A couple of rabid music fans posting stuff from their collection for the world to hear. If you're a band or label that wants your song removed, don't sue us, just e-mail us and we'll take it down. Promise.
Thursday July 02nd 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Misc. Stuff
Posted by: Kevin
There’s something about Kid Bombardos that I really like but I just can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. They have a pretty distinct style which is refreshing. Probably due to having their roots in France and not one of the other countries you typically think of when listing off hotbeds of indie rock. Maybe think Stephani Grappelli crossed with The Strokes, but better musicianship (than The Strokes silly! No one’s better than Grappelli). Writing that sounds a little retarded, but I’m at a loss for another description. Give the track a listen, it’s certainly better than my half-assed attempt at a description. That’s why I’m a music fan and not a music journalist.
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Wednesday July 01st 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Misc. Stuff
Posted by: Kevin
When I was in school I took worthless classes like Calculus and Sociology, but the students at Columbia College in Chicago are doing it right. They are taking a class on running a record label. Granted, I put on a fair number of shows, volunteered at a co-op record store and helped run an illegal club when I was in college, but I never got any class credit for those activities. Their record label is AEMMP Records and they just put out their first release “Chompilation.” The stand-out track on the comp is Propeller Plane by Chicago’s Pet Lions which I have posted here.
You can find out more about the label and the class on their website here.
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Tuesday June 30th 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Misc. Stuff
Posted by: Kevin
I’ll be taking the rest of the week to post a slew of new stuff that’s been sitting in my inbox for the past 6 months that I’ve been meaning to but haven’t had a chance to write about. First up in New Orleans’ Generationals made up of two members of the now defunct The Eames Era. Their new LP Con Law comes out on July 21 and I am eagerly anticipating it. They are streaming half of it on their website right now which I’ve been fanatically listening to the past couple of days. I think the track “When They Fight, They Fight” will easily be remembered as one of the catchiest songs of 2009. They are going out on a west coast tour this summer and I’m looking forward to checking them out at Hotel Cafe here in Los Angeles the end of July.
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Monday June 29th 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Misc. Stuff
Posted by: Kevin
As longtime readers of TOSI probably know, a good deal of the older punk rock recordings on this site can also be found on The Rapid City Punk Rock Archive. As one of the many contributors to that site, I’ve spent a lot of time capturing, converting and uploading videos. The site grew to have a ton of information, but unfortunately, it was categorized very poorly. About six months ago I set out to change that. After countless hours of what was essentially data entry, we’re proud to launch the new version of The Rapid City Punk Rock Archive. Version 2.0 if you will. If you have any interest in punk rock from the mid-eighties through today, you should check it out. You’ll find photos, videos, music, flyers, and essentially a complete history of punk from a small town in South Dakota, population 60,000 (give or take). I was around to experience quite a bit of this stuff and consider myself lucky to have grown up in what was known as one of the punkest towns around.
Friday June 26th 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Live
Posted by: Avalanche, LEED AP
A longstanding TSOI favorite, The Legends are making a rare stateside appearance supporting the release of their killer new album Over and Over out now in MP3 format at Labrador Records as well as on eMusic. The first of three New York area shows was The Legends as headliner in Brooklyn. The Legends played for 25 minutes and then left the stage with no encore. I began to wonder if I somehow missed half the set or if something precipitated them to get pissed off and cut the set short. I am drawing the conclusion that the simple explanation is that they like to keep their sets short and sweet. Now that I think of it, they played a similarly short set the last time they were around in 2006, but were opening for the Acid House Kings, so a short set didn’t seem particularly out of place. Whatever the case, here is a live performance of a track “Monday to Saturday” off of the new album.
The Legends play one more show tonight at Webster Hall, so be sure to catch it if you can. Also, be sure to read the mind-bending trenchant questions served up to The Legends right here on TSOI.
Breaking News: A show was added for Saturday in Philadelphia.
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Thursday June 25th 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Live
Posted by: Avalanche, LEED AP
Casey Spooner of FischerSpooner famously remarked “We are putting the ‘fart’ back in art” which they continue to do to great affect with the release of their third (if you discount the numerous releases of the debut) album, Entertainment last month. This new release falls in line with FS’s other excellent releases #1 and Odyssey.
Of course, with a new album comes a new tour and new elaborate and choreographed stage show. For the third go around, the full band featured in the tour supporting Odyssey was forsaken for a live dj and a return of the backup dancers. I will continue to lament that not enough bands employ dancers, which makes going to a FS show that more special. Madonna, for one thinks so, because she was at the show, as was Patrick Wolf (in feather-winged jacket fallen angel regalia). [Side Note: I remarked to my buddy before the show that no one was in the VIP section, which, I thought odd. Right before the show, a full entourage surrounding a golden tressed lizard came blazing out in the most conspicuous way possible, and I remarked out loud that it must be Madonna and her goons. Sure enough it was. Casey Spooner then proceeded to say "Hey Tom Cruise is in the audience tonight" at the show for the following night.]
Here is a live take on the lead single to Entertainment, “Danse in France”.
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Rorschach – Mandible
Palace Studios
Chicago, IL
7/25/93
I find myself very jealous of the East Coast and all the reunion shows that are happening that I won’t be a part of. The Van Pelt, 1.6 Band and coming this September, Rorschach. I’ve been lucky enough to see them a couple of times before, but damned if it wouldn’t be great to see them again.
Monday June 22nd 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Live, Set
Posted by: listentothebeat
Shellac/David Yow as the Sex Pistols
Lounge Ax
Chicago, IL
10/31/98 (Halloween)
Perhaps more than analog audiophiles, members of Shellac, Steve Albini in particular, have developed a reputation of musical aesthetes, perhaps no better exemplified than the one-tone amplifier setups. That said, plectrum to guitar through that rig immediately identifies the band as no other.
Many of us have waited years for the seldom touring Shellac to make it through our towns or to have the opportunity to travel to see a show (it took me 13 years). With this build up held sacred by one half of the audience, and the other half simply satisfied with catching a killer rock show by some crack musicians, we have this Shellac concert in Chicago on Halloween 1998. Yet instead of the uni-knobbed amps and their often stated “acerbic” sound, presented were the now-dubbed “Shellac Pistols,” comprised of David Yow (Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid) leading the trio, dressed in character and ready to kill it on equipment contemporary to the heyday of Lydon et al. There are accounts circulating describing the rest (I wasn’t even there so I’ll defer to the concertgoers), but to my ears it reminds me a bit of Suicide’s“23 Minutes Over Brussels” with the audience teetering from taunting to seething contempt of what history has shown to be a great show. In this case, it was far more benign than for Vega/Rev, and some actually enjoyed this show. Albini’s other forays into covers are well worth pursuing, including AC/DC’s“Jailbreak” (Shellac, Drag City 7″) and Kraftwerk’s“The Model” (Big Black, “Songs about F*ing”).
Setlist:
1. Holidays In The Sun
2. Bodies
3. Pretty Vacant
4. Seventeen
5. Sub-mission
6. New York
7. Anarchy In The U.K.
8. God Save The Queen
Sample:
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Friday June 19th 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Live
Posted by: Avalanche, LEED AP
I have had a recent string of seeing good-to-great shows from reformed/reconstituted bands from the 80s. Seeing FEAR in Brooklyn (Lee Ving says that he refuses to play Manhattan) proved to keep the streak (Suicidal Tendencies, ahem, notwithstanding) going. FEAR were among the very early LA Punk bands and have been credited with establishing the Hardcore sound adopted by Black Flag and countless others. Whatever their influence, I certainly find myself listening to War on 45 on a consistent level and whatever Lee Ving’s intentions for the lyrics in “Let’s Have a War”, I continue to be shocked how prescient and sadly apropos they are to recent events.
As I have remarked before (see Circle Jerkspost) I find that the early LA Punk bands, although generally political and hardcore, always had a good sense of humor, which is rare in rock or, really, in nearly any music. Fear, like The Circle Jerks, have a few zinger lines that I find hilarious. In the case for this track, the lines, “Let’s have a War!. Start in New Jersey” gets me every time.
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Thursday June 18th 2009, 12:01 am
Filed under: Live
Posted by: Avalanche, LEED AP
Jeremy Jay’s “A Place Where We Could Go” made my 2008 year-end best albums list. I noted then, as an aside: “If Jeremy Jay had a better backing band, I could see this guy putting out full-tilt hum-dinger of a record in the near future.” Well Jeremy Jay has made good on his far better executed sophomore record, “Slow Dance”, released recently on K Records. Even more than on the previous album, I find “Slow Dance” oddly affecting with his killer off-kilter phrasing and slow-burn international high-plains drifter charm. Furthermore, I really enjoyed seeing him live.
I am actually pretty shocked that he isn’t being touted more loudly especially since Jeremy Jay is based out of LA, which, as far as I can tell, isn’t exactly teeming with great bands these days, and therefore, I imagine, would rise pretty quickly in a shallow field. Whatever the case, I hope “Slow Dance” gets its due so that Jeremy Jay returns soon to New York for a victory lap or two.
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There’s something about Kid Bombardos that I really like but I just can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. They have a pretty distinct style which is refreshing. Probably due to having their roots in France and not one of the other countries you typically think of when listing off hotbeds of indie rock. Maybe think Stephani Grappelli crossed with The Strokes, but better musicianship (than The Strokes silly! No one’s better than Grappelli). Writing that sounds a little retarded, but I’m at a loss for another description. Give the track a listen, it’s certainly better than my half-assed attempt at a description. That’s why I’m a music fan and not a music journalist.
When I was in school I took worthless classes like Calculus and Sociology, but the students at Columbia College in Chicago are doing it right. They are taking a class on running a record label. Granted, I put on a fair number of shows, volunteered at a co-op record store and helped run an illegal club when I was in college, but I never got any class credit for those activities. Their record label is AEMMP Records and they just put out their first release “Chompilation.” The stand-out track on the comp is Propeller Plane by Chicago’s Pet Lions which I have posted here. 
I’ll be taking the rest of the week to post a slew of new stuff that’s been sitting in my inbox for the past 6 months that I’ve been meaning to but haven’t had a chance to write about. First up in New Orleans’ Generationals made up of two members of the now defunct The Eames Era. Their new LP Con Law comes out on July 21 and I am eagerly anticipating it. They are streaming half of it on their website right now which I’ve been fanatically listening to the past couple of days. I think the track “When They Fight, They Fight” will easily be remembered as one of the catchiest songs of 2009. They are going out on a west coast tour this summer and I’m looking forward to checking them out at Hotel Cafe here in Los Angeles the end of July.
As longtime readers of TOSI probably know, a good deal of the older punk rock recordings on this site can also be found on The Rapid City Punk Rock Archive. As one of the many contributors to that site, I’ve spent a lot of time capturing, converting and uploading videos. The site grew to have a ton of information, but unfortunately, it was categorized very poorly. About six months ago I set out to change that. After countless hours of what was essentially data entry, we’re proud to launch the new version of The Rapid City Punk Rock Archive. Version 2.0 if you will. If you have any interest in punk rock from the mid-eighties through today, you should check it out. You’ll find photos, videos, music, flyers, and essentially a complete history of punk from a small town in South Dakota, population 60,000 (give or take). I was around to experience quite a bit of this stuff and consider myself lucky to have grown up in what was known as one of the punkest towns around. 
A longstanding TSOI favorite, The Legends are making a rare stateside appearance supporting the release of their killer new album Over and Over out now in MP3 format at Labrador Records as well as on eMusic. The first of three New York area shows was The Legends as headliner in Brooklyn. The Legends played for 25 minutes and then left the stage with no encore. I began to wonder if I somehow missed half the set or if something precipitated them to get pissed off and cut the set short. I am drawing the conclusion that the simple explanation is that they like to keep their sets short and sweet. Now that I think of it, they played a similarly short set the last time they were around in 2006, but were opening for the Acid House Kings, so a short set didn’t seem particularly out of place. Whatever the case, here is a live performance of a track “Monday to Saturday” off of the new album.
Casey Spooner of FischerSpooner famously remarked “We are putting the ‘fart’ back in art” which they continue to do to great affect with the release of their third (if you discount the numerous releases of the debut) album, Entertainment last month. This new release falls in line with FS’s other excellent releases #1 and Odyssey. 
I have had a recent string of seeing good-to-great shows from reformed/reconstituted bands from the 80s. Seeing FEAR in Brooklyn (Lee Ving says that he refuses to play Manhattan) proved to keep the streak (Suicidal Tendencies, ahem, notwithstanding) going. FEAR were among the very early LA Punk bands and have been credited with establishing the Hardcore sound adopted by Black Flag and countless others. Whatever their influence, I certainly find myself listening to War on 45 on a consistent level and whatever Lee Ving’s intentions for the lyrics in “Let’s Have a War”, I continue to be shocked how prescient and sadly apropos they are to recent events. 
Jeremy Jay’s “A Place Where We Could Go” made my