LA / LBC / OC
Long Beach’s Magic Lantern have finally gone and released a new sonic document after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. Eagerly anticipated by those who have been biding their time waiting for the band to get on with their uber limited cassette only and CD-R releases (their Self-Titled CD-R was limited to 30), “High Beams”, the band’s latest opus [...]
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I have never been a fan of Portugal the Man’s particular brand of shiny-beat-indie-pop, so when I read that Church Mouth was a “huge departure” and that it was to be “… an organic rock record that transcends genres by managing to reference seemingly disparate acts such as the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the White Stripes, the Mars Volta and Santana” (PTM’s official bio), I was intrigued. While I may disagree with the use of the word “disparate” to describe those influences, my curiosity was hightened by their mention.
The albums first song, and title track, is fiery and has a bit of rawness not found on previous recordings. The vocals, in a high pitch wail, compliment the driving rhythm and guitar crunch, and the breakdown in a half-time shout and stomp ala a southern spiritual is a pleasant surprise. Read more »
This is more of a public service annoucement for tonight’s Let’s Independent show in general with an emphasis on showing up early for Signal Hill’s set tonight at Boardners with In Waves and Xu Xu Fang.
It is pretty safe to say that tonight, Boadners will be awash in multi-layered soundscapes ranging from the psychedelica of Xu Xu Fang, to the post-rock pop of In Waves, to the instrumental noodlings of Signal Hill which bring to mind the work of Explosions In The Sky. It all kicks off tonight at Boardners at 8:30pm, it’s 21+ and free, so come get your drink on, though some of mind altering substances might be more in order for tonight’s sounds.
Download “Celadon” (mp3) from Signal Hill’s self-titled debut ep.
[audio:signalhill_celadon.mp3]
It’s Monday morning and a tropical feeling one at that, so I thought I would jam some new Culver City Dub Collective, who’s new album Dos comes out July 31st and are touring all around Southern California in July and August.
Culver City Dub Collective (CCDC) at their core are drummer/songwriter Adam Topol and guitarist/engineer Franchot Tone (grandson of the late, great Hollywood film star of the same name) who both ultimately assembled, produced, and are the creative forces behind CCDC’s sound. Joining the two on Dos are guest vocalists; Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Money Mark, Studio One vocalist Winston Jarret, Matt Costa, and Bedouin Soundclash singer Jay Malinowski, who are key in updating for the 21st century CCDC’s blending of Jamaican roots reggae, Afro-Cuban rhythms and West Coast bossa beats.
Download “Big Long Gun” (mp3) featuring Winston Jarret, from CCDC’s new album Dos which will be released next week on July 31st.
[audio:http://mstories.vo.llnwd.net/o1/fc2/cdf7e492-60dd-4f0e-ab67-4db221bc6412/6af92e52-50f0-4b12-8328-63313fe5d453.mp3]
Culver City Dub Collective West Coast Tour Dates:
July 26th The Glass House - Pomona, CA
July 27th Venezia - Redondo Beach, CA
July 28th Equator Books - Venice, CA
July 29th Malibu Inn - Malibu, CA
July 31th Fingerprints In-Store - Long Beach, CA
Aug 15th Lou’s Records In-Store - Encinitas, CA
Aug 15th Belly Up - Solana Beach, CA
Aug 16th The Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, CA
Aug 17th The Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA
Aug 18th Sunset Junction - Los Angeles, CA
Get Dos when it comes out on July 31st from: Amazon
Sunday, July 22nd: Dead Meadow @ Little Radio
This could be the best line up Little Radio has hosted at their Summer Camp series this summer. w/Spindrift, The Black Pine
[audio:dead_meadow_at_her_open_door.mp3]
Dead Meadow - At Her Open Door (mp3)
Monday, July 23rd: Division Day @ Viper Room
West Siders check out Divison Day, they don’t make it over to your side that often. Email the band with “Viper” in the subject line your name to get on the guestlist. w/The Health Club, Saitn Motel, Moving To France
[audio:http://www.eeniemeenie.com/media/Lights%20Out.mp3]
Division Day - Lights Out (mp3)
Tuesday, July 24th: LSD and the Search For God @ Silverlake Lounge
LSD and the Search For God are doing a 3 date mini tour with Martin Rev (Suicide), and Fuxa. Also at the Knitting Factory on Wednesday.
[audio:LSD_Starting_Over.mp3]
LSD and the Search For God - Starting Over (mp3)
Wednesday, July 25th: Gaslight Anthem @ The Scene Bar
I’m not sure of this, but I think this is New Jersey’s, The Gaslight Anthem, first time here on the West Coast. Their debut full length, Sink Or Swim, is a glorious cross of Bruce Springsteen, Hot Water Music, and Against Me!. Also at The Alley in Fullerton on Tuesday, w/Signal To Noise
[audio:tga_idacalledyouwoodyjoe.mp3]
The Gaslight Anthem - I’da Called You Woody, Joe (mp3)
Thursday, July 26th: Portugal. The Man @ Troubadour
Really rad band. I saw Portugal The Man at SXSW at couple years band, has two of the guys from the defunct band, Anatomy Of A Ghost. Also at Chain Reaction on Wednesday. w/The Photo Atlas
[audio:http://www.fearlessrecords.com/bands/14/releases/29/5.mp3]
Portugal. The Man - Marching with 6 (mp3)
Friday, July 27th: Tegan and Sara @ Malibu Peforming Arts Center
Tegan and Sara albums are hit or miss with me on a whole, they write some great songs, but not usually an entire album’s worth. Their new album, The Con comes out on Tuesday, stream it on their MySpace. Also on Thursday at the Malibu Performing Arts Center
[audio:http://salonmedia.vo.llnwd.net/o1/mp3s/2007/jul/tegan-head.mp3]
Tegan and Sara - Back in Your Head (mp3)
Saturday, July 28th: Earthless @ The Echo
Should be totally killer show with The Fucking Champs and Titan, I shouldn’t have to explain any further…
[audio:http://www.teepeerecords.com/bands/earthless/audio/Earthless.mp3]
Earthless - Godspeed-edit (mp3)
(Preface: This was written prior to the New York Post piece naming the 100 best covers. You’ll notice only one song listed here appears in their article. Why the hell the NYP bothers to contain anything even remotely having to do with art is beyond me. They should stick to what they’re good at - conservative propaganda.)
There are times when events converge in such a way that one must trust it to be a sign. I have experienced a convergence as such within the last few weeks, thus I’m compelled to write about it…
It all began a few weeks back when I was out at a show to check out an up-and-coming indie band, whose proverbial buzzing has become audible on blogs across the net (this one included). At said show the band attempted a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm,” a lofty aspiration indeed, and one that most artists would avoid or should avoid (sorry Zac De La Rocca & Co. this includes you). Now, I can give them 1 point for having the gumption to try it, unfortunately I cannot award any more points as it came out as quite a mess in my opinion. This concludes Event # 1…
Event # 2: A little over one week ago (on 7/7/07 to be exact), the immense project known as “Live Earth” took place on all seven continents (yes, even Antarctica), and musical superstars from around the world performed throughout the day and night to raise environmental awareness. Bravo was broadcasting the performances throughout the day, and I kept it on in the background most of the day allowing me to see bits and pieces as the Saturday ran its usual course. It was somewhere in the early afternoon that I happened to catch the end of AFI’s performance, just as 2007s’ Sexiest Vegan (aka Davey Havok), was introducing their next song which was to be a cover of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” (see a theme starting to develop). Again I was taken aback by the attempt at covering what I consider to be a song of the “Do Not Touch” variety (just one man’s opinion), and again my skepticism was confirmed with a rather poor showing. * You can watch video of the performance Here, along with the rest of the NY Live Earth performances (you’ll have to scroll to find the AFI clip).
Event # 3: A couple months back an album was put in my Inbox which for some reason I never got around to listening to. A mere two days ago I came across it again and decided to give it a listen. The album was “An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick” by an Australian band called Ground Components. I was impressed by the album in it’s entirety, but the final track, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),” stood out to me as quite impressive, especially considering it is a song that clocks in over 7 minutes long and has lyrics galore. I won’t go as far as one review I read that claimed it outshines the original, but it brings me to the point of this verbose introduction…
A cover song should not be judged by it’s being ‘better’ than the original (though that is not to say that it hasn’t happened - Mr. Dylan meet Mr. Hendrix), rather it should be judged by the creativity and originality put into the interpretation. That being said, if one is going to set out to cover a tune of a certain magnitude, in the upper echelon of great songs no less such as those in the aforementioned events 1-3, they better “bring it.”
Below are 5 covers that meet the challenge and are must-haves:
1. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” - Rolling Stones (1965) - As covered by Devo on their 1978 debut album “Q: Are We Not Me? A: We Are Devo!”
They took all the energy, spit and swagger of the original, sped it up, staccatoed the hell out of it and made “new wave” history (note to anyone desiring to claim The Residents avant-garde fuzz-noise version as superior… don’t - cause it’s not).
2. “Higher Ground” - Stevie Wonder (1973) - As covered by Ellen Mcilwaine on her 1975 album “The Real Ellen Mcilwaine”
That’s right kids, the song containing one of the most recognizable melodies in music history, and it was NOT written by The Red Hot Chili Peppers! There are many covers of this classic out there but this early one by a little known female blues singer/guitarist is my favorite by far.
3. “Death Letter” - Son House (Exact Original Date Unknown) - As covered by The White Stripes on their 2000 album “De Stijl”
The blues song, by The original bluesman - done true justice by Mr. White - on what is The White Stripes best album (there I said it).
4. “Taxman” - Beatles (1966) - As covered by Junior Parker on 1970 Capitol recordings.
One of Parker’s later and funkiest recordings before he died in 1971. I know it’s the Beatles, and liking any version of their songs that is not the original is sacrilege, but this version is great. I will say that Parker’s covers of a couple other Beatles tunes from the same sessions are not nearly as impressive, but this one hits the mark - I’m sure even George himself approved of it (though I have no proof).
5. “The Man Who Sold The World” - David Bowie (1969/1970) - As covered by Nirvana on the 1994 “MTV Unplugged in New York” album.
Albeit a somewhat obvious choice, it must be included as this is one of those songs that I continually find myself debating which version I like better. I guess it’s a toss-up.
Download “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” (mp3) from Ground Components album “An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick” which is available now.
[audio:Its_Alright_Ma_Im_Only_Bleeding.mp3]
Get “An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick” from: Amazon
