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]

The 25 Best Songs of 2010

WHEEEEEE!!!!

It's year-end list time! 

You know what that means!

It means I try to do one of these year-end lists in one sitting, and wind up getting so bitter about shit that by the end of it I'm ready to gouge my eyes out with a brick of sharp cheddar!

Like I said, WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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1.)Fang Island - Patterns On The Wall (feat. Andrew W.K.)

I can say without hyperbole that the last 90 seconds of this song is probably the greatest thing in the history of the human world.  <Cue Pavlovian response on the ol' tearducts.>  That is all.   

Video: no video of this song available, so click above and you can listen to the actual song just like they used to do in the days before "Tee Vee."  You're welcome, dick!

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2.) Surfer Blood - Swim

I've said it before, but I'll say it again- this song sounds like Blue Album-era Weezer covering Asia's "Heat of the Moment" while secretly enjoying itself by sitting too hard on one of these.  Not too shabby!  Moreover, here's hoping their major label debut is more "Swim" and less "Slow Jabroni!" 

Video: Studio version.  Watched a few concert clips and these guys really didn't seem to be that great of a live band.  Thoughts?

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3.) Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish [feat. De La Soul and Gruff Rhys]

The best rap song I've listened to since NWA's Efil4zaggin.  Wait, did I say "best?"  Because I meant to say "first!" 

Video: "Official Visual Video."  Whatever the fuck that means. 

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4.) Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

<3 U, Regine.

Video: Arcade Fire's most recent SNL performance.  Can Regine pull it off?  You decide!

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5.) Arcade Fire - Half Light II

Yup, "Half Light II" has all the grandiosity/massiveness/arena-ready bombast of a U2 song without, you know, being unbearably awful like a U2 song.  Shouldn't this song be the soundtrack to a misleadingly optimistic Archer Daniels Midland commercial or something, with bucketloads of smiling multicultural faces, "arty" animations and aerial video of amber waves of grain from sea to shining sea as captured by a helicopter cam?  Who's with me on this one?

Video: Studio version.  Why wasn't this released as a single?!

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6.) Sleigh Bells - Crown on the Ground

Whatever you do, Alexis, please don't lose that ass. 

Video: live, filmed in NYC at (le) poisson rouge last December.  Hot fucking damn. 

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7.) Fang Island - Life Coach

Since every single goshdarn motherhumpin' stinkin' godforsaken friggin' blessed bleedin' cotton pickin' fershluginer article written about Fang Island (including ones on this site!  Seriously, check for yourself!) is legally mandated to mention the "everyone high-fiving everyone" self-description of what Fang Island's music sounds like, allow me to fulfill said obligation now: this is the high-fiviest song from the high-fiviest album of the year. 

Video: Official music video for the song, which is pretty piss poor with the exception of them awesomely recreating the castle guy from the cover of the album.   

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8.) Gorillaz (feat. Mark E. Smith) - Glitter Freeze

Yup, more Gorillaz wackiness, this time featuring awesomely chilly 80s synth lines, Mark E. Smith's unmistakable, inscrutable blacked out rambling, and an updated version of the beat from Rock and Roll part 2.  Fuck yeah.

Video: Official music video, starring a ship.

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9.) Crocodiles - Mirrors

Very much in the vein of last year's second-best song, the freaking awesome "I Wanna Kill."  In fact, yes, one could note that this one is in the vein of a lot of Crocodiles stuff.  I dig this shit.

Video: live in-studio version recorded by Insound.  As I've stated before (in various states of inebriation), these guys put on a nice live show, especially since adding the full band.

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10.) Beach House - 10 Mile Stereo

The best song on an album full of stunners. 

Video: live version at Webster Hall from earlier this year.  I shoulda fuckin' been there, goddamn it. Notice Victoria kinda eats shit at about 3:50, heheh.

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11.) Melvins - Pig House

A quintessential riff-packed multi-part Melvins hyper-jam.

Video: Live in Seattle.  Video starts about a minute or so into the song [bummer].  Towards the end, however, shit hits the fan when Jared puts down his bass, jumps offstage and personally bum rushes some unlucky bastard the fuck out of the building.  From the comments: "It helps that Jared's dressed like a space barbarian."  Feel free to read all about the incident here!  Or not. 

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12.) Kylesa - Dust

This is both the prettiest AND the most psychedelic song Kylesa has ever put out.

Video: [edit] hmmmm, looks like they removed the video from YouTube overnight on a copyright restriction.  Yer on yer own on this one, kiddos!

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13.) Marnie Stern - Cinco De Mayo

Important to include a pic of the finger-tapping technique for this song.  Widdlywiddlywiddlywiddly...

Video: studio version/fucking fantastic.

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14.) LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change

How fun would it be to perform this song at karaoke?!  And I *HATE* karaoke!  

Video: from Jules Holland 5/14/10.

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15.) Fang Island - Careful Crossers

Widdlywiddlywiddlywiddly (sorry, getting tired/unmotivated up in here.)

Video: official music video.  Equal parts "awesome" and "seizure inducing," much like [deleted]'s cocaine intake!

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16.) Marnie Stern - Her Confidence

A ballsy, riffy rocker, not unlike '08's "The Crippled Jazzer."  Of course, Zach Hill kills it on this song.    

Video: only a partial performance, but still worth watching.

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17.) Perfume Genius - Learning

I can think of at least two people who will make fun of me for enjoying this song.  [NOTE: those two people comprise approximately 100% of regular Muddd readership.]

Video: ummmmmm

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18.) Zola Jesus - Sea Talk

Uhhhh... yeah... see the comment on #17... [hides behind couch}....

Video: official music video.

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19.) Prince Rama - Lightening Fossil

Yup, this is some real hippie bullshit right here.  In other words, "I'll have a little more of what the comments for #s 17 and 18 are having, thankyouverymuch."

Video: studio version. 

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20.) Fang Island - Davey Crockett

"Hi, we're Fang Island.  This is our one-two-three-fourth time so far on this list, and Tuddd still can't seem to think of anything interesting to say about us that doesn't involve the term 'widdly widdly.'  Fuck you, Tuddd, you unoriginal, ambitionless bastard."

Video: live in studio at KEXP.

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21.) Marnie Stern - For Ash

You

Out

Shine

Them

All.

Video: live.  Another show that I shoulda been at.  Fuk.

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22.) The Magnetic Fields - You Must Be Out of Your Mind

Since by this point I've apparently resorted to just quoting lyrics instead of coming up with original content;

"You can't just go 'round sayin' stuff

Because it's pretty

And I no longer drink enough

To think you're witty."

HA!!

Video: studio version.

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23.) Beach House - Zebra

Um, <3 U, Victoria?  Fuck, I got nothing.  NOTHING!!!!

Video: probably a nice live or studio verison from somewhere or nowhere.  Check for yerself.  I'm getting kinda ornery up in here.

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24.) Boston Spaceships - Come On Baby Grace

OK.  One of the reasons that this year's GbV reunion was so great is because it hearkened back to the time when Uncle Bob was actually capable of writing more than one or two decent songs in a whole fucking year.  This is oh-ten's good Bob song.  Skip ALL the others.  I am serious.

Video: crapola, I can't find anything.  Instead, watch this video of an even better Boston Spaceships song.

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25.) Mark Sultan - Ten of Hearts

God I love this one.  I wish there was a video of it somewhere online so that, on the off chance YOU haven't heard it yourself, I could share this song's awesomeness with you.  But, alas, there isn't, so I can't.  So watch this instead because it's hilarious and because I feel like throwing in the towel.  Tuddd out.

Albums I've Heard So Far in 2010, From Best to Worst, With Exactly One Sentence Written About Each, Sorta [part 1]

    Bored; pissed off that I missed Crocodiles last night because I fucked my foot up by stepping on a bunch of pins and other sharp shit that had been left on the floor inexpicably (don't ask).  And there's little chance I'm going to brave the throngs of brainwashed AnCo worshippers at the Avey Tare-DJ'd Crocs show this Friday at Glasslands.  Frickity frack, y'all. 

    Anyhow, here's my favorite 20 albums I've heard so far this year, with a sentence written about each.  Keep in mind that there's all kinds of shit I haven't yet heard (just off the top of my head Zoroaster, Helmet, Swans, The Sword, Deerhunter, Grinderman, Kylesa, etc.), so expect this list to change size, shape and odor by the time I get around to pinching off my year-end lists.  We'll see how motivated I get to finish this off with another couple lists of ~20 albums in order of descending goodness, but for now sink your teef into this loaf. 

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1.) Fang Island - Fang Island -- How rare is it that the indie blogosphere actually embraces a band that goes "widdly widdly widdly" on lead guitar, and it's not this chick performing said widdly widdly?

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2.) Beach House - Teen Dream -- Stylistic limitations be damned, the melodies are just sooooooo damn sweet, delivered by means of the year's finest vocal performance.

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3.) Gorillaz - Plastic Beach -- Normally I hate anything even remotely hip-hop tinged, but this album has 4 important characteristics not present on many other hip hop recordings: 1.) humor; 2.) brains; 3.) guest appearances by legendary musicians; 4.) great, lush 80's-ish synth lines.

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4.) Mogwai - Special Moves -- Moggy live; I was at this show (as evidenced by the several times I'm visible in the accompanying "Burning" film); yippee!

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5.) The Austerity Program - Backsliders and Apostates Will Burn - Simply put, one of the most intense recordings you'll ever hear. 

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6.) Melvins - Melvins EP -- I talked some shit about this release earlier in the year, but two important facts need to be considered: 1.) "Dies Iraea" is fucking awesome, and 2.) since Electroretard is out of print, you need this for the fucking insane 8+ minute cover of The Wipers' Youth of America.

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7.) Melvins - The Bride Screamed Murder -- Not as lean and mean as the first two Big Business-augmented Melvins albums (for example, this album's final two tracks are beyond useless), but "Pig House" and "Electric Flower" fucking shred. 

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8.) Holy Fuck - Latin -- Not as melodically monolithic as their last one, although the unrelenting beats and flawless pacing make this the best workout album of the year (always a good idea to take your workout soundtrack advice from someone who's morbidly obese).

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9.) Arcade Fire - Suburbs -- Yes, there are several great songs on here, but plenty of skippable stuffs too. 

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10.) Sleigh Bells - Treats -- Yup, so I'm pretty much obsessed with Alexis Krauss and that's all there is to it.

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11.) The Thermals - Personal Life -- If you only like their faster stuff, you're going to want to skip this, but although the music is toned down, the caustic self-examination remains. 

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12.) Bad Religion - 30 Years Live -- Every live concert EVER BY ANYBODY should start with the song "Fuck Armageddon, This Is Hell."

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13.) Harvey Milk - Harvey Milk -- Don't worry, these guys hate themselves as much as you do.

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14.) Harvey Milk - A Small Turn of Human Kindness -- Bleak, bleak, bleak; like early-Swans bleak, man.

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15.) Surfer Blood - Astro Coast -- It's easy to dismiss this as just "Swim" plus a bunch of lesser crap, but this is a deceptively smart li'l record via "yay Beafi."

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16.) Lost in the Trees - All Alone in an Empty House -- Despite never having heard the Bon Iver album (and having no intention of ever doing so), I'm prepared to McConfirm that this album is way way better.

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17.) Torche - Songs for Singles EP -- Tasty stopgap tidbits (6 of the 8 songs are under 2:20) by the happiest, least straight sludge metal band that I know of.

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

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19.) Crocodiles - Sleep Forever -- As spotty as it is bratty (like last year's Summer of Hate), but hot sandwich fuckin' damn is "Mirrors" incredible.

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[^in lieu of an actual album cover, which apparently doesn't exist on said intarwebz]

20.) The Netherlands - Fantasmatic -- Sick metal riffs, bull-in-a-china-shop rhythms, and plenty of goofiness.

The Best Albums of 2010 (so far)

2 1/2 months into the year and I've only heard 11 albums released in oh-ten.  Weak sauce, I know.  Here they are, from worst to first.

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11.) Robert Pollard - We All Got Out of the Army -- As Uncle Bob's solo releases have become progressively more and more blandly "mature" (and less rockin') over the years, they've also become less instantly accessible.  In other words, We All Got Out of the Army will likely take more than the one-full-time-thru listening allowance I've afforded it at this point in order to fully appreciate it.  But suffice it to say that my one-full-time-thru attempt at this one was less than pleasurable. 

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10.) Melvins - Melvins EP -- It's not that this release contains subpar material; it's just that the material is inessential.  To wit: includes 3 tracks: 1.) an extended version of the uber-creepy instrumental "Dies Iraea" from Nude with Boots, 2.) a remix of that same album's "It Tastes Better Than the Truth," and, 3.) a fantastic 9+ minute cover of the Wipers' "Youth of America."  The Wipers cover alone would singlehandedly make this EP worthwhile IF IT WASN'T THE EXACT SAME VERSION OF THE SONG ALREADY AVAILABLE ON ELECTRORETARD.  Meh, but stay tuned for the full length Melvins album that's due in June.

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9.) Pierced Arrows - Descending Shadows -- Venerable liferz still kickin' down a slovenly garagey ruckus.

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8.) Acrassicauda - Only the Dead See the End of the War -- Of course, this band's backstory is incredible, and you really have to root for them, and all that stuff.  [Come to think of it this album probably deserves some sort of Best Album award just for the fact that it exists.]  The music is good, but among current Big Four-influenced thrash revivalists, is this really any better than, say, last year's Children album?  Probly not.

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7.) Surfer Blood - Astro Coast -- "Swim" is undeniably awesome, but everything else is pretty generic, no?  Seriously, what's your second favorite song on this album?

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6.) The Magnetic Fields - Realism -- After their excellent adventure into the sordid depths of gratuitous JaMC-style guitar feedback (2008's aptly-titled Distortion), Stephin Merritt and crew hop right back into glistening, impeccably-produced chamber pop.  Unfortch the songwriting is more I than 69 Love Songs on this one.

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5.) High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine -- High on Fire has always been a band that I've felt I should love more than I actually do.  That sentiment continues on this, yet another solid-yet-unspectacular album of stoner riffs and snarling. 

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4.) Beach House - Teen Dream -- While there's no individual song on here as great as, say, "Heart of Chambers," this is one heck consistently good front-to-back album, way more so than Devotion or the debut EP. 

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3.) Harvey Milk - Harvey Milk -- As the story goes, the material for this album was recorded by Shellac's Bob Weston in 1994, with the master tapes mailed off to some dude in Chicago who had promised to release the album.  Sadly, he never did, and the band neither heard from said Chicago dude again, nor did they ever see their masters again.  So, was the 16 years worth the wait, especially considering that each of the tracks on this album were eventually re-recorded/re-released on subsequent albums?  Dude, it's early Harvey Milk.  So a very, very vehement yes. 

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2.) Fang Island - Fang Island -- These guys are so exuberantly joyous that at first I was suspicious that they were a Christian Rock group, albeit one that writes great songs and has incredible chops.  Fortunately they're not a Christian Rock group (um, I don't think).  I first saw these guys perform about a year and a half ago and their hyper-caffeinated, tuneful blend of power pop and AOR-style prog definitely manages to shine through on this record (even if the vocals sound kind of like AnCo by way of "Cotton-Eyed Joe" at times).

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1.) Titus Andronicus - The Monitor -- Patrick Stickles is probably the most quotable lyricist going today, and on The Monitor he's able to make his catharsis-mongering work despite shedding the most awesome aspect of The Airing of Grievances' soundscape: the massive, all-encompassing wall-of-guitars production.  Of course, the quieter production winds up placing The Monitor's sonic emphasis squarely on Stickles' out-of-tune warble, which can be grating at times.  But through the course of all the destructive behavior and self-loathing catalogued on this album, it winds up being an affirming, uplifting, remarkable set of tunes, *poifect* for sentimental jackasses like me. 

Yeasayer with Chairlift and Fang Island at Music Hall of Williamsburg, December 5th, 2008

    Lately, I've been making a concerted effort to avoid drinking heavily.  Of course, this means that hanging out with any of my friends is a near impossibility since everybody likes to drink, right?  Add in the fact that I've been sick all week and I've been pretty low on alternate means of amusement.  As far as tonight goes, at first I was considering heading to the O'Death/Titus Andronicus show at Bowery, which I'm sure was a hoot, but, from experience, attending O'Death shows doesn't exactly go hand in hand with staying sober.  A few friends had raved about Yeasayer's live show, and although I was skeptical, I figured it was time to finally get off my fat ass and check them out.  Plus I already know that I dig Chairlift.

    Left the apartment a little after eight, with designs on getting stoned, hitting up Oasis on North 7th for a $3 falafel pre-show and walking into the venue just in time to catch the opening act, about whom I knew absolutely nothing.  Of course, as soon as I found myself super stoned (somewhere between Havemeyer and Roebling), all the usual super-stoned thoughts began rumbling through my brain: "what if I don't have enough money in my wallet for the ticket?"  "What if I don't have enough money for the falafel?"  "What happens if I can't afford BOTH the ticket AND the falafel?!"  By the time I actually made it to Oasis I figured out that I had exactly $15 in singles on me... just enough for the ticket, and no more.  Only when you're stoned, right?  Poor planning.

    So I made it inside Music Hall of Williamsburg at about quarter of 9, planning on sitting on the bleachers in the mezzanine and playing phone Tetris if the first band sucked.  A couple chords into their first song, however, and I could tell they'd be worth watching.

    Fang Island are apparently from Brooklyn, and by the looks of 'em they're pretty young.  I was really impressed by these guys' set top to bottom: definitely a solid foundation in prog, featuring three guitarists, a bassist, occasional keys, and very impressive drumming.  However, simply dismissing these guys as prog for prog's sake would be unwise: the majority of the music was characterized by sunny, anthemic, uplifting qualities: on their MySpace page listed under "sounds like" they have "everybody high-fiving everyone" which honestly is a reasonably accurate way of describing their sound.  The guitarists each displayed their own skilled techniques: dude to the left strummed so fast his right hand was a blur; dude next to him showed off some incredible finger-tapping, and dude who doubled on keyboards had a killer tone and burned off some killer leads.  The three combined for some tasty harmony leads during several songs, which I'm always a sucker for.  And I'd be remiss without mentioning that their drummer was fucking awesome, handling the tempo changes deftly and shifting from style to style (notably, at one point, from a hardcore beat directly into some artful tom-tapping) seamlessly.  All in all, I'd compare these guys' performance favorably to Birds of Avalon the first time I saw them, which is a compliment considering how much I enjoyed that set.  If I have any constructive criticism of Fang Island, it would be directed towards the vocals, which were kinda ragged (yet emphatic).

    Chairlift was up next, and, having enjoyed their set when I saw them in July (opening for Crystal Antlers) I was eager to see them again.  If you're thinking you've never heard Chairlift yourself, you're definitely wrong; their song "Bruises" (the one with the "I tried to do handstands for you" lyric, c'mon, you've definitely heard it) has been all over the TV in the newer iPod Nano commercials.  Anyway, Chairlift's subtly awesome electropop got a good portion of the crowd moving, which was nice, even amazingly managing to convince the two miniature drunk "tough guys" who were standing to my left to shut the fuck up and enjoy the music.  I've said it before, but vocalist Caroline Polachek is really a captivating performer with an incredible voice: tonight I definitely noticed some strident Annie Lennox influence along with her always-flawless upper register.  The early part of the set included "Garbage" and "Somewhere Around Here" before "Bruises" and personal fave "Evident Utensil" (my second favorite song of the year; I'll have the list up this week), with the set finally closing with "Planet Health," a song which gave the band the opportunity to show off its more playful side, with its "stop, drop and roll" refrain.  Another fine set.

    Yeasayer were up next, and by this point my back was killing me. (Pathetic.)  I stuck around for a handful of songs before bolting and I liked these guys (they're way, way better than, say, Vampire Weekend or whatever), but meh, I'll have other chances to catch 'em live, no doubt about it.  Again, I liked what I heard but I was fuckin' starving by that point and wanted to sit down... enter beef stew with rice and beans.  KIIIIIIID!

    Okay, gotta go, SEC Championship game is on in less than a half hour, and I'm nowhere near stoned enough.  I'm probably planning on hitting tomorrow (Sunday) night's Love Is All show with Crystal Stilts at Bowery depending on what kind of shape I'm in, so Tuddd out for now.

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THE STATE OF THE BLOG

I've got a bunch of shit in the pipeline, if anyone's interested: a full list of all the shows I saw in 2008 (I'm up to 83 total on the year now, bitchez) with l'il synopses (Synopsises? Aaah, fudgesicles.) for each.  Also the aforementioned "Best Songs of 2008" list, for which I have something a little special planned, then, hopefully before Christmas the Granddaddy of Them All, my "Albums I Heard in 2008 Ordered from Best To Worst," which will have over 100 entries on it.  And if I can get around to ie, I'll put up a "Top 10 Biggest Assholes I Encountered at Shows This Year" list again.  Jesus, that's a lot of work ahead of me.  I better start taking the "creative" drugs.  You know, the drugs that make you creative?  Those ones?  Yeah.