Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Shit you should know; March '10

2010-03-14T01:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, I really haven't kept track of things in recent months. Here we go, first SYSK for 2010. Let's do this.

High On Fire - Snakes Of The Divine
ISIS - Live 5
Indie tours in Australia: Dinosaur Jr - Pixies - Pavement - Spoon
Burzum - Belus
Fistula - We, the Beast
Housecore released some new CD's, LP's and shirts
Skullflower - Strange Keys to Untune God’s Firmamnet
Soundwave was AWESOME. (Especially if you negated all the bad hardcore and emo)

And that about does it for the first installment of SYSK for 2010, it's been kinda quiet thus far. But I've no doubt the new releases and tour info will flood in soon enough, so stay tuned.

The Problem With Music by Steve Albini

2010-03-13T22:10:00.000-08:00

Doing my usual daily crawl through the dubious depths of the internets, I stumbled upon a chance read. It was written in 1993, so obviously this is pre-internet and also pre-indie label explosion, so it was very much all or nothin' in terms of who bands signed with. But it still holds true.

A great example or that is the mess that Andrew W K stirred up by having the audacity to want to keep recording under his own fucking name, which funily enough he doesn't own anymore.

In September 2009, writing in the British newspaper, The Guardian, Andrew apparently acknowledged the "Steev Mike" website hacking: "At the end of 2004, an old friend of mine got in some business trouble and basically decided to take it out on me. To cut a long story short, this person is someone I worked very closely with and had a formal and family business relationship with. Due to various complaints this person had with me, they were able to turn my life and career upside down. I wasn't allowed to use my own name within certain areas of the US entertainment industry and we were in a debate about who owned the rights to my image, and who should get credit for "inventing" it. This made my life complicated and intense for a few years, but I kept working and doing whatever I could to keep moving forward."

So with that in mind I leave you with this little nugget from '93. Now, while it won't make you any more sympathetic to Metalica's anti-napster bullshit, it will give you a glimpse into the faux reality that is success in the music industry.

The Problem With Music by Steve Albini

Dinosaur Jr @ Fowler's Live March 13th 2010

2010-03-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

Wow. I just got back a few hours ago and boy let me tell you, my ears are begging for mercy. They were pounded into submission. Knowing that, what did I do the second I got home? Why, I cranked some more Dinosaur Jr, of course!

Truly I am a glutton for punishment... well or really good indie anyway.

Let me first explain my love of all things Dinosaur Jr. I was first exposed to Dinosaur Jr. about 5 years back when I went on a gigantic indie trip (Indie didn't start with Franz Ferdinand. Jus' sayin'), then I discovered the wonderful doomy/psych rock band Witch (In which J actually plays the drums, cool story bro.) and from there it went. J and the Fog, Sebadoh etc etc. You get the idea.

I am excite!

So then, granted with the information above, imagine if you will my excitement 3 years ago when Dinosaur Jr. released Beyond. Unquestionably, the best album they've released in several years.

Then imagine the crushing depression that shortly followed when I missed their '07 tour. I'd conjure up thoughts of wild unbridled J Mascis solos, the guilt and sadness would then wash over me, It was my wailing wall.

----

Well that was of course until I managed to egrab an eticket this week, and cosmic justice was upheld (Yeah that's right, fuck you Carson Daly). I can honestly say that I've probably never spent a better 50 bucks in my life, it really was that amazing seeing J, Lou and Murph up there doing what they do best and have done for the last 20 years. The grin on my face grew with every open chord, every frantic solo, every thunderous drum fill and every pounding bass riff.

They belted out some old classics, some from Dinosaur, a few from Bug, most from You're Living All Over Me, they also seemlessly switched right into tracks from their latest, Beyond and Farm. I was really pleased with the setlist (Though I desperately wanted to hear Thumb!), it had a broad mix of old and new and just went to highlight how freakishly well they've slipped back into making really brilliant albums.

I was so engrossed in the show that I failed horribly to record any setlist chronologically, but I've managed to piece together the songs as best I could.

In no particular order:

Repulsion
Little Fury Things
Sludgefeast
Raisans
Tarpit
In A Jar
Freak Scene
Kracked
Feel The Pain
Get Me
Blowin' It
The Wagon
I Don't Wanna Go There
Over It
Forget The Swan
Crumble
The Lung
Pieces

So there you have it, if you didn't go you missed a fucking killer show. My ears will be ringing like the liberty bell for the next few days, but the satisfaction and utter joy I got finally seeing one of my favourite bands live will live on for many years to come.

P.S Oh and btw, don't fucking air guitar right next to me please. Especially if you're going to flail around like an idiot. Cheers

John Garcia Appreciation Month Part Dos

2009-11-13T00:14:00.000-08:00

Dos is of course Spanish for Dos, enjoy

A young Josh Homme there too, a much simpler time. Notice the 90s hair, no hint of elvis

Om - God Is Good review

2009-11-09T00:24:00.000-08:00

Some of you may not know who this obscure duo is, and that's perfectly fine. Let me break it down.

They've only been on the scene for about 6 years now, and have only really started getting major attention in the last 2 or 3. Om, up until last year was comprised of the rhythm section of Sleep, one of the most influential bands in Stoner Doom.

Sleep playing Dragonaut from their album, Holy Mountain

That rhythm section was Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius, but here's where things get interesting. Last year Chris left Om find out more via an interview with Combat Radio's Scott Kelly. His heart wasn't in it any more, and out of respect for the music he left Al to it.

Om, playing Pilgrimage from the 2007 release Pilgrimage

Enter 2009 and enter Emil Amos

I had my doubts about replacing Chris, those are big shoes to fill.
His expansive almost hypnotic drum work is second to none and perfectly complimented Al's equally hypnotic bass lines. They ceased to be a rhythm section and as the name implies become a single entity of musical nirvana. It's the kind of music that makes you think "Wow, they just improved that?"

God is Good is a hard pill to swallow but not necessarily in a bad way, it's far more involved. The early Om albums had a very simple vibe to them that was crushingly heavy but also meditative at the same time. God is Good leans towards the later as becomes immediately clear by the addition of Sitar and a compliment of other exotic instruments which all add to the sonic tapestry which you'd expect from an Om release. There's plenty happening here, there's an Indian vibe, more Tibetan chanting and drum fills exploding at you like a cacophony of spicy doom.

The production value is as good as ever without being polished. It's clean but raw, punchy but not dull.

It's going to take some getting used to, but I'm impressed by how seamlessly Emil has taken the throne and at the same time I'm intrigued at the sudden change of pace and the urge to explore a broader palette. So it's a grower like always, but if you have the patience and time check it out.

It's music for the soul, and it's pretty fucking killer too

Garcia appreciation month

2009-11-09T00:07:00.000-08:00

John Garcia is the fucking man, no doubt. To highlight that I'm going to post a few Garcia related jems throughout the month (when ever the I feel like it, tbh) to kick off JGAM, Jay-Gahm catchy ain't it?

Let's start off with a bang, here's a little Slo Burn for y'all

Along with many of his other projects Slo Burn never reached the heights of Kyuss and was thrown under the bus when it came to record labels, that's pretty much the story with most of his non-Kyuss releases (But that's nothing new, Kyuss had label issues way back when as well). Sad really, but thanks to youtube and a little prior knowledge I can share some of these brilliant desert rock tracks with you guys

Shit you should know; October 09'

2009-10-15T00:09:00.000-07:00

Ok starting with releases I've had my eye on, here we go:

Pelican - What We All Come To Need
Baroness - Blue Album
Shrinebuilder - S/T
Om - God Is Good
A Storm of Light - Forgive Us Our Tresspasses
Russian Circles - Geneva
White Shit - Beef Sculpted

I'll be writing up some reviews for said albums shortly and will try to sort out some potential albums of the year, but we'll see.

There's also a limited re-pressing of the Confederacy Of Ruined Lives LP that's just been released, I'll get a link up for that soon. If you like EHG, check it out they're extremely limited

Ok that's all for now, later

Indie, how it's changed and not for the better.

2009-10-12T02:35:00.000-07:00

I just want to start this by saying I love alt-rock. Ever since watching Nirvana and Sonic Youth on rage in my early teens I've come to associate some of my fondest memories of the late 90s with Indie/Grunge. Wether it be the somber realization that Nirvana Unplugged was the end of a great songwriter, the humor I found in watching Mike Judge make fun of countless artists on Beavis and Butthead or the joy I felt spending time making mix tapes on my old CD/Tape player

Something that sticks out in my mind especially was The Adventures of Pete and Pete:

It hit a nerve and tapped into counter culture so well I don't think there will ever be a show like it again. It was one of the most unique shows of my childhood and to me it reflected an entire genre of music. Something offbeat and unique and at the time completely and genuinely spontaneous

Through the wonders of music database websites I've managed to find a broad range of music that wasn't available to me way back when. I'm discovering more and more wonderful music from the era and I'm truly grateful to have found it. But also through the same websites something else has opened my eyes about the sad state of modern music. The now seemingly endless cycle of repetition and exploitation of alt-rock.

Exhibit A.

The Mooseheart Faith Stellar Groove Band
I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness
We Were Promised Jetpacks
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

You can write good music even if you don't have a stupidly long fucking band name. It was clever 15 years ago for a reason, most record labels wanted short band names purely to make more money as they were easy to remember. So most Indie bands full of college age wiseasses purposefully made their names long, knowing full well that'd mean almost no commercial viability. That was 15 years ago, now it's just getting ridiculous. In 2009 you're more likely to get signed if you have a name like I liked the Cosby show before it was cool to like the Cosby show

Here's little formular of mine. Let's test it!

Popculture reference + Noun + Adjective + Obscure geographical location + X (X being a random date, preferably in the time period you're ripping off, let's say 1995 shall we?) = Cosby Racquet Champions of Saskatoon 1995. I swear I've seen an EP of theirs somewhere.. or was it a Tshirt slogan?.. anyway I digress.

Exhibit B

Counter Culture then becomes commercial.

It's inevitable, but nothing says WTF more so than seeing a flannel shirt for over 100 dollars (To quote Lewis Black "Sad but fucking true. Sad, but fucking true") Never would I have dreamt of the day when counter culture would be fucked in the ass so hard. I thought it was bad when clothing companies exploited it in the late 60s thereby bringing an end to the hippy movement. But this is a new low.

Here's a fun little quote on the stupidity of buying a 100 dollar flannel shirt

Jim Fleetwood, manager of the Fashion Valley Mall’s Lucky Brand Jeans Store explained, “We basically opened a crate of flannel shirts that had been in storage since 1992, put them back on the racks, and amazingly enough, people started buying them.”

The price of a flannel shirt at Lucky Brand Jeans can range anywhere from $50 to $120. The most expensive styles have pre-made holes in the armpits to make the shirts look more worn, thus more cool

Think that's too stupid for words? Well you aren't wrong, here's the link

Here's another example (Sure it's not alt rock they're exploiting, but you get the point)

$154 USD. No shit.

Exhibit C

A genuine lack of originality.

Self Explanitory.

It actually kind of pained me to include Kings Of Leon there, their first few albums were amazing. But they've fallen into the well of mediocrity along with most new alternative bands.

Final Thoughts

Now I'll admit not ALL new Indie bands are bad, I love Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene

But I leave you now with just a few of my old favorite altrock clips

VIVA LA SUBPOP.

Death Magick Doom review

2009-09-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

King of the Grey Islands, what an amazing record that was. It came out of nowhere and gave me a schooling, it rekindled my love afair with traditional doom after so many helpings of more mid tempo stoner doom records of late. So come on 2009 and words could not express my joy when I saw a new Candlemass album was in the works.

This album stays true to Grey Islands making it the second featuring the vocals of Solitude Aeturnus' Robert Lowe. After the departure of Messiah and the then reunion in 2002 there was much a do about a brand spanking classic line up album, which sadly never amounted to anything. Many fans screamed bloody murder and cast them off as a once great doom metal band which along with most others just couldn't stand the test of time. But who can blame them? Music has changed so much over the last 30 years, it's hard to stay viable even if only on an indie label when you write such lumbering epic music. None the less they picked up the pieces and carried on, enter Lowe.

Those familiar to Solitude Aeturnus know he's more than qualified for the task, and slay he did. 2007's King of the Grey Islands was a modern doom masterpiece. I remember slamming it on in the car with a friend after just purchasing it. The intro had just faded into the second track and KABLAMO wall of doom, right in your face knocks your fucking socks off. It was something to behold, Death Magick Doom is no different.

It picks up right where they left off, each epic track twisting into the next like a matt of demonic black weed (Strangling virgins probably, which actually would make a pretty badass album cover). Candlemass' modern albums have taken a sharp thunderous tone. Padded drums and Dio-esque chugging of old are replaced with top notch mixing and layers of slow tempo riffing that thunder into the darkness, only to be backed up by the brilliant range of Lowe. Sure he lacks the opratic charm of Messiah. But he's got a killer set of pipes which can't be denied. Leif Edling, god bless him can still write doom. Doom that makes you want to listen to Cornucopia again, even through the reality TV mess that was The Osbournes, even through the endless heap of "Iron Man" guitar hero videos, even though Iommi looks like he's about to break his neck from the weight of his SG. He breathes life into a genre that should have died long ago, and thanks to Lowe's vocal chops. The two craft some epic Traditional Doom right up there with Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, in my opinion anyway

The album clocks in at almost 50 minutes, covering 8 tracks it's quite a listen. But do yourself a favour, if you like Doom at all DO check it out. You'll be glad you did

Shrinebuilder and why you should be fucking excited

2009-09-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

Ok now if you by chance are reading this you probably already like the Melvins, Sleep/Om, Neurosis, Spirit Caravan/The Hidden Hand etc etc. And since we're all on the same page here I know, you (like me) appreciate the modern underground music scene. What some of you guys may not have heard is that a new supergroup of sorts has formed over the last 24 months comprised of none other than: Scott Kelly, Al Cisneros, Dale Crover and the fucking man Scott Wino himself.

Ask any stoner or doom lover and that's pretty much a wetdream line up right there and for good reason. We're very lucky to be part of a culture of music that promotes jamming and the sharing of ideas, it's because of doom metal that the split record was highly popularised again. So behold, I'm calling it right now album of the year (yes even more so than Nude With Boots, Wavering Radiant, Static Tensions etc. ALTHOUGH the new Om album is out in a few weeks but we'll see). I've been lucky enough to stumble uppon a taste of thier album, they put up a track on thier mypsace a few days ago Listen here (I can't embed it, otherwise I would have) and it's pretty killer. I was thrown by the fact that Wino isn't on vocals, but Scott Kelly does have a real somber tone to his voice and I think that was actually the right choice. Om fans will also dig the chanting going on towards the end of the track (Al, don't ever change). So there you have it, keep your eyes peeled for late oct early nov because it's going to be an amazing album

Album review: Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West

2009-08-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

What a surprise it was cruising my favourite source of music news/reviews and LPs tonight. Clutch's new album dropped last month and I was completely unaware, but that to me is a good thing. It means they really have got their own independent label up and running and haven't bombarded popular websites with ads. But *cough* I'll leave the argument about the consumerism culture of modern music another time though.

Anyway to the meat and potatoes, I put it on and got ready for some killer riffs, nonsensical lyrics and amazing Hammond organ solos only to notice something right away, or the lack there of. No Hammond, at all, just four guys playing some stripped back, funky, raw, blues rock.

This may be good for a band that goes too far and adds too many layers which then muddle what should be a simplistic sound. But Clutch and especially Neil Fallon have always had the ability to expand on what should otherwise be a simple riff and add so many layers of sound, building modern stoner rock masterpieces like Robot Hive/Exodus. So to me it was a real shame to see them depart with Mick Schauer (If only for this album), but none the less it's a great album.

Clutch's Burning Beard from their 2005 release Robot Hive/Exodus

If you like Clutch, there's really not much more to it than that. It's the same kind of blues rock they've been doing for the best part of 20 years, and that's the way we like it as evidenced by the amazing [i]50,000 unstoppable watts[/i] which could have happily fit amongst the tracks of their last 3 albums.

50,000 Unstoppable Watts from the new album

So as for a rating? Well I'd give it 4/5, it would have been a 4.5 but like I said before the lack of Hammond threw me and kind of disappointed me a little, I really enjoyed their last two albums and the organ strewn through them really added something special. But still, Clutch are Clutch. You can't stop progress

Intrusive or helpful?

2009-02-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

Today I got a phonecall from an Indian call center, which is nothing new. But the strange thing was they offered free tech support, and started listing problems with the family computer. Now I'm not naive about how easy information is to obtain over the internet but it was unsettling. So I made a few jokes and hung up.

They called back not 2 minutes later and kept on about malware and trojans, I use avast on the family computer so I know it's ok. Sure it'll have some kind of shit on it but that's fine. So now I start to get a little pissy, I tell them I don't want what they're offering. Oh and they were offering, subscriptions to tech support, free my ass. Anyway, so I let them know that I didn't want it and said "Later" and then hung up, they haven't called back since.

But here's my point, the last thing people want to hear from an anonymous call center overseas is personal problems with your computer. It's fucking creepy.

Belated Review: QOTSA - Era Vulgaris

2008-12-28T22:00:00.000-08:00

Era Vulgaris, possibly over ambitious but gives them a chance to go back to their roots.

I have to say, the first few times I heard the album it really did grow on me. Homme is like the Garcia, the Hendrix of our generation, the Neo-Psych fuck you to most cookie cutter stoner rock bands who seem to be plastered all over myspace. He has an ear for musical arrangements that make you sit up and listen wether you're listening for the first time or the 100th. But something always gnawed at me, something didn't feel right about Era Vulgaris and I honestly don't think I'm alone. It's pretty easy to say "Fuck, Josh we miss Nick" but that usually doesn't get the most welcomed response from him and for good reason, obviously there are many personal reasons for his departure. But it may actually be that simple, it's the lack of really killer basslines on Era Vulgaris that really lets it down. I noticed this especially when listening to "Suture Up Your Future". The heavy synth at the start just feels really.... out of place, but had that been a bassline it still would have worked, only much simpler

The album wasn't bad, it's just synth heavy and lacking those awesome simplistic bass riffs which made the first albums instantly classic. I know a band has to evolve, and that's all well and good. It feels like too radical a change, but with it being the first album comprised almost entirely of songs without any input from Oliveri I can understand. So we'll see, the future does still look bright for QOTSA, especially with Homme hinting at a more desert-roots-ish new album in the works and more Desert Sessions material coming in 2009. Let's hope the synth is all out of his system