Author: April

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Friday Link Session

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  • Brendan Toller, who brought us I Need That Record!, has a new documentary in the works about musical jack-of-all-trades Danny Fields (it’s difficult to encapsulate Fields’ career because he’s done so much, but he had a hand in the careers of the Doors, Iggy Pop, the Ramones, the MC5, Lou Reed, etc.). Read about the film here and follow the production progress on Facebook.
  • In 1977, Marc Bolan (T. Rex) had a short-lived music variety show on British television. Marc ran for six episodes, kicked off with a performance from the Jam, included awkwardly-choreographed dance routines, and was overflowing with glitter and lip-syncing. Stuepfaction has gathered all six episodes for you to watch.
  • File under: Really? Here’s footage of a collaboration between Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers and Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, circa the early 1990s.
  • As to collaborations that have been proven good, RZA and the Black Keys have come together again to produce a track for RZA’s upcoming directorial debut The Man with the Iron Fists. You can listen to “The Baddest Man Alive” at Fuse.
  • If you’re into toys, Mike Watt has been added to the Aggronautix “throbblehead” line, which also includes the likes of Roky Erickson, J Mascis, GG Allin, Keith Morris, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Jello Biafra and more.
  • The Savage Heart, the new album from the Jim Jones Revue, is streaming at Q.
  • There’s an hour of recorded-for-television concert footage of Thelonious Monk on YouTube. This past Wednesday, October 10, would have been Monk’s 95th birthday.
  • Learn about Cleveland-born, world-famous Screamin’ Jay Hawkins in the documentary I Put a Spell on Me.
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A Two Man Gentlemen Band Break

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It’s been a short work week in much of the U.S. and Canada this week, which means it actually feels like a longer week. You could use a break. Why don’t you, circumstances permitting, pour a little cocktail and enjoy some songs and some chat as the charming Two Man Gentlemen Band sit down with Serious Business on BTR.

 

 

Two Man Gentlemen Band Official Website

Two Man Gentlemen Band @ Bandcamp

Two Man Gentlemen Band @ Facebook

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Mudlow: Sawyer’s Hope

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photo credit: Nhung Dang

 

This past spring, I was honored to be asked to edit the liner notes Rick Saunders was writing for the new Mudlow album, Sawyer’s Hope, and there couldn’t be a more evocative description of not only the music, but also the feel of the album than Rick’s words.

 

 

The music of Mudlow has been referred to as “noir blues”, and like any good noir story, their songs are packed with colorful characters. And like any good blues, their songs are packed with emotions that can scrape out the bottom of your soul, an effect achieved sometimes with the most simple but telling phrase and sometimes with the sound that spreads between the moment the blade pierces your heart and the moment you begin to feel the sting.

 

 

This album is one of the most gorgeous I’ve heard in a long while, and I was pleased to get a few words with band members, and damn fine people, Matt (drums) and Tobias (vocals, guitar) about the band and their new album.

 

 

Let’s give the readers some background: where are you all from and how did you get together?

(Matt) Me and Tobias have known each other for years and have played in bands together for most of that time, when our previous band ‘Crawl Limbo’ folded Tobias moved to Brighton and decided to start a new band. We had always played on the gig circuit in Brighton so knew most of the other local band members and had become friends with quite a few of them so finding a new line-up actually wasn’t too difficult, Trimble was there from the start with another Sax player Jules, our first bassist could only play ska because of his unusually fat fingers so we had to let him go. We asked Paul to join and Mudlow was born. We’re definitely a ‘Brighton‘ band and we all live in the city or surrounding area.

 

Based on the 8-year span between full-length albums, I’d guess the band isn’t what keeps food on the table. What are your daytime alter egos (day jobs)?

(M) Me and Tobias work for a friend in the heating trade. Paul works as a sound recording engineer/producer at Church Road Studios in Brighton (which is where the Mudlow magic happens!). Not sure what Trimble does, I think he’s either a pirate or a spy, depending on what he’s wearing.

 

Where does the title Sawyer’s Hope come from?

(Tobias) It’s a partly-imagined place that crops up as a lyric in a couple of our songs. I use maps and place names for inspiration and this came from combining the name of a farm and a wood. To me ‘Sawyer’s Hope’ sounds like an old man’s lifelong aspirations, did he achieve or fail? or is it just a name on a map?

 

 

I know you were shopping around for a label to release this album for a while. What was that process like? How did the deal come together with Motor Sounds Records?

(M) It wasn’t really a ‘process’ as such. We had in mind quite a few labels that we liked so we sent them copies/press etc but didn’t hear much back. We’d pretty successfully self-released our first record but we really wanted to work with someone else on this one and kinda have a labels name on which to hang our hat. We know the guys at Motor Sounds so we approached them to see if they would assist with putting this one out. Thankfully they were really keen to be involved so that was that. I guess you could say it’s a self-release but via an independent label.

 

Your songs are so cinematic and contain so many interesting stories. How do you approach songwriting? Any thoughts about writing a novel?

(T) The songs approach me. You can’t write anything until it’s ready to be written. Sitting and trying to force ideas doesn’t work. A train of thought might be triggered by one line that pops in to your head and then once it gets going let it flow and write down everything, then scrub out the crap and join the dots. The lyrics are mine but we work on the music as a band, we don’t have a formula for creating the songs and we approach each song differently so each has it’s own individuality.

I think about writing a book a lot but who has the time to do that?!

 

What’s next for the band? Any chance of an American tour in the foreseeable future?

(M) We will be playing some shows in support of the new record and will most likely tour here and in Europe. We have already ear-marked band funds for a return trip to the States so we’ll have to see how well Sawyer’s Hope sells. We definitely want to come back.

 

And because I get some of my best music recommendations from musicians, what have you been listening to lately?

(T) I like that Bruce Peninsula band, they’re like a choir trying to upset God.
(M) I vote for The Bonnevilles.
(T) Wait… I want to choose the Bonnevilles
(M) Well, you can’t. I did.
(T) Right! I’m leaving the band. [stomps out]

 

 

In addition to Sawyer’s Hope, Mudlow is generously offering an EP of bits and bobs called The Last Rung Down to Hell, which you can listen to and download right here.

 

Mudlow Official Website

Mudlow @ Bandcamp

Mudlow @ Google+

Mudlow @ Facebook

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Friday Link Session

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The “Freaking Pile o’ Links” edition (this is what happens when I don’t do one of these for a couple of weeks).

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Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch: The Mystery of Heaven

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I’ve been a little slow getting to this one (then again, I’ve been a little slow on everything lately – sorry, friends), but I would watch film director Jim Jarmusch open a can of beans and listen to him play his armpits, so I was thrilled to learn he was collaborating on an album with composer and lutenist Jozef Van Wissem. Fortunately for all of you who might not be Jarmusch zealots, the resulting work is a damn site more pleasant and entrancing than either beans or armpits. Indeed, there are moments when you feel you are listening to a soundtrack from one of Jarmusch’s films, which have always been excellently scored.

 

“The Sun of the Natural World is Pure Fire” – Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch

 

Jarmusch and Van Wissem released an album, Concerning The Entrance Into Eternity, back in February and are already set to release a second album, The Mystery of Heaven.

 

 

Heaven will be out on November 13 and includes vocals from Tilda Swinton (both Van Wissem and Swinton are involved in Jarmusch’s forthcoming film, Only Lovers Left Alive). Jarmusch and Van Wissem will play a record release show at Le Poisson Rouge in New York on November 27.

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Firewater

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Now, we again take up the story of Firewater. When we left our hero (or is that anti-hero?) Tod A, we feared his rock ‘n’ roll boat might have capsized in the international seas of music. But, wait! We have a transmission from Istanbul! It’s a coded message, saying, “International Orange!”

Okay, enough purple prose. Here’s the deal: Firewater has a new album out called International Orange!. Recorded and mixed in Istanbul, Turkey, (where Tod A now lives) and Tel Aviv, Israel, during the Arab Spring of 2011, International Orange! brings back together the team of Tod A and Balkan Beat Box’s Tamir Muskat, who birthed Firewater’s last powerfully rocking album, The Golden Hour. Though still backed by Tod A’s acerbity, the album is punctuated by the passionate optimism of revolution and full-to-brimming with international rhythms. International Orange! tours Turkey, Greece, Pakistan, Cuba, Jamaica, Greece, picking up trinkets of each country’s sound as it goes, melds them with the American and British fire of punk and rock, and sets it all down in a package that will have you clearing space for pogoing.

 

“A Little Revolution” – Firewater (download from link or listen below)

 

Now it is my giddy honor to hand the reins over to Tod A for another installment of inspiring recommendations.

—
 

The following can be enjoyed simultaneously, ideally underneath a palm tree on a tropical island.

Good Read:
The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson
Forget the Johnny Depp film debacle: he completely missed the point. This book holds some of HST’s best barbs about human nature. A choice quote: “Like most of the others, I was a seeker, a mover, a malcontent, and at times a stupid hell-raiser. I was never idle long enough to do much thinking, but I felt somehow that my instincts were right. I shared a vagrant optimism that some of us were making real progress, that we had taken an honest road, and that the best of us would inevitably make it over the top. At the same time, I shared a dark suspicion that the life we were leading was a lost cause, that we were all actors, kidding ourselves along on a senseless odyssey. It was the tension between these two poles — a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other-that kept me going.”

 

Good Listen:
Essential Ska Masters by The Skatalites
If you’ve never heard this amazing early sixties instrumental ska band, this record is a great place to start. Everything you probably love about jazz, with minimum wank, and plenty of skanky groove to get your hips shaking. Every cut is a winner.

 

“Confucius” – The Skatalites

 

Good Drink:
Arak Madu
Fill a tall glass with ice and one teaspoon of honey. Pour in three fingers of Indonesian arak, then top up the glass with fresh orange juice. Stir. Drink and repeat.

—

Make sure to check out Firewater on the road for a show that is told to be un-fucking-missable.
 

Firewater @ Bloodshot Records

Firewater @ Facebook

Firewater Geocache Challenge

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Harriet: I Slept with All Your Mothers

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I love this first song from Harriet’s EP Tell the Right Story.

 

Harriet “I Slept With All Your Mothers” from Harriet on Vimeo.

Harriet, which includes Alex Casnoff (Dawes, PAPA), is offering Tell the Right Story for free download at their website, and they will touring the American/Canadian west coast with AC Newman in November.

11/8 – Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore Cabaret
11/9 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
11/10 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
11/12 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
11/13 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echoplex
11/14 – San Diego, CA – The Casbah

 

Harriet Official Website

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Feel Bad For You, September 2012

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I don’t have a horse in this race this month, but I can’t deprive you all of the goodness that is FBFY just because I blanked on a contribution.

“Feel bad for September? No way! It’s football and chili season! First, thanks to AnnieTUFF for the cover art. Second, for the first time in the history of FBFY mixtapes (I think) two people submitted the same track (see #7). Third, notice how loaded TinCanMan was when he submitted his track (# 14). That’s what I like to see! Let’s get some drunken commentary on this mix, pronto!”

Download

1. Title: Young Blood
Artist: Black Pistol Fire
Album: Big Beat ’59 (2012)
Submitted By: @mikeorren
Comments: Saw these guys open for The Scabs in Austin a couple months back and thought they were great. Songmanship takes a jump in their new album– first time I heard this, I swore it was an old favorite.

2. Title: Everybody’s Devil
Artist: Some Dark Holler
Album: Hollow Chest (2012)
Submitted by: Corey Flegel – This Is American Music

3. Title: One Time Thing
Artist: Michael Chapman
Album: Rainmaker (1969)
Submitted By: Truersound
Comments: Had the joy of meeting the man and seeing him perform at a private party recently. He sat on the porch with an amped acoustic, no vocals….and proceeded to blow us all away.

4. Title: Miénteme
Artist: The Moonstones
Album: Fuzz, Farfisa y Fiesta (2011)
Submitted By: BoogieStudio22
Comments: These guys started following me on twitter. I found their Bandcamp site (http://themoonstones.bandcamp.com/) and was floored by their retro 60s sound. Instant fan! About half the songs are in Spanish, the other half in English. I finally found a label in Australia where I could buy their CD (and got a couple of samplers too).

5. Title: Wanted
Artist: Town Hall Brawl
Album: demos (2010)
Submitted By: hoosier buddy
Comments: “I remember when called me up, asked me out to the laundromat, playin’ pool on the dry cycle, can’t have more fun than that. Never told anyone your secret, even though I know you told mine. I could never do that to another; some things should always be protected.”

6. Title: There’s More Pretty Girls Than One
Artist: Ricky Skaggs & Tony Rice
Album: Skaggs & Rice (1980)
Submitted By: @philnorman
Comments: Been doing more duo gigs lately, and there’s not many better bluegrass duo records to study than this one. Also, girls are pretty.

7. Title: Like A Drug
Artist: Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
Album: Dirty Radio (Deluxe Version) (2012)
Submitted By: Bryan Childs (Autopsy IV)
Comments: Ding a ding dang my ding a long ling long.

Also Submitted By: @popa2unes
Comments: I’m Hooked

8. Title: Define A Transparent Dream
Artist: Olivia Tremor Control
Album: Music From The Unrealized Film Script Dusk At Cubist Castle (1996)
Submitted By: Ryan (Verbow at Altcountrytab.ca)
Comments: RIP Bill Doss.

9. Title: Missing You
Artist: Chris Knight
Album: Little Victories (2012)
Submitted By: Simon
Comments: Not made a bad album Mr Knight and his new one is no exception, best of the plugged in releases so far for me.

10. Title: Coax Me
Artist: Sloan
Album: Twice Removed (deluxe reissue) (1994)
Submitted By: @scratchedsoul
I loved Sloan when they first came out, but then I hated this record when it was originally released in 1994. It’s absolutely grown on me over the years. I always loved the line ‘I think Consolidated’s OK, It’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans.’ That line definitely applied to Consolidated at the time and has applied to many bands since.

11. Title: For A Time
Artist: Guster The Face Buster (G.F.B)
Album (year): G.F.B (2011)
Submitted By: annieTUFF
Comments: Well, is it that time again? September? Already? The start of fall is upon us? We could still go to the lake right now and take a dip during the middle of the hot day, but by the end of the month I bet we’ll be wearing sweaters and eating only foods made with pumpkin. Is the pumpkin thing just me? Maybe… Anyway. Back to music. Part of fall is feeling a little bummed, summer is ending, stuff is dying, its starting to get darker in the morning, but you’ve got to embrace those feelings…and then punch them in the face. So, this month I’m embracing the bummer. Next month I’ll continue my fall tradition with the punching my bummer in the face. For now, I’ll introduce you to my brother…Guster The Face Buster.

12. Title: Bible on the Dash (featuring Hayes Carll)
Artist: Corb Lund
Album: Cabin Fever 2012
Submitted By: Rockstar Aimz
Comments: Corb Lund and Hayes Carll (and Todd Snider) are among the few songwriters still following the long tradition of using humor in country music. This song is one of the highlights off of Lund’s new album.

13. Title: New York
Artist: Sex Pistols
Album: Never Mind The Bollocks (1976)
Submitted By: Bowood
Comments: this popped up on my iPod, the whole album is just a middle finger to everyone and everything.

14. Title: Best Song Everrr
Artist: Wallpaper
Album: Ultimix 181 (2011)
Submitted By: tincanman
Comments: I’m jush wanna say I love you FB…FMB…shit…FBFUCKY peoples. Yesh, I’ve had a few brwskiiiiiiiiiis ha haha, but thatsh not it. No, I shwear, I just love you. all. Video is the NSFW version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr7pEzgW_7Y

15. Title: Storms (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Artist: Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy
Album: Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute (2012)
Submitted By: TheSecondSingle/Beldo
Comments: My love for soft rock is no secret to those on ACT. This earnest, stripped down cover by one of my favorite duos brings out the beauty and songwriting perfection that has made so much of Fleetwood Mac’s material age so well (and shine through the admittedly dated production). Now if Matt and Will would make a follow-up to Superwolf…

16. Title: If Money Talks
Artist: Jason and The Scorchers
Album: Rockpalast – Hamburg Germany (1985)
Submitted By: toomuchcountry
Comments: I couldn’t let the recent passing of Scorchers’ drummer Perry Baggs slip by without some sort of trib. Two songs written by Baggs – White Lies and If Money Talks – were also two of the most iconic for the band and were staples in their setlists. R.I.P. Perry.

17. Title: Take The Fall
Artist: Elliott Randall
Album: Take the Fall (2007)
Submitted By: Cowbelle www.morecowbelle.net
Comments: New favorite SF Americana artist

18. Title: Calgary (Live at Triple J Studios)
Artist: Bon Iver
Album: Live at Triple J Studios (2012)
Submitted By: Slowcoustic
Comments: I know the crowd around here doesn’t always give the time of day to Mr. Vernon but I thought I would be the softie who provided a Bon Iver track to FBFY. I like this version of Calgary as it is one where Bon Vernon uses his actual speaking voice to sing and leaves a lot of the ‘signature’ falsetto-style singing out of the equation. And I live in Calgary…so, there is that.

19. Title: I Am The Cosmos
Artist: Chris Bell
Album (year): I Am The Cosmos (1992)
Submitted By: Trailer
Comments: If you don’t like this song, I probably don’t like you (much).

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Lillian Todd-Jones: Butter Soul

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It’s difficult to gauge the quality of an artist based on one song (there’s a reason there are so many one-hit wonders), but this one moody song from Lillian Todd-Jones is very promising.

 

 

If you’re in London, Todd-Jones will be a part of the City Showcase at the Borderline on October 11, 2012.

 

Lillian Todd-Jones @ Facebook

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Friday Link Session

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I promise I am not knowingly gathering themed links for these round-ups, but like the last round-up turned out to be hip hop-themed, this one is DC hardcore-themed.

  • Journalist/writer/graphic designer and former DC hardcore zinester Scott Crawford is Kickstarting a new documentary on the DC hardcore scene of the ’80s, called Salad Days. It looks fan-freaking-tastic and will include interviews with those you’d expect (Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins) and those you might not (Ben Harper? Fred Armisen!?).
  • The Nerdist posted their interview with Henry Rollins, and it is a great way to spend a couple of hours. I’d love to see Nerdtern (Nerdist intern) Kyle Clark start his own music discussion podcast.
  • Mentioned on the aforementioned podcast was the Rollins Archive, where you can download installments of Henry Rollins’ radio show going back to late 2004. The Ian MacKaye show from this past April is a definite highlight.
  • Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina, a.k.a. the Evens, will be releasing The Odds on November 20, their first full-length in six years. It will include previously-released single “Warble Factor”