Badfinger Suitcase

Minimal Nation

A while back I posted up a little thing about Jeff Mills - one of my all time fave artists. Looks like someone has seen fit to reissue the legendary 'Minimal Nation' by Robert Hood. Along with Mills he pushed forward the stark electronica of Detroit. While a lot of electronic music has a hard time standing the test of time....Hood and Mills seem to sit in some otherworldly place.... love this shit..

Southport

When me and the missus were still in the UK, one of our fave bands was Southport...featuring the guitarist from Snuff. So stoked to see they have returned and now have Lloyd from Blocko on board.... great stuff!!

More NWOBHM

...more... cool little doc......

HELLO: Today's Token Glam Jam

I would like to pretend I wrote the following, but the band bio below is from kathleenturneroverdrive, a favorite eBay seller that always goes above and beyond on his auction write-ups. Enjoy:




Career-destroying single for Brit glampoppers Hello which, in retrospect, shoulda made 'em big stars. This is actually GREAT glam rock, a big Slade-like simple stomp with some AMAZING (for its time) deep bottom bass! When they sing "goodbye to Joe" in "Another School Day," you can't help think Slade even MORE, but when the grade school kids start joining in on backing vocals, you realize it's closer in spirit to "School's Out" or "Who Don't Like Kids?" At the time, the band's manager decided to release THIS as their new single, instead of a new composition given to them by Sweet writers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. That song, by the way, was "Dyna-Mite," and since Hello passed on it, it was given to competing glam rockers Mud, who made a career out of it. At least in England. Across the Atlantic, neither band made much progress. Unbiased, therefore, I have to admit I prefer Hello's single to Mud's. The flip ain't bad either - "C'mon Get Together" is another big glam stomper with super catchy, downright anthemic melody, and some cool knifescraping guitar licks. And since you get the picture sleeve with this one, you can glance at those two hot chicks in the front. What? Those AREN'T chicks? Oh dear...

Another School Day


C'mon Get Together

Pack

Mad video from these German punks...

Two Tone

Margo linked me to this great article about the graphic aesthetic of the Two Tone label... interesting stuff. In some ways it was the black and white aesthetic of the label and its strong graphic identity that really attracted me.
Link

NWOBHM

I love early 80's metal.. I don't give a fuck. First real show was Maiden "Powerslave" tour...blew my mind. Recently I have been rocking a lot of NWOBHM (new wave of British heavy metal).... in particular the 'Live To Ride' comp LP...which is kinda like the KBD of NWOBHM (for the uninitiated that means the weirdo collectable part of the gnre). My fave jam right now is Agony Bag from my old home town of Leicester.... check this shit out - what the fuck????

ZOOBOMBS

I was up in Toronto this past week and caught a bunch of bands at the NXNE music festival, Canada's answer to Austin's SXSW. Saw some good stuff, including Dillinger Four, but the best by far was a Tokyo band called Zoobombs. Sick performance.

I'm not good at the intricacies of genre specifications (I tend to like "music"), and these guys make it really difficult. I heard old soul and blues influence, some funk bits...live it felt like some odd psych garage experiment or something. Call it whatever you want, they were sick.

The vid below is the best I could find (from '08), since I can't post mp3s here. It gets real good from ~2:00 through ~3:30. The line up I saw didn't have the tambo/bongo guy, just the 4 others. If anybody wants a track or two, email me: jonlancaric@gmail.com

Bowie Be My Wife

The Thin White Duke.

Mandrill 1973

Mandrill

I am in a summer mood.Maybe a early 70's summer mood.

Sick Boys To Men

Mike hooked me up with this rad old skate movie Sick Boys... and the recent version Sick Boys To Me... shit looks rad!!!

Sick Boys 1988 from Bryce Kanights on Vimeo.

Sick Boys to Men - 20 Years Later from Bryce Kanights on Vimeo.

Bay Area Represent....

Stand up....salute!!!

Banksy

still love him....

Newtown Neurotics

One of the best...wildly underrated bands from the UK. During a period of studs and spikes they brought melody and strong leftie politics..... love itttt.

Shellac

Shellac played in SF last night and they're playing again tonight, at the Great American Music Hall. I don't think I've seen them since the turn of the Millenium. I'm going to revisit the glory days of American indie-rock - the 90s. I expect to see plenty of goatees, unbuttoned flannel shirts over band t-shirts, and backwards baseball hats. See you at the back near the bar... and let's hope for some quality heckling...

SOTD

Phoenix- Listomania

I didn't like anything these guys did before this record, but this new one is a POP gem!
Enjoy!

PS Tim thinks they're kinda gay

VOTD

Matt and Kim- Lessons Learned

I just think this video is fuckin' fun! I know rock is supposed to be dangerous and all but I think a little fun now and again is necessary. Stop taking shit so serious fool!
I love the ending!

*click on VOTD for link

Saxondale

I got the DVD of both seasons of Saxondale out of the video shop last weekend. Refreshed my memory with Season 1 and then dove in to the new stuff I hadn't seen. If you're not familiar with it (yanks especially) it's Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge, 24 Hour Party People, etc) starring as a former roadie for 70s metal bands turned pest control contractor with a penchant for fast cars and loud guitar-based rock, and a bit of an anger-management problem. It's got plenty of that uncomfortable humour that Coogan made himself famous for. It's also got a great soundtrack of 70s prog metal. Watching it made me yearn for some Focus, those nutty Dutch yodel-proggers.
First some classic Tommy Saxondale showing some soap-dodging animal rights protesters who's boss:


check the riffage on this number baby:

Reigning Sound

New LP is out in August... I was lucky enough to get a copy for review for MRR.... it is fantastic as expected... here's some snippets...

Rad Massaker

Our pal Blake has put together a crazy race throught the east Bay tomorrow. Meet at Mosswood park in Oakland..... at 12.00. Here's footage of last years Oakland scrape.....

Dillinger 4

Our friend Timmy is on tour with Dillinger 4 right now... they are one of the best live bands out there. Bay area? get ready in september for a bonzer of a show... more details as they are firmed up...

Flight 666

The new Iron Maiden DVD is out.... I'm stoked. The first real band I saw was Maiden, 'Powerslave Tour' '84? Blew my and my brothers minds. I can't help but have a soft spot for them.... I dug out Powerslave last night. Epic.

Toys That Kill

Todd Congliere is a fucking legend.... ex pro skater... he has flown the DIY flag for years with his bands FYP, Toys That Kill & Underground Railroad to Candyland. He also finds time to run recess records... see in San Diego guys.....

Screaming Females

.. weird as fuck Hendrix-esque guitar with squeaky female vocals... sounds shit? it's pretty fuckin rad.... theres a ton of vids on the tube... here's some live goods

VOTD

Matt and Kim- Lessons Learned
*click on VOTD for link

Today’s pick comes in video form. Matt and Kim are a duo from Brooklyn that are known more for their crowd-participating lives shows than anything else. But their record is great as well. You’ve probably heard more than one of their songs in commercials, maybe even Apple. I just saw this video flipping channels the other day on MTV2 (yes they actually still show videos?!). I’m pretty sure it’s all staged but it’s a lot of fun anyway, and the ending is great. Hopefully you find it fun as well.
Oh, and the track is great, which is the whole point anyway!
Cheers!

The Fest

Not only do no Idea Records (see post below) do all tat shit, they also organize 'The Fest' every October which is fast becoming the biggest rambling mess of a ferstival in the states... it's days long...hundreds of bands and just a huge piss up. We hope to get donw there next year !!!

No Idea

One of the most prolific and fiercely DIY labels on the planet is No Idea records from Florida. They have unleashed some bands who have gone on to bigger and better (well not better) things like Hot Water Music and Against Me!, but they also do records by Holy Mountain and the Marked Men! Not only are they a successful label but tey also run the best and by far cheapest distro in the USA.... nice work guys.

Verbal Assault

I know it's all getting a bit hardcore heavy...but I picked up a cheap Verbal Assault LP ...so was diggiong out their shit. Were they a Straight Edge band??? can't remember, but they had a good take on melodic hardcore....

Destino Final

When we played Texas, one of my favorite bands was Destino Final from Barcalona in Spain. They used to be called Invasion. This is the best I could do... track 'em down on myspace.

SOTD

I’ve lived here for almost 5 years now but every year I seem to forget that June is always a bit cold and gloomy. Not what you expect from June, especially coming from Chicago. This song is the perfect counter balance for the weather. It’s super cheery and crazy, like summer is supposed to be.

This band is a Canadian “Super Group” with members from lots of other great bands, Broken Social Scene etc. I hear they have another record coming out soon.
Check it!

Charge

New vid from Charge in the UK... Juliet rolling with some rad stop frame goods....

Zipper

Before Dead Moon... Cole was in the Weeds, Rats and this combo...Zipper.... sick.

Dead Moon Night

ok ok...more Dead Moon - who cut Corey fuckin Duffell to the Moon? it's rad anyway you look at it!!!