Henry was a good blogger, and a good man. He was one of us.
He was a man who loved music, and biking, and as a blogger he explored the streets of Pittsburgh from the New Hazlett Theatre to Thunderbird Cafe, and on up to Brillobox. But he quit--he quit, like so many of his generation, before his time. In your wisdom you took him, oh Internet, as you took so many bright, flowering young men. These young men gave their wireless hours. And Henry, too. Henry who loved blogging (for a little while anyway).
And so, Henry Kerabatsos Kleber, we now commit your archives to the bosom of the World Wide Web.
Others have done a much better job than SITKOT of covering the Pittsburgh scene of late, so, that thou canst never once reflect, let's turn it over to them for the day:
-YEP notes that a track from their best local release of 2009--MOIP's self-titled debut*--will be featured on the new Real World tonight. (Also, tune in Thursday at 10 a.m. for Cindy's Local Year in Review show.)
- And finally, Speed of the Pittsburgh Sound has promised (but not yet delivered) a Top 20 Steel City Tracks of 2009. Keep an eye out. Hopefully this will give him the kick in the pen he needs to get that one together.
See you next year.
* I'm way late to the party, but have been really digging this album this week. Also, you might note that they're performing with GNS tomorrow at First Night.
Not much is going on this week, and I’m still feeling fat and lazy with a happy holiday behind me and another on the horizon. So why not mine the sphere for some re-bloggable content?
Tomorrow I’ll go local on yo' ass. Today, I rake through the muck of Hipster Runoff.
If you can get past his obsession with tweeny textspeak and stomach his self-aware misogynist/ racist/ classist/ pseudosatirist tone, you will occasionally be offered a gem of modern music and/or indie culture criticism ‘via’ Carles (pictured above). His end-of-decade post, fittingly titled “The Most Authentic/ Relevant/ Successful Artists of the Decade (The Best Albums/ MP3s/ Songs/ Artists/ Bands/ Humans of the Decade)” is HRO’s opus of sorts, and is very likely to crash your browser in all its bloating glory. Dare risk that click, however, some stimulating statements on the decade in music are waiting to be found among the fluff. And at the end of it all: a surprisingly reasonable (if tongue-in-cheek) defense of John Mayer as artist of the decade.
Anyhow, from that post I've mined a few thoughts (or perhaps 'feelings'?) which seemed to resonate, or at least to provoke...
Re: Fleet Foxes: "I feel like ‘indie rock’ would have been totally different if these bros had released their hit album in 2k3.5ish. Instead of so many bands trying to sound like the Arcade Fire, more bros would have grown beards and written soothing forest tunes."
Re: Grizzly Bear: "I feel like Grizzly Bear is the Most Authentic Band of the second half of the decade. Somehow, their latest album ‘charted’ at #6 on the mainstream charts. That seems pretty successful. I feel like the thing most music critics hold against Grizzly Bear is ‘not being from the first half of the decade.’"
Re: Girl Talk: "Wonder how this bro built such a solid brand for doing what the majority of all DJs do. I guess it was because he talked about ‘digital rights’ and other ‘issues’ like that. Then he had an absurd live brand that invited alternative people who just started to illegally drink on stage, which was something the world probably needed."
Re: The Shins: "'New Slang' seems very earnest, like I might cry while listening to it if it didn’t directly remind me of Garden State."
Re: Dirty Projectors: "I think bands like DP are indicative of new markets of ‘people who have listened to way too much music’ in their lifetimes. They need something that sounds s0 different that it potentially blows, but it is also possibly ‘genius.’ I sort of wish I could Teach for America, and play this in a class full of inner city minority kids, and then experience them making fun of me for listening to it. I would have had the intention of ‘making them more cultured’, but then they would give me a swift reality check, letting me know that maybe I should assimilate to their culture, and stop living in my pseudo-relevant indie dream world."
Re: Nickelback: "Understanding the power of Nickelback means understanding the power of Wal Mart Rock. No matter how ‘authentic’ you think your taste in music is, you always need to remember that you are in the minority. There are tons of poor people in rural+middle America who still buy CDs."
Re: Deathcab for Cutie: "Deathcab seems to have followed a predictable career path. They were probably better in the middle of the decade, but as they ‘got more popular’ the appeal+quality of their music continued to go down the shitter. Really want to build a time machine and listen to meaningfulcore indie before the world got all jaded/snarky/meaningless."
Re: Rob Thomas: "Worried that this bro will be around for 30+ years, generating similar songs over and over again."
Re: The Killers and K.O.L.: "I feel like the Killers and the Kings of Leon are possibly the decade’s most ’successful bands.’ Somehow, they have both transitioned into festival headliner-status bands. This must mean that their music is ‘good’/they appeal to a lot of ppl. Both bands are not afraid to write ‘massive/epic ballads’ that are meant to fill arenas/festivals. Feel like I possibly respect this existence/career path as a band more than the ‘trying 2 stay authentic’ indie band."
Re: Justin Timberlake: "The World needed Justin Timberlake to be successful. We needed him to help us forget about the boy band era. He stands for something more than his own personal evolution."
Re: Radiohead: "I don’t really feel comfortable with letting them be considered the #1 band of the decade. It seems like they sorta lucked out because their major label contract dissolved/ended, and they were able to let people ‘pay what they want’ [via the internet]. I think most music critic bros are close to the age of 30, and probably have a warped perception of Radiohead, since it was probably their ‘experimenting with drugs’ music from 1995-2005."
I expected to have a lot of trouble ranking these, and in the end I did struggle to sort through the top half of this list. Once I picked a favorite, though, the rest fell into place surprisingly easily. What it came down to is that I regularly listen to music in a few different settings: through headphones on the bus and walking around town, through somewhat crummy speakers in the car, and through a solid system at home. I’ve started to realize recently that while some albums may really strike me as amazing at times, few hold up across all moods and scenes. And over the course of the year, there was one album that never seemed to miss the moment.
1. The xx - xx
Is this minimalistic self-titled debut defensible as my #1 album of the year? I think so. I’ve probably enjoyed it more than any other across the board. Driving on a rainy night; driving on a sunny day; strolling down Strawberry Way in the snow; laying in bed; even sitting on the floor playing Super Mario Bros. 3, this album always strikes me as perfect. I keep my player in random/shuffle mode much of the time, and xx is the one album on this list whose songs I can’t recall ever skipping when one pops up. And so, though I’ve probably listened more this year to Farm, Hold Time and MPP, xx stands out as my go-to favorite.
2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
It’s not groundbreaking exactly, but its one-of-a-kind in a familiar way. Updated Beach Boys nostalgia and refined electronic dronings work perfectly to keep this one on repeat in my head every time I turn it off.
3. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Nothing new or surprising here, and that’s just fine. Mascis in particular is at his best in 15 years or more.
4. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Probably the most unexpected success of the year in my mind. The contrast between songs like “Stillness is the Move” and “Two Doves” is startlingly beautiful and, with only 9 tracks, the execution is superb all the way through.
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
I have to admit to disappointment when I first heard “Zero” and didn’t get the fill of Nick Zinner’s raw distortion I had hoped for, and when I heard the rest of the album it took me a few listens to get over that. Eventually, though, Karen O’s convincing melodies managed to slide this album into my top 5 for the year.
If you missed the Wiyos last month, do yourself a favor and make it out for the Hot Seats tomorrow at Calliope's new venue in the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (corner or Fifth and Shady).
The beers are cheap (relatively anyway - $3), and the Hot Seats are a ragtimey, bluegrassy good time (also rumored to be very funny).
With all of the lists floating around lately, most of which are marked by a prevalence of indie artists, it's interesting to see what actually sells out there in the marketplace. So, here are a few empirical rankings to ponder:
Billboard Top Ten Singles of 2000:
1. Faith Hill – “Breathe” 2. Santana (Featuring Rob Thomas) – “Smooth" 3. Santana (Featuring The Product G&B) – “Maria Maria” 4. Joe – “I Wanna Know” 5. Vertical Horizon – “Everything You Want” 6. Destiny's Child – “Say My Name” 7. Savage Garden – “I Knew I Loved You” 8. Lonestar – “Amazed” 9. Matchbox Twenty – “Bent” 10. Toni Braxton – "He Wasn’t Man Enough”
Bestselling Albums of the Decade:
1. The Beatles - 1 2. NSYNC - No Strings Attached 3. Norah Jones - Come Away With Me 4. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 5. Eminem - The Eminem Show 6. Usher - Confessions 7. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory 8. Creed - Human Clay 9. Britney Spears - Oops! ... I Did It Again 10. Nelly - Country Grammar
Bestselling Digital Singles of the Decade:
1. Flo Rida feat. T-Pain - "Low" 2. Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis - "Just Dance" 3. Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours" 4. Timbaland feat. OneRepublic - "Apologize" 5. The Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow" 6. Soulja Boy Tell'em - "Crank That" 7. Lady Gaga - "Poker Face" 8. Coldplay - "Viva la Vida" 9. Taylor Swift - "Love Story" 10. Katy Perry - "Hot N Cold"
Bestselling Singles (Digital and Physical) of the Decade:
1. Shakira (featuring Wyclef Jean) - "Hips Don't Lie" 2. Beyonce (featuring Jay-Z) - "Crazy In Love" 3. Black Eyed Peas - "My Humps" 4. Britney Spears - "Toxic" 5. Britney Spears - "Womanizer" 6. Britney Spears - "Oops!... I Did It Again" 7. Eminem - "Stan" 8. Flo Rida - "Low" 9. Green Day - "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" 10. Katy Perry - "I Kissed A Girl"
iTunes Top Downloads of 2009:
1. Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow" 2. Flo Rida - "Right Round" 3. Lady Gaga - "Poker Face" 4. Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling" 5. All-American Rejects - "Gives You Hell" 6. Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis - "Just Dance" 7. Miley Cyrus - "Party in the USA" 8. Miley Cyrus - "The Climb" 9. T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake - "Dead and Gone" 10. Kings of Leon - "Use Somebody"
Umm... not sure I'm quite ready to forever make my "best of '09" of record yet. Tough stuff. Still shiffling a few around. In the end, it's obviously more of a "my favorites of '09" because, honestly, who am I to offer up anything more. A guy with a blog. That's who.
Woke up this morning thinking about laying it down, but then I couldn't get "Pigs in Zen" and "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" (the Springsteen rendition, which is possibly my least favorite) out of my head, so I figured I'll wait until I'm thinking a bit more clearly. And anyway, I've been listening to a lot of stuff lately that isn't exactly fresh, so let's deal with that first.
Top 5 Albums I Discovered in 2009 That Weren't Released in 2009:
An honorable mention only because it's a very recent release (late 2008) that was re-released in 2009, so it's sort of a tweener. In any event, this is unquestionably one of the best albums to find its way into my rotation all year (as you may have noticed, it's been in there for a while now). The Low Anthem craft amazing songs with a sound that might roughly blend two parts Tom Waits and one part Art Garfunkel. Thanks to JP for the intro to these guys.
Full disclosure: I don't actually own this album. But Henry does (you might remember him from the early days of this blog), and I have several shows in my iTunes courtesy of the Live Music Archive. After seeing these guys play the Arts Fest this summer, they briefly revitalized my penchant for instrumental jambandish tunes, though they certainly deserve more credit than to be categorized as such. As evidence, even after that taste dwindled again, their songs remain in my playlists.
I never got into Smog until he released Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle this year under his real name, Bill Callahan. While that record didn't blow me away from the start, it definitely prompted me to explore his back-catalog (which is deep and dense), and this record in particular struck me after its songs began to pop up when I would go into shuffle mode. Something like a less energetic, more organic Silver Jews, The Doctor Came at Dawn offers haunting acoustics and pensive lyrics. "All Your Women Things" is so basic in sound and structure that I'm amazed it manages to get stuck in my head, but glad it gives me a chance to ponder that one even after powering off.
This one started to get some buzz this summer. I learned of it through eMusic (which I think does a great job of recommending music based on past downloads) and bought it on a whim. Something like gypsy-jazz-folk-rock, the Mediterranean vibes pour through the speakers like sangria as this record starts out. As it plays on, it mellows the soul and makes me long to be walking through the hills above Malaga.
I may have discovered this record in 2008, but if so it was close to the end of the year. Flamenco-rock is as good a tag as you could slap on it, but the music is a bit deeper than that would suggest. With roots in traditional forms, their innovative melodies and techniques modernize a centuries-old style of guitar music. And their cover of "Stairway" is the best out there, hands-down.
Given that he's been making records for nearly forty years and just played Pittsburgh last year courtesy of Calliope, I have no idea how I never heard of this guy. It took a PBS rebroadcast of the 2008 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and a clip immediately following Guy Clark's performance, but after seeing him play the title track from this 2006 album, I downloaded a ton of his stuff and declared myself a huge fan. His take on Peter Case's "Cold Trail Blues" is spare and perfect, and the rest of the record is pretty awesome too.
I don’t have the aural chops to rank my top 10 (read: “I’m lazy”). Therefore, 2-10 of my 2009 bestys are in no particular order. I was, however, capable of determining that Washed Out’s Life of Leisure was my favorite album of ‘09.
For the past several years I have been fixated on metal in its myriad forms. It took the “glo/fi” (or whatever it’s called these days) music movement to pull me from the mire that is modern-day metal, in particular Washed Out. It has been a long time since an album has imprinted in my ears in such way that it marked an era of my life -- like maybe since STP’s Core in summer of ’92 when I was 15 years old and secretly tortured by an inability to communicate to girls how I felt about them. Now I think I will always remember the summer of 2009 by the cooing feel of Life of Leisure. Though I think the glo/fi trend has a shelf life of like another year, Life of Leasure will long resonate with me as a time capsule.
2. Girls- Album 3. Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion 4. Converge- Axe to Fall 5. Baroness- Blue Album 6. Bibio- Ambivalence Avenue
7. Memory Tapes- Seek Magic
8. Isis- Wavering Radiant 9. Dan Deacon- Bromst 10. The Very Best- Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are the Very Best
Ok, so there are like three weeks left until the end of the year, and something great might come out in those three short weeks, but I'm not gonna sweat it. I also like to get a jump up on the competition, so before anyone can say, "you just copied [insert random blog or music site]'s list", I wanted to clear the air with my Best Albums of 2009 list. I have ranked, what I consider to be, the 20 finest albums released during the 2009 calendar year, along with the top 5 eps. Each album is ranked with the first being the best. There are also a few honorable mentions that didn't quite make the top 20, but were close, so I need to give them their props.
Top 20 Albums of 2009:
1. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
To me, this album stands out as being far and away better than the rest this year. Now, don't get me wrong, I loves me some Animal Collective, and Merriweather Post Pavilion has some incredible tracks (and will no doubt top many a list this year); but as an album, nothing works better than Bitte Orca. The technical proficiency of the instrumentation is extraordinary and the harmonies are just absurd. I'll go out on a limb and say that this is going to fall into the realm of classic. It just works on every level and when I first listened to it, I felt like I was hearing something completely new and mind-bending. This was the feeling that I had when I listened to albums like The Soft Bulletin, Kid A and Doolittle for the first time and those have all fared pretty well in retrospect. Sometimes albums grow on you after awhile and then become your favorite, and sometimes an album is so damn awesome it just hits you in the mouth and blows your mind the first time you hear it. The former is a good album, the latter is the best of the year. Bitte Orca has quite a left hook.
7. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Self-Titled 8. The xx - Self-Titled 9. A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head
10. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer 11. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains 12. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms 13. The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love 14. Washed Out - Life of Leisure 15. Memory Tapes - Seek Magic 16. Alec Ounsworth - Mo Beauty 17. The Antlers - Hospice 18. Dan Deacon - Bromst 19. Built to Spill - There is No Enemy 20. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Honorable Mentions: Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall; Heartless Bastards - The Mountain; M. Ward - Hold Time; Morrissey - Years of Refusal; Donora - Self-Titled.
Top 5 EPs of 2009:
1. Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind 2. Bon Iver - Blood Bank 3. No Age - Losing Feeling 4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than The Stars 5. Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Honorable Mention: Death Cab for Cutie - The Open Door
If you strongly disagree with any of my choices, I would love to hear it. Also, if there are any glaring omissions, drop me a line.
Kristin, can I just say something for a minute? Why did you have to grow up to be such a bitch? You totally carried Laguna Beach for two seasons with your mildly innocent scheming and comparatively unspoiled persona. Your drama was real(ish) and your heart was true.
Then came college. Remember when Stephen moved to San Fran and you guys would get together sometimes for those awkward, staged reunions? Those were the days. I had high hopes for you—both of you! Stephen even left SoCal. You two were really going to study some stuff and be somebodies.
I bailed on Season 3 (Tessa? Please.), and never could stomach The Hills. And then, like a dove, you returned this year, living in an impossibly awesome waterfront pad in the ‘Bu. Even so, I suppressed my envy and tuned in for you to bring a nostalgic smile to my face ever so occasionally this season. But it just isn’t the same.
First off, it appears you and young Stephen are now both struggling actors. Why, Kristin? Who am I supposed to look up to anymore? Heidi? God save us.
Then there was the matter of your newfound 'tude. I looked past it, hoping for the best, but all for not.
Even despite my disillusionment which saw this season through, I was so amped when that camera panned to those perfectly arranged blue lounges (the only ones on the whole beach) last night and we saw a shaggy brown-haired dude kicked back in one. Could it be...?
But no. It was Audrina’s dbag ex, who we both know will never make you as happy as Stephen did, no matter whether he dresses up as bro or biker. That damned Justin is the icing on my discontent.
One final thought: sooo glad LC’s gone. (H8ed her.)
Setting aside the Hines-Ben controversy or rumors about Batch shooting hoops, or anything about music for that matter, I was rather amused by this bit from the Onion this morning.
Not much more to say I guess, other than maybe that his new album, Deal or No Deal, is at #10 overall this morning. Pretty good stuff for the Allderdice grad.
That is all.
EDIT: Oh yeah, and that he's doing a show at Club Zoo tonight.
So when I heard that Jay Reatard was making a stop in Pittsburgh on November 23rd, I bought tickets the moment they went on sale. I had only seen video footage of his shows and I knew that this was the type of act that does not come to Pittsburgh very often. He is basically a punk rock throwback in terms of his aggression on stage and general surly behavior towards anyone who gets near him. Needless to say, knowing that the show was at Brillobox, and that crowd control would be at a minimum, I imagined that some black eyes and broken noses were a possibility.
Don't let the schtick fool you though, his songs are masterfully constructed and precise, both in the studio and in concert. Anyone who doesn't believe me should check out the song "My Shadow", which packs in so many catchy riffs and transitions into three minutes and 20 seconds it's sick.
Enough build up - I am pleased to report that Jay Reatard was just as good live as I imagined, which is to say, incredible. I stood about fifteen feet in front of him and was at the edge of the mosh-pit. There was no crowd control. At one point a dude got thrown into Jay's pedals and he stopped mid-song to ream the guy out.
He played a blistering set with almost no talking between songs, except to call out the name of the next song (which is what he typically does). He played a good mix of songs from Blood Visions and from his Matador Singles. His performances of "My Shadow", "Blood Visions", "It's So Easy" and "Hammer I Miss You" really cooked. I would guess that he played about 20 songs in 50 - 60 minutes and then finished without an encore.
After the set, Jay came back to the stage about five minutes later and my friend Dave and I started talking to him. He was a really nice guy and very gracious when we complimented him. He said this was his first time in Pittsburgh in 12 years of touring. We asked him if we could take him out and buy him a drink but he said he had to rest up for their show tonight in New York where he is opening for the Pixies. All in all, a great show and a cool dude.
Now I would be remiss if I did not mention the opening act - Kim Phuc. Probably the loudest band that I've ever heard. When the music started, the lead singer went into a zombie-like trance and started getting right into the faces of the people in the crowd - including myself. Towards the end of the first song, the lead singer started whipping the mic stand around and since I was directly in front of him he nailed me in the balls. It was at that point that I decided it was not in my best interest to stand at the very front any longer. There was also a terrible stench throughout the set, which added to the horror-show theme for the night.
Needless to say, I will not forget this show any time soon. I would rank it up there among the best shows that I've ever seen at Brillo, probably tied with the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Donora show from last year for best ever.
Well, I dropped "French Navy." I think hearing it a few times among the batch of tunes on this playlist just made me realize it's not on par with the rest. Also dropped "Nothing to Worry About" for similar reasons, and per Jimmy's earlier comment.
One addition: Alela Diane's "White As Diamonds" thanks to the ever-present Anon.
One substitution as well: "Stillness is the Move" for "Knotty Pine." Both great songs, so maybe both should be on there. Maybe a 'one per customer' rule is stupid in this scenario. Or, if not, maybe "My Girls" should also sub in for "Summertime Clothes." Tough decisions...
Will Neon Indian or Toro y Moi make the cut? I guess it depends how deep you got into the whole chillwave thing this year. Jury's still out for me. Is longevity a prereq?
The closest 'maybe' track on deck right now might be Edward Sharpe's "Home." Good song, but how good?
Reader and friend of the show JP turned us on to the Low Anthem a bit ahead of the curve. That's about all he's done, but it's a decent track record.
Another band he's been touting since seeing them in February is the Wiyos. They're not your standard Brooklynites, though they call that hipster haven home. He describes them as "a rollicking, vaudevillian good time" and that seems to be in line with the generalconsensus around the net. So we're taking his advice ("we" being either the royal we or perhaps including Henry, who has all but quit the blog).
Fresh off a stint opening for this summer's Dylan/Nelson tour, the Wiyos roll into Calliope's new 150-capacity venue at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts tonight. Just look for the big yellow building on the corner of 5th and Shady.
For the record, I've never seen a band with a washboard and kazoo that I didn't like. I expect tonight will only solidify that streak.
I'm not sure what this is all about, but I'm seeing either a pure coincidence, a collective focus of contemplations, or just a weird marketing trend in the world of short fiction. Three books I'm hearing about are:
Barb Johnson's More of This World or Maybe Another;
Laura van der Berg's What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us; and
Lori Ostlund's The Bigness of the World.
Ladies, I don't undertsand what's happening with the world and I have no idea what any of your stories might be about, but all of your titles intrigue me as phrases suggesting vague, profound things often do. I will read the first three to five pages of whichever of your books is in stock/most easily accessible at my local branch of the library, and then possibly read more.
Let’s break for just a brief moment from musical niceties and consider today, which can often go overlooked unless you happen to be in the market for a new mattress or some snow tires.
Admittedly, I never thought much about this holiday until just a few years ago, when I first attended the annual Friends of Danang Veteran’s Day Breakfast right here in Pittsburgh. I’ve attended every year since and, never having served myself, it humbles me each time. Irrespective of thoughts on war and peace, conflict is and has been a necessary reality of modern life and American history, and the sacrifices and successes of those who have nobly served us should not pass without--at the least--this one day of unified appreciation.
It was pointed out at this morning’s breakfast that (unlike this sentence) the Preamble to the United States Constitution uses only active verbs--eight of them if you're counting:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Perhaps by virtue of my personal background, I was first struck by the final two. I noted while hearing that single sentence read aloud that the Constitution was not, by its own terms, ‘written’ or ‘set forth’ or any such thing; it was ordained and established. That’s intense.
Later, while perusing the news and reading of the recent beating of a Cuban blogger who publicly criticized the Castro regime, I was struck by the use of “secure” in the Preamble. By the establishment of that document, it was intended that the Blessings of Liberty be secured. Dissect each of those three words, meaningful enough one by one, and really take a moment to think about how they become profound when combined as above.
Consider the other verbs, and what each means in the context of America.
Anyway, Paul Simon’s son, Harper--who, apparently, did not actually accompany his father on travels through the Mississippi Delta, which shined like a national guitar, at age 9--will, presumably, be following a river down a highway through the arguable cradle of the French and Indian War this evening to perform at the Andy Warhol Museum. Simon’s self-titled, self-produced, self-released solo debut is recently out and has garnered some pretty favorable reviews.
Not sold? Tonight’s opener is local neo-folk songstress Emily Rodgers, who has a recent release of her own out on Misra Records, home to Will Johnson and Hallelujah the Hills and formerly home to Phosphorescent and Great Lakes Swimmers.
Price of admission: $12. Sol(i)d.
UPDATE: A review of the show is here, courtesy of Scott Mervis at the P-G.
Looking ahead, we see a good weekend for locally grown music(ians) on the horizon, with Gibsonia's Bearskin storming the Rex on Friday, then Good Night States* at Brillobox coming up against Greensburg native SAADI, who will be blowing in from NYC to Garfield Artworks on Saturday (playing with a "Lights," not to be confused with Lights).
Why the halfhearted weather metaphor? No idea.
Surprise: I'm partial to GNS on Saturday. But I have to say that I dig SAADI's sound. Given the proximity of Saturday's venues, it may be advisable to try and squeeze in both shows if you're feeling adventurous.
*A special thanks to GNS for having an actual web site. If I haven't mentioned it before, I really hate MySpace Music. The layout, the player, the slowness to load... everything about it.
Note the uglyass new widget in the sidebar. Early, yes, but we're almost there so I'm giving it the OK. Consider it a work in progress; I will too, and we'll revise as justice dictates.
Some of these songs were on '08 albums, you say. And you are correct. But if they were released as singles this year and I really like them, I'll allow it. Por ejemplo, "Mykonos." Great song. No way I was letting that little guy off the queue.
Proposed additions have already been made, including but not limited to:
"You Do You” - Bear in Heaven
"Talamak” - Toro y Moi
“11th Dimension” - Julian Casablancas
“Home” Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
"And the Hazy Sea" - Cymbals Eat Guitars
"Life's a Dream" - Built to Spill
"Young Adult Friction" - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
"Mind, Drips" - Neon Indian
Past and (potentially) future contributor Jimmy has also suggested "Blood Bank," which I see is making a lot of these lists. A fine song, to be sure, though I'm not sold. But if the masses speak, they will be heard.
So for now, listen, enjoy, and (as always) feel free to comment or contribute. And maybe I'll fix up those colors before winter comes to town.
EDIT: Might drop Camera Obscura from the list. "French Navy" is a great song, but I was thinking this weekend it's not up to snuff with their older stuff. Is that grounds from removal? Not sure yet...
The tickets are bit pricy at $42, but if you can swing it Jake Shimabukuro should be a highlight of the month when he plays the Manchester Craftmens Guild with Stanley Jordan on November 13. He does some insane things with just four strings and that miniature gueetar. Here he is tearing up a classic:
UPDATE: Thanks to Amy from the Guild for pointing out in the comments thread that using promo code PG+2009 when you purchase tickets online will get your ticket down to $34. Not bad, not bad.
This one is courtesy of Brad Morocco, Photo Editor for the Duquesne Duke.
The P.J. McArdle Roadway may be one of the worst roads in town, but it does offer one of my favorite views of the city's skyline, giving the great contrast of those gold and green onion domes of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Church in the foreground. I nearly crash every time I drive up that barely paved urban byway.
As always, if you have a photo of your own you'd like to submit, do send it along: sitkot@gmail.com
Not sure why I thought Gene the Werewolf was a local rap crew. Turns out I was way off. More of a Van Halen thing going on here really. I guess I should know these things as a local music blogger. Anyway, take in the local sites in their new vid:
Emily Rogers, on the other hand, I had no doubts about: melodic modern folk. Although I must admit, this track off her new nationwide release suggests something more complex than I previously gave her credit for. Enjoy:
Upcoming shows from both are on the concert calendar at right.
From the reviews I’ve seen, I really expected this thing to be terrible. I mean absolutely awful. But I have to say after two go-rounds, it really isn’t all that bad, at least to one who’s a fan of both mainstream Christmas tunes (check) and modern Dylan (check).
For the most part, the album sees its high points when the band spreads out a bit, and its lows when Bobby tries to stick to the blueprints and falls victim to the limitations of his own death rattle. Here’s a half-assed track-by-track review:
1. Here Comes Santa Claus – Good 2. Do You Hear What I Hear – Average 3. Winter Wonderland – Average 4. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing – Really Bad 5. I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Barely Above Average (but might fit nicely amid a playlist consisting mostly of tracks from Tom Waits’ 1976 album, Small Change) 6. Little Drummer Boy – Below Average 7. The Christmas Blues – Good 8. O’ Come All Ye Faithful – Average 9. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Below Average 10. Must Be Santa – Awesome 11. Silver Bells – Decent 12. The First Noel – Pretty Bad 13. Christmas Island – Average (unless compared to Leon Redbone’s superlative rendition) 14. The Christmas Song – Below Average 15. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem – Average (saved by its brevity and simplicity)
Honestly, I really like the tune “Must Be Santa,” and I’ll even venture that it could become a holiday radio standard alongside the likes of Paul McCartney’s “Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time,” a controversial favorite of mine.
It’s also worth noting that the proceeds from all sales of this record go to charity.
Bluegrass and alt-country may be gateway drugs to the fearful world of Froggy and Y-108. Luckily, I haven't yet been drawn that deep. But with my belated discovery of Jamey Johnson's latest album, I might be considered "at-risk".
Nonetheless, I march onward to Mr. Small's for tonight's show, and I urge all readers with a healthy appreciation for American music to do the same.
Johnson is without a doubt heir to Waylon Jennings' coveted crown, and the Country community at large seems slowly to be realizing that, along with standard rock rags SPIN and Rolling Stone.
If you are not a frequent Froggy listener, please skip over or ignore this next sentence: Johnson penned Trace Adkins' 2005 hit, "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk."
If you are not a frequent Froggy listener and read that one anyway, forgive him his past indiscretions. A man's got to make a living.
In his defense, I give you the following tracks, both of which foretell a catalog of songs which should safely render names like Brooks and Dunn forgotten by history when we someday look back on the music of the early 21st century.
It's surely coincidence that tonight should see such a great blend of country-influenced music all across town, but it's a great chance to broaden your tastes if you've avoided the genre in the past. I'm giving you a SITKOT 90% no-twang-guarantee.
If you lean toward the jam, the bluegrass-hippie stylings of Yonder Mountain String Band always please the ear, as they will tonight in Millvale. If you're in the over-35 crowd or just in the mood to chill, western-style, you might consider staying in town for the lush compositions of Cowboy Junkies.
Bingham stands to take his place somewhere among the likes of John Hiatt and John Prine, with perhaps a tip of the ten-gallon hat to John (Cougar) Mellencamp. His songs are deceptively tight, and his sound and style belie his relative youth. My initial interest in country led me to my introduction to Bingham. Lyle Lovett made the move to Lost Highway Records, and I noticed that several other artists along alt-country lines started to put out records on that label. I signed up for the newsletter, and was soon turned on to Bingham. The first song of his I heard remains my favorite, but his recent material is as good as anything on the first record.
Likely soundboard problems notwithstanding, I expect great things from tonight's show at Club Cafe.
Less than a week after its actual release, I feel (somewhat) comfortable saying that I am "over" Girls' Album. I bought into the hype, and I was really into a few of the leaked tracks. I continue to really like "Hellhole Ratrace," "Lauren Marie," and a few others. Indeed, the highs are high. But the rest is beginning to seem like fluff. I fear this may be a record which quickly finds its way out of my rotation. Reminds me a bit of VietNam, in whom I also lost interest a few weeks into a short-lived captivation yet still sort of like when I hear them. Maybe all this rain is just getting to me. I did find the tracks to be generally more satisfying while in San Diego last week. Anyway. Moving on.
I am an unabashed fan of M. Ward and My Morning Jacket and was/sometimes think I still might be a(n abashed) fan of Bright Eyes. So obvi I was thrilled that they were finally working on a Monsters of Folk album. But then I was disappointed when I heard the first single, "Say Please." But then I was reinvigorated when I downloaded the full album and dug it straight through. And now I even like "Say Please." (Not sure what happened there.) Highs: All of it. In particular, "Man Named Truth," "The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me," "Magic Marker." But really all of it.
I ignored everything I read about Washed Out. Not sure why. Didn't even give him a listen. So much hype around so many bands in '09, maybe. I've been leaning on some old standards lately: Neil Young, John Prine, Dinosaur Jr., Beatles, others. (Glad U2 played "Ultraviolet" on SNL this weekend.) From the words around the blogs, I assumed Wavves - Rock = Washed Out. I was not interested. Preemptive backlash. Then I gave in. Glad I did. The general impression and resultant formula might be accurate, but I like it no less. For now, anyhow. Like a lo-fi indie poptart.
If you harbor even a slight suspicion that perhaps--by some twist of circumstance that might have been altogether unforeseeable a decade ago--not all country music sucks, then this Fall will be a good time for you to test that theory in our fair Burgh.
Look forward to Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses at Club Cafe on October 6, followed by Jamey Johnson at Mr. Small's on the 7th, and Shooter Jennings at Small's on the 21st. Tell me that Bingham is more Americana and Shooter is more rock and I won't argue too much. Until then, I'll catch you further on down the trail.
Seriously. And you can hear their entire new album in streaming audio now through Monday night at Colbert Nation (see left side). As expected, I really like what I'm hearing.
They also performed the album's lead track on the Colbert Report last night, and here's the video. Before playing, Wayne Coyne gave a pretty entertaining interview, available on the site.
If it weren't for an omnipresent drum machine and that pesky comma in their name, this EP would be damn near perfect. With that in mind, it's still not far off.
Here's the tracklist:
1. Arsonist's Blues 2. Good Times, So Wearily Desired! 3. River In The Dry 4. Moonlight 5. All On Your Own 6. Neighborhood Roofs
Every song comes equipped with a great melody, and at least five of the six have found themselves stuck in my head over the few weeks I've been listening to it (sorry, "All On Your Own"). Oddly, the album was recorded by only two of the band's five members--Steve Gretz and Joe Tanner--but such is life when your band is split among three cities, as theirs is.
This record is a departure, to be sure. Don't expect to rock out. The album title seems fitting, as even after having listened to the record several times through I still expect tracks 1 and 6 to open up to a flood of distorted guitars. They don't. Yet they're no worse for not giving into my petty desires.
From the top, "Arsonist's Blues" is a great song to start it off and set the tone for the rest of record. Leaning on the vintage keyboards expected of GN,S, Gretz and Tanner manage to maintain their trademark sound without overdoing it on the synth tones. The second track has to be the catchiest, and already has me nostalgic for the summer that's still here. Then the synths fade to welcome some crisp acoustic guitar work that brings a woodsy air of reminiscence to my favorite of the bunch, "River In The Dry."
While the songs are stripped down, they don't feel spare. There's a warmth here that gives the sense of fullness, and a restraint that leaves room for these songs to grow live. Perhaps the fullest on the record is the closer, "Neighborhood Roofs," and it's also one of the strongest.
Obviously the backstory of the writing and recording of this album begs curiosities about how these tunes will translate to the stage, but Hugh assures us they'll do just fine. Here's where you can hear them:
Tonight: Thunderbird Cafe
Tomorrow: Carnegie Arts and Heritage Festival
Next Tuesday: Brillobox
Monday, Sept. 21: William Pitt Student Union
Courtesy of the Trib, here's a video of the full band doing "Arsonist's Blues" which bodes very well for the upcoming shows and the growth of this great band. The vocals are sweet, and that small touch of natural percussion is enough to make me forget about the drum machine in the background.
Bob Dylan: folk-rock legend, poet-spokesman of his generation . . . and GPS voice? Maybe.
The enigmatic troubadour said on his satellite radio program that he is negotiating with two car manufacturers to be the voice of their in-car navigation systems. Insert your own Dylan-lyric pun here about "no direction home" or "there must be some way out of here" or "how many roads . . . ."
This past week saw the publication of Collected Stories by Raymond Carver, with whom I’ve been a bit obsessed lately. In particular, I’ve been obsessing over the edits Gordon Lish famously made to Carver’s draft of a story called “Beginners,” which would eventually become a story celebrated and studied as among of the finest of its century.
Collected Stories contains unedited drafts of even more stories, and I have for some time been looking forward to seeing them.
As a listener of much music, it’s almost strange to consider that not all art-forms lend themselves to variation, cover, remix, etc. To hear a recording of Townes Van Zandt playing his best songs live and solo is ear-opening indeed, but it is expected. To hear “Kids” transformed by some unknown DJ or "Where It's At" mutated by beck himself can be exciting and even a bit enlightening, perhaps, but it’s no big deal. That’s what happens with music. Jose Gonzalez covers The Knife, Iron and Wine reinterprets The Postal Service and you have some chilled out adaptations of what might be modern classics to throw on your fancy Nano.
To hear Tobias Wolff read Denis Johnson’s “Emergency” is interesting, and to hear him discuss it is quite edifying. But the story is the story, and it ends the same whether Johnson or Wolff or I read it, whether silently or aloud. It’s the same each time and we don’t get to know it as anything else. And that’s cool; that’s the way we interact with most published literature.
Only occasionally will an author’s notes, edits or early drafts see light beyond some library’s archives. But this week is such an occasion. Debate over whether the stories benefited from Lish’s extensive edits to Carver’s rather less cynical voice will likely burn on for some time. What's striking is how heavy Lish's pen was. It's almost as though the Carver stories we've come to love were just cover versions of Carver's stories. “What We Talk About…” starts stronger—and surprisingly more minimalist—than “Beginners.” But I like Herb’s lengthy narrative about the elderly couple, and I prefer the original, somewhat indulgent ending as well. On the other hand, I think Lish’s truncation of the ending of “One More Thing” makes a great story profound… But I’m years removed from my study of English, and have little to offer anyhow but unformed opinions and the sentiment that I’m glad to see this book arrive. It may not be the unblemished collection that Tess Gallagher has been pushing for, but it’s damned close.
At risk of stretching it, reading Carver’s unedited drafts is similar to hearing Dylan’s varying verses of “Mississippi” on Tell Tale Signs (excepting that Dylan presumably made his own edits). Since that’s the best musical connection I can come up with right now, here are some earlier versions of that tune, as well as the final cut.
Local indiepop favorites Donora have chosen the infectious "I Think I Like You" for their latest video, which was actually not filmed outside a Stringcheese show. Nonetheless, this chic's got moves.
p.s. When writing about a band, are they plural as in, "Donora release new video," or is it singular, as in the title I went with? Style call, I guess. Not so sure I made the right one.
Henry was a good blogger, and a good man. He was one of us.
I am an unabashed fan of M. Ward and My Morning Jacket and was/sometimes think I still might be a(n abashed) fan of Bright Eyes. So obvi I was thrilled that they were finally working on a 
