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Song Of The Day – “Paul’s Not Home” by Gibby Haynes (with Jack White)

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gibbyhaynes1Today’s Song Of The Day hails from a Third Man Records’ “Blue Series” single released by Jack White, who also plays guitar and sings on all three tracks. Gibby Haynes is the ex-captain of the Trinity University basketball team and ex-accountant who went on to be a founding member (along with Paul Leary) of Texas’ own Butthole Surfers.

The Surfers remain purveyors of hard core left-wing psychedelic music since their formation in 1976. With albums like Locust Abortion Technician, Hairway To Steven and Psychic…Powerless…And Another Man’s Sac, the Surfers have spent the better part of thirty years bending the rules in rock and roll while staying far left of the beaten path.

Haynes has also worked with the likes of Ministry (“Jesus Built My Hotrod”), Dead Milkmen, Revolting Cocks and Johnny Depp (in their band “P”), and he is the lucky recipient of a blow job in the Jim Jarmusch film, Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp with a feedback soaked soundtrack provided by Neil Young.

Today’s Song Of The Day is an Adrenalin O.D. cover from a brand new three-track single that also includes two excellent Gibby Haynes originals, “You Don’t Have To Be Smart” and “Horse Named George.” The single was recorded in one day at Jack White’s studio in Nashville with bassist Fats Kaplin and drummer Ben Swank.

I really dig the “I buried Paul” Beatles reference in the lyrics to the track.

Song Of The Day – “Punk Prayer” by Pussy Riot

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pussyriot1PussyRiot2Pussy Riot – what they lack in musical aptitude, they surely make up with unbridled punk rock spirit. The merits of their talent or lack thereof, are totally beside the point anyway. Pussy Riot return punk rock to its purest essence: protest, entertainment and fashion.

Pussy Riot formed in Moscow in 2011 with an ever-changing lineup of young women numbering up to twenty different members. In essence, Pussy Riot is more movement than musical outfit, and the aforementioned style comes down to the brightly colored balaclavas they wear during performance to obscure their real identities.

Pussy Riot’s brand of entertainment is known as guerilla performance, where the group members show up to perform in places specifically chosen to create outrage, in order to gain media attention and make a statement. Today’s Song Of The Day, “Punk Prayer,” is the performance that landed three Pussy Riot members in jail for the punk protest they staged in Moscow’s very conservative Cathedral Of Christ The Savior on February 12, 2012. The video mixes raw footage of the actual protest with their studio recording called “Punk Prayer – Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!”

The performance and publicity that followed didn’t play well in Putin’s Russia and landed two of the group members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, in jail in March of 2012, charged with the crime of hooliganism. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was also arrested several days later in March. The young women were denied bail and held in custody until their trial began in late July.

Pussy Riot said their protest was a political statement, but prosecutors argued that the band was trying to “incite religious hatred” against the Orthodox Church. On August 17, 2012, the three members were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, and each was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Samutsevich was released from prison a few months later (in October of 2012) after her lawyer successfully argued that she didn’t actually participate in the demonstration because security did not permit her to enter the church. Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova remain in prison where they have been met with a fair amount of disdain by the prison population. (Two other Pussy Riot members managed to escape prosecution and left the country.)

Russian political rights activists see Pussy Riot’s imprisonment as politically motivated, and sentiment within Russia, and indeed the rest of the world, has been met with equal amounts of disdain for Putin’s Russia.

While in jail, members of Pussy Riot continue to stage guerilla performances and  most recently released a video called Like A Red Prison (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOM_3QH3bBw) filmed at a Russian oil refinery, although both Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova have denied that the video was an official Pussy Riot performance.

For more information on Pussy Riot, check out the excellent HBO documentary Pussy Riot; A Punk Prayer, directed by Mike Lerner and Maksim Pozdorovkin, or go to http://freepussyriot.org/about on line.

Song Of The Day – “Hidden Place” by Bjork

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Editor’s note: This article appeared originally in July 2013

With the impending threat of massive thunderstorms due to lower the temperature from 97 to the low 80s, my fourth Pitchfork Music Festival got off today with three great sets by Mac Demarco, the legendary industrial punk  band Wire and the main reason to go to Pitchfork this year, a rare set by Iceland’s favorite star Bjork.

Normally when I go to Pictchfork, I like to shop around for sounds from stage to stage in an effort to hear as many different bands as possible. But with Wire and Bjork playing on the same stage, we decided to go directly to that stage and remain there for most of the afternoon seeing three complete sets from a prime advantage up front and center while hearing the music from the opposite stage during down times.

Mac Demarco is a Canadian singer/songwriter who comes off like a good-time Ben Folds with a goofy smile and funky rhythm guitar sound. What sets him apart from many in music today is his very real sense for melody and song craft as evidenced by originals like “Cooking Up Something Good” and “The Stars Keep Calling My Name” from his latest album Mac Demarco 2.

Equally endearing are the hilarious piss take covers he and his eager band spontaneously launch into like BTO’s “Takin’ Care Of Business,” Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” and a hard-core run-through of The Beatles’ “Blackbird.” As a relative old-timer compared to the many 20-somethings around me, it’s a gas to see that indeed classic rock isn’t dead after all.

Probably the most veteran and influential band on this year’s entire Pitchfork bill is Wire. Wire originally formed in 1976 and has been recording on and off (give or take 5 or 10 years) since its inception. Their classic 1977 debut album Pink Flag is considered one of the most original albums to come out of the British punk scene according to Allmusic.com.

The current lineup includes original members Colin Newman, Graham Lewis and Robert Grey (aka Robert Gotobed) with touring member since 2010 Matt Simms. The group played songs from their latest album Change Becomes Us (released earlier this year). The album consists of reworked versions of unfinished songs circa 1979-1980, and the group shot through their 45 minute set like the young punks they once were.

After much anticipation, Bjork took the stage wearing a huge quilled helmet headdress with a metallic gold dress, sparkly black tights and silver reflecting disco ball shoes. Joining her on stage was a harem of vestal virgins/12-piece female choir dressed in colorful hoodie robes and dresses who stood huddled in the center of the stage gyrating to the music while adding celestial backing vocals.

You don’t have to tell me that Bjork is an acquired taste; I know that she’s not for everyone. But I acquired the taste when Bjork was a member of Sugarcubes in the mid-1980s and have followed her career ever since.  I enjoy her albums and have wanted to see her perform in person for many years.

Her performance didn’t disappoint. She’s a deliberate singer with charisma and a heck of a powerful voice which she uses to command the audience as she moves from one side of the stage to the other looking directly into the audience. Her set included several songs from her last album Biophelia including “Crystalline,” “Thunderbolt” and “Moon,” as well as today’s Song Of The Day “Hidden Place” from her 2001 masterpiece, Vespertine.

Unfortunately, 65 minutes into her set, the threat of thunderstorms became a real concern and the powers that approached Bjork between songs to tell her that she would have to leave the stage. When she made the announcement to a chorus of boos, she remarked that “they don’t do this in Iceland…”

It was a good call; we no sooner reached our car when the skies opened up with some of the most vivid lightning I’ve seen in a while, making me think that perhaps it was all in response to the artistry of Bjork.

 

Song Of The Day – “Up The Neck” by Pretenders

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PretendersThis song exudes pure sexuality in its imagery although the lyrics tell a different story…”Lust turns to angers, a kiss to a slug…”

Chrissie Hynde was just amazing during this era and their debut album remains a solid 5-star classic to this day. Here is the original line up of the band in Paris featuring the essential guitar work of James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon on bass and Martin Chambers on drums.

Original post: 8/17/11

Song Of The Day – “Black Skinhead” by Kanye West

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kanyewestyeezusKanye West is a mutha-effen’ “G” – that’s not “G” as in Gangsta, by the way, that’s “G” as in GENIUS.

Think what you may about Kanye’s antics, but he’s always full of surprises, and you can’t touch him when it comes to creating some of the most relevant Hip Hop records…ever!

When confronted with anything regarding Kanye, most people like to focus on his arrogance and the Taylor Swift Grammy Awards incident. Truth be told, the point Kanye was making at the Grammy’s when he interrupted Taylor Swift was a valid one. Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” was the best video of that particular year, certainly better than Swift’s video, and with the passage of time the “Single Ladies” video has become one of the most iconic music videos of all time. It was the bone-headed way he chose to handle himself that night that caused him problems.

Big deal, move on! Beside, my hunch is that most of the Kanye haters out there haven’t even heard enough of his music to really have an opinion, and much of their attitude towards West edges on racism.

Yeezy’s new album Yeezus is a full-on assault from beginning to end, and an exhausting spin that is high in noise levels, with equal measures of misogyny and epiphany thrown in. It is, indeed, Kanye West’s industrial album.

In marketing his latest opus, West chose to debut song s from the album by projecting quick-cut video montages on buildings in cities all over the world. It was then followed by an appearance on Saturday Night Live in which West performed the songs “New Slave” and “Black Skinhead” complete with the industrial montages projecting behind him.

Like The Beatles’ White Album and Spinal Tap’s classic album Smell The Glove, Kanye’s latest comes to us issued in a plain cover, a clear plastic jewel case with a sticker on the back sporting sampling credits, as if to (somewhat accurately) say “with music this good, who needs credits and liner notes.”  Kanye recently explained, “With this album, we ain’t drop no single to radio. We ain’t got no NBA campaign, nothing like that. Shit, we ain’t even got no cover. We just made some real music.” Putting it into biblical terms, the rest is all commentary.

And speaking of biblical terms, God permeates this album right down to its nervy title. It makes one wonder, does Yeezy think he’s god? Well, maybe…

At least what we do learn is that he thinks he is a God in “I Am A God,” and not just any God, but a God who drives a Porsche and craves messages and ménage a trois: “I am a god / Hurry up with my damn massage / Hurry up with my damn ménage / Get the Porsche out the damn garage / I am a god / Even though I’m a man of God / My whole life in the hands of God / So y’all better quit playing with God.”

Daft Punk lend a hand on the production and the electronic noise quotient of four of the album’s tracks including today’s Song Of The Day which features a rhythm pattern that is reminiscent of Gary Glitter’s “Rock And Roll.” West elevates the level of paranoia in the song singing “Middle America packed in / Came to see me in my black skin / Number one question they asking / Fuck every question you asking / If I don’t get ran out by Catholics” and when all is said and done, West is heard screaming the word God over and over as the track comes to a close.

West addresses racism on “New Slaves” proclaiming “My momma was raised in the era when / clean water was only served to the fairer skin,” as with many of the tracks on the album, this one abruptly takes a musical left turn into new musical terrain whether its with an old school sample or, in this case with Frank Ocean’s soulful vocal contribution.

The album turns harrowing on “Blood On The Leaves” which samples Nina Simone’s recording of the Billie Holiday classic “Strange Fruit,” and somehow manages to relate the paranoia and hatred of the lynching of blacks before the civil rights movement to a song about divorce: “Then she said she impregnated, that’s the night your heart died / Then you gotta go and tell your girl and report that / Main reason cause your pastor said you can’t abort that / Now your driver say that new Benz you can’t afford that / All that cocaine on the table you can’t snort that / That going to that owing money that the court got / All in on that alimony, uh, yeah-yeah, she got you homie / ’til death but do your part, unholy matrimony.”

The album’s final song, “Bound 2” samples Ponderosa Twins Plus One’s soul classic “Bound” and adds a dash of Brenda Lee’s “Sweet Nothin’s.” Musically, it is the only song on this entire record that could have fit on one of his earlier releases.

During the last few weeks leading up to the release, West brought in producer Rick Rubin to strip these tracks down even more than they already were, resulting in some last minute re-recording of several songs, giving the 40 minute album an unfinished quality about it.

So what do we make of Yeezus. It’s certainly the ballsiest effort from an artist who revels in his restlessness. It’s also his most in-your-face-album, which concedes to no one, not his fans, and certainly not to his detractors.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Answering Machine” by The Replacements

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Answering Machine” by The Replacements

When they were good, they were really great. But when The Replacements were bad, they were truly awful. Seeing The Replacements in concert was always a crap shoot. Whether it was boredom from being on the road, or just youthful blowing off steam, you never really knew what you were going to get when you went to see the “Placemats.”

Heck, I saw them five times during their heyday, and I think they were really good only twice. I’m not sure if that makes me a sucker for punishment, or just addicted to the greatness that I did witness when they did come to play.

Once I saw them at the Beacon Theater in New York City and they were so drunk, they couldn’t even finish a song. Somehow, they’d gotten access to a helium tank and they spent a good part of their ‘set’ sucking on helium balloons and singing in high pitch voices. Most songs they performed that night were incomplete, and members of the audience threw toilet paper rolls at the band, which they gleefully threw back at us. This went on for more than an hour before they left the stage to a chorus of boos.

That said, the band could be great in concert, and often were. The couple times that I saw them truly on, they were focused as they gave an incendiary performance of some of the best-written songs of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, courtesy of Paul Westerberg.

It was the dawn of alternative music. While the rest of the world listened to Madonna’s Like A Virgin, Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The U.S.A. and John Mellencamp’s Scarecrow, a whole new thing was brewing in the music scene as bands like REM, The Smiths and Meat Puppets began releasing albums that didn’t fit into the prevalent classic rock radio format. No, these records were played only on college radio stations giving birth to a new radio format, college rock or alternative music, that would catch on in a big way in a few years’ time.

When Let It Be by The Replacements came out in 1984, it was one-third of a “holy trinity” of groundbreaking albums that included Husker Du’s Zen Arcade and The Minutemen’s Double Nickels On The Dime that literally changed the way we listened to music. While each group came out of the punk era and held onto the punk aesthetic especially in their early recordings, these albums added the element of craftsmanship to the songwriting that set them apart from all the rest.

With the release of Let It Be, Paul Westerberg’s songwriting began to evolve. What was once loud and brash became nuanced and tuneful, as the band began to venture away from the non-stop hardcore punk rock rave-ups they dabbled in, in favor of more arranged songs like “Unsatisfied,” “I Will Dare” and today’s Song Of The Day “Answering Machine.” These songs were far better constructed, had thoughtful lyrics and terrific melodies that allowed the band to branch out into more varied instrumentation.

The rest of the band included Bob Stinson on guitar, baby brother Tommy Stinson on bass and Chris Mars on drums, who really began to congeal as a unit on stage and in the studio, especially when left to their own devices on rockers like “Seen Your Video” and “We’re Coming Out.” It was no secret that the Stinson brothers truly disliked Westerberg’s forays into down-tempo material like “Androgynous,” preferring to rock out at all times.

On one level, Westerberg wanted to be taken seriously as a songwriter, even if he and the band continued to bait audiences by playing off-the-cuff covers and goofing around on stage. And this album contained its fair share of levity in songs like “Gary’s Got A Boner,” “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out” and on their tossed-off Kiss cover, “Black Diamond,” that let the fans know that hey, things hadn’t changed too drastically and that they were still just a lovable punk band trying to take the piss out of their fans.

Let It Be was also the band’s last independently released record before jumping ship from the Twin Tone record label to the majors. Once they went with the majors, the overall quality of the songwriting dipped as the production values became slicker. Their first album for Sire, Tim, was indeed a stunner, but after that few of the group’s albums have held up well over time.

Paul Westerberg has said Let It Be was “our way of saying that nothing is sacred, that the Beatles were just a fine rock & roll band. We were seriously gonna call the next record Let It Bleed.”¹

 

¹(Azerrad, Michael; DeCurtis, Anthony (November 16, 1989). “The 100 Best Albums of the Eighties”. Rolling Stone (565): 76. Retrieved 11 June 2009. Via Wikipedia)

Pitchfork Music Festival 2014 – Day 3 Review by Eric Berman

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Pitchfork Music Festival 2014 – Day 3 Review by Eric Berman

The final day at Pitchfork Music Festival provided the usual array of adventurous music including indie rock, experimental sounds, electronic dance music and much more hip-hop than has been featured in previous years.

Highlights included the return of Grimes (aka Clair Boucher) whose brand of electronic dance music has grown in stature over the last couple of years. Even though she hasn’t released a stitch of new music since her last Pitchfork appearance in 2012, she has managed to attract a much bigger crowd on a bigger stage in the penultimate slot of the festival. Her set consisted of tracks from her 2012 album Visions including her big hits “Oblivion” and “Genesis.” We also got a glimpse of one new track that she said was not quite finished yet, but sounded just fine and was well received by the crowd.

One of the most unusual sets of the day belonged to Canadian electronic duo Majical Cloudz featuring Devon Welsh who writes and sings the songs accompanied by the sonic soundscapes of Matthew Otto. We caught the last twenty minutes or so of their set but apparently they had a malfunctioning keyboard which forced Welsh to perform many of his songs a capella accompanied only by the hand-claps of the audience. This happy accident presented Welsh in the best way possible as a singer with a terrific voice who could carry the show on his own. At the end of the set, Otto smashed his keyboard for the crowd after both musicians apologized for the malfunction. No worries, they practically stole the show for the many members of the audience who stayed around for the end of the set. (As I write this review I’m listening to their 2013 album Impersonator and it’s definitely worth further investigation. Check out the song “Savage” posted below.)

Today also saw the return of Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt whose bravura on stage made up for some rather sophomoric lyrics. Nevertheless, he’s got charisma to burn and a now-considered-classic hip-hop album under his belt called Doris. He had the crowd chanting “Hot soup in my mutha-f@#ckin’ bowl,” and “I’m gonna f@#k the freckles off your face.” Indeed, I liked him more than his music because at he’s a skilled performer with a wicked sense of humor who knows how to give his audience exactly what it wants.

Other highlights today included the girl-group garage rock of Dum Dum Girls, the newly reunited ‘90s rock band Slowdive and the psychedelic rock of New Jersey’s own Real Estate who also made a return to Pitchfork this year.

We also caught sets by Top Dawg rapper Isaiah Rashad and Deafheaven whose brand of noise rock wore thin shortly after they took the stage. We left just as headliner Kendrick Lamar took the stage satiated and also ready to see Jack White in Milwaukee tomorrow night.