Fluxblog
November 19th, 2004 2:07pm


Big Word Girls With Secret Codes

Haunted House “Dramatic Beachouse” – Have you ever been right next to someone listening to music on very loud headphones, and the sound bleeds out so that you can hear the music, but only the high end is audible? For some strange reason, Haunted House recorded their entire album to sound a bit like that; obscuring their catchy, jaunty little songs by turning the treble waaaaaaaay up and nearly eliminating the bass altogether. It’s a bit offputting, but the results have a unique charm. The record reminds me a bit of Andrew WK and his attempts to make all of the sounds on his records seem as though they are all coming from a single source rather than a variety of instruments. There’s a similar intensity and focus here, as well as a shared love of rapid-attack piano plinking. (Click here to buy it from Adonis Music.)

Elsewhere: In today’s Utopia Burns column on Stylus Magazine’s Stypod blog, Todd Burns takes an Ira Glass-esque approach to mp3 blogging – he talks over the songs, commenting on the sounds as they happen. It’s a pretty intriguing experiment, and I think he kinda pulls it off. It’s a bit like sitting in on a very cool college lecture.

Also Elsewhere: Please don’t sleep on The International House Of Pussy. Anfunny is one of my top tipsters, directly responsible for hooking me up with some of the very best songs that have appeared on this site in 2004. At the moment, he has assembled a compilation of rare disco and pop songs from the late 70s and early 80s, including some excellent tracks by Noel, Brix Smith, and Miss Piggy, plus a Cristina song that I’ve been obsessed with for the past two weeks.



November 18th, 2004 3:50pm


Not Buildings And Numbers

Klang “Help Is On It’s Way” – Video treatment: The screen starts out entirely white. Soon we realize that the camera is scanning over a field of snow, gradually revealing more detail and visual elements as the moments pass. Time moves rapidly, though the images barely change, though more elements are introduced as the film progresses (trees, houses, people – all from a distance.) The light dims as the day passes, and as the video concludes, it is night. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Eugene Mirman “Fleet” – It’s a bit difficult to set up a comedy routine in the same way that I would write about a song. I don’t want to give away any of the jokes, or explain to you why you should think it’s funny. Comedy doesn’t really work that way. In this bit from his new cd/dvd, Eugene Mirman tells a story about being fucked over by Fleet bank, complete with a recording of his conversation with a Fleet representative and his angry, absurd letter in response. There’s something about Mirman’s voice and inflections that I really love, especially when he sounds mock-incredulous and accusatory. (Click here to buy it from Suicide Squeeze.)

Also: If any of you can either a) fix one of the old Livejournal feeds so that it now syndicates from http://www.fluxblog.org/atom.xml or b) set up a brand new one, please let me know.

And: Just an FYI, but it’s profoundly uncool to leave a message in my comments box claiming that a friend of mine has died suddenly when they have not. That’s just tasteless and cruel. Seriously, “Chad”: Fuck off.



November 17th, 2004 4:01pm


I’m Fascinated By Your Rhythm

Portobella “Vive La Difference” – Much like “Some Girls” and “Heartbeats,” this song occupies the the middle distance between the arena and the dancefloor, combining a solid groove and an anthemic chorus so irresistable that it nearly overloads your pleasure centers. There have been a lot of bands that have attempted to pull off a song like this, but I think that Portobella absolutely nails it. Though this does not officially come out until 2005, this is definitely one of my favorite songs of the year. (Click here to visit the official Portobella site.)

Stephen Malkmus “Malediction (live in Buenos Aires, 10/23/2004)” – As another Malkmus album cycle begins, Fluxblog shall inevitably become a part-time Jicks fansite. I can’t help it. This selection is taken from SM’s recent solo (ie, no Jicks) show in Buenos Aires where he debuted a few new Jicks songs in addition to playing at least one song from every LP he’s ever made. (Westing doesn’t count, it’s a compilation.) “Malediction” is apparently a lock for the forthcoming album, and that’s a good thing. Like the best latter-day Malkmus material, it has a gentle, relaxed melody and surprisingly straightforward lyrics. I’m not entirely clear whether this song is being addressed to himself or another person, but either way, there’s some good advice in these lyrics. Maybe this is going to be his “motivational speaker” album.



November 16th, 2004 4:22pm


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We’re On A Mission To Rock And Roll



Justus Boyz “Uh-Oh” – In a lot of ways, all the context you really need for this song is supplied by the cover of the Justus Boyz album. This is camp, but it’s very earnest camp. This is synthpop so light and fey that it makes Erasure seem like a bunch of street thugs. This may end up being your “guilty pleasure,” but I am unashamed., and neither are the Justus Boyz. It takes some real courage and conviction to make music like this when virtually everyone is conditioned to think of this kind of pop as being painfully uncool, and your target demo doesn’t even know who you are because you don’t have Girls Aloud or Justin Timberlake’s promotional budget. (Click here to buy it from Amazon. Click here to read an interview with the Justus Boyz on Arjan Writes.)

X-Wife “Rockin’ Rio” – After months of waiting, X-Wife is finally making its live American debut in NYC this weekend, playing shows at Rothko on Friday and Sin-E on Sunday. It should be very interesting to see how they pull off their live show, given that they get a pretty huge playing-to-the-cheap-seats sound on record without the benefit of a live drummer. Feeding The Machine is easily one of the best, most slept-on rock records of the year, and hopefully these NYC shows will attract enough attention to at least get a domestic release for the album. (Click here to buy it from the official X-Wife site.)



November 15th, 2004 1:00pm


I Guess Intuition Has Spoken

Freaks “The Creeps (You Are Giving Me)” – That’s a pretty accurate title for this song. Lyrically, the song seems to be about being stalked, but even if it was an instrumental, the title would work given the eerie, somewhat pervy electro-funk sound of the track. If you’re not immediately into this song, I’d recommend giving it a few more chances – I didn’t realize how much I liked this song until the fifth time that I heard it. (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK.)

Detroit Cobras “Mean Man” – Maybe it’s a reaction to the overabundance of scuzzy faux-garage rockers who’ve copped their shtick in the past few years, or it could be the logical arc of their career, but either way, hats off to The Detroit Cobras for adding several coats of poppy gloss to their new album. It suits them well. Lo-fi Nuggets wannabes are a dime a dozen, but there aren’t nearly enough bands that sound like The Pretenders fucking the J Geils Band. (Click here to buy it from Rough Trade.)

Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Brooklyn Zoo (live in San Bernardino, 2004)” – John has already said just about everything that I wanted to say about Ol’ Dirty Bastard over at The Tofu Hut with a greater eloquence than I could probably pull off, so I’m going to keep this brief. A lot of people throw around the word “genius,” but I think that ODB actually was one. There has never been another performer even remotely like him in any genre, and I don’t think that it could be possible to replicate his unique style, charisma, and skills. I think that there are a lot of casual listeners who have written him off as a ridiculous cartoon character, but anyone who has ever seriously listened to his music and lyrics would be keenly aware of the strange, compelling mixture of rage, desperation, wit, intelligence, uninhibited lust, and madness that informed all of his recorded work. ODB was clearly and unfortunately mentally ill, but that insanity was key to his art – at his most unhinged, we could see a reflection of the creepiest, darkest corners of our ids. He revelled in the stuff that we all attempt to keep hidden. For a person who spent a sizeable chunk of his life locked away, ODB was a very free man.

This recording of “Brooklyn Zoo” is from Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s final live performance with the Wu-Tang Clan earlier this year, which is now available on cd and dvd. He spent most of the show calmly sitting on top of a monitor sipping from a water bottle, looking very serene and childlike until he’d get up and instantly shift into full-on ODB mode to drop a verse or engage in some bizarre stage banter. He was there in the moment, but he seemed removed and aloof. Maybe he was drugged. Maybe he was tired. Maybe that’s what he was like all of the time. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)



November 12th, 2004 1:37pm


A Life Spent With No Cell Mate

Some Girls “Necessito” – I was going to say that this song is the best thing that I’ve heard by Julianna Hatfield since “Universal Heartbeat” (you know, the one that goes “a heaaaaaaaart, a heart that hurts is a heaaaaaart, a heart that works”), but then I realized that this is probably the best Julianna Hatfield song that I’ve heard other than “Universal Heartbeat.” Please understand that I’m not trying to dis Ms. Hatfield – it’s just true. This is a particularly strong bit of glossy indie rock with some charmingly paranoid lyrics and as pretty a reading of the line “putting on my bug spray” as you’re likely to hear anywhere. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Interpol @ Hammerstein Ballroom 11/11/2004

Next Exit / Evil / Length Of Love / Obstacle 1 / Public Pervert / Say Hello To The Angels / Not Even Jail / Hands Away / NYC / Slow Hands / Narc / PDA // Leif Erikson / Roland /// Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down

There isn’t very much to say about Interpol’s live show. They aren’t much to look at, given that their stage show seemed like a visual exploration of all the ways that a mostly motionless band can be backlit. They are very tight and perform the songs almost exactly as they sound on record, though Paul Banks’ voice seems more cartoonishly nasal and the bass and percussion sound more dynamic and urgent in person. Though they played every song that I wanted to hear, I question the judgement of playing the dullest, least essential songs of the night as encores. I suppose that if you look at encores as being bonus material supplemental to the regular show, then it’s actually quite considerate of the audience, but realistically, they opted to end the show with an anticlimax. Personally, I can’t fathom why they wouldn’t choose to close out the night with “NYC,” which is one of their biggest hits and has a particularly satisfying conclusion.

The Secret Machines began and ended their set very well, but lagged through the middle mostly due to their repetitive sense of dynamics. Someone needs to explain to the drummer that though it can be kinda awesome, not every song needs to sound like “When The Levvee Breaks.” Also, I don’t remember the singer sounding quite so much like Geddy Lee on the album. Weird.



November 11th, 2004 2:52pm

I’m Inclined To Just Say "Screw It"


Plush “I’ve Changed My #” – This is a selection from Underfed, the newly released demo version of Plush’s 2002 album Fed. Due to extremely high production costs, no American or European label was willing to pay for the record, so Fed was only released by the After Hours label in Japan. The prohibitive cost of the Fed sessions came as a direct result of Plush leader Liam Hayes’ fondness for highly detailed arrangements and obsession with the minutae of sound recording. Though Underfed can hardly be described as “stripped-down,” the songs are presented in earlier, less fussy incarnations that reveal a greater degree of warmth and spontaneity than the slicker, more dynamic final recordings. The Underfed versions sound much older, bearing a striking resemblence to early 70s AM rock to the point that you could probably fool a layperson into believing that “I’ve Changed My #” is an old Todd Rundgren track. (Click here to buy it from Other Music.)

Scala & Kolacny Brothers “Sexy Boy” – The girls of the Scala Choir are back, this time augmented by a string section as they reinterpret Air’s classic “Sexy Boy” as a mournful dirge. Though this isn’t quite as amazing as their recordings of “I Touch Myself” and “Bittersweet Symphony,” this arrangement brings out a sort of bombastic melancholy which was only hinted at in the original. (Click here to buy it from Amazon France.)



November 10th, 2004 2:57pm


There Is A Brain Inside My Head

Chicks On Speed w/ The No Heads “The Household Song” – If you read the press release accompanying the new Chicks On Speed record, it seems that the band is somehow quite embarassed by the pop records that they have recorded in the past few years, and are now going out of their way to distance themselves from the “synthetic electroclash approach,” eager to prove themselves as “experimental” artistes. This is very disappointing. Last winter’s 99 Cents remains one of my favorite albums from the past year. On that record CoS were a revelation, playing full-on modern pop arrangements in the style of producers like Richard X and Timbaland, but spiked with political commentary which was alternately strident and sardonic. Though I understand their desire to try new things and work with new collaborators, Press The Spacebar seems more like a retreat than an experiment. Most of the album feels rote and joyless, and very few of the songs seem like complete compositions. “The Household Song” is the only track on the record which plays to the band’s pop strengths, even if the lyrics err on the side of smugness and condescension. (Click here to buy it from Chicks On Speed Records.)

Christian Harder “Grady” – I wouldn’t normally expect a lyric like “welcome to my nightmare palace” to be a big singalong hook in anything other than an industrial goth song, but I suppose that German electronic pop is close enough in spirit. Strangely, this sounds more like a cross between Depeche Mode and Marilyn Manson than Manson’s recent cover of “Personal Jesus.” (Well, it is if you pretend that Marilyn Manson only ever did stomping glam tunes like “The Dope Show.”) (Click here to buy it from Amazon Germany.)



November 9th, 2004 3:04pm


I’m Gonna Kill Me A Cupid

The Brunettes “Loopy Loopy Love” – I’m always a sucker for a song engaged in a dialogue with itself. Though the lyrics attempt to fight off the irrational joy of love for fear of inevitable disappointment and pain, the winsome, dulcet melodies make a far more convincing case in the favor of swooning lovesickness. This is rather elegantly constructed pop song, above and beyond what I’d normally expect from most contemporary indie pop bands. (Click here to buy it from Smoke CDs.)

Mercury Rev “Across Yer Ocean” – Anyone who may have been hoping for a change of direction on Mercury Rev’s forthcoming The Secret Migration is in for a disappointment. Though this album is slighty more dreamy and psychedelic than their last two records, the band is still exploring the possibilities of their distinctly rural brand of space rock. “Across Yer Ocean” is a fine example of Mercury Rev’s best trick; an ability to craft songs which play out on a melodramatic, epic scale but at the same time feel low key and intimate. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon UK.)



November 8th, 2004 3:00pm


Is Your Dad A Dealer, Cos You’re Dope To Me

M.I.A. “URAQT (Diplo Mix)” – Similar to how Sideways is now my favorite wine connoisseur road trip buddy movie, this is the best pop song about infidelity via cell phone text messaging that I’ve ever heard. The entirety of the Piracy Funds Terrorism mix by Diplo is hot, but this is the highest high, tucked away at the end of the cd just before the “Big Pimpin'” mash-up. I’ve had this tune stuck in my head all weekend, only partially due to the fact that I’ve been playing it endlessly on repeat. (Click here to buy it from Turntable Lab.)

S. “I’m So Bored I’m Going To Sleep” – I’m sure that S. is probably very tired of being compared to Cat Power, but the singer really does sound a bit like Chan Marshall. Basically, this sounds like a Cat Power song trapped inside of the machinery of a giant killer robot. (Click here to buy it from Suicide Squeeze.)

Also: The Fluxblog Vs. Stereogum night at APT is coming up on Tuesday, November 23rd. If you’re in the NYC area, please do come out. I’ve got some special stuff planned for the night, including a few songs so secret and so hot that I cannot post them on the blog. I don’t want to give too much away, but here’s one hint: KMSS.



November 5th, 2004 8:55pm


The Only Vote That Matters

R.E.M. @ Madison Square Garden 11/04/2004

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) / Begin The Begin / So Fast, So Numb / Animal / Boy In The Well / Welcome To The Occupation / The Outsiders / Get Up / High Speed Train / Cuyahoga / Sweetness Follows / The One I Love / I Wanted To Be Wrong / Imitation Of Life / Final Straw / Losing My Religion / Walk Unafraid / Life And How To Live It // What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Drive / Leaving New York / Electrolite / Permanent Vacation / I’m Gonna DJ (new song, “death is pretty final, I’m collecting vinyl, I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world!”) / Man On The Moon

R.E.M. “I Wanted To Be Wrong” – R.E.M. has become my stock answer whenever anyone asks me to name the least cool band that I love. It seems that no one wants to admit that they like them anymore, and if they do, they feel the need to qualify themselves: “They were good up until ________.” I don’t think that R.E.M. has ever stopped being a great band, though the post-Bill Berry material has been the least consistent period of their career to date.

There’s a few good reasons for this. For one, their sense of quality control has diminished, resulting in overlong records padded out with filler. Up would have been more successful if it ended after 40 minutes, and Around The Sun could’ve been a very tight record if trimmed back to nine cuts. Reveal, the weakest album in their catalog, could’ve been an excellent EP.

The second big problem, which is made tremendously obvious when the newer songs are performed live, is that they’ve been producing their records very badly. They strip away the physical immediacy of the songs and bury everything under the icy gloss of infinite overdubs. “The Outsiders” and “High Speed Train” sound bland and uninspired on record, but come alive with percussive oomph and Sonic Youth-worthy guitar noise in their live incarnations. Not much can keep either song from rising above competant mediocrity, but at least they aren’t neutered and cringe-inducing. If I could pick the producer for the next record, it would be Spoon’s Britt Daniel and Jim Eno, who are extremely gifted at recording dynamic, clean, unfussy rock records. In particular, the sound that they get on their percussion is exactly what R.E.M. need post-Berry – a backbeat that feels urgent and alive.

The third problem is less obvious, and somewhat theoretical. Though I’m not sure if I even agree with this idea anymore, a strong case can be made that Michael Stipe’s lyrical narrative has played itself out. It’s not hard to trace the evolution of Stipe’s character over the course of his career, even if he (somewhat accurately) insists that he rarely writes from a confessional point of view. He begins as a shy young man prone to mumbling obtuse lyrics and suffering from “conversation fear”, but over the course of the IRS period, he transforms himself into a bombastic sloganeering political activist. He gradually develops the courage to write proper love songs, confront his mortality, express his sexuality, and openly examine his personal relationships. The progress seems to come to a natural conclusion with “Walk Unafraid”, in which Stipe emerges as a confident, emotionally mature adult who accepts himself and is finally “prepared to look you in the eye.” That song earns its sense of triumph – I have no doubt that it is the very real culmination of the arc of one man’s progress in dealing with his insecurity. The problem is, if part of the appeal of R.E.M. is based on the cult of personality surrounding Michael Stipe, the dramatic tension is lost somewhat if we’re dealing with this charming, plain spoken metrosexual rather than the earnest if incoherant persona which characterized the band’s classic material. Though present day Stipe is affable and inspiring, his current lyrics seem as though he’s writing his own fan fic – The Further Adventures Of R.E.M., as it were.

This is why it’s a good thing that R.E.M. are returning to writing overtly political music – they can enter into a context that doesn’t have to involve Michael the persona, but can capitalize on Stipe’s new fondness for clear, declarative language. When Stipe introduced “I Wanted To Be Wrong” last night at Madison Square Garden, he said that it was one of the few songs that he’s ever written sung directly from his point of view. Though I tend to distrust that statement, I believe that bit of information lends some extra power to the song, in which the singer attempts to understand the perspective and culture of the “red states,” but is frustrated when he cannot. It’s probably the best expression of an idea which is both personal and political in his entire career, and hints at a direction which does in fact move beyond the emotional resolution of “Walk Unafraid.” (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

R.E.M. “Begin The Begin (live in Germany, 2003)” – The show last night was both fun (a lot of upbeat numbers, fewer ballads and mid-tempo tracks than on previous tours) and cathartic. Stipe barely talked at all over the course of the show (which is sort of amazing if you’ve seen them play at all in the past five years), later explaining that he didn’t know what to say, and was electing to let the music do the talking. As a result, the setlist was very lyrically driven, focusing on material relevant to recent events. “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” seemed to express the band’s mission statement for the night and was an excellent and truly surprising opener (in the sense that the song had not yet been played on this tour and is traditionally the final song of the night). In terms of the song’s prescient lyrics and the band’s raw enthusiasm, “Begin The Begin” sounded as though it could’ve been written yesterday.

The audience were mostly quite lame. Most of the people in my section opted to hit the bathrooms and the concession stands whenever they played a song from Around The Sun (I don’t understand why people like this go to see music events, especially expensive ones at big venues.) Almost everyone flipped out when they played “The One I Love,” “Losing My Religion,” and “What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?,” yet classics like “Get Up” and “Life And How To Live It” were met with only small pockets of enthusiasm. Stipe introduced “Cuyahoga” as a song taking place in Ohio, which resulted in loud booing from all over the arena. Still, there was loud applause every time he sang the line “let’s put our heads together and start a new country up,” which was more reassuring. On my way out of the arena, I overheard two guys who looked like ex-frat dudes talk about how great it was that Michael didn’t talk much because they can’t stand “liberal whining.” Sigh. A few minutes later, I saw a cute girl in a bright orange t-shirt with homemade lettering which read “I’ve got my spine, I’ve got my Orange Crush,” which kinda sorta cancelled out those goons. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Also: If you happen to be in the NYC area this weekend, I strongly encourage you to go to the WFMU Record Fair, which is at the Metropolitan Pavilion, located at 125 West 18th Street, just off of 6th Avenue. The Fair is open for regular admission ($5) on Friday from 7-10 PM, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM – 7 PM.



November 4th, 2004 2:15pm


Baby Steps To Euphoria

Plus-Tech Squeeze Box “The Martin Show!!” – Like the singer says, don’t let it get you down. There’s a lot of very good reasons to feel pessimistic about the future of the United States and the world at large, but we cannot let our fear and anger consume us. If we can’t let ourselves enjoy our lives, there isn’t much of a point in living them or working to make things better. Rend unto Caesar, etc. There’s still plenty of room in our lives for joy, and J-Pop Jackson 5 (or is that Hanson?) pastiches that sound like a better, more ecstatic version of the world. (Click here to buy it from HMV Japan or here to visit the official Plus-Tech Squeeze Box site.)

Pavan “Panik Mix” – Of course, the nagging panic just doesn’t go away, especially for those of us most likely to suffer as a direct result of the Bush agenda. Perhaps we could learn a trick from this song, which transforms a series of nervous clicks and stutters into a calm, meditative groove. (Click here to buy it from Mitek.)



November 3rd, 2004 3:00pm


Walking Through Town Is Quite Scary And Not Very Sensible Either

Depeche Mode “Clean (Colder Version)” – I’m sure that most of you will understand that I’m barely in the state of mind to do this today. I’ve been seething with rage since around 11 PM. Still, if you want to get a feel for where I’m at right now, this song just about nails it. The jackboot beat, the feeling of dread and impotence. The subdued panic, the gut sickness. The static and noise of the media scraping at the walls of my skull, keeping me from concentrating on anything else. (Click here to buy it from Amazon. Click here to see Colder perform live in NYC tonight.)

Kaiser Chiefs “I Predict A Riot” – Well, I do. The fix is in, and we’re all being backed into a corner. Either we go down fighting, or we retreat into smaller and smaller cultural bubbles to hide from reality and keep ourselves from engaging with the people who keep George W. Bush in power. I’m ashamed to say it, but I probably won’t ever stop doing the latter, though I know this situation will never change unless we kill the destructive memes that are propping up this administration. (Click here to buy it from Rough Trade.)



November 2nd, 2004 3:59pm


Let’s Get It Right This Time

Sylvie Marks & Hal9000 “Blütenspass” – And now it is the time on Sprockets when we dance. I would really like to write something clever and/or insightful about this song, but no matter how many times I listen to it, I’ve got nothing. I adore the recurring synth-horn motif (scan up to 2:14), but I don’t know what to say about it other than “oooh, pretty sound.” That’s all I’ve got, folks. Oooooooh, pretty German sounds. (Click here to buy it from Bpitch Control.)

Brooks “A Little Bit Of Time” – Set against a galloping, thumping electronic beat, the slow, mournful vocals in this song create the illusion that the music is in fact much slower than it actually is. It’s a peculiar song, perhaps best described as a sort of house music dirge. (Click here to buy it from Juno.)

Sorry about the half-assed writing today – I’m very distracted by today’s election, and these are both examples of good songs that aren’t easy for me to write about.

Note to Fiery Furnaces fans: The show at Maxwell’s on Sunday was alright, but they were clearly quite tired and drunk and put on a mediocre show in comparison to previous New York gigs. The setlist and first encore were identical to that of the recent Bowery Ballroom show, but there was a Matt-and-Eleanor-only second encore which included a reprise of “Evergreen” with Matt on the Rhodes piano, a duet reading of “We Got Back The Plague” (also played on the Rhodes), and the regular slow guitar version of “Rub Alcohol Blues.” It was a treat to hear them play those last three songs slowly after rushing through the first 40 minutes of the show. I hope that in the future they allow themselves to take their time and play up the nuances of their songs rather than simply packing in as many as possible in under an hour. Though I definitely enjoy the hyperactive medley approach, it is probably time for them to start displaying a different side of themselves and their music in live performance.



November 2nd, 2004 1:29am


Maliciously Musical Mopods and Mollyfocks

Eddie Hazel “What About It?” – I never fail to be disappointed when some rag or another publishes some tired-ass list of Greatest Guit-artists Like, Ever Man. There’s no suspense — some Jim or another always gets the top slot — and they usually prioritize virtuoso technique over a knack for catchiness (Eddie VH wasn’t great just ’cause he weedy-deedly-whammelled, he was great because he wrote the best simplified riffs this side of “Louie Louie”). Blah blah etcetera, you probably know these arguments already. And odds are you don’t care much. (No big deal — ain’t too many Strats on Discovery or Miss E… So Addictive anyways.) But dammit people, recognize: there is only one way to extrapolate what Hendrix would’ve done if he hadn’t mixed vino and insomnia back in ’70, and that is to listen to the one guitarist the VH-1ists always, always overlook: Eddie Hazel*. In a Mothership where pretty much every member was one of the Best Somethings Ever — especially when it came to laying down rhythms — it’s almost understandable that Eddie might get lost in the shuffle: true geeks know how deadly his solos on “Alice In My Fantasies” and “Super Stupid” were, but history recalls the P-Funk as an R&B band, and that same history says that R&B doesn’t live and die by who can churn out the baddest riffs; guitars that wail like that are for rock bands, dude. (Hey, ever notice that Curtis Mayfield usually ain’t high up on these lists, either? Guess they need space for John Frusciante.) Enough hectoring. Sorry. Anyhow, Rhino reissued Hazel’s long-out-of-print ’77 Warner Brothers solo record Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs — and considering that it’s pretty much a Funkadelic record in all but name (the lineup includes Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Tiki Fulwood, Mike Hampton, Garry Shider, Billy “Bass” Nelson, a couple Brides of Funkenstein and Clinton lurking in the wings somewhere), the fact that it’s taken forever to be reissued — and even then, in a limited-edition 5000-press run — is one of the more inexplicable mysteries in record label ass-dragging. As lost classics go it’s slightly less solid than you’d expect from the personnel involved at that point in time, but since it’s a guitarist’s solo record as opposed to a showcase-for-everyone group effort, it’d be kind of naive to expect a “Flash Light”-caliber burner instead of something subtler like, for instance, the most beautiful cover of “California Dreamin'” ever. And a good handful of slow-seethe psych-funk hump-conducive ballads. And effects pedals. Damn, the effects pedals.

And, most of all, the rare event of Hazel trading riffs with Kidd Funkadelic. Around ’75 Hazel quit the P-Funk and became a Motown session guitarist. Shortly afterwards, he got fucked up on dust, went all Nightmare-at-20,000-Feet Twilight Zone style (“there’s a creature on the wing of the plane”, that Shatner role, you know the one), bit a flight attendant (!) and wound up in a two-year prison stint. Meanwhile, his place in the P-Funk Mob was eventually filled by a teenage Mike Hampton, who eventually became so entrenched in the role that he began strumming Hazel’s play-it-like-your-mama-died signature tune “Maggot Brain” during live shows. So when Hazel got released from Lompoc in ’77 and rejoined his former bandmates to record Guitar Thangs, there was the inevitability that sooner or later he’d have to meet up with his replacement. There was never much word as to whether or not the two guitarists got along well. The title of the song they collaborated on, “What About It?”, has a confrontational tinge to it, one that only gets more prominent when you hear how dirty the beat is: one of the best P-Funk breaks to appear on a record without the name “Parliament” or “Funkadelic” on the actual spine, it adds an unspoken “motherfucker” to the end of the question and brings tremors so heavy it’s almost easy to overlook the keening, high-pitched riffs, the calls of a seagull flying over Sturgis. Most of the song’s dominated by this keep-disco-evil groove, a brief minimalist Hazel solo (done twice) and the intertwined free-fall chords notwithstanding — it’s a song mostly built on the intricacies of the guitar as a rhythm instrument, and Hazel doesn’t even break out the real wailing until the three-minute mark of a three-and-three-quarter-minute song. It’s worth the wait. As a contrast of styles between Hazel and Hampton, it’s not a big success: the guitars weave in and out from between each others’ empty spaces, meshing tight and proving inseparable. But it proves that a P-Funk with both guitarists involved could’ve been even more out there than the group already was in the late ’70s. We’re talking potential 20-minute version of “(Not Just) Knee Deep”, maybe. And if you want to take sides and have someone get the last laugh, if there is one: on the original record’s back cover, the second guitar’s credited to “Mie [sic] Hampton”. All hail Smeero.

*while Rolling Stone and Mojo both nominated him on their 100 Greatest Guitarists lists, both publications accompanied their blurbs with pictures of… Garry Shider. Way to go.

(Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Nate Patrin is a freelance writer who has appeared in the pages of Spin, Seattle Weekly, Stereo-type, and the City Pages.



October 29th, 2004 2:11pm


Wearing That Gorilla Suit

Man Man “Against The Peruvian Monster” – I imagine that if Neil Haggerty were to make a children’s record, it would sound a bit like this. I love the way that the elegant string theme is ditched after the intro and replaced with the chorus of out-of-tune kids, and how the high pitched keyboards are just faintly audible underneath the lo-fi swamp boogie stomp. (Click here to buy it from Ace Fu.)

Viva Voce “Business Casual” – Reader poll: Does this song sound more like a) Slint’s “Good Morning, Captain,” reimagined by Kevin Shields, or b) “Else” by Built To Spill tipped over and played sideways? Answers on a postcard. (This is the annoying, oblique way of me saying that I really love the bassline in this song.) (Click here to buy it from Minty Fresh.)

Also: Over the summer, Fluxblog was mentioned in a “Hot 100” list in Blender magazine. If anyone has a copy of that issue (it had Dave Chappelle on the cover) and can send me a scan of the page in question, I would really appreciate it.

And: Does anyone need an extra ticket for the Fiery Furnaces/Hidden Cameras show at Maxwell’s on Sunday night? If so, send me an email and I’ll help you out.



October 28th, 2004 1:29pm


What The Folks Don’t Know I’m Telling You

Jennifer Gentle “I Do Dream You” – Jennifer Gentle is not a solo artist, but rather a duo of treble loving, Syd Barrett worshipping neopsychedelic Italian men. Ideally, a video for this song would include a homage to A Hard Day’s Night in which the band are chased through the streets by a mob of adorable, colorful animated hug monsters. (Click here to visit the official Jennifer Gentle site.)

Akira The Don “Akira The Don’s Drinking Song” – I’m not sure whether this sounds more like the British version of Eminem or MC Paul Barman. Though some of his cadences and overstuffed meters remind me of Barman, Akira is clearly following the Slim Shady template – for every goofy number, there must be an angry, dour dirge for balance. This song is like the rough UK equivalent of “Drug Ballad” from The Marshall Mathers LP, but it is followed up on the ep with “One Bullet,” an anti-Bush rant so venomous that “Mosh” seems rather tame in comparison. (Click here to buy it from Juno.)

Elsewhere: The Rub is back!



October 27th, 2004 3:17pm


I Think I’m Seeing Double

Louis XIV “God Killed The Queen” – There is no doubt in my mind that this song was created primarily to get drunken rock girls dancing in the front row. It certainly feels like drunken dancing to me – it’s all movement, and no grace. The song has a great propulsive quality to it, but the dynamics shift at slightly awkward intervals as if to let the listener regain balance or catch their breath. (Click here to buy it from Stolen Transmission.)

Play Paul “Love Song” – There is a slightly dorky quality to the singer’s voice that I find kinda endearing in the context of a house/r&b song. He’s not quite slick enough to totally pull off some of the more overtly sexual lyrics, but his genuine enthusiasm is far more engaging and appealing than the detached sexbot vocals that are so typical these days. (Click here to buy it from Juno.)



October 26th, 2004 3:19pm


Stimulate The Open Chords

Pavement “Raft” – For me, this song will always be tied up in memories of stupid teenage crushes. In a lot of ways, the song still conjures up those old feelings of cautious optimism and awkward enthusiasm, but it’s difficult to hear some of the lyrics without thinking of how I interpreted them when I was 15. “You’re an ocean of honey/painfully funny” still sounds like a lovely compliment to me, but “you’re mesmerizing/stop criticizing me” no longer feels like an ideal romantic scenario. I want to blame growing up in the early 90s for my teenage romanticization of screwed up relationships, but I know that it was mostly just a lot of low expectations and poor self-esteem on my part.

Fun fact: This is the single version of the song – the version on the new Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain reissue cuts off the intro. (Click here to buy it from Matador.)

The Child Who Was A Keyhole “Shortwave” – When I hear this song, I imagine that the band all have open-mouthed grins and are playing to an audience of highly enthusiastic furries. This is hardcore twee, best suited to people who feel that Tullycraft are too macho for them. This band ought to consider doing a public access children’s show, or at very least hitting a few pre-schools and day care centers on their next tour. (Click here to buy it from The Child Who Was A Keyhole.)

Also: R.I.P., John Peel. He was an inspiration.

And: Laces has posted an incredibly beautiful cover of Mary J. Blige’s “Deep Inside” recorded by Cat Power in a Peel session to honor the memory of John Peel.



October 25th, 2004 2:41pm


There You Are, Here I Am

The Beautiful People “Want You To Want Me” – I have a major weakness for homemade stadium rock. Part of the appeal is in the implication of a huge sound using decidedly low tech production values. In this case, the percussion sounds suspiciously like a busted garage door and the guitars sound as though they are being played in a room somewhere down the street from the closet where the lead singer is yowling away earnestly. That might sound like a joke, but this song most certainly isn’t – in spite of the band’s obvious limitations, this is a rather beautiful and affecting song. There’s a certain desperation to this recording that serves the song well. It sounds like the band are trying to get across a feeling much bigger than they can possibly communicate, which is actually the most perfect way to express the lyrical content of the song. (Click here to visit The Beautiful People official site.)

Frausdots “Soft Light” – This is like the slick Hollywood version of the The Beautiful People song. Instead of awkward emotional naturalism, this song is all about the grand romantic sweep of perfect moments that barely feel real even when they actually happen. It’s the kind of song that feels like the soundtrack to a life far more dramatic and glamorous than the mundane existence that the most of us live. One day, you might for a moment feel just like the chorus of this song, and you’ll be able to play it on your iPod immediately afterwards so that you can relive the feeling while at the same time distancing yourself from it. (Click here to buy it from Sub Pop.)




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