Wednesday, August 31, 2011

New Music i am down with this week: The Icarus Line's Wildlife


the Icarus Line’s new long delayed album Wildlife is out finally. the Icarus Line were one of my favorite contemporary bands back in the early part of the 2000s. they came out of the late 90s Noise Rock/Post-Hardcore scene and turned from a Jesus Lizard soundalike into one of the best bands around by combining Fun House era Stooges, Psychocandy white noise, Spacemen 3 drone, and GN’R sleaze into a perfect hardrock blender with their 2003 record Penance Soiree. unfortunately no one was paying attention and the album went mostly unnoticed. they followed up that with the pretty solid Black Lives At The Golden Coast which was more eclectic and also was pretty off most critics radar.

and now 4 years later we have Wildlife. while not as instantly satisfying (but what really is?) as the previous records it’s still got some solid gems for fans. “King Baby” is a pretty good opener with just enough T.Rex stomp & groove, “Sin Man Sick Blues” is totally channeling the motherfucking Dead Boys, the single “We Sick” is a nasty little slab of punk blues, and my personal favorite is title track “Wildlife” which sounds like pure Lust For Life era Iggy. a few of the 13 songs feel like filler and i wish there were less mid tempo tracks and more rippers like Sick Blues…but still if you love your rock n roll strungout and in the gutter then The Icarus Line aren’t gonna let you down. recommended.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

My Buddies Grape Soda are doing an East Coast tour, go see them.


Grape Soda is my favorite current Athens band, (especially with American Cheeseburger broken up and Bambara now calling New York home). i mean yes i am probably totally biased since i’m friends with and in another band with Ryan and Mat, but i am the kinda asshole who always thinks his friends’ bands suck and never goes to see them play. Grape Soda are the opposite. they are always fun and everyone ends up dancing. Grape Soda are doing a quick tour this summer. if they are coming to your town then check them out. organ and drum based psych pop. kinda like if Quasi was stoned all the time and listened to nothing but the Soul Jazz Studio One comps. plus Ryan runs Kindercore Records and he loves it when people come to shows and give him their demo tapes.


Friday August 19 - Athens GA
Farm 255 - 255 W. Washington St

Sunday August 21 - Greensboro NC
The Blind Tiger - 1819 Spring Garden St

Monday August 22 - Washington DC
The Black Cat - 1811 14th St NW

Wednesday August 24 - Baltimore MD
The Windup Space - 12 West North Avenue

Thursday August 25 - Brooklyn, NY
Youth Group Gallery - 407 Johnson Ave

Friday August 26 - Brooklyn, NY
The Shop - 290 Metropolitan Ave Between Roebling and Driggs

Saturday August 27 - Looking for a show in Virginia

Sunday August 28 - Charlotte, NC
Yau Haus

Friday, August 12, 2011

songs that changed my life: Can't Hardly Wait


Can't Hardly Wait by mmr421

Paul Westerberg "Can't Hardly Wait" (on SNL, 1993)...a pretty significant moment in my music loving life.

i think/pretty damn sure/know this was the first time i ever heard this song. i already owned Let It Be and Tim and Paul Westerberg's solo album 14 songs, but i hadn't delved further into the Replacements' catalogue yet by 1993. the unreleased Tim version of "Can't Hardly Wait" is tied with the Velvet's "Pale Blue Eyes" and Beach Boys "Girl Don't Tell Me" for my favorite song of all time. i can't even imagine how many times i've heard it. how many mix tapes/cds i've put it on. how many times i was drunk and depressed at 19 years old listening to it in a parked car crying about some fucking girl who ruined my summer and wondering if i was ever gonna get the fuck out of the shithole that is Augusta, GA before i found myself jumping off some "crummy water tower"

....anyways this is my favorite live performance of the song that i've seen.

Monday, August 1, 2011

My 30 Favorite Albums From 30 Years Ago (1981)


1981: The Best Year Ever?

1 The Gun Club- Fire Of Love
2 Black Flag- Damaged
3 Gang Of Four- Solid Gold
4 The Birthday Party- Prayers On Fire
5 Mission Of Burma- Signals, Calls, And Marches
6 The Replacements- Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash
7 X- Wild Gift
8 The Wipers- Youth of America
9 Television Personalities- …And Don’t The Kids Just Love It?
10 New Order- Movement
11 Hall & Oates- Private Eyes
12 The Cure- Faith
13 Prince- Controversy
14 Motley Crue- Too Fast For Love
15 Bauhaus- Mask
16 The dB’s- Stands For Decibels
17 Josef K- The Only Fun In Town
18 The Go Go’s- Beauty and the Beat
19 The Psychedelic Furs- Talk Talk Talk
20 Agent Orange- Living In Darkness
21 The Adolescents- Adolescents
22 Public Image Ltd.- Flowers Of Romance
23 The Au Pairs- Playing With A Different Sex
24 Siouxise & The Banshees- Juju
25 The Scientists- The Scientists
26 Echo & The Bunnymen- Heaven Up Here
27 This Heat- Deceit
28 The Cramps- Psychedelic Jungle
29 The Pretenders- Pretenders II
30 Brian Eno & David Byrne- My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts


apologies to Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Plimsouls, INXS, The Clean, Tom Tom Club, Killing Joke, The Sound, Saccharine Trust, The Raincoats, Klaus Nomi, Iron Maiden, U2, Minutemen, Kraftwerk, Glenn Branca, Romeo Void, Radio Birdman, Soft Cell, The Rolling Stones, The Go-Betweens, The Police, and tons more artists. 1981 was a loaded fucking year for amazing albums.