A Moment Of Noise

Last year I had planned to do this whole big “how I spent my summer vacation” book report-type post on my trip to SXSW, but the enormity of the task got in the way of finishing it, and I never posted anything. That’s how these things go sometimes. So this year, I’m just gonna keep it simple:

Favorite Bands I Already Knew I Liked: Shelby Lynne, R.E.M., Chuck Prophet, The Cynics, The Meatmen

Favorite Bands I’d Never Heard Of Before: Jet Lag (from Spain), Mink (from Australia by way of Brooklyn), The Ettes (from LA, I think)

Favorite New Bands From Athens: Madeline, Dark Meat, Dead Confederate

Pleasant Surprise: Alejandro Escovedo playing a full-on fist-pumpin’, ass-shakin’ rock-n-roll show like I haven’t seen him play in I-don’t-know-how-long.

Sorta Disappointing: Syd Straw, who apparently didn’t rehearse for her showcase, and even botched up her biggest hit, “CBGB’s”

Special Achievement in Gratuitous Name-Dropping: Chris Stamey, who seemed to think his set was being filmed for VH1 Storytellers.

Missed Opportunity: On Tuesday night at the Hole In The Wall there was a very warm and casual night of music and beer, with too many bands to count performing short sets of 2 or 3 songs apiece. Every member of R.E.M. was there — the setting was perfect. If they could’ve just got it together to play a couple of songs, they would’ve been the talk of the town all week long. Oh well.

Only In Texas: Thurston Moore opening for Roky Erickson, who was then joined late in his set by Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top.

Best Rumor: That Rhino is working up some super-deluxe reissues of the Replacements’ Twin/Tone catalog, and that a reunion tour is being planned in support.

Best Beer (Non-Shiner Bock division): The various flavors of Coopers being served at the Australia day party. I’d had their pale ale before — turns out everything they make is awesome.

Best Line From A Crazy Drunk Dude: “You gonna throw away that whiskey? You in a band? I used to be in a band. KC and the Sunshine Band! Do a little dance…. Make a little love….”

2nd Best Line From A Crazy Drunk Dude: “Hey — remember when my Dad molested your wife?”

Once upon a time, before Anton Newcomb devolved into a drug addled
caricature of himself, The Brian Jonestown Massacre was a really, really
great band. While Newcomb may have been the brains of the outfit, I have
always maintained that it was blissed-out tambourine man Joel Gion who
was the heart and soul of BJM. 101 Tambourines is the debut of Gion’s
new band, The Dilettantes, and it is hands down my favorite record so far
this year. A joyously thumpy slab of psychedelic San Francisco garage rock,
mixing the gritty swagger of The Velvet Underground with the occasional
dab of Green Pajamas jangle. Oh, and lots of tambourine, of course.
101 Tambourines is out this week, and we’ve got it on sale now for the low,
low price of $10.98. CLICK HERE to check out your new favorite band!

One of these days, I’ll post my own thoughts on this year’s SXSW. But there’s no way it’ll be anywhere near as good as Sarah Hepola’s review for The Morning News — and she didn’t even go!

It’s good to be back in Austin, Texas—hometown of Stevie Ray Vaughan, breakfast tacos, and sev Real World celebrities, possibly all named Dan. Back in New York, the wind is howling and homeless men are pissing into the subway grates. But here in Austin, the sun tickles my bare shoulders, and homeless men are pissing into fields of bluebonnets. Also, I’ve got a Shiner Bock in my hand. Wait, scratch that. Daniel Johnston just stole it from me, but he left me this beautiful napkin drawing of an alien with three boobs.

Read the rest

Fourteen years without new Tom Verlaine material is too long! But your patience has been rewarded with former Television-man releasing two excellent albums on the same day. Joy! Where Around explores Verliane’s ethereal, instrumental side, Songs and Other Things revels in his love of idiosyncratic pop. By turns poetic, impressionistic and melodic — the disc aptly demonstrates what I’ve always maintained — Verlaine is one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greats. Oh yeah, and there’s some really tasty guitar playing all over the place as well.

[ Click to buy it @ JoeRockhead.com! ]

The instrumental counterpart to the more song-based Songs and Other Things, Around recalls the legendary guitar slinger’s last solo album, the sublime Warm and Cool. At first blush these meditative tunes may seem raw, even fragmentary, but repeat exposures reveal a charming collection of considered guitar-playing craftsmanship. A must for any Verlaine, or for that matter electric guitar, fan.

[ Click to buy it @ JoeRockhead.com! ]

So I guess that maybe I’m a little late to the party when it comes to Luigi, who’s 2005 disc Found On The Forest Floor seems to have permanently wedged itself into my CD player as well as my brain. But even though they’re pretty well known around Atlanta, I don’t get the feeling that many people in the rest of the world are hip to them yet, so here I am to toot their horn a little bit. Luigi is made up of former members of Ultrababyfat and Magnapop, among others, and if you’re familiar with either of those two bands, you’ll sort of have an idea of what to expect. Found On The Forest Floor is an outstanding collection of bright, catchy guitar pop full of hooks that get stuck in your head and just won’t get out. Luigi is low-key, imaginative, smart, fun… Seriously, check ‘em out — they’ve got the goods. Hell, they even have a nutty video that apparently follows singer Michelle DuBois around at her day job working in, uh, the CSI lab or something. She can totally sing and look through a microscope at the same time — can your favorite band do that?

Along with the Go-Betweens, Mission of Burma is one of those rare instances where a classic cult band comes back together and not only doesn’t suck, but actually adds something of quality to a revered back catalog. The Obliterati is MOB’s second reunion release, and while the previous one was quite good (ONoffON), the new one rocks like a mother! The sound is classic Burma — guitars in-the-red, pounding drums, snaky bass — smothered with passionate vocals and razor sharp melodies that will continue to rattle around in your skull long after the album finishes. Seriously: one of 2006’s best releases.

[ Click to buy it @ JoeRockhead.com! ]

Norway’s Serena-Maneesh serve up a seven-layer dip of screeching, feedback-laden, melodic rock and roll goodness on their debut, the imaginatively titled, um, Serena-Maneesh. Previously only available as a pricy, hard-to-find import this fantastic CD should find a happy home in any CD collection that already contains any My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth or Jesus and Mary Chain! I never would have thought these words would pass my lips, but… Norwegians ROCK!

[ Click to buy it @ JoeRockhead.com! ]