Minnesota hip-hop duo Eyedea & Abilities just dropped a new video for the song “Junk”. The song was taken from their latest release By The Throat that was released in late July. I have always appreciated the duo as artists with their interesting beats and fast paced rhymes. Hearing this song today is making me think that they are taking a darker approach with the almost industrial sounding guitars. Still the song is interesting as the Matrix inspired video that accompanies it.
Category Archives: Music
Times Of Yore: Repo Man
Back in 1984 a certain movie came out focused around a group of men who ideally remove people’s cars from their property once the owners failed to pay the bank what was owed. The movie, Repo Man, of course was not just about stealing back cars for the bank and had a twist of sorts including aliens, drugs, and also offered one of the best punk rock movie soundtracks to date. The movie is a comedic sci-fi cult classic to many and still to this day one of my favorite movies to watch.
Starring a young brat pack Emilio Estevez (The Outsiders, St. Elmo’s Fire, Men At Work) as well as Harry Dean Stanton (Cool Hand Luke, Alien, Escape From New York) the movie focuses on Otto (played by Estevez), a young punk kid with hippie parents and no plans on life. Soon Otto meets up with Bud (played by Harry Dean Stanton) who takes him under his wing into the twisted world of booze, drugs, hi speed chases, and of course hot wiring cars. Soon Otto is part of the repo crew and he is slowly discovering a sense of maturity.
If the movie sounds boring to you then maybe I should also mention the hunt for a certain 1964 Chevrolet Malibu from New Mexico driven by crazed old man who has something hidden in the trunk. I am not going to ruin it for you but I can tell you the contents in the truck emit incredible heat and also vaporize anyone who opens the trunk door to see the actual contents. With a hefty reward for repossessing the car no one will stop at trying to get it.
Add a crew of druggie punk rockers raising hell in the city, a girl who wants to help the said aliens, and the lady with the tin foil hand this movie really goes all over the place. This crazy trip through the mean streets of L.A. is one hell of an adventure.
One of the highlights during the film for me is to see punk rockers The Circle Jerks playing as a lounge act at a bar that Otto visits. The song they play is a slowed down version of “When The Sh*t Hits The Fan”. I also loved all of the generic food products in the movie. Beer is labeled “Beer” and chips are labeled “Chips”. So generic yet so perfect for the movie especially when Otto eats of an open can of “Food”.
The soundtrack to the movie was one of the first of it’s kind as it was full of punk rock songs from major punk acts of the 80’s. Featuring Iggy Pop, The Plugz, Suicidal Tendencies, and Black Flag just to name a couple the soundtrack was like no other soundtrack of it’s time and remains a classic to this day.
I had actually purchased the soundtrack on cassette when I just was a young kid before I even saw the movie. Seeing a soundtrack featuring Iggy Pop and the Circle Jerks was good enough for me. I eventually grabbed a VHS copy of the move and watched that movie over and over. It was really one of the first movies I repeatedly would watch. Once DVDs came out a good friend of mine bought me the Repo Man collector’s DVD tin box that includes the movie and the soundtrack on CD. Score.
This movie is not going to ooh and aah people who are looking for something serious. It is a comedy action sci-fi punk rock movie with no structured plot other than a bunch of hoodlums trying to get the car to get the reward. Punk music backing up a movie about repo men, guns, drugs, violence, car chases, and a surprise ending. Can a movie get any better than this?
“Repo Man” performed by Iggy Pop:
Lights – Lights – CD/EP Review
The heavy on the synthesizer pop act Lights, also known as Valerie Poxleitner, has been getting a lot of hype for not even having a full length release out yet. It could be solely from her beauty seeing as she is capable of turning one or two hundred heads, but in all honesty this girl is more than just a looker. She is a musician and has the voice to prove it.
The Canadian born singer actually wrote her first song when she was only eleven years old. At twenty-two Valerie Poxleitner was discovered when she casted to be a model for corporate giant bastards Wal-Mart. The modeling supervisor asked if she was a musician while looking at a picture of the hopeful model holding a guitar. Without hesitation she began to sing for them and the rest is pretty much history.
Her songs were first featured in Old Navy commercials and before long, Lights was playing the Facebook party at the 2009 SXSW, appearing on Canada’s MuchMusic, and even playing live for MTV. After grabbing a Juno award for being the best artist of 2009 she jumped on board for a summer tour with the Van’s Warped Tour. All of this happened within a four year period and Lights is still going. With plans on releasing a full length album this September and also acting as a supporting artist for a Fall Keane tour, Lights certainly as a lot on her plate.
So what is the hype about Lights you ask? Trust me I was asking myself the same question. While at the Warped Tour this summer I missed out on seeing this Lights act everyone was talking about. I read the schedule wrong and completely missed her set. Finally I have obtained a copy of her EP and I must say it was an interesting listen.
Opener “Ice” reminded me of all the cheap pop acts out there I just never cared for. You know, the one time Mousekateers that grew up to be pop stars that have everyone else do the work for them while they look pretty. I had to keep reminding myself that this was an honest musician. This song aside from the poppiness was catchy and I loved the Vanilla Ice throw in.
“Drive My Soul” was down shifted a few gears from the opening track as was “February Air”. At times I though of Gwen Stefani when she ditched No Doubt to go solo. The one song I actually enjoyed was “I Owe You One”, a thank you song for someone special. I think if Ben Gibbard did some back-up vocals on this track it would have been awesome. I guess it’s me, but I feel the song was very reminiscent of The Postal Service.
Think of a modern day Cyndi Lauper, Tiffany, or Debbie Gibson with keyboards galore and that pretty much sums up Lights. Honestly while listening to the EP I kept hoping for Lights to break into “Goonies Are Good Enough” cover. All I could image was 80’s style throughout the six songs. It was just too much for me.
Björk may be Lights’ most major influence but there is not any egg laying on the red carpet crazy experimental anything going on in this EP. It is straight forward syth-pop music for all the pop fans out there and not for me.
Lights certainly has an amazing voice, and the looks as well. I think it is just the music that backs her vocals that turned me off from most of the tracks. I think with a full band backing her she would sound amazing in my ears and others for that matter. With her full length debut The Listening dropping in a little over a month I can honestly say I am curious to see what is to come.
“Drive My Soul” video:
Kid Koala Presents The Slew: LIVE
Kid Koala in my opinion is one of the most amazing vinyl manipulators out there. His ability of scratching vinyl is more of an art form at times especially when he lifts the needle from one groove on a record and drops it to the exact location of the next without missing a beat.
I have been a huge fan of him since I was first introduced to him on his debut Carpel Tunnel Sundrome on Ninja Tune. I loved the experimental feel and the constant scratching that was more of an instrument to the album over just your typical beat interjections.
I have been a fan of scratching for as long as I can remember. Thanks to acts like Praxis as well as RUN DMC I was fond of the style. I used to take my old records and try to emulate them on my Fisher Price record player. Sadly I never acheived the sound.
Recently I learned that the DJ is back with an all new project titled The Slew Tour. The tour is rather a score for a film turned into live set featuring Dynomite D as well as the former rhythm section of Wolfmother. The film was actually scrapped while Kid Koala was working on it but thanks to interest from the Austrailian rockers and Kid Koala’s determination the score was turned into a traveling show.
Armed with six turntables Kid Koala and master mixer Dynomite D will be taking stage with Chris Ross and Myles Heskett of Wolfmother. This is going to be one of those performances not to miss.
Of course the tour is skipping Cleveland. Every opportunity I have ever had to see Kid Koala live has failed. Years ago he came to nearby club in Oberlin with his jam band project Bullfrog. For reasons unknown I did not go and I regret it.
Let me give you a hint of how much I dig Kid Koala. Two of my tattoos are Kid Koala inspired. Actually they were taken from his graphic novel Nufonia Must Fall.
I hope one day to see Kid Koala live. His turntable abilites blow me away while listening, I can only imaging what would happen if I were to see it with my eyes. Oh well, there is always next time
Info about The Slew from an email I received from the fine people of Terrorbird Media:
A couple of years back Eric San (aka Kid Koala) and Dylan J. Frombach (aka Dynomite D) were approached to soundtrack a new documentary feature film that was in production. Koala was already well known for his uncanny turntable manipulation, whilst Dylan had remixed Money Mark and collaborated with the Beastie Boys, amongst others. The duo worked for a long time on the psych rock-influenced score, only for the filming to collapse and any release to be canned. Although the film may never see the light of day, its music is about to be brought to life on stage.
Recently Koala & Dylan met the former rhythm section of Grammy Award-winning Australian rock band Wolfmother and began telling them all about the film and its lost music. Chris Ross and Myles Heskett loved the clips and urged that the material had to be heard; subsequently Kid Koala and the guys decided to put a show on the road.
After intensive rehearsals the show is now ready to go. Featuring drums, bass/keys and the DJs working across a truly excessive six turntables, the set is seventy minutes of raw guitar cuts and heavy beats. We can guarantee that you will never have heard anything quite like this and also that you are unlikely to again. It’s a one-off tour, so when it stops in your town you’ll either be there or will have missed it forever.
Anyone who has seen previous Kid Koala events will not be disappointed – from Kid Koala’s incendiary solo turntable spectaculars to the Nufonia book launch, Deltron 3030 live to the Short Attention Span Theater.
Brash, loud and defiantly turned up to eleven. The Slew Tour is coming to your town. Don’t miss it.
TOUR DATES:
WED 9/23
VANCOUVER, BC
CommodoreTHUR 9/24
SEATTLE, WA
NectarFRI 9/25
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
IndependentSUN 9/27
LOS ANGELES, CA
Key ClubWED 9/30
BROOKLYN, NY
Music Hall Of WilliamsburgTHUR 10/1
BOSTON, MA
Great ScottFRI 10/2
MONTREAL, QC
La TulipeSAT 10/3
TORONTO, ON
Lee’s PalaceSUN 10/4
CHICAGO, IL
Abbey
Here are a couple MP3’s from the tour only album 100% for your listening enjoyment:
DOWNLOAD THIS! – Kid Koala – “It’s All Over”
DOWNLOAD THIS! – Kid Koala – “You Turn Me Cold”
Kid Koala in action:
Neat video for “Fender Bender” found on Carpel Tunnel Syndrome:
Speaking of Bullfrog:
The Sidekicks – SAM – 7″ Review
I just found my new favorite hometown punk rock band thanks to a friend who literally left me their four song 7″ SAM in my door on Monday. I still have yet to hear their full release but I can tell you that from the four songs I heard I was turned to an instant fan.
The band is called The Sidekicks and they hail from all three major Ohio cities according to their MySpace page. Recently just playing Berea Fest IV the band has a pretty big east coast tour lined up in front of them where they will finish off in NYC but only to hit the road again at the end of October to play the Gainsville, FL Fest 8.
The 7″ was actually a tie me over until their full length So Long, Soggy Dog was released and just gives you a small taste of how great this band is. Heavy pop punk with hints towards acts like The Falcon, The Lawrence Arms, Gaslight Anthem, The Get Up Kids, even O Pioneers!!! This band has some serious potential at making a name for themselves with their upbeat punk as well as a matured indie rock feel.
I did not know what to expect when I spun this 7″ and “Hop On A Sea Cow & Manatee Up” played, but I can tell you I was moderately shocked at how solid sounding it was. The band has some serious talent and this song alone won me over. The first band that came to mind if someone asked me what this song sounded like easily would be Millencolin.
“Bryant Gregst (gets nervous)” honestly had more so an indie rock feel to it but that did not discourage me one bit. The singing alone was so charismatic and inviting I had to give it another listen just to enjoy it some more. “The Island” again was more so an indie rock jam but it was so good especially at the climax of the song where lead singer just explodes vocally.
For a mere four bucks this 7″ can be yours too by heading over to Woah Oh Records, or if you prefer you can download it from iTunes as well. If you want to take it a step further head over to Vinyl Collective and put in and order their full length So Long, Soggy Dog.
If you are a fan of punk rock you really need to at least check these guys out. From what I hear their live shows are not to be missed and now that I know of their existence I will make a huge effort to hit one of their shows.
I’m not sure how much longer a band like The Sidekicks will be and underground punk band seeing as they have the skills to play with the big boys. I can only imagine the crowd at Fest 8 when The Sidekicks introduce themselves to all the punk rock loving fans. I am sure the outcome of their set will be amazing.
Just do me a favor guys, don’t forget about Cleveland.
The Sidekicks – Hop On a Sea Cow & Manatee Up from If You Make It on Vimeo.