While I have not been working so hard on this blog lately, there have been some big things on my plate. For starters, my small label Humdinger Records is releasing a cassette for Dolores de Huevos out of Mexico City. Incomplete Works will contain both previous EPs and a new track, "La Mascara de la Muerte Roja", recorded exclusively for this tape. The new Dolores tape will drop on Wednesday, October 21st when their eastern US tour begins here in NYC. Tour dates are below, go say hello and rock out a bit! -10/21: Brooklyn, NY @ Don Pedro w/Rebuschaos, CCTV (Dolores cassette release show) -10/22: Philadelphia, PA @ the Pharmacy w/Black Planet (OH), Lilith Velkor (NYC), Humanshapes -10/23: Richmond, VA @ McCormack's w/Abstruktor (Boston), Genosha, The Obsolete Man, The Donalds -10/24: Centerpoint, WV @ the Second Annual Mountaineer Country Chaos BBQ -10/25: Rutland, OH @ Skatopia -10/26: Cincinnati, OH @ Urban Artifact w/Kinkajoos -10/27: Whitesburg, KY @ Appalshop w/Globsters, Google Boys, No Witness, Woolsaw -10/28: Asheville, NC @ The Odditorium w/Empty Vessels (CT), Horseflesh, Swamprot -10/29: Knoxville, TN @ Indigenous Vibes w/Dendritic Arbor (Pittsburgh), Coffinwomb, Steaks -10/30: Chattanooga, TN @ Ziggy's w/Mudsex, Genki Genki Panik, La Basura Del Diablo (Halloween costume party) -10/31: Atlanta, GA @ 559 Winton Terrace NE w/Broken Factory Windows, Noizsound -11/1: Gainesville, FL @ The Fest (9:30 time slot @ Market St Pub) -11/2: Orlando, FL @ the Space Station w/Zeta (Venezeula/Miami), Manic & The Depressives, Dead Kids Check out some tracks from Incomplete Works: Listen to "La Mascara de la Muerte Roja" via bandcamp
I'm a big fan of rating things, or just judging things in general. So of course I'm gonna make a top ten list of my fave releases of 2014, right? Below is my list with the inclusion of my favorite track from each album. Now it's your turn to judge my list. Ain't skeered.
#10: Tacocat - NVM (Hardly Art)
#9: Nux Vomica - s/t (Relapse)
#8: Perfect Pussy - Say Yes To Love (Captured Tracks)
#7: The Budos Band - Burnt Offering (Daptone)
#6: Lecherous Gaze - Zeta Feticuli Blues (Tee Pee)
#5: Survival Knife - Loose Power (Glacial Pace)
#4: Black Rainbow - s/t (Starcleaner)
#3: Electric Wizard - Time To Die (Spinefarm)
#2: PyPy - Pagan Day (Slovenly/Black Gladiator)
#1: Priests - Bodies and Control and Money and Power (Don Giovanni/Sister Polygon)
Honorable Mention/Best Live Album: Screaming Females - Live At the Hideout (Don Giovanni)
I'm in a band called Exposeur. We're playing a few shows out of town. Come judge us.
LILITH VELKOR/EXPOSEUR'S FUN-SIZED JUNE TOUR!
JUN 21 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Suburbs w/Polst (OR), Dead Tenants 4PM
JUN 22 - Baltimore, MD @ Barclay House w/Sacridose (Tampa), Spoilage 8PM
JUN 23 - Raleigh, NC @ Slims w/Pie Face Girls, Chimes At Midnight 9PM
JUN 24 - Asheville, NC @ Static Age Records w/Kreamy 'Lectric Santa 8:30 ***Flies Around It cassette release show!
JUN 25 - Hazard, KY @ Cuddle House w/Globsters 7PM
JUN 27 - Chattanooga, TN @ Sluggo's (Do Ya Hear We? Fest) 6PM
JUN 30 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/Shellshag (BKNY) 5PM ***no Exposeur at this show
Last night I checked out the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony. It was probably the first time I watched an entire one of these since the 90's but I happen to have the luxury of premium cable television where I live and, well...I have my reasons (more on that later). Below are some various thoughts I had while watching.
-Like Saxondale, I think the only good Genesis is the Peter Gabriel lineup. However I find the dude's solo career incredibly boring. Also, that loser from Coldplay's induction speech for Gabriel was weird and stupid.
-I somehow had no idea that Linda Rondstadt had so much to do with the creation of the Eagles. WHOOPS!
-PsFd reader's poll time! If you witnessed this televised event, which made you feel more uncomfortable to watch: the four original members of KISS meet on the stage or seeing Krist Noveselic and Dave Grohl walk up on stage with Courtney Love? Cast your votes in the comments section! As of right now I'm currently undecided.
-I wish it didn't cost a million bucks to see Bruce Springsteen.
-Hall & Oates are fucking awesome. If you don't at least like 70's H&O then you can straight fuck right off! And they NAILED "She's Gone"! Just like the Boss I would love to see them but tics for their shows probably cost half a mil. Here's to hoping they play one of those free Coney Island concerts someday.
-OK, Nirvana getting inducted...I'm allowed to feel a bit sentimental over that I think. I remember being a young teen and calculating the year Nirvana would be eligible for induction, which is 25 years from an act's first release. And it happened right on time. Sure, this means nothing in the scheme of Nirvana's legacy as no award is sufficient enough to speak for the imprint they left, but it was cool to see. 12 year old JD has been waiting a long time.
-I take much pleasure in knowing that two members of the Melvins got thanked during a RnR HOF induction ceremony.
-Krist Noveselic in a fedora...somehow that doesn't offend me. He never did seem like the kind of guy who really gave a rat's ass about appearances anyways (his stint in government being an exception).
-Kim Gordon, singing "Aneurysm". That will forever be the coolest RnR HOF moment and you're a stupid wrong shitbag if you think otherwise. OK, maybe that time Dee Dee Ramone patted himself on the back could arguably be better but I'm sticking with my choice here.
Alright, that's it. I doubt I will spend 3+ hours watching this congratulatory nonsense next year.
This is a response to a piece written on Vice a while back. I started working on this a couple days after but lost motivation. Well, I finally finished it. Let's see what sort of shit this stirs up...
My dislike for the Beatles has apparently reached
legendary proportions with people who know me personally. So when Dan Ozzi’s Shut Your Dumb, Stupid Mouth About the Beatles Being Overrated
started making waves online, I was the first person my friend Mark thought to
share this link with. Suddenly my bookface wall
got really entertaining – catching up with old friends while discussing the
importance of the Fab Four.
At some point Mark, who owns a record store in Asheville,
NC, commented “Obviously he doesn't know the folks like you that he’s up
against!” And at the risk of sounding
too arrogant for my own good I must say that I agree. I won’t shut up. In fact, I’ma go long-winded on your ass!
So guess what? I
call bullshit! Like, oh great, another
fucking wise-ass who has to come out to defend the Beatles’ all-important
status in rock history… and this time it’s coming from a guy who thinks weak
shit like “All You Need Is Love” could be the Beatles song to break me?! You sure about that, brah?!
And I’m not going to stop with calling bullshit on Mr.
Ozzi. Oh no. I’m coming after every motherfucker who has
ever tried to make me see otherwise.
You’re a Beatles fan. There are
so many of you assholes…why can’t you just be happy that so many people share
your appreciation, when the few of us who don’t cannot escape it ever?! You have to ALWAYS remind us of how wrong we
are, about a fucking opinion. Hey, I’m
passionate about my opinions too (perhaps this is obvious), but I am so sick of
these people and their need to shove their regurgitated points down my throat
(seriously, does anyone actually have a point I haven’t heard already?! You think you have one I haven’t heard
before? I’m willing to take that wager). Fuck the fuck off already!
"HELP!" is what I exclaim every time I'm stuck somewhere listening to "Come Together"
It almost always starts with the Beatles’ importance. It’s as if people think they invented rock
and roll. But for all purposes popular
rock-related, they weren’t on the map until the summer of 1962 when they
released “Love Me Do”. Again, the summer
of 19-fucking-62!
Are you being for fucking seriously?! These mop-headed lil shits are more important
than Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley? Or
Elvis - who, if nothing else, made the genre palatable to a bunch of fucking
racist honkeys? Do the importance of Buddy Holly, Fats Domino,
surf rock, garage rock, doo wop, rockabilly, Bill Haley and His Comets’ “Rock
Around the Clock”, Link Wray’s invention of the power cord, or the sound innovations
of Les Paul and Ronnie Spector mean NOTHING?
We really needed the Beatles to get us where we are, when all of that
had already happened?! Bullshit!
And how are you going to act so sure of the point that
the Beatles’ influence is a good thing overall?
For starters they put the final nail in the coffin for blues finishing
the job Elvis started. I mean, how the
fuck did we go from Robert Johnson - easily more important than the Beatles,
but far less renowned - to that vanilla fuckstick John Mayer?! What in the motherfuck happened? Beatlemania happened, that’s what. At least when the Rolling Stones stole from
the black man they showed their appreciation by doing things like hooking
Howlin’ Wolf up with his only ever television appearance.
Then there’s the phenom known as boy bands. It could be argued that they weren’t a boy
band - they weren’t recruited and constructed by some form of management, plus they
actually played their own instruments. Those
points are irrelevant to me because guess who is the earliest band I can think
of that was comprised of a bunch of pretty boys whose music is so candy-assed
that it makes my ears have a fucking toothache?
And now pop culture has evolved into what it is today. How are the Beatles at least not partially to
blame here?
But the attempts of pushy fans at validating the Fab Four
don’t stop there (they never seem to stop).
What about their influence on psychedelic rock? Can I seriously discredit them there? No, not entirely, but I again don’t think we needed them. After all, the 13th Floor
Elevators called and wanted you to know they released their self-titled debut
in August 1966. Guess what was also
released during the very same month? Revolver. Until then, the Beatles were almost
completely void of any hints of psychadelia. Revolver flirts with the concept at most. Grow your hair out and wear all the dumb shit
you want - it would have happened anyways.
You’re still not needed here.
OK: hate as I might, even though elements of the genre
already existed, and things would have come along without them - there’s no
doubt that the Beatles’ influence is tremendous. Sure, they influenced a lot of crap, but they
influenced a lot of great stuff as well.
In fact, every single one of my fave acts cited them as a major
influence. Sonic Youth, Thin Lizzy,
T.Rex, etc. Hell, even Nina Simone did a
pretty great cover of “Here Comes the Sun”.
My problem is that just because history happened doesn't
mean you have to like it. In fact it
seems like most of notable human history is pretty shitty overall. The Beatles are no different, nevertheless
there once was a time I could claim that even though I didn't like them I was
glad they existed for their contributions.
But my friend Logan, ex-bandmate and fellow Beatles’ hater, dropped a
bomb of wisdom on me a few years ago: it would be pretty interesting to see how
music would have evolved if they had never existed.
And holy shit, he was totally right! I suddenly imagined music as less polished
and more authentic. Trying to be
pop-oriented wouldn’t be as important but performing technical stuff more
influenced by jazz would surely be. The
music industry would be less obsessed on capitalizing on fads - a damaging
aspect of music in general for decades that only recently seems to be fading. There would be different Sonic Youths. There would be different Thin Lizzys and
T.Rexes. Everything would totally be OK. I can’t prove it of course, but I believe
that with all of my black, over-opinionated heart.
The extremely overwhelming popularity of the Beatles is
not a good thing and I seriously doubt you could make me see otherwise. You can try to use the influence/importance
argument. You can try to say that
because they were so successful that I’m blind for not understanding their
genius. Millions and millions of
Beatles’ fans can’t be wrong, right?
Well, I think they are.
I also don’t think Bon Jovi are good enough to exist, much less be one
of the highest grossing rock acts of all time.
They ruined hair metal, fuck them.
The Eagles’ first greatest hits collection is the highest selling record
of all time in the US. That is an
outright goddamned travesty. Peter
Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive! is
6x platinum in the States - one of the greatest selling live records of all
time. The best use of that album would
probably be the time my dad and some of his friends used it for target practice. Go ahead and keep using this flimsy-assed
argument against us. It’s probably the
lousiest one you’ve got.
To beat my dead horse: my favorite hardcore punk band is
Mohinder, a mid-90s band out of Cali that 95% of the people reading this will
have never heard of. They lasted around
a year before moving onto other excellent bands that are about as obscure. Everything they ever did plus two live sets fit
on a discography CD released a few years after their demise. Yet this band has had a serious impact on how
I write and play fast, loud music.
Now, putting these guys above other more popular bands of
the genre - Black Flag, Minor Threat, etc. - probably makes me seem like an
elitist asshole almost as much as my disapproval of the Beatles does. But the way Mohinder’s music makes me feel is
undeniable. I could listen to that
discography disc every week for the rest of my life and it would never get
tiring. That’s my opinion, and their
popularity (or lack thereof) has nothing to do with it. Popularity shouldn’t have such an impact on
these kinds of judgments. Think for
yourself, you fucking sheep!
Look, I fucking get it, OK? The Beatles ARE important. I totally realize I am part of a serious
minority and that my opinions on this are often not super appreciated. Hell, a dismissal of Beatlemania is probably
grounds for termination of some friendships.
You don’t have to agree with me and I’m willing to bet that after
reading this you probably still don’t.
But we the haters don’t need your bullshit anymore. Most of us aren’t trying to be cool, we just
let our ears decide what we like just like you fuckers. We have a right to an opinion too and fuck
you if you think we’re gonna shut up. In
fact, you just made this hater louder.
This is Priya. Priya sings and plays violin in the band Kreamy 'Lectric Santa. Originally from Miami, now in Asheville, NC with stints in Atlanta and California between, they have been rockin' shit way hard since 1992.
KLS' last show as Oakland residents, 2011
Sometime around 13 years ago Priya was involved in an accident that left her paralyzed. Please help my friend get a new handicapped accessible van so that it may improve her life, perhaps even allowing KLS to go on tour! You can vote once a day. Answering the bonus question counts as an extra vote. The voting ends May 9, 2014.
Below are some links, but the first one is the important one (where you go to vote).
FYI: I had some problems with this page. I never received any emails when I created an account or when I requested a password reset since I, of course, never got one in the first place. I suggest using a facebook account, granted you have one, if you have the same problems I did.
Asheville Freemedia, an independent online radio station, was easily one of the most special things for me during my time in Asheville, NC. I got involved from their start in 2009 and stuck around until early 2013. There I was not only able to continue my radio show (Crescent Fresh Radio), which dates back to 2000, but was also given some great opportunities, one example being my long run as music director. Parting ways with Asheville FM was easily one of the hardest things about leaving Asheville and I miss it so.
In fact, when they got their LPFM license approval recently I began to miss them even more. This is something AFM had been working on for years now and it finally is becoming a reality! Almost makes me wish I was around to be a part of all of this. But, I'm not. I'm far away. Boo hoo.
But I still want to help, even if I am hundreds of miles away. If you are in Asheville or just want to help a special radio station do something awesome (and trust me, this is definitely awesome...the airwaves in Asheville, outside of 100.7, currently SUUUUCK!) please donate to the cause.
20 years ago today my life changed forever. No other event in pop culture history has
even come close to affecting me in the way that Kurt Cobain’s death did. I came home from school and almost immediately
after got a call from my friend Ben. He
says I should turn on MTV. I did so and
it didn’t take long for my heart to completely sink.
I was 12 years old and Nirvana had a pretty strong grip
on me. One of the more surreal aspects
of this moment in time is the fact that I was about two chapters into Come As You Are: The Story Of Nirvana…which
is kind of a big deal considering that back then I probably thought reading big
books was typically “stupid” or something trite like that. The news combined with my devotion to the
band wrecked my world. I clearly
remember crying like a baby in the shower.
At the time I was grounded for shoplifting, but the punishment was
lifted so I could go mourn with the few friends who would “understand”.
Let’s back up for a moment. When I was 9 (I’ve been obsessive about music
for a long time, y’all) an MTV VJ sporting her typical “alternative” appearance
simply known as Duff introduced the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Like many bands I got heavily into, I
initially thought the song sucked total balls.
It’s too simplistic and that guy’s singing sounds like dogshit. My favorite band at the time was Guns n
Roses, a band that Nirvana was the very antithesis of. It wasn’t until their third single off Nevermind, “Lithium”, dropped that I
began to get it. I picked up a copy of said
record soon thereafter and a lifelong fan was born.
Fast forward over a year to the fall of ’93, a time that
was the beginning of my mall rat phase in middle school, I stopped in at Tape
World to pick out a CD to take home. And
there in the new section only holding enough money to buy one disc was a choice
to be made: Nirvana In Utero or GNR’s
The Spaghetti Incident. A more musically experienced fan of both
bands could make a simple argument in Nirvana’s favor. At least if nothing else the GNR album was
just a bunch of cover songs (and not all of them did they do so well
either). A year or two before GNR would
have been the easy choice. But not on
this day: I went for In Utero and my
Nirvana fandom reached a new level.
Then, on April 8, 1994, they found Kurt’s body. Nothing more was to be done by a great whose
work countless fans like myself had fallen head over heels for. We suddenly had nowhere to go but backwards
into Nirvana’s catalog. I had never
heard Bleach or Incesticide at that point.
It didn’t take me very long to get my hands on those albums and that was
when I finally experienced Nirvana in their more raw form. Then I wanted to hear everything Nirvana had
ever done: b-sides on single releases, tracks on compilations, live sets, them
tuning their guitars at practice…I didn’t fucking care what it was, I wanted to
hear it all!
But at a point I realized there was only so much Nirvana
out there (keep in mind this is before the box set or even the billions of Outcesticide bootleg volumes that exist). It was time to dig into Nirvana’s influences
and the bands Kurt kept mentioning in Come
As You Are. Sonic Youth became my
fave band soon thereafter and they still hold that honor. I have no one but Kurt to thank for
that. Other bands followed: the Melvins,
Black Flag, Germs, Babes In Toyland, Scratch Acid, Flipper, Mudhoney, Bikini
Kill, etc. I sought these bands out
simply because I knew Kurt liked them.
He set the bar.
And Kurt’s influence on early teenage me was more than
just what music I listened to. He had
his head on his shoulders; he wasn’t some dickhead rock star guy. He was as real as could be. He was very vocal about gender equality and
standing up against sexual violence. He
was an ally of homosexuals, even once stating that he wished he was gay just to
piss off homophobes. He loved standing
up for the little guy and loved pissing off assholes that deserved it. Growing up in a fairly backwoods area in
northeast TN where kids I went to school with still used words like “nigger”
frequently, Kurt’s stances were a refreshing influence. It’s nice to have someone to help you cut
through the ignorance growing up.
From there I went my own path, eventually embracing the
punk ethos that shaped me further. But
even since those days I can still say Nirvana has been a larger influence on me
than any other band that has ever existed.
And what’s funny is, while I often have opinions not of the norm, I know
there are thousands upon thousands of other people who can make the exact same
statement. In fact, this is one of the
last times that I could legitimately relate to a popular rock band. There’s a good chance that will never happen
again…for any of us.
Now I leave you with a “gift”. Here’s an early pre-Bleach show I found when
looking to see if I could find a live version of my favorite Nirvana song, “Aero
Zeppelin”, which happens to be included in this set. The show takes place in the town of Hoquiam,
WA (fun fact: the town’s name translates to “hungry for wood”…insert Beavis
& Butt-Head laughter here), a neighboring town of Aberdeen (Nirvana’s place
of origin). There are several songs in the
set that have rarely been heard in their live form.
A big reason I wanted to share this show is because it’s
often very sloppy and there are tons of technical difficulties plaguing the set. Every musician in every punk band or perhaps
even every rock band can surely relate.
Kinda crazy to think that the band you see here ended being the kind of
band that sold millions a mere 3-4 years later eh? But it’s still great, even if the footage is also
a bit hard to watch (you know what else is kinda hard to watch? Kurt sporting that pony tail…egads! However, kudos to Krist and his tighty whitey
styles.).
Note: the video
footage of the show cuts off where there’s still about 20 minutes left of the
set. Sadly I couldn’t find a more
complete version on video but here’s the complete audio source as a consolation
prize.
Today I am featuring a blog called "My Husband's Stupid Record Collection" that I've been observing over the past week or so. The blog is ran by Sarah O'Holla who enjoys writing and is married to a guy who has something around 1500 LP's that she plans to dig through, reviewing each one over time.
As someone who within the past few years has gradually gotten more and more into reviewing records again I have a specific appreciation for this blog. O'Holla doesn't pretend to know more than she does and she's absolutely fine with making that apparent. She's not one of these high and mighty critic types that write for Pitchfork or wherever that almost seem like their prime objective is to make themselves appear to be brainiacs instead of conveying a critique of a record in a manner that you can identify with. O'Holla's methods are almost the exact opposite while thriving on a stream-of-consciousness approach (I try to be somewhere in the middle with an added touch of being a smart-ass myself),
Though due to the fact that she presents herself as fairly uneducated on music (at least in accordance to her husband's fairly eclectic collection that she's unveiled thus far) and is a lady educating herself on something more of interest of her man she has been getting a bit of slack for supposedly perpetuating gender stereotypes. And I'm not going to lie: it does fall heavily on a specific gender stereotype of the woman and her music nerd duder.
But why does it have to be like that?! This is a human being wanting to explore a lover's passion as it seems to be something of definite interest. And to take this task and wittily write about it on a thoroughly entertaining blog, giving us reviews in a perspective that NO rock critic has the balls (is that a pun? Sort of maybe?) to give...well, I'm sorry but that's just genius. Furthermore, fuck you for over-thinking it.
If you are a fan of music journalism but are tired of the standard high-brow execution or just think observing music in a different light sounds fun then you need to check this out. Easily my fave blog to pop up this year thus far.
I guess it had to be done: PoseurFeed is now on BookFace. Go like this shit on there and maybe it will be worth your while...but don't hold your breath.
