I was introduced to Nomo at my apartment, and it instantly took me back to the first time I had heard head hunters. I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since. I called my brother in New York to tell him about it. He was at work as I was describing them and did a quick search. “Ann Arbor, MI based post-afrobeat dance explosion?” he asked. Exactly. It would be impossible to review the album as a whole as each independent track has a unique flavor and texture to itself, but I can say that the juxtaposition of modern beat sampling, funk-inspired rhythms, thick and crunchy horn choruses, and sax solos makes Ghost Rock incredible. It definitely gives you a direct order to rock the fuck out.
Check the album here:
Just Part of the Family
Supposedly Built to Spill has been living in LA for the past couple of months recording their new album due out October 6th. Why they have not been playing a residency at Spaceland every Monday night is beyond me because lord knows I (and probably you) would have been there every week. But that is all in the past now, Built to Spill is scheduled to be playing a show at the newly reopened Galaxy Theater in Costa Mesa. I was shocked when I saw this but it is in fact true; Doug Martsch and team will be playing in the OC just following their Sunset Junction Street Fair performance.
Over the past three years, Built to Spill (both recorded and live) has come to mean more and more to me as time passes. I remember the first time I heard Perfect From Now On, I thought to myself good but not great. Well first impressions are often quite wrong because it is close to perfection in my estimation now. Another example, the first time I saw Built to Spill live was at the Anaheim House of Blues (shit venue fyi) when George Pants was desperately attempting to make me a believer in their sound. I just stood there during the show relatively unimpressed by this mild mannered Idahoan who chirped a sheepish “Thanks” after every song. Fast forward 4 years, I am tap-foot dancing, transfixed to their every move at a Henry Fonda show. Life is weird, sometimes you just are not ready to hear something until you are ready. My hope is that you will not be as stubborn as I once was and experience the magic yourself.
Here is a gift from the very night I realized the greatness of BTS live. Enjoy the appetizer prior to the main course.
Built to Spill – Live at Henry Fonda, LA 7.27.2007
I have 6 tickets to the show @ $28 a piece.
“[Deerhunter's] Rough edges have been sanded down into a far more digestible format. Psychedelic leanings which have threatened to spiral out of control remain, but now with its bittersweet underpinnings pushed to the surface.” [Drowned in Sound]
Homefield advantage bitches! This is one of those shows where I get so excited many people around me are concerned that I will blow my load too soon. I will get my hopes up and inevitably be let down. Here is the deal though, I get to be happy regardless from this day to that, so screw it if I am let down.
For those of you unfamiliar with Deerhunter, frontman Bradford Cox has produced some of the greatest records in modern time. He (like Jimi Hendrix) was placed here by God for a short time to rip our souls in half with musical pleasantries. Exaggerations, you ask? Probably. But nevertheless he did create my favorite album from 2008 “Let those who blind, Lead those who can see but cant feel” which doubles as the greatest album title ever. Both of his side projects: Atlas Sound and Lotus Plaza are equally as good. Cox has created something like 6 albums and 10 7″s over the course of 5 years. What other band can make these claims? Bottomline everyone who went to the show at the El Rey about a year ago was utterly satisfied.
In case you are on the fence, check out this footage from that show shot by resident TSS member JP to see how you feel about it. If that does not persuade you, check out OceanRain’s review of Deerhunter last full length album, Microcastle.
I got 6 tickets at $18 a piece. Someone should probably get more here.
To find results I made sure all albums were imported into iTunes (30gb total) and I rated (1-5 stars) each song. I then averaged out the ratings for each album giving bonuses for 5 stars and smaller bonuses for 4 stars. This took a while but most of the collection was in iTunes and 80% of the songs were already rated. I would say I changed about 15% of the ratings as I listened again. I AM A NERD!
As I went through my collection I noticed that the year 2005 was a great year for music. 2002 was my least favorite of the years. Not sure what that means to you, just an observation of my own collection.
Here they are, my top albums of 2000-2005
1. Wolf Parade: Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)
2. Rogue Wave: Descended Like Vultures (2005)
3. The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema (2005)
4. Broken Social Scene: Broken Social Scene (2005)
5. The Strokes: Is This It? (2001)
6. Brian Wilson: Smile (2004)
7. The Shins: Oh Inverted World (2001)
8. Modest Mouse: Moon & Antarctica (2000)
9. Pinback: Summer in Abaddon (2004)
10. Sleater-Kinney: The Woods (2005)
11. Stars: Set Yourself On Fire (2005)
12. Mark Eitzel: The Invisible Man (2001)
13. The Radio Dept.: Lesser Matters (2003)
14. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Clap your Hands Say Yeah (2005)
15. Elliot Smith: Figure 8(2000)
16. Kings of Convenience: Riot on Empty Street (2004)
17. Architecture in Helsinki: In Case We Die (2005)
18. The American Analog Set: Know By Heart (2001)
19. Liars: They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top (2002)
20. Okkervil River: Black Sheep Boy (2005)
21. M. Ward: Transfiguration of St. Vincent (2003)
22. Bloc Party: Silent Alarm (2005)
23. Sonic Youth: Murray Street (2002)
24. Arcade Fire: Funeral (2004)
25. The Twilight Singers: Twilight as Played by the Twilight Singers (2000)
Late Show notice:
Some of you have already had the pleasure of witnessing the Octopus Project once at a free show about a year ago at the Roxy, so you are familiar. For those of you who are not familiar, realize that this band is a musical version of the Jetsons cartoon being transported from the future to present day. I would describe them as electronic indie rock with few lyrics but great rythems. They are fun is the bottom line, little bit of dancing and a whole lot of grooving. They showcase a theremin for God’s sake…which is an instrument that converts vibration in the air into a sound, it is pretty amazing to watch live. Anyway check the video to see if you want to join. I got 5 tickets at $20 a piece.
