heavy lifting

I saw Bob Pollard on at Little Brothers a few weeks back. I could attempt a bit about the "mythic" status he holds in indie rock - but this has been done to death. Google it if you want it (GBV nostalgia). What I can say is that I witnessed a most impressive display of alcohol consumption. Seriously, this was easily on par with the "mezcal nights" of old (you know who you are). Bob Pollard holding a a half-gone bottle of liquor and admonishing the crowd, "there comes a time when you have to put away the toys kids". That is a priceless moment. I'm pretty sure that I witnessed a medical miracle - a true scientific impossibility.

Bob and his band managed to rattle out 43 songs (including a 9 song GBV encore), most of which were thoroughly enjoyable. It was fun like a mid-80's husker du or replacements show. I can't describe the ethereal qualities of the unspoiled alternative rock scene from back in the day, but I can provide you with an image from this show that evokes that era. A bunch of Bob's peeps from the old days in Dayton showed up to the show (apparently Columbus was as close as the tour will get to his hometown). These guys were as old as Bob and they looked it. Picture your dad on stage at little brothers-norm from cheers-dale earnhardt type shit-mullets-old high school football jerseys. It was feet on the ground, here's a shout out to my boy buffalo over here, kind of shit. It was that homeless guy at all the punk rock shows back in the day. It was totally devoid of pretension. It was just a middle aged drunk guy from the midwest having a party with his old high school buddies. It's just that this midwest guy is a rock n' roll genius. An indie rock patriarch. This kind of humanity is absent in today's scene. 43 songs for 16 bucks? that shit would cost more than twice as much on itunes.

a bubble machine?

http://www.carllewis.com/video.music.1.html

exhibit b: why this genre has so much promise

Brokeback To the Future

buzz-hype-a-gator YYY's style

In a matter of weeks the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will release their second full-length album, Show Your Bones. It's been three years since the release of their first full-length - though that's not say that the 3 persons responsible for that work haven't been productive. The ubiquity of the YYY's is impressive on a few levels. OK, maybe there is a grand plan here and i'm just a vacuous sucker. If this is the case then this is buzz creation of the schrewdest sort. Maybe this is just the way the game is played in our day and age. It's a lot more fun than having jan wenner put your balls in everyone's face and your cred isn't destroyed as fast. Seeker savy types knew all of this shit yesterday, so at the risk of sounding so last minute, here's my take:

Guitarist Nick Zinner published I Hope You Are All Happy Now. This is one of the most powerful rock n' roll documents (he prefers to call it an art book) that you're likely to put your eyes on. It resides comfortably among important pieces like Get in the Van, End of the Century, Instrument, and Another State of Mind. It's a contemporary rock n' roll document - which enhances its value. Zinner provides us entry into live rock/punk/art culture and reveals what those elements look like today. Zinner's also doing a thrash project HeadWoundCity. Like my old man used to say, "that son-of-a-bitch is a doer todd, a goddamned doer!".
Drummer Brian Chase formed another trio, the seconds - affording him a more straight ahead approach to punk-rock drumming. A YYY's live show quickly reveals the importance of his contribution (there isn't much room to hide in a trio). It's clear that Chase is an accomplished musician with a unique ability to fill space and provide rhythm, so it's not surprising that he's looking for opportunities to extend his activities.
Vocalist Karen O partnered with - Adam Spiegel aka Spike Jonze & Sam Spiegel aka DJ producer Squeak E Clean (producer of new record) to create Hello Tomorrow for Adidas. The spot has everything that you would expect from Jonze - dreamy narrative, breathtaking cinematography & color, and claustrophobic spatial representation. Beneath the Jonze vision is the equally dreamlike sound of Karen O's soft voice paired with Clean's delicate instrumentation.
Finally, there have been a few attempts of the "more blatant" buzz creation variety. Squeak E Clean appeared on MTV and made up a bogus story about the new record being a concept album about Karen O's cat (snubbing your nose at MTV News is standard issue I suppose) More importantly, a Diplo remix of forthcoming track Gold Lion has surfaced. This may appear risky, but giving him remix dispensation on a track that no one has heard? That's got to bea good play these days. Nothing says "did you hear..." like a Diplo remix

So though it would make a nice little case study for a Media Studies seminar at the New School (i'll teach that fucker), it's also a major lift to the credibility of these 3 individuals. Me, I'm damn happy to be strung along by the hype-aggator here lately. I'm actually looking forward a new record release for a change.

please make it stop!

i'm all fucker-ed up by this contraption. whatever you do, don't start fooling around with it when you have respectable work to do...
http://hype.non-standard.net/