Across The Pond
The Pouges, The Kills and British Sea Power news from across the way.
"You scumbag/you maggot/you cheap lousy faggot!" Immortal words from perhaps the greatest Christmas song of all time, "Fairytale of New York." This week, The BBC decided to censor the holiday lament performed by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl - a hit song back in the 1987, "Fairytale of New York" has been edited to not offend our more sensitive society. The words "faggot" and "slut" have been muted from the original for proper radio airplay...
Posted by Joe Roth on Dec 19, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Takin' You Back
All Frank Zappa - all the time in this week's TYB.
It took me a long time to recognize the genius of Frank Zappa; but after years of listening to people tell me about how great Zappa's music is, I finally understand. In honor of my being won over by his experimental and downright bizarre music: Here's some good Frank Zappa for you.
Frank Zappa - Willie The Pimp - "Twenny dollah bill (I can set you straight) Meet me onna corner boy 'n don't be late." The lyrics in this song are pure gold. Over nine minutes of bluesy guitar, you just can't go wrong with this one...
Posted by Greg Herald on Dec 19, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Windy City Watch
Which Chicago bands had the most success this year? HEAVE gives the list.
I was flying into Chicago the other night after a recent trip to New York City. I was watching my in flight television programming (thanks a lot JetBlue), and I could not tear myself away from the plethora of "best of 2007" shows that are on TV during December. It happens every year, being a huge pop culture nerd and a huge fan of list - I can't help but love these shows. As I counted down the past year highlights with VH1, I started to think about the highlights in my own hometown; specifically music...
Posted by Lisa White on Dec 18, 2007 @ 12:00 am
And Now You Have...
Get to know Masters of the Hemisphere
The best thing about working in college radio was the amount of music I'd be exposed to by doing nothing. Through those musky doors was a cornucopia of stuff that I would never be exposed to in a small town, supplied by people I would've never met in a town where cover band's were king.
Some of the bands I dabbled in have been completely forgotten already, but one band that stuck was Masters of the Hemisphere. MotH formed in 1996 in Athens, Georgia, which has more bands per capita than anywhere else in the world (I didn't actually check this fact). Originally consisting of Bren Mead and Sean Rawls, MotH added drummer (and owner of Kindercore Records) Ryan Lewis. Kindercore released their self-titled album in 1998. The band then added Adrian Finch and released I Am Not a Freemdoom in 2000, also on Kindercore. The concept album failed quite miserably; but MotH redeemed themselves rather swimmingly with the release of Protest a Dark Anniversery in 2002. The band gave up their reign over the hemisphere and disbanded in 2003.
With plenty of releases stacked into a short amount of time, MotH forged their name into a list of solid indie bands to come out of the Athens, Georgia area. They didn't do anything exceptionally well, but MotH gave consistent indie pop records that deserve a spot in anybody's collection.
"Anything Anything" features the essentials of what made MotH so likeable. Interwoven lyrics laced with feel good keyboards and steady drumming. The lyrics don't make sense with the upbeat music; but music doesn't have to make sense to be good.
STREAM: Masters of the Hemisphere - Anything Anything
Posted by Wes Soltis on Dec 18, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Missed Out Music
The Sheila Divine bring a Smiths' esque vibe.
There's a little secret that most fans of The Smiths sort of keep to themselves and seldom like to admit. We are always on the lookout for new bands that, in a way, rekindle the same locked-door bedroom solace that The Smiths gave us. Of course this desire is strongest as a teenager, strangely I found it via a metal label caled Roadrunner Records in the winter of 1998. The Sheila Divine, a Boston based three-piece, carved out a little piece of my heart with their debut New Parade.
The Sheila Divine, formed by guitarist/vocalist Aaron Perrino and drummer Shawn Sears, first met in a music theory class at Oneonta State University in New York. The songs that make up New Parade harness the haunting nature of The Church, distorted sweetness of Sugar and the Black Francis/Morrissey vocal interchange.
After little fanfare, a departure from Roadrunner and a barely noticed second album (Where Have My Countrymen Gone), Aaron Perrino disbanded The Sheila Divine in early 2003. He has since moved on to form the not-so-unlike Sheila Divine Boston based band Dear Leader.
Here is a sampling of The Sheila Divine's greatness. From New Parade, this is "Hum."
STREAM: The Sheila Divine - Hum
Posted by Joe Roth on Dec 17, 2007 @ 12:00 am