Author: Jennifer

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Covers of Note: The Curly Wolf, Thirteen

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Hey, kids. I know it’s been kind of quiet around here. Promise I’m not dead. Nor is the blog. Only sleeping, babies, only sleeping.

Today I have a video for you, from The Curly Wolf; it’s their rendition of Danzig’s Thirteen.

Not going to lie, before I read the whole email I thought they had covered Big Star’s Thirteen instead, which, well, that would be a whole different adventure – one which I’d be willing to go on, for the record – but I’m also always in favor of flipping metal songs inside out and goosing the tempo. In this particular instance the result is probably best classified as “dark folk punk” or perhaps “but what if Willie Nelson and Lemmy had both taken a wrong turn at Bakersfield and started a band??”

Anyway. It’s good. You should listen to it.

The Curly Wolf - Thirteen (Danzig Cover)

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A Good Read A Good Listen and A Good Drink: Carter McNeil, Ghost King

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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.

Ghost King is one of the bands I was sorry to miss at SXSW, not least because I arrived at the venue not two minutes after they got finished.

SO CLOSE. AND YET SO FAR.

However, in much happier news, their new record – Bones – has been turned loose upon the world, and we can listen to it any time we want.

It’s an oddly-shaped little gem. The best way I can think of to describe it is “occasionally syrupy surf pop with an undercurrent of fuzzy menace.”

Ghost in Love is one of the poppier tunes:

While the two-part title track reflects the, uh, syrupy fuzzy menace:

And with that I will turn the floor over to Carter McNeil (vocals/guitar; center, in stripes, below), who joins us today to talk about a favorite book, record and drink.

GK PRESS COLORS

A GOOD READ
The Hobbit. Elves are pretty cool.

A GOOD LISTEN

12 Bar Bruise By King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

I like to put it on and jump around in my room.

A GOOD DRINK

Red wine. It just feels really good . . .

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: BANDITS

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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.

One of the bands I saw at SXSW this year was BANDITS, a three-piece crew from Colorado. Members are Lulu Demitro, her brother John, and Andrew Oakley, and they play blues-inflected rock and roll, with the occasional burst of guitar-heavy jamming for spice.

Here, as an example, is Kill Tonight, a musical foray into the power of shared madness and the dark places that can lead.

And with that, I turn the floor over to the three of them, who join us today to talk about a favorite book, record and drink. NB: They were extra good sports and did this LIVE and IN PERSON in a bar early in the day on St. Patrick’s Day, on the second day of SXSW.

BANDITS, #texas #sxsw

A photo posted by Rufus (@rufusowl) on

A Good Read

Lulu Demitro: My good read is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It’s sort of one of my favorite books because it takes place in California and I love the story and how many characters are in it and the development.

John Demitro: My favorite book is the Beatles Anthology. Because it’s a book that kinda lets you in on the life of the Beatles that a lot of people didn’t know about. I, I don’t know, I can relate to that book a lot and I enjoy it.

Andrew Oakley: My – I don’t want to say favorite book – but a great one that I just finished, is The Monkey Wrench Gang, by Edward Abbey. Growing up in Colorado and the Southwest and spending a lot of time out in the desert it’s really relatable for me and it’s just a great story.

A Good Listen

LD: I’m going to say a good listen is Iggy Pop’s new album Post Pop Depression. I think it’s so great. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see his concert last night – I wish that I did! – but his album, the new album, is just great and there are a lot of great musicians on it, so that is my good listen.

Iggy Pop - American Valhalla | #PostPopDepression

JD: My good listen is, I’d have to say – kind of a hard one – but I’d have to say Led Zepplin I. It’s just like the cornerstone for rock and roll bands. Every time it comes on it’s pretty awesome.

Good Times Bad Times

AO: My good listen is Gris Gris by Dr. John. Dr. John’s first album.

Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya

A Good Drink

LD: I’m going to say – I don’t do a lot of alcoholic drinking – I’m going to say a cold glass of sasparilla. Love a good rootbeer.

JD: I on the other hand do do a lot of alcoholic drinking, and my favorite drink is Jack Daniels on the rocks. Because it’s good.

AO: My good drink is just an ice cold IPA.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Stephen Charouhas, Cetacean

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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.

Cetacean are from Los Angeles, CA, and their sound is an unusual fusion of black metal, prog rock and experimental jazz. In practice, this means that sometimes the first three minutes of a song will be experimental (but jazzy) ambient noise, the kind of thing that is good to put on low for background noise at cocktail parties, and then WHAMMO the ogre roar explodes out of the deep, the drums pick up speed and the guitars take a turn for the doomy.

It can be kind of startling, I guess, but not in a bad way. In fact I specifically liked it because of the change in tempos and general vibe that happen within and between songs.

Here is Breach | Submerge, their most recent release, so that you can listen for yourself:

And with that, I turn the floor over to Stephen Charouhas, multi-instrumentalist currently playing bass, who joins us today to talk about a good read, a good listen, and a good drink.

Cetacean; Stephen Charouhas is on the far right in black. Photo by Erin Stone

Cetacean; Stephen Charouhas is on the far right in black. Photo by Erin Stone

A GOOD READ: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

Now widely regarded as one of the greatest novels of the 20th Century, McCarthy’s story takes place in the late 1800’s and follows a drifter, simply named “the kid”, as he roams the southwest of the United States and finds himself joining a band of mercenaries as they head south into the bordering Mexican territory on a bloodthirsty hunt for Indian scalps. Gorgeously written, despite its graphic gore and stark depiction of the unforgiving capacities of land and man alike, the book is bleak, harrowing, visceral and, to me, absolutely essential.

A GOOD LISTEN: Henryk Gorecki: String Quartet No. 3 (…Songs Are Sung) by Kronos Quartet

This 2007 album, paying tribute to the music of Gorecki, is dark, brooding, menacing, and captivating. The execution and expression in each movement makes the music sound as though it’s breathing with every emotion from angst and panic, to exhaustion and resignation, to acceptance and relief. Gorecki was a follower of such composers as Stockhausen and Penderecki. His music exemplifies that same strangely dissonant and beautifully abstract feel, and the Kronos Quartet capture and recreate it perfectly.

I. Adagio-Molto Andante-Cantabile

A GOOD DRINK: Bourbon, neat

Quite simply, a liquor that has enough character to enjoy on its own, in just the way it ought to be enjoyed. I prefer to have mine warm, held in my hand, so as to unlock the aromas that lay in the liquor- from smoky oak to sweet vanilla. Those who don’t enjoy the initial bite of the drink may want to dilute a couple of fingers with an ice cube.

A GOOD BONUS: Try pairing all three recommendations (Book, Album, and Drink) into one sitting simultaneously. It may not be the most comfortable night of your life, but you’ll probably never forget it.

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Video: The Dirty Nil, Wrestle Yü To Hüsker Dü

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So before I started this post I skimmed back through all of my previous posts about The Dirty Nil (scrappy little band of my heart, Frozen North division) just to make sure I wasn’t about to tell the same story for the third time, and here’s what I realized: I maybe haven’t told enough stories.

A side effect of following a band’s career for a while is you get to watch them evolve and grow. The first time I saw The Dirty Nil was their first New York show, at Glasslands in 2013. It was December (and freezing) and also, like, a Wednesday, so their crowd amounted to me and four other people (all dudes) over 35 stomp-swaying (mostly swaying) appreciatively. Still, they did their best to blow the roof off.

My gut reaction was Oh yeah, this is the good stuff and Where is their pit? They need a pit.

(Answer: At home in Toronto, where from what I can tell from the internet, their shows are glorious chaos, as they should be.)

I’ve since seen them at a tiny filthy punk club and Warped Tour, with larger crowds for each excursion, and not only is everyone still stomp-swaying happily, the band has only improved with time. I’d say “like fine wine,” but that is so not their aesthetic. Like good whiskey, maybe. Or the bag of Doritos that’s been lingering in your glove compartment for while, in case of a snack emergency. Maybe both of those things together.

Below is the video for Wrestle Yü To Hüsker Dü, from Higher Power, their most recent release and first LP with Dine Alone records. It’s also a fine example of their gleefully obnoxious approach to punk rock. So is the record as a whole; it’s a fuzzed-out shred bomb and it is great.

The Dirty Nil is playing two shows at SXSW this year, and I’m aiming to get to at least one. I haven’t seen them for a while, and I’ve missed them. I’m used to being up front, but on some level I’m hoping the place is packed and the crowd is heaving and I have to decamp to the bar – I may not be able to handle a pit any more, but I can definitely appreciate one from afar.

The Dirty Nil - Wrestle Yü To Hüsker Dü (Official Video)

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Video: Orchid Collective, Lay Like A Stone

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Orchid Collective (love that name) are from Dublin, Ireland. I have watched three different videos for this song – Lay Like A Stone, their second single – and while I love all of them, I picked this one so you could actually see them playing. That it’s filmed in black and white adds some nice atmosphere and texture to an already melancholy song.

Orchid Collective - Citóg || Róisín Dubh

The other two are: this one, which is the official video, and perfectly captures the loneliness of struggling in a big city (and is thus SUPER sad) and this one, which is actually my favorite – just the band and their back-up singers, standing in a circle in a largely deserted and possibly rain-damp public square, nailing those beautiful harmonies.

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Three Songs From: Wintersleep

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One of the ways I find new music is to go to the Soundcloud pages of labels of bands I like and see who else they have on their roster.

And thus I have stumbled over Wintersleep, who, like The Dirty Nil (scrappy little band of my heart, Frozen North division), are Canadian and signed to Dine Alone Records.

I am extremely late to the party – Wintersleep have been a band since 2001 and have won a Juno award! – but, you know, better late than not at all.

Their next record, The Great Detachment, will be out March 4, and they’re stopping through SXSW later in the month. Here’s a three song sampler, featuring Amerika, Santa Fe and Territory.

All three songs are solid; I’m particularly partial to Amerika because . . . because I feel like it’s been a really long time since I’ve heard song like this, a little bit anthemic, a little bit of sledgehammer running through the bottom. All I can tell you is I think I’ve listened to it five times in a row and I’m still a little bit confused by the lyrics, but I also mostly don’t care. I’m vibrating on their frequency and I like it.

I’m also especially fond of Territory, which is a little bit lighter, tonally, than Amerika, and is mostly a reminder to assert one’s authentic self: You’re not a factory. You’re not supposed to be, you’ve been told, the territory of anyone.

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The Longest Day in History, David C Clements

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DavidCClementslngday

After a several years of fits and starts and bits and pieces, David C. Clements has at long last released his first official full length record. It’s called The Longest Day In History and it’s mostly new material – I say mostly because some of the previous fits and stars (Oh Child and Hurricane) are included.

The short version: it’s lovely, and if you’re into folk and singer-songwriters you need to jump over to his bandcamp and snag it right now.

The long(er) version is: these songs make me homesick for the pit, for people jammed in to a small space but still clapping and singing and stomp-swaying, caught up in the rush of music and lights, to happy to do anything but dance. And for the same crowd, quiet and hushed during the slower songs, letting familiar chords expand and swell and break their hearts all over again, the way they like best.

Here are the two songs he has up as teasers:

I’m Still Alive, and it’s for the come-down, when you’ve survived the hell and the high water and have got your happy ending: you’re starting over.

This is My Dear Mother which I think I posted before but whatever y’all are getting it again, because I like it:

Other highlights which you are just going to have buy the record to hear: Hurricane, which in this incarnation is seven minutes long and magnificent; Oh Child, which I have posted before and still love, and once almost made me cry on the train on the way to work; and No Shadow, which is about love and survival and holding on to love in order to survive.

He’s from Northern Ireland and as I far as I know, has never played in America, and he’s appearing at SXSW this year. This is your chance, folks. Don’t miss it. Come stand next to me in the front row, I promise it will be a good time.

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Video: Blackwater Jukebox, Heave Away (The Scrimshaw Blues)

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From our old friends Blackwater Jukebox: a video for Heave Away (The Scrimshaw Blues) a grand song about the start of voyage. Once again I wish could crawl inside and attend the show where it was filmed. Even better: there’s another new record coming soon.

Blackwater Jukebox - Heave Away (aka The Scrimshaw Blues) [Official Video]