KEXP, Summer Concerts, and the Future of Radio

I’m amazed at what can happen in a single month. I look up, and it’s been over a Month since I’ve posted to the Dagger. I promise the wait was worth it!

As many of you know, I’m passionate about Music and Public Radio. That’s why I’m very excited to announce I am officially taking this High Wire act to the National level and will be posting full-time at a place very near and dear to my heart: KEXP 90.3 Seattle. It’s an honor to do it and my first post on their wildly popular Blog (blog.kexp.org)  went off without a hitch. It actually turned out to be a pretty big event for the Station and looked like a fun day in New York! It’s fun working with a bunch of people at KEXP who are passionate about what they do. Of course they picked up on my obsession right away….. Hee Hee

Now that wasn’t the only thing going on. Oh No! I also happen to be doing some consulting/writing for a local company that’s bringing some really exciting new technology to Terrestrial Radio. I’ve also learned a hell of a lot more about the Radio Industry than I ever thought I would in the process. After all this, I’m confident we are heading down the right path though and it will be interesting to see us pull the project off. Very cool stuff - stand by for more on this soon!

So with these new Music comittments, it also offords me the opportunity to check out a few more shows this Summer. I’ll be writing and covering a slew of Summer Events for the Station as well as the Dagger. I plan on doing some live Blogging as well as Twitter updates so you can get instant feedback on the Bands I’m checking out. Want to know where I’ll be this Summer? Check out these local events:

July 12 & 13 - Sub Pop 20 - Marymoor Park

July 25 & 26 - Capitol Hill Block Party

August 9 - KEXP BBQ - South Lake Union Discovery Center

Aug 30 - Sept 1 - Bumbershoot

 

 

A minor update, prior to a larger big ass update later……

I’ve been bad lately with updating my pages - my excuse is I’ve had a ton of other stuff going on lately. I’ve been re-joined with an old partner of mine on a music venture of sorts that’s been eating up a lot of my “writing” free time and I’ve been long overdue for a post here. I’ll post more if and when it all actually happens, but it’s an exciting opportunity and hopefully we can make something great.

Anyway, on to the Music! Since my last post (somewhere around 199 I’ve seen some great shows of all varieties. It started with French Electro Pop band The Teenagers, Australia’s Cut Copy and ending with the UK power duo - The Kills. I’m kinda skipping on Swervedriver tonight (although, damn…..) but I’ll make up for it by seeing The Foals on Friday night. Sasquatch was this past weekend (yawn…), as was the Folklife Festival (yawn…)and a bunch of other gun-toting events in town. The other bands were memorable, but nobody brought it like The Kills. I didn’t realize Alison Mosshart was quite this hot; so let’s just say this was total confirmation. Unbelievable stage chemistry between her and band mate Jamie Hince. Check out this clip: HERE  - What I always tell people about great bands is that you can’t fake passion and these two have probably lost more than most bands will ever have. I’m glad their live show lived p to the expectations I was putting on them. So far, my favorite show of the year.

More about Festivals later, for now…….Sleep. 

Pitchfork…..you’ve been served - FOALS rule!

Not only has the whole “Pitchfork effect“ been kind of bugging me for quite some time - I finally realized something else today. People look to these guys as an Indie HQ of sorts, and somewhat of the gold standard when it comes to finding the latest Band of the minute. I still completely disagree with putting an actual measurable “score” out there as a guide of what you should listen to. It’s kind of “elitist” wouldn’t you say? I’d rather read a hundred listener reviews than someones individual opinion I don’t know or don’t trust. The great thing about Music though is that it’s so subjective. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, and what I like may or may not appeal to the next person and vice versa. There can’t really be a right or wrong in Music if you really think about it.

So here’s why Pitchfork needs to be served. Today, I ask a buddy of mine if he’s heard the new FOALS album (Antidotes). He had not. So then I notice the 1st thing he does is pull up the Pitchfork web site and looks at the rating: Do you know what they scored this amazing new album? A 5.9

Now does that sound like an album you wold want to listen to? Probably not. Would you even bother to read the review if you noticed the score was that low? Most people probably wouldn’t. So this brings me to my point - I know it’s my own individual palette so I’m kind of fighting against my own argument here - but I find this album amazing and I am simply stunned by the low score. I have this CD in heavy rotation right now and don’t let it out of my sight for long - take that for what it’s worth (probably not a whole hell of a lot). Once I see their live show later this month - I’ll know the truth. 

I’m just glad I didn’t judge this book by it’s cover (even though I kinda like that too….)

 

Sasquatch, Coachella, Bumbershoot, and New Releases

Wow, 2008 is shaping to be a great year for music and absolutely everything it touches. The industry is re-writing itself almost everyday and it’s been fascinating to watch it from afar. If I could figure a way to harness all this I would be rich, but even I don’t have a clue where all this is headed. Of course that same uncertainty and “New Frontier” mentality also make it that much more appealing to me. Talk about a double-edged sword ass whooping! Now I’m starting to even see a few “fan supported” labels popping up which is an interesting concept that seems to have some legs. My chief concern is that people have been listening to (i.e. force-fed) bad music for so long, they might know what good music even sounds like anymore. They might have to be “led” down the right path and so there goes that model…

Summer is right around the corner though and that always means one thing: Festivals! I want to start by saying I’m way impressed with Coachella this year. All I can say is Prince playing is a BIG FUCKING DEAL! Find out how many Festivals he’s ever played and it makes it even that much bigger. Hype it up people. Hey, we also managed to have a few decent line-ups for a couple of our own little local events. For instance, Sasquatch has R.E.M. and Modest Mouse, The Cure and Death Cab for Cutie, and The Flaming Lips doing their UFO show! - I’m not even sure what that even is, but it sounds pretty bad ass! And even though it’s way early: Stone Temple Pilots and Beck are both confirmed for Bumbershoot.

I promise New Music and rare finds and I will deliver. So for New Releases you will definitely want to pick up the new Does it Offend You, Yeah? CD, but then you already knew to do that after my previous posts.

Here’s a few fresh new bands on the UK tip:

Florence and The Machine - I heard a lot of chatter about them at SXSW and with good reason. Radar Magazine’s best of show? What you say? Very cool stuff. Check references of her and said water fountain. Thank me later. Chill out and listen to this. Throwing Bricks Rehearsal - peep that song. Wow.

The Wombats - Fresh from Liverpool bitches. Check out Moving to New York for a nice sample of their work. Exactly the poppy mess I’d expect from a group of snot-nosed British kids - but you’ll love it.

The Foals - Want to know why Sub Pop signed these guys? Cause they kill, and their sound is completely original. Swimming against the current (the U.K. Pop scene) in a river of mediocrity (also, the U.K. Pop scene) - this is wonderful stuff. Playing local May 30^th!

Top 15 Showdown – (insert evil laugh…)

OK, like I said, I’ve been reviewing what I’m going to do here with my Top 15. I’ve got a million ideas running thru my head, but half the energy to do most of them. I look at a lot of sites, and have a lot of different ways I discover music, but here are a few of my favorites – more changes in the coming days:

 

And p.s. - sorry to those I’ve dropped off the list! It’s been a good ride!

 

Marathonpacks – still solid. Great content without all the “fuss”

 

Gorilla vs. Bear – Almost getting too “commercially” for me, but still a great place for discovery. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

 

Stereogum – Love the new site design.

 

Muzzle of Bees – One of my Favorites for a while…

 

  

Deleted due to lack of “freshness”:

Fluxblog (*yawn)

Aquarium Drunkard (HATE the new site design…)

You Ain’t no Picasso (You ain’t ought to be messing with a good thing….)

 

P.S. The changes have already been made to the sidebar, so it’s really like the top 13 now or something…. 

When user submitted questions go bad…….Rachael Ray Edition

I know this is a Music site, but damn. I couldn’t let this pass. So TIME Magazine thought it would be a good idea to open up the web site and allow people to openly post questions for an upcoming Interview with Rachel Ray from the Food Network. What was probably a bad idea was then displaying said questions on their website. What followed ws pure genius. I’ll share a few of my personal favorites:

Posted by Marc in Bergen County, NJ: Rachael why do you pretend your marriage is stable, when clearly it’s about to crumble and have catastrophic repercussions?

Posted by Robert in San Juan, P.R.: I have often observed you commiting kitchen hygiene faux pas on 30 minute meals. Is it due to limited time or you don’t know any better?

Posted by Shameeka Jenkins in Atlanta: Why is your face on a box of chicken stock at Wal-Mart?

Posted by Gobbles Jones in San Antonio: Have you not realized your ass now has its own ZIP code?

Posted by Tami Tole in Derby: Why did you pick such an unflattering wedding dress? With your fat shoulders and arms, a halter top dress is the last thing you should have worn.

 

Electro-pop U.K. goodies… And a notice to my Top 15

 

I’ve been listening to so much sweet music lately - there’s just too much great stuff out there not to be sharing. It’s much on the UK tip as usual, but check out some of UK’s greatest new bands of the minute…..

This was a really cool “bleeding edge” find  from London - FACTORY FLOOR - This will be difficult for some people to get into, but the song “Bipolar” gave me the creeps. Scary potential here…..

I’ve ben listening to this German band for a while now, but THE NOTWIST have a great new album coming out later this Spring (June U.S. release). Check out the sound on this brand new track off their upcoming Album The Devil, You + Me: Good Lies

Of the gooiest pop-variety, check out this Northern UK band - THE TING TINGS

And I’ve been holding onto this one for a while - and this London band definitely wins the award for craziest band name of the year: JOE LEAN AND THE JING JANG JONG - don’t try to understand the sillyness, just listen to it.

OK, now moving onto my Top 15 list. In all honesty, I’ve gotten lazy. I rely on a ton of different resources to pull this stuff together that sometimes I don’t give credit to all the “little people” who make it happen every day. That will change. I’m currently reviewing my list of favorite Blogs/Music resources on the side of my page here and I’m confident I’ll be making some significant changes. Standby for heavy rolls…….

Oh and p.s. there Hipster, if you haven’t gotten KILLS tickets yet, better get cracking….

I put in the hours, so you don’t have to….

These New Puritans - Photo courtesy of turquoise boy

I’ve listened to countless hours of music, talked to the masses, read the reviews, scoured the magazines, and devoured all the blogs I can stand. Hell, I’ve even consulted with some of my ”trusted experts” to bring you a super fresh New Music selection to feed your addiction. Most of these are still in my heavy rotation from SXSW and a couple are real “bleeding edge” UK finds (you know how I am):

These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid. Say what you want, this is the hottest release in Seattle right now (and also the hardest to find!). It’s ridiculous and I happen to love it.

The Whip - X Marks Destination. Manchester Electro-Pop Scene representing. Just say you heard them here first….

The Kills - Midnight Boom. My most anticipated release of the year and with good reason. This Kills…..literally. No really, it’s good.

Does it Offend You, Yeah? - Well, with a name like that it should, but don’t make that stop you from checking these guys out. Their new album is out next month and is going to blow people away.

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colors - I read multiple reports about how these guys had some of the best sets at SXSW. Their new album just came out and these kids are from Australia. This sounds like an electronic Spring.

The Teenagers - Reality Check. Crazy new French band - just go ahead and start nodding your head to this one. Loud infectious sampled beats and keyboard over strange poppy French accented lyrics. Hate the Country, love this band.

Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off the Lavender Bridge. What else can I say other than this music is just plain cool. Very easy listening.

Some upcoming “Post-SXSW” shows

After hearing about all the great SXSW acts this past weekend (I’ll cover that later!) - Here’s a truly “insider’s” guide to some upcoming shows just at Neumos’. In other words, this is my warning to plan ahead for an amazing Spring!

UPCOMING SHOWS

Blitzen Trapper (Portland, OR) & Fleet Foxes (Seattle, WA)

Neumo’s

Friday, April 18

The Sword (Austin TX)

Neumo’s

Tuesday, April 22

*Simian Mobile Disco (London, UK)

Neumo’s

Thursday, April 24

 Sons & Daughters (Glasgow, Scotland)

Neumo’s

Tuesday, April 29

Black Kids (Jacksonville, FL) & Cut Copy (Melbourne, AU)

Neumo’s

Wednesday, April 30

*Cloud Cult (Minneapolis, MN)

Neumo’s

Friday, May 9

**The Kills (London, UK)

Neumo’s

Thursday, May 15

*Tokyo Police Club (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

Neumo’s

Sunday, May 18

**M83 (Antibes, FR)

Neumo’s

Saturday, May 24

*Foals (Oxford, UK)

Neumo’s

Friday, May 30

  

Planes, L-Trains, and Bowerbirds…

 

Please excuse “hella” giant picture of Bowerbirds. 

First off, I want to give a shout out to the fine folks at Force Field who gave us great access to the Bowerbirds/Phosphorescent show at Schuba’s in Chicago. Despite the weather scare (both bands were stuck in the snow for 6 hours) things seemed to go off without a hitch and once we moved to the front of the venue it was downright “intimate“.

* As a side note, this is the same exact stage where PELA’s signer Billy fell off the stage and injured his hand last weekend. I can’t imagine them in that tiny venue - it must have been a hell of a show!

BOWERBIRDS and PHOSPHORESCENT at Schuba’s was a nice “change of pace” show for me, and it was almost surreal seeing two very unique bands like that in Chicago. I’m not sure what that means - maybe I was expecting Slayer or something? Anyway, the first thing that struck me about both bands was their amazing front men. Both Matthew Houck (Phosphorescent) and Phil Moore (Bowerbirds) have amazing voices and talent. Watching them sing and play guitar was mesmorizing at times and offered glimpses into  their brilliance. One thing you can’t fake is passion - and these guys have it in spades. There was nothing fake about either of these guys. Phosphorescent sounded really good to me when they had all the guitars going at once. The Bowerbirds were maybe a bit more un-polished (i.e raw), but it was also part of their appeal and left me wondering how their unique arrangement would flesh out in future songs. Clearly the passion is there and their harmonies are only going to get better. It’s a good sign when their best song is a new one they haven’t even named yet.  I’ll be looking out for SXSW reports on both of these fresh new bands.