R.I.P. Tony Wilson

This is a little late, but I couldn't not post something about it.

The legendary Anthony Wilson passed away last Friday, August 10th.

Once dubbed "Mr. Manchester,"he was best known for being the manager of historic Manchester nightclub (The Hacienda/FAC51), head of Factory Records (recently F4 Records) which was home of Happy Mondays, Joy Division, Durutti Column and numerous other influential Manchester bands. Wilson was also a journalist for Granada Television and the BBC.







R.I.P. Tony. You will surely be missed.




Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Happy Mondays - 24 Hour Party People
A Certain Ratio - Touch

There is a Light... 3000

Sorry for the lack of posts this last week. There is really no excuse.
So, Because I feel sooo bad for being AWOL, here's a little treat that will hopefull smooth everything over:

Schneider TM - The Light 3000

This is possibly one of the best covers of any song I have ever heard.
It's an electronic cover of The Smiths' masterpiece "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out."
It is as heart-wrenchingly beautiful as the original off of The Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead" (Rough Trade)

Who is this Schneider TM? Wikipedia says that: "Schneider TM is the name used for the solo electronic music projects of Dirk Dresselhaus, a former rhythm-section member for several German indie rock bands. He released his first single under this name in 1997."

ENJOY!

A Funny Thing Happened - Sick of the Shame

Have you ever said that you really didn't like a certain band or artist even though you hadn't really taken a real listen to their material, only to find that you might actually be into it?

Today I was listening to my I-Pod on shuffle when a song came on that I didn't recognize. The song immediately clicked with my taste, and I began to wonder who it was by. I resisted the urge to look at the screen of my I-Pod, and tried to guess the band who was playing. I liked it, a lot, so I had to know it... but I couldn't pin-point who it was. Finally, I took a look at the pod, and lo-and-behold, the song was by a band that I had previously trashed...

The song was by the band Film School, who I chose to hate a year or so ago. I'm not going to say that I went from hating to loving Film School, but I will say that I have started to enjoy their song "Sick of the Shame," off of their self-titled release.

If you like moody, shoegazey, progressive music, take a listen to this song.

Film School - Sick of the Shame

Film School at SXSW 2007

1937 Nickel

OK, This is going to sound really really dorky, but I found a U.S. Nickel from 1937, and I got really excited.



After looking at it for a minute, I realized that the side with the Native American on it also said "Liberty" on it. I just thought, how stupid. I guess it's good that the U.S. Government is honoring the original inhabitants of this soil, but put the word Liberty next to a Native American is just ludacris.

Blonde Redhead + I'm From Barcelona at McCarren Park Pool Sunday 8/5

If you didn't already know, (how the fuck could you not!?) The magnificent Blonde Redhead is headlining Jelly NYC's weekly "POol Party" at McCarren Park Pool this Sunday, August 5th with a little help from I'm From Barcelona (or is it Barthelona)



There isn't much to say about Blonde Redhead except that they are simply amazing. They have never ceased to impress me, and with their latest effort simply titled "23" they've done it again. While still maintaing qualities from their past records that I love, they've somehow managed to, gasp, evolve (something most bands can't seem to even begin to fathom). Here's an excerpt from Filter Magazine's piece on Blonde Redhead from their Spring '07 issue:

"Like 2003’s wonderfully noir Misery is a Butterfly, 23 is sweeping and large (Kazu calls it “layered to fuck”), but the tunes are still as emotionally delicate as they’ve ever been. Kazu’s vocal work remains so slight and gossamer that, without the occasional high-pitched yelp, you might forget she’s not an instrument. Amedeo delicately balances her out with singing that retains the airy ambiance but which is much more definitive and focused. Behind it all, Simone’s percussion drives the up-tempo melancholy and anchors the guitars, offering a clear beat to tap a foot to..."-Cord Jefferson, Filter

Here are a few sample MP3'S from Blonde Redhead's "23" that I have personally taken to.

Blonde Redhead - Spring By Summer Fall (Is this not some fucking Shoegaze)

Blonde Redhead - 23

Blonde Redhead - SW

Blonde Redhead - Dr. Strangeluv

Blonde Redhead - Silently

Like I mentioned before, Blonde Redhead are getting a little help from support group I'm from Barcelona. I don't know too much about this band, except that they apparently have a more than a couple members.

I hope they can fit on the stage.

I'm From Barcelona - Chicken Pox

Mohammed Needs A Hug

This is a fresh new video off of YouTube that is deifinitely worth checking out. The video itself is a World War II Propaganda Cartoon spliced up and set to the song "Mohammed Needs A Hug," which was a collaboration of several different artists under the alias Topical Solution.

The music and lyrics were written by Eric Lefcowitz and Michael Meehan, Frankpollis played the more electric/band elements of the song, Roger Greenawalt played some acoustic guitar and produced the tune, and Julian Verlard sang the vocals. The song is a rough, spliced up edit, but could definitely be a very catchy poppy tune if re-recorded and re-mastered.

Here it is :

"MOHAMMED NEEDS A HUG" - TOPICAL SOLUTION


Visit the Mohammed Needs A Hug Myspace for more at: myspace.com/mohammedneedsahug

STONER/HEAVY DOCUMENTARY OH BOY

So, I haven't posted in a while. I have no excuse, and despite my apethetic attitude towards this blog over the past few weeks, I have no shame. HA. But I am no willing to at least try to post something every day or two. (WHY NOT?)So my triumphant bleep bleepTM comeback will begin with this:

For those people out there like me who worship warm, drippy, trippy "stoner rock" bands like Dead Meadow, Darker My Love and many others, you will definitely appreciate this. As for the rest of you dull, petty folk, just sit there and pay attention. OK!

I don't know too much information about this video, but I do know that it's pretty fucking awesome. Even though it has it's semi-cheesy moments, this video is bringing to the light a lot of American bands that most people wouldn't have even known existed despite their sheer, undeniable ability to... erm, rock... And just make good tunes in general. PLUS, it's named after one of Dead Meadow's best songs, "Such Hawks Such Sounds" off of their last LP "Feathers" (Matador)Anyways, here you go.

SUCH HAWKS SUCH HOUNDS: SCENES FROM THE AMERICAN ROCK UNDERGROUND (from Director John Srebalus)Featuring: Acid King, Bardo Pond, Comets on Fire, Dead Meadow, The Hidden Hand, High on Fire, Mammatus, Nebula, OM, Pearls AndBrass, and Sunn O)))

Heavythemovie
Uploaded by vicemagazine

Pretty awesome, No?
According to Dailymotion.com where the video is hosted, it may be a VICE MAGAZINE production.