Friday, August 15, 2008
MEZM 2
Been neglecting this thing like a donut son who doesnt like America's freedom fries. So we're back with a sesh sure to set your summer back on course (after you ate that donut). This shit is good, mega good, so listen to it, and dont die.
MEZM 2 ZIP FILE HERE!
1. Sic Alps - Massive Space
Dark: Shit's always threatening to fall apart. One reason Sic Alps are so awesome. In that way it's like Chilton's late '70's stuff, or Skip Spence's LP, or any number of records by the chemically unbalanced that always teeter on the edge of collapse. It's definitely more intentional with these dudes, but that doesn't make it sound any less thrilling. Wicked live show, too, for two dudes.
OJ: disheveled ripper. Whats awesome about bands like this is they can record on a 4 track in their practice space and make it sound shitty and viable. I know Neil Hagerty likes them, so thats enough in my book.
2. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos
OJ: This is a jam off their ep that landed before the full length and was the first glimpse to me of what they could achieve. I love the mood this sets.
DARK: I thought I was listening to "New Slang" at first. Later on it sounds like Fleetwood Mac. It has a pleanst air. I like it. It doesn't make me think of the Aegean, though; not enough lyre.
3. XYX - Microvibraciones
DARK: Mez dudes talk about the mind a lot, but we can't help it; we are, after all, America's preeminent professional neurologists. "Microvibraciones" doesn't quite hit the brain-disrupting frequency until a few minutes in, but when it does, with the delay on pretty much everything, we (the listeners) find ourselves with one hell of a mind-zapped mind. So yeah, XYX is some crazed Mexican dance-punk, which, like Doritos, is a normally kind of a bad idea made righteous by the Mexicans. Their flavors are special. Anyway, it's maybe like Gang Gang Dance, but more visceral, less arty, and more open to bartering.
OJ: intense mexicans. i read an article recently about all the bad ass music that exists in Mexico - mainly because they dont get a lot of outside influence so they just fucking wail on what's true to them. that definitely is the case with XYX. What makes this song so fucking scary is the madness and those fucking buzzsaw effects at the end. Out of sight. This shit makes me somewhat ok with Mexico's eventual overthrow of the US.
4. Love Is All - Wishing Well
DARK: Yup, the "Tally Ho" riff, staking their claim on a band whose orbit of influence is reaching another perigee. But it ain't just a Clean rip, it's a little stylistic nod in the midst of an unmistakable Love Is All jam. They're utter fucking professionals at making people feel awesome.
OJ: UNREAL FUCKING JAM. This was that song Dark must have been talking about which is the stand out from their last live show. Unreleased i think. Fucking amazing band and this song is all the proof you need. The Tally Ho riff works so well weather they meant it or not (they did). Hearing this makes me think they are unstoppable.
5. The Who - Sister Disco
OJ: Maybe one of the Who's worst songs, but fuck is it a guilty pleasure for me. Amazing synth work by pete, truly wild. I think it was meant to be a bash on Disco, but it comes off as a weird song that kind of goes nowhere - much like the rest of that record which was shitty and at the end of their glory years. But shit its fun to listen to one of the greatest rock bands ever jam a jam about disco shits. One of the last songs Moon played on, which is kind of sad.
DARK: Dude, this is awesome. I love when the Who sounds like musical theater, and love 'em even more when they sound like the ILLIAC IV having a seizure. Either I've chilled out or seen the light, 'cuz I'm starting to think there's actually no bad Who. Whereas a younger me thought pretty much everything after a certain point was worthless. Anyway, love the initial bombast, the constantly shifting tone, pretty much everything about this'un.
6. Vivian Girls - Damaged
DARK: Yeah, what I and everyone's been saying, they's indie-pop and garage-punk and a bit of shoegazery roar and vocal melodies that are both pretty and oddly creepy and then beneath it all some genuinly catchy pop songs, thus guaranteeing that everybody will like them at some point in time, before being consumed by the fastest flashing backlash since Lance Armstrong.
OJ: These are like the grown up sisters of XYX. Great vocals and washed out guitars make this band in all its ragged glory. Simple songs wrapped in this awesome overblown beauty.
7. Carbon Whales (bob pollard) - Work Into Me
OJ: Best song off the "secret Robert Pollard" ep. Bob kind of channels Mark E Smith in a way on this ep and you can kind of hear it here. Fuckin music slays too.
DARK: Pollard working a crack-of-the-'90's 120 Minutes vibe. The weird synth-sounding bass, random horns, MES-style vocals, all of it sounds like some third-rate British band Dave Kendall would push for a few weeks before forgetting about 'em and/or burning through the payola checks. Kinda oddball, but still catchy, and better than much of what Bob's dished out of late.
8. Ex-Cocaine - Heavy Mt
DARK: Super laid-back lo-fi folk drone, or something. Yeah, it's slow and goes on for eight minutes, but has never felt that long to me. One of my perennial top tracks of the last few years, and something I've played way too much on WZBC.
OJ: these dudes are awesome as shit. its like homemade mellow grunge. Being from the northwest they probably would have gotten signed to Sub Pop if this came out like 19 years ago. I get the feeling these are two dudes who just like to get drunk and depressed and jam.
9. Peacocks Guitar Band - Eddie Quansa
OJ: Off one of the new Nigeria 70s comps. Amazing afro beat/high life music which I cant get enough of. The lightest song of the bunch off this comp. This jam makes me think im drank sippin on some beach, somewhere.
DARK: Yes, these Nigeria comps are unrelentingly awesome. Collect 'em all! This number totally sells the atmosphere all non-dude-specific beer ads should shoot for.
10. Howlin Rain - Calling Lightning Pt 2
OJ: Creedence on acid. This record and this song will end up in my top 3 of the year i bet. Dude from Comets On Fire's (real) other band. Comets is on major haitus and this is probably one of the reasons, Howlin Rain is fuckin writing some of the best music around and kinda makes the Comets seem like a waste of time (that sounds harsh - i love the comets to no end)? But yeah, its good.
DARK: I dunno, gotta call it for Comets over this stuff. I feel like Howlin Rain's aiming for the Allmans, but maybe hits closer to the Spin Doctors. That's harsh; this song is pretty good, but I don't know if they're close enough to the level of their influences to be worth my time.
11. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
DARK: Yeah, I like the focus, the paucity of notes, the directitude in the pursuance of hammerin'. Reminds me of a less blitzin' version of the Flaming Lips' "When Yer Twenty-Two". I actually have a hard time justifying this pick, I feel like I like it more than I should / it deserves, but shit when I listen to it I tend to listen to it over and over until it's been an hour and I totally believe that we really will never really die.
OJ: All i hear is My Bloody Valentine but shit its great. Driving straight into your brain, pounding, blasting.
12. Ryan Adams - Magnolia Mountain (Live)
OJ: I didnt get into Ryan Adams until this year. Always thought he was a supreme douche and didnt want to give him the time of day. I was wrong, at least about his music. He can craft a song i tell you. When he plays live all the songs sound like the Dead are jamming them. this is a perfect example. Listen to the crawl out of bed beginning and the noodle fest solo battle at the end. He "deadified" one of his best songs and turned it into a 10 minute ripper.
DARK: Allyn used to be a big fan, but lost interest somewhere along the way; all I've ever really listened to is that embarrasing but intermittently fun record where he tries to sound like every hip rock band of the last 40 years. Well, I did hear a lot of Gold through my lady, and it bored the shit out of me. Anyway! "Magnolia Mountain" is super-Deady. I'm not especially big on this guitar tone, it makes noodly bits sound even more noodly, but the actual music to this one is pretty damn good. It's like a Band song with a Dead jam in the middle. Good stuff.
ps - WE GOT THE OLYMPICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Been neglecting this thing like a donut son who doesnt like America's freedom fries. So we're back with a sesh sure to set your summer back on course (after you ate that donut). This shit is good, mega good, so listen to it, and dont die. MEZM 2 ZIP FILE HERE!
1. Sic Alps - Massive Space
Dark: Shit's always threatening to fall apart. One reason Sic Alps are so awesome. In that way it's like Chilton's late '70's stuff, or Skip Spence's LP, or any number of records by the chemically unbalanced that always teeter on the edge of collapse. It's definitely more intentional with these dudes, but that doesn't make it sound any less thrilling. Wicked live show, too, for two dudes.
OJ: disheveled ripper. Whats awesome about bands like this is they can record on a 4 track in their practice space and make it sound shitty and viable. I know Neil Hagerty likes them, so thats enough in my book.
2. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos
OJ: This is a jam off their ep that landed before the full length and was the first glimpse to me of what they could achieve. I love the mood this sets.
DARK: I thought I was listening to "New Slang" at first. Later on it sounds like Fleetwood Mac. It has a pleanst air. I like it. It doesn't make me think of the Aegean, though; not enough lyre.
3. XYX - Microvibraciones
DARK: Mez dudes talk about the mind a lot, but we can't help it; we are, after all, America's preeminent professional neurologists. "Microvibraciones" doesn't quite hit the brain-disrupting frequency until a few minutes in, but when it does, with the delay on pretty much everything, we (the listeners) find ourselves with one hell of a mind-zapped mind. So yeah, XYX is some crazed Mexican dance-punk, which, like Doritos, is a normally kind of a bad idea made righteous by the Mexicans. Their flavors are special. Anyway, it's maybe like Gang Gang Dance, but more visceral, less arty, and more open to bartering.
OJ: intense mexicans. i read an article recently about all the bad ass music that exists in Mexico - mainly because they dont get a lot of outside influence so they just fucking wail on what's true to them. that definitely is the case with XYX. What makes this song so fucking scary is the madness and those fucking buzzsaw effects at the end. Out of sight. This shit makes me somewhat ok with Mexico's eventual overthrow of the US.
4. Love Is All - Wishing Well
DARK: Yup, the "Tally Ho" riff, staking their claim on a band whose orbit of influence is reaching another perigee. But it ain't just a Clean rip, it's a little stylistic nod in the midst of an unmistakable Love Is All jam. They're utter fucking professionals at making people feel awesome.
OJ: UNREAL FUCKING JAM. This was that song Dark must have been talking about which is the stand out from their last live show. Unreleased i think. Fucking amazing band and this song is all the proof you need. The Tally Ho riff works so well weather they meant it or not (they did). Hearing this makes me think they are unstoppable.
5. The Who - Sister Disco
OJ: Maybe one of the Who's worst songs, but fuck is it a guilty pleasure for me. Amazing synth work by pete, truly wild. I think it was meant to be a bash on Disco, but it comes off as a weird song that kind of goes nowhere - much like the rest of that record which was shitty and at the end of their glory years. But shit its fun to listen to one of the greatest rock bands ever jam a jam about disco shits. One of the last songs Moon played on, which is kind of sad.
DARK: Dude, this is awesome. I love when the Who sounds like musical theater, and love 'em even more when they sound like the ILLIAC IV having a seizure. Either I've chilled out or seen the light, 'cuz I'm starting to think there's actually no bad Who. Whereas a younger me thought pretty much everything after a certain point was worthless. Anyway, love the initial bombast, the constantly shifting tone, pretty much everything about this'un.
6. Vivian Girls - Damaged
DARK: Yeah, what I and everyone's been saying, they's indie-pop and garage-punk and a bit of shoegazery roar and vocal melodies that are both pretty and oddly creepy and then beneath it all some genuinly catchy pop songs, thus guaranteeing that everybody will like them at some point in time, before being consumed by the fastest flashing backlash since Lance Armstrong.
OJ: These are like the grown up sisters of XYX. Great vocals and washed out guitars make this band in all its ragged glory. Simple songs wrapped in this awesome overblown beauty.
7. Carbon Whales (bob pollard) - Work Into Me
OJ: Best song off the "secret Robert Pollard" ep. Bob kind of channels Mark E Smith in a way on this ep and you can kind of hear it here. Fuckin music slays too.
DARK: Pollard working a crack-of-the-'90's 120 Minutes vibe. The weird synth-sounding bass, random horns, MES-style vocals, all of it sounds like some third-rate British band Dave Kendall would push for a few weeks before forgetting about 'em and/or burning through the payola checks. Kinda oddball, but still catchy, and better than much of what Bob's dished out of late.
8. Ex-Cocaine - Heavy Mt
DARK: Super laid-back lo-fi folk drone, or something. Yeah, it's slow and goes on for eight minutes, but has never felt that long to me. One of my perennial top tracks of the last few years, and something I've played way too much on WZBC.
OJ: these dudes are awesome as shit. its like homemade mellow grunge. Being from the northwest they probably would have gotten signed to Sub Pop if this came out like 19 years ago. I get the feeling these are two dudes who just like to get drunk and depressed and jam.
9. Peacocks Guitar Band - Eddie Quansa
OJ: Off one of the new Nigeria 70s comps. Amazing afro beat/high life music which I cant get enough of. The lightest song of the bunch off this comp. This jam makes me think im drank sippin on some beach, somewhere.
DARK: Yes, these Nigeria comps are unrelentingly awesome. Collect 'em all! This number totally sells the atmosphere all non-dude-specific beer ads should shoot for.
10. Howlin Rain - Calling Lightning Pt 2
OJ: Creedence on acid. This record and this song will end up in my top 3 of the year i bet. Dude from Comets On Fire's (real) other band. Comets is on major haitus and this is probably one of the reasons, Howlin Rain is fuckin writing some of the best music around and kinda makes the Comets seem like a waste of time (that sounds harsh - i love the comets to no end)? But yeah, its good.
DARK: I dunno, gotta call it for Comets over this stuff. I feel like Howlin Rain's aiming for the Allmans, but maybe hits closer to the Spin Doctors. That's harsh; this song is pretty good, but I don't know if they're close enough to the level of their influences to be worth my time.
11. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
DARK: Yeah, I like the focus, the paucity of notes, the directitude in the pursuance of hammerin'. Reminds me of a less blitzin' version of the Flaming Lips' "When Yer Twenty-Two". I actually have a hard time justifying this pick, I feel like I like it more than I should / it deserves, but shit when I listen to it I tend to listen to it over and over until it's been an hour and I totally believe that we really will never really die.
OJ: All i hear is My Bloody Valentine but shit its great. Driving straight into your brain, pounding, blasting.
12. Ryan Adams - Magnolia Mountain (Live)
OJ: I didnt get into Ryan Adams until this year. Always thought he was a supreme douche and didnt want to give him the time of day. I was wrong, at least about his music. He can craft a song i tell you. When he plays live all the songs sound like the Dead are jamming them. this is a perfect example. Listen to the crawl out of bed beginning and the noodle fest solo battle at the end. He "deadified" one of his best songs and turned it into a 10 minute ripper.
DARK: Allyn used to be a big fan, but lost interest somewhere along the way; all I've ever really listened to is that embarrasing but intermittently fun record where he tries to sound like every hip rock band of the last 40 years. Well, I did hear a lot of Gold through my lady, and it bored the shit out of me. Anyway! "Magnolia Mountain" is super-Deady. I'm not especially big on this guitar tone, it makes noodly bits sound even more noodly, but the actual music to this one is pretty damn good. It's like a Band song with a Dead jam in the middle. Good stuff.
ps - WE GOT THE OLYMPICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
