Ugly Music for Beautiful People 7-27-05 Playlist

I'm about to go on a vacation. No more posts for a while.

Koji Asano - Park - Final Insurance Collection Vol. 2: 1992-1994
Koji Asano - Humidity - Final Insurance Collection Vol. 2: 1992-1994
Metalux - Calligraphy Zone - Victim of Space
Pelican - March Into the Sea - The Fire in our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
Mister and Misses - Dislocation Nation - Tribute to Ugliness
King Crimson - Peace-A Beginning - In the Wake of Poseidon
King Crimson - Pictures of a City - In the Wake of Poseidon
Christian Fennesz & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Sala Santa Cecilia - Sala Santa Cecilia
Fieldwork - Headlong - Simulated Progress
Fieldwork - Transgression - Simulated Progress
Kinski - Hot Stenographer - Alpine Static
Kinski - The Wives of Artie Shaw - Alpine Static
Kinski - Hiding Drugs in the Temple (part 2) - Alpine Static
Steve Reich - Pulses - Music for 18 Musicians
Steve Reich - Section I - Music for 18 Musicians
Steve Reich - Section II - Music for 18 Musicians
Steve Reich - Section IIIA - Music for 18 Musicians
Steve Reich - Section IIIB - Music for 18 Musicians
Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice - Paper Trail Blues - XIAO

Sub-Division

Sub-Division - Express
Sub-Division are a rock band from Mexico City. They blend fuzzy, arty punk with highly affected female vocals that recall early Blond Redhead. They just put out a 6 song EP which has 3 sweet songs and 3 crappy, dated remixes. (Their label is owned by the guy who founded Acid Jazz Records way back in the 90's, which would explain the dated remixing). This is my favorite of the three original songs. It's a very fresh and interesting sound that is pretty detached from everything that's going in the US/UK indie world today.

Pelican

Pelican - Aurora Borealis
One of the few, but growing, number of bands that blend the abstractness and melody of post rock with the intensity and sonic textures of heavy metal, Pelican appeal to arty metal-heads, rock-leaning avant-garde-ists and cerebral indie rockers alike. This is their second album, and sees them moving in a more post rock direction. They’ve brought in acoustic guitars, but they still have the earth shattering guitar drone of their previous work. "Aurora Borealis" is a short song for Pelican, as it is under 5 minutes long, but it's a fine introduction to their potent blend of heaviness and melody.

Sons & Daughters

Sons and Daughters - Dance Me In (single version)
I first heard Sons and Daughters at SXSW two years ago when they played the same showcase as their friends Franz Ferdinand, who were on the brink of stardom at that point. That friendship probably helped Sons & Daughters out a whole lot, but they deserve any success they get. Their exceedingly rhythmic and tough take on folk/country rock is a very nice counterpoint to the bland pre-Nashville formalisms of most modern alt-country. "Dance Me In" is from their upcoming album The Repulsion Box, but the single version is a different recording, one produced by Edwyn Collins of Orange Juice.

Ugly Music for Beautiful People 7-20-05 Playlist

Black Dice - Wasteder - DFA Compilation #2
J.O.Y. - Sunplus - DFA Compilation #2
Deerhoof - Spiral Golden Town - Green Cosmos EP
Can - Yoo Doo Right - Monster Movie
cLOUDDEAD - Dead Dogs Two (Boards of Canada remix) - Dead Dogs Two 12"
Lightning Bolt - 13 Monsters - Ride the Skies
Gang Gang Dance - God's Money I - God's Money
Gang Gang Dance - Glory in Itself/Egyptian - God's Money
Icky Boyfriends - Frank's Mom - A Love Obscene
Squarepusher - I Fulcrum - Ultravisitor
Currituck Co. - Don't the Road Look Wide and Deep - Ghost Man on Second
Metalux - Shelldrum - Victim of Space
Sky Saw - The Garden of Forking Paths - Sky Saw
Prefuse 73 & The Books - Pagina Tres - Prefuse 73 & The Books
Yes - South Side of the Sky - Fragile
Orthrelm - Untitled 1 - Orthrelm/Touchdown split
Blithe Sons - Animals of the Seashore - Arm of the Starfish
The Peppermints - Yellow Rain - Jesüs Chryst
The Peppermints - Snak 10 - Jesüs Chryst

Drunk Horse

Drunk Horse - Howard Phillips
Drunk Horse - Priestmaker

Goddamn! Drunk Horse play the kind of rock music that makes me want to grab a beer and bang my head ‘till dawn breaks. Some bands revive 70’s hard rock with their tongue in their cheek, and some do it with a frightening level of earnestness. But Drunk Horse do it so well that it just doesn’t matter whether they’re serious or not. They’ve got the southern boogie groove of ZZ Top, the songs of Thin Lizzy and the guitar solos of the Fuck Champs. This is 70’s rock revival that sounds completely modern. Let's call it neo-prog-butt-rock.

Also, they are playing in my hometown of Fayetteville on Sunday the 29th. I'm pretty fucking jazzed. If you're reading this, and you're from Fayetteville. You better fucking come. They'd be a great band to get totally fucked up to, but I'm leaving on a road trip the next morning, so beers will be few.

The Jai-Alai Savant

The Jai-Alai Savant - Scarlett Johansen, Why Don't You Love Me?
I first heard of the Jai-Alai Savant in a passing mention in the magazine Fader. I saw the word Hollertronix and the word band, and I had to hear it. (For those that don't know, Hollertronix is a DJ/Mixtape duo that is one part Diplo and one part Low Budget). I'm a little unclear how Jai-Alai Savant is affiliated with Hollertronix, but that no longer matters.

To my ears, Jai-Alai Savant sound like a dubbier version of TV on the Radio, or what would have happened if the Clash kept on moving into dub and soul territory instead of breaking up. My roomate Shaun says they sound just like the Police, but I've never really listened to the Police, so I'll have to take his word on that one.

Beck

Beck - Farewell Ride (Subtle Remix)
I love me some Beck. But, man, Guero just wasn't any good at all. The "Hell Yes" EP got me all ready for some hotness to drop, but shit just didn't work out. With the exception of the hott "E-Pro," basically every remix of any song I've heard off that album kills the original. The remix of "Farewell Ride" by abstract hip-hoppers Subtle is no exception. The original's beat is just a lazy lumbering beat, a handclap, a harmonica and a pedal steel. It sounds like a sub-par outtake from Sea Change. It ain't offensive, but it ain't interesting. In fact, I'm listening to it right now, and I have to force myself to pay attention to it, or it just works it's way to the back of my brain.

Enter Subtle. Subtle, for the uninitiated, are made of members of the underground hip-hop collective/label/sub-genre Anticon. And, to these ears, they are the artistic pinnacle of Anticon. Their album A New White killed, and was a near flawless crystalization of the Anticoncept. On their remix of "Farewell Ride" they drop everything but Beck's vocals, and they don't even keep all of those. Instead, they throw down a languid, creepy beat, some jazz noir horns and some guest rhymes from Doseone and turn the song into a horror-movie funeral procession. A farewell ride indeed.

The Black Mass 7-16-05 Playlist

I also have another radio show. It's a metal show called The Black Mass. Playlists for that show will be posted here as well. On today's show, my friend Freakin' Joel was a guest DJ for the first half of the show.

Iron Maiden - The Trooper - The Essential Iron Maiden
Electric Wizard - Vinus Sabbathi - Dopethrone
Nevermore - Sell My Heart for Stones - This Godless Endeavor
Coalesce - Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin cover) - There's Nothing New Under the Sun
Demons & Wizards - Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin cover) - Touched by the Crimson King
As I Lay Dying - Meaning in Tragedy - Shadows are Security
High on Fire - Blood from Zion - Art of Self Defense
Kyuss - Catamaran - ...And the Circus Leaves Town
Dew Scented - Vortex - Issue VI
Mastodon - Shadows that Move - Lifesblood
Obituary - Redneck Stomp - Frozen In Time
Origin - Echoes of Decimation - Endless Cure
Mike Gann - Fear's Burden - single
Gorerotted - Fable of Filth - A New Dawn for the Dead
Naglfar - None Shall be Spared - Pariah
Judas Priest - Loch Ness - Angel of Retribution
Arch Enemy - Nemesis - Doomsday Machine
Darkest Hour - Sound the Surrender - Undoing Ruin
Darkest Hour - Tranquil - Undoing Ruin
Darkane - Secondary Effects - Layers of Lies
Motorhead - Overkill - No Remorse
Lamb of God - Hourglass - Ashes of the Wake
Leng Tch'e - Derisive Conscience - The Process of Elimination
A Life Once Lost - Pain & Panic - Hunter
Summon - Intro/Blood Red Skies - Fallen
Converge - Heartless - You Fail Me
Demons & Wizards - Beneath These Waves - Touched by the Crimson King

Ugly Music for Beautiful People 7-13-05 Playlist

For those that do not know, this blog is named after a radio show I do each Wednesday from 8pm to 10pm central time on KXUA. From now on, I will be posting each weeks playlist on this blog rather than on my livejournal.

Metalux - Sunny Krakow - Victim of Space
Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice - Paper Trail Blues - XIAO
The Thing - Garage - Have Love Will Travel (Sonics cover)
Swans - Weakling (live) - Speed Deals (comp.)
Thuja - Untitled II -All Strange Beasts of the Past
Mark Dresser & Denman Maroney - Harkemoney - Time Changes
Comets on Fire/Burning Star Core - Untitled A - Comets on Fire/Burning Star Core LP
The Peppermints - Rabid Frogs - Jesüs Chryst
The Peppermints - A. Hotel - Jesüs Chryst
The Peppermints - Cousin - Jesüs Chryst
Orthrelm - OV - OV
The Locust - Kill Roger Hedgecock - The Locust EP [request]
The Punks - Drop it Like It's Hot - Thank You For the Alternative Rock
Sunburned Hand of the Man - Let Us Take it Higher - After the Medicine Show (comp.)

Leisure

Leisure - Way of Life
Leisure are a rock band from Boston. They haven't released anything yet, but had some mp3s up on their website (their current site seems to be down, but here's an old one that has a couple more mp3s). To the best of my knowledge, the only national press they've gotten was about a year and a half ago when Pitchfork dubbed them one of 5 new bands to watch in 2004, alongside Tussle, Patrick Wolf, the Hold Steady and Ratatat.

Those other 4 bands all released successful albums, but all Leisure has done is record a couple more demos and start up an email list. Nonetheless, Leisure will eventually live up to that sweeping pronouncement by Pitchfork, but probably not in 2005. Maybe 2006 or 2007, though. However, this band will eventually become a hot buzz band and get famous.

Why? Because they're that good. "Way of Life" is one of their new songs, and shows significant artistic growth over their original demos. Their lead singer's voice has matured into a rich Jeff Buckley-esque croon, and the rest of the band has become equal adept at their instruments. Melancholy organ mixes with post-post punk drumming, throbbing bass and even a brief xylophone section. It all leads up to the fiery Neil Young-esque guitar solo that closes the song. This almost 7 minute long song never wears out it's welcome and is their finest work to date.

Currituck Co.

Currituck Co. - Don't the Road Look Rough & Rocky
Currituck Co. is guitarist Kevin Barker, also of the band Adem. On Ghost Man on Second, he is joined by drummer Otto Hauser of Espers and they bust out two discs worth of fingerpicking and skin slapping. The folk guitar/jazz drums combo was done earlier this year by Six Organs of Admittance, and Currituck Co. pull it off almost as well. "Don't the Road Look Rough & Rocky" is very dark and moody, and is easily the album highlight.

Behemoth

Behemoth - The Nephilim Rising
Poland's Behemoth are easily the best death metal around today. The only competion is Nile. Behemoth began their career as a black metal band, but slowly stripped away the black to reveal the death underneath. On their most recent album Demigod, the only black metal signifiers left is the corpsepaint and bracers. Now, they aren't the most innovative death metal band around, they play pretty straightforward stuff. But nobody does it better than they do. They're the Arcade Fire of death metal, they take a common, worn out style of music and make it fresh and new again simply by doing it as well as it's ever been done before.

Wolf Parade

Wolf Parade - Shine a Light
Montreal's Wolf Parade are a hot buzz band of the moment. And they actually deserve it. While what they play is definitely indie rock, they are the first new indie rock band to get me excited in quite a while. Their influences are visible, but they mix them all so well that it doesn't even matter. On "Shine a Light", the lead track from their third self-titled EP and first for Sub Pop Records, they mix bits and pieces of Frog Eyes, the Unicorns, the Constantines and Beck. It works masterfully, and bodes well for their upcoming debut LP.

Red Sparowes

Red Sparowes - Alone And Unaware, The Landscape Was Transformed In Front Of Our Eyes
Made up of members of Isis and Neurosis, Red Sparowes keep the epic progressive rock aspects of those bands while substituting the metal with post rock. They have very similar song structure to Isis, but with no vocals and more prominent melody. And somehow, it sounds just as heavy. These days, post rock is a mostly barren wasteland filled with has-beens and rehashers, but by coming at the genre from a metal perspective, Red Sparowes have injected new life into it and given us one of the most emotional and moving albums in recent history. It’s brilliance from start to finish.

Darkest Hour

Darkest Hour - Sound the Surrender
Although D.C.’s Darkest Hour began their career as a metalcore band, they have long since moved on to more interesting and rewarding territory. Their most recent releases have seen them adding more and more European metal touches, in particular the Gothenburg sound of bands like In Flames and At the Gates. On Undoing Ruin, their 4th album, they’ve nailed the fusion of European metal with American hardcore, and secured their place at the head of the class of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.

Icky Boyfriends

Icky Boyfriends - Pigs
Icky Boyfriends - Hotel California (Eagles cover)

Icky Boyfriends were an band (or was that anti-band?) from San Francisco in the early 90's. They fucking sucked and also fucking ruled. They have no idea how to play their instruments, so they choose not to. Instead, the flail about while the lead singer rants about his pet kitty, kidnapped co-eds, toe nails, and, of course, girls. "Pigs" is probably the best critique of America's quasi-police state that I've heard since "Copkilla". It's also 18 seconds long. "Hotel California" is a bad cover of a worse song, and it's one of the most entertaining things I've heard in ages. It rambles along until the lead singer forgets what line comes next. They've also got some songs that are really songs, more or less, but if you want to hear those you can pick up the new double disc retrospective A Love Obscene that just came out on Menlo Park. It's exhaustive, exhausting, and shockingly essential.

The Pope

The Pope - Society of Friends (from Society of Friends)
Bass & drums duo The Pope hail from Los Angeles and like the best 2-man bands, sound bigger than they are. There is a very obvious heavy influence from Lightning Bolt, but tempered with many other influences. The vocals are similar to those of high-energy punk rockers Hot Snakes. The drums are “bash” oriented rather than the tight & complex style of Lightning Bolt. But the most important thing that the Pope bring is an undeniable groove. As noisy, fast and lo-fi as they are, they never loose the sense of swing that makes the hips shake.

Happy 4th of July

The Mice - Not Proud of the USA
Hailing from Cleveland, OH, The Mice released “For Almost Ever,” a 6 song EP in 1986 and then released the LP Scooter in 1987. And then they broke up. They faded into obscurity and if anyone had heard of them, it was because Superchunk and Guided by Voices cited them as influences. Recently, Scat Records have decided to change that by releasing the EP and LP on CD for the first time. And it’s a very good thing, as these 16 punk inflected power pop gems all deserve to be heard.

The Peppermints

Hello. This is actually my second mp3 blog, the first being the ill-fated Temp3. I hope that this one last longer.

The Peppermints are a spazzy noise rock band made up of three beautiful women and a dude. They are also super-duper-nice people. I know the later because I saw them play a couple of days ago and they stayed at my house. See the following livejournal entry for details/pictures:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/maskedyodeler/149019.html

Their second album, Jesüs Chryst came out this past week on Paw Tracks Records, which is run by the Animal Collective. It's pretty fantastic, and jumps all over the out-rock map. The only constant is the mix of the cute and the foul (think a unicorn farting) that they do so well.

The Peppermints - A. Hotel
The Peppermints - Onion Salad
On the first track, they sound a little bit like the Fall, if Mark E. Smith was female and the whole band had A.D.D. The second track is kind of a nonesensical shaggy dog story, with Deerhoof-esque accompaniment.