NEWS
Mark E Smith and Link Wray
The real new Fall album, "Fall Heads Roll" is another strong record from them. "Drive Away" is a lazy chugging chunk of Norf Engwand reggae that's as casual as Strummer's late stuff, if even better. And "Blindness" has such a great bassline, there's three versions of the song floating around. The one on "Heads Roll" is precise and grinding, but their US label just posted this more raw version
The Fall - Blindness
And Spoilt Victorian Child has posted an even rawer Peel session way down on this page.
But here's the real charmer: the official Fall website has posted a joint interview that New Musical Express did with Mark E Smith and Link Wray in 1993.
posted by bendy @ 11/22/2005 11:55:00 PM [permanent link]
homegrown punk tablature
this upstanding citizen (myspace profile) looks to be creating guitar tabs for punk songs he likes, with an emphasis on local stuff. How cool is that! There's a mp3 radio show too.
http://www.ncpunktabs.com/
posted by bendy @ 11/17/2005 12:48:00 PM [permanent link]
no blackstrap tabs?
said Anonymous, at
11/18/2005
I got some, I'm gonna send 'em
said bendy, at
11/18/2005
what's up with that?
Veronica, Veronique, B Party, G Drunk, 3 Torches, Celebration
I hadn't heard a debut album all year which got me hot and nervously excited, but the suspense has finally broken. Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes is a San Francisco band that does the Birthday Party thing better than anyone since Gallon Drunk. And the leader of G. Drunk went on to join the Bad Seeds, so at least one member of the Birthday Party thought he knew his stuff.
What do I mean by "Birthday Party thing"? Lopsided, jazzy beats pushed under chaotic but fully-formed melodic lines. It's the kind of a music that sounds like disaster at first, but has an underlying solidness.
Veronica Lipgloss have a rhythm section that allows the melodic leads to drift from twangy guitar, synthesizer or saxophone without dramatically altering their sound. And that allows their album to cover a lot of different textures while still remaining cohesively dark throughout. The lyrics are similarly obsessive to Nick Cave's early words, delivered by a woman who pushes the quirks in her voice beyond technical limitations. As did Cave. "Unicorn Song" isn't the strongest thing on the album, but it's the one they're pushing.
Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes - Unicorn Song
Gallon Drunk - Some Fools Mess
But you know, Durham has got it's own variation on smart death rock, and they've got a "Veroni" in their name too. "Spleen" is another track I've listened to constantly all year.
Veronique Diabolique - Spleen
And Durham has the Three Torches, who go at the 3AM sound from the jazzier end, more like Gallon Drunk.
Three Torches - Chicken Bridge
...And a few years ago, I remember really liking an album at WXDU by a band called Love Life, Music blogger Just for a Day gets me up to date: the Baltimore band has mutated into Celebration. And they've signed to the Birthday Party's label, 4AD. I've got to give this more of a listen, but looks they're good too.
posted by bendy @ 11/06/2005 12:53:00 AM [permanent link]
Dusted just ran my futher adoration of the Veronica Lipgloss record. Man, I dig this disc.
said bendy, at
12/08/2005
Blackstrap is a rockpunk band that was formed in 2002 by several
disgruntled music fans. Some had played in bands for years, some had
never been involved in music. All of us were upset with the
direction the USA was moving. As you can tell, our impact on all that
has been overwhelming.
We broke up in 2004, just before releasing a debut EP. We still feel
bad about messing up 307 Knox Records
like that. We got back together in
2005. We might drive each other crazy again, so no promises.
We're a band that doesn't have many options as far as
money and time and touring and all those other thing that could make a
band be your life. The web is the main way we promote
ourselves. We figured out we should share what meager knowledge we have
obtained.
RESOURCES
or "Promoting Your Music as the Music Industry We Know and Dislike Dies...."
Websites are a lot of work to figure out, and don't work any magic
on their own. Most people who view your website are already going to know you exist.
Just having a website doesn't mean anyone is going to visit. So don't
worry about securing an Internet domain right away. Stick some
music on MySpace,
and then participate in sites that might actually drive interested
listeners to your music. Blackstrap gets more hits from our link
on ncpunkonline.com than from
higher-profile sites where we get lost in the shuffle.
There are advantages to having your own custom built website and
domain name, but it's only as useful to the extent that it gets linked to.
Here are some sites that are important and help to get noticed. They aren't all music sites, specifically. Alot of them require participation. But hey, you wanted to be on stage, right?
JUST HEARD
WEEKLY FAVS
LOOKING AT...
what else?
DISCLAIMER: I try to find MP3 which are linked to official sites for artists I admire. Other MP3's are up for a limited time and are for sampling purposes only. Music posted here is posted to encourage people to buy CDs, not with the intention to profit or to violate copyright. If you are the creator (or copyright owner) of a song, excerpt, essay, graphic or photo posted on this blog, please send email to the address on the CONTACT page if you want to comment on the selection or wish to have it removed.
photos in banner by bunchofpants.