Why: Two dudes and a little lady from
But instead you’re listening to: The Go! Team
Why: Because you think if you say you listen to this band, the pixie-haired cutie in your “Intro to Poetry” class will think you’re cool. In reality, she’ll find out you like The Go! Team and think you’re a total panty-waist.
First off, Tony Lovato of third-rate Chicago based pop-punk crap machines Mest has, believe it or not, stabbed someone to death! Holy shit! Apparently he got in a fight with his ex-girlfriend's new dude-friend last night in the armpit of the country, L.A., and stabbed the dude in a fit of rage. Dude stepped back and saw exactly how much damage he caused and decided it would be the best if he turned himself in. Tony is being held on suspicion of murder. Bail if a fucking million dollars. Not only is he in a shit band, now he's in jail. Life sucks if your name is Tony Lovato. Life sucks a whole lot.
In other news, Fucked Up, who are quite possibly the best punk band kicking around right now, had none other than KEITH FUCKING MORRIS join them onstage this past weekend at South By Southwest for a cover of Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown." Fuck man! I've never ever once in my life wanted to step foot in Texas, but goddamn, that would have been amazing to witness. Jade Tree YouTubed the song. The sound is pretty fuzzy, but it's still cool too see Keith being a wild old dork and seeing the crowd get down on this. In honor of how shitty Mondays can be, enjoy:
Either way, the two of us are happy to be back in Chicago. We were lucky enough to go to the Zozobra/Jesu/ISIS show last night. It was a great time, to say the least.
Zozobra was there playing only their sixth live set. Caleb and Santos were lucky enough to have Adam McGrath (Cave-In, Clouds) and Jim Carroll (Suicide File, Clouds) to fill the line up out with their axe-wielding abilities. They were powerful and tight. This is clearly the begining of something huge. And I, for one, am extremely excited to see what comes of this. Zozobra is without a doubt filling the void that Cave-In has left behind.
ISIS, as usual, played with precision and intensity. Everything they play sounds tight and perfectly orchestrated. This is a first-class band.
Somewhere in-between, Jesu played. For putting out some AMAZING records, this set did nothing but disappoint. Justin was sick, so the few vocal parts that were audible were slightly out of tune. The band members stood completely still, and the most complex musical parts were simply coming out of an iBook.
After the show, Caleb and Adam were kind enough to talk to the two of us about everything from Zozobra's first tour, Clouds' record, the current status of Cave-In, and balancing a "normal" life with one on the road. Two stand-up dudes. I'm going to try my damnedest to get the transcription of the interview up by Monday, so stay on the look out for that. I was going to try to do it last night, but I had Dane Mennen staying with me, so you know nothing productive was going to get done.
Until then, have a good weekend!!!!!!
Sorry Kenny and I haven't posted anything new or exciting today. We've been too busy spring breakin'.
See ya tomorrow dudez......
Another thing that Keith is, without any sort of doubt, is the greatest punk rock singer of all time. Crusty old dudes who probably wear jean shorts will tell you that "Nervous Breakdown" by Black Flag is the greatest song ever written. Why? Because Keith Morris' vocal delivery is unreal. Full of energy and character, he was spastic and unique, full of a type of soul unheard of at the time. Have you ever heard Hank Rollins sing "Nervous Breakdown?" Jesus Christ, what the fuck was Greg Ginn thinking when he let that shit go down?
Either way, Keith's work with the Circle Jerks has its moments as well. Group Sex is nearly flawless. Their later records tapered off into a whole lot of OK, but the Jerks have just recorded a new song! And guess what? It's really great! In true Circle Jerks style, this bad boy clocks in at about 50 seconds. Unrelenting energy and a phenomenal performance by Mr. Morris makes you hate the fact that all these great bands of your past are cashing in on reunions a little less. If a new album is in the works here, all I have to say is "bring it on, you old dorks!"
Listen to "I'm Gonna Live" on the Circle Jerks' official myspace page HERE.
It's Friday- and that means I don't feel like doing shit. Watch both parts of this Spacemen 3 interview from around the time when Recurring came out and Spiritualized and Spectrum were already happening. Smoke dope!
Hey man, I wasn't fucking kidding when I said that there are some kick ass records coming out right now. For the past few weeks, I had been cuddling up to the softer side of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds with some gems off of The Lyre Of Orpheus, but since I've heard the new Grinderman record, I can't go back. The whole thing is mind-numbingly primal, and puts all these youngsters to total shame. It's going to be totally embarrassing to be Iggy Pop on March 20th when The Weirdness is released and it sounds like little kids eating ice cream compared to Grinderman's door kicking, ass fucking, bitch slapping rock 'n roll machine. Just take a second and think about how long Nick Cave has been around... The Birthday Party kicked total fucking ass... The Bad Seeds still totally fucking slay... and now, the dude has started Grinderman. Don't be a total jackass for once, and hop on the boat while the ship is still in the dock. This record destroys all the other bullshit that people are hyping right now. Your parents would be embarrassed if they saw you clutching Neon Bible so close to your chest with shit like this out at the same time. Don't let them down, son, be a man.
Grinderman - Depth Charge Ethel
Man- when it rains, it pours, and it seems like all of a sudden some fucking kick ass records are coming out. I don't know how I almost passed up the Black Lips' new live record... probably because it came out on Vice of all fucking record labels, but anyway, it fuckin' rips! Recorded in the dirty capital of the world, TIAFUCKINJUANA, by the legendary John Reis (of Hot Snakes and Drive Like Jehu fame) there is no way on earth that this record wouldn't be good. Reis makes no effort to clean up the crowd noise or the band's sometimes embarrassing between song banter- which totally works and successfully creates the best goddamn live punk rock album I've heard in ages. Unfortunately, these dudes are going on tour with snore-core Matador band The Ponys, so I highly doubt they'll be able to re-create what's going on in this record in front of a bunch of pitchdorks, but if John Reis is involved, then we're down- no questions asked. Click it or ticket, hombre.
Black Lips - Not A Problem
I'm not quite sure what is going on with me this week, but the combination of being sick and being stressed has made things just a little more warped than usual. Strangely enough- it was easy to find a soundtrack to such a bizarre few days in Greg Ashley's Painted Garden. Ashley also fronts The Gris Gris, and his new solo record offers a stripped down version of their previous work. Hell, Ashley's last solo outing was called Medicine Fuck Dream, and I don't think you'd be far off in describing my mindset with that. Things are a little spacey, a little drowsy, and definitely a little left of center. If you're feeling the same due to some kinda wacky sickness going around Chicago, and I'm not talking about Disturbed, this is a jam that's helped me sleep through the last few days. Plus, the dude is going on tour- so you can probably robo-trip at his shows, and I don't think he'll mind. I'm sure Luke will be there screaming about punk rock music while pelting him with cigarettes. Farrrrrr outttttt broooooo!!!!
Greg Ashley - Won't Be Long
I mean, sure, playing a bunch of songs that you didn't write off of your laptop to a bar full of really unnattractive, drunk hipster dorks must be reeeeeeeaaaalllllllyyy hard work, and being able to do all that while sporting a fashionable flat-brimmed New Era baseball cap and an ironic throwback basketball jersey is a pretty admirable achievement. No wonder your heads are so big! You have tons and tons of talent!
Sike! You guys are fags!
Typically, I fucking hate when writers include some personal anecdote about how busy their lives are, and how whatever they are doing in the real world is so important- but I'm just giving you guys the heads up so you know that if this entry fucking sucks, it's because it's rushed and I have other shit to do. For example, I need to bathe. I also would like to eat sometime today.
At this point, I don't even known how I came across Los Angeles' Alarma, but their anthem about fucking while high was something I could certainly relate to. I got in touch with the dudes, and Kevin said they are currently finishing the record, and these tracks will all be on it. It's being laid straight to tape- no digital manipulation- a technique I think Kevin picked up from working with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio while in his old band Alternator. Alarma definitely has the "L.A. sound", for better or worse, but I'm pretty into it, so fuck you. Besides, nobody complains when Luke talks about sludge doom metal bands all the time- so it's my turn to get on the soapbox.
Alarma - I wanna fu when ur hi
Alarma - Blacklist
Alarma - Dead Space
I've decided to start a new section of 18+ in which we will judge records based entirely on their cover without ever listening to them. Our first edition features a record I got in the mail a few weeks back by Macromantics. I tried to find the album cover they used on the promo- but I couldn't track it down, so you're going to have to deal with the promotional picture they used for the album cover without goofy fonts to tell you what Macromantics is all about.
A quick glance at this chick gets you instantly thinking about Vanessa Carlton holding a limp dick... right? I really don't think that's such a bad gig- and then I suddenly realize why that dick is limp. Who can possibly get a hard-on listening to such lifeless, dull, and obnoxious bullshit? Besides, we both know that this chick is probably British, probably related to Lily Allen somehow, and is probably doing some totally awful sing-rapping involving a keyboard. Somebody obviously didn't give a fuck about how they were spending their money when they decided to finance this. I mean, I know this is probably an easy target, but I care even less about this broad then I do about websites ironically posting Arcade Fire updates all day long. It's not fucking funny and neither is your website. Shorten your news topics, quit trying to be clever, and stop pandering to whatever hip assholes bumping the new Panda Bear record that you think deserve any sort of credit. Happy Thursday, you blood sucking heathens.
You should be listening to: Animals by Pink Floyd
Why: OK, OK, Pink Floyd is kinda whack. There's no denying that. But if you look past the early-70's campyness and incredibly cheesy synthesizer sounds, there are some great moments in their catalog. Their shinning achievement lies in the album Animals. This was the last thing they actually did as a whole band, right before Waters used the "Pink Floyd" name to market his super gay turd-rock "classic" opera The Wall. Jesus, have you ever listened to that record? Have mercy, that shit is ear-cancer. But Animals rules. It's dark, it's spooky, and Gilmore melts fucking faces with his solos. Oh yeah, bring a snack, too. 'Cause these songs are like 15 minutes-long each
But instead you're listening to: Old Peter Frampton records.
Why: Because you missed the memo addressing exactly how gay talking guitars are.
Since Luke has apparently contracted some sort of AIDS-like virus, I've decided to add on to his obsession with late '90s Chicago bands by hyping one of my personal favorites, Sweep The Leg Johnny. Last year during the Flower 15 week, I had the absolute pleasure of checking out Sweep's reunion show, and the befuddled crowd's reaction to it. Sweep ended up sharing a strange bill with Ted Leo and These Arms Are Snakes, as well as former member Chris Daly's newest project Just A Fire. Amazingly, the band fuckin' killed it to a near quiet audience who were apparently anxiously awaiting Ted Leo. You can probably pretty much summarize the Sweep experience from that show- because this was a band so far ahead of its time that most of the audiences they played for couldn't keep up. Granted, they had some serious help from other bands, especially Alkaline Trio, who they opened for routinely- but we both know that there is no fucking way that hardcore Alkaline Trio fans are going to give a fuck about Sweep, regardless of the fact that they consistently put out great records, and had an even more incredible reputation as a live act. When I say incredible, I mean incredible.
I've decided to introduce you to one of the most epic tracks that Sweep had to offer during their consistently great, yet short lived timespan, and at fourteen minutes and sixteen seconds, I hope that it does not disappoint.
Sweep The Leg Johnny - Sometimes My Balls Feel Like Tits
18+ favorite Travis Keller just dropped me a line to let me know about an interesting e-bay item that he is selling in the name of rape charity. Get your wallets out now, the bidding starts at only $10.
Sorry for the lack of a Friday or a Monday update, but besides driving 3 hours South to play a show, I have no real excuse other than Judge Judy is great television to nap to. On to the meat of the post...
I got the new Black Moth Super Rainbow record in the mail yesterday. The packaging, per usual of Graveface Records releases, is stellar. The music, per usual of BMSR, is pretty bizarre. Most of Dandelion Gum sounds somewhere in-between a 1970's after-school special turned porno and if The Beatles had taken way, way too much acid and kept re-releasing Magical Mystery Tour ad infinitum. The press release that came with the record mentioned something about it being a "loosely based concept record about witches who make candy in the forest." I would argue it's about getting high, walking to the nearest thrift store, and buying every secondhand instrument you can find. Whatever the case, there are some worthwhile tracks on it, especially the opener "Forever Heavy" and the follow-up "Jump Into My Mouth And Breathe The Stardust". This is the best band I know of who has a member named Father Hummingbird. Get weird.
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Forever Heavy
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Jump Into My Mouth And Breathe The Stardust
Holy shit! I had completely forgotten about Stephen McBean's Pink Mountaintops until I breezed through an old Buddyhead interview in preparation for the Travis Keller feature. It didn't dawn on me until yesterday how criminally overlooked Axis of Evol was when it came down to year end lists, despite consistently positive reviews. I wanted to throw up a track from it, but I couldn't pick just one, so I picked two songs that pretty much sum up everything you need to know about Pink Mountaintops. It's all about God, the Devil, fucking, smoking dope, and rock 'n roll. You can't buy a better aesthetic than that. If you've got a second- check out a new track off the upcoming Single Life 7-inch at their myspace page.
So while everyone else is hyping other Jagjaguwar artists, we here at 18+ salute some other seriously-overlooked-but-total-fuckin-jams from the same outlet:
Pink Mountaintops - Plastic Man, You're The Devil
Pink Mountaintops - Lord, Let Us Shine
You should be listening to:
Why:
But instead you’re listening to: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Why: Because you’re gay.
