I like indie/alternative/cutting-edge music, but within that broad and hard-to-define genre, I tend to stick with bands that have a traditional guitar(s)-bass-drums setup ala my old favorites like the Replacements. I’m not a dancer (as my wife will readily attest) and usually don’t go for the newer bands that skew toward dance/electronic music. That said, I’m really digging the new album from Chvrches, a band that consists of two dudes on keyboards/synths/sequencers/whatchamacallits and a female lead singer.
Check out this video from their performance of “Clearest Blue” from The Late Late Show. Granted, the instrumental break sounds eerily similar to Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough”… but it’s a real toe-tapper for sure, and I love the lead singer’s frenetic energy.
“It’s just one of those things you’ll need to learn to deal with. If you’re easily offended, then maybe the music industry isn’t for you”
But why should women “deal” with this? I am incredibly lucky to be doing the job I am doing at the moment – and painfully aware of the fact that I would not be able to make music for a living without people on the internet caring about our band. But does that mean that I need to accept that it’s OK for people to make comments like this, because that’s how women in my position are spoken to?
I absolutely accept that in this industry there is comment and criticism. There will always be bad reviews: such is the nature of a free press and free speech. When you put your work out there, you are accepting the fact that people will comment on it, but it is your choice whether you read it or not. (Kathleen Hanna sums this sentiment up nicely in this interview.)
What I do not accept, however, is that it is all right for people to make comments ranging from “a bit sexist but generally harmless” to openly sexually aggressive. That it is something that “just happens”. Is the casual objectification of women so commonplace that we should all just suck it up, roll over and accept defeat? I hope not. Objectification, whatever its form, is not something anyone should have to “just deal with”.
Chvrches new release is called Every Open Eye. It’s wonderfvl.
This past Friday, I went to a concert featuring three local bands, The Ready Stance, Pike 27 and New Sincerity Works. The main impetus for going was Pike 27. I kinda/sorta know the lead singer and my friend Chris Comer was playing keyboards with them that night. But I’m mainly familiar with their drummer, Dave, via his wife Jacqui, with whom I worked at a small but mighty ad agency eons ago.
Pike 27, Woodward Theatre; Photo Credit: ORU Media
I’ve blogged before about Dave’s two bouts with cancer (Dave 2, Cancer 0 if you’re keeping score at home, btw). This was his first gig with Pike 27 since his second battle. It was great to see him behind the drum kit, rocking out and having fun. Drummers are often called “time-keepers” but a more apt description for Dave would be “time-enjoyer,” because he knows better than most of us how important it is to savor every moment, to cherish every day. With apologies to the Go-Gos, we’ve all got the beat… it’s how we turn it into our own song that matters most.
(Don’t worry, I don’t plan on referencing the Go-Gos too often.)
As usual, my friend Jacqui is much more eloquent in describing the magic of the evening. Here’s her blog post.
Sometimes it seems like I’ve only written about 30 blogs posts and 15 of them are about the Cincinnati band Wussy. I’m actually OK with that batting average, although it’s probably a bit lower than it should be. They’re just so damn good.
This past weekend I saw Wussy live at the Woodward Theater in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, in what was billed as an “album pre-release” concert. The first half of their show was tunes from their new album, Forever Sounds – out on March 4th. The songs are definitely more sonically adventurous or “heavier” than previous Wussy releases. But they still have that unmistakable and inimitable vocal interplay between Lisa Walker and Chuck Cleaver, killer rhythms courtesy of drummer Joe Klug and bassist Mark Messerly, and the secret weapon of John Erhardt on pedal steel or guitar.
Wussy has always gotten critical acclaim from the likes of Robert Christgau. A recent Spin review of their new album offers high praise as well:
“To certain fans of Lucinda Williams, Crazy Horse, Mekons and R.E.M., Wussy became the best band in America almost instantaneously with the launch of their cult classic debut, Funeral Dress, in 2005. Their flawless document of ragged songwriting and modestly adventurous arrangements has only grown in dynamism in the years and albums that followed… America’s best songwriting band might now be among its best soundscaping ones.”
It’s probably a cumulative effect, but it feels like this album/tour might finally be the one that puts more fannies in the seats… and promptly gets them out of those same seats to rock out. Wussy certainly has earned it, and they surely deserve it.
Lucius is back! The ladies with the matching outfits and meshing voices (and their crack backing band) are gearing up to release their sophomore album. Good Grief comes out on March 11th, and I can’t wait.
I loved their debut, Wildewoman, and loved their live show when I saw them at Forecastle festival in Louisville in the summer of 2014. (Also loved seeing them when they were part of the band San Fermin at MPMF the previous year.)
Here they are doing a couple of new songs live at Paste Studios:
Saw a great acoustic concert at Live at Ludlow Garage this past weekend. It featured Grant-Lee Phillips, whom I’ve long adored, and Steve Poltz, with whom I was only vaguely familiar (had heard his name, knew he co-wrote the song “You Were Meant For Me” that was a big hit for Jewel).
The venue was a nice room – it reminded me of McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, CA, which hosts great artists in a similar stripped-down setting.
Grant-Lee and Steve started out on stage together, doing “Gentle On My Mind,” then Steve left the stage and Grant-Lee played solo. He even went completely unplugged/un-amplified for a couple of songs. His set was a mix of new stuff and old favorites from his Grant Lee Buffalo days (“Honey Don’t Think” “Truly, Truly” “Mighty Joe Moon“) and his earlier solo albums (“Buried Treasure“). His voice is gorgeous – and I don’t often use that term for a male singer. The new stuff held up very well, “Cry Cry” was particularly moving, it’s a song about the Trail of Tears and the fact that Grant-Lee is part Native American made it especially poignant.
Another new one was “Smoke and Sparks”
“Loaded Gun” and “San Andreas Fault” were also great.
For those who only know GLP from his “town troubadour” character, you’ll be glad to know that he will also be back on the “Gilmore Girls” reunion shows.
Steve Poltz came back out after intermission and he and Grant-Lee did another Glen Campbell tune, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (really a Jimmy Webb tune made famous by Glen). Then Grant-Lee left and Steve did his set. Actually, “set” is the wrong word – to him a “setlist” is merely an abstract concept. He went from the ridiculously silly to the sublime in the course of a single hour and kept the audience smiling the entire time with his hilarious stories. Definitely a performer that I’d like to see again.
Grant-Lee came back on at the end of the evening and they wrapped up the show with an extended version of Dylan’s “Forever Young” with some funny, improvised verses.
Remember when the iPod was cutting edge? Yeah, I barely remember those long lost times too… although I can vividly remember Walkmans and even Discmans.
Back in those halcyon days of portable digital technology, when silhouettes danced across our TV screens, I was a cheapskate… and still am today.
So instead of getting an iPod, I got a Creative Labs Zen Nano.
Lo these many years later, when most iPods have been relegated to junk drawers worldwide, my trusty Zen Nano is still going strong. I use it every weekday on my bus commute to and from work. Honestly, I think it had a few advantages over iPods. It runs on a single AAA battery, and I always carry a spare battery, so I don’t have to worry about it dying on me and I don’t have to be near a computer – and have the proprietary Apple USB cord (sold separately, of course) – to recharge it.
Adding music to it is a lot easier than using iTunes (Apple is famous for intuitive user experiences but iTunes is horrible, always has been). And in addition to listening to mp3s, I can listen to FM radio (even record it) and record sounds via the built-in microphone. It’s only 1 GB but that’s enough for more than a dozen albums, and it’s a lot more compact than an iPod. It’s slightly larger than the iPod shuffle but those had no display, which was a joke.
I know I can now listen to music on my phone, but I still prefer my moments of Zen.
Kevin Sullivan on Warren piece: “Praise Warren. He also said, “You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long…” Jan 15, 08:48
Damian on Eternally Grateful… still: “Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing that song, Chuck! You’re absolutely right that the Deadhead community is amazing.” Jan 15, 08:17
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Kevin Sullivan on Spoken and Unspoken: “You lived the brotherhood Damian, and that is a full plate. Peace to you and peace to John.” Nov 18, 16:54
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