Best 10 of 2011 List- no order (per usual- I’m bad with rankings)

• St Vincent – Strange Mercy
• Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver
• Algernon Cadwallader – Parrot Flies (my review)
• Radiohead – King of Limbs
• James Blake – James Blake
• Wilco – The Whole Love
• William Elliott Whitmore – Field Songs
• Amy LaVere – Stranger Me
• Tyler, the Creator – Goblin (my review)
• The Decemberists – The King is Dead

Best Shows of 2011-

•  Steely Dan, Riverside Theater (Milwaukee), August 28th
• Algernon Cadwallader/Snowing, Strangelight (Chicago), June 18th

Most Overrated of 2011

Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger

Zooey Deschanel

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Black Lips – Arabia Mountain

1. Black Lips – Arabia Mountain

2. Cage The Elephant – Thank You, Happy Birthday

3. Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread

4. Radiohead – King of Limbs

5. JEFF the Brotherhood – We Are The Champions

6. The Strokes – Angles

7. Arkells – Michigan Left

8. Black Keys – El Camino

9. Fucked Up – David Comes To Life

10. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light

Top 5 Favourite New Discoveries

1. OFWGKTA

2. Yuck

3. The Naked and Famous

4. Vampire Weekend

5. Mother Mother

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But like every done-to-death concept, there are always a few gems that end up shining just enough to take notice of. The second Other Lives album, Tamer Animals, mixes enough orchestration and variety to keep listeners interested through the whole record. With a strange “Abbey Road via Radiohead” feeling poking its way through in certain choice sections of music, Tamer Animals has a sound that is somewhat its own, yet still somewhat indicative of the competition. Is it a cool listen? Certainly. But the gaps between the good parts and the clever hooks keep this thing from ever really reaching a noticeable  apex, leaving the listener feeling impressed, but ultimately underwhelmed. Alas, another album full of potential, but lost in the trappings of its production and safe choices.

Just like the other “spirit bands”, Other Lives is ultimately transparent. Tamer Animals lives up to its name in that you can see its teeth when it rears back its head, but it is ultimately too domesticated to sink them into you.

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Now, with all of that said, I’m not taking anything away from these bands, but with creativity comes new grounds to be broken.  It’s not creative to keep building on something that stopped being built multiple times before.  Believe it or not, there is a ceiling, and it is breakable, but if you keep using the same tools for something that requires a new tool and mode of thought, then find it and utilize the hell out of it.  Cue up The Island of Misfit Toys and their upcoming record Bear Hair.  The Island of Misfit Toys are different- very, very different.  Consisting of 8 members, each of which being a multi-instrumentalist and responsible for their own noise, The Island of Misfit Toys have created a definitely familiar, but incredibly new, sound that is sure to become more prominent as time allows this band and fanbase to grow.  Started by the now 19 year old Anthony Sanders, the group takes it’s influences from the scattered spectrum of Radiohead, Cap’n Jazz, Say Anything, Queen, and Violent Femmes.  While that looks like grounds for what I said above to be put into place, I can’t, simply because this band infuses all of this without one allowing to show itself more above the others, and they are all subtle enough where you hardly notice it unless you look for it.  I hear every one of their influences perfectly and they are all built upon, a hard feat to accomplish considering the span of genre we are talking about here.

Whether it be the acoustic driving itself like that of the Violent Femmes, Anthony’s almost uncanny vocal and attitude resemblance to that of Max Bemis from Say Anything, or the electric moments and chaos that brings about Cap’n Jazz, The Island of Misfit Toy have found their balance of taking what they love about their favorite bands, putting a twist on it, and punting it as far as they can to new areas.  Their structure is something that will challenge you, their lyrics will make you think, relate, and respond, and live they will make you dance your ass off, while making you pay full attention.  Bear Hair is an album you’ll keep coming back to again and again, finding something new with each listen.  And that my friends, is what makes music great- challenges and finding something new about it every time.

Cleverly titling the record because of his moodiness (as a friend pointed out about Anthony “combing out his bear hair”), Sander’s lyrics and songwriting on Bear Hair are something that most people strive for in music.  The band he has backing him are all ridiculously talented and know their place well enough to not try and outdo each other with so much going on.  No one over shines the other members, and each member knows when to give a little bit more in their performance, and to hold back when the others are having their moment.  Anthemic, ironic, sarcastic, hopeful, hopeless, melodic, quirky, intelligent, brash, honest, angry, and all together overtly happy, The Island of Misfit Toys have managed to sew, not slap together, a new sound that’s altogether beautiful and truly unique.  I never found a point on the record where I was wanting to fast forward or skip the track; it’s too well thought out to do so, you’ll just be doing yourself an injustice.  Ladies and gentlemen, I’m happy to tell you ground has been broken with Bear Hair; it’s about time someone takes the reigns and starts steering the sadly abused multimember bands to new heights.  Out June 28th on Tandem Shop Records, you can preorder the record here, and you can check up on Anthony and gang at their Facebook page.  Stream the album below!

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By Irish Brian Kelly

There’s no secret March is the greatest month in the Roman calendar. Leprechauns, green beer, rioting, snow is melting, green beer again and green dreams for one and all. And more green beer. I’ve decided to celebrate March Madness by kicking it off with a new, abbreviated, music series focusing on the great Irishmen of rock n’ roll;  ’The Fighting Irish.’ There will be partial exceptions made to the rules, after all, St. Patrick wasn’t irish at all.

To kick March off, is there no better fighting Irishman to kick off the ‘Fighting Irish’ series with than Liam Gallagher? I have nothing more to say, he says it all, and so poetically:

“I heard that fucking Radiohead record and I just go, ‘What?!’ I like to think that what we do, we do fucking well. Them writing a song about a fucking tree? Give me a fucking break! A thousand year old tree? Go fuck yourself! You’d have thought he’d have written a song about a modern tree or one that was planted last week. You know what I mean?”

- Liam Gallagher, 02.28.2011, via The Quietus.

I couldn’t agree more young, Liam; but earlier on in your most recent interview promoting your new band (which is OASIS minus Noel), Beady Eye, you had this to say about Mumford & Sons, a band much younger than the Radiohead you despise as much as this irish guy:

“(Mumford & Sons)…they were fucking ashamed about winning and that’s the fucking sad bit. ‘Oh, we shouldn’t be here!’ Then what did you join a fucking band for then? They bow their heads down going, ‘Oh, we don’t deserve it’ like a fucking dick. What’s that about? You must have seen it before so don’t pretend like you’ve just come out of a cider apple factory.”

- Liam Gallagher, 02.28.2011, via The Quietus.

GOALLLLLLLLLLLL.  You strike again! A pint o’ green beer to ya, young Gallagher. Again, I agree with you and you are becoming a great Irish philosopher with each passing year mate.

Liam, your career has been blessed with courageous zingers, and to this day you have escaped each one. However, the elitists are coming for you, Liam; and without your great brothers, Noel and Paul, at your side to protect and then topple you like my Irish brothers would do, they are coming for your head.  That awesome, irish, head.

Protect your hair, young Liam; the elitists are coming–and fight, fight, fight, Irish, FIGHT!

BK

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By Brian Kelly

Let Down & Hangin’ Around

Anyone hoping Radiohead has returned to classical, song-structured arrangements, balls-out guitar blasting choruses can stop reading now.  It’s not that some of us are waiting for Radiohead to return to simpler, band structured, live arrangements in the studio- it’s more like we’re tired of the Thom Yorke solo act.  Radiohead has become a 1-dimensional rock band, the exact kind of band they’ve dared not to become.

“King of Limbs” continues the exploration set forth a decade ago with Kid A and Amnesiac drawing more from Yorke’s solo interests and minimalist sonic splices dividing the mix into bits of data spread across 8 songs.  Another 8 songs that are vocally overindulging & whiny.  The whining isn’t cutting it anymore because the songs aren’t there, they’re mood pieces–underdeveloped Bjork-like explorations in dub-techno that collide with Russian (Shostakovich) classical music.  The production intentionally dares to be different, rather than to naturally exist to be considered different.

There are subtle highlights that stick out on repeat listens; Selway’s percussion for one, though I want to hear explosions by now, not rhythmic patterns digitally spliced to loop–let him rip-why won’t they let Phil rip?  The strings are nice, noodling guitar lines, as are the piano loops, if brief. Jonny’s composer skills hover throughout ‘Limbs,’ but each song feels like a repeat exercise on building rhythm without putting any effort into finding decent, strong melodies.  Having said that, Colin’s bass lines are what you’d expect for a record lacking melodies, but superior- providing depth when Yorke’s vocals can’t. And where’s Ed?  I know they’re in here somewhere, did they trade in their guitars for new Macs?  This is not a band record, it’s more like another Yorke solo venture. Take it or leave it.

Conceptually ‘Limbs’ will play better on vinyl. Tracks 1-4 may sound seamless but they’re throwaways, containing little melodies worth time and memory. They make sense as a sound scape, until Yorke sings, or offers indecipherable gargle as he does to close out side A with “Feral.” Tracks 5-8 pick up the pace a touch, melodies are definitely present on what plays as side B.  Track 5 “Lotus Flower” appears to sum up all the sound ideas presented on side A, add a solo hand clap, but then Thom sings again, goes falsetto, and it’s still boring. “Codex” and “Give Up the Ghost” follow and are as close to any emotional connection I’m searching for in listening to Radiohead further.  The midnight horns that streak through ‘Codex’s’ piano and Yorke’s melody (the highlight of this record) provide the finest moments on the record along with a welcomed return of an acoustic guitar on ‘Ghost.’ It’s these little simple things, not the complicated spliced sound patterns, that Radiohead should dare to be different about.

Every new Radiohead record is met with excitement and I’ll continue to listen; but after awhile the same song and dance starts to sound like another failed suicide.  They should take their own advice from track 6 by jumping off the end into a clear lake.  If that doesn’t work, track 7′s title says it all.  It’s time to give up the ghost.

BK

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Radiohead’s video for the song “Lotus Flower” appeared on their You Tube page today. It’s nice to see Thom Yorke having fun and not taking himself seriously. Nice hat. The song is off of their new album “The King of Limbs” which is available for download tomorrow at thekingoflimbs.com

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I called up my buddy Skylar Davis at Culture Shock and co-founder of Winnebago Buy Local, and asked him for his thoughts on the release and vinyl sales in general. I lost the audio for his exact comments so I’m going to paraphrase our conversation. Apologies to Skylar if I don’t capture his voice.

Me: Hey dude, what’s up?

Skylar: Not much, how’s it going?

Me: Ok, so Radiohead is releasing an new record on their website for download Saturday the 19th with a double deluxe package on May 9th. Are you going to carry the box set when it comes out?

Skylar: Yeah, probably.

Me: Did you guys carry “In Ranbows” when it came out? Did you carry the deluxe box set?

Skylar: Yeah I did, but just the regular vinyl not the boxed set. Back then we didn’t carry box set’s when it came out, but now I have a section for them.

Me: So, do you like the fact that digital download codes are included with most vinyl?

Skylar: Yeah, I personally enjoy it when it comes with a cd as well as the record so I can just pop it in and I don’t have to worry about downloading it. It’s an extra step.

Me: You guys started selling used turntables a while ago, has that helped increase your sales of vinyl?

Skylar: Absolutely! We just sold 2 stereo sets today to girls looking for valentines day gifts for their boyfriends and they bought records for them as well.

Me: Cool, well thanks for talking to me.

Skylar: No problem, later.

You can pre-order the new Radiohead album at thekingoflimbs.com or pick up the CD or Vinyl LP at you local record store on May 9th.

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People measure time in weird ways. Some make lists and keep calendars while others (like me) tend to track moments in their lives by what they’ve consumed via pop culture. 1997 was an important year for me musically because of two particullar ablums that were released, both of which pretty much made me quit the band I had been in for three years with some of my closest friends. These two records spoke to me in ways that I hadn’t experienced since falling in love with The Beatles when I was a kid.

One was Ok Computer by Radiohead; the landmark album released in June of that year to massive critical and commercial success. Ok Computer has been written about ad nauseam for years now by many, many others so I won’t waste my time (or yours) talking about it. I liked it a lot and saw them play a few weeks after the albums release at The Masquerade in Atlanta with Teenage Fanclub as the opener; a show that ranks as one of my top 5 concert experiences of all time. Two of my favorite bands of all time playing the same small venue – such a fond memory. As great as I thought OK Computer was, another record released earlier in the year completely blew me away and comtinues to impress me 14 years later.

I was driving around (sorry, I was riding around cuz I didn’t drive at the time) with my buddy Mike listening to Georgia State’s college radio station WRAS 88.5, or Album 88 as it’s called. Album 88 is a great station that has won plenty of awards from the likes of CMJ and others. If you’re ever in or driving through Atlanta I suggest you check out the station. If you live in Atlanta and you already listen to Album 88 regularly then I would just like to tell you that you suck and I’m very, very jealous.

Try moving to a town with some of the crappiest local radio stations that he who shall not be named ever created. Oh how I longed for the sweet sound of 100,000 watts pimping bands I’d never heard of when I first moved here. If it wasn’t for NPR and internet radio stations I don’t know what I would have done. You guys in larger cities like Atlanta and Chicago take the terrestrial radio choices you have for granted; I know I did. I’m sure anyone else who has traveled around the country that is a music lover knows what I’m talking about.

Anyway, Mike and I were driving around in his big yellow hooptie and I heard the begining drum beat to what I would later discover was a song by the name of I Would Hurt A Fly. A pulsing heart beat of kick drum and snare crack that leads into one of the most haunting chord progressions ever. Gliding up above is some of the most beutiful feedbacking, wah-wah drenched guitar work ever commited to tape. To top it all off was one of the most amazing lead parts ever performed- by a cello player. Not a guitar solo, a lead cello. It was amazing and I was hooked. I grabbed pen and paper from the floor board of the car and waited transfixed for the DJ to tell me what the hell this amazing music was.

Come to find out, Built to Spill was the brainchild of Doug Martsch, former Treepeople guitarist, and Perfect from Now On was the bands major label debut released by Warner Brothers records through a fairly tumultous birthing process. What ended up on the album was actually the band’s 3rd attempt at recording the record. Initially Martsch had intended to record everything himself with the aid of drummer Peter Lansdowne but became disatified with the results. Doug brought There’s Nothing Wrong with Love bassist Brent Nelson back and added Scott Plouf of The Spinanes on drums; along with producer Phil Ek they re-recorded the album a second time. Then the tapes (yes, the tapes) melted in Ek’s car on the way to record overdubs.

The band rehearsed some more then recorded the album again with some excellent guitar work by former bassist Brent Netson and cellist John McMahon. I can only imagine that during this time Martsch had one of those What’s in the box? moments. He had to have freaked out at some point, I wonder what was going through his head. Did he console himself with that line about great art coming from great adversity?

Relating a brief overview of the history of the making of this record says much about the creation of one of the finest rock records of the nineties. Martsch and Netson’s guitar work made me give a shit about guitar playing and what inventive lead playing could do for a song (as well as Jonny Greenwood’s work on OK Computer). Until Perfect From Now On came along, I thought lead guitar playing based on the pentatonic scale was for old assholes who still thought ‘Clapton was God’ but failed to realize that EC had traded his talent for a smack addiction. Clapton didn’t make me want to buy a Fender Stratocaster – Doug Martsch did!

Lyrically, the album is just as intense as the music, weaving aural movies of planet smashers, dreams, memory (or lack thereof), annoying sounds and annoying people; even a mention or two of the melting tapes makes an appearance. For me , the lyrics played just as an important part in my appreciation of the work as the music. Double meanings and points of view play an important part through out the record. Take the first couple lines from the aforementioned I Would Hurt A Fly:

I can’t get that sound you make out of my head
I can’t even figure out what’s making it
No one else around even seems to be noticing
It’s only small enough for me

At first you figure Martsch is talking about an annoying fly buzzing around your head, or one of those ear things you get from time to time. Or it could be schizophrenia. Upon listening to the chorus though, it seems as if something a bit more sinister could possibly be in the works.

There’s a mean bone in my body
It’s connected to the problems that I won’t take for an answer
And I won’t take that from you
Because I’d hurt a fly

So not only is the person crazy, there’s probably a serious case of domestic violence going on here.

I’m not the only one that felt the impact of my new guitar deity; both Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie and Issac Brock of Modest Mouse have cited Built to Spill and Martsch as early influences. The last concert I saw in Atlanta before moving to Rockford was a co-headlining Built to Spill / Modest Mouse show at The Variety Playhouse. Built to Spill played first and closed out their set with an 15 minute version of Lynard Skynard’s ‘Freebird’, kind of a hard act to follow.

Perfect From Now On is a necessity to own for any lover of guitar based indie rock and at the very least should be listened to at least once or twice. It won’t disappoint.

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When I first heard Saves the Day, I felt their music was melodramatic, annoying, and obsolete. Some of my friends in college had taken a liking to their second album, Through Being Cool, which irritated me; I had no reason to listen to a band with such naive, predictable, and emotionally obvious songs. When Stay What You Are came out, I, again, had a small army of friends singing the band’s praises. Around the third time I heard “Freakish,” I stopped my complaining and bought my own copy of the album. Almost a full decade later, I still listen to this album once every couple months. The hooks, melodies, lyrics, and guitar riffs are still melodramatic, annoying, and predictable, but I am, thankfully, no longer missing out on all the fun.

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