Short Songs For The Three Day Week

The only good thing about this royal wedding that’s taken over the news for the last few weeks is that it’s a bank holiday. And what with the Easter Monday bank holiday its been a short three day working week. Got to love that.
So in honour of the short three day week I’ve chosen three short songs. You know as much as I like Godspeed You Black Emperor sometimes I just want to hear a song that gets the job done without any messing about.
The Minutemen trim off all the fat from most of their songs, so there’s many to chose from that end under a minute, but here’s one from their fourth album 3-Way Tie (For Last).
Download The Minutemen - Ack Ack Ack from here

Another great band well know for their short songs is Robert Pollard’s Guided By Voices. Sure its an obvious choice but I won’t be apologising for that. The song Hit from Alien Lanes is only twenty fours seconds long and it leaves me wanting more, so I often play it again.
Download Guided By Voices - Hit from here

Murdered By Death were a band who up until last year I’d heard of but never actually heard. Then I bought the brilliant alt.country southern gothic rock of Good Morning, Magpie and it turned out to be one of my favourite albums from last year. The short song Kentucky Bourbon is a perfect introduction to a record that’s soaked in whiskey.
Download Murdered By Death - Kentucky Bourbon from here

BEAK>

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Scala in Kings Cross to see the slow doom rock of Dylan Carlson’s band Earth. I’d never seen Earth play before and I had apprehensions prior to the gig as to weather their one pace -that pace being very slow- samey music would work live. They only played for an hour and in truth that was about right, any longer and my attention would have waned.
But I was really impressed with the support act BEAK>. I didn’t know much about them, only that the Portishead member and producer Geoff Barrow was in them. Concise post-rock-krautrock that’s atmospheric and electronic in places.
I’ve since purchased their self-titled album and it didn’t disappoint.



DL BEAK>: Iron Action mp3 from here

Jesus Songs For Easter

So its Easter, lets remember what Easter really is about. Well if you’re a kid then its mostly about chocolate eggs. If you’re like me then its about a few days off work. And of course for many its about recognising the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When I typed Jesus into my iTunes library I noticed that there are a lot of great songs with Jesus in the title such as:
Jesus Hands - American Music Club
Jesus Built My Hotrod - Ministry
Jesus Gonna Be Here - Tom Waits
Jesus, Ect - Wilco
Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed - Josh White
Jesus And Tequila - Minutemen
Jesus Shooting Heroin - The Flaming Lips
Jesus Christ Pose - Soundgarden

But my favourite, or at least for today has to be the minimal stomping bass drum and two chords that is Walkin’ With Jesus by Spacemen 3. That song started something of a theme in Jason Peirce’s song writing, both with Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized with songs such as Lord Can You Hear Me?, Shine A Light, Lord Let It Rain On Me, Won’t Get To Heaven (The State I’m In). And a brilliant live recording of the gospel song Oh Happy Day. I don’t know if Jason Pierce is religious or if he's just drawn to the gravitas of the theme but its inspired him to write some great songs, and that’s just fine with me.

DL Spacemen 3: Walkin’ With Jesus mp3 from here

The Black Keys, The Bridge To Brothers

You know I have to admit that I was a touch dubious of The Black Keys at first. A guitar and drums duo who’s music is rooted in blues-rock. Isn’t that what The White Stripes do. They have a colour in their name as well. Surely they are just a couple of bandwagon jumpers.
Then I heard their debut album Big Come Up and was taken in by their scuzzed up retro blues riffs. While the Big Come up showed potential they really hit the mark and took the raw power up a level with Thickfreakness. On Rubber Factory and Magic Potion they showed some more elements with some acoustic and more subtle songs thrown into the mix. But it was still the sound of The Black Keys. What else can you do with just drums and guitar? Its not like they are going to get Danger Mouse in to produce an album are they? What would be the point of that? It would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. But that’s just what they did on Attack & Release, and it worked because Danger Mouse didn’t so much stamp his mark on the album as brush on it here and there. Attack & Release is the Bridge to my favourite album of last year Brothers. It sounds a world apart from their first album with a full range of instruments. Fine in the studio but what about when they play live? Easy just get in a couple of session musicians. No big deal.
That’s something that The White Stripes couldn’t do. They added some different instruments on their latter albums but they could never get away with having a couple of session musicians on stage dressed in their red and white or red and black uniform.
As much as I like Brothers recently I’ve been going back to the first couple of raw sounding albums and a brilliant live recording at The Corn Exchange in Brighton.

DL The Black Keys: Thickfreakness (live) mp3 from here.

A Good Reason To Download Music Illegally?

So illegal downloading is wrong as it affects the bands, record companies, and its stealing. Which is why its illegal, but Is there a good reason to download music illegally? Well in the last week I’ve downloaded albums by Therapy, Smashing Pumkins, Ash, Supergrass, and Ned's Atomic Dustbin. I already own albums by these bands on cassette tapes so why should I buy them again? Am I really going to buy the Ned’s Atomic Dustbin in a new format every ten years? I don’t think so. They’re an alright indie band that I really liked when I was at school but I don’t plan in parting with anymore money to hear them.
Why was I buying music on cassettes anyway? Because back then CD’s were about five quid more expensive than what they cost now days. I started buying CD’s when I got a job, which also coincided with CD’s generally dropping in price to around an affordable ten pound mark. I own quite a few cassettes but I’ve not bothered to download all that music as I know that it will just be a waste of space on my hard drive. Maybe one day I will feel the need to download Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power or my Metalica and Megadeath albums, but not in the immediate future.
One thing for sure is that I won’t ever feel the need to download the Ugly Kid Joe album that I have.

DL Ned's Atomic Dustbin: Suave And Suffocated mp3 from here

New Life Into Post-Rock With The Calm Blue Sea

Austin is the self proclaimed ‘live music capital of the world’. Not such a bold statement when its home to the SXSW festival. But it also has some great bands to go with it such as The Black Angels, The American Analog Set, …And You Will know Us by the Trail Of The Dead, Butthole Surfers, Alejandro Escovedo, Explosions In The Sky, The Gourds, and Okkervil River to name a few. Oh and of course Stevie Ray Vaughn, Willie Nelson and the 13th Floor Elevators.
Well now there’s another band from Austin Texas who’s self-titles debut LP is one of the finest things that I’ve heard this year.
Over the last few years there’s been a tendency for Post-Rock to imitate the Explosions In The Sky sound and the genre has become stale in many parts. Sure The Calm Blue Sea have quite parts that sound like Explosions In The Sky but they also reach epic peaks of early Mogwai with fine lush piano parts that Sigur Ros do so well. But mixed in together they sound their own and it's an album well worth getting.

Get The Calm Blue Sea: We Happy Few mp3 Here

Great Cover #2 The Waco Brothers: Revolution Blues

In my opinion Revolution Blues from the 1974 album On The Beach may well be one of best songs Neil Young’s ever wrote. It’s defiantly his most sinister as it alludes to the Manson Family cult.
‘Well we live in a trailer at the edge of town, you never see us ‘cause we don’t come around, we got twenty five rifles just to keep the population down.’
In truth as good as the song is the band performance lumbers a bit.
That’s something that The Waco Brothers rectify on their beefed up revision of Revolution Blues. The band really attack it square on and with Jon Langford's vocals n the driving seat it clocks in over a minute less that the original.

DL The Waco Brothers: Revolution Blues mp3 Here

Singapore Sling: The Curse, the Life, the Blood

Been listening to a record that I bought while on holiday in Reykjavík in 2007. Yeah look at me getting to go on holiday where it’s six quid for a pint of Viking beer (the locals paid for every drink on credit card, even if it was one just for themselves. No wonder the Icelandic economy collapsed soon after).
So anyway, one afternoon I was walking around in the light snow when I came across a record shop called 12 Tonar. So naturally I walk in to have a browse. The bloke working there pours out a coffee from a freshly brewed pot and offers me a cup. I don’t think that he was going to charge me for it but I politely decline anyway knowing that if I accepted I would feel obligated to buy something even if there was nothing I wanted. As I expected there was a large section on Icelandic music, most of which I'd never heard of. One CD that really caught my attention was called The Curse, the Life, the Blood by a band called Singapore Sling. As I pick it up the bloke who works there told me that it’s a collection of their first three albums. I ask him what they’re like.
“They’re really good. I’ve seen them play lots of times. They really go for it, you know. They sound a lot like the Jesus And Mary Chain and The Velvet Underground. That kind of thing. Feel free to have a listen,” he tells me.
So I go to the listening area which is a few cheep boom boxes with cheep headphones. There are a couple of other people sitting on sofas, drinking coffee and wading through CDs. I put Singapore Sling on and yes I can tell straight away that they're a band very much influenced by The Jesus And Mary Chain and The Velvet Underground. But even with the cheap audio equipment the first song Overdriver leaps out and sounds great. It’s the mark of a great song, Satisfaction and Gimme Shelter still sound amazing coming out of a pocket radio. A minute into the next song My Life Is Killing My Rock ‘n’ Roll and I’ve heard enough, so I go to the counter and buy it.

Get Singapore Sling: Overdriver mp3 Here

Can't You Here Me Knocking

Ever since I’ve been Aware of The Rolling Stones which is since the early to mid eighties I guess, they’ve always been described as a dinosaur rock band. They were in in their forties and considered has-beens who don‘t sell any records but can sell out stadiums. Oasis took that route too. The members of Radiohead are now in their forties but are considered as relevant as they always have been. Maybe that’s because unlike The Rolling Stones they have continued to make relevant music. But REM haven’t made a good record for years (think you will still be listening to their latest so called return to form a year from now? Doubt it) but I’ve never heard them being called dinosaurs. Maybe its because the bands from the sixties were the first ones to grow old, and The Rolling Stones are still touring every now and then so they retain the dinosaur mantle.
I have no intention of seeing The Stones on their next cash cow tour but whenever I go and visit my folks I usually pull out a vinyl Stones record and place it under the needle. Usually its one from the Mick Taylor era, and more often than not the album Sticky Fingers. Partly because of the cover (the original one with an actual zip on the cover) and partly to hear my favourite stones song. Not the two that get played the most Brown Sugar and Wild Horses but the seven brilliant minuets of Can’t You Here Me Knocking. It kicks of with a classic Keith Richards riff and ends with a sublime Mick Taylor solo that comes in after a saxophone solo. With Taylor on guitar they really were at their peak. He’s a much under rated guitar player and Can’t You Hear Me Knocking is one of The Rolling Stones most underrated songs.

Get The Rolling Stones: Can’t You Hear Me Knocking mp3 Here

The Strokes Angles, Worth A Listen?

From what I’ve heard of The Strokes new album Angles I don’t feel the need to investigate it much further. Nothing against them like, but there’s so much more music that I need to get around to listening to before I would consider spending some time with it. Sure I listen to songs from their fist album every so often as it’s got some great stuff on it, but their second album was a disapointment and their third even more so.
Will they ever surpass the first record? I’ll take a not so big gamble and so no. You see, when Is This It? came out with its driving rhythm section, spiky clean but gritty guitars and punchy choruses their sound was fully formed. So what do you do on the next album? Do you stick with the same winning formula or do something different? Stick with the same and get accused of being one dimensional. But if you do something different then it better be as good as the first album. It’s a tough call when the sound of the first album was so defined.
Maybe The Strokes should have stuck with the same sound, it didn’t hurt fellow New Yorker’s The Ramones (well until they went on for too long and become a parody of themselves). But then you don’t hear much of The Hives anymore who came out around the same time as The Strokes. They had a similar narrow sound and stuck with it. I guess that people got bored of the same thing.
As I said, it’s a tough call, but at least The Strokes didn’t change their sound to sound like U2 like how Kings of Leon and Coldplay did.

Get The Strokes: Gratisfaction mp3 Here

The Black Heart Procession Return To Europe

Next month The Black Heart Procession come over to tour Europe next month for the first time in a long while. Barring an appearance at All Tomorrows parties the last time they came over might well have been the tour that I saw them on in back in 2003.
That night when I was on the way to The Scala in Kings Cross I was a touch apprehensive about what the gig would be like as their music isn't exactly the most uplifting. I needn’t have worried as the gig was truly memorable. Sometimes watching a band or a singer songwriter that plays beautifully downbeat music can hold attention so much more than a band who plays with the volume cranked up to 11.
If you like music like the Tindersticks, Bonnie Price Billy and Nick Cave in his more piano led moments then you won’t be disappointed by The Black Heart Procession. Their last album Six is a good place to start as it mixes both the fullness of the album Amore del Tropico and the starkness of their second album that’s simply called 2. In fact why not go in at the depend and immerse yourself in the stark romance of 2.
I would be looking forward to seeing them play next month except that I’m on holiday that week. Oh well, that’s just the way in goes. Just hope they don’t wait as long to return again.

Get The Black Heart Procession: Blue Tears mp3 Here

The War On Drugs

The Philidelphia based singer/songwriter Kurt Vile’s new record Smoke Ring For My Halo is getting a lot of attention in the music press and on the net. It’s a fine record and is set to be one of this years alternative hits that will be on lots of end of year lists. Today I was listening to the Musicheads podcast where it again received a very favourable review. I didn’t know until listening to it that Kurt Vile was in the band The War On Drugs.
War On Drugs were formed by Adam Granduciel and Kurt Vile with the attention of mixing their love of Bob Dylan with sonically textured indie/rock. Their 2008 debut album Wagonwheel Blues had quite a bit of filler on it but I highly recommend downloading the three stand out tracks Arms Like Boulders, Taking The Farm and A Needle In Your Eye #16.
Last year The War On Drugs released a very strong EP called Weather Future that went unnoticed. Again it shows that Kurt Vile's old band mate Adam Granduciel has the potential to make a truly great album. If he does then I hope it gets the props that Kurt Vile is.

Get The War On Drugs: Baby Missiles mp3 Here

The Hidden Track

The way that I usually sort my iTunes library is by date added. Sometimes album or artist. But just out of curiosity I pressed the time tab to see what the longest and shortest songs are. The shortest is an instrumental break from the last Spiritualized album called Harmony 3 (Voice) that lasts eighteen seconds and the longest being Nirvana’s song All Apologies that clocks in at thirty one minutes and thirty two seconds. Hang on, that’s about as long as the new Radiohead album. I don’t remember the song going on that long. I’m sure it was only about four minutes.
Ah yes, of course, I remember now. There’s about twenty minutes of silence and then the made up on the spot song come jam that is Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip. Why? If it isn’t good enough to put on the album then keep it as a B side. Well it was a B side too.
A little further down the list is another Nirvana song Something In The Way that’s twenty minutes and thirty five seconds long. Again it’s a four minute song followed by silence then a muck about noise jam that they also used as a B side.
The silence is just an annoying inconvenience. Maybe they want it to be. Maybe its some crap pretentious artistic statement like on the end of The Stone Roses Second Coming which has ninety nine tracks, twelve actual songs then track after track of a few seconds silence and then an awful six minute dirge.
The Eels song Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues is a hidden track from the album Daisy’s of the Galaxy. The only thing hidden about it is that its absent from the song titles. But it is its own track that comes on right after the ‘last song’.
And it was released as a single. So not very hidden at all.



Get Eels: Mr. E's Beautiful Blues mp3 Here