"The Velvet Underground, Belle and Sebastion, and good deal of the Brian Jonestown Massacre in a pure pop version are the ingredients we may encounter on the marvelous debut by The French Semester, which in a low time have released one of the most enjoyable discs of 2008 which ‘Open Letter to the Disappeared’ now concludes. From Los Angeles, California, and at times compared as well to Guided by Voices and Pavement (less so), they come with 15 unusual songs within arms reach, and with no fluff, showing multiple facets but without losing the direction or coherence of its message. .... When you are about to be taken in by the sunny pop (The Blue Distance’ and its delicious chorus, or ‘Arrowheadings and its overzealous melody and strummy guitar), it passes into existential indie (‘Subway to the Sky, with the addictive phrase “all gonna die”), just to attack later with the magic of 'Your Master Plan', and one of the most vigorous choruses of the year. There’s even time to surprise with the light excursion into psychadelia of ‘The Red The Black and The Blue’, which the more centered Anton Newcombe would kill, or to remember the best of Luna, with the dreamy keyboards of Summer Face. .... As we say, 15 songs on an LP are almost always too much, and here the skeptical listener wants early on to seek out a pothole, which fortunately here there are none. And if not, then lets see who dares to say anything was left out." -Alberto Castro, PopMuzik
BENJI HUGHES /
OTHER LIVES / VINCENT AND MR. GREEN
Spaceland
He looks like an Allman brother, sings like Beck and suffers the dating travails of George Costanza. But on his sprawling double-CD debut, Benji Hughes is unmistakably — and always hilariously — his own man. The North Carolina-and-Tennessee-reared artist specializes in laugh-out-loud vignettes about hipster culture, with catchy, eccentrically arranged songs that straddle folk, lounge, electro, synth rock and a half-dozen other styles. There are tales of concertgoing and shrooming (”I Went With Some Friends to See the Flaming Lips”) and starry-eyed odes to unattainable hotties (”Tight Tee Shirt”). Hughes sings in the drowsy voice of a slacker, but he has a poet’s ear for telling details, and his mountain-man beard hides a wry smile. When Hughes’ drolleries and hopeless romanticism combine, the effect can be sublime. In the stately “All You’ve Got to Do Is Fall in Love,” he croons, “Wouldn’t it be sweet if you could be in love with me/The way that I’m in love with you?/It’s so easy to do/All you’ve got to do is fall in love with me.” Hughes’ logic — like his tunes and his wit — is unimpeachable. - Rolling Stone
with:
Other Lives || Watch
Vincent and Mr. Green || Listen
Resident DJs Dia and Solid Todd spinning. No cover after midnight.
8:30pm / $8 / 21+
THE SOFT PACK (formerly The Muslims) /
THE A.M.
Echo
Not too long ago we told you the Muslims changed their name to the Soft Pack. That’s true enough and was likely a good move because now folks can actually concentrate on the music, but it doesn’t change the San Diego quartet’s BTW status. In fact, proving themselves quite literally a Band To Watch, the guys stopped by the Decomposed studios to offer a stripped-down take on their spare and somehow cuddly Strokes-y, Heartbreakers/Voidoids-inspired garage punk. It’s interesting hearing vocalist Matt Lamkin deliver those laid-back, playfully nihilistic lines (”I’ve got news for you / Yes, I’ve got news for you / I don’t owe anything to you”) over acoustic guitars and upright bass. He’s even more like a preppy Iggy Pop than usual. When we initially wrote about the Soft Pack, we mentioned their Velvet Underground-style detachment: At Decomposed, they add VU-style standup drums to that insularity. We’d also brought up the Replacements. You get less of that here sonically, but it’s hard to deny the early Westerberg/T. Stinson bedhead. The band is always spare, but these takes on “Call It A Day” and “Extinction” along with a cover of Tijuana Panthers’ “Redheaded Girl” add an especial concision. - Stereogum
with:
The A.M.
BIG SEARCH
(Foreign Born side project)
3 of Clubs
I mean, you've got to be in the mood, but if you're in to it, she'd be a real pleasure to see...
MARY ANNE HOBBS brings it to the Airliner
http://www.lowendtheoryclub.com/
"No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive." Mahatma Gandhi
No Culture is an L.A. based collective of musicians, djs, producers, designers, promoters, photographers, and bloggers interested in playing and creating new and exciting music and memorable events.
Tonight is the infamous Margarita Wednesday in Echo Park at the Barragan's. That means tasty margs for 2.50 all night and complimentary chips and salsa. And to sweeten the deal FREE nachos bar B4 7:30. SO come early. and rumor has it there will be free margarita tickets given away all night. Hump Day never tasted so sweet.
See ya tonight in the Park
-the Barragan's
The Gold Room is an attitude-free oasis of cantilevered-breasted waitresses, cheap drinks, hard men escaping the ball n’ chain (you see no women here except what the hipsters drag in), as well as banda blasting from the juke. Free food is often on the agenda as well, with free peanuts, popcorn, and sometimes even tacos being slung along with your Pacifico.
While all this sounds too good to be true, The Gold Room is actually a well-oiled machine with an interesting and innovative way to deal with gentrification. Everyone is welcome to dine, drink, and make good friends with the friendly regulars, but unwritten bar policy has it that only two small tables of punky invaders is allowed at a time. Sure enough, the second this policy is violated by some messy-haired too-cool-for-school guitar hero, every regular in the joint gets one free sock to the stomach of said interloper. It is a very nice, efficient system for keeping gentrification in check and The Gold Room in the hands of those who need it and love it. – L.A. TACO
¡¡¡ MARK YOUR CALENDARS !!!
Saturday, February 7th at 8 pm
TOM CHAPIN and THE CHAPIN SISTERS
Next Saturday we are playing an amazing, one-time-only event! Our dad/step-dad, folk legend and Grammy Award winner TOM CHAPIN will be in town and we are playing a double bill at McCabe's in Santa Monica. We will be playing some songs off our new, in-the-works album, as well as jamming with him on some old classics. NEW SONGS! NEW SONGS! NEW SONGS!!!! McCabe's is so great! So come check it out!!!
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at
http://mccabes.com/condata.html
or by calling (310) 828-4497
Saturday, February 7th, 8PM
TOM CHAPIN and THE CHAPIN SISTERS
McCabe's Guitar Shop
3101 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
http://www.tomchapin.com
http://www.thechapinsisters.com
http://www.mccabes.com
come see us!
we miss you!
WE LOVE YOU
xxx the chapin sisters
Composer/Arrangers are the antecedents of the beat makers of today. Their processes whether it be stripping down a classic cover or creating a new genre of music mirror most closely the types of minds that make contemporary beat oriented music. "Timeless" is a forward thinking review and homage to the arranger/composers that have influenced hip-hop in the heaviest and most profound ways. Representing a true international blend of music from Brazil, Ethiopia, Detroit and Los Angeles. Each composer/arranger that we have scheduled is a King of their respective court.
* Objective: Encourage the appreciation of many forms of music from a multi-generational perspective with an emphasis on the practices of the present.
* Create a yearly Arranger/Composer Series in Los Angeles.
* Provide affordable musical experiences.
Each show will be a very specific presentation of music based around the career of each of the Composers. Each composer will do a set of their all time hits and a new piece. Each dj/producer will build a set around the legacy and era of each composer.
Sunday Evenings from February 1st to April 5th
7pm - 11pm
Venue: Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex
Tickets through Ticketmaster and the Luckman Box Office
This was a really great listen...and now today, I can't get off their site. I might have to indulge in a little gift for myself...
Music Interviews & Profiles:
Saving Folk History, One Recording At A Time
All Things Considered
Judy Hyman plays fiddle in a band called The Horse Flies. In her living room in Ithaca, N.Y., there's a pine-wood dresser right next to the couch. It's not for shirts and sweaters — this used dresser holds hundreds of precious cassette tapes, an archive of rare recordings that spans more than three decades. She recorded many of them herself; the rest were gifts from other musicians and collectors.
Listen Now
also visit: www.fieldrecorder.com
We had the pleasure of running into Pilar yesterday and had a chance to catch up a little. She's off to Chile for a bit, but is coming back to prepare for a February residency at Bordello. What a remarkable person...can't wait to see her play next month. Anyway, we dug up this vintage performance from her former band Los Abandoned.
Here's some video of Soko's last and only known L.A. performance:
Echo Park Named One of Top 10 Great Neighborhoods
And when you hear that, you might find yourself asking which Realtor came up with that ranking. Luckily, this time there is some creditability behind the designation: the American Planning Association. They "singled out Echo Park because of its breathtaking topography set in the hills above downtown, historic architecture, pedestrian-oriented streets and stairways, and engaged residents who, over the years, have gone to great lengths to protect and preserve their community," according to an APA release (add: their website has more info and history on why EP was chosen) .... more after you click on the image!
SUBMIT YOUR PICTURES!!!
THE MAE-SHI @ Spaceland
THE MOVIES @ Spaceland
DENGUE FEVER @ Viper Room
No comments:
Post a Comment