Reggie Watts - Fuck Shit Stack

 #Reggie Watts #comedy #comedic music #electronic music #trip-hop #soul #alternative comedy #music video

Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinformationist" who aims to disorient his audience in a comedic fashion. He appeared on the IFC series Comedy Bang! Bang! and leads the house band for The Late Late Show with James Corden.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Watts

The dude is hilarious. I’ve been on this Reggie Watts kick for almost four months now, ever since my friend sent me a link to his music/comedy video, “Fuck, Shit, Stack,” parody of his view of hip-hop. Aside from the crazy hair that he said, “adds to his look,” Reggie was wearing a fitted Montana t-shirt, suspenders, and blinged out triple rings when he met me at the Ace Hotel in Manhattan last week. Watts is currently the opening act for Conan O’Brien on The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour and recently recorded material for his Comedy Central special Why Shit So Crazy? He’s most noted for his improv comedy, but has dipped and dabbled into music, theatre, and performing arts. Not only that, he’s Alice Walker’s second cousin (although he admits to never reading any of her work). Reggie’s currently in New York for a string of performances over the next several weeks, and we were lucky to catch up with him for a brief moment. Check out our exclusive interview with the man who makes profanity totally okay.

I heard you’re a fan of our site.

Yea, someone told me about the site and I like the idea of it highlighting an under represented phenomenon.

Phenomenon?

I mean, it’s just that it quantifies alternative black culture in a way where its in a place. It’s nice to pull it all together.

How do you fall into the odd mix of things?

I guess I do because I don’t carry on in my comedy and when I perform, like here is a black person. I never really think of it that way. It’s just me and I’m kind of just doing stuff. Often times, people remind me and then I’ll be like, oh yea. But I’m going to do the same thing. A Latino guy with a bandanna gets up on stage, I’m going to immediately go, okay, and then when he starts talking about particle physics, then I’m like, wow. That’s really cool. I like that getting what you don’t expect. So in essence, I like the celebration of getting things that you don’t expect when you think you know what’s about to happen.

Let’s talk comedy. What’s funny to you?

Anything absurd. That’s my favorite form of comedy. Making it irrelevant by making it silly.

Is that what your song, “Fuck Shit Stack” is all about? I know all of the dance moves.

The song developed organically because I haven’t really written anything. Sometimes things stick and I start repeating them in my routines. So I think that was over two years of development and growth. I was just fucking around with it, not really taking it seriously. Then Comedy Central wanted to put out my record so I decided to do “Fuck Shit Stack” as my single. So I had some points I wanted to hit in the video. It was awesome.

What was the meaning behind the video?

The song was me playing on the cliche of hip hop. I love the beats, but sometimes it’s just so stupid. They’re just repacking the same shit over and over again.

Is that what the fuck shit is stacking?

I’ve never really given the title a definition because everyone kind of gives it it’s own thing and I kind of like that. The tangible lyrics are pretty basic and it’s fun to use swear words.

Are there any hip-hop artists you want to share this song with?

I call it pop hop. Like Jay Z, it didn’t come from that but that’s where it is. Not saying that it’s not heart filled, but its Hollywood, its glossy, it’s lifestyle music but no one lives that lifestyle. So its catchy but its irrelevant because it’s someones ideal of what life is like which is unattainable to the masses. Its not adding to the good to life.

From: https://afropunk.com/2010/09/fuck-shit-stack-up-with-reggie-watts/

Poco - C'mon

 #Poco #Richie Furay #Timothy Schmidt #Jim Messina #Randy Meisner #country rock #folk rock #ex-Buffalo Springfield #pre-Eagles #1960s #1970s #Beat-Club

The great Southern Californian country-rock group Poco can take a large amount of credit for forging a path through the roots and heartland of their chosen sound. Richie Furay and Jim Messina already had the reputation and the chops since they’d been fundamental to the success of Buffalo Springfield. The multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young added a flavour of pedal steel and six-string virtuosity while George Grantham’s drums and Randy Meisner’s lucid bass and distinctive harmony vocals completed a panoramic view of contemporary Troubadour era rock culture with an eye on the mythic Western past.  From: https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artist/poco/

Poco’s first two studio albums and Deliverin’, the live set from 1971, represent some of the best country-rock laid down to wax.  The tracks were taken from two recorded live shows: Boston’s Music Hall and New York City’s Felt Forum.  If you’re into this kind of music, Deliverin’ represents a kind of peak or pinnacle for the genre.  If only for the powerful playing, tight performances and Rusty Young’s brilliant, often underrated steel guitar work.  It’s easily one of the best live discs of its time; a better played and more enjoyable listening experience than say the Rolling Stones’ Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out.  Furay and Messina are in great spirits too, often lifting the mood and interplay between the musicians.  That’s what makes Deliverin’ so essential; the positive attitudes and vibrant mood of the musicians.  This music soothes the soul and lifts spirits; it’s good listening when you’re having a bad day or going through the motions.  But there’s also depth here too, these tunes will stick in your head for days.
Deliverin’ is high energy, hard hitting country music that mixes new group originals with tracks from Poco’s first two albums and a few Richie Furay penned Buffalo Springfield era gems.  “Kind Woman”, a great, great song, is given a 5 minute rendition while “A Child’s Claim To Fame” is the center of a brilliant medley which also includes “Pickin’ Up The Pieces” and the awesome “Hard Luck.”  They rock the hell out of album opener “I Guess You Made It” and nearly burst into flames on an acoustic version of “You’d Better Think Twice,” which was one of their all-time classics (a small radio hit too).  Deliverin’ ends with another great medley that is mostly comprised of songs from Poco’s superb debut. Not a wasted moment here.  This is Jim Messina’s swan song with the group as he would leave shortly after, forming the Loggins & Messina duo with Kenny Loggins of course.  Deliverin’ shows us why Poco was one of the great American bands.  From: https://therisingstorm.net/poco-deliverin/

First Aid Kit - It's a Shame

 #First Aid Kit #indie folk #Americana #country folk #folk rock #folk pop #singer-songwriter #Swedish

First Aid Kit is a Swedish folk duo consisting of the sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg.  They are from Stockholm, Sweden but their music sounds like a slice of Americana: acoustic guitar, autoharp and lots of vocal harmony. First Aid Kit is known for sweet melodies paired with lyrics that are often dark.  https://www.firstaidkitband.com/

This song was written in the car going back to our rental house in LA after spending a beautiful day at El Matador beach. It’s a song about having to get used to being on your own after being with someone for a long time. How desperately lonely you can feel. How you wish you were stronger and how ashamed you can be of the fact that you’re not. When we traveled to LA we had lots of expectations of what the trip was going to be like. It didn’t really turn out the way we had planned. We were both very sad. “It’s a Shame” came out of the frustration and guilt we felt at the time. We were listening a lot to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours when recording this song in the studio. There’s a bouncy quality to that record that we love. We wanted the song to feel alive and upbeat, in stark contrast to the lyrical content.  From: https://genius.com/First-aid-kit-its-a-shame-lyrics

The Byrds - It Won't Be Wrong

 #The Byrds #Roger McGuinn #David Crosby #Gene Clark #Chris Hillman #folk rock #psychedelic rock #country rock #jangle pop #classic rock #1960s

Although they only attained the huge success of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Beach Boys for a short time in the mid-1960s, time has judged the Byrds to be nearly as influential as those groups in the long run. They were not solely responsible for devising folk-rock, but they were certainly more responsible than any other single act (Dylan included) for melding the innovations and energy of the British Invasion with the best lyrical and musical elements of contemporary folk music. The jangling, 12-string guitar sound of leader Roger McGuinn's Rickenbacker was permanently absorbed into the vocabulary of rock. They also played a vital role in pioneering psychedelic rock and country-rock, the unifying element being their angelic harmonies and restless eclecticism.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-byrds-mn0000631774/biography

"It Won't Be Wrong" was composed in 1964 by the Byrds lead guitarist Jim McGuinn and his friend Harvey Gerst, who was an acquaintance from McGuinn's days as a folk singer at The Troubadour folk club in West Hollywood, California. The song originally appeared with the alternate title of "Don't Be Long" on the B-side of a single that the Byrds had released on Elektra Records in October 1964, under the pseudonym the Beefeaters. By the time the song was re-recorded in September 1965, during the recording sessions for the Byrds' second Columbia Records' album, its title had been changed to "It Won't Be Wrong". Both the band and their producer Terry Melcher felt that the 1965 version included on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album was far more accomplished and exciting than the earlier Elektra recording of the song.
Lyrically, the song is a relatively simplistic appeal for a lover to submit to the singer's romantic advances. Musically, however, the guitar riff following each verse foreshadows the raga experimentation of the band's later songs "Eight Miles High" and "Why", both of which would be recorded within three months of "It Won't Be Wrong". The Byrds' biographer, Johnny Rogan, has described the difference between the earlier Beefeaters' recording of the song and The Byrds' Columbia version as remarkable. Rogan went on to state that the "lackluster Beefeaters' version was replaced by the driving beat of a Byrds rock classic, complete with strident guitars and improved harmonies, that transformed the sentiments of the song from an ineffectual statement to a passionate plea."  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Won%27t_Be_Wrong
 

Lemon Sky - Ash and Bone

 #Lemon Sky #psychedelic rock #progressive rock #heavy psych #hard rock #1970s retro

Lemon Sky is a Cincinnati based psych-rock/prog-pop quintet that creates a heavy yet highly-melodic brand of psychedelic garage rock that combines the classic rock pomp and stomp of Led Zeppelin with the paisley pop melodies and modern musicality of Queens of the Stone Age for a forward-thinking sound rooted in the past.  From: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/2381083-lemon-sky 

“We’re all living in a world I dreamed,” croons Lemon Sky lead singer Aaron Madrigal in the chorus of “Dos”, which shares the same name as the latest release from the Cincinnati, Ohio quintet. The world that Lemon Sky has dreamed is one of rich harmonies, heavy guitars and hard-hitting beats that mold together to form their own brand of “citrus rock”. Pulling in influences from rock greats Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Lemon Sky’s aptly named sophomore release, Dos, offers up phantasmagorical arrangements that take you on a psychedelic jaunt beginning with the soft chill of “Err” to the cumulative chords of the 8 minute finale, “Ash & Bone”. While it’s been five years since their debut release, Dos is worth the wait as Lemon Sky reaches for new heights in their pursuit of rock n roll.  From: https://midwestaxn.com/music/review/dos-by-lemon-sky/

Tardigrade Inferno - How Nightmares Die

 #Tardigrade Inferno #avant-garde metal #alternative metal #dark cabaret #dark circus music #Russian #animated music video

Coming from the musically rich city of St Petersburg, Russia is the extraordinarily zany and creative band Tardigrade Inferno which formed somewhere around 2016 and released one self-titled EP and has been somewhat quiet for a few years. The year 2019 has barely had time to warm up and the band finally unleash the very first debut full-length MASTERMIND which displays the band’s unique mix of alternative metal with dark cabaret circus music. Add in sprinklings of death metal, thrash and power metal and you have one of early 2019’s most promising new acts.
The word “Tardigrade” can refer to either a variety of slow-moving microscopic invertebrates or it can simply be an adjective that means slow-moving or slow in action. I have no friggin’ idea how this applies to this band since this is high energy metal and there is relatively little info about this band on the net as i can’t even find any sort of biography whatsoever, however i can say that this band has found a unique sound right off the bat. However if i had to compare Tardigrade Inferno to any other band it would definitely be Diablo Swing Orchestra as it has the same cartoonish feel and the singing style of lead vocalist Darya Pavlovich sounds a lot like both AnnLouice Lögdlund and Kristin Evegård of DSO.
Musically though, this band doesn’t break out the jazz instrumentation or even circus accordions but rather delivers a metal music heft piled on top of dark cabaret and circus melodies alongside the bouncy festive rhythms that are associated with the greatest show on Earth. The metal bombast is mostly carried out by the power chord slapping staccato style accompanied by circusy keyboard runs but different metal variations come into play however mostly in an alternative metal down-tuned power chord rampage. While Darya Pavlovich’s vocal range stays more in clean vocal cabaret mode, she occasionally screams in metal style reminding me of Arch Enemy for short stints but unfortunately not nearly enough! The circus bounces are always under the surface despite heavy metal thunder stomping fast numbers or slower subdued moments.
While i’m constantly reminded of Diablo Swing Orchestra, Tardigrade Inferno isn’t nearly as daring and out there and is rather restrained in comparison. While the music is definitely quirky and playful it doesn’t change the sound up nearly often enough although there are moments such as on the title track where death growls and guitar solos enter the picture, otherwise Darya is pretty much on cutesy Gwen Stefani mode and reminds me a bit of the 90s band No Doubt only with more metal bombast. While a band to look out for as the members become more comfortable with this stylistic fusion approach, this debut is a great start with elements of ska, gypsy swing and the dominant dark cabaret sounds keeping the album infectiously catchy and light-hearted without skimping on the metallic angst.  From: https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/artist/tardigrade-inferno

Nina Hagen - Ziggy Stardust

 #Nina Hagen #new wave #Deutschrock #post-punk #synthpop #David Bowie cover #music video

Also known as the Godmother of Punk, Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress famous for her eccentric singing style and appearance. She has experimented with a vast number of different styles and genres throughout her career including reggae, punk, gospel, big band, swing and even Hindu devotional music.  From: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/bands/Nina-Hagen/44592/

‘I never said I am doing punk music. I never said I am a punk. They said that. I wanted to do rock music since I was 12 years old. It touched my heart to hear Tina Turner, the Beatles. And they were all my singing teachers because I made cassettes. And I sang along. And I wanted to make music like that.’ Born and raised in Berlin, East Germany, CBS Records signed Hagen in 1976 when she was 21. They knew she could sing ‘like a walking volcano,’ as she says, but they wanted her to learn live performance. So they gave her a lot of time and some money to go to London. ‘I saw all the punk bands and when I came back to Berlin I cut my hair short and made black lipstick’, Hagen says. ‘And then they said I’m a punk. I am an entertainer. I sing political cabaret and spiritual cabaret and I write songs about anything concerning life. So it’s just maybe one aspect of my art, punk art.’  From: https://www.maramarietta.com/the-arts/music/neo-classical-and-contemporary/nina-hagen/

The Jayhawks - Nothing Left To Borrow

#The Jayhawks #Gary Louris #Mark Olson #alternative rock #country rock #alt-country #folk rock #Americana #roots rock #1990s

Led by the gifted songwriting, impeccable playing, and honeyed harmonies of vocalists/guitarists Mark Olson and Gary Louris, the Jayhawks' shimmering blend of country, folk, and bar band rock made them one of the most widely acclaimed artists to emerge from the 1980s alternative country scene.  From: https://www.iheart.com/artist/the-jayhawks-56757/

Occasionally, just occasionally, an album lies dormant in my collection waiting to be rediscovered. More likely, as my albums increase to ever more unmanageable levels, I won't have the time to devote to each to really appreciate the depth of the music and quality of the songs involved. Even after replaying Tomorrow The Green Grass by The Jayhawks I still don't think I've fully grasped how good this really is. The problem is there's nothing too prominent. Instead there is a sparse but beautiful feel which, after giving the album a dozen listens, may fall into place but, life is proving so busy and there's so much I want to listen to, I might never realize what I have. Indeed one of the liner notes states "these songs aren't as simple as they might seem at first glance" and that is bang on the money. Tomorrow The Green Grass is one of those rare albums that proves equally rewarding as mere background music or as something to dive right into and explore its dark corners and insightful nooks and crannies.
Playing harmonic country rock which can be traced all the way back to The Byrds, The Jayhawks strength is their strong song-writing as opposed to the trendy posturing of the day. In effect, this is loud folk music that weaves a tapestry of heartache and whimsy, innocence and angst – it could never be accused of being groundbreaking but the band takes pleasure in taking something familiar and performing it really, really well. The vocal harmonies of Gary Louris and Mark Olsen, whose final album with the band this would be, are an absolute joy. There is something of The Everly Brothers in there but it's more of an amalgam of different vocal styles: The Byrds, The Eagles, Buffalo Springfield, there's even something of Tom Petty in the mix and "Bad Time" boasts Beatlelesque vocal harmonies which include a contribution from Sharleen Spiteri taking time out from her band Texas. The best tracks on Tomorrow The Green Grass are some of the best the whole of the alt country genre has to offer. "Blue", "Two Hearts", "Bad Time", "Over My Shoulder" and "Nothing Left To Borrow" are all lovely in their simplicity and breathtaking in their execution.  From: https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-jayhawks/tomorrow-the-green-grass/

Renaissance - Mother Russia

 

#Renaissance #Annie Haslam #progressive rock #British progressive rock #symphonic prog #classical #orchestral #1970s

 

Renaissance were an English progressive rock band who developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, synthesiser, and versatile drum work.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_(band)

 

"Mother Russia" is a tribute to dissident Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. His well-known novel about Soviet oppression, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, inspired the lyrics. Clocking in at nine-and-a-half minutes, "Mother Russia" opens with a string-led introduction featuring intermittent piano accents. Annie Haslam's vocals enter about two minutes into the song, and the next three minutes contain four verses that detail Solzhenitsyn's struggles, interspersed with short string and acoustic guitar interludes. The song concludes with a five-minute section comprising a three-minute instrumental interlude with wordless vocals by Haslam, followed by a repetition of the final two verses.
Like many Renaissance songs, Cornish poet Betty Thatcher wrote the lyrics and the band's guitarist, Michael Dunford, composed the music. "Mother Russia" is the closing song on Turn of the Cards, which Renaissance released in July 1974. Five months earlier, the authorities had arrested and deported Solzhenitsyn from the Soviet Union after the publication of his book, The Gulag Archipelago.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist, historian, and critic of Soviet totalitarianism. In 1962, with the approval of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, he published his first novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which depicted Stalinist repressions. Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature eight years later "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature."
From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/renaissance/mother-russia

 

Contraband - The Devil's Fiddle

#Contraband #folk rock #Irish folk #Scottish folk #traditional #contemporary folk

Contraband was a Scottish folk rock band playing an exciting mixture of Irish and Scots traditional tunes, dramatic folk-rock arrangements of classical ballads and contemporary songs.  From: https://www.last.fm/music/Contraband/+wiki

To say musicians like to use contraband could easily be interpreted as an attempt to malign the world's most important profession. To say they like to use Contraband is another story, or better yet another band and another and another. Unlike the band name Joker, which seems to be the exclusive domain of hard rock and country rock bar bands, Contraband has had dealings as a moniker in genres ranging from fusion jazz to heavy metal to, in this case, the traditional Celtic scene. Featuring, among others, the brothers George and Billy Jackson, this Contraband gets its musical fix from a stash of Irish and Scottish folk music.  Band member Mae McKenna claimed in one interview that the group was so enthusiastic about its music that the members sang and played together in the van on the way to and from gigs as well as on-stage. This might be a trifle exaggerated, but the band certainly could never have been faulted for a lack of energy, an aspect made apparent on their self-titled debut in 1974. The group's sound was seen as innovative in the spread of folk-rock ideology, one of the earliest bands to wear the Celtic rock kilt.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/contraband-mn0002793647/biography

Dope Lemon - Honey Bones

 #Dope Lemon #Angus Stone #psychedelic rock #neo-psychedelia #pop rock #psychedelic pop  #psychedelic folk #dream pop #singer-songwriter #Australian #music video

Dope Lemon is the latest musical project from Angus Stone. After he was already established internationally as one-half of the sibling indie pop duo Angus & Julia Stone, the Australian singer/songwriter switched gears with his work under the pseudonym Dope Lemon, embracing more of a woozy, electric, '90s slacker rock sound than his other projects. Slick guitar playing, summery grooves, and dreamy-eyed vocal performances decorate Stone's highly stylized songwriting. From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dope-lemon-mn0003490717/biography

Angus Stone (sans sister Julia), and his good friends have dropped the debut album for their side project Dope Lemon, ‘Honey Bones’. Unlike what comes from when you and your friends get together to jam in a basement, ‘Honey Bones’ is a beautiful psychedelic-folk album that brings so many different ideas together seamlessly in one release. The album takes you on a psychedelic journey, working you through so many different effects and layers that at times it can be a struggle to be entirely sure what you’re hearing and how it was created. The album is best experienced with headphones on, as the mixing definitely plays with your perceptions as sounds move around your ears and you’re caught in the swirling maelstrom of effects.
Title track Honey Bones takes an exotic excursion, employing a tabla drum beat and constantly jangling sitar in the background to paint a meditative backdrop, which is only further layered by long, drawn out bass notes, and repeating guitar lines. Almost inaudible vocal harmonies add a psychedelic texture to this track in the chorus.
‘Honey Bones’ is at its best when it totally throws your expectations out of the door. Initially, you’re led to believe that it would be a throw back to one of the earlier Bob Dylan albums that first used electric guitar work. However, four songs in you’re taking a psychedelic journey thanks to unadulterated guitar effects and fun layering. At times it sounds like a young guitarist who has tried to apply every guitar effect in his arsenal, but with a beautiful polish and direction that comes with an experienced songwriter like Angus Stone.

From: https://aaabackstage.com/album-review-dope-lemons-debut-album-honey-bones/

Gentle Giant - His Last Voyage

 #Gentle Giant #Shulman brothers #progressive rock #British prog #eclectic prog #classic prog #hard rock #experimental rock #jazz rock #neoclassical #medieval  #1970s #music video

Prog legends Gentle Giant have released a mind-warping visualizer video for His Last Voyage which you can watch above. The track is taken from the new Steven Wilson remix of the band’s 1975 album Free Hand, which is out now. “The video uses a unique AI software algorithm to create a set of abstract visuals,” the band explain of the video, which has appeared on the Gentle Giant YouTube channel. Free Hand was Gentle Giant’s seventh album, originally released in July 1975. It was the most commercially successful of the band’s career reaching the Top 40 album chart in Billboard Magazine. It stands as the culmination of the band’s maturity, following the successes of In A Glass House and The Power And The Glory.  From: https://blog.eil.com/2021/08/22/gentle-giant-release-mind-warping-ai-video-for-his-last-voyage/

It’s likely that many readers will be completely unaware of Gentle Giant. It’s also likely that many readers would baulk at this album. It’s certainly ahead its time. ‘Free Hand’ is the seventh album by Gentle Giant, who were active between 1970 and 1980, and who have doggedly refused to reunite ever since. Comprised of multi-instrumentalists, the band was initially formed by the Shulman brothers, Derek, Ray and Phil although Phil had departed way before Free Hand was released in 1975.
The latest progressive rock outfit to have been given the Steven Wilson remix once over, ‘Free Hand’ was the most commercially successful of the band’s albums, which is astonishing when you listen to it today. Comprising high alto and baritone vocal harmonies, recorder, whistles, fiddles as well as the more standard keyboards, bass, drums and piano, there’s such a myriad of styles in their progressive and complex music that one wonders how it gained any kind of commercial success.
The track ‘On Reflection’ is the obvious example, blending baroque, medieval and chamber music styles with classical and folk, there’s hardly a sniff of guitar for much of the song. By all accounts, that was one of the main attractions of the band, their sheer complexity in song writing. Take a listen to the soulful funk groove of the title track, a song of sheer indulgence and multiple time signatures. It’s simply incredible in its changes, feel and overall delivery. Something that today would be so far out of the mainstream most couldn’t even contemplate it.
There are more medieval flavours on ‘Talybont’, with prominent use of the harpsichord and recorders giving the track a 16th century feel whilst ‘Time to Kill’ reverberates to a jazz rock feel, Derek Shulman’s high vocals assisted by backing vocals from the rest of the band. ‘His Last Voyage’ sees the use of Glockenspiel, harpsichord and electric guitar – it’s an almighty complex and somewhat bemusing amalgamation which is likely to be dismissed by many as twee and over progressive. It certainly is an acquired taste.
From: https://therazorsedge.rocks/2021-06-album-review-gentle-giant-free-hand/

Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-instrumentalists. Although not commercially successful, they did achieve a cult following. The band stated that their aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular” although this stance was to alter significantly with time. Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swathe of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music. Unlike many of their progressive rock contemporaries, their "classical" influences ranged beyond the Romantic and incorporated medieval, baroque, and modernist chamber music elements. The band also had a taste for broad themes for their lyrics, drawing inspiration not only from personal experiences but from philosophy and the works of Francois Rabelais and R. D. Laing.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentle_Giant

Jane's Addiction - Stop

 #Jane's Addiction #Perry Farrell #Dave Navarro #alternative rock #hard rock #heavy metal #alternative metal #funk metal #neo-psychedelia #psychedelic rock #Los Angeles #1990s

Alternative rock legends Jane's Addiction broke the alt-rock mould when they released their debut album, Nothing's Shocking, in 1989. With scant regard for LA's spandex-clad genre conventions, they turned rock'n'roll on its head by throwing elements of funk, goth and punk into the mix. With their follow up album Ritual De Lo Habitual, released in August 1990, they built upon that template and subsequently broke alt-rock to the masses. They made it perfectly okay to love Led Zeppelin and The Sex Pistols.  From: https://www.loudersound.com/features/jane-s-addiction-the-first-alternative-band-to-break-not-nirvana

Jane’s Addiction might be the ultimate “you had to be there” band. If you weren’t somewhere between 16 and 20 in 1988-90, their music is likely either totally foreign to you or a somewhat baffling memory, a misty relic of the pre-Nirvana age. But if you were there, as I was, they sunk a hook into you that will never come loose — and gestured toward a much wider world of possibilities than “punk” or “metal” or what was still called “college rock.”
Jane’s Addiction were unique, but they weren’t alone. There was a whole movement bubbling up on the West Coast in the mid to late ’80s. Between roughly 1987 and 1991, LA bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone, and even Suicidal Tendencies — plus Bay Area peers like Primus and Faith No More — combined punk, funk, ska, thrash, prog, art-rock, and more into genre-shattering records and volcanic live performances. Metal and heavy rock were displaying a sonic broad-mindedness that really hasn’t been equaled since. Indeed, looking at what’s become of some of these bands since, it’s hard to believe it was ever that way.
I wasn’t a fan of Jane’s Addiction at first. Their independent 1987 live album — which they only released that way to buy themselves credibility; their major label deal was already in place — and their Warner Bros. debut, 1988’s Nothing’s Shocking, passed me by. But then Ritual de lo Habitual came out August 21, 1990 — 30 years ago today and two months after I’d graduated high school. I was fully onboard. I’d seen the video for “Stop” and loved both the high-energy psychedelic metal of the music and the band’s patchwork image. With their mismatched clothes, their manically/joyously headbanging drummer, their thrashing guitarist and head-down bassist, and their singer’s weird serpentine dancing and hoarse, crow-like vocals, they seemed like three different bands in one. I bought the cassette the day it came out and listened to it obsessively all summer.
Ritual de lo Habitual was divided neatly into halves. The album kicked off with a friend of the band’s, Cindy Lair, giving an introduction in Spanish: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have more influence with your children than you do, but we love them. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jane’s Addiction.” That launched “Stop,” the first of five fast, aggressive punk-funk-metal songs. The music was less thuddingly heavy than it had been on Nothing’s Shocking. Dave Navarro’s guitar was thinner and sharper; Eric Avery’s rumbling post-punk bass, always the heart of their sound, was louder and more physically present; Stephen Perkins’ drumming was wilder and looser. Perry Farrell, meanwhile, was more or less the same guy he’d been thus far — a scrawny, dreadlocked wannabe prophet, preaching indulgent amorality (“There ain’t no wrong now, ain’t no right/ Only pleasure and pain”).
From: https://www.stereogum.com/2095287/janes-addiction-ritual-de-lo-habitual-review-anniversary/columns/sounding-board/

The Grays - Very Best Years

 #The Grays #Jason Faulkner #pop rock #power pop #indie rock #supergroup #post-Jellyfish #1990s

The Grays - a ramshackle collective of four musicians who all hated playing in bands, the Grays comprised ex-Jellyfish member Jason Falkner, Jon Brion, Buddy Judge, and Dan McCarroll. After coming together in 1993, the group released just one album, Ro Sham Bo, before amicably packing it in. Falkner later began a solo career, while Brion worked with Aimee Mann, Eels, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.  From: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/97842-the-grays

The Grays were a supergroup which consisted of four insanely talented musicians/songwriters that honestly not too many people knew of outside of the L.A. power pop scene. The band was Jason Falkner, Jon Brion, Buddy Judge, and Dan McCarroll. I know, you’re thinking “Who?”. Falkner got his start in the power pop band Jellyfish. Brion, ironically enough, had taken over guitar duties for Falkner when he left Jellyfish and played on the band’s last album Spilt Milk. Of course Brion has gone on to be a rather prolific film composer and producer, but at the time of The Grays he was still a relative unknown. Judge and McCarroll? I have no idea where they came from, but for them to keep up with Falkner and Brion they had to be damn good.
Jason Falkner felt rather underused in Jellyfish with Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning fighting for supremacy in the songwriting department. He left the band on bad terms and vowed never to be in a band again, just work as a solo artist and make music the way he wanted to make it. But as fate would have it his girlfriend happened to be playing a mixtape at a coffeeshop where she worked that he made for her. It was a good chunk of Zombie’s Odessey and Oracle and The Kinks’ Village Green Preservation Society, which completely blew away customer Jon Brion. This led to Brion and Falkner meeting, jamming, and next thing you know these cats are signed to Epic Records. The band was supposed to be a band of four equals, with each getting the same amount of tracks on the album. No one person as front man. Of course this didn’t work. The producer, the legendary Jack Joseph Puig was partial to Falkner’s songs and voice, so he got one more song on the album than the rest of the guys. Egos clashed, feelings hurt, and the band disbanded.
Falkner and Brion did quite well regardless. Falkner went on to a pretty great solo career with solid albums, as well as a side project called TV Eyes with Brian Reitzell and Roger Manning (old pal from Jellyfish.) He also performed and produced two children’s albums of Beatles covers for Sony Music Group called Bedtime With The Beatles 1 and 2. Brion, well, he’s scored countless amazing films for Paul Thomas Anderson, Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufman, Judd Apatow, and Greta Gerwig to name a few. He’s also produced for artists like Fiona Apple, Kanye West, Spoon, and Rufus Wainwright. His solo album, Meaningless, is extraordinary, too. As far as Buddy Judge and Dan McCarroll, I don’t know. I’m sure they’re good. I guess Dan McCarroll was the former president of Warner Brothers Records, so yeah, I think he’s good.
Despite all the in-fighting and ego clashing, The Grays made an outstanding record. Ro Sham Bo, for me, is the quintessential power pop album. But it’s got some teeth. It’s not twee or precious; it’s a record that pulls from both classic reference points and, for the time, more modern indie vibes. There’s a groove and an edge to the tracks, with an undercurrent of psychedelia. Jason Falkner, on reflecting on the album 25 years later, felt it could’ve been far more psychedelic and weird. But producer Jack Puig mixed it as a more straightforward, “classic rock” album.
From: https://complexdistractions.blog/2021/08/13/orchard-ridge-albums-part-one-the-grays-ro-sham-bo/

Patty Griffin - Moses

 #Patty Griffin #contemporary folk #Americana #country folk #alt-country #alternative folk rock #singer-songwriter

Patty Griffin's major-label debut was actually recorded as a demo cassette. A&M executives were so impressed with this raw display of talent that they snatched up the tape and threw it, unaltered, into the marketplace. Griffin recorded her songs exactly as she performed them live, armed with only her acoustic guitar and a voice that can rattle fences. While dozens of folk artists have attempted to bend the ear of the major labels by coating their acoustics with radio-friendly keyboards and drums, Griffin took the gutsy "band? I don't need no stinking band" approach. It's primarily a testament to her voice that A&M was so taken with her minimalism; as a guitarist, Griffin isn't much more than an energetic strummer. Her songwriting is only occasionally exceptional -- her word choices are as minimal as her arrangements, and her melodies are engaging but conventional. But she is nonetheless a striking and intriguing storyteller, because her tales of chronically lonely people are told with such passion. Griffin's Nashville-tinged warble has tremendous emotional range, one minute cracking with brittle vulnerability, the next minute blasting with passionate intensity. Occasionally it seems Griffin's demo engineers were unequipped to handle her vibrant transitions, setting the microphone level for a whisper then cringing as the speakers bristle and the needles slam into the red. But this subtle idiosyncrasy only adds to the charm of the album, lending to the impression that no stereo is big enough to contain this voice.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/album/living-with-ghosts-mw0000183522

The Birthday Massacre - Blue

 #The Birthday Massacre #gothic rock #darkwave #industrial rock #electronic rock #synth-rock #post-punk revival #Canadian #music video

The Birthday Massacre is a synth-rock band, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band was officially formed in 1999, known at that time as Imagica. The band consists of Chibi (vocals), Rainbow (guitars and programming), Michael Falcore (guitars), Owen (keyboards), O.E. (previously drums, now bass), and Rhim (drums). Their sound is mostly a fusion of retro electronica and dynamic contemporary songwriting. Elements of children's fiction and adult fantasy are combined with twisting distortion and euphoric melody to create a unique and original sound dubbed "post-retro". This sound is also affiliated with "synth rock" a rising genre influenced by elements of 80's synthpop, industrial, and gothic rock.  From: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/890-the-birthday-massacre

This song is most definitely about duality of light and dark, ying and yang, and good and evil. Also, I notice how each person has a doll, and that only one person is on the floor while the others are floating. This is a parable about the true self and the ego. The ego is the false part of one's self that is quick to judge, selfish and will do something regardless of the consequences of their actions. The fact that these dolls have masks confirms that they are hiding their faces which the ego is very good at. The last place we would find our true enemy is within ourselves. Chibi who is on the floor is trying to fish out her doll (ego) but is unsuccessful in the attempt, when one thinks that their ego is the true self, which the ego wants, will find that they will destroy themselves and their loved ones. The ones floating are not making any attempt to catch their doll, because they see that they are not their ego and are free to rise to enlightenment as their dolls are also rising to the light. True self: Love, acceptance, nonjudgmental, the ability to let go and the urge to gain more knowledge to illuminate themselves and others. Ego (false self): Quick to judge, must hold on to what they have (most often material items or a person), lies, cheats and hides themselves from the light of the truth and would rather cover themselves in darkness to avoid being revealed because they themselves commit evil actions. I hope my comment can shed light on both this creative song and video and upon life as we know it.  From: https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858517179

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Take A Pebble

 #Emerson, Lake & Palmer #Kieth Emerson #Greg Lake #Carl Palmer #progressive rock #symphonic prog #art rock #hard rock #classical music #jazz rock #blues rock #electronic #modern classical #keyboard driven #1970s #post-The Nice #post-King Crimson #post-Atomic Rooster #Beat-Club

Emerson, Lake and Palmer were one of Rock & Roll's earliest supergroups who were formed from members of three already successful bands, The Nice, King Crimson and Atomic Rooster. The Nice had enjoyed several minor hits and were beginning to build a following in the United States, gaining attention for their wild stage show that was a showcase for keyboard wizard, Keith Emerson. King Crimson had risen to fame after their debut album "The Court Of The Crimson King" had caught on with Underground Rock lovers. The amazingly tight LP had brought the band from obscurity to a major concert attraction in the UK, Europe and America in just a few months.
In the Summer and Fall of 1969, the two groups shared the bill at two major concerts in England. Inner turmoil had already begun to tear King Crimson apart and Keith Emerson was feeling that he'd taken The Nice as far as it would go. During a sound check, King Crimson's bassist, Greg Lake began to jam with Keith Emerson. After some discussion, the pair came away with the feeling that it was time to move on from their current bands. The final live performance for the original King Crimson took place on December 16th and the band returned home. The group still had contractual obligations and were desperately trying to re-build King Crimson with Greg Lake still at the forefront. Although he had already made up his mind to leave, Lake did stick around long enough to finish a second album, using studio musicians to fill in for band members who had already split. The album, called "In The Wake Of Poseidon", was released in March of 1970 and featured Lake singing on just three tracks. King Crimson made one final appearance on the BBC TV show, Top Of The Pops with Greg Lake on an acoustic guitar, later the same month.
Two weeks later, Britain's New Musical Express ran the headline: "Keith Emerson and Greg Lake to form new group", while the pair were busy holding auditions for a third member. Several drummers were considered, spoken to, or auditioned; among them were Coliseum's Jon Hiseman, Cream's Ginger Baker, as well as Mitch Mitchell from The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was Cream's manager, Robert Stigwood, who suggested Carl Palmer, a 20 year old drummer who had worked with Atomic Rooster and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. After a pair of auditions, Palmer was hired. Although Emerson wanted to keep the project a keyboard-bass-drums trio, there were serious talks about adding Jimi Hendrix to the line up. A jam session was set up with Hendrix for late summer, 1970, but Jimi died before it came together. The rumors of the potential band with Hendrix did leak out to the British music press, who began running articles saying the band would be called "Hendrix, Emerson, Lake & Palmer" or HELP for short. Before they even had an album out, the band began playing shows. Although most ELP fans believe their first gig was at the massive three day long Isle Of Wight Pop Music Festival on August 29th, the band has since revealed that their first gig actually took place six days earlier at a 3000 seat hall in Plymouth Guildhall. According to Lake, the band was paid $500. The show that ELP played at the Isle of Wight was spectacular. Keith Emerson played the Hammond organ, piano, and his custom Moog synthesizer. Since their first album had not yet been released, the audience was not familiar with their music, but responded with thunderous applause nonetheless.  From: https://www.classicbands.com/elp.html

The Move - Brontosaurus

 #The Move #Roy Wood #Jeff Lynne #psychedelic rock #blues rock #hard rock #British psychedelia #pop rock #art rock #proto-prog #1960s

The Move’s "Brontosaurus" is some Heaaavy blues sludge with ridiculously on point lyrics in regards to what rock once was (a dance music) to what was coming (slow, loud and drugged up music). The riff is a fucking monster; you can practically smoke the fucking thing. Halfway through, the song double times into a rock & roll rave up (Roy Wood really liked to juxtapose 50's rock with acid sludge - see also Wizzard) with a slop fuzz slide solo that melts your speakers. Both proto-metal AND proto-glam rock.  From: https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-move/brontosaurus-lightning-never-strikes-twice/

An exceptionally dynamic and controversial stage act, The Move’s live performances have been remembered for stunning musicianship and frenzied demolitions of televisions, instruments and stages with an axe, chopping a Cadillac to pieces at London’s Roundhouse and inciting a riot which alarmed headline act The Who (the stage had to be rebuilt…). Even the famous Marquee Club was not safe. During a performance of ‘Fire Brigade’, the stage was set alight, resulting in the Soho district being jammed with fire engines. So shocking and fiery were The Move live, that for a while, the group were banned from every theatre in the UK and Europe, a decade before the Sex Pistols’ similar punk rock antics. They even threatened Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s government with the furore surrounding the promotional campaign for ‘Flowers In The Rain’. The single reached no. 2 in the UK charts but Wilson sued manager Tony Secunda and The Move in the High Court and all royalties were paid to charities of Wilson’s choice, a ruling still in place today. As songwriter Roy Wood says, it’s less for murder.  From: http://bettyloumusic.com/themovebiography.htm

Spirit - When I Touch You

 #Spirit #Randy California #Jay Ferguson #psychedelic rock #hard rock #progressive rock #experimental rock #jazz rock #blues rock #eclectic #West coast psychedelia #1960s

This would be the last Spirit album to feature the original lineup, and what a finale it turned out to be! ‘The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus’ is generally considered to be one of the top American psychedelic albums ever made. There has been no shortage of musicians and bands who have pointed to this album as inspiration for their own work, particularly in the early and mid-seventies. Spirit’s unique and seamless blend of rock and jazz-fusion were stretched to the limit on this loosely thematic work that explored the timeless topics of the meaning of life, the intrusive nature of modernization, and the deeper meanings of numerous classic and popular literary works.
While the dominant sound throughout the album is once again Randy California’s ever-expanding guitar experimentation, the band also essentially introduced the moog synthesizer as an integral part of psychedelic music with this release. Few bands (if any) had used the instrument to such a mature and varied extent prior to this album, and keyboardist John Locke does a masterful job of combining psychedelic meandering with jazz improvisational sounds to great effect, particularly on the funky “Mr. Skin”, the introspective “Life Has Just Begun”, and the melancholic anthem “Soldier”.
Most of the arrangements on this album are tighter than on the band’s first four albums, presumably with the overall goal of more commercial success coming off their first really big break with 1969’s ‘Clear’. There are a couple exceptions, most notably the choppy “Love Has Found a Way” with it’s seemingly pointless tempo changes and slightly gauche vocal harmonies; and the aggressively bluesy but slightly misleading opening track “Nothin’ to Hide”. But for the most part this is a very cohesive collection of short songs that seems to fit together quite well, and serve to highlight the importance of each member’s contributions to the band’s overall sound. It was during the recording of this album that California had the famous accident and head injury that some say affected him for the rest of his life, but to be honest there isn’t any apparent evidence of the fracturing personal relationships and California’s mental problems that were revealed publicly in the years following its release.
It’s a little surprising this wasn’t a major hit when it released in late 1970, but part of the problem can probably be attributed to the collapse of the supporting tour, the band’s fracturing as a result, and in more general terms the public’s fading interest in the flower-power generation rockers of the late sixties. Spirit would never again achieve either the artistic or commercial success of their early years after this album was released, and California would soon embark on a largely anonymous solo career for many years before finally returning to a Spirit lineup that was well-received by long-time fans, but was largely ignored by the critics and the music industry in general. Like I said at the outset, this is an outstanding forty minutes of psychedelic, guitar- intensive and socially-inflected music that is highly regarded by musicians of all stripes even today.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=13052 

Firewater - Psychopharmacology

 #Firewater #gypsy punk #world punk #dark cabaret #alternative rock #indie rock #eclectic

New York-based band Firewater incorporated a global range of musical influences into their highly dynamic sound. A loosely knit ensemble centered around the lead vocals of ex-Cop Shoot Cop bass player Tod A. (born: Tod Ashley), Firewater tied together such influences as Klezmer, Indian wedding music, art-punk, and Tom Waits-style cabaret poetry to create their heady, often quite danceable sound. Coupled with Tod A.'s acerbic, post-apocalyptic, and death-obsessed lyrics, Firewater was a band to be reckoned with almost from the beginning.  From: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0F5fXdlx1bKwYFZ70bfuZ9

You ever found yourself looking for something at the bottom of a cupboard and come out with something else covered in dust, long forgotten? Psychopharmacology is covered in lint, dust and shed pubes from the very same cupboard. Full of afterthoughts you'd have if you spent a month of late nights in the company of cheap red wine, even cheaper cigarettes and spiteful company. All this imagery and the sound and songs to back it up. But, I must say, this album is the closest to as "approachable" a Firewater album as the first time listener will probably get. For my money anyway. If you haven't heard of these lot yet and are taking a gamble, this is the place to start. Don't take my word for it, I've been listening since CopShootCop and won't knock too much anything creative Tod A. & co. put out - mainly because this is original music, slightly familiar but in a "can't place the artist," kind of way. You can bandy about Tom Waits for a comparison point, but you'd have to throw in the 'Stones, Beatles and a heady mix of dark, seedy and downright evil turns of carnival/burlesque/gypsy fare. Simply put, it's an intriguing spectacle to behold. Get yourself a nice big ashtray, a half a dozen warm beers and a bearded wench in an over-tight corset to accompany the journey. Highly Recommended. Bearded Wenches & Firewater, of course.  From: https://www.amazon.com/Psychopharmacology-Firewater/product-reviews/B00005BC94/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews