself, aside from a few piano parts played by Rich Martin, then invited a cast of musician acquaintances and close family friends to replace him on lead vocals. Included in this crop of guest contributors are Ben Kweller, The Apples’ Schneider, Rhett Miller, Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla, Centro-matic’s Will Johnson, Kool and the Gang’s remarkable Sir Earl Toon and indie chanteuse Sarah Jaffe, each of whom lends their own recognizable vocal stylings to Dufilho’s music.

Check out the lead track from the album “Big Distortion” featuring Will Johnson. If this is any indication of what the rest of the album sounds like then it’s probably going to be a solid buy.

John Singer Sergeant
Track listing

1. Big Distortion sung by Will Johnson
2. Mountains, Oceans, Elephants sung by Ben Kweller
3. Jinxed sung by Robert Schneider
4. Dizzy Joy sung by Sir Earl Toon
5. My Own Worst Critic sung by Rhett Miller
6. Married To The Sea sung by Marcus Striplin & Sarah Jaffe
7. Birdy Num Num sung by Danette Dufilho & Letty Gomez
8. Why Does Your Moog Effect Me So? Sung by Brandon Carr & Dylan Silvers
9. Kick Your Feet Up High (Kid’s Song) sung by CJ Davis
10. Lazy Days Are Good sung by Erik Sanden
11. Crooked Teeth Like A Broken Piano sung by Salim Nourallah
12. Gone In A Second sung by Tony Miller, Sarah Jaffe & Spyche
13. Normal Sounds Weird sung by Chris Walla & Rachel Demy
14. It’s Hard To Run Uphill On Stilts sung by Spyche

Related articles

• New Multitudes, Sarah Jaffe @ Mayan Theater, Los Angeles 3/7/12 (stereogum.com)
• Rhett Miller announces new LP & tour (dates) (brooklynvegan.com)

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