Audio files: Scary music; croaking sand dunes; and naked Dolph Lundgren
Welcome back to another edition of “Audio Files.” Let’s start with a quote.
“When I hear old music, its one of the few times I have a kind of love for humanity. You hear the best part of the soul of the common people. You know — it’s their way of expressing their connection to eternity or whatever you want to call it...” — Crumb
NEWS
- Fellow Portlanders, Leonard Cohen will sing in our verdant abyss on December 8, 2010.
- New book explains the sounds of Star Wars.
- Robert Plant likes Low.
- The new Bill Frisell album features Eyvind Kang and Rudy Royston.
FUN WITH INFRASOUND
Infrasonic monitoring of volcanoes “offers the potential for a detailed understanding of internal volcanic dynamics in both eruptive and non-eruptive states.”
ADVENTURES W/ GOOGLE IMAGES’ “SIMILAR” FUNCTION
- Grace Jones and Dolph Lundgren, together and nude.
- The Biosocialist Manifesto! (Don’t ask me — it came up as “similar” to Boyd Rice.)
- Tiny Tim — ANIMAL.
- Brian Wilson on the couch, answering questions.
- Frozen lake sings for folks.
- King Buzzo enjoys a Major League Baseball game.
MUSIC AND MULTICULTURALISM
- Morrissey refers to the Chinese as “a subspecies.“
HEATING UP MY PLAYLIST
The Frogs: “Raped,” “Pay,” and “Für Z Muzik Biz (10 Years to Waste).” The Frogs are back on my radar after nearly 10 years. Music critics love them because Eddie Vedder says it’s OK to do so. (I remember reading a Frogs review one time that said something to the effect of: “Wow. These guys are appallingly offensive, but one look at their list of celebrity fans — Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan — and you know the band’s dark humor comes from a good place.” If ever someone begged for fists to rain down upon him, it was that guy.)
The Jesus and Mary Chain: “Head On.” Odd. Until recently, I never knew that the Pixies’ “Head On” was a cover of a song by the Jesus and Mary Chain. Both versions are rockin’.
Speaking of the Jesus and Mary Chain, please read these comments from Red Hot Chili Pepper Anthony Kiedis regarding the very first Lollapalooza tour: ”The whole show was a lovefest except for the Jesus and Mary Chain, this British group, who were just bitter. They’d polish off a giant bottle of booze by two in the afternoon and curse and put everyone down. One time they went too far with the guys from Ice Cube’s band, and they got themselves a beating.”
Yo La Tango: “Somebody’s Baby.” Pandora’s got me twisted, jammed into a paradox, because I’ve never uttered kind words about Yo La Tango before. Credit where credit is due, though. This is a good cover of the Jackson Browne nugget.
RANDOM SHARDS OF SONIC INFORMATION
- Bitonality and you.
- Enjoy some croaking sand dunes.
- Scary music gets scarier when you close your eyes.
- Submitted for your aural pleasure: condom ad featuring the sounds of orgasmic women.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
It’s your last chance to join my NFL Pick ‘Em League. Do it!
I’ll fade out with that racist sonofabitch Morrissey — “You’re the One For Me, Fatty.”
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I once saw Boz Boorer, Morrisey’s second guitarist playing in a Johnny Cash tribute band in London. This was during Morrisey’s 8 year absence from the music scene. I am happy to report that Boorer was himself a bit of a porker.
@Daniel
His boy Johnny Marr from the Smiths lives here in Portland, I’m told, which begs the question: “Why?”
I actually kind of like Morrissey. He’s sorta fun. The one time I felt genuine contempt for him was when he appeared on one of the final episodes of Johnny Carson’s show. It was clear that legions of Morrissey fans had infiltrated the studio audience, and they heckled old man Carson during his monologue. Carson’s comedy skills had eroded to the point where he was simply no match for them. And then Bill Cosby came on, and the Morrissey acolytes seemed to fluster him a bit too.
It was unseemly.
Yo La Tengo is amazing.
Morrissey is amazing.
and both versions of “Head On” are amazing.
This comment doesn’t add anything.
Maybe my disagreement with you over the merits of Yo La Tengo… but I really feel like they are a band that has something for everyone.
Bizarre circumstances led me to meet Morrisey’s touring band’s guitar technician today. No joke. He was OK, very down to earth. Told me that before Morrisey will even look at someone’s credentials he must first see a photo of their face. If he doesn’t like the face, then that’s it, no matter how qualified the candidate is.
I must remember that double ‘s’
@Daniel
That is weird, and pretty funny too…He’s not on tour, is he? He would never hire me; whatever he looks for in a technician — the Michael Stipe face, etc — most definitely does not describe me.
No, the tech lives in Austin. He’s big burly dude with a rockabilly look, so obviously that passes muster for the crew as much as it does for the band.
“Critics” are just fanboys now, afraid of looking “uncool” to their “hepcat” friends. From what I’ve read of music critics, they’re even worse than the film critics. Not that I’m the first to notice this:
http://www.hitsville.org/2009/03/06/what-hath-popism-wrought-ii/