MDC! Show review and Smoke Signals

Welcome to this special Monday edition of Sunday Spins.  I was pretty busy yesterday.  One of the things I was busy doing was going to see a band that I've been listening to since I was 8 years old (maybe even 4, as one of my brothers just pointed out to me).  MDC!!!

It was a seriously great night. My other brother and I got together beforehand and hung out for a while, then headed to the show.  I wasn't sure what to expect from the three other bands who were on the bill, but I was not disappointed.

First up was Fastidio, a local Latin punk band that I wish I would have heard of before now. I've been out of touch with the local scene for quite some time, which really needs to change. These guys tore it up and set the mood for a kick-ass show. I highly recommend checking them out if you get the chance.

Next was another local band. I've been meaning to see them for a while, but this was my first chance. Think Tank describe themselves as alcoholics with nothing better to do, which may be true... but they're more than that.  They're an energetic, entertaining, female-fronted punk rock tour de force. They have some demos up on soundcloud (link on their facebook page). Go listen now. I'll wait.....


I hope you enjoyed that. I certainly did. I also enjoyed the next band on the bill. They're on tour with MDC, so it's no surprise to me that they were fucking good. The Elected Officials is an anarcho-hardcore band from Austin, TX and Santa Fe, NM. I don't know what to say about this band besides they're fucking good. I know I said that already... but I want to make sure you know. I feel like political punk went out of style for a while, but if The Elected Officials are any indication of what's out there right now I'm excited. The world needs more bands like this.

And finally, the moment I had been waiting for... MDC took the stage. Dave Dictor sounded great. The band sounded great.  The energy in the room was electric as I made my way to the front of the stage (not without some slam-dance style contact with other humans... normally not my thing, but this was a special occasion). Highlights of the show for me were (of course) "John Wayne Was A Nazi" and when Sophie from The Elected Officials joined the band onstage for "Mein Trumpf".

I'm very glad I took the opportunity to nurture my inner punk rock kid on a Sunday night in October. This is a night I'll remember forever.  Thanks to all the bands, my brother who introduced me to punk rock as a young child, and my other brother who attended the show an rocked out with me.

(my other brother, me, and Dave Dictor)

Now that my coffee is all gone and I've rambled about the show, how about we drop the needle on Smoke Signals?

This album is some of the best 80s American Punk on the planet. Hard, Fast, Hectic, and with a good mix of message, fun, and humor. 

"No More Cops" starts the album off in full force with lightning fast bass lines and a lyrics about a dream world in which there are no more cops, and no need to have them.  It always amazes me that when John Lennon imagined a world with no government, no war, no possessions, and no religion it became a classic that people will sing on reality TV competitions for generations to come, but when Davey does it people get scared.  I guess it's all in the delivery. The rest of side A covers all sorts of social and political issues as well.  "Drink to Forget", "The Big Picture", and "South Africa Is Free" are some highlights to me... but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for "Tofutti", Dave's ode to vegan ice cream (among other foods).  It's such a fun song.

Time to flip the record.  Side B comes ripping out of the gate with "Acceptable Risks" and keeps tearing things apart with "Missile Destroyed Civilization", both hardcore thrash tunes that hit on political issues that we're still dealing with 31 years later.... war, government corruption, senseless death for someone's gain... as a kid I always thought these problems would be solved in my lifetime.

Side B isn't all as in-your-face as the first two tracks. "Country Squawk" is a fun, fast, country(ish) song about vegetarianism.  Specifically not wanting to eat a dead bird. I find it interesting that the two most fun songs on the record are about vegetarianism.  Perhaps they knew that it would be a good way to present the concept, which was still a very strange thing to most people in 1986. There's also some great musicianship on display on side B, especially the instrumental title track of the album.

With that, the record is over. I know it was abrupt, but it was quite a ride. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Until next time, listen to more records and go to more shows... music is life. 

Cheers!

-squirrel

Eno & Hyde - High Life

Hello Readers, welcome to Sunday Spins on this rainy Sunday evening in October.  Tonight I will be sipping a coffee that I absolutely love and is sort of special to me.  I'm drinking Dark Matter Coffee's Get The Fuck Out Of Bed. Not only is this a GREAT name for a coffee that's bold and flavorful (yet lacks the sharp edges sometimes associated with "strong" coffee), but it's inspired by, and made in collaboration with, Martin Atkins, who in addition to being an amazing drummer and true musical success story happens to be a really awesome person. I believe it was a limited edition coffee, but if they're still selling it I suggest getting some. *****I am not sponsored by or affiliated with Dark Matter, I just really like the coffee and want to support independent roasters who are doing cool things with beans*****

But I guess we're here to talk about a record.  This week's selection is a collaboration (just like the coffee... that was actually a coincidence... neat!) between Karl Hyde (best known for the band Underworld), and the Man, the Myth, the Legend.... Brian Eno (can you tell I'm a fan?!?), who is best known for being awesome.  Seriously, though, if you don't know Eno you should do yourself a solid and check out his stuff.

Honestly, I don't know anything about Karl Hyde.  I bought this record based solely on my love of Brian Eno's work (both behind the scenes and as an artists), especially the album he made with David Byrne of The Talking Heads several years before this album.  I wasn't disappointed.  Although when I'm in the mood for Eno I often reach for one of his solo records, this one is quite good as well.  Let's drop the needle and dive in.

One of the things I really like about this album is that while it maintains the cool experimental vibe that a fan would expect from Brian Eno, it's also quite accessible. It opens on the track "Return" with guitars, drums, and bass (building upon each other in that order) playing simple rhythms, the vocal melody is soothing yet melancholy. Any Catalog listener will come to find out that opening tracks mean a lot as far as my album experience goes, and this one definitely starts out well. What I love about it is throughout the nine-minute length of the song the sixteenth note guitar rhythm never stops.  It loops through the whole songs as other parts come and go, finishing in a swirl of looping synths and new rhythms that completely change the way the song sounds and feels by the time it's over.  Normally I wouldn't spend so much time on a single song here, but the thing is 9 minutes and I was still typing.

For a listener who is less into epic pieces of experimental looping, I would still suggest certain tracks on this album. "Slow Down, Sit Down, Breathe" (track 2) is still a loopy experiment, but it's shorter and more vocal driven.  In fact, the record is broken up into pairs of shorter songs and longer songs, with the exception of Side D which contains 2 songs at just under six and just under eight minutes. I guess what I'm saying is if this album sounds at all interesting but you're unsure about committing to multiple songs over 8 minutes, check out songs like "Slow Down, Sit Down, Breathe", "DBF", or "Moulded Life" before diving into a song like "Lilac", which in my opinion is the highlight of the album.  Clocking in at 9:24, it's the longest song here, and I love all 564 seconds of it. Again, you have loops that are maintained for the duration of the tune, broken up and reinvented by other layers of instruments and voice. It seems like it would make for a simplistic sonic palette, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  This album is full of depth and movement.  Every time I listen to it I hear something new.  Right now is actually the first time I've ever listened to it on headphones, and I'm kicking myself for not doing so before.  I've shut off everything but this music and these words.  The coffee is gone, and it's just us now. "Moulded Life" is currently making me want to get up and dance... that's right. I've been chilling this entire time, but at the end of Side B, it's time to boogie.

Side C... time to crack a beer.  How did it take me this long to realize I should drink a High Life while listening to High Life?  I don't know what's wrong with me.  The album really changes for me at this halfway point.  There are elements of Fusion, Disco, and Rock mixing together, there's a song where Eno and Hyde are both crediting as Backing Voice, but nobody appears to be singing lead. The whole thing starts to feel even more experimental, but in all the right ways.  Some experiments do fail, but not these.  I'm really digging the tremolo, glitchy, almost underwater sound of this Backing Voice.... and bring on the fuzzy synths.  I can't tell if it's being programmed to sound like that or if it's an old piece of analog gear with dirty electronics (in a good way).

"On a Grey Day", the first song on the final side of the record (only released on the vinyl version, from what I understand) brings things down to a chilly slow minimalistic mood that you expect from the title of the track. Personally, I wouldn't call it sad. The calm, introspective feel is continued through the "Cells & Bells", the album closer.

This album is actually quite a journey. The harmony vocals of "Cells & Bells" (words by poet Rick Holland) are filling my ears as I reflect on the last 45 or so minutes and think "Has it really only been 45 minutes?" Thank you for coming with me this evening. I hope you give this one a spin some Sunday.

Peace, Love, and Respect.
-squirrel

SPECIAL EDITION - Damn the Torpedoes

I don't intend to post here on Wednesdays, but I'm sitting down with a Boston Lager (not coffee... this is a completely different type of post), listening to some records, and thought I should say something about Tom Petty. I, like many others, was shocked by the news of his passing, and subsequent news that he was alive, then finally confirmation that he had indeed passed away.

Right as I was typing that, Tom sang "I should have known it was too good to last"... this week has been dull of moments like that for me.

Anyway... on to the record. There's no filler on this one. I seriously like every song. Not just because of T.P. and his super-cool vocal performance and undeniable songwriting talent, but all the Heartbreakers are on point on this recording. I really can't say much else right now except go listen to your favorite Tom Petty record and remember good times.

Here are my favorite tracks on this record:
Here Comes My Girl
Don't Do Me Like That
You Tell Me
Refugee
Century City

Until next time. Do cool shit. Listen to more records.

-squirrel

Psycho Original Film Score

It's Sunday, October 1st.  It's 53 degrees, the windows are open, and I have an iced coffee with a mermaid on it (not my typical drink, but I had a gift card). For this inaugural edition of Sunday Spins, and in celebration of my favorite month, I'm about to drop the needle on a record that combines my love for music with my love for horror.  Today we're listening to Bernard Herrmann's Original Film Score of the Hitchcock classic "Psycho". In some ways, this isn't at all what I intended for this blog, but the mood struck me to listen to this record, and that is exactly what I intended... to go wherever the mood and the music take me.

When most people think of both the film and the soundtrack they think of the iconic shower scene, but there's much more here to enjoy.  The Prelude to the film starts off with blood pumping rhythms that are occasionally joined by legato melodies.  Herrmann did an excellent job setting up these contrasting elements of the score right from the beginning.  There is some beautiful work going on during the setup of the film that is often overlooked. 

Much like the pacing of the film itself (and as a horror fan I miss this about the classics of the genre), after the initial excitement, we're brought to a place of peace.  This is when our characters have no idea the horrors they're about to face.  In this case, the score begins to give hints early on that something isn't right. The Prelude comes back into play as our leading lady leaves the city. At this point, if you couldn't tell by the name, you start to realize that something is looming just around the corner. The sounds are now going from creepy and morose to frantic. The themes from the Prelude are woven in and out, including some hints toward the well-known music that accompanies the shower scene.

At the end of side 1, Marion gets to the hotel, meets Norman, and checks into her room.  Some of the best moments of the record happen here. It's creepy, but not heavy-handed. There's room for the music, the characters, and the audience to breathe a little, but we all know something isn't quite right.

Side 2 starts with what you've all been waiting for.  The strings stab and scream as Marion meets her end. The low, powerful bass/cello parts between the screams of the high strings are just as impactful for me. 

From there we go to moments of profound sadness, then anxiousness and fear. As a listener, it feels like I'm going through Norman's process as he realizes what has happened. The soundtrack tells the story, but in a different way when experienced apart from the film.

It's no surprise to me as both a music fan and film buff that a masterpiece like "Psycho" would have a compelling, beautiful, soundtrack that can tell the story on its own (if you're less familiar with the film it helps to read the song titles). It's always a great experience for me to listen to this one. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend it.  If you haven't seen the movie (where have you been?), sorry for the spoilers but go watch it anyway.

Happy October, enjoy your week, do cool shit. I'll see you next Sunday.

-Squirrel