From the monthly archives:

September 2008

Why Do We Have To Try To See With A Thousand Eyes?

September 30, 2008

Ohhhh reverb-drenched heavy psych, you knock me out.
I cut my teeth on the Buttholes (you heard me), so pour it on, Crystal Antlers, pour it on. (Younger cats who cut their teeth on Comets On Fire might want to have it poured on as well.)
Crystal Antlers – A Thousand Eyes from EP
http://www.myspace.com/crystalantlers
[photo by Malia [...]

Read the full article →

Don’t Be Afraid Of What You’ve Learned

September 29, 2008

My favorite songs on Blitzen Trapper’s first album Wild Mountain Nation had that feel like they weren’t brand-new songs — they felt like they’d always been around, and Blitzen Trapper had just helped them to surface.
Furr has that sound start-to-finish. Like when you finally get around to listening to a “classic” album — familiar, new, [...]

Read the full article →

I’ve Got Two Little Arms To Hold On Tight

September 26, 2008

This one also comes under the category of festival vets showing the kids how it’s done.
Jason Pierce returned from the other side, brought his backup singers and band, faced into the sun and wind, and put music and words together in ways that made people feel things that some of us still feel.
Spiritualized – Soul [...]

Read the full article →

Cheesecake, Fake Name, Disco Ball

September 25, 2008

Treasure Island Appreciation Week continues with the next item of my list of hey-me-likes.
Today I’m reflecting on how nice it can be to see young bands. Not necessarily young in age (though they always are), but young in development — great energy and commitment, lots of potential, not quite all together yet.
Like take for instance [...]

Read the full article →

Scarves Of Red Tied ’Round Their Throats

September 24, 2008

Next up on the list of awesome things about festivals? Seeing really together bands that sound very good and like they are just about to blow up huge. That was Fleet Foxes, who, for 35 minutes on Sunday, made the small stage at Treasure Island feel like the only place in the world.
“Mykonos” was my [...]

Read the full article →

If This Is The Last Song That You Hear

September 23, 2008

One of the natural benefits of the festival format is getting the chance to hear music from people you’re unfamiliar with (whom you’re unfamiliar). The Treasure Island folks did a great job this year of putting top-notch local acts into the early slots.
I had heard praise for Or, The Whale over at ipickmynose, so I [...]

Read the full article →

How’d You Get To Be Happiness?

September 22, 2008

Those words wafted across the crowd Saturday at the Treasure Island Music Festival, and while they are not from the song I’m posting, they describe my experience this weekend much better than “nasal douche.”
As you can see from this right-on photo (taken Saturday by Paige K. Parsons), the TIMF was windy and wondrous.
I got a [...]

Read the full article →

I Just Wiggle My Toes On A Mink Rug

September 19, 2008

Awwww yeah.
Mrs. Vegetables got to shake Rappin’ 4-Tay’s hand back in the day in ninety-foe.
I’m pretty sure that’s as far as it went.
Anyways, have a good weekend and be your own self person.
Rappin’ 4-Tay – Playaz Club from Don’t Fight The Feelin’
http://www.myspace.com/rappin4tay415

Read the full article →

It Makes My Past And Future Painfully Clear

September 18, 2008

Isn’t this the way it always goes? There’s some kind of music you think you’ve got a handle on, you know what it’s about, you appreciate it. Then all of a sudden there’s this rush of interest in it in the world, and you’re like what? James Murphy is totally into 70s disco? So you [...]

Read the full article →

It’s Funny How I Have To Put It To Rest, And How One Day I Will Join It

September 17, 2008

I’ve told you again and again that the powers of the Avett Brothers are mighty, mighty, mighty. There is a level of songwriting here that goes beyond just your regular old great. When I talk about the Avetts’ songwriting, I mention names that you do not mention.
Add to this their astoundingly passionate live shows, and [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries