Band(s) of the Day(s) 29/30/31

Hi. No bus escapades recently, but rather being busy and rediscovering an uncontrollable passion for music. This has been helped by the following bands.

Kit Richardson

Courtesy of the lovely Ellie Coden from Fierce Panda, Cool For Cats is a regular night last Tuesday of every month, named after her very own offshoot label. She usually collects together a diverse and pretty good set of bands. Tuesday just gone she excelled herself with two incredible acts.

First up was Kit Richardson. I know very little about her, apart from she must like Jeremy Warmsley because I met her at his stint at the Lock Tavern last Sunday. This is uninteresting but her music is the antithesis of uninteresting. I've not been as exhilirated by an artist as I was by her performance that night. Announcing that she was "really fucking scared" one song in, she promptly chose not to show an ounce of fear. Diving into her high register, experimental delivery - backed by her own keys, a wonderful cello player, bassist and drummer - her songs weave, duck and dive like Regina Spektor's most tuneful moments while easily forging her own path. Clearly inspired by excellent musicianship, her songs never lose sight of the power and emotional potential from choosing a weaving path rather than a direct route.

www.myspace.com/kitrichardsonmusic

Violet Violet

Headliners this Tuesday, Violet Violet take riot grrl, have fun with it, turn it on it's head and make music that is unbelivably clever within its self-regulated punk template. The three ladies all use their vocal talents - sometimes to astonishing effect. One example is the clever "echo" effect they used during one song, or the indescribable backing vocals that seemed to 'dip' during a different one. They have plenty of completely brilliant songs that seem to run circles around contrived and pre-packaged "girl" music. Shudder. Anyway, so impressed I even let them keep my pen.

www.myspace.com/violetviolet1


Propagandhi

An update to my ealier post because, frankly, I hate rules and I don't play by them very often if I can get away with it. Here I can. So, for those who weren't listening first time (that's everyone because no one reads this thing), Propagandhi are back.
Why is this important? Well, try and comprehend this: Supporting Caste, their fifth full-length studio album, both excites and scares the shit out of me. It practically moved me to tears today...and it's a punk album. I ADORE the fact that the artwork has a graphic drawing depicting the band cooking and eating the remains of 'post-vegetarians'. Several times throughout the lyric sheet they make (semi) jokes about wanting to eat such people. The song Human(e) Meat starts with someone screaming as their limbs are sawed off. The lyrics are a frightening, detailed pastiche of, one imagines, the same reasons people use for eating animals but, in this case, for eating "fermenting-festishist" and chef Sandor Katz. It's incredible. I'm afraid to post lyrics word for word for the song Night Matters, about the separation of families and friends due to war through the eyes of refugees and survivors. I want to, because it's very moving. Again, try and imagine shedding a tear to punk rock.
Of course there's a great deal of humour in the record, as there has been in every record they've done. I must reiterate too: BUY Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes. Hell, it may even change your mind about a few things.
Anyway, expect a huge update about Propagandhi's return again when I feel I can publish lyrics etc. I adore this band. In the meantime, go to their website and read all they ask you to. It's all very interesting and may well inspire you to do more...

Band(s) of the Day(s) 26/27/28

Hello. I missed my stop on the bus last night by falling asleep. I've never done this before in my life, and therefore think my life has turned a corner. Anyway, as this gives you an indication of how tired I am, please forgive these late'uns.

Death From Above1979

With one album proper of devastating dance thrash, this drums and bass duo were playing at being the pop Lightning Bolt, or perhaps just playing dancable pop songs with the most basic of all rock music requirements - a rhythm section. Either way, their music is fantastic bundles of noisy riff-strangulated anthems. The thing that makes this band stand out though, is their dedication to making you move. The fact that a remix album was released keeping a lot of the original elements from the songs intact makes you realise how cleverly constructed each track was. But forget that...its the pure passion and energy flowing from these songs. They burnt out quickly (though you can find one in MSTRKRFT and one in Sebastian Grainger and the Mountains), and left us with an indelible mark via their kerosene-fuelled love songs.

Pull Out (with excellent and colourful description of the songs lyrical content)



Liars

Having made two of my favourite albums of the 00s, Liars are a law unto themselves. Starting with the funk-punk demolition of They Threw Us In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top, they then progressed/regressed to a screeching, stuttering concept album about witches called They Were Wrong So We Drowned, followed by another concept album about two fictional characters called Drum and Mt. Heart Attack which revelled in percussion, drums, rhythms and foregoed melody and finally made a self titled record in which, vocalist Angus admitted, "we actually tried to write songs this time". All of these records are essential - Drum's Not Dead is an incredible, atmospheric achievement which has little to do with virtuosity and a lot to do with texture, emotion and ambition. Be prepared for a wild ride is all.

Mr Your On Fire Mr


Broken Witch


Let's Not Wrestle Mt Heart Attack


Plaster Casts Of Everything


Mixtape:
Spotify link: http://open.spotify.com/user/artbaretta/playlist/0Blk6RWzubgNXgc4vBcVxJ

1) There's Always Room On The Broom (from They Were Wrong So We Drowned)
2) Let's Not Wrestle Mt Heart Attack (from Drum's Not Dead)
3) Freak Out (from Liars)
4) It Fit When I Was A Kid (from Drum's Not Dead)
5) Broken Witch (from They Were Wrong So We Drowned)
6) Drum and the Uncomfortable Can (from Drum's Not Dead)
7) Cycle Time (from Liars)
8) Be Quiet Mt Heart Attack (from Drum's Not Dead)
9) Protection (from Liars)
10) The Other Side of Mt Heart Attack (from Drum's Not Dead)


At the Drive-In

Are you crazy? This band was always going to be here somewhere. Why? Because despite some guy on a messageboard a few years ago arguing with me that this band just ripped off Drive Like Jehu and therefore I shouldn't like them as much as I do, this band just tore my head off when I finally listened to Relationship Of Command. It was also my first real experience of Q being so severely wrong that I think the magazine should be exterminated. They are never ever right. Anyway.
At the Drive-In combined all sorts of guitar sounds, threateningly violent tones, Cedric's intense, Daryl Palumbo-type delivery and the incredible live show...something I never got to see. Nevertheless, both their breakthrough album and In/Casino/Out are fantastic rock records and were far more focused and exciting than their creators now give credit. Shame.

Arcarsenal (yes, this is incredible - respect for walking off early too, a protest at the moshing/slam dancing that ended up killing a young music fan that day at Limp Bizkit's set)


Pattern Against User (purely for the dedication to the Fall and the anti-crowd surfing shout AND for how shambolic they could be melody wise)


One Armed Scissor (absolutely thrilling, yet an indication that things were about to fall apart)


Rolodex Propaganda (probably one of the best live performances ever)


Mixtape:
Spotify link: http://open.spotify.com/user/artbaretta/playlist/0Nxb9JzsFTF0bNYutBU00z

1) Cosmonaut (from Relationship of Command)
2) Pickpocket (from In/Casino/Out)
3) Fahrenheit (from El Gran Orgo)
4) Sleepwalk Capsules (from Relationship of Command)
5) Napoleon Solo (from In/Casino/Out)
6) Picket Fence Cartel (from El Gran Orgo)
7) Extracurricular (from At the Drive-In/Sunshine split 7")
8) Catacombs (from Relationship of Command)
9) Transatlantic Foe (from In/Casino/Out)
10) Invalid Letter Dept. (from Relationship of Command)

Band of the Day - 25: Boysetsfire

There's no doubting my perchant for socially conscious, politically active and justifiably motivated bands (having discussed Fugazi and Propagandhi already on here). Boysetsfire were discovered courtesy of a college friend who gave me a tape (yes a tape) of After the Eulogy, their most recently released record. It ended up having a massive effect on me. It was funny how so many other people felt the same when I gave them a copy too.
They'e part of that melodic hardcore genre so popular during the late nineties, early 00s but they had far more to say than most - plus Nathan Gray could actually sing incredibly well. THey had a brief foray on a major label (their weaker material found on Tomorrow Becomes Today) before quickly being sent packing to Burning Heart for what became their final album. Finding random tracks from long out-of-print EPs was a delight with this band. I found Thursday, At the Drive-In and other such bands around the same time and it informed my musical tastes forever. Boysestfire will always make me feel like throwing all my weight behind a cause, something I believe in. Sometimes I feel like I let down that young, shy nineteen year old who really believed that despite being unpopular, quiet and unloved (sniff), he could do something incredible. Sorry lad, I didn't manage it for you. Boysetsfire will alwys give me the hope they wanted to instill in people, even if it seems wasted - it's worth remembering that it's not, by a long shot.

Mixtape:
1) Pariah Under Glass (After the Eulogy)
2) The Tyranny of What Everybody Knows (In Chrysalis)
3) My Life In The Knife Trade (After the Eulogy)
4) Voiceover (In Chrysalis)
5) Vehicle (This Crying, This Screaming...My Voice Is Being Born)
6) Curtain Call (Live For Today)
7) Handful of Redemption (Tomorrow Comes Today)
8) Nostalgic For Guillotines (The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years)
9) Rookie (After the Eulogy)
10) (10) and Counting (The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years)

Band of the Day - 24: Dizzee Rascal

Not a band. Don't care.

Dizzee Rascal is one of the most passionate musicians about music that I've met and interviewed. He can't get up without something musical going on as he gets out of bed. So he said. In my opinion, Boy In Da Corner is an extremely influential debut and one of my favourites of all time. Whether its the saturated, noisy scuffling that constitutes the music, or his impressively honest and cynical flow I can't say. I'd imagine, like all things I like, it's the ambidextrous nature of the whole thing. Certainly, the oppresive darkness and wandering viciousness of the first commerical grime record and its follow up, Showtime, captured my imagination and inspired me in a way that not many rock records ever have.

Mixtape:
Spotify link: http://open.spotify.com/user/artbaretta/playlist/1BKBOd74k2LEpxfJAxxoj1

1) Sittin' Here (Boy In Da Corner)
2) Stand Up Tall (Showtime)
3) Brand New Day (Boy In Day Corner)
4) Do It (Boy In Da Corner)
5) Everywhere (Showtime)
6) Sirens (Maths + English)
7) Respect Me (Showtime)
8) I Luv U (Boy In Da Corner)
9) Imagine (Showtime)
10) Jus' A Rascal (Boy In Da Corner)

Band of the Day - 23: Pixies

I believe in retrospective reset points in rock where a band appears that has relatively little impact at the time, but actually makes a meteor sized crater, completely changing the face and landscape of popular rock music forever. The Beatles were the catalyst, Hendrix was one, The Ramones were another but everyone knows this. It's only now people realise Sonic Youth changed everything. It seems we're in a greater position to acknowledge these changes pretty quickly after they happen.
Pixies were another band who changed everything. Frqankly, there is no one out there who have done what Pixies did. You don't believe me? Songs of sex and death, sometimes sang in Spanish, male and female harmonies, screaming, piercing lead guitar, thrashing guitars, science fiction, surf-rock, disturbing imagery and some of the best pop songs ever created. This sort of band doesn't appear very often, if at all.
The sheer lunatic brilliance of the Steve Albini recorded Surfer Rosa - a violent, colourful outburst from imaginations clearly expanded in some narcotic, far-reaching way - is one of my favourite records of all time. It's savage, innovative, unbelievably melodic and excruciatingly superb. I find it difficult to cope with the fact that a person might dislike this record. Sure, it's devoid of production polish, it's confrontational, it's noisy, it's offensive - but it's still packed with lightning fast tunes, gorgeous harmonies and broke the idea of alternative pop songs into the present day.
Then there's Doolittle, Bossanova, Trompe Le Monde, the Come On Pilgrim mini-LP, their B-Sides, their live shows, their side projects (The Breeders, The Amps, Frank Black solo...). The effect they've had on me is clear; anything with the bravery to scour the human underbelly, the disgusting dark thoughts we all conjure up in our lowest (and highest) moments, and their sonic invention in the realms of popular music make this one of a handful essential bands to anyone. Investigate and adore.

Mixtape:
Spotify link: http://open.spotify.com/user/artbaretta/playlist/13mD0uEQx9mwl5NfmcubBv

1) Bone Machine (Surfer Rosa)
2) Broken Face (Surfer Rosa)
3) Gouge Away (Doolittle)
4) Velouria (Bossanova)
5) Letter To Memphis (Trompe Le Monde)
6) I've Been Tired (Come On Pilgrim)
7) Debaser (Doolittle)
8) The Holiday Song (Come On Pilgrim)
9) Something Against You (Surfer Rosa)
10) Tame (Doolittle)

Band(s) of the Day(s) 19 - 22

So one step forward, four steps back. Kinda feels like each time I catch up and feel good about things, something happens and I'm almost worse off than before. Kinda like my bank account really (sigh).

The Age of Rockets

A friend of mine worked with the brainchild of this project on their own little duo the Mercenary Rhymes. Andrew Futrall has written two albums worth of teary-eyed electronica-pop with both albums having a dstinctive flavour - last year's Hannah was orchestral led excellence.
Listen: www.myspace.com/theageofrockets

Propagandhi

On this eve of Obama's inaguaration, we'd all like to think America's problems will be swept away. More likely, they'll be swept under the carpet. This means Propagandhi are as relevant as ever, which is good because they have another album on the way. Now, possibly unlike most bands featured here, I'm not enamoured with everything they've done. However, it's their third record Todays Empires, Tomorrows Ashes that is more than shining light - it's an incredible, righteous and irrefutably brilliant political record, maybe one of a handful in the world. Nothing feels contrived, its sense of humour is plastered all over the lyrics, while the seriousness is shocking and more than a little riling. They tackle all their favourite subjects with intelligence while their music is fast, rousing, technical and exhilirating. Incredible.

Albright Monument, Baghdad




Rings

Formerly First Nation, Rings' debut album Black Habit was an astonishing piece of work which stirred in feminism, concentric circles and musical mantras that echo and hypnotise. Semi-improvised, these tribal repetitions and haunting refrains made for one of last year's greatest albums. I know very little about them, and thats a really good thing in my opinion.

www.myspace.com/firstnationlove


Neil Young

I can't even attempt to put into words what an influence his entire back catalogue has had on music and what it means to people. Could I even do a mixtape? No not really. I only own Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Goldrush, Harvest, Tonight's the Night, Rust Never Sleeps and Sugar Mountain. So, why not use Spotify to have a listen to his back catalogue and let it seep in gradually? It could take you a long time, or you could be at a time of life where it all makes sense. 27 seems to be the optimum time...

Band of the Day 18 - The Arc People

Promising myself a vow of relative silence over these guys, giving them time to develop, making sure they feel ready themselves, I'm breaking this now, as it's got to a point where they now have a live band and are releasing a single. I discovered them - or rather, they contacted me - via myspace and the two brothers, Marcus and Miles, had recorded some demos without names. One of these was the brilliant Light Streams. Struck by their ambition in the arrangements and the baritone vocals, excitement got the better of me. Luckily it also got the better of other people. Having seen them play with their full band, it's clear theres a talented lot here and all it will take is time and increasing songwriting risks before The Arc People become a long-term favourite. They're definitely a band I have nothing but admiration for, so I'm hoping their promise extends to excellent results this year.

www.myspace.com/thearkpeople

Band of the Day 17 - Micachu and the Shapes

Finally catching up with yourself is a beautiful thing. :)

I will start with this opening statement: DIY in music - a subject close to my heart - has been marginalised and contained for a long time. You can refer to one of my earliest posts about how the mainstream press went about that. Now, however, it is being celebrated in far more honest ways. When I found my next Band of the Day on the cover of Plan B, it was the first time I've been utterly compelled to read the cover story of a magazine since I can remember. Not only that but a feeling swelled up inside me - something along the lines of utter excitement. For once, it seems, these meshing of words, sentences, syntax and ideas collided with the subject itself and made something worth reading. No, not just worth reading but perhaps essential reading.
Enough. Let's examine Exhibit A:

Micachu and the Shapes

Y'honour, I must confess, here now under a vow of trust, that I hated the Micachu album when it was sent to me late last year. I viewed it as ridiculous, childish rubbish. Instead of throwing it angrily into the bin though, my mind knew, deep down, that a) I was missing something and b) I may well have to review this album in time. Lo and behold! I had to review the album. After hours of listening, trawling through the contents of this hyperactive, messy, lo-fi, off-key extravaganza of a record, it clicked. After hours of tearing my hair out trying to figure out what words might do this unique imaginative platter justice, they leaked from my fingers and onto the Word document. Frankly, Jewellery is one of the most exciting, unfathomable records I've heard in ages. I still don't know if I can really enjoy the whole thing. It's scatterbrained, inventive and perfect for attention spans that are merely a fan rather than a wing. I don't even know if this sentence makes sense, but this certainly does - even if it doesn't.

Live show



Lips



DIY, to me, is music that wouldn't exist unless it was done in this way. In other words, it's the only way we're going to find new ways of expressing ourselves musically. Money can help, but carving out your imagination and presenting an ice sculpture - or a pile of rubbish - is infinitely preferrable to spangly production and guest superstars. In fact, I'd trade all that for one of Micachu's home-made instruments. Call me mad if you like - I just despise mediocre records.

Band(s) of the Day(s) 15/16 - Nelson/Abe Vigoda

Hi. I have band for you.

Nelson

Parisian twenty-somethings Nelson are currently working on what will be their second album and it's about time people took notice quick sharpish. Why? Well, leaping from their melancholy, Factory Records-influenced debut Revolving Doors they've embraced the happy - as evidenced by last nights Artrocker Fest headline slot. The band are a revelation live, swapping instruments, all singing, all performing as if their little lives depend upon the energy they get from the crowd. Anything to work us up from dancing, using a radio to sample static, thrashing their guitars - see my little bit of wordz on it http://www.artrocker.tv/reviews/article/artrocker-festival-night-two
Anyway, truly brilliant songs and their new stuff is sounding more than promising - they sound like vital, urgent anthems.

Abe Vigoda

If you split this band open they'd probably spill out a bewildering array of viscous colours. Using tropical melodies as a starting point to ACTUALLY create noise in tuneful shapes means they're one of my favourite discoveries of recent times. Live they are borderline chaotic, as you'd expect, but always hitting those evergreen sweet notes they swim in. Skeleton, their only UK release, captured my imagination in a way similar bands really didn;t. Why? Again, it's because of the noise factor - the unexplainable descent into discordant fizzing and weird off-key elements that actually seem to provide a symphony of sound, for that split second they resonate.
Incredible.

Dead City/Waste Wilderness



Bear Face

Band(s) of the Day(s) 12/13/14 - The Thermals/Converge/Frank Turner

So now I owe you all three of the bastards....

The Thermals

With news that their new album is being prepped for February release, and that theya re back in the UK, it's about time you all gavbe into the temptation that is The Thermals. Garage rock with smarts, sexiness and energy by the socket-load, this trio have delivered three delicious albums of the same song. Luckily that song is amazing.





Agreed? Good

Mixtape:

1) No Culture Icons (from More Parts Per Million)
2) Here's Your Future (from The Body, The Blood, The Machine)
3) Time To Lose (from More Parts Per Million)
4) Our Time (from Fuckin A)
5) It's Trivia (from More Parts Per Million)
6) God and Country (from Fuckin A)
7) A Pillar Of Salt (from The Body, The Blood, The Machine)
8) Goddamn the Light (from More Parts Per Million)
9) Returning To The Folk (from The Body, The Blood, The Machine)
10) Back To Grey (from More Parts Per Million)


Converge

Frankly, one of the best technical and brutal albums I've ever heard comes from this band. That would be Jane Doe. Incredible work, and I've always maintained that if I ever went to a gig of theirs, I'd probably end up dead. Here's why:

Locust Wrath



Concubine



And because there are absolute dicks in the metalcore scene...



Purchase and watch the Long Road Home for extensive coverage of what they get up to live.

Mixtape?:
1) Concubine
2) Fault and Fracture
3) Distance and Meaning
4) Hell to Pay
5) Homewrecker
6) The Broken Vow
7) Bitter and Then Some
8) Heaven in Her Arms
9) Phoenix in Flight
10) Phoenix in Flames
11) Thaw
12) Jane Doe

Yeah, so what? It's Jane Doe, in full. You can't rip tracks out of the heart of the top metalcore-influenced album of all time. It would be like dissecting your pet dog. You just don't do it.


Frank Turner

Because he's already on this blog lots AND his previous band have been a Band of the Day, I'm gonna try and NOT mention him for the rest of the year on here. It's only fair. So, he's a folk superstar now is he? Well, he's paid his dues and more. Acoustic open mic nights in Canonbury pubs, playing at peoples flats for no pay - he's done a lot. With two full length albums, a compilation of rare and unreleased stuff and a third album being written and recorded for this year, you should hear a bit more from our Frank. Why is he here? Because without his songs, a friend would've contemplated suicide, another would feel lost and unloved and I wouldn't have gone to half as many gigs in the last three years. Oh, and I like his lyrics and stuff, yeah?

The Real Damage (in tribute to the recently burned Nambucca, which is where the projector montage pics were shot - I'm in one of them, tucked away at the back at 3.10)



Casanova Lament



My Kingdom for A Horse



Mixtape:

1)I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous (from Love, Ire and Song)
2) Nashville Tennessee (from Campfire Punkrock EP)
3) The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (by The Postal Servivce from The First Three Years)
4) Father's Day (from Sleep is For The Week)
5) Love Ire and Song (from Love Ire and Song)
6) The Outdoor Type (from Jonah Matranger/Frank Turner split vinyl)
7) St Christopher Is Coming Home (from Love Ire and Song)
8) Wisdom Teeth (from Sleep Is For The Week)
9) To Take You Home (from Love Ire and Song)
10) The Ballad of Me and My Friends (from Sleep Is For The Week)

Band(s) of the Day(s) 10/11 - Glassjaw and Gossamer Albatross

They went in two by two....

Glassjaw

Imagine being at the end of your tether, feeling as if everything you've worked for, every time you've been polite, lovely and charming individual has been for nothing because the tall fucker with a unhealthy disrespect for women has grabbed that gorgeous, intelligent girl you were getting on with. Now imagine your mind being torn asunder by Pretty Lush - the first track on Glassjaw's debut album Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence. Suddenly the world makes more sense. The rage, the misogyny (never something I approve of in any context, but for this band I make the exception because the anger would not be fully formed without this utter, self-destructive contempt for Daryl's imaginary evil female), the brutal spiked melodic guitars, the incredible vocal delivery - this album basically napalmed my entire late teenage life. It's still unbelievably potent - it is like being pummelled by ill feeling and righteousness. Worship and Tribute stripped the focused anger and spread it over lots of topics (notably war and 9/11)and proved that glassjaw only make records when they feel the need and enough reason too. That's why this band are one of the most influential and emotionally strident of my life. Perhaps the most stinging moment comes at the very end of the debut album's title track. After screaming his heart out, Daryl sounds like his breath is hitching - perhaps he's in tears? I've always imagined him to be - while the guitars feedback and crescendo around him. A few seconds later and he's pleading: "You don't need another one do you?" to the engineer. Sobering.

When One Eight Becomes Two Zeros



Tip The Bartender (sound bad, energy off the Richter scale)



Mixtape:
1) Pretty Lush (from Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence)
2) Piano (from EYEWTKAS)
3) You Think You're Fucking John Lennon?(listen at Glassjaw.com - after about 2 minutes of percussion)
4) Radio Cambodia (from Worship and Tribute)
5) Two Tabs of Mescaline (fron Worship and Tribute)
6) Babe (from EYEWTKAS)
7) Pink Roses (from Worship and Tribute)
8) Lovebites and Razorlines (from EYEWTKAS)
9) Ry Ry's Song (from EYEWTKAS)
10) Tip The Bartender (from Worship and Tribute)


Gossamer Albatross

This lovley, charming bunch of youngsters make dramatic, orchestral tinged and slightly barmy music that appeals to the eccentric in all of us. Well, in me at least. The disarming vibrato of the vocals, the subtle string melodies and the disturbing lyrics all compounded by the fact that these guys are still doing their A Levels makes for one of my favourite new bands. Yep.


Whispered Thoughts



Live at This Ain't No Picnic 2008

Band(s) of the Day(s) 08/09 - Gentle Friendly and Fugazi

Shut up.

Gentle Friendly

Having heard the Night Tape EP last year, I made sure it wasn't one of the CD's that I regularly recycle. Throwing together reverberating keyboards being used as drone funnels, time changes, yelling and a general sense of anarchy sealed inside the restrictions of melody, Gentle Friendly excite me.




Fugazi

Every word I've written about Fugazi fails to convey how important they are. Everytime I hear or see something new that I haven't heard or seen before from them, I'm left gawping like some half-wit. I FINALLY started watching Instrument last night, and there's no doubt it's one of the most important musical documents of our time. That combined with their 6 albums and various EPs of work, the fact that their live shows were entirely unscripted and that Ian McKaye has always forged his own path, this petty little paragraph cannot do any justice to them. Perhaps it's best to just watch, listen and learn.

Turnover



Waiting Room



Blueprint



Mixtape:

1) Waiting Room (from Fugazi EP)
2) Caustic Acrostic (from End Hits)
3) Life and Limb (from The Argument)
4) Bed For The Scraping (from Red Medicine)
5) Styrofoam (from Repeater)
6) Burning Too (from Margin Walker EP)
7) Latin Roots (from Steady Diet Of Nothing)
8) Epic Problem (from The Argument)
9) I'm So Tired (from Instrument)
10) Last Chance For A Slow Dance (from In On The Kill Taker)

Band(s) of the Day(s) 07/08 - Sonic Youth and Three Trapped Tigers

Fuck sake. I'm annoying myself now. Two for the price of one again.

Sonic Youth

Without Sonic Youth, I don't think I'd understand music quite as much as I do now. Even with fifteen studio albums to their name (and that obviously doesn't include any of the SYR recordings - most of which are live anyway - and the Ciccone Youth LP) I still discover new beauty and ugliness in what they do. Yes, there are passages of pure noise but the invention and discovery from the self-titled EP to the melodic heights of Rather Ripped is truly astonishing. Below are several videos, most live, which go from accessible to unlistenable and then, the final one, back to mainstream. This only gives a snippet of what the band have achieved and barely an iota of what has inspired thousands of other bands. Without Sonic Youth, rock music would've died a long time ago.

Teenage Riot



Brave Men Run (In My Family)



Burning Spear (why don't bands do this sort of thing anymore?)



Inhuman (on Brighton Beach!!!!)



The Empty Page



Mixtape:

Spotify Link: http://open.spotify.com/user/artbaretta/playlist/5HRWmAEtvkhPRtggJ8X2Tp

1) Death Valley 69 (from Bad Moon Rising)
2) Dirty Boots (from Goo)
3) Shadow Of A Doubt (from Evol)
4) Sunday (from A Thousand Leaves)
5) The Good and the Bad (from Sonic Youth)
6) Shaking Hell (from Confusion Is Sex)
7) The Sprawl (from Daydream Nation)
8) Plastic Sun (from Murray Street)
9) Stereo Sanctity (from Sister)
10) The Diamond Sea (from Washing Machine)


Three Trapped Tigers

They make me want to scream their name from rooftops. Like swizzle sticks dispersing through molten magma, Three Trapped Tigers magnify the elements of math-rock labelled bands, process it through their own warped inventory and disperse it like thunderous electronic armies. Incredible. No videos, but check out their myspace for evidence of what I'm saying.

http://www.myspace.com/threetrappedtigers

Band(s) of the Day(s) 05/06 - Million Dead and Salem

I'm not meant to be doing these in twos, so I'm already failing in my mission to provide you with a band a day. I'm sorry.

Million Dead

Once every few years there's a band that seems to completely define your musical viewpoint, lyrical leanings and passion for music. Million Dead was that band from 2003 to 2005. Within two albums, a handful of B-sides, EPs and rarities and, of course, their lethal live shows, Million Dead captured my early twenties and magnified them. Frank Turners incredible lyrics and fiery delivery provided the perfect foil for the blitzkrieg intensity behind - whether the minimal, wiry guitar of Cameron Dean or wild histrionics of Tom Fowler was driving it. That they've wrote and recorded at least four of my favourite songs of all time and that they mean so much, makes them one of the best bands of my entire life. Listen good children.

Living the Dream video - a song that sums up how I feel about music



Pornography For Cowards - abrasive, exhilirating, at the final London show in 2005



Sasquatch - one of my favourite songs ever; the end is just devastating



The Rise and Fall into My War by Black Flag - this is the only band I can imagine MEANING it this much.



This last one shows you shouldn't throw beer on drummers. Ever.



Finally a 10 track mixtape:

1) Bread and Circuses (from Harmony No Harmony)
2) Smiling At Strangers On Trains (from A Song To Ruin)
3) Sasquatch (from Living The Dream CD single)
4) (Tonight) Matthew (from Living The Dream 7" single)
5) Hipsterclad and Clueless/Epilogue (from Million Dead EP Two)
6) Asthma (unreleased from I Gave My Eyes To Stevie Wonder sessions)
7) Breaking The Back (from A Song To Ruin)
8) It's a Shit Business (from I Gave My Eyes To Stevie Wonder single)
9) Living the Dream (Harmony No Harmony)
10) The Rise and Fall (from A Song To Ruin)






Salem

Salem are one of those continual mutations from electronic roots which has turned into grimy, terrifying possibilities. Really one of the most exciting things I've heard since Crystal Castles - okay so they didn't deliver on their early promise, but I can't see how Salem can fail to. Forget Dubstep - this is the real sound of uneasy listening.


SALEM - DIRT from ACEPHALE on Vimeo.

Band(s) of the Day(s) 03/04 - Tubelord and Pavement

Because I didn't do this yesterday for obvious reasons (that's right - I forgot), I get to do two bands of the day, because I'm a good looking rebel who plays by his own rules.


Tubelord

Being innoculated against their sheer melodic-influenza (or being naturally immune you unlucky people) feels like it would be the only way you could dislike Tubelord. I hear Biffy Clyro, Idlewild and Saves The Day in what they do, and this is of course incredible.




Pavement

I'm currently re-obssessed with Pavement, perhaps due to the reissue of Brighten The Corners, the first Pavement album I heard and finally understood. I have a theory, and the theory is this: the best bands of all time are bands where you just wonder why they thought it was a good idea to go into a studio and record. This isn't derogatory - I just can't fathom why anyone would spend money to record music that other people almost certainly wouldn't like; except they did. I'm so glad Pavement's five records exist and that I've heard them, something which is further enforced by the fact that even with around 30 extra tracks on the deluxe editions, they are flawless pieces of work.



An (obvious but amazing) 10 track mixtape then:

1) Stereo (from Brighten The Corners)
2) Zurich Is Stained (from Slanted & Enchanted)
3) Cut Your Hair (from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)
4) Grounded (from Wowiee Zowiee)
5) Date with IKEA (from Brighten The Corners)
6) Flux = Rad (from Wowiee Zowiee)
7) Shady Lane (from Brighten The Corners)
8) Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite at :17 (from Slanted & Enchanted)
9) You Are A Light (from Terror Twilight)
10) Gold Soundz (from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)

Oh and if you're at all wondering what the hell I'm doing up so early on New Year's Day...well, I'm going to work in an hours time, so WHO WINS HUH?!! WHO WINS??!!! It's probably you guys.