2007 was an ok year, but it's over tomorrow and that's ok. I saw some good shows, heard some good tunes, and lived through the second snowiest December in Madison's history (unless we get 2.2 inches of snow by midnight, which is unlikely).
As a blogger, albeit a severely lazy one, it is my obligation, like Danny's, to compile an end-of-the-year-best-of-something list just like everyone else, and because I am a.) lazy (as previously stated) and b.) boring, it's just going to be albums. Top 10 motherfucking albums of 2007:
1. Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
2. A Place to Bury Strangers - S/T
3. Walker Kong - Deliver Us from People
4. Spoon - Ga (x5)
5. Menomena - Friend and Foe
6. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
7. Radiohead - In Rainbows
8. Glass Candy - B/E/A/T/B/O/X
9. Caribou - Andorra
10. Vampire Weekend - Blue CD-R
Honorable Mention:
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Kanye West - Graduation
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
No Age - S/T
Dean & Britta - The Back Numbers
And there you have it. In other news, how fucking annoying are those stupid shoes-that-turn-into-skates-that-every-fucking-idiot-kid-has? I swear, the next time I'm in Target to buy paper towels or a toothbrush and I almost fall over because some terrible parent allowed their delinquent-in-training to even own a pair of those monstrosities, much less wear them to a crowded public retail outlet, I'm going to punch someone in the face. The same goes for airports.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
!Top Ten of 2007!
Hastily compiled- excluding reissues (obviously)
1. Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
2. Devin the Dude - Waiting to Inhale
3. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
4. Glass Candy - BEATBOX
5. Blonde Redhead - 23
6. Radiohead - In Rainbows
7. Pissed Jeans - Hope For Men
8. Magik Markers- Boss
9. King Khan & The Shrines - What Is?!
10. UGK - Underground Kingz
Honorable Mention
1. Psychedelic Horseshit - Magic Flowers Droned
2. The Thrills - Teenager
3. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
4. Times New Viking - Present The Paisley Reich
5. Jana Hunter - There's No Home
6. Dr. Dog - We All Belong
7. Dan Deacon - Spiderman of The Rings
Bonus - Comedy Top Two!
1. Patton Oswalt - Werewolves & Lollipops
2. Michael Showalter - Sandwiches & Cats
Pretty good musicssss put out in 2007. This list is subject to change.
Bye bye,
Daniel
1. Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
2. Devin the Dude - Waiting to Inhale
3. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
4. Glass Candy - BEATBOX
5. Blonde Redhead - 23
6. Radiohead - In Rainbows
7. Pissed Jeans - Hope For Men
8. Magik Markers- Boss
9. King Khan & The Shrines - What Is?!
10. UGK - Underground Kingz
Honorable Mention
1. Psychedelic Horseshit - Magic Flowers Droned
2. The Thrills - Teenager
3. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
4. Times New Viking - Present The Paisley Reich
5. Jana Hunter - There's No Home
6. Dr. Dog - We All Belong
7. Dan Deacon - Spiderman of The Rings
Bonus - Comedy Top Two!
1. Patton Oswalt - Werewolves & Lollipops
2. Michael Showalter - Sandwiches & Cats
Pretty good musicssss put out in 2007. This list is subject to change.
Bye bye,
Daniel
Thursday, December 13, 2007
A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Gayness
So I met this gay dude the other day. He had his iPod with him and he sat with me and my friends at this bar. He had pretty good stuff on his iPod. He even had Fad Gadget and Gang of Four! How many random "straighties" (the gay community's word for us straight people) would have those bands on their iPod? So guess what his favorite artist was. Nope, not Skrewdriver...good guess though. It was Rufus Wainwright. "Of course you like Rufus Wainwright!" I callously, drunkenly exclaimed. I was fuuuucked up!
We got drunk(er) with this kid and we somehow decided a gay bar would be a good next destination. So we went to three...thereby fulfilling a lifelong dream I had. We all knew the Montrose is the Houston "gayborhood"... but let me tell you, there is this little enclave of gay bars that aren't visible to the naked eye. You have to be with a gay guy to see them. They're seriously hidden really well. Gay people love to dance! And talk...oh Jesus they love talking politics (and apparently buying into some gay ultra liberal trend). There were guys dancing in thongs.
Basically, stereotypes exist for a reason. They're all correct!
Love ya gay guys!
Danny
We got drunk(er) with this kid and we somehow decided a gay bar would be a good next destination. So we went to three...thereby fulfilling a lifelong dream I had. We all knew the Montrose is the Houston "gayborhood"... but let me tell you, there is this little enclave of gay bars that aren't visible to the naked eye. You have to be with a gay guy to see them. They're seriously hidden really well. Gay people love to dance! And talk...oh Jesus they love talking politics (and apparently buying into some gay ultra liberal trend). There were guys dancing in thongs.
Basically, stereotypes exist for a reason. They're all correct!
Love ya gay guys!
Danny
Sunday, November 18, 2007
SST Bands Live: Part One of Two
Meat Puppets--Cain’s Ballroom--Tulsa, OK--November 15, 2007
Originally hailing from Phoenix, the Meat Puppets are a trio fronted by brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood who miraculously combine many seemingly divergent musical influences into a cohesive sound that is entirely their own. "Wait!" you say, "isn’t this the band who broke onto the radio market in the mid-90’s with the customary grunge/alternative hit ‘Backwater‘"? Yes, it is, and that was likely my first exposure to them, in the "Buzz Bin" days of MTV (remember?), followed by my hearing of Kurt Cobain’s renditions of the "Plateau"/"Oh, Me"/"Lake of Fire" triptych. I ran across them many years after that while digging around looking at Dinosaur Jr. albums (more on that in weeks to come). This concert at the Cain’s was my second time to see them in the last three months, the first time being an August show in Oklahoma City, and my familiarity of their music rests primarily on their first three albums: "Meat Puppets", "II", and "Up on the Sun." The first is practically hardcore 80’s punk, while the third is full-blown psychedelic-country rock music. Their second ("II") falls somewhere inbetween, and is what I would highly recommend anyone to start out with. If Garz and I still had a radio show going, I think we could easily put the music on that album up with anything else that emerges and is touted in the indie world today-- a far cry from the more-generic "Backwater" sound that may cause some to forget about them.
First, let me use some space to promote the Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa’s coolest concert venue! It has been around since 1924 and was home to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys for concerts and radio broadcasts! It has a slight feeling to me of being in an rickety barn with wooden floors, and portraits of old country stars like Hank Williams, Gene Autry, and Ernest Tubb are hung all around the room. It isn’t any atmosphere that will likely sweep you off your feet, but I think it has a good Okie, homey aura to it. And hey, the Sex Pistols played there on a rare American tour in 1978! I guess Johnny Rotten wasn’t too cool to come to Tulsee Town!
All that said, apparently the Puppets don’t draw a big enough crowd to play on Cain’s main stage (is simply referring to them as "the Puppets" a sign I have become a true aficionado? Like Phish followers calling themselves "Phans"???). This show was in a small square side room with tables and a bar. The band had to walk through the crowd to get to and from backstage, which was kind of cool. I saw some guy get them to autograph the liner notes of "II" that he had brought, and the fans could applaud them more as they passed through at the end of the night. Cris Kurkwood, the bass player, has an impenetrable mass of hair, and bobs around on stage constantly to win the award for being most like an actual puppet. He seems like he’d be a nice guy but when you see his face he is always squinting and grimacing like the sun is in his eyes, and from time to time gets these wild, furious looks on his face that couldn’t possibly be feigned. Curt Kirkwood, who does guitar and most vocals, reminds me of a sumo wrestler, not because he is fat, but has his hair pulled back in a tiny ponytail. He’ll scowl and look around at the air with his eyes like he is hearing psychotic voices or something. I say this about their appearance not only because I am absorbed in them, but also because I think it is somewhat representative of their music--there is a manic quality that underlies their sound and is what I think holds everything together. Maybe it takes said insanity to try and merge country and punk, but they do it successfully. They can even blare out something that seems like bluegrass, and many guitar lines sound imitating of a banjo. Throughout the show, they would additionally incorporate extended sonic jams into their songs (i.e., a seamless workout wedged into "Lake of Fire") that always seemed to have a purpose, not falling flat. It was generally an older crowd, I’d say about 100 people mostly my age (24) and up. It was good to be without most of the indie teenagers. My favorite tune was "Up on the Sun," because it included some jams, and I like the country buzz of the guitar line. I also enjoyed their playing of "Oh, Me." Although they didn’t play a long set, the Puppets do it all without sounding like a band that is way past their prime, and I can’t imagine them sounding much worse than when they last played in Tulsa, 25 years ago.
Check out "II".
Originally hailing from Phoenix, the Meat Puppets are a trio fronted by brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood who miraculously combine many seemingly divergent musical influences into a cohesive sound that is entirely their own. "Wait!" you say, "isn’t this the band who broke onto the radio market in the mid-90’s with the customary grunge/alternative hit ‘Backwater‘"? Yes, it is, and that was likely my first exposure to them, in the "Buzz Bin" days of MTV (remember?), followed by my hearing of Kurt Cobain’s renditions of the "Plateau"/"Oh, Me"/"Lake of Fire" triptych. I ran across them many years after that while digging around looking at Dinosaur Jr. albums (more on that in weeks to come). This concert at the Cain’s was my second time to see them in the last three months, the first time being an August show in Oklahoma City, and my familiarity of their music rests primarily on their first three albums: "Meat Puppets", "II", and "Up on the Sun." The first is practically hardcore 80’s punk, while the third is full-blown psychedelic-country rock music. Their second ("II") falls somewhere inbetween, and is what I would highly recommend anyone to start out with. If Garz and I still had a radio show going, I think we could easily put the music on that album up with anything else that emerges and is touted in the indie world today-- a far cry from the more-generic "Backwater" sound that may cause some to forget about them.
First, let me use some space to promote the Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa’s coolest concert venue! It has been around since 1924 and was home to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys for concerts and radio broadcasts! It has a slight feeling to me of being in an rickety barn with wooden floors, and portraits of old country stars like Hank Williams, Gene Autry, and Ernest Tubb are hung all around the room. It isn’t any atmosphere that will likely sweep you off your feet, but I think it has a good Okie, homey aura to it. And hey, the Sex Pistols played there on a rare American tour in 1978! I guess Johnny Rotten wasn’t too cool to come to Tulsee Town!
All that said, apparently the Puppets don’t draw a big enough crowd to play on Cain’s main stage (is simply referring to them as "the Puppets" a sign I have become a true aficionado? Like Phish followers calling themselves "Phans"???). This show was in a small square side room with tables and a bar. The band had to walk through the crowd to get to and from backstage, which was kind of cool. I saw some guy get them to autograph the liner notes of "II" that he had brought, and the fans could applaud them more as they passed through at the end of the night. Cris Kurkwood, the bass player, has an impenetrable mass of hair, and bobs around on stage constantly to win the award for being most like an actual puppet. He seems like he’d be a nice guy but when you see his face he is always squinting and grimacing like the sun is in his eyes, and from time to time gets these wild, furious looks on his face that couldn’t possibly be feigned. Curt Kirkwood, who does guitar and most vocals, reminds me of a sumo wrestler, not because he is fat, but has his hair pulled back in a tiny ponytail. He’ll scowl and look around at the air with his eyes like he is hearing psychotic voices or something. I say this about their appearance not only because I am absorbed in them, but also because I think it is somewhat representative of their music--there is a manic quality that underlies their sound and is what I think holds everything together. Maybe it takes said insanity to try and merge country and punk, but they do it successfully. They can even blare out something that seems like bluegrass, and many guitar lines sound imitating of a banjo. Throughout the show, they would additionally incorporate extended sonic jams into their songs (i.e., a seamless workout wedged into "Lake of Fire") that always seemed to have a purpose, not falling flat. It was generally an older crowd, I’d say about 100 people mostly my age (24) and up. It was good to be without most of the indie teenagers. My favorite tune was "Up on the Sun," because it included some jams, and I like the country buzz of the guitar line. I also enjoyed their playing of "Oh, Me." Although they didn’t play a long set, the Puppets do it all without sounding like a band that is way past their prime, and I can’t imagine them sounding much worse than when they last played in Tulsa, 25 years ago.
Check out "II".
Monday, November 12, 2007
Movie Review:
No Country for Old Men: See it now. Really, go see it.
Ah yes, the rating scale... 1 bear, 5 anti bears. The bear is for the fact that I kinda spaced out during the ending (because i was starving), unaware that it was the ending, so I have some unanswered questions. The anti-bears... because the movie rocked! I won't give any intimate details away.
Gone baby Gone: See it at some point.
This movie was good, but nothing compared to the far superior No Country for Old Men. 4 anti-bears, 1 bear. The bear is for the fact that this movie gives ben affleck credibility as a director. At least he still has none as an actor.
That's all. No glam, no jokes. Just see the movies, and let me get back to my poker game.
Ah yes, the rating scale... 1 bear, 5 anti bears. The bear is for the fact that I kinda spaced out during the ending (because i was starving), unaware that it was the ending, so I have some unanswered questions. The anti-bears... because the movie rocked! I won't give any intimate details away.
Gone baby Gone: See it at some point.
This movie was good, but nothing compared to the far superior No Country for Old Men. 4 anti-bears, 1 bear. The bear is for the fact that this movie gives ben affleck credibility as a director. At least he still has none as an actor.
That's all. No glam, no jokes. Just see the movies, and let me get back to my poker game.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Spoon, The New Pornographers, Emma Pollock - Warehouse Live - Houston, Texas - 11/1/07
While my little brother and I were at the Spoon show Tracy McGrady, my favorite athlete ever, was busy dropping 47 points to lead the Rockets to a revenge win over the Utah Jazz. God I hate the fucking Jazz.
The show was at the Warehouse Live in downtown H-Town. It's a really nice venue. Too nice to house a lot of the gritty bands I've been seeing lately.
The show was ass-packed with audience members ranging greatly in age. But...
Let me hit this tangent before I go on. Every once in a while I go through these phases. I'm kind of in one right now. My tastes get more and more obscure and all of the sudden, you're an asshole and an idiot for not owning any Family Fodder material. You could be cool, but unless you like Konk, you have shit taste in music. With my current mindset, most modern bands suck. If a modern band is slightly popular, I am full of blind hate for them.
I'll get over it soon enough...I always do.
That being said, Spoon fits the mold; I should hate them.
They were really fucking good though. I was completely sober for the whole show. I had no drugs or alcohol in me but the show was still really cool without those enhancers. Eric's right, Spoon are tight as fuck where they need to be. I'll add that they deviate into noise at just the right moments. I am hereby backing the Charz2k official recommendation...see Spoon if you can.
Aside from their performance, their lighting show was my favorite concert backdrop/ambience effect ever (Radiohead in Chicago a few years back is a close second). There was this sort of canvas behind them that turned all polychromatic with the beats. At times there were colored lights shining at the band members from the floor giving the "Oh shit! it looks like they're all green!" effect.
Good job, guys.
I didn't so much care for the New Pornographers. I've like never listened to them on record. They're pretty lackluster/mediocre, too conventional, etc. They were pretty boring on stage methinks. Save for this one dude who sang some songs (that one dude not being A.C. Newman or Neko Case...I don't know his name but he got quite a reaction from the crowd when he joined Spoon in the encore...he's probably famous but I don't know his name, and for that I sincerely apologize.) A sophomoric observation: one dude in the New Pornographers looked like Jerry Garcia. Their drummer looked like Eugene Mirman, the funny man. Also, Neko Case....mmmm.
The show was pretty killer. No one actually died though. I guess the most killer show was the Great White show in New Jersey where 19,684 people died grisly deaths.
But I'm of the mind that the perfect world is perpetually lubricated. This world is, needless to say, dry, and therefore, imperfect. Spoon is dripping with KY though. It's KY Warming Liquid too...they were all warm and shit.
Antibears - 3.9 - Good job Spoon and Spoon's lighting choreographer!
Bears- 2.6 - New Pornos bored me and I missed T-Mac's noteworthy performance.
I'm designating the Houston Rockets the official NBA team of charz2k. As the Rockets go, so goes charz2k.
P.S. - Articles should come more frequently from me now as mid-terms are over.
Cheerio Sam, pip pip good boy,
Danny
The show was at the Warehouse Live in downtown H-Town. It's a really nice venue. Too nice to house a lot of the gritty bands I've been seeing lately.
The show was ass-packed with audience members ranging greatly in age. But...
Let me hit this tangent before I go on. Every once in a while I go through these phases. I'm kind of in one right now. My tastes get more and more obscure and all of the sudden, you're an asshole and an idiot for not owning any Family Fodder material. You could be cool, but unless you like Konk, you have shit taste in music. With my current mindset, most modern bands suck. If a modern band is slightly popular, I am full of blind hate for them.
I'll get over it soon enough...I always do.
That being said, Spoon fits the mold; I should hate them.
They were really fucking good though. I was completely sober for the whole show. I had no drugs or alcohol in me but the show was still really cool without those enhancers. Eric's right, Spoon are tight as fuck where they need to be. I'll add that they deviate into noise at just the right moments. I am hereby backing the Charz2k official recommendation...see Spoon if you can.
Aside from their performance, their lighting show was my favorite concert backdrop/ambience effect ever (Radiohead in Chicago a few years back is a close second). There was this sort of canvas behind them that turned all polychromatic with the beats. At times there were colored lights shining at the band members from the floor giving the "Oh shit! it looks like they're all green!" effect.
Good job, guys.
I didn't so much care for the New Pornographers. I've like never listened to them on record. They're pretty lackluster/mediocre, too conventional, etc. They were pretty boring on stage methinks. Save for this one dude who sang some songs (that one dude not being A.C. Newman or Neko Case...I don't know his name but he got quite a reaction from the crowd when he joined Spoon in the encore...he's probably famous but I don't know his name, and for that I sincerely apologize.) A sophomoric observation: one dude in the New Pornographers looked like Jerry Garcia. Their drummer looked like Eugene Mirman, the funny man. Also, Neko Case....mmmm.
The show was pretty killer. No one actually died though. I guess the most killer show was the Great White show in New Jersey where 19,684 people died grisly deaths.
But I'm of the mind that the perfect world is perpetually lubricated. This world is, needless to say, dry, and therefore, imperfect. Spoon is dripping with KY though. It's KY Warming Liquid too...they were all warm and shit.
Antibears - 3.9 - Good job Spoon and Spoon's lighting choreographer!
Bears- 2.6 - New Pornos bored me and I missed T-Mac's noteworthy performance.
I'm designating the Houston Rockets the official NBA team of charz2k. As the Rockets go, so goes charz2k.
P.S. - Articles should come more frequently from me now as mid-terms are over.
Cheerio Sam, pip pip good boy,
Danny
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