I’ve Got Mixamatosis, August Edition
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Songs I/we’ve been into this August.
mp3 – Local Natives – World News (Teen Daze remix)
mp3 – The Walkmen – Angela Surf City
mp3 – Miniature Tigers – Rock & Roll Troll
mp3 – Colleen Green – Worship You
mp3 – Magic Kids – Hey Boy
mp3 – Future Birds – Johnny Utah
mp3 – Young Man – Five
mp3 – Lower Dens – Hospice Gates
mp3 – No Age – Glitter
mp3 – Sugar Stems – What’s A Girl To Do
mp3 – Tame Impala – I don’t Really Mind
mp3 – Beach House – White Moon
mp3 – Dent May – Eastover Wives
Ersan Ilyasova de-greases Greece
Chris Rock/Barry White – Basketball Jones
For a basketball fan, the late summer months can be trying – the NBA’s big-name offseason acquisitions are yesterday’s news, which means basketball has few newsworthy items to offer even the most obsessive of fans (most of whom are probably more invested in either baseball’s playoff validation or football’s commencement anyways). However, bright spots do exist, such as Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova’s 26-point, 6 three-pointer (on 100% shooting) outburst against rival Greece in the FIBA tournament. And so, a couple words on Ilyasova:
Though the last thing I want is to perpetuate Eastern European stereotypes, Ersan Ilyasova is tall and rail-thin and sallow and has huge jutting malnourished cheekbones, physically resembling nothing so much as the Eastern Bloc’s version of Gordon Hayward (a similarly sinewy, baby-faced rookie from Indiana). There are two things whiter than his skin, and both of them are socks, which are pulled up to his knees.
That being said, Ilyasova plays in a manner that belies a typical European import – the impressive shooting percentages and more graceful, fluid (or, less aggressive and physical) play of standard issue Euros have been amputated, replaced by a confusing barrage of rickety, clattering robot movements, Russian black market rebounding instincts (that’s good…I think), and a rainbow jump shot that is successful fairly often – always to the surprise and delight of onlookers who can’t believe that such a strange, lazy-looking shot would ever actually go in. Ilyasova is only three months older than me (and, at 22, I guess I am somewhat of a spring chicken on the Colonel Sanders Chicken Age Scale), meaning that there is plenty of time for him to turn into Dirk Nowitzki, Toni Kukoc, or at the very least a less villanous and mustachioed incarnation of countryman Hedo Turkoglu.
It’s tough to handicap a player’s exploits in this FIBA Championship for the NBA. The tourney resides somewhere in between “meaningless” and “The World Cup” – probably closer to the latter – and is poorly-publicized (at least owing partially to terrible seasonal timing – let’s not even confront the autumn custom that all local newspaper and television headlines for the next six months are to be devoted to news about the health of Aaron Rodgers’ elbows, wrists and truck). There’s also the ongoing, partially-true sentiment that Americans don’t really care about basketball if it’s not being played inside America – apologies to fans of the Toronto Raptors, who won’t catch a break in this regard until we annex them in World War 4.
That being said, downing six of six three-pointers and propelling Turkey past a rival in a tournament context can’t really be construed as a bad thing. For those of us consistently looking for new and interesting ways to Fear the Deer, it’s actually pretty decent news.
FEAR THEM
Seizure Chicken & Battlecry Present: SLEIGH BELLS @ Mad Planet October 26
Tickets are limited and will most likely go fast.
$10 advance / $12 day of – You can secure your spot (pre-order) by clicking here. Pre-sale goes live today (9/1) at 10 AM CST.
Also, you can rsvp social media style here.
mp3 – Sleigh Bells – Rill Rill
ALBUM REVIEW// THE THERMALS – PERSONAL LIFE (KILL ROCK *s)
Preorder Personal Life here and get an autographed CD booklet
MP3: The Thermals- I’m Gonna Change Your Life
MP3: The Thermals- When I Died (from Now We Can See)
Sometimes a good review can be a bad review and vice versa. Take for instance this snippet from Paste Magazine’s evaluation of The Thermals Personal Life (Kill Rock Stars, out 9/7)
“It’s a sea change, in terms of the band’s sound; their previous albums’ hyper-political, sturm und drang punk fury is almost entirely gone, replaced by easygoing power-pop more akin to fellow Pacific Northwesteners Built to Spill.”
If I were to read that and not pay attention to 8.8/10 that they gave the record I would consider canceling my preorder. Part of what has made The Thermals such a great band is their brash, explosive and jagged three-piece barrage. Each successive album came packaged with more energy and a tighter focus than the last culminating with 2009’s Now We Can See. That album went nuclear from the first notes of “When I Died” and it only picked up steam. And to think that the massive sound that Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster (touring drummer Westin Glass has now joined the band) built across four albums had been replaced by easygoing power-pop wasn’t only disappointing to read, it made me ill.
Thankfully the sickness lasted less than a second into Personal Life. From the first sludgy strums of “I’m Gonna Change Your Life” until Hutch’s joyfully familiar and angst filled vocals slid through the window, it was easy to hear that all of their previous power was still in tact. The formula of simple song structures that brim, ooze and slop energy and emotion all over the floor can be found all over Personal Life. Songs like “Power Lies” and “Your Love Is So Strong” would’ve fit on any other Thermals album.
However there is a small change afoot. The lyrical content slants a bit more towards self-reflection and relationships. While Now We Can See was a juggernaut it still had some ‘breathers’ built in. Slower songs and speed bump harmonies made it a well-rounded album with a bit of an identity crisis. Lo-ified-punk rock with some songs to sway to mixed in to keep the listener’s adrenaline in check. Personal Life builds on those less aggressive tracks as a foundation, while never straying too far from the raucous we’re used too. I’ve always thought the punkest variable of The Thermals was Harris’s vocals and while he doesn’t shout quite as loud on “I Don’t Believe You” or “Not Like Any Other Feeling,” they still shine.
Personal Life is a fitting name for the fifth record from the Portlanders. While the sound is toned down a touch I wasn’t expecting a blitzkrieg like Fuckin A or More Parts Per Million when I heard the title. And not to fear, longtime fans shouldn’t feel left behind by the “sea change” mentioned in the Paste review and you certainly won’t lose any street cred for loving the hell out of Personal Life. Oh, but if you are looking for sprawling guitars, art noise and Doug Martsch’s beard you’re going to need to put on your copy of Keep it Like a Secret. That’s nowhere to be found here.
PS: I love Built to Spill
PPS: I’d prefer to never read Built to Spill and power-pop in the same sentence EVAR again.
Glass Vaults
Throughout my initial listen of their EP, Glass, i found sounds reminiscent of Bear in Heaven and even a little Radiohead at times, that being said, rarely do you hear a band with transparent roots making original and innovative tunes. Glass Vaults, who hail from Wellington, New Zealand, beautifully tinker with industrial drumming, nostalgic synth echoes, and song progressions that take the listener from melancholy to unexpected optimism. Grab their 5-song EP for free over at their Band Camp page. (HERE)
mp3: Set Sail by Glass Vaults
SeizureChicken presents: The Top 400 Songs of the 1940s
Original Artwork
Pray no more for an abundance of content, because this week SeizureChicken is unveiling its first-ever big long unnecessary list.
That’s right – you’ve asked for it (I assume), and now you’re gonna get it. “It,” of course, referring to the best four-hundred songs of the 1940s.
We’re going to kick things off today with songs 400-301, then do another hundred songs every day until we’re all out of songs, bandwidth, or patience with each other. And now, without further ado:
400.
Kirishima Noboru, “Tareka Kokkyou o Omowazaru”
Though ostensibly merely the story of a Japanese boy with magical pockets, this song is, in actuality, the defining moment of Kirishima Noboru’s Kirishima Goes Electric period (1940-44), in which Noboru finally got his house electrically-wired. This development angered the reactionary demographic of his fanbase, who felt that Kirishima Noboru, as a dishonorable pop musician, did not deserve electricity in his house. This song is also probably the number one reason that anime is so popular in Japan, although that is more something that I made up than something that is actually true. Connoisseurs will heed Kirishima’s off-the-wall vocal histrionics and wacky lyrics, like:
THERE IS A BAT IN MY HOUSE
GET THE BAT OUT OF MY HOUSE
I HAVE MAGICAL POCKETS
Stay tuned for another song tomorrow…for the next 399 days!
War On Drugs – “Comin’ Through”
First single from The War On Drugs‘ upcoming Secretly Canadian release, Future Weather (October 26).
mp3 – War On Drugs – Comin’ Through
Hannibal King Interview
We need more dudes like this in hip-hop. This interview felt more like shooting the shit with a friend. Thanks to Hannibal. Be sure cop dudes work and be sure to check out Visual High Life for more of the same caliber of dope-ness. Cop his tunes here.
The Baron (Mike Dupar): So what type of musical environment did you grow up in?
Hannibal King: I grew up listening to a lot of soul music from the the 70’s and late 60’s. My family didn’t really let me listen to a lot of hip-hop when I was young. So anything I did listen to I had to listen to outside, thats why a lot of our music has a real soul edge to it. I sample a lot, everything I do with vinyls and stuff. The soul music I grew up listening to really is the biggest influence on me.
M: For sure, I think that is really apparent in the music. One my favorite things about your beats is that they sound really organic. Do you strive for that or is that naturally how it comes out?
Hannibal: I don’t like my stuff sounding too choppy or too synthetic. I really dig the whole dirty vibe, like making tapes off the radio. When you sample straight from a vinyl or any music from back then you get a lot of beautifulness, it’s a beautiful sound, its heavy, it’s everywhere, it’s earthy.
M: Yeah I prefer that to the crap over-produced shit.
Hannibal: There’s a lot of shit out there. I mean it’s funny cause thats what sells, but I don’t like making that kind of shit.
video: Magic Kids – “Superball”
POWER POPPPP. “Hey Boy” and “Little Red Radio” are still my choice joints off Memphis, though.
mp3 – Magic Kids – Superball
(btwo matablog)
Beach House – “White Moon”
Yesterday Beach House dropped an iTunes Session w/ a new track, “White Moon” and some alternate punch drunk versions of golden oldies. People are making a big stink about the band “being a trio” now. It is pretty humanitarian of them to consider the live drummer a part of the band. Whereas they didn’t have to feed the drum machine and all, before. I would recommend picking it up. If anything, for a reminder of how 2010 has been the year of Beach House.
mp3 – Beach House – White Moon
