Ok, so, yeah, we might have missed some of our favorite people and favorite bands at the Pitchfork Festival over the weekend, but goodness, some of those sweaty crowd shots made me quite grateful not to be there! (Heck, we didn't even bother to hit any of the shows in town this weekend either, it really was to bloody hot to do anything productive...) Anyway, there's tons of great Pitchfork recaps and photo grouings floating around -- the coverage at Gaper's Block (from our pal Matt) is quite nice, and Chicagoist's Flickr sets (one, two) are thorough without being overkill.
I've been madly sorting through mp3s for our dj gig at the Chain Drive Wednesday (we're usually strictly vinyl only, but we want to be a bit more au courant at these shows), and as a result have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with a few albums and artists that I'd inadvertently neglected for one reason or another.
There's something really appealing about the Victorian English Gentlemens Club's bizzarely so-retro-they're-positively-futuristic Sparks-meets-Pixies, B52's-meets-Wire vibe. I have to admit, I'm the kind of listener that focuses on the actual instrumentation over lyrical content when I first listen to a band -- so the times when I'm struck by both simultaneously are few and far between. Frontman Adam's vocals are positively caustic, but they grow on you, I promise; the rhythm section of Louise on bass and Emma on drums pack a real impressive punch -- send me anyone who says that girls can't rock out, and these ladies will set them straight. And really, they all have fantastic style as well:
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club -- Stupid as Wood
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club -- Cannonball
I can't believe I've been sitting on this Max Tundra track from his Tomlab alphabet series 7" release for as long as I have, it's kind of embarassing -- it's a 1989 cover of The KLF's "What Time Is Love" -- if you're a fan of Mr. Tundra's work, it's kind of neat to know he was already ripping songs up by covering them back when he was 16! And, as an aside, I can't encourage you more heartily to check out the Tomlab alphabet 7" series overall -- especially if you're a fan of great design and/or of bleeding edge music that defies genre classification.
Max Tundra -- What Time Is Love
This is turning into a rather UK-focused post, not through any particular agenda. The Veils Nux Vomica (yes, they named their album for the plant that produces strychnine, due out Sept. 11) is the total sleeper hit of my summer -- along with The French Kicks' Two Thousand, but we've already talked quite enough about that... It's a deliciously coherent and creepy album, just a little turn around the corner from the band's slightly more upbeat (but still rather moody and dark) debut, The Runaway Found. And yes, like some other bands with new offerings lately (namely The Sills), The Veils underwent a big personnel change after a post-debut implosion (sidebar: could Band of Horses be headed for something similar), but everything seems to be working out just fine with the new personnel. Here's a few new tracks and an old favorite.
The Veils -- Advice For Young Mothers To Be
The Veils -- Pan
The Veils -- The Tide That Left and Never Came Back
Goodness, look at me, being all legit-mp3 blogger-like with this post. I suppose I should throw in that Pinkie and I managed to put together some really awesome new outfits on the cheap this weekend (because, honestly, rich girls we ain't, lately) and spent way too much time gossiping and knitting and watching movies -- like the director's cut of Legend, which I'd never seen. Boy, if you really want to put how bonkers Tom Cruise has become in perspective, just watch that flick...
But the highlight of the weekend was probably when we had to spend an extra 10 minutes at the video store because they were playing the Guns'n'Roses video collection, and "November Rain" was on. I'd forgotten what a magnificently underrated work of art that video is... (But, is that Riki Rachtman diving through the cake?)
I've been madly sorting through mp3s for our dj gig at the Chain Drive Wednesday (we're usually strictly vinyl only, but we want to be a bit more au courant at these shows), and as a result have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with a few albums and artists that I'd inadvertently neglected for one reason or another.
There's something really appealing about the Victorian English Gentlemens Club's bizzarely so-retro-they're-positively-futuristic Sparks-meets-Pixies, B52's-meets-Wire vibe. I have to admit, I'm the kind of listener that focuses on the actual instrumentation over lyrical content when I first listen to a band -- so the times when I'm struck by both simultaneously are few and far between. Frontman Adam's vocals are positively caustic, but they grow on you, I promise; the rhythm section of Louise on bass and Emma on drums pack a real impressive punch -- send me anyone who says that girls can't rock out, and these ladies will set them straight. And really, they all have fantastic style as well:
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club -- Stupid as Wood
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club -- Cannonball
I can't believe I've been sitting on this Max Tundra track from his Tomlab alphabet series 7" release for as long as I have, it's kind of embarassing -- it's a 1989 cover of The KLF's "What Time Is Love" -- if you're a fan of Mr. Tundra's work, it's kind of neat to know he was already ripping songs up by covering them back when he was 16! And, as an aside, I can't encourage you more heartily to check out the Tomlab alphabet 7" series overall -- especially if you're a fan of great design and/or of bleeding edge music that defies genre classification.
Max Tundra -- What Time Is Love
This is turning into a rather UK-focused post, not through any particular agenda. The Veils Nux Vomica (yes, they named their album for the plant that produces strychnine, due out Sept. 11) is the total sleeper hit of my summer -- along with The French Kicks' Two Thousand, but we've already talked quite enough about that... It's a deliciously coherent and creepy album, just a little turn around the corner from the band's slightly more upbeat (but still rather moody and dark) debut, The Runaway Found. And yes, like some other bands with new offerings lately (namely The Sills), The Veils underwent a big personnel change after a post-debut implosion (sidebar: could Band of Horses be headed for something similar), but everything seems to be working out just fine with the new personnel. Here's a few new tracks and an old favorite.
The Veils -- Advice For Young Mothers To Be
The Veils -- Pan
The Veils -- The Tide That Left and Never Came Back
Goodness, look at me, being all legit-mp3 blogger-like with this post. I suppose I should throw in that Pinkie and I managed to put together some really awesome new outfits on the cheap this weekend (because, honestly, rich girls we ain't, lately) and spent way too much time gossiping and knitting and watching movies -- like the director's cut of Legend, which I'd never seen. Boy, if you really want to put how bonkers Tom Cruise has become in perspective, just watch that flick...
But the highlight of the weekend was probably when we had to spend an extra 10 minutes at the video store because they were playing the Guns'n'Roses video collection, and "November Rain" was on. I'd forgotten what a magnificently underrated work of art that video is... (But, is that Riki Rachtman diving through the cake?)
posted by cindy hotpoint at 4:38:00 PM
11 Comments:
dude. that video is art. ripe for analysis. and my enjoyment and mocking thereof probably goes along with the fact that, without fail, every time i totally have it for a guy i find out that he was a hesher in highschool, that he can mock yngwie malmsteen endlessly, and that he can still play "hot for teacher," "seventeen" (yes, i referenced winger), or "dee" on command even if he hasn't actually played guitar in years. and yes, i realise that i just described my ex...among other men who i may, or may not, have asked out recently.
Ripe for analysis! It is! No one cares when you're hurting, Axl knows. One of my finer moments, if I do say so myself.
As for the rest, well, this link really says it all for me...
I was too nerdy and dorky and (possibly) even too snobby to ever even think about dating heshers in high school. Also, I'm still not sure how I feel about men with long hair. (;
except for smokin' hot neighbor guy with the hotass handlebar moustache (god, i just descended in self-expression, didn't i), men with long hair are off the list. it's all about the reformed hesher. or something. and yeah, it's an affliction. no matter how am-i-goth-or-not i was in high school or college, i was always with some dork with hair longer than mine, and once with the proud owner of pearl-finish BC rich warlock. how bout that "goth" finish p-bass in the musician's f(r)iend catalog? i think it came down to the fact that all the goth boys i knew were flaming queens.
and yes, that was exactly the yngwie malmsteen cover i was thinking about. (the J is for "jackass.")
Oh lord-on-fire, your hot neighbor with the handlebar moustache and that pretty hair is SO, so fiiiine. It's really not okay to see him at the grocery store when we're all exhausted and skungy. But yeah, outside of him, no long-hairs!
I admit, the idea of a reformed hesher now certainly is interesting, considering how many hidden metal proclivities I have. Ha!
Sidebar: I totally had to throw that catalog away because I was seriously tempted to buy that gothed-out SG. We may have joked about it, but... it's just I want!
Very good call on the VEGC love by the by.
Mr. K: They're so delightfully good -- and hey, I almost wrote about The Indelicates the other day, but they didn't fit in the rest of the entry. I really like your blog -- nice stuff!
Isn't the director's cut of Legend the one that has the Tangerine Dream score taken off of it? Because if so I can't endorse your choice of versions.
;)
Susan
yes, the ridley scott cut is the one that has a traditional score instead of the tangerine dream score. it wasn't first choice, but it was what waterloo video had on saturday night. i have late fees at vulcan('t), so there weren't other options. but there are some special features that have the original soundtrack...and a bryan ferry video. bryan ferry always makes it better, even if he's wearing a powder blue motocross jacket with exagerrated shoulders.
Bleeding edge music?
You kids. Always so irritable and sassy.
Mr. Biggs: A girl only has so many made-up idioms to toss about in a given day, seriously.
Nice choice in putting the Veils, can't wait for the album. The Runaway Found was amazing.
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