So Very Unhip

best shit of the ever -- party like it's 2006 edition

2012-01-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

So, I've been trying to finish my Favorite Albums Of The Decade (2000-9) post since... 2010. It's 2012. Good job.

Meanwhile, I found an old entry I wrote just for myself, back in 2009, where I decided to dive back into Various Internet Tastemakers' album Best Of lists from 2006 (why? ~~OCD!~~ why not?). For the most part, I previewed bits of these albums using the iTunes store and wrote my fleeting impressions. In doing this, I proved something to myself: I have the worst taste ever. While still feeling like I have the best taste ever. Which describes most people, I guess.

So, just for you: a journey back into that special time. That magical time. That... six years ago time. 2006. Your guide: a woman who hates Animal Collective and loved Anthony Rapp's solo album. Anthony who? You mean that guy from Rent? You mean your guide is a Renthead? As in, still a Renthead? At age 30? Exactly.

shit that everyone said was awesome in 2006

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Brit drunkrock. Lotsa percussion, shouty Cockney vocals. Some reggae/The Police-y touches. Some of it's a little poppier than I remembered. Recommended If You Like: The Libertines, Babyshambles, The Fratellis. My kingdom for Franz Ferdinand.

Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time - Lots of comparisons in the iTunes review to Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips) and Neil Young, vocals-wise. Mid-tempo indie-rock, pretty and boring. Mellowdrone mates with Neil Young on a ranch.

Bat For Lashes - Fur And Gold - Creepy haunting soundscapes by a chick with a beautiful voice. Not for me, but intriguing. RIYL: Patrick Wolf.

Beach House - s/t - From the band name and the kind of stuff that got recced in '06, I assumed that this was Animal Collective Part 2. Nope: Carly Simon-ish/Grace Slick-y vocals meet mournful soundscapes with a psychadelic touch. Boring, melancholy, but Victoria LeGrand's voice is interesting, a little hypnotic.

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar - From the reviews, I went in expecting Voltaire-esque gypsy-rock, but instead it sounds like someone took an accordion on a cruise. Voice is Rufus Wainwright-ish, mournful, but a bit thin. iTunes review says, "cracked brass, wailing violins and stressed accordions." Since I'm ignorant, it gave me the queasy feeling I get when I've listened to tiny slices of French pop, bossa nova and some '70s pop.

Cat Power - The Greatest - White soul/indie blues. Gorgeous voice, some beautiful, heartbreaking songs. Too sad and hook-less to love. Her most accessible songs to date.

Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards - Bluesy country vibes meet garage revival and indie rock. Vox can be talky like Jack White's or soulful and high/floaty, with some whine. "Hang Me Up To Dry" is the standout. RIYL: The Raconteurs, Catfish Haven, general indie rock.

Cansei De Ser Sexy - CSS (s/t) - Electro with talky female post-punk vocals and attitude with New Wave synths. iTunes mentions "art school/dance club roots." Needs more pop, less art school. Le Tigre with less of the hooks and the pretty. RIYL: Peaches. Gunther?

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife - Indie as fuck. Frontman sounds like Meowth.

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies - The Rush and/or Styx vocalist went arch and British and decided to create arty indie-rock soundscapes. Sometimes a little Bowie-ish without the catchiness. Sometimes a little Bob Dylan-inflected (track 2, country-rock/folk-ish, the most accessible). RIYL: Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake, being the biggest hipster imaginable.

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere - R&B/soul. I took this album home and tried so hard to like it because it's just so cool and Cee-Lo's voice is gorgeous. But I still only ended up loving "Crazy."

The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control - Raw, soulful vocals from Beth Ditto, like a punk, harder-edged Adele. Spare, soulful dance music. Punk meets electro, but more accessible and less overtly political than Le Tigre. Some fantastic songs, but the album, taken all at once, get samey. RIYL: Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat - Alt-country; singer from Rilo Kiley. incredibly beautiful voice, songs that didn't grab.

Joanna Newsom - Ys - Ten-minute songs about frogs + Hippie Bjork dancing barefoot through a RenFest meadow + harps. Freak-folk. RIYL: Devendra Banhart (wildly different sound, same genre/clique).

Liars - Drum's Not Dead - Creepy -- sometimes creepy-pretty, sometimes creepy-dissonant -- experimental art-rock soundscapes with high-pitched, drone-y male vocals. Avoids accessibility at any cost. RIYL: doing acid in the desert.

Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings Flood - Alt-country/Americana. Melancholy. Gorgeous voice but songs that don't grab.

Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope - Lady singer-songwriter with quirky, appealing voice. First half is very accessible, with some gorgeous songs. Latter half, not so much. RIYL: Mirah, Tori Amos, Rachael Yamagata, Nellie McKay, etc.

Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming - Indie rock (very indie; weird, warbling male voice). Epic in scope. Side project of Wolf Parade guy.

Swan Lake - Beast Moans - The guy from Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown + the guy from Frog Eyes(?) + the guy from Destroyer. Which means: indie as it gets. Weird, psychadelic soundscapes and folk-rock vocals. The opposite of pop. RIYL: Sunset Rubdown, Clap Your Hands, getting really high in the forest or having a hipster orgy by some ancient ruins.

The Thermals - The Blood, The Body, The Machine - The kind of punk an indie fan can love. The kind of punk a pop-punk fan can cry despairingly about. Shouty/talky mid-range indie vocals. Abstract-ish lyrics hatin' on fundamentalism. Standouts: Track 6 (most tuneful; hint of alt-country), 4, 1.

TV On the Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain - Indie rock; driving beats, background fuzz and drone. "Wolf Like Me" = sexy, evocative Halloween rock goodness. Not sure i'd be able to handle more fuzz/drone without lots of hooks to sweeten the deal. iTunes review refers to a "post-apocalyptic sonic landscape". Mostly abrasive with some off-putting indie-rock falsetto. I hate to dislike their sound, since they're a successful all-poc rock band, and that's pretty rare and really awesome. Damn my hatred of drone and fuzz.

The Twilight Singers - ~~The Revenge Of Edward Cullen~~ Powder Burns - '80s low-voiced college-rock with some '90s grunge touches. Singer has a drawl. Driving and depressing. RIYL: Afghan Whigs, Guided By Voices, Pavement, Sebadoh. Apparently. (Thanks, iTunes sidebar!)

Margaret Cho - Cho Dependent (2010)

2010-10-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Margaret Cho - Cho Dependent (2010, Clownery Records)
Genre: Comedy (music, not spoken-word)

Who knew Margaret Cho could sing? Her new album isn't stand-up; it's funny songs, in the vein of Flight of the Conchords or Stephen Lynch. She's collaborated with an all-star cast here, including Ani DiFranco, Ben Lee, Andrew Bird (who saw that one comin'?) and Jon Brion, among others.

The album is fun and enjoyable, and as mentioned, Cho can sing (and belt!) nicely. The lyrics are often weak and sometimes downright bad, but musically, the songs are so enjoyable that I didn't care. It also helps that the genres Cho chooses to pastiche the most -- '70s pop and rock, country/folk -- are genres I love. But she also twirls through hip-hop, dance, torch songs, anthems... With a soul-inflected ballad called, "Your Dick," a torch song called "Eat Shit and Die," and a hidden track called "Lesbian Escalation," how can you go wrong?

Lyrically, the strongest songs are the Heart-esque "Baby, I'm With The Band," about the joys of groupie-dom, "I'm Sorry," a country song and murder ballad (featuring Andrew Bird), and my favorite, the hidden track, which I'll come back to.

Some songs seem intended to be songs-in-earnest first, with a little bit of humor. I think it takes guts for a comedian to do that. The opener, a collaboration with Tegan & Sara called "Intervention," is like this. So is the sweet, if lyrically weak, country-folk duet "Hey Big Dog," featuring Fiona Apple.

Other standouts include "Your Dick"; the jazzy, torchy "Eat Shit And Die"; a chilly '80s dance number that winks at David Bowie's "China Girl" where the narrator tries to determine the ethnic makeup of a person she decides is "Asian Adjacent"; the electro/disco "Gimme Your Seed," about lesbians in search of a sperm donor; and "Enemies" (featuring Jon Brion), a break-up song that recalls "You're So Vain."

My hands-down favorite is the hidden track, "Lesbian Escalation" (featuring Rachael Yamagata), a sing-a-long, Broadway-ish anthem about the dangers of U-Hauling. Please make this song go viral. It's awesome.

RIYL: dirty jokes, queer themes, catchy music, awesomeness.

Lesbian Escalation (f. Rachael Yamagata)
Baby I'm With The Band (f. Brendan Benson)
Your Dick (f. Ben Lee)
Eat Shit And Die (f. Grant Lee Phillips)

Brandi Carlile - Give Up The Ghost (2009)

2010-07-29T16:55:00.003-07:00

Brandi Carlile - Give Up The Ghost (2009, Columbia)
Genre: Folk-Rock

I can't stop listening to this album. Carlile's voice is big and bold, soaring and breaking at just the right moments, belting in some songs, using a truly ethereal falsetto in others. The opener, "Looking Out" is folk that packs a punch -- and I feel so feeble and tongue-tied when I try to write about music, so, really, just read the Pop Matters review. "Dreams" is equally catchy, and (like Slant Magazine notes) would've been all over the airwaves during the Lilith Fair days. The lovely, gentle melody of "That Year" feels more like the tune to a love song, rather than a ballad about a high school friend's suicide, but that counterpoint works incredibly well. "Caroline," one of the album's more upbeat numbers, is a girl/girl love song (yay for out lesbian musicians!), featuring piano and surprisingly understated back-up vocals by Elton John (if I hadn't read any reviews, I wouldn't have known it was him).

I wish there were more up-tempo numbers like "Looking Out," "Dreams" and the fantastic "Dying Day," but the slower tunes are growers that ended up lodged in my head. A lot of reviewers ding Carlile for allegedly simplistic lyrics, but simple doesn't always equal bad or dumb, and not all folkies have to be Dylan. Her words work for the kind of music she's making -- they're clear. They feel right. And the spare, understated lyrics to "That Year" just make the song that much more powerful. This is a lovely album, beautiful, catchy and nourishing.

P.S. When I originally popped this in, I totally confused this artist with Belinda Carlisle and was all, "Whoah, she really changed her sound. This doesn't sound like 'Circle In The Sand'. Oh my God, and she's gay now!" Whoops.

Standout tracks:
- Dreams
- Looking Out

RIYL: Melissa Etheridge, Indigo Girls, Dar Williams, Rachael Yamagata, other Lilith fare

x-posted to LJ & tumblr

Against Me! - White Crosses (2010) // Cobra Skulls - American Rubicon (2010)

2010-03-15T04:32:00.000-07:00

Against Me! - White Crosses (2010, Sire)
Genre: Punk

So, Against Me!'s new album leaked. Already, I'm sure the howls of "Sellout!" are reverberating across the internets. Apparently, Against Me! sold out when they signed with Sire. Or when they signed with Fat. Or when they moved out of frontman Tom Gabel's basement. I'm not sure.

To be fair to the fans that hate what the band's become, Against Me! won over its fanbase with two gritty, screamy, raw, hard-rocking folk-punk albums with song titles like, "Baby, I'm An Anarchist." (BTW, I find that song really fucking obnoxious* unless I read it as way beyond tongue-in-cheek and well into dripping-with-sarcasm. Yep, I'm making no friends here.) Then, with Searching For A Former Clarity, their first album with Fat Wreck Chords, a giant in the world of independent punk labels, they incorporated dance-punk into their sound, and New Wave, their first record with major label Sire, was even slicker and got them mainstream radio airplay. (Horrors!) White Crosses is even more slick than New Wave was.

I'll state my biases: my first Against Me! record was Searching and I adored it. I loved the balance between accessibility and grit, I loved the intelligent, politically charged lyrics (you can find a lot of the latter in punk, not so much of the former), I loved the self-deprecation, I loved how an album this morose could be so catchy and danceable and that it could be dark without making me feel like slitting my wrists.

Meanwhile, I can't stand Reinventing Axl Rose, which most fans adore. I find it literally unlistenable. I've given it a few tries, tried it again today at work, and there are really interesting songs in there. Unfortunately, they're buried under the kind of screaming that had me resisting the urge to gouge out my brain with my tiny, office-provided staple remover. Apparently, screaming like that is cathartic to boys in the throes of puberty, but not so much my thing.

That said: White Crosses disappoints me, and I hate to say that. This is definitely mainstream pop/rock-meets-punk and that bothers me not at all; I don't mind them getting slicker, sounding more radio-friendly, as long as I'm enjoying it. But I was hoping for more dance-punk like "Stop" or "Unprotected Sex," or blistering punk like "Miami" or wistful numbers like "Ocean," and instead this all feels a bit '80s and power-pop-y in a way that just doesn't work for me. It sounds like Sire is trying to remake them into The Killers. And I hate to say that, because I hate when people accuse these guys of selling out, but with this album... I can kind of see where that's coming from.

That said, while I'd feel naive to assume that the move to a major label has nothing whatsoever to do with this further shift in the band's sound, I also don't think it would be fair to accuse an artist as obviously thoughtful and self-reflective as Gabel to throw it all in for the big bucks. And you can tell that they're trying to stretch on this album, that they don't want to be solely known as Those Angsty Ranting Leftist Folk-Punks. Gabel also seems to be trying to pare down his normally verbose lyrics, attempt writing in a way that's a little more direct, which seems like a natural path to take... I can see how a songwriter might worry that they were hiding in all of those words, that it was coming across as affected. I miss it -- it's part of what made the band interesting and weird, Gabel trying to spit out these thoughtful, cutting lyrics as fast as he could, all the words barely able to fit in his mouth. But I can understand moving away from that for reasons that have nothing to do with wanting to take a dive into a giant money-pit.

One of the biggest disappointments is "I Was A Teenage Anarchist." With all the drama regarding the band's rise, I was eager to see how Gabel would respond, but as a comeback it's just... nowhere near as complicated or thoughtful as I was expecting. The chorus, "Do you remember / when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire?" is something I feel like I could hear from any artist. That stamp that made this band interesting and different just isn't there. ETA: Gabel also says of his angry former fans, "they set their rifle sights on me," and to hear a songwriter like this sound whiny is so very, very wrong. /ETA

(Re: Gabel going from "Baby, I'm an anarchist / you're a spineless liberal" to signing with Sire... Speaking as a chick whose politics have been creeping ever-further in the radical and anarcho direction, I still gotta say: it's easy to be an anarchist when you're young. Anyone expecting this dude to have the exact same politics now as he did when he was playing solo shows in his basement is smoking some pretty strong crack.)

The standout is "Ache With Me," a slow, wistful, introspective ballad. Gabel's voice is quite lovely in it.

I want to say: there's a lot of you out there who I think would really love this album, especially if you came to the band with New Wave, or if you've never been introduced to the band before. These are strong songs, and they're pretty (I know that's enough to make some punks vomit right now, but I like my punk pretty. Suck it.) For me, it's not quite doing it, but it might be a grower. If you hate everything post-As The Eternal Cowboy, this will make you puke, but if you're new to this band, it might be your thing.

ETA: Forgot to say, and maybe it's bad I remembered, 'cause it kills me to say this, but: after listening to this, part of me wonders if these guys really are just blowing where the wind blows... '80s vaguely-Springsteen-y stuff here because The Gaslight Anthem blew up (and ironically, everyone would always mention them in the same breath as AM! when they came out), dance-punk on Searching because Franz Ferdinand was big, and (to all of you old-school fans who think the first two albums are the only good stuff), screaming and gritty on the debut LP because that's what the kids like. Or maybe, like any band, they're influenced by their contemporaries and playing with different sounds. Maybe a combination. Who knows. /ETA

Tangentially related: On Tom Gabel's solo album, there's a song where he confesses how jealous he is of an unnamed singer's talent, how much he admires this artist, how he wishes he could be half as brave, half as eloquent, half as honest. It's really touching.

But it would make my life if it turned out that he was singing about Barry Manilow.

To sum up: Poppy rock, bright and accessible, a little reminiscent of The Killers on Sam's Town. These guys are accomplished musicians and songwriters, making for a pleasant listen, but nothing grabbed me, made me sit up and take notice, and this is from a band that used to grab me by the guts and wouldn't let go. Old-school fans will hate it; New Wave and completely new fans might very well dig it quite a bit and feel differently than I did.

Standout track: Ache With Me

RIYL: The Killers, Gaslight Anthem, The Dropkick Murphys.

*Okay, it depends on my mood. Sometimes, it's right-on and awesome.

Cobra Skulls - American Rubicon (2009, Red Scare)
Genre: Punk, Folk-Punk

Cobra Skull's previous full-length, Sitting Army, made this a band to watch. They sound a bit like Against Me!, especially in Devin Peralta's (excellent, endearing) vocals, though he's less gruff. Like Against Me!, they deal in politically-charged folk-punk; however, the Cobra Skulls' sound is more upbeat and with a a little more of a sense of humor. They've also got a splash of cowpunk in their sound and (possibly I'm smoking crack here) even a pinch of ragtime.

Unforunately, like Against Me!'s new offering, American Rubicon also disappoints me, though I'm still holding out hope that this album's a grower. (Three spins in, though, and I'm not sure.) Also like Against Me!'s newest, American Rubicon is brighter, has a vaguely '80s feel, very summery. I hate summery, which isn't their fault, really. The first half is enjoyable enough but unmemorable; the second half is much stronger. In fact, I wonder how my opinion of the album would've changed if they'd lopped off everything before "Overpopulated," a reggae-inflected tune about, well, just what you think it's about. (Though a track from the first half, "Muniphobia," about germaphobes afraid of public transportation (no, seriously), while a little dumb, is kinda fun.)

You can tell the guys are trying to expand their sound and not just box themselves into folky cowpunk; I'm not sure why it wasn't quite working for me, especially on the first listen, because I respect that they're trying to grow.

One experiment that works really well is "One Day I'll Never," a completely un-punk, jaunty piano number where Peralta tries being optimistic about where his life is and isn't going.

Lyrically, they've also expanded beyond just politics, discussing relationships, Peralta's struggles with depression, and problems within the scene.

Overall, it's definitely worth a listen, it's just a little overstuffed. Once you get past track seven, it's quite good, though the songs don't stick with me the way a lot of the songs on Sitting Army did.

To sum up: Folky, slightly country-flavored punk with catchy melodies and a lot of heart, fronted by a really talented singer. Songs are less memorable than those off the previous album. Skip the first six -- the good stuff's in the latter half.

Standout tracks:
- Problems With Preconceptions
- Bad Apples
- One Day I'll Never

RIYL: Against Me!, Fake Problems.

Cosmetics

2008-09-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

While it's kind of silly, since I've barely updated this thing (I use this place for the blogroll more than I update; it's like a glorified bookmarks at this point), I changed the name. Since (1) "Hazardous Material" wasn't really grammatically correct; (2) it was kinda boring; (3) "So Very Unhip"'s in the URL, so why the hell not.

If I can come up with something better (and I hope I can), it'll probably change again.

Now back to, you know. Never updating.

queercore galore

2008-06-19T02:38:00.000-07:00

This is a mirror of a post I did in my fandom journal. (Only now, with pictures!) Whole lotta queercore. If you grab anything, please comment. Thanks.

***

I had this post written two weeks ago, but I kept dragging my feet on actually uploading the music. So! Here it is! Finally!

Queer punk, aka queercore, aka homocore:

This post owes a big debt to Pansy Division (and the links on their website), the Outpunk label and compilation LP, Spitshine Records, Heartcore Records and the book Homocore by David Ciminelli and Ken Knox, all of which/whom introduced me to most of this music. Also, much gratitude for Wiki's entries on queercore and the various artists here.

And now, the music.

Pansy Division: There's a good chance you're already familiar with Pansy Division. They're probably one of the most visible queercore bands. (Opening for Green Day back in the '90s didn't hurt.)

Pansy Division started out playing funny punk songs about fucking. Low-brow, goofy, rough-edged, crass, and sweetly catchy. Their songs can sound kinda similar, but I honestly can't bring myself to care. They're one of my favorite bands.

- I'm Gonna Be A Slut
- Horny In The Morning - Sometimes I like to say Pansy Division song titles in either a Bertie Wooster or a Jeeves voice. ...What? I make my own fun.
- Flower - I like this cover better than the Liz Phair original.

Later, they decided to do some all-out pop tunes:

- When He Comes Home - Upbeat guitar-pop where the singer's basically saying, "Hey, dude, you cheated with me, but come clean to your boyfriend and tell him what's up." If this song weren't gay, it'd be on the radio.
- No Protection - Disco about safe sex.
- Scared To Death - Witty cowpunk. Great lyrics.
- He Whipped My Ass In Tennis, Then I Fucked His Ass In Bed (Radio Edit) - More raucous cowpunk. I actually think it's funnier censored, so that's the version I'm offering here.

All of those songs come from their album Total Entertainment!, which is full of gooey pop melodies and fun, witty lyrics. The guys really developed lyrically as they went along. (Okay, some of you might think a band that starts out with songs like "Horny In The Morning" has nowhere to go but up, but... um... shut up. That's my witty retort. You can't go wrong with "Horny In The Morning," man.) [$$]

The Outnumbered - Jon Ginoli's band before he formed Pansy Division. Not queercore as far as I can tell, but included for the curious. More mellow than Pansy Division and with less humor.

- You Need A Babysitter - God, I hope this doesn't describe my post-graduation life.
- I Feel So Sorry Now [$$]

Team Dresch and Tribe 8 were two important lesbian queercore bands, and two of the most visible from the queercore movement. While I generally consider any punk band that sings primarily about queer issues to be queercore, the actual "movement," such as it was, seemed to be a burst of bands that formed in Olympia, around the same time (and place) as riot grrrl*.

Now, both these bands aren't really my thing, sound-wise. But you might like them.

Team Dresch - Very '90s indie-rock/punk. Soft/loud dynamics, floaty girl vocals and melodies laid over heavy guitars. (I clearly know jack-all about music, so that's my best attempt at explaining it.) Not as slick as Pansy Division, but most people aren't going to punk and indie for slick, so.

- She's Crushing My Mind - The soft/loud dynamic thing in full force, here.
- Hand Grenade - A little more hooky and melodic.
- Song For Anne Bannon - Hey, that girl's looking at my butt! / Wait, is that a girl or a boy or what? Also, they rhyme "intimidation" with "lesbian experimentation." :D

*(Off-topic digression: It blows my mind, the interconnectedness of these musical movements that, in some ways, vary wildly in sound. Queercore was intertwined with riot grrrl was intertwined with twee was intertwined with grunge and punk and DC hardcore. Kathleen Hannah knew Ian McKaye and Kurt Cobain, Kurt Cobain dated Tobi Vail and had a K Records tattoo, apparently... As a good friend of mine says, "mind = blown." I mean, when I think "Nirvana," I don't think "twee." Generally. It's weird. And kind of cool. The two Washingtons, skipping through indie-rock hand-in-hand. Or something.)

After Team Dresch split up:

Davies Vs. Dresch - Donna Dresch formed this band. (She also created Chainsaw Records.)
- My Friend Is My Hairstylist - The floaty vocals over the heavy guitars, but a little more intense, speedy and slick.

- Jody Bleyle formed Family Outing, for whom I can find no website and no songs and no nothin'...

- The Butchies - formed by Kaia Wilson.

Similar in sound to Team Dresch, but also a bit slicker. I'm still undecided on The Butchies as a whole, but I love these two songs:

- Trouble - Driving, mostly-upbeat rock with a dark undercurrent and a catchy, alt-rock hookiness.
- Your Love - The Butchies transform Outfield's '80s pop hit into a softly sung, restrained ballad with a quiet power. If you love this kinda thing, then here you go. If you hate this kind of thing, I know exactly how you feel, and I'm telling you: download it anyway. Alternaprom slowdance song of your dreams.

Before The Butchies, Kaia did a solo album as Kaia, and before Team Dresch, she was in a band called Adickded. And if I had any songs from either of those projects, I'd give them to you. Kaia also co-created Mr. Lady Records, which is a label all you Le Tigre fans are probably familiar with.

[if you like team dresch et. al., give 'em some money]

Tribe 8 - Dirty, rough, unabashed punk. This stuff is fast and loud and it's not pop. I generally like my punk more melodic, so it's not totally my thing. But they were important to queercore, they've got a cheeky, raunchy sense of humor, and apparently, at shows, they used to have straight guys fellate the frontwoman's dildo. That alone gets props from me. So, if you like L7, or if you prefer your punk peanut butter unmarred by gooey pop chocolate, here's some Tribe 8.

- Butch In The Streets
- Manipulate
- Wrong Bathroom - About how, if you're gender-non-conforming, sometimes you can't even take a piss in peace. Love the horns.
- Prison Blues - Exactly what the title says. Totally different sound from the previous song. The lead singer's rough vocals enhance the mood. [$$]

I didn't have any Tribe 8 before making this post, but knew I'd be remiss if I didn't include them. So I leapt into Soulseek... and one of the people sharing them had them in a playlist called, "The Revolution Is My Fuckbuddy." FTW, soulseeker. FTW.

And now, onto bands that haven't got quite the same amount of attention (in my experience):

Extra Fancy - One of the bands that got closest to the mainstream (they signed to Atlantic) before getting dropped and shunted into obscurity. Frontman Brian Grillo was the only gay member, and he didn't really embrace the queercore label, but the songs dealt with queer themes and issues. More rock than punk.

- Imitating Angels - Cover of a song by The Nymphs. Driving, intense, dark-sounding -- no idea why it wasn't all over '90s modern rock radio. ~~Oh yeah, homophobia, probably.~~ The Nymphs' Inger Lorre sings back-up, as does Exene Cervenka of X, and she sounds fantastic.

- Sinnerman - Traditional song given the rock/punk treatment.

- The Nymphs' original version of "Imitating Angels," in case you're curious.)

Brian Grillo's since gone solo and does acoustic stuff: Democracy [$$ // $$]

Best Revenge - Jangly, rough-around-the-edges punk with poppier melodies than the above stuff, and boy-girl dueling vocals.
- Sacrifice - There are some powerful lyrics hiding in this excellent, upbeat little punk song: No, I won't be the one / to make you more human / and I won't be a martyr for your hate or a victim of your gun ... No, I won't be the one / you leave tied to the fence / And I won't be the headline / on your page of news events.
- Used To Be
- 15 (live) [$$]

Best Revenge's Ryan Revenge also made two other bands, The Exit Plan and Terrazzo, both of which played Best Revenge-esque rough, poppy punk. Might appeal if you like Go Betty Go and The Soviettes:

The Exit Plan
- Channel Zero - My favorite song out of the Best Revenge-spin-off bands offered here.
Political Shakeup

Terrazzo
- Off You Go - Second favorite.
- Sneak Attack
- Stand My Ground [$$]

Crowns On 45 - Past Tense - More indie than punk. Female-fronted. Might like if you're into Dead Girls And Other Stories, Coach Said Not To and... I don't know. [$$]

Winterbrief - Days Outdoors II - Electronic, not punk, but they're on a queercore label. Amateurish but fun and catchy. [$$]

Iamloved - Never Forget - Best Revenge-esque. Not my thing, exactly, but you might like it. [$$]

Skinjobs - Burn Your Rainbow - Slick, poppy punk/alt-rock with fun "woo-woo"s in the background. The anthem for Gay Shame? [$$]

Kevin Cahoon & The Ghetto Cowboy - Kevin Cahoon, to my knowledge, is a Broadway actor; I'm pretty sure he's played Frank N. Furter, Hedwig, and one of the hyenas in The Lion King, and probably a lot more.
- Doll - I fucking love this song. Pure pop punk, anthemic chorus. The fact that this isn't all over the radio is a crime. I found this song via LOGO's music videos. He's a gay artist that says the word "fag" in the song, in a reclaiming sense. And LOGO censored it out. WTF, LOGO?! [$$]

Maris The Great And The Faggots Of Death - Yes, this band is real. Think GWAR. Only, with drag queens. Fucking ridiculous. I kind of love that they exist, even though the music is not exactly something I play a lot.
- Fuck You If You Don't Like Rock 'N Roll - They rhyme "down on your knees" with "pull out your wee-wees."
- All The Cutest Boys Are At The Hardcore Shows [site]

Gayrilla Biscuits - Now, I don't listen to a lot of hardcore. So maybe these guys are secret geniuses and I just don't know it. But I have them filed in a folder labeled "hilariously bad queercore" and I had to share. Apparently, they're doing sort of a Weird Al, Only Gay treatment to hardcore songs. (Which, you know, yay! Hardcore's just not my style.)
- Be Gay
- Spray It On My Face - ...on second listen, these guys actually aren't that bad.
- I Can't Believe You're Not Gay - These are all apparently from an album called, Hung Queens Can Suck It. <3
[myspace]

Limp Wrist - another band in the "hilariously bad" folder. As I refresh my memory by listening to them now, I think that, unlike Gayrilla Biscuits, they really do deserve to be there. BUT, FOR YOUR EDIFICATION:
- You Ain't That Fierce - Theme for people tired of Christian Siriano?
- I Love Hardcore Boys / I Love - So far, none of these songs crack the minute mark. You can't say it's not punk, baby.
- Recruiting Time - Best title ever?
[myspace]

Mukilteo Fairies - Featured one of the dudes from And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. This site (which looks awesome, btw) describes them as grindcore -- fast, loud, super-short, with male shrieking -- and I actually kind of hate 'em more than Limp Wrist, if such a thing is possible. But if you are mad for Jason Reece, here is some Mukilteo love. Tell your friends.
- Oly Latent Boys
- Closet Check
- Crush Crusher - Boys Fuck Rock Stars
- Heavy Into Brett
- Boyfffriend - Why so many mp3s of a band I can't stand? Because apparently this shit is rare. Seriously, go grab your friends into And You Will Know Us By... I don't want this all to go to waste. I'm deleting these after I upload.
- Who's Been Fornicating In My Bed
- Taken Advantage
- Four-Letter Love - See what happens when one of your members ends up in a hip art-rock band? I plaster a shitload of your old band's songs up here, even though I find them unlistenable, on the off-chance this will please a random hipster. (Either that, or I'm just OCD.) C'MON, GUYS FROM LIMP WRIST. JUST MAKE A HIP ART-ROCK BAND. THIS, TOO, CAN HAPPEN FOR YOU!

Ahem.

Now, after music I hate -- music I love.

The Open Mouths - These Brits appeared on the scene recently, made only one LP (which is out of print), a split-7", and then broke up. Making me very, very sad, because I love them to bits and pieces.

Think Pansy Division, but mid-tempo pop/rock/new wave instead of punk. Catchy tunes. Smart lyrics. Good, solid pop songs. I love them so much. Come back, Open Mouths!

- Sex Change Regrets - Exactly what it says it's about.
- False Positive - Biting lyrics about a guy's lost weekend.
- Frisco - The Pansy Division-gone-pop-i-est of them all. Sad, pretty, mid-tempo jangly ballad with a great hook to it.
- Razzle Dazzle - Another solid pop song. I go back and forth on whether or not this song's got some biphobia going on, which, if so, is not cool... but like I said, I'm not sure, so draw your own conclusions. [myspace]

The lead singer has since formed a new band called Metro Boulout Disco, an electronic outfit. MySpace is here.

Outpunk Dance Party - Outpunk Records - 1995

An out-of-print compilation put out by the now-defunct Outpunk Records. Normally, I don't share albums in their entirety ~~which is pretty goddamned hypocritical of me~~ but since it's no longer available legally, here you go. I love this album. It's rough. It's amateurish. It's weird. But when I was falling into a zombie-like stupor at my temp job, this snapped me out of it right quick. And it's fun.

1. Intro
2. Mukilteo Fairies - Queer Enough For You (.m4a) - The only Mukilteo song I like. It lives in my Alarm Clock application with the rest of my hardcore.
3. Power Snatch - Booty Go
4. Sister George - Handle Bar
5. Double Zero - Pacer (.m4a) - I'm not into screaming. And I'm not into S/M. But somehow, I love the hell out of this punk song that's essentially just lesbians screaming about S/M, spanking and genderfuck roleplay. Dark and not melodic, but weirdly catchy.
6. Swine King - All Broke Down
7. CWA - Chickenhawk (.m4a) - Goofy lesbian sex rap.
8. Pansy Division - I Can't Sleep - Classic punk Pansy Division.
9. Hyperdrive Kittens - Rock 'N Roll Drag Queen (.m4a) - Sweet, jangly, rockabilly-tinged tune. One of my favorites.
10. Jolt - Rise
11. Sta Prest - Nelly Strut / Suspiria - This is some weird shit. (Yep, that song title's a reference to the film. Or so I assume.)
12. Tribe 8 - Oversize Ego - Halfway through, this morphs into a cover of Devo's "Girl You Want," and then back into the original song.

And here's CWA's other song, Only Straight Girls Wear Dresses - more goofy, explicit lesbian sex rap about not judging a book by its cover.

BTW: I have been trying to find other stuff by the Hyperdrive Kittens with very little luck. (I found one other song off one of the "All Kindsa Girls" compilation, but a girl was doing lead vocals, so I don't know if it's the same band or not.) So, if you've got any and you wanna share, please let me know.

And, since I'm gonna be uploading for the rest of my life anyway:

Queer country:

Mark Wiegle - These Lips Of Mine (Made For Suckin' You) - Leatherdaddy crooning about blowjobs.

Devin & The Straights - Fantastic country group. Just so, so solid. Highly recommended.
- Why Don't You Be A Man - Up-tempo break-up ditty.
- Used To Being - Mid-tempo break-up ditty. Are we sensing a theme? Great voice, great lyrics.
- Boys Behind Me - Another fast one. Devin is mining that relationship angst. Okay, guys, I'm shite at describing music in general, and even shittier at describing country music, plus I'm low on sleep. Just take my word for it.

I don't listen to a lot of hip-hop, but there is queer hip-hop out there. While I don't have very much, I can point you to some resources.

Scream Club - Love 'em. Great voices, fun lyrics, pretty vocals on the hook.
- And You Belong

Deep Dickollective - I Am - Just good.

Sugar Truck Recordings
Gay Hip Hop.com
Phat Family
Out Hip Hop blog
Deadlee
Tori Fixx
Katastrophe
JenRo
Miss Money
God-des and She - Have liked what I've heard.

Enjoy!

Hipster For A Day, Part 5

2007-12-23T01:49:00.000-08:00

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Bloc Party - "Flux" - So not my genre. Nice, sweeping, dramatic chorus, though. ... I've been at this list for how long, now? God, I'm a douchebag.

- "I Still Remember" - Pretty. Bland.

- "Hunting For Witches" - Not as boring as the previous two. Really accessible, wouldn't mind it on a compilation, but basically an "Eh."

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - I love "Me & Mia," "Counting Down The Hours" and "Little Dawn," I think they're brilliant. I saw Ted Leo live when he was touring for Shake The Sheets and I thought he was fantastic. It took me a while to admit to myself that I wasn't really listening to anything after track five, but I would like to give the album another shot at some point.

So, I preview Living With The Living on iTunes and I'm bitterly disappointed. "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb" was good but not exactly something I could listen to over and over. Nothing else grabbed me at all. But! While iTunes has introduced me to a bunch of artists I adore, I have a feeling there are a ton of artists I like (*cough*Hefner*cough*) that I'd probably have hated if I'd been introduced to them through iTunes' 30-second preview. So!

- "A Bottle Of Buckie" - Blasphemy time: That guitar part makes me think of the Gin Blossoms. At least, I think that's the early-'90s soft-rock band I'm thinking of. Leo's got such a fantastic voice. I love his falsetto. (I hope that's a falsetto that I'm talking about, there.) This is really nice. Hype Machine: 1, iTunes: 0.

- "Sons Of Cain" - I listened to this when the album made the blog rounds, and I was underwhelmed, but right now, I think it's nice. It's not making me squeal, but it's nice enough; I think I'd enjoy it within the context of an album. Assuming I'd like the rest of this album.

- "La Costa Brava" - Oooh. This is kinda kickin' ass.

- "Colleen" - This could get tiring, but *damn*, the guitars.

- "The Unwanted Things" - Okay, Self, you're a cock. Give this album a fair shake, because it promises to be solid as hell.

Hipster For A Day, Part 4

2007-12-23T01:46:00.001-08:00

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Radiohead - Here I go. Time to get cockslapped by every music fan alive. I'll just admit it up front: I never had an interest in pursuing Radiohead's music past the singles. And on top of that... I hated Ok Computer. Yes. Most of it, anyway.

- "Bodysnatchers" - *shakes head*

- "Down Is The New Up" - Thom Yorke's voice can be so otherworldly and beautiful. And these strings are gorgeous. But I'm thinking of how "Street Spirit" and "Karma Police" grabbed me, what, ten years ago? And this song doesn't do that for me.

- "Nude" - This is really gentle and soothing. ...I mean, God only knows what he's singing about -- I rarely take in the lyrics on the first spin. He could be singing about dicing kittens into a creamy kitten souffle for all I know. (Ew. Thanks, brain. Thanks for that.) But it's really soothing sounding.

- "Reckoner" - This is kind of hypnotic. Could I listen to it more than a few times? I'm not sure. ...I'd sort of love to hear Sharon Jones cover this. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The White Stripes - Ah, White Stripes. With the pretending you're siblings and pretending you're British and other assorted weirdness. I loved "Fell In Love With A Girl" but never sought out the album. Then I tried Elephant and it did nothing for me. I'm so predictable, dude.

- "Icky Thump" - :(

(Razor-sharp insights expressed eloquently! That's why you're paying good money to read this blog-- oh, wait.)

Love "Why don't you kick yourself / You're an immigrant, too," though.

- "Conquest" - Fun and ridiculous. Could grow on me or drive me fucking nuts.

- "Effect & Cause" - Fun! Country-tinged. It's a song where I'd stop on the dial, listen, let it play out, but don't have a real desire to play it over and over. Hooky, though! Yayyy, hooks.

- "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You're Told)" - This is so, so '70s. I feel like I'm listening to The Bay. (Is that station even around any more? Aid me, Google! ... *googles* ... It is!) I feel like it should be sandwiched between "Listen To The Music" and "Blinded By The Light."

Spoon - I love "I Turn My Camera On" but from what I can tell, it's not representative of their sound.

- "I Can Feel It Fade Like An FM Single" - Mournful. Driving yet laid-back. Not feeling it.

- "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" - This, I think, is possibly my third try with this song. The horns remind me of Hefner's "The Day That Thatcher Dies." ... I don't know, something's just missing for me. It doesn't grab me in the gut. I don't get what it's doing for people.

- "Underdog" - Spoon, you craft perfectly fine songs, but I don't get why people are going crazy for you. This stuff is bland. It's missing something. Again, I have no problem with slick, with hooks, with pure pop -- that's not my beef. But I'm just not getting it, guys. And I want to, is the thing! I want to hear what's hooking people in.

- "Don't Make Me A Target" - This moves me a little more, but... Yeah. I don't get it, indie fans. Explain it to me.

Hipster For A Day, Part 3

2007-12-23T01:29:00.000-08:00

Part 1 | Part 2

LCD Soundsystem - "Time To Get Away" - I'm going in negatively biased since I'm not overly into this genre. ...Aaand it sounds like I'm still not.

- "New York, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down" - Haaaa: "New York, you're safer, and you're wasting my time." Great lyrics. ...Dude, this is cool.

- "Get Innocuous" - Aaand, back to the dance. See, dude, I'm with you on the one song that's totally and completely not indicative of your style. (Although, knowing that the rest of the album is dance/dance-punk/dance-whatever definitely influences my enjoyment of the previous song. Because if that track was from a whiney indie-rock alt-country artist getting hyped to the stars, I'd probably have puked all over it. ...huh.) This is good, by the way, I guess, but I'm just so very not into dance music, generally.

- "All My Friends" - This sounds weirdly like Embrace. (Maybe I'm on crack.) Accessible, but eh. I'm waiting for this song to explode, and it won't.

No Age - "My Life's Alright Without You" - What the fuck? ...Dude, *what* is wrong with just doing a straightforward punk song? ...Why do I even ask.

- "Everybody's Down" - Ew.

Liars - "Clear Island" - Yeah, this hurts me-- wait. Wait. This is sort of like a... male Le Tigre. Almost. A lot harder to listen to, though.

- "Freak Out" - Yeah, no.

Modest Mouse - Before we go on, you should know that I'm one of those assholes that only liked "Float On" and couldn't stand the rest of that album. The cashier who sold it to me opined to me that that album was too commercial, but I found it way too inaccessible. So, that's where I'm coming from. Which I'm sure is a *shock* by now.

- "Spitting Venom" - Well-done, boring and quiet. Then, well-done and loud but still kind of boring.

- "Dashboard" - Better. Sounds like a single. Love the disco bridge. *g* Doesn't really *grab* me, but totally listenable.

Jamie T - "Operation" - Playful Brit guy rapping, ala Lily Allen. This'd sound good with M.I.A and the Go! Team. Like so much on this list, it sounds good but isn't my bag.

- "Pacemaker" - Eh.

- "Sheila" - Fun. Single-y. But not for me.

Panda Bear - One of the Animal Collective guys. Uh oh. Okay. Here we go.

- "Ponytail" - That was peaceful and choral and pretty and boring. And *short*.

- "Comfy In Nautica" - Beach Boys meet a choir. I feel like I'd need to be on acid to appreciate this. Damn my straight-edge ways.

- "Im Not" - Well, you can't say that the guy's unsure of his sound. I guess I could meditate to this. If I meditated. Which I don't.

Battles - "Atlas" - Playground song for a whole mess of Oompah-Loompahs. Basically. Huh.

As I listen to this, I'm beginning to realize that, while there are definitely times where I feel the need to inject something fresh and weird into my musical diet, generally, I don't need something that pushes, then tears, then completely obliterates and haphazardly tapes back together the envelope. I listen to psychobilly, for God's sakes. '50s sounds slightly updated, with a punk edge. And (often boneheaded) lyrics about zombies. I don't have a problem with verse-chorus-verse. In fact, I love it. I don't have a problem with hooks. I *love* hooks. I like catchy shit. I don't need you to subvert the whole notion of what it means to be poppy. But I don't need you to be painfully earnest, either. I just need you to *sound* good.

I sound anti-intellectual when I say that. Timid. Vanilla. Boring. But god dammit, there has to be a middle ground between tepid Clear Channel crap and experimental shenanigans. I mean, Jesus.

Ahem. Um. Where was I.

- "Ddiamondd" - What the fuck?

Ah. That's where I was.

Wilco - "You Are My Face" - I was kinda bored with this, and then suddenly, around 1:40 -- daaaaaamn. Mmm. Soulful and the guitar and the organ and *yeah*. (See how articulate I am? This is some grade-A articulate music writing, here.)

- "Either Way" - Gentle and pretty and slow. Too gentle and a little too boring for me. I can see why people rave about Jeff Tweedy, though.

- "Impossible Germany" - Too mellow/Adult Contemporary (yeah, I said it), but still respecting the talent.

- "Walken" - More lively! Not quite grabbing me, but fun. Almost gives me a weird Harry Nilsson vibe. (Where do these comparisons even come from in my brain?)

- Their cover of "The Thanks I Get" is pretty damn good.

Hipster For A Day, Part 2

2007-12-23T01:26:00.000-08:00

Part 1 here.

The Maccabees - "Latchmere" - Very annoying lead singer. Accessible-ish, but too twitchy for me.

- "Precious Time" - More accessible, more enjoyable. Maybe this could grow on me, but it's a little too annoying for me to stick with. They're talented, though. Vaguely Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-ish.

Speak of the devil:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - I have a huge chip on my shoulder about this band. They were so, so, so hyped and I gave their album a listen and DEAR GOD the singer's voice. So painful. I love Hefner, people. Darren Hayman's voice is, indeed, an acquired taste. But the CYHSY guy makes Hayman sound like Celine Dion, seriously. I did like some songs off their debut, but it felt like they were *almost* trying to create pop songs and shying away from it all at once, because clearly a pure pop record is just too gauche. Or something. Clearly, I have issues. But! I'm going to give their new songs a try anyway. See if I change my mind.

- "Emily Jean Stock" - Okay, I guess this is kind of... nice? If I really stretch definitions of ... nice? (I'm trying to imagine playing this for my mom. She would scream. He sort of sounds like a dying cat. When someone came up with that now-cliched phrase, this is the kind of thing they were talking about.) But it's sort of... weirdly pretty? But... not for me. *shuts it off*

- "Love Song No. 7" - More promising start. ...This makes me think of The Wall. And Hunky Dory-era Bowie. ...everything I like about the song just disappeared. ...And then faded back in. ...I would probably enjoy this more if I did drugs. *shuts off*

- "Underwater (You And Me)" - This is listenable. Almost hooky. On the edge of pretty. But boring.

Aesop Rock - "Keep Off The Lawn" - It's hard for me to judge hip-hop; I'm just not into very much of it. This isn't working for me.

- "None Shall Pass" - Well-done, but not my thing. Voice is kinda growing on me, but... yeah. I'd spin it, but not my thing.

El-P - "Run The Numbers" - I love a lesbian rocker named L.P.. This guy's success could possibly make things a little annoying for her. Anyway: this is good. I feel like an asshole for not being super-into hip-hop, and this isn't something that I see making its way into my iTunes, but I'd play this over Ye Olde College Radio airwaves. I get why people respect this guy.

- "The Overly Dramatic Truth" - Yeah, he's good.

M.I.A. - I briefly sampled M.I.A. and couldn't get into it. I know, I know! Everyone and her sister loves her. I want to get it! So, giving her another try.

- "Bamboo Banga" - Ack. Not my thing.

- "World Town" - I definitely get why she's a breath of fresh air to a lot of people, but it just doesn't *sound* good to me. It doesn't do anything for me.

- "Paper Planes" - Better. I could enjoy it on a mix tape or behind a scene in a movie. I'd play it on college radio. (Man, I feel like a tool saying "college radio." But just saying "radio" feels misleading.) Not something I'd listen to on my lonesome.

- "Jimmy" - This is cool. I kinda like this. Maybe M.I.A. could grow on me. Sometimes I hate stuff at first and learn to love it... At the same time, life's short, dude.

Deerhunter - "Cryptograms" - Listenable, but boring-- oh, hey, wait, the song finally exploded. But not quite *enough*. Off you go.

- "Fluorescent Grey" - Ehhhh. Why would someone buy a whole album of this?

HEALTH - "Crimewave" - Nooooo-- oh, wait, it suddenly got interesting. ...Wow, I just sat through a drum solo. Which was good, don't get me wrong. ...and then the song was over. ...Talented, but ew?

- "Triceratops" - This is like aliens fucking inside my brain. It's kind of cool, yet totally not my bag.

Hipster For A Day, Part 1

2007-12-23T01:19:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time bitching about how so many of the indie music blogs' year-end Best Of lists (A) look the near-identical and (B) contain very little music that I enjoy. It's tough, because finding blogs that highlight music to my taste is pretty difficult.

But! I figured, why not give some of this stuff a try (or more of a try), right? So, here's me. Trying a bunch of songs from albums off the Year-End lists. Commenting as I listen. It's rough. It's not at all eloquent. I have little-to-no background on any of these bands. I'm flying blind. You ready?

Future Of The Left - "adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood" - Okay, waiting to see if the quiet part yields an interesting beginning -- and BY GOD, it does. ...except that this singing is really, really annoying. It's kind of like The Beastie Boys without the flow. ...Okay, the sludge-y guitars are awesome, but I've gotta turn this off. I'm probably misusing "sludge-y."

Animal Collective - "Fireworks" - Ooh, this beginning is cool. What's this gonna turn into? ...this singing hurts me. This is so, so inaccessible for me. I want to like it, because everything *behind* the singing is neat. But... no. I have to turn this off.

Okay, let's give these guys another try. Maybe the frontman... grows on you.

- "Peacebone" - VIDEO GAME BLEEPS. STABBING ME IN THE EARS. Try to be patient. Maybe this will yield something non-shitty. ...Nope. What the fuck are these lyrics? Oh, God, this frontman. *shuts off*

- "For Reverend Green" - One more try, Animal Collective. One more masochistic try. ... Ew, this sounds like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. What the fuck was that random scream?! This song is like a brain seizure. ...the bridge is nice. I kind of wish the whole song was the bridge. ...You know, Schoolyard Heroes is schizophrenic-sounding like this. Except, Schoolyard Heroes is tuneful. And the vocalist can. Y'know. *Sing*. I gotta turn you off now, Animal Collective. I appreciate how weird and different you are, but Jesus Christ.

Field Music - "A House Is Not A Home" - Pleasant, though not exactly my thing. I have no idea how to describe their sound. Southern rock guitars meet... sterile British indie pop-rock? Really well-done, though, again, not quite my thing, exactly.

- "A Gap Has Appeared" - Again, really neat and slick, but not my thing.

- "Sit Tight" - I kinda like this, but it doesn't quite grab me in the guts. I'd play it on my show, though, I think. Almost Queen-ish.

The Cribs - "Men's Needs" - Dear God, this almost sounds like it's going to be accessible. Don't give me a heart attack, hipster blogs. Yeah, this could probably be on the radio. ...shit, for all I know, it is -- I'm so out of the loop, dude. Screaming in the chorus hurts me a little, more than screaming in, uh, screamo bands do, weirdly. I can listen to this without my ears bleeding, though. Is this one of those English Klaxons-esque groups that usually shows up on Good Weather For Airstrikes? ... *checks* ... Nope. But English!

The Go! Team - "Grip Like A Vice" - This isn't my thing at all, but I can see why it's fun for other people, and I'd spin it, especially with Fannypack.

- "Do It Right" - Ditto. It's hard to get snarky about this group. It'd be like going up to a bunch of kids jumping rope and kicking 'em in the face.

- "Fake ID" - More fun for me. Weirdly almost SNMNMNMN-esque, only if you add adrenaline, Pixi Stix and meth. Not something I'd really play for myself, but I'd put it in a set, easy.

Deerhoof - "+81" - WHAT THE FUCK. THIS SINGER. WHAT? What am I *listening* to? It's fun, though! What the *fuck*? This needs to go on a movie soundtrack. Background music to people robbing a minimart, seriously. It's like a track from the Girls In The Garage comp that focused on Asia, only slicker and sleeker. (Is that me stereotyping, there?) If this showed up on one of the many random compilations of lo-fi all-girl punk and garage that I've acquired, I'd be totally charmed.

Against Me! - New Wave

2007-07-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

[This is a copy/mirror of a post I made in my fandom blog. Music posts showing up here will probably be mirrors of stuff posted there from now on. I'm not linking to my fandom blog because, aside from music, I'd rather not cross the streams for some reason.

Sorry for the insane lack of updates, by the way.]

Against Me! released their fourth album, New Wave recently and so far, I think I'm liking it. At first, it wasn't grabbing me in the throat like their previous album did, but I do think it's good stuff.

I recommend giving these songs a try:

Stop - Disco-punk that sounds more blood-and-guts than most of what I've heard in this genre. It seems to be about the band's decision to sign to a major, and it's my favorite song on the album. (My favorite song on the last album was also all about the record-industry, too. Huh.) I wish they'd chosen it for the first single.

Ocean - The driving, dark sound of the song counterpointed with the yearning vocals and the vulnerability expressed in the lyrics about faith and gender and family make this song one of my favorites. Tom Gabel sings it so well.

And, just for fun, the aforementioned favorite song with the lyrics about the record industry from the last album: Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners [radio edit].

If you like what you hear, support the band: here and here (or possibly here and here.)

Punk Wot I Liked ('06 Edition)

2007-01-09T02:13:00.001-08:00

As it says on the sidebar, this place is my attempt to contaminate the blogosphere with my woefully unhip taste in music. That said:

Music Wot I Liked During '06

When I was a kid, I was thrilled when I finally got my hands on a pair of slip-on sneakers. I was so happy that I'd finally be "in" and hip and possibly immunized to teasing, all due to the trendy magic of slip-ons.

The day I bought them was pretty much the day they'd gone completely out of style.

That said, none of the albums and songs listed here actually came out during '06.

ALBUMS

The Soviettes - LP III - Fat Wreck Chords - 06/28/05

Fun, fast, loud, brassy, catchy -- I'm heartbroken that these kids are on "hiatus" because I like this band and love this album. Three girls, one guy, trading vocals, and I can't tell which woman it is that provides the most powerful and memorable vox on the record because they're all egalitarian and modest in the liner notes. Aww. Upbeat and hooky without being saccharine, full of great Misfits-esque "whoah-uh-ohhs." Absolutely free of pretention.

Middle Of The Night (.m4a)

You Should Know (.m4a)

What Did I Do (.m4a)

Support the Soviettes at: iTunes - MySpace - Fat Wreck Chords

Against Me! - Searching For A Former Clarity - Fat Wreck Chords - 09/06/05

Against Me! savages the state of the Union, the record industry and themselves on their third release. Tom Gabel's vocals are snarly-yet-tuneful, emotive and affecting. The lyrics, whether they're taking aim at Condoleeza Rice ("From Her Lips to God's Ears"), the industry they're a part of ("Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners" -- still lovin' that title), or their own relevance as artists ("Don't Lose Touch"), are clever, passionate, sardonic, and self-deprecating... and it's the self-deprecation, most of all, that made me sit up and take notice. One of my favorite albums of the year and one of the most refreshing voices in the genre at the moment. (I know that sounds hyperbolic, but seriously, give 'em a try.)

Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners

Don't Lose Touch (.m4a)

Support Against Me! at iTunes - MySpace - Fat Wreck Chords - their official site

SONGS

The Matches - Salty Eyes (buy)

The Gossip - Keeping You Alive (.m4a) (buy)

Mon Frere - Drain (.m4a) (buy)

Zombina and the Skeletones - Nobody Likes You When You're Dead (buy)

Horrorpops - Crawl Straight Home (buy)

Christ, it's 2AM. More to come.