Ska Mixed With Traditional Irish?! Surely You Jest!

When I was browsing the music collection over at the Free Library of Philadelphia (a good way to find some music that isn’t punk/ska/hardcore), somewhere between Bach and Brahms, I noticed a band named “Black 47”. Thinking that is sounded like a punk band’s name, I grabbed it, and read the back cover of their “Trouble In The Land”:

“A streetwise mix of rock, reggae, ska, and Irish music…” Ska? Irish? I knew I had to check out this little Frankenstein.

A mix between Flogging Molly and U2, with a strong touch of ska horns and rocksteady rhythms, “Trouble In The Land” definitely has it’s shining points. Songs such as “Delirious”, “Those Saints”, and “Bobby Kennedy” strongly demonstrate this peculiar yet intriguing hybrid of genres. However, the album is also laced with plenty folksy rock ballads which kind of bored me.

Finally, as if the sound wasn’t sounding weird already, the lead singer at times sounds exactly like Dave from Big D and the Kids Table

MP3:

Black 47 – Delirious

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Feist- Feel It All

I’ve never been too interested in Feist but these past few videos have really won me over. I love this one.

Buy:
Amazon

Blink 182- Greatest Hits

So I was at work today being all hardcore like I do- listening to some Leftover Crack, when I see that a new person on itunes has Blink 182’s Greatest Hits. I’m not even gonna pretend I stopped to think. I ripped my headphones outta my ipod and plugged into my computer. At this point I really can’t separate the music from the nostalgia. It made my day.

Buy:
Amazon

Today in Music History

My friend has a daily rock and roll trivia calendar. They're usually not too interesting but I felt compelled to share today's fact with you.

On January 29th 1996:

Garth Brooks refused the American Music Award for Favorite Artist of the Year saying that Hootie and the Blowfish had done more for music that year than he had.

Good Clean Fun Haiku

Humorous Hardcore
Got Lost and missed show last year
Damn you Google Maps

MP3:

Good Clean Fun – Ex-StraightEdge-Ex

Good Clean Fun – Good Clean Fun

Buy:
Good Clean Fun

Antarctica Takes It! Interview

Awhile ago I wrote about Antarctica Takes It! Being the intrepid reporter that I am, I sent them some questions:

I love the cover art for your album The Penguin League, who is that with the penguin?

The cover art is a photo of explorer Charley Hollister and an Adelie penguin taken by Sam Silverstein in 1967. I had originally discovered the photo in an old National Geographic at a friend's house. I later came into contact with Mr. Silverstein and he is quoted in the HDIFTBL remastered version's booklet saying:

"When Charley Hollister and I learned of the discovery of Antarctica's highest peaks we were determined to mount an expedition to climb them. The photograph on the front of this CD booklet shows Charley playing hide and seek with an Adeline penguin at Cape Royd's (Ernest Shackleton's 1908 base), in Antarctica, January 1967. He and I had just returned from participating in the first ascents of Antarctica's highest peaks and were in a very happy and carefree mood. I don't know what the penguin thought about Charley's antics, but I never tired of them. He was a wonderful friend. He made life fun." -Sam Silverstein.

What were your favorite albums of 07?

Jens Lekman's "Night Falls Over Kortedala" has been in my car CD player for about 3-4 months. I still can't grasp how tight and catchy the songs are. I got to see him play in San Francisco last December and was really just blown away by the performance.

My friend Tyler's (who plays keyboard, horns, ukulele in ATI) band, James Rabbit completed "Coluratura" at the very end of 2007. It's hard to describe the sort of energy that courses through this album

One of the albums that I discovered this year was former Zombies singer Colin Blunstone's "One Year" (although I actually picked up the collection "Some Years"). It's full of these amazing songs that are just Colin's ethereal voice accompanied by string orchestrations. I think it originally came out in the early 70s?

How do you find out about new music?

Friends or music blogs usually.

What would you say your influences are music or otherwise (literature, film, visual art, etc.)?

One of my favorite bands as a teenager was Belle & Sebastian. It was one of the first bands that I sort of just stumbled upon and had this revelation that great and wonderful music existed, I just had to go out and find it. I also fell in love with Stuart Murdoch's introspective characters and Velvet-Underground-Stephanie-Says-type third person storytelling.

"The Song is You" is about a movie that came out in 2003 called "The Saddest Music I The World". See the movie!

If Antarctica Takes It! was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, which turtle would you be and why?

As a kid, my favorite was always Donatello, but hopefully the band would be Michelangelo.

What do you think the biggest benefits and limitations are to working without a label?

Record label/Club "How Does It Feel To Be Loved" recently remastered and re-released The Penguin League and it has honestly been a pleasure working with them. Not having a label in the States has been nice though. There's no pressure to tour or pump out albums so I can write and record at my own leisure. If I were more serious about selling albums and playing shows I think a record label would be necessary.

Do you guys currently have day jobs? What are/were they?

I am working at an after-school program, Maria has a teaching job at a Montessori School, Vanessa is a librarian in SF, and Tyler works with disabled adults in SC county.

In your message for people buying the album, you ask for a return address and maybe a picture or note. Have many people drawn you pictures? What are some of your favorites?

I just recently included that message to try to encourage people. We've gotten pictures of people's cats, doodles and drawings, and one person sent in a picture of a hot-dog cart. It's been pretty great.

Do you have plans to tour outside of the West Coast anytime soon?

Not really. Touring and booking shows is pretty exhausting. But we're glad to play shows if other people want to set them up.

What did Antarctica Take? In other words, what is It?

The original idea was to have Antarctica Takes It be like some kind of frosty baseball team who wins the World Series. "It" being the World Series. That idea kind of got lost along the way. I'm not sure what "It" means now though, hopefully people's hearts, or if not that maybe just their ears.

MP3:Antarctica Takes It!- I'm No Lover
MP3: Antarctica Takes It!- Circuits

Buy

Paint It Black - New Lexicon

(photo from PaintItBlack.org)

With their 3^rd release “New Lexicon”, Paint It Black definitely dove into some new territory, and it works. Anyone who is familiar with this Philadelphia outfit featuring Dan Yemin of Kid Dynamite, Lifetime, and Armalite will tell you that their music is short, fast, loud, and raw (that's what she said! Err.. Sorry).

The songs on New Lexicon are longer (they actually broke the 2 minute mark for the first time), with some songs lasting up to three whole minutes (quite a difference from CVA: their debut 17 track album that lasts about 18 minutes). However, these longer songs are slightly deceiving: at the end of many of the tunes are ambient soundscapes, which I'm not exactly sure can be counted as part of the song. In some tracks such as “We Will Not” and “Gravity Wins”,this ambiance finds its way in the main structure of the songs, providing a darker and more dramatic element to the album. Many bands try to experiment with their sound, but few pull it off as well as Paint It Black did. The secret? Paint It Black manages to experiment with their sound without alienating their fans.

The urgent, pissed off vocals are still raw as ever, and some songs such as “New Folk Song” and “Saccharine”, to the anthematic singalong of “Shell Game Redux” are very reminiscent of earlier albums.

I'd highly recommend this album to any fan of punk-hardcore, and while it's way to early to be calling out albums of the year, I can almost guarantee this will be on my list. Oh, and if anyone is going to see them in NYC and Philly with Strike Anywhere... I'll see you guys at the show.

MP3:
Paint It Black - New Folk Song
Paint It Black - The Ledge

Buy:
Jade Tree

Fear - For Fans of The Dead Kennedys

Image from Mediaspin.com

Fun trivia about Fear: They were on Saturday Night Live back in 1981 (much to the producers dismay) and had a bunch of fans from D.C show up (including Ian Mckaye, who you can see stage diving and skanking). Youtube it, and watch how fast the place became an all out frenzy (wait about 30 seconds in).

I’ve been listening to these guys for 2 days straight now. If you’re a fan of 80s punk in the veins of the Dead Kennedy’s, I’d highly recommend checking Fear out. Incredibly sarcastic (just check out “I Love Living In the City”), pissed off, and hilarious songs.

Ska Nickelodeon Style

I've seen some weird stuff on this Yo Gabba Gabba! show, but teaching kids to clean with ska? It's kinda catchy.

This isn't the first time Nickelodeon's gotten a little rude. Remember that old show Kablam? The opening theme was Two Tone Army by my old favorites The Toasters (credited as the Moon Ska Stompers).

MP3: The Toasters- Two Tone Army

Buy:
Amazon

UPDATE: That Yo Gabba Gabba song "Pick It Up" is by Parker Jacobs and was performed by GOGO13 featuring Alex Desert (of Hepcat).

In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, here are some songs about the most important thing in this world: unity.

Mp3:
Operation Ivy – Unity

Buy:
Operation Ivy

Teenage Bottlerocket - Warning Device

I know it’s early, but I’m just going to go ahead and call it: Warning Device by Teenage Bottlerocket will definitely be on my top 10 for 2008 (and if it’s not, then it will be one hell of a good year for music!)

For the dedicated Housewivers out there, you may remember that Teenage Bottlerocket was the first post I ever made nearly 11 months ago (wow... we’re almost a year old!)

Teenage Bottlerocket delivers us 13 new pop-punk tunes (think Groovie Ghoulies, Screeching Weasel-esque), and pick up where they left off with 2005’s “Total”. From the opening “Bottlerocket”, a no frills 50 second punk tune all the way to the “whoa”-laced closer “Wasting Time”, Warning Device is an all around fun punk cd, perfect to ward off that winter depression.

If you’re looking for poignant lyrics, look elsewhere. But the simplicity of the lyrics are also part of the beauty of the album… within one listen, you’ll be singing along in no time. But if you’re looking for some pogo-inducing toe-tapping punk songs, look no further.

MP3:

Teenage Bottlerocket – Bottlerocket

Teenage Bottlerocket – Totally Stupid

Teenage Bottlerocket – Social Life

Buy:

The Billionaires - Really Real For Forever

It was the end of a long day at work, buildings were literally crumbling around me when I got an email about The Billionaires. As it turns out The End of Summer Song was exactly what I needed to get me through that last push of work. The Billionaires, I thank you, corporate America thanks you. Their album Really Real For Forever comes out March 4th, even if you're not working late check it out.

MP3: The Billionaires- The End of Summer Song
MP3: The Billionaires- Butterflies

The Know How Haiku

It's been way too long since the last haiku... so... here you go from the poets of midwestern housewives.

Synthesized laced ska
Gruff vocals and sweet bass lines
Melodious sounds!

MP3:
The Know How – Better Way
The Know How – Chemistry

BUY:

Stomp

Deerhoof

The other day, one of my soon to be former coworkers (bye-bye office job) asked me, "So, Hotpants Askance, do you like venison, by any chance?" (Yes, venison is deer meat and, yes, Hotpants Askance is not my real name, but everyone at the office calls me that.)
"Yeah, it's okay. I've had it once or twice." I replied, "I like it more because I hate deer. Fuckin' Bambi. Did you know more deer jump out in front of cars and get hit every year than existed a hundred years ago*?"
There was an awkward pause in the conversation; I was silently ecstatic: I live for awkward pauses. Often, people will act as if they completely missed whatever strange utterance utterly paralyzed any semblance of rapport that had been forming between us. Or they tell me I'm so random.
She shook herself from her deer-in-the-headlights expression. "So, my husband and I got some venison sausages from one of my friends for Christmas, and there's no way we'll eat all of them. Do you want one?"
"Why not?" I'd fuck up some Bambi, as long as it doesn't cost me anything. I don't pay for meat: I'm a free-etarian. (Coincidentally, I heard that term from a girl who had the same name as my future ex-coworker, but she wasn't the dental front office type; she was a cokehead. Not that those two are mutually exclusive.)
Fast forward: she brings the venison to work, and it's not sausage-sized. It's a an obscenely huge log of venison, almost two feet long and four inches across and probably weighing four or five pounds. It's about as big as a cat--here's a picture of it with about a quarter gone**

"Are you hinting at something?" I asked. Much like my fellow Housewives, my coworkers erroneously suspect that I'm in the closet. So what if I had a man crush on Johnny Depp. And David Bowie. And I prefer to spend my time hanging out with housewives.
"You'll look funny going home with this on the train." She said. Good thing I'd driven to work that day instead of taking the train.
I will never finish this sausage. My vegetarian roommates won't touch it. Neither will the cats.
So what's the point of this arduous anecdote of deer meat and dental offices? Isn't this a music blog or a porn site or something? Shouldn't I segue into something more appropriate?
Glad you asked! While deer meat makes for salty sausage, Deerhoof is a sweet, sweet band; ten out of ten hipsters prefer Deerhoof to venison (though the tenth would have preferred venison if she weren't a vegetarian). Melding cute Japanese pop sensibility with senseless mayhem, odd time signatures, and panda-themed songs, Deerhoof is healthier for you than deer sausage, which only melds meat and fat in an intestinal casing.
So, with almost no further ado, let's break out the tunes.

MP3: Deerhoof- Dummy Discards a Heart
MP3: Deerhoof- The Perfect Me

Buy: Amazon

*This is true, at least for New York State: my high school journalism teacher read us an NY Times article about it.
**I'd like to thank Nubbers for posing for me, but I also find it necessary to point out that the cat, Nubbers, is a big fat fatty. The truncated sausage would look bigger next to a normal-sized cat.

The Flaming Tsunamis

Ska is a tricky genre to be playing as a band. If a band sticks with the traditional influences of the 90s from Skankin Pickle and other contemporaries, they come off as being cheesy and “just another ska band”. There have been so many ripoffs of Mustard Plug, that I’ve heard people claim that “Mustard Plug is just too generic for me” (nevermind the fact they were one of the bands that started the sound).

The Flaming Tsunamis avoid this classification in every way. By blending ska, metal, and hardcore with a touch of jazz, funk, and reggae at certain times, I can’t help but draw a comparison to New Jersey contemporaries Folly.

There are times on “Fear Everything” however that all these styles don’t blend together very well, and it sometimes feels like the transitions are non-existent (this was also apparent in Folly’s early work as well). However, with that being said, The Flaming Tsunamis definitely show the potential to overcome this obstacle, which plagues any bend attempting to push genres to their limits. I applaud their efforts for bringing something new to the sometimes stale ska genre, and look forward to seeing how the band progresses.

MP3:
The Flaming Tsunamis – Satan Vs. The United States of America
The Flaming Tsunamis – Birdwatching and Vice Versa

Buy:
Kill Normal Records

Better Know A Letter: B- Buzzcocks

Behemoths in the world of punk, Buzzcocks are an older band I've only recently come to appreciate. I had heard all the usual blandishments, but nobody told me how funny they were. Bawdy songs like Orgasm Addict are bolstered by Shelley's barbed vocals. Their fast sharp poppy sound is downright bacchanalian!

Buy:
Amazon

The Dodos- Visiter

The Dodos, an experimental folk band from San Francisco, are set to release their new album Visiter in March on Frenchkiss. Apparently the name of the record came from a drawing a kid did for them when they played for his special education class in South Central.

While the constant brisk rhythms are the most apparent draw, it’s Meric Long’s dry vocals that really made me pay attention. Like Animal Collective with a splash of Oh No! Oh My! or The Battles with more of a pop sensibility the band sounds both noisy and laid back. Also, they’re on tour.

MP3: The Dodos- Fools

Buy:
Dodo's Site
Amazon

Paint it Black Record Release Show (1/6/08)

Oh the poor hardcore kids. You know how no matter what show you go see, there is always that one hardcore kid in the back corner wearing a Bane hoodie, looking dejected? Last night presented a dilemma. So many Bane hoodies, only so many corners in the First Unitarian Church.

Damnation A.D

Not really my style of hardcore (tough-guy metalcore), but they had a few dedicated asshole fans who took the pleasure of punching random crowd-members in the face (because it is oh-so-tough).

Have Heart

Straight edge hardcore with a tinge of metalcore (again, too much metalcore for me), but they had a pretty solid stage presence.

The Hope Conspiracy

The first modern hardcore band that I ever got into back in the day (I’ve always preferred the older stuff). I was pretty excited to see these guys, as the last time I saw them was nearly 4 years ago with Give Up The Ghost. Hope Conspiracy blasted through their pissed off hardcore (which has more punk influences than metal), and seemed to be having a lot of fun on stage (the reason I mention this, is because 4 yrs ago, they seemed to be all really pissed off). They played some stuff off of EndNote and Cold Blue, although the majority was from their newest album which I’m unfamiliar with.

MP3:
The Hope Conspiracy – Fragile
The Hope Conspiracy - Vendetta

Paint it Black

Philly’s own. While they took quite a risk and opening with a song that hasn’t even come out yet, the crowd immediately started the stage diving, and it was relentless for the rest of the night. By far the shortest set of the night (clocking in around 25 minutes), Paint it Black ripped through about 17 songs. For those who don’t know, Paint it Black is fronted by Dan Yemin, (Kid Dynamite, Lifetime, Armalite), and they play hardcore it was meant to be played.

Setlist:
Past Tense, Future Perfect
Pink Slip
The New Brutality
So Much For Honor Among Thieves
Exit Wounds
Athiests In Foxholes
Womb Envy
Goliath
Ghosts
Shorty
Cannibal
We Will Not
Pharmacist
Why Film The Carnage
Atticus Finch
Memorial Day

BUY:
Hope Conspiracy
Paint it Black

Mix For An Unseasonably Warm Day

Here in New York it’s supposed to get up to 58 degrees (up to 60 tomorrow!). So here’s a mix to enjoy outside, or if you’re stuck indoors, a mix to enjoy while you’re leaning towards a window pretending to be outside.

MP3: Starlight Mints- Popsicle
MP3: Illinois- Screendoor
MP3: The Secret Dakota Ring- My Window
MP3: The Apples in Stereo- Go

Buy:
Insound
Amazon

Low Budgets Show Review (West Philly on 1/4/07)

Recently, I expressed how disappointed I was in the Low Budgets performance at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. So when I found out that they were playing a free, 21+ show at a tavern in West Philly, I was down quicker than Hilary's polls.

Dead Mechanical
This place was seriously just a tiny bar, and when the first band, “Dead Mechanical” took the stage, only about 10-15 people were standing and paying any attention. However, I was one of those people, and I must say, I was very impressed with these Baltimore rockers. They played melodic pop punk, kind of like a Smoke or Fire meets Teenage Bottlerocket. They kept a stage banter to a minimum, and ripped through their set.

The Low Budgets

Next up were the Low Budgets, the reason I came to the show. This time, about 30 people were standing and watching, and this is exactly the type of environment that the Low Budgets thrive in (small bar full of a few dedicated fans, as opposed to 775 people at the Stone Pony). The second they opened with “Stupid Dead Kitty”, I knew it was going to be an amazing show. All of the sound levels were solid this time around, and they played a decently longer set.

30 kids (are we still kids at a 21+ show?) flocked to the stage while the Low Budgets were setting up, and this is exactly the type of environment that these value rockers thrive in. Small, hometown local bar filled with a small number of dedicated fans as opposed to the 760 uninterested people at the Stone Pony. Bringing an egg timer with them (to make sure they play a long enough set), the band ripped into Stupid Dead Kitty, and everyone knew it was going to be an amazing show.

Filled with dancing and singalongs, by the end of the set, everyone was covered in spilled beer (and somehow being the only one not drinking there, I'm pretty sure I was the most covered). Some highlights include:

-Stupid Dead Kitty
-Oh Yeah
-Craft Fair
-No Money Shot
-Ripped Off
-Asthma Attacker
-Wipe My Ass With the World
-Beer Belly
-Born Before the Internet
-Rock N Rollers (You Can't Control The) (I think they played this)
-Crappy Family (I think they played this)

MP3:
Low Budgets – Beer Belly
Low Budgets – No Money Shot
Low Budgets – Born Before The Internet

If you're in Philly (or live close by), and the Budgets are playing a show, I'd highly recommend going, definitely a good fucking time.

Beer
Last up was this band called Beer, which pretty much was a FEAR cover band. Now, I'm not really a big fan of cover bands, but it was especially random that they only played songs by a 80s punk band that actually still performs (although it's no original members).

But since I had this urge to listen to Fear afterwards, here are some Fear songs (these guys were featured in my favorite Christmas songs post).

MP3:
Fear – Let's Have A War
Fear – I Love Living In The City

Buy:
Low Budgets
Fear

The Mountain Goats- Saxrohmer #1

Here's a new song off the Mountain Goats upcoming album Heretic Pride. I like it alot. Also check out his site for February and March tour dates.

MP3: The Mountain Goats- Saxrohmer #1

Buy:
Amazon

World Inferno/Friendship Society - Just the Best Party

Wow, I think I may be addicted. I can’t stop listening to World Inferno/Friendship Society’s “Just The Best Party”. These cabaret punk rockers have everything: horns (don't worry indies, it's not ska), ghoulish vocals, beats that make me feel as if I’m at a circus, and I’m not even past the opening track yet. The title track “Just the Best Party” has one of the best horn openings I’ve ever heard, and strangly reminds me Waluigi creeping around the shadows, snapping his fingers all smug like (Maybe they mean “just the best MARIO Party”).

Mp3:
World Inferno Friendship Society – Just the Best Party
World Inferno Friendship Society – Go With It Girl

Buy

Better Know A Letter: A- Anti-Flag

I’m going to take the GREs and I was trying to think of ways to use the vocab words I’ve been studying… And so I introduce to you a new 26 part series titled Better Know A Letter where I use as many GRE vocabulary words starting with a certain letter as possible to describe a band. We’ll see if I actually get all the way to Z.

This assiduous band seems to approach each song with an alacrity which does not abate. I don't mean to shower the band with approbations but I've always had an affinity for the often obnoxious and immature aesthetic of punk. Anti-Flag is considered analogous to other political punk bands such as The Casualties or Propagandhi and an antecedent to bands like Rise Against. Their sound, while sometimes astringent, is great when I need something loud and fast to pick me up later in the workday.

MP3: Anti-Flag- That’s Youth
MP3: Anti-Flag- Drink Drank Punk

Buy:
Insound
Amazon

Happy New Year (err... and a Day!)

Yeah we're a day late, so what? Wanna fight about it?

Both Sasha and I both made resolutions this year: Sasha pledged to listen to more punk rock, and mine is to be more destructive. Don't ask. Here's wishing you and your family/dog/cat/iguana/fish/other pets a safe and happy 2008!

Mp3:
Thursday - Jet Black New Year
The Lawrence Arms - 100 Resolutions
Bedouin Soundclash - New Year's Day

Buy:
Soundclash
Larry Arms
Thursday

2007: Another Annoying Year in Mainstream Music

DJ Earworm made a mashup of the 25 most popular songs in the U.S. in 2007. It’s surprisingly listenable for a mix of so many songs but it’s still a whole lot of annoying songs (I’ll admit I think that Avril song is damn catchy).

MP3: DJ Earworm- United State of Pop

Buy:
DJ Earworm's Site

BATTLE: Band of Horses vs. The Bouncing Souls!

Coincidence? We think conspiracy!

When Band of Horses released “Cease to Begin,” the first thing we noticed here at Housewives was the strikingly similar album art to the Bouncing Souls “Anchor's Aweigh.” Since neither band could probably care less about this, we knew it was our god given obligation to settle the score with a good ole' fashion Midwestern Housewife BATTLE!!! Guaranteed to be as bloody as our Bear vs Wolves fight.

Round 1: Most Songs

Bouncing Souls – 16
Band of Horses – 10

Last time we checked, 16 was bigger and better than 10 (unless you're playing golf.)

Winner: Bouncing Souls

Round 2: Best Beards

While a valiant attempt, rubber facial hair does not count.

Band of Horses had to grow some facial hair to protect them from that Seattle rain... The Souls did just fine without in the tropical weather of Jersey, but just for this competition, they decided to get an Osama mask? Sorry Souls, we're all about authenticity at The Housewives (says the Housewives... who aren't housewives, and not from the midwest).

Winner: Band of Horses

Round 3: Most Energetic First Song

The first line in the Band of Horses song pretty much sums up the tune: “I could sleep.” On the other hand, The Souls first line is about waking up, (goddamn jackhammers). Unless I'm running a marathon in my dream, sleeping is what some would call the opposite of energetic.

Winner: Bouncing Souls

Round 4: Most References to Sheep in the Big City

The Bouncing Souls really let us down on this one:

Winner: Band of Horses

Round 5: Best Album Art

They have a boat:

Winner: The Bouncing Souls

Round 6: Best Overall Album:

We realize that “Best Overall Album” is kind of like comparing Apples to Oranges, but we've always liked oranges better.

Winner: The Bouncing Souls, Anchors Aweigh

MP3:

Band of Horses – Ode to The LRC
Bouncing Souls – Sing Along Forever

Buy:
Souls
Horses