It's Christmmmmmaaaaassss!

Alright, peeps, Christmas season is upon us which means it's time for Christmas songs. Starting off with one of the worst Christmas songs I've ever heard, it's Jive Bunny's Let's Party. I thought I'd exorcised this demon from my consciousness, but it somehow popped into my head the other day. Click play and witness the horror.

Kill, kill, kill...

Kill the turkey.

A little Thanksgiving love from The National.

Four more years

Well done, America. Keep on rockin' in the free world.

Celebration Day

Tonight, I went to a screening of Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day. Disclaimer: I've never been a huge Zeppelin fan, I heard way too much of them in high school, but I certainly like them. I totally respect them and will pull out an album from time to time, but the stoners in high school pretty much killed off most of my enthusiasm for the band.

I remember reading about this show when it was first announced and didn't think much of it back then and never really heard anything after it happened. I read about this screening the other day (it would be a one-time screening) and again, I was skeptical, but I decided to check it out anyways. Imagine my surprise. It's absolutely jaw-dropping, start to finish. Seriously.

Yeah, Robert Plant can't hit the high notes like he used to but he still commands the stage. Jimmy Page shows up in a big way, showing he's still a master. John Paul Jones' bass and keyboards are excellent and Jason Bonham more than fills in for his late father, John Bonham; he plays like he belongs up there with those three legends.

They looked loose and playful while the musicianship was immense and tight. There was a moment before the first encore when Jimmy Page affectionately rubbed Jason Bonham's head. It made me think of how those three guys saw Jason as a child so many years ago and now there he was, a man honoring his father.

This wasn't the cash-in that I originally thought it might be. These guys played their hearts out while honoring (Atlantic Records founder) Ahmet Ertegun, John Bonham and their own legacy. They had fun and it showed.

The crowd in the theater was sparse, maybe around 20 people. There was a kid to my left, early to mid 20s, fist-pumping throughout the entire film. There was an older woman in front of me, easily in her 60s, her head nodding along to every song. There were a couple burnout looking hippies. There was a 20ish girl sitting alone at the other end of my row. Nearly everyone cheered and clapped after each song. A couple people would yell out in appreciation during a Page solo or when Plant would somehow find that extra gear and ratchet up the intensity. Standard concert behaviour. It was almost like being there, probably as close as I'll ever get to seeing Led Zeppelin live, and perhaps one of the very few times where you wouldn't mind people making that kind of noise in a movie theater. It was definitely a riveting experience.

If you like rock n' roll. If you think you like rock n' roll. See this now. They may be older now, but Led Zeppelin will show you how it's done.

Check out the trailer below. The BD, DVD and CDs will be out next month, on November 19th.

We could be the greatest

One of my favorite songs of 2012.

 

It Came from the 70s!

One of the benefits(?) of being unemployed is that I can spend lots of time making mixes. I've previously done the 80s and 90s, and now here is my version of the 70s. This one took me nearly a couple months of tinkering, adding and deleting and re-adding. It was kinda fun, really, there was a lot of stuff I'd forgotten about. Some of it for good reason. In any case most of these are just songs I loved as a kid, a few of these bands I've gotten into late; but they're all from the 70s in all their glory. Tracklist after the jump and check the comments for the r*a*r files. Enjoy.

Ascend

In case you've missed it, Godspeed You! Black Emperor are back with a new album called Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!. Despite the unwieldy title, this is another fine entry in the GYBE catalog. Apparently they've been selling copies of the album on their current tour, although they weren't available when I saw them last April. In any case, someone was kind enough to post the entire album and you can listen to it in full without even leaving this page. (You wouldn't want to leave this page, right? Right?)

Somebody isn't faking, someone's heart is breaking

Reading a really good article about power pop, I was recently reminded of Utopia's self-titled 1982 album. Chock full of great, catchy pop songs; man, I used to play this album to death. I love the way they really thrown themselves, vocally, into the songs. It's like they think these might be the last songs they'll ever sing.

Utopia - Bad Little Actress

I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy

I like this video, the opening monologue has a David Lynch feel to it. The song itself is magnificent as far as I'm concerned. You'll be able to find this on the Paradise Edition of Born To Die, which is coming next month and features 8 new tracks.

You make me feel like I'm the enemy

Minutes turn into hours into days into months. We used to have fun, now you make me feel like I'm the enemy.

The Raveonettes - The Enemy

Show me your scars

Frankie Rose's Pair of Wings is by far one of the loveliest songs I've heard this year. Frankie is a she, and she's ex Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts and Dum Dum Girls, if you need a pedigree. Check out her album, Interstellar, it's worth the time.

Frankie Rose - Pair of Wings

These are old blues

I've been having a Joanna Newsom sorta weekend, though I don't know what that says about how I'm feeling. Nevermind that, though. Today, I remembered this cover of Joanna Newsom's Sadie I heard some years ago, by this guy called Danny Malone. I don't know much about him except that he's from Austin, Texas. He turns Sadie into a sprawling alt-country number and it comes off remarkably well, in my estimation. Check out more of Danny Malone's music here.

Danny Malone - Sadie

I came back for more

Good news, everbody! Aimee Mann's new album, Charmer, was released today, and it's a gem. Subtle pop hooks mixed with biting wit and self-deprecating lyrics. So, typical Aimee Mann, then. And with the new album, comes a new video. This video for Labrador is very amusing and a nod to her old 'Til Tuesday days, if you remember them.

Lyrically, she compares herself to a dog who just keeps coming back for more no matter how bad you treat it. Visually, the video is sort of an update (remake?) to 'Til Tuesday's Voices Carry. And look for Jon Hamm in the vid! You can check out both videos below and you can pick up Charmer here.

It Came from the 90s!

For some reason, I felt like doing this decade as well. I suspect I'll probably do 00's and 70's mixes at some point as well. It's kinda fun, actually. Like the 80's mix, I stuck with one track per artist (which can be incredibly difficult) and tried to keep it under 700mb, which is the size of one blank CDR. So, for better or worse, this list is my version of the 90's.

As a friend said, it would be easy to be revisionist about it, but I did love bands like Oasis and Sarah McLachlan at one point. There are more than a few of these bands that I've outgrown, I haven't listened to some of this stuff in ages before undertaking this task, but these songs still touch me; or at least bring back some memories. In any case, it's all in good fun. As usual, feel free to mock me or praise me in the comments. I can handle it. Tracklist after the jump and R*A*R*s are in the comments.

30 years ago today

Man, I can't believe the US Festival was 30 years ago today (3/9/82). I totally wanted to go to this, but, believe it or not, this was actually a time when I was too young to do stuff like that. C'est la vie. Oh, and long live the Ramones! This video has their full 20-minute US Festival set. The sound is impeccable. 1-2-3-4!

Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment
Rock 'n' Roll High School
I Wanna Be Sedated
Beat on the Brat
The KKK Took My Baby Away
Here Today Gone Tomorrow
Chinese Rock
Teenage Lobotomy

I Belong in Your Arms

This is pretty sweet. A Japanese version of I Belong in Your Arms by Chairlift. There is a limited edition 7" of this version available here, in case you're interested. You can find the original version on their excellent album, Something, which was released earlier this year.

Chairlift - I Belong in Your Arms (Japanese Version)

Play

I recently discovered iamamiwhoami's Kin. It's pretty great; kind of like what you'd pour out if Bjork, Fever Ray and Portishead were all dropped into a blender. But whatever, the comparison is just to give you an idea; this album stands on its own.

I ran into Play about two weeks ago and I can't stop listening to it. This song is like a joyous celebration of life, love; whatever. It's like magic.

She's done up videos for each of the 9 songs on the album, you can check them out if you click here.

iamamiwhoami - Play

Faustian Echoes

I'm finally going to see Agalloch this coming weekend (at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco). I got into them a couple of years ago when they gave us Marrow of the Spirit. I remember looking up more info after first hearing the album and being disappointed that I missed their show which was barely a couple weeks prior to my discovery of them. But, you know, that's just the way it goes.

2012 brings us a new Agalloch EP, Faustian Echoes, the title track of which is a 21 minute epic that I'm looking forward to hearing in a live setting. I'm also looking forward to hearing my favorite song, Black Lake Nidstång, another epic (17 minutes!) which you can find on the aforementioned Marrow of the Spirit Album. I can't wait! In the meantime, check out Faustian Echoes.

Agalloch - Faustian Echoes

Robot Hero in Print

I've been meaning to scan this for ages and have only now just gotten around to it. This is the only time anything I've ever written has been printed in an actual, physical magazine. It was 2005 and I reviewed Kate Bush's Aerial for Slow Graffiti, which was a zine that was published by people from the now defunct Bowlie message board. Upon re-reading the review, I still feel the same way about the album although I would worded some of my thoughts a bit differently at this point in my life.

Also, I feel compelled to say that I've been learning to love The Red Shoes. Well, maybe not love it, but at least enjoy it on some level. It's not as bad as I make it out to be, it's just a departure from what she had been doing up to that point. In any case, the aforementioned review is pictured below. If you feel like reading it, you can click on the image to enlarge it.

Spring of Life

I've been so busy being unemployed, I missed a Perfume single that dropped a few months ago. So this new song, Spring of Life, is pretty much more of the same with Perfume, which is not a problem for me because I like the formula. Electro/dance music with sparkling production and the auto-tuned voices of gorgeous Japanese girls; what's not to love? It's simply a good time.

What really puts this song over the top for me is the video. I love the robot theme. It sorta makes me think of Blade Runner and all the little "friends" that are created by J.F. Sebastian. And the girls' electric light dresses are pretty spectacular. Check it out.

Perfume - Spring of Life