Tag: #Import 2025-04-25 15:23

Getting in the Know

‘Democracy begins at home. Equality begins at home. So does regime change, peace, etc. There are a million slogans that offer the insight that home is more than just where the heart is. It’s the first place you need to look in order to properly and most effectively better a situation.

One day, while sitting around their office before the turn of the year, Soda Jerk’s Mike Barsch and Ben Davis decided this was a model that they could apply to their concerts. They needed to make better use of untapped musical talent in Colorado. This was their New Year’s resolution – to feature some of Colorado’s best musicians in their new monthly “Bands You Need To Know” series.

“There a lot of really great bands that don’t really get the recognition that they need,” began Soda Jerk’s Ben Davis. “There are only five or six groups that have been really vocal in this scene. Very few bands have been able to successfully market themselves to concert promoters. So, I think a lot of great undiscovered bands are going to show up as a result of this series.”

To strengthen this venture, Soda Jerk has teamed up with Radio 1190, the best conduit for Colorado-area acts. The show will be co-presented between the Bands You Need To Know and Radio 1190’s Local Shakedown series. Together, the two forces hope to be unstoppable. At the very least, they should be successful. They have enough pooled resources to promote a majority of the bands in Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs.

“They’re really throwing their support behind these shows,” said Soda Jerk’s Mike Barsch, speaking of Radio 1190’s Local Shakedown. “They are playing the CDs of the featured bands and are doing ticket giveaways for us. We really appreciate their help.”

Barsch and Davis will have creative control over the acts picked for each month’s concert. Radio 1190 will play more of a supporting role, helping Soda Jerk out in whatever way they can. An open dialogue will exist between the two promoters, and the radio station’s input is welcomed. Depending upon the genre of a particular month’s lineup, they anticipate requesting the occasional suggestion from 1190 but, for the most part, finding talent in the area should not be difficult for them.

“We want to do something for the scene,” said Davis. “A lot of promoters do local shows. We just felt that it needs to be done differently. More of an emphasis must be put on the bands. There’s a lot that this city has to offer. There’s a lot this state has to offer.”

Barsch furthered this sentiment.

“The real idea behind it all is to take the local show concept to a whole different level,” he said. “It’s not just a local band show. It’s an event. They’re hand-picked bands that we feel, well, you need to know about.”

To them, this event will be no different than a festival like South By Southwest. It’s a packed lineup featuring a familiar band or two but, for the most part, the point is to get exposed to new music.

That is the key that will help Bands You Need To Know succeed and the Boulder/Denver scene flourish. People will come for bands like Love Me Destroyer, Drag the River or Planes Mistaken for Stars. In the process, they will be exposed to a handful of other bands they would never have known. As Davis described it, “the scene will keep leapfrogging.” One band will get exposure because of another and, in turn, that band will expose other bands and so on. It’s the indie-rock model being applied to the Colorado scene. Simple, brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Ideally, this model will spill over into the national shows that come through the region. Davis hopes that some of the bands discovered through this series will be able to make it onto big-name billings like Thursday or Thrice so that they have more potential to work their way onto a touring bill.

This could be a best-case scenario. As Barsch admits, the plague of Colorado bands is that very few independent acts have been able to make it out of the region. The potential is there with Bands You Need To Know. It’s only a matter of time and hope before it all materializes.

“We have all the confidence in the world about all the bands we’re booking,” said Barsch. “Otherwise we wouldn’t do it.”

suicide notes and butterfly kisses

‘Another quality release from Chicago’s finest… Victory Records that is.

There are certain labels that you can always expect the same consistency from. G7 will always put out something political, Jade Tree will have high quality East Coast indie rock, and Victory Records won’t take any shit. They only release the best hardcore west of New York City.

Their bands coalesce a little bit better. They are upfront, organized, and punk as fuck. Atreyu is no exception to this rule. The title of the album itself does a good job of pointing out the balance of delicate and rough sides to this album. It’s got a good deal of variety to it and it heads in all the right directions at all the right places.

Of course, it’s easy to sit on the fence and be hypocritical with hardcore but some albums are undeniably good. “Suicide Notes” is one those albums. It’s equally dark and depressing as well as bright and inspiring. It works on many levels. For a first full-length, it shows promise both for the band and for the hardcore scene itself.

The name doesn’t seem to fit the band, though. The reference to “The Never Ending Story” is nice but it’s not the kind of music you’d think of when you picture a big fluffy animal flying through the air. That being said and superfluous, “Suicide Notes” is a good album.

http://www.poprocksandcoke.com

‘Straight from the nation’s taint – Delanco, NJ – one enthusiastic gamer has unearthed a world of relics from the forgotten Nintendo Generation. This Web site provides a humorous and often accurate cross-section of old teen pop-culture animated icons, video games and cartoon characters.

Most importantly, the site provides “Perverted Moments in Video Games” and “More Perverted Moments in Video Games.” Now, you can find out what really happens when “Zelda”‘s star, Link, gets “magic” from the old woman’s house. In addition, you can view a screen shot from the Japanese game, “Kid Niki 3,” where a little pasty male statue shoots something at you from his nude lower extremities. Let’s just say that if it wasn’t an 8-bit graphic, it would be rated X. Yummy.

This site is contains many interesting essays, with a good deal of screen captures to boot. The essays border on nostalgic blogging, which gives the site a personal touch to it. Of course, the age range of people who could appreciate this site is slim – but even if you don’t make that cut, you can still enjoy the tongue-in cheek cynicism.

Another essay of note covers “The Other ‘Crossroads’ Movie,” which starred Ralph Macchio. Poprocks & Coke even includes a Cliff’s-Notes-sort-of-version to the movie, a brief dialogue between the main characters through the climax of the story. This way, people can still experience the essence of the movie without the horrific ordeal of having to actually sit through it. At the bottom of that page, there is also a short movie loop that captures the highlights – or, should we say, some of Britney Spears’s more “physical talents” – from the more recent film of that title.

Some of the other main features to this site include a startling expose on “The Burger King Kids Club Gang,” “The Face of Dr. Claw… Revealed” and “Attack of the Disney Sequels.”

Sure, the theme of the page is a little limited, but if you’re looking for a good laugh at the California Raisins, this is the place to go.

neon golden

‘When considering the options, the most unlikely combination of musical styles might be something like this: mid-20th century folk, electronica, free jazz, and pop. Leave it to the German geniuses of The Notwist to make this seemingly sour succession sound simply astounding. Not only do they do it well, but they make you wonder why people have not been doing this for years.

Such a layering of distinct levels of sound together may seem like something that Reggie and the Full Effect might do as a joke on some obscure comp somewhere. This is no joke, though. The Notwist is as real as it gets.

The Notwist is like that kid on campus whose name is known by all students and faculty alike. It can permeate through even the thickest skin of all musical crowds and make friends. No matter how diverse a scene, this record fits in and makes everyone feel at home, no matter if it is a group of hardcore kids, the transient club goers, industrial crowd (do they still exist?), or the pop loving younger generations.

“Neon Golden” is a record akin with Sigur Ros’s “( )” and the Smashing Pumpkin’s pop side of “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” (ie. “1979,” “Thirty-Three”).  At the same time, it sounds like some of the rawest, oldest, Woodie Guthrie tracks recorded,

As Michal McKean’s character, David St.Hubbins, said in Spinal Tap, “It is such a fine line between stupid and clever.” Although said in jest, this statement does have some validity to it. Clever may just be a matter of fine tuning that which is stupid. Rather, something potentially clever may come off as stupid if not fine-tuned. This record is a delicate balance of numerous styles. It comes off as very clever. Although, if any of these styles dominated over the other, even a slight bit, “Neon Golden” would be a horrible concept album.

Fortunately, the levels are set correctly. The record is a brilliant layering of textures, where each texture shines through in its own rite.

This is the magnum opus of a band that has been around for almost 14 years now, surviving most of its contemporaries. Starting as a progressive/post-hardcore/heavy metal band in 1989 The Notwist has slowly progressed to the level of being musical savants. In addition, The Notwist has generated numerous side-projects, and a continuous flow of bastard musical children whose lineage it is difficult to trace (including work the band did on parts of Bjork’s “Vespertine”).

A closed-minded listen might put this band in the category of art-rock but nothing could be further from the truth at this stage of the game. “Neon Golden” is a fluid dream of musical landscapes that make Georgia O’Keefe’s rendering of transcendent beauty mere childsplay.

daylight breaking

‘First the bitching: Misspelling band names is lame. Hopefully, there is a humorous anecdote behind the name. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

OK, now onto the review.

This CD is run-of-the-mill pop/punk. As far as the Vagrant family goes, it sounds a little like Alkaline Trio. Its menacing power chords, wailing solos and background rhythms have that same “we’re trying to be evil” feel to them. Its vocal harmonies are simultaneously haunting and catching. Spooky pop.

“Daylight Breaking” has a little bit of an ’80s rock feel to it but it’s hard to determine why. It might be the chorus effect used on some of the vocals. This same effect makes the record a bit reminiscent of old Lazlo Bane. Well, maybe just that Men at Work cover that they did.

Eh, it’s finding something dynamic and unique to say about this record. It’s good. Does that count?

Edison. That’s who they sound like. Aha.

It’s good car-ride and mix-tape music. It’s playlist filler and good segue material, music that guarantees smooth transitions. Indie rock for dummies.

This is good, fun and catchy. It’s just lacking a little as far as depth is concerned. As a result, it is best suited for introductory material.

http://www.blackpeopleloveus.com

‘Oh, the hate mail this website will attract from you crazy liberal Boulderites will be astounding! The emails and letters will be a pleasure to read. Just remember that if you respond to this site in disgust, you may have just missed the point of the site.

The site is making fun of you, you crazy white folks.

Picture it, mainstream America, circa present day. You’ve got Sally and Johnny, two wisely chosen representatives for the white, horseback-riding, at-least-comfortably-affluent, middle-class and up Americans. They’re hip red-wine drinkers who tie their sweaters around their necks, have fun parties that include rousing games of Pictionary, Hangman and both naturally (black) and unnaturally rhythmic (white) dancing. Oh and, get this, they have black friends. Black people love them!

This is the mockery to mock all mockeries. BlackPeopleLoveUs.com is up there with IllMitch.com and RealUltimatePower.net as one of the most uproariously funny sites on the Internet today. The fact that it touches on the sensitive subject of race relations and blows it wide open to expose all of its hypocrisies gives the site numerous points and the utmost of respect. This site plays on all myths and stereotypes to pull off its endlessly sardonic jokes.

The muscle of this site is built around a simple photo and caption format. The different pages of BlackPeopleLoveUs.com, from the Your Testimonials!, to the Hanging Out!, to the One Love! pages, all display various visuals from headshots to the events from a “party” with captions next to them. Think of it as a greatly expanded version of The Onion’s “What Do You Think?” section.

Take the picture above as an example. This photo, pulled from the Hanging Out! page displays the caption “Whoops! Johnny’s totally stumped!” on the site.

Hopefully, you get it.

death

‘Numbers is not the easiest of bands to describe. It is somewhere between Sick Lipstick, Versus and quirkier Pixies songs. It is dance music, a musical language in which I hope never to be fluently versed.

The club beats of Numbers albums are one notch below the pop cutoff mark, preventing the advertising department of Volkswagen from being all over this band. As a fortunate side effect of not being pop, not all of the drum beats go “thump thump thump,” like the car stereo installation department of, say, Circuit City. Not every progression attacks like the first wave of some airborne military division of headache-givers. But, some do. It’s an unfortunate truth of writing music for people to do the arhythmical train-wreck type of white-people dancing that gets done to this music.

Pitchfork described bands such as Numbers as: “obviously summer vacation hobbies for moderately wealthy college students gone pro, doing their dressing-to-be-clever impersonations of a late-’70s heyday they’ve been told really mattered.”

Although humorous, the description may not be totally accurate. The heyday of the late ’70s didn’t really matter.

“Death” rates much higher than “Life” in this instance. “Death,” the remix album, including tracks from Numbers’ previous album “Life,” is done justice by the likes of Kid606, Electronicat and Kit Clayton. The songs are innovative and unique takes on the original versions.

Numbers is most likely not done justice on record. Anything electronic, dance, or drum and bass is best heard live.

love is love

‘Emo pioneers and staple, Lungfish, has recently released “Love is Love.” It is their first proper record in three years and their ninth full-length on the highly respected D.C. label Dischord.

Perhaps this statement is blasphemous but this record, umm… Geez, well, it just sucks.

On first listen, it was a huge surprise to find out that the CD was halfway done the first time I looked at the LCD display. It just seemed like the first track was never going to end but had multiple pauses between progressions. To my surprise, the changing of tracks caused those pauses.

As good as previous Lungfish records may have been, “Love is Love” sounds like someone took a copy of Fugazi’s “Red Medicine” and played it at half-speed. The guitars, the vocals, it all just drones on. Actually, the droning and the vocals make it sounds like a Modern English record.

The sounds of this album are comparable to that of a Walkman with dying batteries. It’s like listening to an album of lullabies by the Sex Pistols. There’s just something incredibly awkward about it.

The mixing and production, as per the Dischord standard, are of the highest quality. Few to no flaws can be found on the part of the studio. Maybe the fault can be found on the part of evolution. So much has changed since the band’s inception in 1988 that maybe they are the dinosaurs of the emo world.

It’s OK to stare from a distance but watch out kids – if you touch their frail bones, they may fall apart.

makeup the breakdown

‘Cross the energy and mod rock intuition of International Noise Conspiracy, the beats of Blondie, the playfulness of Pavement, and just a pinch of Jonathan Fire Eater for good measure, and you have “Makeup the Breakdown.”

Hot Hot Heat’s new album is a toe-tapping reverie, an earnest attempt to take another stab at recreating the MTV-manufactured New Wave movement of the 80s. It’s a combination of the bookend extremes of the genre, the lo-fi upbeat rock of the likes of The Clash, and the well-crafted intelligence of the Talking Heads.

In addition, there are obvious similarities between Hot Hot Heat vocalist Steve Bays and The Cure’s Robert Smith. Somewhere underneath the surface, too, there lies a connection to the mid-’90s, a reference to “I Should Coco”-era Supergrass.

In short, Hot Hot Heat channels influence after influence through their aboriginal BC rock. (That’s British Columbia, Victoria to be precise.)

“Makeup the Breakdown” is strategically assembled. It consists of tracks that take over the hips and feet of the unsuspecting listener, instead of just inspiring the average neck-bobbing of the run-of-the-mill rock album. It moves in, takes over, and moves back out before it’s noticeable.

Ten tracks in just over half an hour. Ten powerful tracks at that, unlike the in/out procedure of two-minute Ramones-esque rock. It’s not the same track over and over again, although the subtle influence of each song might be persuasive enough to cause you to hit “repeat” a few times.

It is difficult to rate the good and the bad cuts on this album because each composition succeeds in maintaining its own individuality and credibility. Of course, it is only natural for some songs to stick out at least a little bit further than the rest. The three tracks taking permanent residence in this reviewer’s brain are “Oh, Godamnit,” which beckons to be listened to again and again; “Bandages,” whose soulful groove and Rolling Stones-reminiscent guitar parts make this song an instant classic; and “Save Us S.O.S.,” an inspiring composition that will prod the listening musicians to craft something as good.

Surprisingly, Hot Hot Heat’s freshman effort, the EP “Knock Knock Knock,” is said to be a far superior album to “Makeup the Breakdown.” This may be because it was produced by Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla.

If the relatively obscure “Knock Knock Knock” is truly the better album, it must be amazing. The band’s sophomore release lets little slack from track to track.

lockjaw

‘Dance Hall Crashers, the Berkely based punk band, comes off in rntheir latest album showing an impressive list of references and a few resplendent guitar chords, but nothing more than that.

This album is jam packed with the catchy hooks and riffs that rnare known from punk.  In all honesty, every chord sounds like something straight of And Here Come the Wolves…, the new Rancid album.  Actually, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong wrote “Pictures.”  I gather that they decided to do a cover of it,  sorry Rancid.  Women should not sing punk lyrics.

Elyse Roger and Karina Danike, the two singers have the type of rnsing-songy, harmonized voices that I have come to know and despise.  In almost every song, they try to jam-pack pointless lyrics into a song which it does not fit the meter.  I feel bad for the rest of the band, they actually have a clue as to what is going on.  They are utterly on target as to what they are supposed to do.  Unfortunately, I can not say the same for the singers.  There was more time and thought put into the cover art than the lyrics.

The only songs worthwhile listening to from this “once upon a rntime” ska band are “Enough” and “Pictures.”  This is because, oddly enough, the lyrics fit the meter.  Thankfully, both can be purchased on seperate albums.  If you like Rancid, pick up their original version of  “Pictures.”  “Enough” can be found on the Angus Soundtrack.  Fellow Angus cuntributer, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, is the owner of 510 Records, their record label.