I get that the Flaming Lips are from Oklahoma City and that the OKC Thunder are now “racing to the prize” in the NBA Finals, but this song is just terrible. Written with words submitted by fans, sung by Wayne in a weak, raspy voice. All in the span of about 24 hours in the new spirit of the Flaming Lips’ Heady Fwends album, the 24-hour song, gummy fetuses and skulls, etc.
My one-word review: Yuck (the exclamation, not the band).
Still, if this is your kind of thing, it’s a free download. So, download away. And Thunder Up…or something.
How appropriate that this is the single from the new Birds and Batteries EP. As I mentioned earlier this week, my intention this week was to post a mix every built from CDs I made during my tenure at college radio. Imagine my embarrassment when I discovered I only had two in my library… EPIC FAIL.
But, alas, this post also relates to my time at college radio via a lengthy anecdote. Back in 2004 (?), Birds and Batteries singer/guitarist Mike Sempert was in a band called Dusky Silo. We received a copy of their sole EP, The Floods of Summer before I joined the station and, as I was wont to do, I blindly dug it out of the library in an attempt to introduce myself and my listeners to new music. It had a sort of Wilco feel, (A Ghost Is Born era), with a slight electronic tinge. I played the whole thing from start to finish and it became a staple of my show. I really enjoyed the EP and wanted a copy for myself. I couldn’t find any website or ordering info online, but I did find an e-mail address. I shot off a quick e-mail and a few days later received an e-mail from Mike saying that Dusky Silo had parted ways. He was glad I’d heard of them and was pretty sure he had a few copies of the EP laying around. Before he signed off, he made note that he was forming a new band called Birds and Batteries and that he hoped I’d check them out.
And now we’ve come full circle. Birds and Batteries have just released a new EP, Unfold, which you can check out on their Bandcamp page. Meanwhile, Dusky Silo’s The Floods of Summer is either out-of-print or incredibly hard to track down.
“Greatest Hits” is the sound of a break-up set to music. Not just literally, but figuratively as well. Set against a Stealer’s Wheel-inspired acoustic guitar line and a “sha-la-la” chorus, a couple argues over who gets to keep what album that formed their now-defunct relationship, be it Double Nickels On The Dime, Band on the Run, or Village Green Preservation Society.
“But, Mystery Jets,” you say, “music is intangible now. This isn’t a problem anymore! Why don’t they just burn it to an MP3? Or pull it up on Spotify?”
To which they reply with, “Does that mean you won’t buy our new album, Radlands, when it comes out on June 5th?
Off The Record Mix #2
In today’s mix, we listen to electric music with the summer people and electronic music with Ravi Shankar, make a transition from Gang of Four to Roy Orbison, learn a foreign language with the Flaming Lips and Bad Religion, and wrap it up by walking like a man.
Off The Record Mix #1
This week, I thought I’d do things differently here. I’ll still be posting on new music that comes across my electronic desk, but I also wanted to reflect on my old radio show, Off The Record.
Long before I became an MD, I had to curate my own mixes for the show, using material I received from file-sharing sites, CDs I owned (yep, I still bought CDs), and compilations passed out around the record store I used to shop out. I kept most of those mixes and just recently dug them out as I was cleaning out my countless stacks of CD-Rs. I decided to listen to a few of them to see if they held up the test of time and, also, to get an idea of how I got where I am today. And what I discovered is what can only be compared to those pictures of you as a kid where your teeth aren’t folly formed, your ears stick out, and you have a few bad haircuts and other fashion choices.
Today, we’ll get ready to be heartbroken, learn that every parent is an elongated infant, check out a track that features Yo Lo Tengo as the backing band, wonder who the hell wrote that “Shift Key” song, and wince at a song that I once enjoyed that I now think is akin to those bands you’re used to seeing lip-sync to their “breakout hit” in films where the director is looking for a breakout band he can afford the rights to the music for and at the same time is “really where the kids are at today.” (God, I’m so jaded.)
I like to think the philosophy behind Animal Collective’s music tends to be: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” They seem to feature the same elements at some point on everything they touch, even if it goes dark (Down There) or way off kilter (Pullhair Rubeye) - and that’s just Avey Tare’s solo output.
So here on “Honeycomb”, we’re greeted with the old familiarities: after what sounds like a sample more fitted to the beginning of an MF Doom track, we hear group harmonies, a bouncing drum line that sounds like it’s been recorded underwater, and lyrics that ultimately reveal themselves after multiple listens as being much sadder than the music accompanying it. The whole thing feels slippery, like someone smeared Vaseline over it. And yet it still ends with all the elements gradually growing louder and louder as the band repeats one word: “liiiiiiife”.
Head over to Domino’s website to get your copy of the “Honeycomb/Gotham” 7”, set to be released on June 26th. All pre-orders will receive instant MP3 downloads of the two tracks.
I’ll always remember seeing the orange-jumpsuited Beastie Boys at Lollapalooza ‘94, back when it was “cool” to throw things on-stage. (But, seriously, what genius came up with the idea of, “Hey, I really like these guys! I’m going to throw this empty cup at them! Maybe then they’ll appreciate me, too!”)
Out of the four people on-stage at the time (Hurricane was the honorary “fourth Beastie”) and the three bands I’d seen prior that day , MCA was the first to say, “What gives? We’re up here putting on a show for you and this is how you thank us? Alright, here’s the deal - the next piece of trash that gets thrown up here means we’re done.” The crowd behaved for a few minutes and then, sure enough, someone chucked up an empty plastic bottle. It whizzed right past MCA’s head and in the middle of “Pass The Mic”, he said, “Alright, fuck you. We’re done.”
He began to walk offstage, turned around, and noticing the rest of the group was not following suit, went back to the song. He may have felt defeated, but he chose to stay with his group and fight (for his right to parrrrrrrrr-tay!) I’d like to think this was how he chose to deal with his cancer, taking his temporary hiatus, canceling the release of Hot Sauce Committee, Vol 1 , then soldiering on after an operation to remove the cancer.
Mornin’ Old Sport is set to release their self-titled debut album on July 10. And as with any album, a tour must accompany it. I really can’t think of a better band to go see in the hot and humid summer season. Admittedly fixated with the 1930’s and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mornin’ Old Sport’s music, based in Western swing and bluegrass, feels as refreshing as a cold towel during a summer swelter.
Check out the lead single, “Katie”, and if your city’s listed above, fire up your jalopy, head to the watering hole, and order yourself a tall, cool lemonade. People still do that, right?
Of all the Lil Wayne referencing videos out there, this one is the Very Best. (You see what I did there?)
Seriously, where is this band on 99% of Deer Tick’s albums?! What began as a “bluegrass meets Southern rock” now sounds like a bunch of Replacements-wannabes led by a defanged David Lowery. But this song, inspired by Daniel Johnston’s new comic-book/iPad app/album about ducks in outer space fighting a war against Satan - aptly titled Space Ducks - is one of the best things I’ve heard them do.
Screaming guitar solos, gang vocals, organ notes that poke out from under the squall, and a Theremin (?) accentuate lyrics that describe the basic plotline of the comic. It’s not heady stuff; characters wake from dreams, fight traitors, emerge victorious, fly off into the galaxy. It’s almost as if Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote a space opera and this was the epilogue to the whole affair.
