12.13.01 5:07 AM
- 1ST EST FINISH TIME:1:30
MAYBE HITLER INVADED THEM
BECAUSE HE WAS TIRED OF DRINKING THEIR BEER?
Pic O' The Day: 'UNHHHHHHHHHHH'
[Sorry, very very inside joke.]
Music News: Okay. Here's the first few. Told ya I'd get to them eventually.
12 mikabomb
- the fake fake sound of mikabomb
The third song of the album, "Contact Tokyo," has these chorus
lyrics:
Contact Tokyo,
Danger in the water
Poison in the babies blood
Contact
tokyo,
Naked in a raincoat
Fucking up the fashion show
Now, you tell me this band doesn't rock like Grandma's knitting chair.
The band's made up of 4 young Japanese girls and some white drummer.
Keep Rivers Cuomo away from this group, he'll do a reverse-Yoko on their
asses! Their sound is a total clusterfuck of Garage punk, Japanese pop,
The Ramones, and Sleater-Kinney. Call your local shop and check this
album out, there's something on it for you regardless of your preferences
within the punk rock spectrum.
Go download: Contact Tokyo, Hey Man, Yellow Danger Babies
11 seven
storey - dividing by zero
I sorta stumbled across these guys in July, they had a song called "Third
Rail" that was on a Deep Elm Records sampler. About half the album
was filled with great songs, by far the best label sampler I've ever
heard. Seven Storey's contribution, however, smoked the rest of them,
and I had feeling, a feeling I get every few months, of disappointment
in myself that I hadn't discovered this band sooner than I did. I hit
up all the file-sharing services, and was able to assemble one of their
previous full lengths and an EP after about ten days. Fabulous stuff.
Vocalist Lance Lammers has a resemblance to Dave Grohl, and the music
can best be described as indie rock meets straight up ballkickin' rock
with intelligent lyrics, including the lyrics to "Politician":
Just a public servant
The public's money serves me well
I own a dozen houses
I even own a few hotels
Get a nice allowance
From the rich I'm working for
If you're coming empty-handed
Then I'll show your ass the door
For the first time in a very long time, I found a band that wasn't lyrically
vague when writing about social issues. My Pearl Jam radar went off,
as I couldn't help but picture Mr. Vedder digging this song, wishing
he wrote it. Seven Storey released my #11 pick the same day I got to
see them open for Local H at the Whiskey in L.A., and it was the only
album I listened to the whole drive home. They've gotten sharper lyrically,
more diverse musically (going softer at times but creating beautiful
songs in the process), and just tighter-sounding both as a band and
with production values, as the boardwork is done all by Lammers.
Go download: Politician, Third Rail, No Dress Rehearsal, Flavor War
10 john
butler trio - three
John Butler is a mix of Ben Harper and the jamming, extended bridge
of any live version of Pearl Jam's "Porch." I don't care how
else anyone wants to classify or categorize his music, this is what
I think whenever I hear his songs. After the Aussie contingent hyped
up his music (i.e. bugged me to download JBT's music incessantly), I
finally hunted down various tracks. I had about three of their songs
for a while, but it wasn't enough to really get a feel of what they
were about. Eventually the talk about him grew, as did my interest,
piqued by the announcement that he was playing at Street Scene. Fortunately,
the massed were relatively unfamiliar with his music, and I was able
to take my ass (and my camera) front row center to enjoy the set. When
he first started, there couldn't have been any more than 15 people around.
Since this was at a big festival, some were just passing through, and
a few of those 15 walked away once they heard what type of music he
played. Forty-five minutes and about 55 pictures later, I turned around
to leave for another stage. There had to have been about 250-300 people behind
me applauding loudly, with a line forming at the merchandise stand snapping
up all his cds. He played only about five songs (long jams on some of
those, remember) but two of those were ones I was foaming at the mouth
to hear. It felt weird to be rocking out so much to a band that perhaps
only a handful of people around me had heard before, but it's great
to know that you're watching an artist that in a few minutes will prove
himself to the crowd, and show the crowd why you're dancing around like
a dork. The Seven Storey show was much worse; I was the only person
within the front 100 people or so who knew anything from them, and the
only other person rocking out to it was a guy I was talking to in line
who told me he was in to Foo Fighters and Hum, each bands I could definitely
imagine being influences to Seven Storey. Okay, enough about my eliteness,
back to the review! JBT's "Three" is eight songs, two over
11 minutes. John's prowess on guitar makes up for thought-provoking
but unrefined lyric work, something that at times is almost frustrating
because it's like a classic car with a bad paint job; there's a gem
underneath the scars, and with time the annoyances can be removed. The
undeveloped lyrics combined with great music are reminiscent of Ben
Harper's early work, and Ben's taken large steps to remedy what he would
probably admit is his weakest point. Take in point this verse from JBT's
"Life Ain't What It Seems":
Just like that environmental day sponsored by
Shell
So we can all endorse the killing and go straight to hell
It's like Bunnings saying they're supporting your community
While they're chopping it right down and some things ain't what they
seem
He's on the topic, and he's creating awareness (which for a musician
is just about the best thing you can do), but there's a very crude,
straightforward way he goes about it that lacks a bit of lyrical maturity.
These eight songs work little more as an official record of JBT's catalog,
since the real place the band and their abilities shine is on stage.
However, since he's relatively unknown at this point (U.S. tour on the
way in the Spring though), and only one good-quality bootleg is floating
around, this is an essential album for my collection. If I were factoring
live performances of the songs on the albums on my list into my placement,
JBT would be in the top three without doubt, but since I'm only looking
at the albums released they place strong at #10.
Go download: Colours, Valley, Take
That's 12-10. I'll do three a day three more times between now and the
end of the month. No, really, I can do this! With Seven Storey and JBT
I recommended some tracks not on the albums I ranked, but since hardly
anyone's heard anything from them I felt it neccessary to include what
I feel is some of their best work from their whole catalog.
Okay. Let's move on.
Local News: My pal Brett's 22nd birthday was on Tuesday, and to celebrate
we felt drinking would be a good plan. We were up far too early in the
morning to gather at his place, where we headed on out to Beverages
& More to pick up some beverages. And more. I grabbed two bottles
of beer, and being the adventurous person you all know me as I got a
pint of Samuel Smith's India
Pale Ale and a pint of Young's Oatmeal
Stout. The IPA was decent, probably would have been great on tap.
The Oatmeal actually tasted nothing like Oatmeal, but instead tasted
like these.
It was pretty damn good, and I could definitely see myself enjoying
it with a nice big burger, much like how I like a Guiness. Brett grabbed
three different beers, but only drank one over the course of the day.
The one he tried, I presume, soured him on the whole beer concept for
the afternoon. But more on that in a second. For lunch we headed over
to Kwan's South China Buffet, where we stuffed various beef and chicken
products into our guts. We paid, but the guy who took our money (though
it's a buffet, you still pay at the table and tip) came back over to
us, put the pay platter back down, and said "it twenty-six, you
give twenty-two" while pointing at the $26.88 written on the bill.
We all looked at each other, knowing that we had placed a $20, a $10,
and a couple $1s on the platter. We told him what we did, and he said
"no, twenty-six, no twenty-two." We couldn't figure out why
he was talking like that, cause he was Mexican.
Sorry, that's not true. I'll stop throwing in random Dave Chappelle
jokes. Let's proceed.
Devin the Cuban eventually was able to communicate to him that we had
indeed paid enough, and that the $10 must have fallen off the platter.
He walks over with our waiter to the vicinity of the register, where
they find the $10 bill saddled up against the side of the register.
The waiter apologizes, and all is good. We went back to the apartment
of a couple of the guys were were with, threw on the classic movie "UHF,"
and started to test our purchases. Now, a little background on the one
beer Brett tried. We went through just about every single beer they
had on the shelf, looking at contents and how old each brand was (finding
an Austrian beer taking the cake at 1295). We came across this Belgian
beer, or Austrian, can't remember...on the back, the bottle said that
the beer is only brewed once a year, on December 6th, and that the date
is looked forward to across the country as it's the date when their
citizens can again enjoy the tasty beverage. Pretty much a seasonal
item, like a candy cane. Anyway, further down, it lists the feature
most attractive to myself and Brett. "12.5% alcohol." Now,
back to the apartment. Brett opens the beer, and the first thing out
of his mouth is "whoa." He leans in to take a sniff, and shakes
his head not unlike that of a dog when they smell something really rank,
or like when a fly lands on your face and you try to move your head
to get it off instead of using your hand. He hesitantly takes a sip,
swallows, and gets another "damn that's bad" look on his face.
Naturally, he does the only logical thing, and goes "so who wants
to try this?" If you'll recall, I'm quite the adventurous person,
so I step up to the challenge. When I get within about four feet of
Brett and the beer, I pick up a scent of vinegar, along with something
else that doesn't sweeten the deal. Even if I hadn't seen Brett's reactions,
just bringing the bottle up to my mouth would have already made me fear
what was about to go in it. To try and understand the taste, picture
yourself in a Chinese food restaurant, similar to the one we were in
earlier in the day. Get out a bottle of cheap wine. I'm talking wine
that's labeled "For the discriminating hobo." Also get out
a bottle of white vinegar. Get out a regular 12-oz. glass. Fill the
glass about half way with the wine. Fill the glass to the two-thirds
mark with the vinegar. Add a couple tablespoons of a thickening agent
such as yeast. Stir that up to give it some chew. Then, get a bottle
of soy sauce. Fill glass, stir again, and drink. Kids, I tell you only
twice have I drank a more repulsive beverage. Once was when someone
bought some red-colored Italian alcoholic beverage, and used the wrong
things to add to it, creating this martini that no one could even handle
enough to swallow a single sip. The other time was when I had a drink
that was about 3/4th Gin 1/4 Sprite, but I forgive the substitute bartender
on that one :)
One other person tried this hellacious beer, and it was quickly disposed
of down the drain. Unlike the French in WWII, it continued to fight
and linger, its smell polluting the kitchen for hours to come. Later
in the evening a group of us headed out to Tio Leo's for some sweet
birthday grub. I hooked it up with a beef burrito and a side of rice
and beans. Good times, good times.
So that was Tuesday! Wednesday was very uneventful, as I putzed around
on here and watched some tv. Good ol Winter Break.
Tomorrow I'll post details on my Xmas list, should you feel so inclined
to grab a thing or three on there for your favorite Sidewalk Crusader
(hint: me). Also, I'll tell ya about my official singing debut and get
through album reviews for Ben Harper, Tenacious D, and Ben Folds.
E to the Izzel, M to the izzo. Elmo
scored major karma points tonight, go tell
him to make you a sandwich.
Countdown until the THREE DAYS OF SOCIAL D: 5!
-b!
Now playing: The Dismemberment Plan - The Ice Of Boston
Quote Of The Day
(My pal Brett after tasting the 12.5% beer)
Aw man, it tastes like...soy sauce! I want mine to taste like bacon!
Your New Year's Resolution, The Sidewalk Crusaders Network:
Dre's
Page
Email me.
wattershed@rocketmail.com
