09
Mar
2004
· Following in the footsteps of fellow punk legends Jello Biafra and Henry Rollins, Canada's most dangerous son, Joey "Shithead" Keithley, is taking the stage this month for spoken-word performances and live gigs by his band D.
O.A., now celebrating its 25th anniversary. The spoken-word tour promotes his autobiography, I, Shithead: A Life in Punk, published by Canada's Arsenal Pulp Press and released last week here in the U.S. The book is already a big hit back home, named one of the top 25 nonfiction bestsellers of 2003 by Amazon's Canadian division. Packed with photos and rare flyer art, the 229 pages of memories are a real time trip to the glory days of North American pioneer punk, from the band's beginnings as The Skulls to the Vancouver scene to early gigs with the Dills, X, Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, and TSOL. Now championing the fight to save old-growth forests, attempting a run for office under the Green Party banner, and raising three children, Keithley's rant and rage have mellowed into a role of punk sage, with much to opine about from activism, life on the road, drug habits, and following the dollar in the music industry. After 3,000 shows in 30 countries, 33 releases, and more than 212,000 beers, I'd say he knows the ruts in the road.
· Ipecac Records and the Melvins are celebrating the band's 20th anniversary with a new coffee-table book, entitled Neither Here Nor There. Featuring stories, artwork, and photography, the book also includes an 18-track CD selected from the group's discography.
· Lloyd Cole, one of the 1980s' most promising songwriters, has signed a new deal with the tasty One Little Indian imprint and is set to release a new album, Music in a Foreign Language, at the end of this month. Two other projects are on schedule as well: an April release of lost studio sessions from the late 1990s compiled under the title ETC. and the all-instrumental collection Plastic Wood in May.
· Fox television's new family drama, Wonderfalls, premieres this Friday, but music-savvy viewers will have to wait until the second episode to hear the show's theme by the reclusive Andy Partridge of XTC. Can't wait? Check out the full-length video for "I Wonder Why the Wonderfalls" on the network's Web site. Another modern-rock buzz-worthy song can be found as the theme for ABC's Kingdom Hospital: Ivy's "Worry About You" from the 2001 album Long Distance.
· My pick of the week is Ten, the new Mush Records release from the mysterious cLOUDDEAD and a hypnotizing mind melt that falls into the genre mash of avant hip-hop, dropping enigmatic lines and phrases like a Burroughs cut-up poem, brain-jammed by an overdose of fragmented beats. Falling in between Negativland and the Butthole Surfers, cLOUDDEAD weaves an urban feel into the found sounds, roundabout beats, and slowly swirling churns, punched by droned or rapid-fire vocal interplay like nightmarish symphonies. Also delightfully strange and beautiful is a new String Quartet Tribute CD released this week by Vitamin Records, this time arranging a dozen songs by the Flaming Lips into The Tallywood Strings' robust cello, violin, and viola. Even cleansed of the Lips' original psychedelic goo, songwriter Wayne Coyne's powerful melodies still reveal his smiling, benevolent light through the deep, mature tones of these classical interpretations. All the hits are here, from "She Don't Use Jelly" to "Do You Realize," along with interesting choices such as "Five Stop Mother Superior Rain" and "Shine on Sweet Jesus."
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Maroon 5 tonight, Switchfoot on Thursday, and A Perfect Circle on Monday; The Late Show with David Letterman lets the sparks fly with Hole on Monday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien hosts Sarah McLachlan this evening overnight, David Byrne on Friday overnight, and The Allman Brothers Band on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn features 311 on Thursday overnight and the Brides of Destruction on Monday overnight; and Last Call with Carson Daly boasts musical funnyman Stephen Lynch on Tuesday overnight. Look for Liz Phair to make a guest appearance as Jackie DeShannon on this Sunday's episode of American Dreams.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, March 16:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change
36 Crazyfists - A Snow Capped Romance (Roadrunner)
Claudia Acuna - Luna (Max Jazz) third CD from this Chilean jazz singer
Antelope - "Crowns" (Dischord) CD EP of crisp art rock from Justin Moyer of El Guapo and former members of the Vertebrates, reminiscent of Gang of Four
Baby Dayliner - High Heart & Low Estate (Brassland)
Beauty Pill - The Unsustainable Lifestyle (Dischord) debut featuring Chad Clark of Smart Went Crazy and Ryan Nelson of Most Secret Method, who also designed the artwork
David Byrne - Grown Backwards (Nonesuch) featuring a duet with Rufus Wainwright on "Au Fond du Temple Saint"
Camper Van Beethoven - Telephone Free Landslide (Spin Art) expanded re-issue
Chib - Moco (Fat Cat/Bubblecore) slowly creeping experimental electronica from this hot Japanese female
Tim Deluxe - The Little Ginger Club Kid (Underwater) new house beats with guest vocalist Shanhin Badar, best known from Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up"
Dirty Americans - Strange Generation (Roadrunner)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - original motion picture soundtrack (Hollywood) music from the new Jim Carrey film featuring Jon Brion's cover of the Korgis' "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" with guest vocalist Beck
Gingersol - Eastern (Rubric) on tour this month with Mary Lou Lord
Hold Steady - Almost Killed Me (French Kiss) featuring former members of Lifter Puller, Verbena, and Punchdrunk
The Hunns - Long Legs Die Hunns (Disaster) with skate legend Duane Peters and Nashville Pussy's Corey Parks
Intermission - original motion picture soundtrack (EMI) with Turin Brakes, Ron Sexsmith, and Colin Farrell's cover of "I Fought the Law"
Joe Jackson Band - Afterlife (Rykodisc) live reunion of the original lineup
James Lavelle - GU#26: Romania (Global Underground) mix CD featuring Queens of the Stone Age, Unkle, Richie Hawtin, and Ian Brown
Lil Pocket Knife - Pants Control (Narnack) bizarre five-track EP of new white-girl indie basement rap, wonderfully illustrated by Keren Richter
Man Man - Man Man (Ace Fu) boasting xylophone, bongos, and a kindergarten chorus
Mayor of the Sunset Strip - original motion picture soundtrack (Shout! Factory) with Brian Wilson, David Bowie, T. Rex, and Coldplay's Chris Martin
Mission of Burma - Accomplished (Rykodisc) "best of" collection of studio and live tracks
Ozric Tentacles - Spirals in Hyperspace (Magna Carta) the group's 20th anniversary album, with guest guitarist Steve Hillage
Annie Quick - Bigger (Paste) terrific new solo album from the former frontwoman of Stickman Jones, layered with big hooks, spooky guitars, and clever, confessional lyrics
Rasputina - Frustration Plantation (Instinct) look for a limited-edition digi-pak with a bonus CD
Reubens Accomplice - The Bull, the Balloon, & the Family (Western Tread) new signing to the indie record label co-owned by Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World, featuring guest vocalist Howie Gelb on "Tonight We Drink"
Seventh Key - The Raging Fire (Inside Out) new from the Kansas singer/bassist Billy Greer
Slade - Get Yer Boots on: The Best of Slade (Shout Factory!) featuring a recent interview with Noddy Holder
Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (Alien 8) from Montreal
· Ipecac Records and the Melvins are celebrating the band's 20th anniversary with a new coffee-table book, entitled Neither Here Nor There. Featuring stories, artwork, and photography, the book also includes an 18-track CD selected from the group's discography.
· Lloyd Cole, one of the 1980s' most promising songwriters, has signed a new deal with the tasty One Little Indian imprint and is set to release a new album, Music in a Foreign Language, at the end of this month. Two other projects are on schedule as well: an April release of lost studio sessions from the late 1990s compiled under the title ETC. and the all-instrumental collection Plastic Wood in May.
· Fox television's new family drama, Wonderfalls, premieres this Friday, but music-savvy viewers will have to wait until the second episode to hear the show's theme by the reclusive Andy Partridge of XTC. Can't wait? Check out the full-length video for "I Wonder Why the Wonderfalls" on the network's Web site. Another modern-rock buzz-worthy song can be found as the theme for ABC's Kingdom Hospital: Ivy's "Worry About You" from the 2001 album Long Distance.
· My pick of the week is Ten, the new Mush Records release from the mysterious cLOUDDEAD and a hypnotizing mind melt that falls into the genre mash of avant hip-hop, dropping enigmatic lines and phrases like a Burroughs cut-up poem, brain-jammed by an overdose of fragmented beats. Falling in between Negativland and the Butthole Surfers, cLOUDDEAD weaves an urban feel into the found sounds, roundabout beats, and slowly swirling churns, punched by droned or rapid-fire vocal interplay like nightmarish symphonies. Also delightfully strange and beautiful is a new String Quartet Tribute CD released this week by Vitamin Records, this time arranging a dozen songs by the Flaming Lips into The Tallywood Strings' robust cello, violin, and viola. Even cleansed of the Lips' original psychedelic goo, songwriter Wayne Coyne's powerful melodies still reveal his smiling, benevolent light through the deep, mature tones of these classical interpretations. All the hits are here, from "She Don't Use Jelly" to "Do You Realize," along with interesting choices such as "Five Stop Mother Superior Rain" and "Shine on Sweet Jesus."
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Maroon 5 tonight, Switchfoot on Thursday, and A Perfect Circle on Monday; The Late Show with David Letterman lets the sparks fly with Hole on Monday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien hosts Sarah McLachlan this evening overnight, David Byrne on Friday overnight, and The Allman Brothers Band on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn features 311 on Thursday overnight and the Brides of Destruction on Monday overnight; and Last Call with Carson Daly boasts musical funnyman Stephen Lynch on Tuesday overnight. Look for Liz Phair to make a guest appearance as Jackie DeShannon on this Sunday's episode of American Dreams.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, March 16:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change
36 Crazyfists - A Snow Capped Romance (Roadrunner)
Claudia Acuna - Luna (Max Jazz) third CD from this Chilean jazz singer
Antelope - "Crowns" (Dischord) CD EP of crisp art rock from Justin Moyer of El Guapo and former members of the Vertebrates, reminiscent of Gang of Four
Baby Dayliner - High Heart & Low Estate (Brassland)
Beauty Pill - The Unsustainable Lifestyle (Dischord) debut featuring Chad Clark of Smart Went Crazy and Ryan Nelson of Most Secret Method, who also designed the artwork
David Byrne - Grown Backwards (Nonesuch) featuring a duet with Rufus Wainwright on "Au Fond du Temple Saint"
Camper Van Beethoven - Telephone Free Landslide (Spin Art) expanded re-issue
Chib - Moco (Fat Cat/Bubblecore) slowly creeping experimental electronica from this hot Japanese female
Tim Deluxe - The Little Ginger Club Kid (Underwater) new house beats with guest vocalist Shanhin Badar, best known from Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up"
Dirty Americans - Strange Generation (Roadrunner)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - original motion picture soundtrack (Hollywood) music from the new Jim Carrey film featuring Jon Brion's cover of the Korgis' "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" with guest vocalist Beck
Gingersol - Eastern (Rubric) on tour this month with Mary Lou Lord
Hold Steady - Almost Killed Me (French Kiss) featuring former members of Lifter Puller, Verbena, and Punchdrunk
The Hunns - Long Legs Die Hunns (Disaster) with skate legend Duane Peters and Nashville Pussy's Corey Parks
Intermission - original motion picture soundtrack (EMI) with Turin Brakes, Ron Sexsmith, and Colin Farrell's cover of "I Fought the Law"
Joe Jackson Band - Afterlife (Rykodisc) live reunion of the original lineup
James Lavelle - GU#26: Romania (Global Underground) mix CD featuring Queens of the Stone Age, Unkle, Richie Hawtin, and Ian Brown
Lil Pocket Knife - Pants Control (Narnack) bizarre five-track EP of new white-girl indie basement rap, wonderfully illustrated by Keren Richter
Man Man - Man Man (Ace Fu) boasting xylophone, bongos, and a kindergarten chorus
Mayor of the Sunset Strip - original motion picture soundtrack (Shout! Factory) with Brian Wilson, David Bowie, T. Rex, and Coldplay's Chris Martin
Mission of Burma - Accomplished (Rykodisc) "best of" collection of studio and live tracks
Ozric Tentacles - Spirals in Hyperspace (Magna Carta) the group's 20th anniversary album, with guest guitarist Steve Hillage
Annie Quick - Bigger (Paste) terrific new solo album from the former frontwoman of Stickman Jones, layered with big hooks, spooky guitars, and clever, confessional lyrics
Rasputina - Frustration Plantation (Instinct) look for a limited-edition digi-pak with a bonus CD
Reubens Accomplice - The Bull, the Balloon, & the Family (Western Tread) new signing to the indie record label co-owned by Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World, featuring guest vocalist Howie Gelb on "Tonight We Drink"
Seventh Key - The Raging Fire (Inside Out) new from the Kansas singer/bassist Billy Greer
Slade - Get Yer Boots on: The Best of Slade (Shout Factory!) featuring a recent interview with Noddy Holder
Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (Alien 8) from Montreal
