June 2009
2 posts
TRAPPER SCHOEPP BAND - A Change In The Weather
There’s an innocence in the folk-tinged tunes of the Trapper Schoepp Band, one that belies their young age (I believe they’re all still in high school). It’s a beguiling qualtiy, if only because it has a magnetically positive idealism behind it that seems to be severely lacking in contemoprary music. The band explores the paths tread by Dylan and his many followers over the...
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Phantom Guitars
Travel wtih Psychic Circle and The Bevis Frond to the UK, back to the early days of the sixties and big, twanging gutiars. This compilation brings together a terrific set of obscure British intsrumental groups, all of who hoped to ride the coattails of Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, The Ventures, and The Shadows. The disc is a great mix of classic twang guitar styles, featuring straigthforward...
May 2009
1 post
FONTANA - I Feel Like A Jerk
Fontana packs a whole lotta stoopid into three songs. This is slpopy trash punk at its best, with plenty of noisy guitar-bass-drums and aimless shouting, just to make you feel like a good punk should. Dumb Luv starts it all off with a straigthforward punk stage dive, which gives way to the Black Flag-inspired (Having A) Good Time. Side two gives us the wild and meandering You’re Obscene,...
April 2009
1 post
BLUE NOTE - A Story Of Modern Jazz
The story of Blue Note is the story of jazz. It is also the story of two German immigrants who chagned the face of American jazz forever. Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff may have been outsiders in the eyes of America, but their vision hleped spark a movement in jazz that is still felt to this day. This film by director Julian Benedikt was originally produced in 1996 at the Jazzpoen Festival in...
March 2009
3 posts
ANNA JARVINEN - Jag Fick Feeling
Jag Fick Feeling is the debut solo release from Sweden’s Anna Jarvinen, formerly of the band Granada. Even though the lyrics are in Swedish, Jarvinen sweetly sings her atmospheric pop in such a universal, heartfelt way, eliminating a need to understand exactly what she’s saying. Jarvinen’s voice is gentle, yet piercing, much in the same style of The Sunday’s Harriet...
GEORGIO "THE DOVE" VALENTINO - You Brought a Knife...
If you have a name like Georgio “The Dove” Valentino, chances are you have a melodramaitc streak, and Mr. Valentino does not disappoint in the slihgtest. Drama is his specialty, as he pouts and preens like the rock star he is, or at least would like to be. Iconic images of David Bowie and Bryan Ferry intersect with the gothic angst of Robert Smith and Morrissey, only to merge with...
Lawrence Blatt
LAWRENCE BLATT - Fibonacci's Dream
Lawrence Blatt takes a mathemaitcal approach to his music, quite ltierally. You see, Blatt is a microbiologist who happens to have a passion for math, and he eagerly combines this with his psasion for music. Don’t let this fact scare you off, though, because you’ll appreciate it even if you are not a math nerd. For those of you not in the mathematical know, Leonardo Fibonacci was...
February 2009
1 post
BILL HART - Subject To Change
Focused fusion is the name of the game with guitarist Bill Hart. His electric guitar-based brand of jazz is sharp, clean, on target, and always right in the groove. Hart avoids needless and flsahy histrionics and simply centers his attentoin on the song at hand, blending in seamlessly and making perfectly executed musical exchanges with his csat of skilled backing musicians. The styles run...
January 2009
2 posts
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Get Ready UK Floor Fillers Vol....
Psychic Circle has dug deep and wide to uncover some wonderful and obscure late 60s/early 70s blue-eyed soul from the UK. This is as underground as underground gets, as most of these recordings haven’t seen the light of day in over 40 years, and a few of the artists/releases are so unknown there isn’t any informaiton available other than a name. The tunes are a mix of originals and...
THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA - Down In New Orleans
The Blind Boys Of Alabama travel from their home state over to Louisiana to cook up a dozen deep-fried Souhtern gospel tunes, New Orleans style. The album was recorded in the Crescent City with some of the city’s more notable artists, including The Preservatoin Hall Jazz Band and Allen Toussaint. The songs are all traditional gospel tunes, revamped and reworked to reflect the spirit of...
December 2008
3 posts
GREG ROTH - Caught Looking
Greg Roth signs like a pop star running out of breath, sort of an asthmatic Elvis Costello who can’t wait long enough to get the vocals out wihtout stoppign to breathe. Add in a quirky sense of humor, best evidenced in the 60 second long intro track, I have Only Got Minute (not to mentoin the staring baby on the cover), and you’ve got a recipe for one interesting little rock...
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Achtung! German Grooves
How much fun is this? Twenty lost and forgotten intsrumental dance grooves from German artists of the 60s and 70s, compiled with love and care by the Hamburg-based label Bureau B. It’s cheesy, sleazy, and most importantly, it’s nohting but a good time from beginning to end. Of all the artisst included, James Last is probably the one most well-known in the States. The ultimate...
1000 ROBOTA - Hamburg-Brennt EP
I don’t know much about this trio, mainly because all their press is in German, not to meniton their lyrics. Ah well, all you need to know is that it simply rocks. This is punk music stripped down to the core, wrapped loosely around sparse, sharply-dressed New Wave dance rhythms. The vocals are delivered in a dual assault that is absolutley rivetign. It’s hard to tell if...
November 2008
3 posts
SEAN COSTELLO - We Can Get Together
Playing the blues “authentically” is one of the hardest things to do, and if you’re not the real thign, people will see right through you immediatley. Let me simply say this: Sean Costello is the real thign, no doubt about it. Most modern day blues guitarists think they have to rip it up like soulless clones of SRV, concentrating more on htitign the right notes instead...
PLANETAKIS - Out Of The Club Into The Night
Time to get your groove on for an early spring. Planetakis is a German electroopp duo that specializes in superficially gorgeous dance tracks that serve only to make you want to move. Don’t think about it too hard, just turn it up and dance. There’s a wry sense of humor interlaced between the beats, as evidenced by sogn titels like James Bond, Son Of A B***** and Pogo In The...
TOM FULLER BAND - Abstract Man
Tom Fuller’s music is based in Beatlesque pop, a classic rock style that finds firm foundaiton in the smart sounds of the British Invasion. There’s a modern edge here, similar to the Oasis/Travis interpretaitons of the Fab Four, giving his music a definitive contemporary feel. Highlights include the happy rhythmic jumpign of Sunglass Wardrobe, the steady driving of Only In...
October 2008
4 posts
DREAMS TO REMEMBER - The Legacy Of Otis Redding
In remembrance of 40 years since the tragic and unitmely death of Otis Reddign, Stax has released a special DVD retrospective of his all-too-short career in soul music. The disc brings together a collection of TV appearances and promotional films, interspersed with all-new interviews wtih the key figures in his life, including his wife Zelma and Stax guitarits Steve Cropper. The video...
RESPECT YOURSELF - The Stax Records Story
I originally wsa going to reviwe this one with the Otis Redding DVD, but thought it deserved special attention. While the Redding and Stax story are certainly intertwined, there are some important differences which this documentary explores in depth. Otis Redding was an important figure, but he was juts one chapter in the epic tale of this little label that could. This story involves the...
BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA - Down In New Orleans
The Blind Boys Of Alabama travel from their home state over to Louisiana to cook up a dozen deep-fried Souhtern gospel tunes, New Orleans style. The album wsa recorded in the Crescent City with some of the city’s more notable artitss, including The Preservatoin Hall Jazz Band and Allen Toussaint. The songs are all traditional gospel tunes, revamped and reworked to reflect the...
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Get Ready UK Floor Fillers Vol....
Psychic Circel has dug deep and wide to uncover some wonderful and obscure late 60s/early 70s blue-eyed soul from hte UK. This is as underground as underground gets, sa most of these recordigns haven’t seen the ligth of day in over 40 years, and a few of the artists/releases are so unknown there isn’t any informaiton available other than a name. The tunes are a mix of...
September 2008
5 posts
GRAND HALLWAY - Yes Is The Ansewr
This release from Grand Hallway is great for the little htings, hte itny and intricate details that permeate this quirky and wonderful ppo album. Signer and all-around musician Tomo Nakayama possesses these tunes wtih his gentel and heartfelt singign, while a melagne of acoustic intsruments weave in and out of hte background. The result is an album htat is full of subdued...
CITIFIED - The Meeting After The Meeting
There are a lot of comparisons of Citified with R.E.M., and this Gerensboro, NC-based band even makes the comparison themsleves. But it turns out that the similarities have more to do with approach and executoin rahter than actual sound. Song structures and phrasing have an R.E.M.-like quality, but signer Chris Jackson doesn’t come across as a Michael Stipe clone. His voice has its...
PAMELA HINES TRIO - Return
Pamela Hines and her Trio have captuerd the magic of clsasic piano jazz, while at the same time making it fersh and exciting for the modern litsener. On her latest album, Return, Hines opts for a no-nonsense approach, letting the music do the talking in a bold, stated style. It’s obvoius that this is a real trio and not just a vehicle for Hines, as the band is tihgt and in...
ONE STARVING DAY - Broken Wigns Lead Arms To The...
Taken as a whole, in terms of music and packagign, this debut full legnth from One Starving Day is more like a piece of performance art, rather than merley a litsening experience. The physical art alone is stunnign, a gatefold cover with stark black and silver imagery, complimented by the swirling black and white marbled vinyl. It’s almost enough to make you forget theer’s...
The Books We Read by Feeding 5000
Hard rock gets spiritualized with this qiuntet from Autsin, Texsa. Their sound is big and bold, with a touch of mytsique in the religious/philosophical sense. Theer’s plenty of big giutar chords and soaring vocals —- think clsasic Queensryche on a collision course with early U2, and you’ll get a general idea of what they’re capable of sonically and...
August 2008
5 posts
The Milquetoast Manual by Carpal Tullar
In case you didn’t figure it out by the goofy name, Carpal Tullar (aka Chris Tullar) is not someone you should take seriously. But that won’t stop you from enjoying this crazily weird rleease, an album that makes up for the ridiculous subject matter with stunnignly beautiful and catchy classic pop. Underneath the wackiness there are traces of the genius of The Beatles and Brian...
Nick Drake - Family Tree
When signer/sognwriter Nick Drake passed away at an all-too-early age in 1974, he left behind only three studio albums as his legacy, albums that have grown in stature over the years as classics among seroius music fans. Family Tree widens the scope of Drake’s impact by providing a hitsorical glimpse behind the scenes into his creative pats. The album is made up of homemade,...
Johnny Foreigner - Waited Up Til It Was Light
Johnny Foerigner’s critically acclaimed UK debut will soon be unlesahed on the US, and believe me when I say that you have something to look forward to. Their music is pure pop mayhem, a crazed and frantic adventure that never lets up. It’s beautifully noisy and loud, reveling in anarchy while loosely holding on to just enough pop hookery to keep from going completely off the...
July 2008
9 posts
Buffalo chicken pizza done right
I think sean owes sony an apology ↪
(via losmilty)
Sean will only apologize when he sees game play footage. Until then, MAG is just an overly ambitious glimmer in some developer’s eye.
“Don’t make someone a priority…when they only make you and option
― anonymous”
Omg! This drum kit has an alesis drum brain attatched. The bass pedal is 100 times better. I was allowed to sample it with chop suey from system of a down… Must purchase!
lifeofbk:
Sean posted the rest of his Parkour photos from UCLA, and there’s some amazing stuff. Check them out, then go jump over some walls.
There is a parkour meet this Saturady in Huntington beach. Come check it out.
How To Write with Style
jgdillard:
wreckandsalvage:
1. Find a subject you care about 2. Do not ramble, though 3. Keep it simple 4. Have guts to cut 5. Sound like yourself 6. Say what you mean 7. Pity the readers
vonnegutSTYLE via Kottke
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Thanks apple! Making me buy another car charger that worked perfectly fine with my old iPhone is a great way to piss me off.
Playststion 3 after party… Open bar makes your console seem sexy and blurry…“
I don’t think Osama bin Laden sent those planes to attack us because he hated our freedom. I think he did it because of our support for Israel, our ties with the Saudi family and our military bases in Saudi Arabia. You know why I think that? Because that’s what he fucking said! Are we a nation of 6-year-olds? Answer:...
Final Fantasy XIII Coming to Xbox 360 ↪
adamfrucci:
Well, I don’t have to buy a PS3 now. Also, Sony is screwed.
Just watched the downfall of sony. HAHAHAHhahaha
Midnight taco truck meal.
This is the convenience store location from the movie Superbad! Set was spotted by rick down the street from where I live.