Tuddd's Muddd

7 Shows, 6 Days, 100+ Alcoholic Beverages, Edibles Galore, a Zip of Insane Upstate Outdoor, and Yes [drumroll pls], A FUCKING SPALDING. [PART I]

   

    [^heheheheh]

    So, recently, I attended 7 show in 6 days, as mentioned above.  Not too shabby a showing, if I do say so myself... in fact, that might actually be a personal record of some sort.  [On that tip, who th' fuck knows / cares.]  Over said 7 shows and 6 days, a ton of bands were seen (including Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Colin Stetson, Harvey Milk, Occultation, Fang Island, Hollerado, Monogold, Goes Cube, Austerity Program, Rosetta, Naam, Liquor Store, Wild Yaks), dangerous amounts of substances were consumed, acquaintances were renewed with old friends, and an unfair amount of fun was had.  Frankly, I have no clue how I managed to avoid getting really sick / throwing my back out / collapsing due to sheer exhaustion throughout this whole debacle because I'M REALLY FUCKING OLD.

    Anyway, deets onward: 

Goes Cube, Austerity Program, Rosetta and Naam at Studio at Webster Hall, Wednesday March 9, 2011

 

• Met up with my buddy Jimmy Dogshit for some booze (including appletinis, an unfortunate tradition of ours) and mediocre burgers at the Pour House.  Our waitress resembled a wholesomer version of British pornstar McKenzie Lee, whose work, coincidentally, I had, er, "enjoyed" just minutes before arriving at the Pour House.  SCHWING!
• Rolled up to Studio towards the end of Naam's set.  Wish I had more to report on these guys (because I've been told they're worthwhile), but sadly I don't.
• Rosetta was up next, and they underscored their reputation as being "the hardest band in the world to mic."  Their set at Santos in January opening up for Kylesa during one of the blizzards really converted me from "casual fan" to "ardent admirer who has no qualms shirking responsibilities to go out and see 'em on a random weeknight."  The sound sucked ass (I know, unusual for a Studio show) but the sweaty performance made up for it.
• Let me tell you, considering this was the first night of a planned HUGE fucking binge, you would think that I would've had the brains to actually take it easy on Night #1 instead of going balls to the wall.  But, as I have terrible judgment and generally do things ass-backwards, I wound up getting fucking SHITFACED.  Greyed out, and although I have no idea exactly how much booze I drank, I do know for a fact that I spent all $100 cash I had on me on booze at the show (mixed drinks were $6, beers were $4, and rock-bottom whiskey shots were also $4, so you do the fucking math), and wound up having to actually card my last two rock-bottom whiskey shots and beers.  And when I got home for some reason I had 7 empty plastic shot glasses in my pocket.  "THESE'LL COME IN HANDY!"  As mentioned earlier, a shabby performance by me this was not. 
• Austerity Program's set was next, and allow me to report (it ain't no secret): the house was thoroughly ROCKED.  They played the entirety of their fucking stellar EP from last year (#9 on last year's Best Albums list) as well as "Song 20" and... uhhhh... was that it?  Fuck, I don't remember, but let me tell ya, it sure makes for great drunken thrashing around.
• Goes Cube finished off the evening with exactly the type of skullfuckingly brutal performance that I've come to expect since I started seeing them live 5 years ago.  [Goddamn, how many times have I seen these guys live?  15?  20?  I'm not in Brooklyn at the time of this writing so I can't consult Tuddd Archives for the answer, but it's somewhere up there.  [edit: apparently it's 15 times, although that assumes that Tuddd Archives is actually accurate, which is highly unlikely.] Shee-itt.]  Anyway, their set drew liberally from what seemed like all of their most recent releases: 2009's Another Day Has Passed LP, last year's 7", the digital recording from Coextinction Recordings, and, of course, their forthcoming LP, In Tides and Drifts (which ain't out yet, but which, of course, I dorkily pre-ordered).  Since Goes Cube singer / guitarist David no longer lives in NYC, I was surprised at how insanely tight their set was, and the great sonics of the Studio space really highlighted Kenny's superb drumming and Matt's nimbly holding down the low end.  Obviously I'm a huge fan of these guys' music, and it was great to hear that this was the brand of fury they'd be truckin' down to SXSW.  RAWK.
• Anyway, tried to spit game with two Norwegian (uh, I think?) chicks post-show / failed miserably / wound up drinking Heinekens in the back of a cab during the ride home.  Woo Fucking Hoo.  Woke up the next morning with a head-splitting hangover (and a vexing case of bangover ta boot). 

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Liquor Store at Death by Audio, Thursday, March 10, 2011

 

Nuff.  Fucking.  Said.

Friday, March 11th: Monogold at Glasslands AND Fang Island at Bowery Ballroom.

--and--

 

    Two shows in one night?!?  Why, that's just FUCKING BONKERS!!!!! 

    Well, not really.  Actually it's more about the combination of lucky scheduling and way too much time on my hands than anything else.  But nonetheless, I'm not exactly sure when was the last time that I pulled off two shows in one day.  Hmmmm.  Possibly it might have been in September '06 when I saw Mastodon at Webster Hall early, then Comets on Fire at Knitting Factory late.  Not gonna lie, that was pretty fucking badass.  ('Twas a good day indeed.)  Anyhow, the way this night shook out, I already had tix for Fang Island at Bowery, but I figured out I'd check out Monogold's early opening set at Glasslands before heading in to Manhattan, knowing that Monogold would be setting out in the van and driving down towards South by Southwest literally the moment their set was over.  Good shit.

    I first saw Monogold's live show at their Public Assembly record release show in mid-January - holy shitballs are they a good band, and man, was that a fun night.  They have a "current"-ish Williamsburg indie pop sound without the gayness of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart or Grizzly Bear or whoever,  while creating well-crafted, tuneful music that makes the kids want to shake they shit.  I've also been enjoying the bejeezus out of their newest album, The Softest Glow, as a nice change of pace from the usual steady diet of Melvins>Sleep>Melvins>Sleep>Melvins>Sleep playlist that more often than not can be found blaring out of my car stereo. 

    Monogold's set on this night was great, as it was the first time I saw 'em.  Frankly, they're another band that proves that I Don't Know Jack Shit About What Makes Music Popular, because they should be fucking huge.  My personal favorites from the set were "Dead Sea Minerals" and "Ivory Tusk, Golden Teeth"... check below for studio versions of these two sick motherfuckin' jams:

 

 

    I wished the gents my best on their SXSW journey and basically ran the fuck out of Glasslands the moment their set was done, heading southward back to my apartment briefly to crush a couple bowls of dank.  Sadly, this brief (yet hyper-necessary) dalliance meant that I'd get to Bowery towards the end of opening band Hollerado's set, which I regretted; I'd seen them open up for (and blow away) Black Lips (who fucking blow) in this same room in September '07.  Anyway, by the time I stumbled into Bowery, Hollerado was in the middle of a positively rippin' jam based on ZZ Top's "La Grange," and they looked to be having a great fucking time... again, I wish I had made it there a bit earlier, goddamn it. 

    Snuck way up front amongst the assembled 12 year-olds for Fang Island's set.  Of course, I'm on record as being a Fang Island booster from way back in the day.  Don't believe me?  Here's a short, sweet, and to the the point list of accolades I've heaped on these guys:

• First time I saw them live, in December '08, I wrote a glowing review.  [Read that shit.]
• Second time I saw them live, in April '10 at Maxwell's, uhhhhh... looks like I didn't write them up or anything that time around, but my buddy Devin shot this video of "Daisy" at the show.  Honest Injun.
• When it came time compile a list of my favorite songs of oh ten, Fang Island scored the year's top slot, with an unprecendented *four* songs in the Top 25.  Impressive!
• And, as befitting an album with so many fantastic songs, Fang Island's Fang Island topped my "Best Albums of 2010" list.   

Right on cue, this night's Fang Island set did not disappoint.  In fact, my only real complaint about the previous two times I'd seen them -- sour vocals -- seems to have been largely remedied.  And the larger Bowery stage allowed the three guitarists to bust out some hilariously over the top ARENA RAWK stage moves.  The setlist consted of most of Fang Island (YAY!), with few older ones and one new one thrown in... I was hoping they'd have six Andrew W.K.s come out to reprise his glorious operatic vocal coda from "Patterns on the Wall" but alas it wasn't to be... but even without that highly unlikely occurrence going down, this was one of the finest sets that I've seen all year. 

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OK, dank-time.  I will try to get a post up about Saturday / Sunday / Monday's shows and goings on but I can't promise anything... heading to Costa Rica on Wednesday for what's sure to be the Douchiest Bachelor Party Ever With the Douchiest Group of Douches That Ever Douched.  Tuddd out.

 

The Best Albums of 2010

"Another year has come and passed.

Quick, you poo stabber!  Bring on '11 fast!" [shakes fist at God]

--Maya Angelou

    So, another shitty year!  Here's a list of crappy shit that happened to me this year. much of which I've already bitched about on this blog:

--Big, scary fire at my mom's house, during which mom awoke on top of a BURNING MATTRESS and was lucky to escape unharmed.  Alas, the business that I run out of mom's house wasn't so fortunate. 

--My car was broken into twice.

--A third time that my car was broken into, it was stolen by some punk-ass neighborhood kids who tried to extort $$$ out of me before giving the car back.  Eventually I wound up stealing the car back from these brainless pieces of shit before the cops informed me that since they were too fucking stupid to figure out how to register the car as "unstolen," it was probable that I would be arrested at gunpoint for DRIVING MY OWN CAR. 

--Apartment was robbed; they grabbed my poor roommate's computer, a pile of unused MetroCards which I had accumulated while volunteering last year, and, um, some of my "saucies" in addition to grabbing my car keys, thus leading to the above automobile thievery.  Motherfuckers. 

--Was informed that if I want to cure my extremely severe case of sleep apnea, I would likely need to undergo a surgical procedure wherein the doctor would basically rip the lower part of my face off, break my jaw, and insert an extension and screws into said jaw before a 7 month healing period characterized by "at times excruciating pain" and "inability to chew [my] own food."  Where do I sign up?!

--Got mugged. 

--Cliff Lee chose the City of Brotherly Love/inhumanly awful, despicably heartless, projectile vomiting white trash over the Big Apple.  God fucking dammit!

--Had over a grand swiped out of my checking account when someone stole my ATM card at my birthday party. 

--Perhaps worst of all, no Cheeseburger album this year, despite the fact that they supposedly have one all recorded and ready to go.  Seriously, have you heard any of the garbage that kids are listening to these days?  Rock and Roll ain't gonna save itself.  GET ON THAT SHIT DUDES!

--Friends came, friends went, and still yet another friend set out on an absurdly improbable (yet also absurdly awesome) journey of self-discovery.  To those that stuck around, I love you all.  To the lousy chickenshit assholes who didn't, please feel free to sit on one of these and rotate. 

    Well now!  List time.  Here's the rules and assorted deets.

• This is not an "all the albums I heard in '10 ordered from best to worst" list.  No way Jose.  These are the cream of the crop from the 90+ new albums I heard this year.
• This list only includes albums and EPs from the calendar year 2010.  I can't stress that enough, people.  Thus, reissues, singles, and compilations of previously-released/widely available stuff are disqualified.
• No, I didn't accidentally leave the Deerhunter album off the list.  The Deerhunter album is, in fact, horrible.
• Oh Don Piano.

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1.) Fang Island - Fang Island -- Ladies and gentlemen, set your serotonin glands to "monsoon!"  For those of us jaded bastards unaccustomed to the unconditional, massive outpouring of joy that's found on Fang Island, it may seem at first like there just has to be a catch somewhere.  The pixie dust has to wear off at some point, no?  I mean, did they spring fully-formed from Rick Nielsen's 5-neck?  Did they collectively make a deal with some sort of bizarro demon that allows them only to create perfect, fizzy, euphoric poppy prog-metal?  Or, alternately, are they *gasp* a Christian rock band? 

Fortunately not.  They are, however, a synthesis of some blue-chip musical acts: the fist-pumpin', arena-ready melodicism of Cheap Trick; the AOR prog arrangements (and sometimes-goofy synths) of Rush; the sheer joy of a Phish "Harry Hood" jam.  Moreover, they're able to transcend the seemingly obligatory navel gazing of most indie acts by unabashedly going for the home run ball where most indie "rockers" are okay with a sac bunt.  As such, if these guys don't have a major label deal by the next few months I will be very, very surprised.     

In closing, if you dislike this Fang Island album, you dislike joy.  That is all.

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2.) Beach House - Teen Dream -- Although I've liked much of Beach House's previous material, this album is the great leap forward that establishes Beach House as one of the world's finest bands.  Seriously.  Admittedly, there's a limited sonic palette that a band can traverse when their instrumentation consists simply of voice, guitar and piano, but there's more at play here thematically and texturally than one might originally notice at first listen.  [And more importantly, what a voice it is.] 

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3.) Gorillaz - Plastic Beach -- As someone with very little interest in/knowledge of all things hip hop, I would imagine that this album has pretty much all the hallmarks of a successful hip hop mixtape.  You have humor ("Superfast Jellyfish" is flat-out hilarious); guest spots both arresting (Bobby Womack on "Stylo") and super cool (Lou Reed's 'luded out turn on "Some Kind of Nature"); and flawless production (everywhere, but probably most notably the synths on "Glitter Freeze" and "Empire Ants").   

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4.) Marnie Stern - Marnie Stern -- On her third full-length, the femme fatale of fingertapping takes such a huge step forward that she nearly renders her previous output totally obsolete.  [Not really, but check it --  this is a really good album.]  The real improvements come not only in the songwriting, but also in the dynamics: would either of her previous albums have ventured into the self-assured stomp of "Her Confidence" or the rich emotional territory of the album-closing "The Things You Notice"?  Prob'ly not.  Of course, this is not to say that this an album of slow jams - in fact far from it - songs like "Cinco de Mayo" and "Gimme" still have the over-caffeinated freaky prog Stern's best known for. 

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5.) Mogwai - Special Moves (bonus edition) -- Yes, I know that I tend to like live albums more than most folks do, but if the idea of what basically amounts to a "best-of live" outing doesn't appeal to you, then it's doubtful you're a fan of the band in question.  Of course, I could have lived with a couple more tracks from '06's ridiculously underrated Mr. Beast, but then again that's my solution to everything.  Bonus points because I was actually at one of the three shows (at Music Hall of Williamsburg in April '09) that supplied the material for this release. 

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6.) Melvins - The Bride Screamed Murder -- Although the first two Melvins albums with Big Business' Jared and Coady were lean, mean riffin' machines, some longtime fans didn't really care for the perceived streamlining of the Melvins sound, presumably preferring some more typical Melvins "weirdness" weaved in n' out of the non-stop riffage.  I am not necessarily one of those people.  Personally, I thought (A) Senile Animal and Nude With Boots were the best things they'd done in the new millennium, but what do I know.  Anyway, The Bride Screamed Murder has plenty to satisfy both camps.  If you like experimental stuff, you've got Marine Corps-style marching chants, an impossibly sludgy cover of the Who's "My Generation," weird l'il interludes, and a lengthy sound collage at the end of the album.  And if you just like it when the Melvins rock the fuck out, songs like "Electric Flower" and especially the colossal "Pig House" will peel the paint off your house.

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7.) Liquor Store - Suckin on Mommy's Dick -- No, this album does not exist, since all Liquor Store has to their name release-wise is a 7" of "Trash Sandwich" b/w "Free Pizza."  But if it did exist, it would have likely beaten the everloving fuck out of most of the other namby pamby bullshit that came out this year. 

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8.) Holy Fuck - Latin -- Although this album has nothing as immediately great as LP's "Lovely Allen" or "Royal Gregory" (although "Silva and Grimes" and "Stay Lit" come close), Latin's seamless flow between tracks leads the listener through an intensely hypnotic soundscape.  [A plug for their live show: Holy Fuck are incredible live so get off yer ass and see them live when they come to your neck of the woods.]

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9.) The Austerity Program - Backsliders and Apostates Will Burn EP -- It's pretty rare that a band's live intensity is matched EXACTLY by its recorded output, but these guys' brutal arrangements and Albini-like recording techniques result in an album that practially reeks of blood, sweat and tears.  [No, not the band.]

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10.) Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky -- Embarrassingly, this is my first real exposure to Swans, other than a handful of tracks heard here and there.  Which is inexcusable, because this album to me sounds like a cross between Glenn Branca, Can's weightier stuff, Leonard Cohen and Harvey Milk, with some Tom Waits thrown in.  Terrifying and creepy and cacophonous and very unpleasant.   

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11.) Sleigh Bells - Treats -- You know what?  I like eMusic's review of this album so much that I'm just going to steal it. "The hip-hop beats sputter like someone dropped a boombox in a swimming pool. The gloriously cheeseball riffage could've been dubbed off an old Van Halen cassette. It's cheerleader music for punks. It's punk music for cheerleaders."  Right on. 

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12.) Metallica - Live at Grimey's -- The night before showing up at Bonnaroo, Metallica recorded this l'il tidbit in the basement of a Nashville record store, with the brief setlist comprising mostly songs from Metallica's "Before We Sucked" golden period.  Of course, I love a good live album as much as anyone, and I appreciate that Metallica made this available for purchase only at indie record stores, and all that happy horseshit.  What I think is self-parodyingly retarded was the grassroots campaign by internet Metallifans rabidly imploring people to "support Metallica by buying this limited release!!!11!1"  Yeah, you know what?  It really is about time that a little underdog indie act like Metallica got some support after years of toiling in obscurity.  Jackasses. 

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13.) Torche - Songs for Singles EP -- Superlative Sun State sludge supastahz pick up where '08's ridiculously good Meanderthal left off on this EP that somehow manages to leave a smile on yer fat face at the same time that it's bludgeoning you over the head with super duper riffs galore.  Now, if you're not used to sludgy music that has a sense of humor, fear not: watch the hilariously adorable official video for the song UFO for a quick primer on what makes Torche so great.

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14.) Kylesa - Spiral Shadow -- For all the brainless "hipster metal" crowing that this band endures, you'd think that they'd co-written these songs with Devendra and paid Sufjan to contribute melodica arrangements.  Well, they didn't, and there are moments on this album that straight fucking crush, as well as some much more textural stuff, supposedly influenced by the band's newfound love of Built to Spill.

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15.) Melvins - Melvins EP -- Gotta love the "quality material-to-crap" ratio on this one.  Includes three tracks.  The first: 8+ minute of the Wipers "Youth of America"/AWESOME.  The second: extended version of the ubercreepy "Dies Iraea" (a/k/a cover of the theme from The Shining) from Nude With Boots/AWESOME.  And the third: remix of "It Tastes Better Than the Truth" from the same album/MEH.  Well, you know what The Single Greatest Musical Artist In the History of Recorded Music has to say about that: .66666666666 repeating is none too shabby.

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16.) Bad Religion - 30 Years Live -- There are a few old chestnuts (think pre-All Ages) on this one, but I for one am impressed that the inventors of "melodic hardcore" managed to cobble together a decent live set like this one that so heavily features a lot of newer stuff.  If you're one of those people that thinks Bad Religion has been just releasing the same album for the last 16 years, it's doubtful this will do much to sway your opinion, but if you're not an asshole you should enjoy this. 

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17.) Harvey Milk - A Small Turn of Human Kindness -- For a band that's so distinctly steeped in creating artfully disturbing sludge, this album can be considered a bit of a career highlight (or lowlight).  Yes, here we have huge, steaming pile of unpleasantness, completely inappropriate for anyone who spends less than half their day plotting the deaths of themselves/others. 

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18.) Jonsi - Go --  If you favored the fruity felicity of the last Sigur Ros album, feel free to felch yourself with this frilly, fanciful, frolicy fudge-factory. 

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19.) The Thermals - Personal Life -- The most humorless and blatantly emo album that the Thermals have ever put out is also *SURPRISE* the worst album the Thermals have ever put out.  But it's still decent.  It's really to the band's credit that they're able to take a group of songs which aren't among their best, which are essentially about loathing/distrusting your significant other, and make it at least somewhat listenable. 

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20.) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs -- So, let me get this straight: in order to show how dreary, dull, and stifled suburban life is, Arcade Fire actually managed to write an album that is, for the most part, dreary, dull and stifled-sounding?  Huh.  Although this is pretty damn far from being a great album (and not even in the same species as Funeral or Neon Bible), you still have two legitimately great songs ("Sprawl II" and "Half Light II"), a few damn good ones ("We Used to Wait," "Rococo" and "Suburban War") and some near misses.  While Arcade Fire's first two full-lengths used depressing topics as the springboard for some of the best music of the millennium, Win n' Regine may need to mix it up a little.  Y'know, maybe write happy songs about happier stuff.  Hey, I got it!  Maybe Arcade Fire's next release should be written about this year's Fang Island album!  Yeah!  [crickets]

A Nod From Austerity Program

hahahhhahaha "Crazy / Wonderful" indeed - thanks guys

 

Goes Cube record release show Thursday May 14th! Studio at Webster Hall!

       

    Thursday night's Goes Cube show is a special one, for many reasons.  At the moment, I'm too groggy to organize said reasons into coherent paragraphs, so let's go with some ever-popular, easily digestible, fucking adorable bullet points:

• Goes Cube's new record, Another Day Has Passed was released on Tuesday.  Full disclosure: no, I haven't heard the album yet, but having caught over half of the album's songs in the live setting, I can personally verify its awesomeness.  [check below for some righteous-ass mp3s.]  Seriously, come on out and buy a copy, you poser.
• This is the first show of Goes Cube's cross-country trek supporting said record, and the first time they've played at The Studio at Webster Hall.  Celebrate that shit!
• All kinds of great bands, with Austerity Program and Jones Street Station performing, in addition to Constants and Red Beard.  
• Last time I saw Goes Cube was about a month ago at The Charleston, and they were white-hot.  They've always been sick live but the speed, precision and confidence with which they're playing right now is flat-out fucking unreal. 
• I've written up Austerity Program a few times here on the Muddd (they're one of my favorite bands), and having seen them twice already this year (but really, who's counting), I can report that they're also on top of their game.
• Drinking alcohol is fun, especially when you're watching excellent live music.
• Perhaps most importantly, as covered here, this will be Goes Cube bassist Matt's final show performing with the band.  Matt, you will be missed!

Download Goes Cube - Grinding The Knife Blade

~and~

Download Goes Cube - The Only Daughter

Austerity Program with Tournament and Wet Nurse tonight at Union Pool!!!!!!!

The Austerity Program have a show tonight at Union Pool... here's a review I posted of one of their shows from last summer.  I had never even heard of these guys until a year ago and they've quickly become one of my favorite bands... a quick scan of Tuddd Archives reveals that I've actually seen these guys live at least 6 times since last May, including once a few weeks ago (here's some pics from that show).  They're working on a new EP and the new shit sounds fucking fantastic.

Wet Nurse and Tournament are also playing, and I having seen them both live I recommend them highly as well.  Seriously, it's fucking hot out and you're going to be sweating your ass off no matter what you're doing, so why not come out and thrash at Union Pool while swillin' PBRs?  See you there.

Tuddd sighting!!!11!!!

Here.

Go down to the Austerity Program pics, look at the third pic down, and look for the fat dude with the weird shaped head.

Catchin' Up With the Blog yet again

    Ah, the weather is getting nice again and I'm starting to remember why I love my neighborhood so much.  Schoolkids are running around in the streets loudly debating the pungency of one another's genitals; the Ice Cream Truck Jingle (which I'm actually a fan of) is already soldered into my skull where it shall remain for the next 4+ months; 60 year old dudes can be found stumbling around the block smoking blunts; drunk black dudes fly by on bicycles insulting random passersby; and perhaps most importantly, "special deliveries" are transacted courteously, comfortably and efficiently. 

    Again it's been awhile since I've updated said Muddd, but I ain't dead yet.  I've been taking it easy the last couple weeks after what has been an unusually toxic year up until this point.  Also, earlier in the month I traveled to Atlantic City (impossible to enjoy this place without drugs/fortunately I had some), Virginia (beautiful, especially the ships) and Durham (rainy) so it's nice to hunker down and get back to the essentials -- namely smoking weed and being antisocial. 

    Also, it's a good time for me to issue some, um, "updates" to last year's Best Of lists (albums and songs), so let's get these belated mea culpas out of the way first.  "But Tuddd," you plead, "yer livin' in the past!  We want to hear about new shit!"  Sadly, we're almost done with March and the New Yeah Yeah Yeahs is the first really, really good record I've heard all year.  Fear not, I thought '07 got off to a shitty start too and we still wound up with a ton of gooduns when all was said and done.  Anyway,  

• All thru '08, I avoided hearing the Titus Andronicus album mainly because of comparisons to Conor Oberst (of whom I'm not a fan) and various emo bands.  Well, it turns out I fucked up-- the Titus Andronicus album is probably the best album from '08.  Yeah, I'm'a need a mulligan on that one, thanks.
• Also, I totally whiffed in leaving Harvey Milk's Life... The Best Game in Town off of the aforementioned list.  In this case, I had actually heard the album during '08 proper (and several times at that) but I somehow retardedly managed to miss giving it a numerical ranking on the spreadsheet I was using to rank albums.  Let this be a warning to all fellow hack music bloggers: (underwhelming) music journalism and spreadsheets do not mix.  FWIW it's one of the 10 best albums from '08 I've heard.
• Missed the boat on Hercules and Love Affair, too.  Shee-it.
• In my (admittedly gay) quest to trendily update my library of garagey shit, I came across a fucking awesome compilation of female-fronted Dutch garage/psych bands, called From the Kitchen to the Garage and available from Distortions Records here (it's the third one down).  Normally I don't post links prompting people to buy shit, but 1.) it's awesome and 2.) it's only 7 friggin' dollars.  Definitely the first album I've heard from the Distortion imprint, but I doubt it will be the last.  I have no idea if this actually came out in '08, but if it did, it too would have been easily in the year's top 10. 
• I'm liking Microcastle better and better, but I still think Weird Era kind of blows.
• On the aforementioned Best Songs list, I totally left several great songs off that I didn't hear until after I wrote the list.  These include: a lot of the Titus Andronicus album, a few off Harvey Milk's record, the same two that everyone likes from Hercules and Love Affair, "Afgrunden" from Sune Rose Wagner (of the Raveonettes, of course)'s solo debut, Pyramids' "The Echo of Something Lovely," "That's Not My Name" by the Ting Tings, and, um, Usher's "Love in this Club." For some reason, this makes me want to cry with joy. 

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        Here's a brief rundown of the albums I've heard so far in '09.  Yes, I'm markedly behind last year's pace, but there's still a ton of good stuff I'm looking forward to.  I'll try to get a decent "Still To Come in '09" list posted before I go away for the weekend.

    1- Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz -- I've only owned this album for 5 hours so this may be premature, but I think this is the best thing the YYY's have ever put out.  I thought their '07 EP, Is Is was their best effort to date (great songwriting and production) but this likely tops it.  Although a few of the songs are marred by repetitive phrasing, there's undoubtedly some really pretty songs on this. 

    2- Dan Deacon - Bromst -- lots more heart and depth than his Spiderman of the Rings breakthru. 

    3- Heartless Bastards - The Mountain -- Face it, it's tough for a white chick to sing soulfully without sounding cheesy, but the vocals (and primal guitar playing) of frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom make me long for a Black Keys/Heartless Bastards double bill.

    4- Death - ...For the Whole World to See -- A set of mostly unreleased protopunk songs by this trio of Detroit siblings, recorded in the mid '70s.  "Politicians in My Eyes" and "Keep on Knockin'" are the best two on here.  Read this New York Times article for the full story.

    5- Dead Mellotron - Ghost Light Constellation EP -- Pretty sure this Monroe, Louisiana band friended me on MySpace, where this album is available for free download, which is how I heard of 'em.  The best songs on here are done in kind of a fuzzy garage-ambient-trance-shoegaze style, which can lend itself to absolute awesomeness under the right circumstances.  Bonus points for choosing the right song to cover in Beach House's "Saltwater."

    6- Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion -- So far I'm only enjoying this as background music at a chatty party, for example.  Obviously warrants more listens.

    7- Boston Spaceships - The Planets Are Blasted -- Also needs many more listens, although this might be Uncle Bob's strongest (non-archival) effort since 2006's Normal Happiness. 

    8- These Arms Are Snakes - Tail Swallower and Dove -- Love the lead track "Woolen Heirs," and "Ethric Double" boasts the best heavy groove of the year.

    9- Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand -- The single's the only memorable song, IMHO.

    10- Wavves - Wavvves -- Whatever, I'm old.  I don't have to pretend to enjoy this crap.

    11- The Soft Pack -- The Muslims -- Sure, I'm spoiled when it comes to sloppy garage stuff, but this album is nothing special.

    12- Nodzzz -- Nodzzz -- If you're into bands like Vivian Girls, ca-USE! co-MOTION! and the Beets, you'll eat this up.  Otherwise, you'll find it pretty generic. 

    (No, I haven't heard the new Mastodon yet... I'm waiting to blast it in my car on the way down to Pennsylvania for a wedding this weekend.)

---------------

    Finally, yes, I know I've been slacking on seeing shows this year; I'm only up to 17 so far, which is pretty piss poor.  That being said, barring random testicular electrocution (always a possibility) I plan on attending tomorrow (4/1)'s whiplash-inducing show at Europa, starring the mighty Young Widows (seen 'em several times, they're great), Tournament (saw 'em a couple years ago with Baroness and Atakke at Don Pedros/they shred) and Austerity Program (one of my faves).  Good times. 

    All right, gotta go.  Muddd outward and such.

Go See Austerity Program and Goes Cube at Bell House This Weekend!!!!

   

The Austerity Program

Goes Cube

    Imagine my joy when I noticed that Goes Cube and Austerity Program -- two of my very favorite Brooklyn bands, and two bands about whom I've written quite a bit about here on the Muddd -- would both be performing on the same bill at the Bell House this weekend.

    Now, imagine my misery when I realized that I'd be totally missing out on this dream bill because I'll be in DC for the weekend for a bachelor party.  Grrrrrr.

    I've been tooting Goes Cube's horn here on the Muddd ever since the first time I saw them a little over a year ago at Bowery and every time I've brought a friend to see them live, said friend(s) have left the show an absolute convert.  I've since seen them at least six more times, even once going so far as to literally run out of a King Crimson concert so I wouldn't miss their Union Pool show in mid-August.  I dug their first EP, Beckon the Dagger God, and their most recent offering, the Not What We Thought EP, is the best "heavy" record I've heard so far this year... yes, better than Torche, Boris, Meshuggah, Russian Circles, Krallice, Harvey Milk, even the mighty Early Man... I could go on.  If you've seen Goes Cube before, they have a formidable ever-growing stable of new songs including "Gravestones Like Chess Pieces," "Sob Sonnet" and "Sorry, Were You Sleeping?" that will have your head bangin' well after they've left the stage.  If you've never seen these guys live, here's your chance.  I promise you won't be disappointed. 

    As for the mighty Austerity Program, I first got turned on to them when I saw their set in May as the first band on a Pelican/Priestbird superbill, and I've gone out of my way to catch them several times since then.  These guys bring the heavy like few other bands out there, mixing razor-sharp precision with a brutally awesome performance style.  I reviewed one of their more recent sets here, so check that out if yer into superlatives.  Fucking amazing.  While you're at the show, pick up a copy of their '07 Hydra Head release Black Madonna... had I heard that album in time to include it on my Best of '07 it would have been top 10 with a bullet.

    What's more, a portion of the proceeds from this show will go to helping NYC's underfunded public schools.  So you can help the world at the same time you're giving your ears an indoctrination into all things loud and awesome.

    Here's the info:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4TH at
THE BELL HOUSE (new venue on 7th St between 2nd and 3rd ave, on the banks of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn)
The Culture Of Me presents...
THE AUSTERITY PROGRAM
GOES CUBE
CRACKULA
BATILLUS
to benefit underfunded NYC public schools.
only $5

Boris with Torche and Clouds at Webster Hall, July 10th, 2008

    Just got back from the Boris show... holy fuckin' shit does my back hurt.

    First off, a big thumbs down to Webster Hall/Ticketmaster for advertising tonight's show as being 7 PM doors (for which one logically assumes an 8 PM showtime)... both Webster Hall's website and (more importantly) the ticket had the wrong info.  When I rolled up to the venue tonight at about quarter after 7 I was informed that doors were at 6 PM and that the first band had gone on at 7.  Oh, fudgesicles. 

    So consequently I wound up missing the first half of Clouds' set.  When I walked into the room I knew by their twin Les Paul attack that this wasn't going to be some hipster metal irony fest -- these guys came to rock.  I knew nothing about them before today, but I liked what I heard: they kind of sounded like Panthers, or maybe like a more hardcore Priestess or Bad Wizard.  They seemed good-natured about playing for "the early crowd" and in turn the audience was fairly receptive. 

    Up next was Torche, who I hadn't seen live since '06 when they were supporting Mogwai.  Their new album, Meanderthal, is pretty great, being the second-best "heavy" record I've heard this year, just behind Goes Cube's awesome Not What We Thought EP.  These guys took the stage a little before 8 and treated the crowd to some seriously punishing material, much of it from the new album, with the highlight (for me, at least) being the super-catchy "Across the Shields." 

    Between sets I noticed Justin from The Austerity Program (read this for my brief-yet-thorough take on that fine band) was in attendance, so I chatted him up about the availability of their excellent new single, "Song 20 (The River)" which is out on 7".  I was wondering if it would be coming to iTunes any time soon, which doesn't seem too likely, although if you buy the 7" here you get directions on how to download mp3s of the songs, so that's cool.  Of couse during said conversation I was actually wearing an Austerity Program tee shirt, so I'm officially the biggest dork in the room. 

    Boris came on, and I knew two expect two things: 1.) asskicking metal goodness running the gamut from breakneck speed metal to ethereal drones, and 2.) my back would give out, forcing me to leave the show early.  This is the fourth time I've seen Boris live (Sept. '06 at Northsix, Oct. '07 at Music Hall of Williamsburg, this March at Knitting Factory and tonight, duh) and the fourth time out of four that, yup, both of those things happened. 

    The set itself was great.  Michio Kurihara was guesting, which for me is a positive in that his guitar playing is phenomenal, ranging from wah-wah stompin' to chunky, inventive chords to masterful control over his distortion and feedback.  The negative is that on many songs it reduces Wata's contributions to  practically nil.  And with Webster Hall's reputation for atrocious sound mixes... yeah.  (Case in point: the bass was barely audible all night.  Seriously man, if you're the sound guy how do you not notice and fix this immediately?!)

    They started off with the psychedelic "Flower Sun Rain" from their recent Smile LP, before shooting into a mini-set of thrashing fury: "Buzz-In," "Laser Beam," the title Track from '06's stellar Pink and "Statement."  The action in the pit was pretty wild, as always consisting mainly of overexcited tweens and terrified, bearded fatasses caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Next we got a song which reminded me a lot of Queens of the Stone Age's "Avon," which despite me having no idea what the fuck it was was probably the set's highlight for me.  What a riff!  Next came "My Neighbor Satan," probably Smile's high water mark, with the live effort replacing the album version's dubby trippiness with a bonecrushing three guitar attack.  Sadly, this is the point at which my back pain became too excruciating for me to concentrate on the music... I do remember that they played another song before "You Were Holding an Umbrella," and I left during what sounded to me like "[ ]" but honestly I don't remember. 

    So yeah, same as always for me at a Boris show: great music, lots of pain.  So it goes. 

-----------

    Not sure what my deal is this weekend but if I had to place a bet I'd wager on Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson at Glasslands tomorrow night, free Goes Cube/Giraffes show at McCarren on Saturday during the day, and the free Breeders show on Sunday, also at McCarren.  'Til next time, TudddMerica! 

Russian Circles with Daughters and The Austerity Program at Music Hall of Williamsburg, June 29, 2008

    What a great fuckin' show, quite possibly only rivaled thus far in '08 amongst other metal concerts by the early May triple bill of Pelican/Priestbird/The Austerity Program.  You may notice that The Austerity Program performed at both of these great shows, and it's certainly no coincidence.

    I've been meaning to write something about The Austerity Program for nearly two full months, ever since the Pelican/Priestbird show.  It's pretty rare that a band I've never even heard of before (odd, considering that they're on Hydra Head) totally blows me away with their live show.  Honestly, I have to go back about a year ago to the first time I saw Hull where my "who?"s turned to "awesome"s so quickly.  These guys manage to mix Helmet's brutality with Wetton-era Crimson's devotion to precision, while giving off a sweaty, workmanlike Dischord-ish vibe.  And as a two-piece, accompanied by a drum machine programmed to near-Meshugga levels of insane complexity, the intensity really shines through.  Basically, if you've always liked Shellac but thought to yourself "hot damn, I wish these guys were way heavier," then these guys will be right up your alley.  I didn't hear their '07 release, Black Madonna, until recently so it didn't make my 2007 Best-of Albums List but if I were to rewrite that sumbitch today Black Madonna would be top 10 easily.

    But yeah, since the Pelican show I've gone out of my way to make sure to catch any and all live sets by these guys.  Saw 'em at the After the Jump festival a couple weekends ago, then at Union Pool a couple of days later, and then finally again at this show.  And after a fairly quick indoctrination into all things Austerity Program, I can wholeheartedly announce that along with Cheeseburger, Goes Cube, Hull, and a few others, The Austerity Program can definitely stake a serious claim to being the very best live band in New York. 

    On this night, when they took the stage there were less than 30 people in the room (not counting the drum machine), but gradually the room began to fill up, undoubtedly as those sitting in the basement bar were intrigued by the bludgeoning cacophony they were missing upstairs.  After blasting through a breaking-walnuts-with-yer-asscheeks-tight version of their "Song 20" (newly released on 7") and going into "Song 12," they blew a fuse and had to make up the time with amusing banter ("blame the drummer!" shouted one crowdmember) before shooting right back into the set.  If I remember correctly we also got "Song 18" and "Song 19" and "Song 17A".  The crowd definitely dug the set which was a nice contrast to the sparsely attended After the Jump set (which was in the same room).  Hopefully in the coming months these guys will be able to find time in spite of their day jobs to perform more local shows.  Uh, and work on their movie.

    I didn't know much about the following band, Daughters, and their set was nothing if not eye-opening.  Musically, they reminded me of stuff like An Albatross or Ex-Models, but their performance style was like a more demented Pissed Jeans, bordering on performance art.  Lots of spitting and drooling, with the vocalist eventually stripping down to his briefs and directing his drool/spit towards band members, oddly appreciative crowd members, and his own genitals.  And the singer took time to scold crowd members for doing the "twirling arms and legs menacingly" mosh pit dance.  (Remember "Kicky Guy?" Not bloody likely, but it was amusing to hear his ideological brethren called out for being a bunch of faggy douchefucks.)

    Up next was Russian Circles, a band whose praises have been sung 'round these parts for quite some time.  Their debut, Enter, made the top 5 of my Best Albums of '06 list and their set in February with Dalek at Mercury Lounge was part of one of the ten best shows I've seen thus far in '08.  Again, they did not disappoint, playing a similar set to that which I'd seen in February: a bunch of jams off their fine new one, Station, as well as "Carpe" and "Death Rides a Horse" from Enter.  As far as I'm concerned, as far as post-metal/post-rock hybrids, the only band that compares to Russian Circles is the mighty Pelican.  Sadly, the crowd was dotted with total dickheads, most notably the guy who eventually got thrown on his ass and presumably bootstomped by staff.  I've been critical of the overzealousness of MHOW's security in the past, but this guy deserved it, as evidenced by the ovation given by members of the crowd upon his (forced) exit. 

----------

    I'm going to try to squeeze in a couple more shows before heading to DC for the 4th... Death Vessel tomorrow night at Knitting Factory and Oxford Collapse at Southpaw on Wednesday.  If I had any balls I would have gotten off my fat ass and seen Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's set at Southpaw tonight, but alas that bird has flown.  Tuddd out.