Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn has a solo album out today, and this morning, Bulletin graphic artist Andy Zeigert and I had a brief discussion on IM about things we’d rather listen to than it. Please enjoy, and sorry it’s a little fuzzy. I don’t know what’s up with that.
Saturday, December 10th, 2011
In this week’s GO! Magazine, we have four full pages dedicated to the favorite musical things — albums, concerts, instruments, whatever — of those closest to Central Oregon’s music scene in 2011.
Four full pages sounds like a lot, until you realize that I received more than 40 submissions this year in response to my annual call for everyone’s top five list.
Not only did I get a ton of lists, but they were longer and more substantive than ever before, which means two things: 1) I ended up with way more material than I could use in print. And 2) There’s a lot of great stuff in the overflow lists, which scroll on endlessly below.
So warm up your mouse finger and pan down to see what a whole bunch of local folks were into in 2011. And again, there’s more here.
Saturday, September 24th, 2011
Nirvana released “Nevermind” 20 years ago today.
Sept. 24, 1991. I was 15.
For some large percentage of the world’s population, this anniversary doesn’t mean much. And for some smaller, more cynical group of people, it means another chance to roll their eyes whenever someone begins to wax poetic about the album and what it meant/means in the context of punk rock/popular music/pop culture/fashion/the Northwest music scene/hero worship/conformity/nonconformity/whatever.
I understand that. Just as one might scoff at the notion that “Nevermind” changed a lot of lives (besides Kurt Cobain’s, Krist Novoselic’s and Dave Grohl’s), I will probably scoff one day when some young whippersnapper claims their life was changed by, say, Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” or Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs.” (No slag intended. Both are fine albums; see #11 and #25 here.)
It’s the circle of life, or at least the circle of thinking your formative music is the most important music ever and subconsciously diminishing that which came before or after. Y’know … that circle.
But I’m here to tell you: “Nevermind” changed lives. It changed mine. I went from listening to Bobby Brown in 6th grade to Def Leppard and INXS in 8th grade to Nirvana in 10th grade to discovering the Pixies and Pavement and Teenage Fanclub and my weird local college radio station and on and on. From there, it was a deep, dark rabbit hole of music super-nerd-dom that I tumbled into, and that I still haven’t climbed out of. Thank goodness.
Friday, July 8th, 2011
If you’re like me — and everyone else on the planet older than 30 — the first thing you think of when you hear Night Ranger‘s name is the ’80s band one major hit, “Sister Christian.”
“Sister Christian” has endured over the past 30 years, probably for three reasons: 1) A hilariously cheesy video. 2) That “motorin’!” refrain at the beginning of the chorus, which has a tendency to lodge itself in your brain, not unlike the key parts of “Sweet Caroline” or “Don’t Stop Believin’.” And 3) Well, it’s just a solid song. So kudos, Night Ranger. Kudos.
But after doing a bit of Night Ranger-related research (did I just type that?) last week, I discovered something: The single the band released immediately following the success of “Sister Christian” is actually a much better song. It’s called “When You Close Your Eyes,” and it has an equally cheesy video to go with it. And now you will watch it:
A few observations:
1) The acting in the “break up” scene at the beginning of the video is pure gold.
2) The pre-chorus (one at :53, 1:55 and 3:05) is super catchy. No irony. It just is.
3) The drummer in this video — he’s also the guy that sings in front of the car and the giant paper moon — is like a fully formed Will Ferrell character. Every second he’s on screen is a joy, especially 2:24 to 2:30. My wife saw that and said, “He must not know which camera to look at.” I LOL’d.
4) 2:04: Mouthful of hair. Blech.
5) The guy at 2:50 really wants you to know he has a “flying v” guitar.
6) The parts of the video where the band is actually performing just scream “rock ‘n’ roll” don’t they? But what’s up the normal-looking, short-haired guy all the way to the left on the keys? Do you think he feels left out when he sees all his buds swinging their manes around like that? Poor dude.
7) Leather Vest’s harmony on the “dream about me” part of the chorus is totally awesome. That is the part I will be singing along to at tonight’s show (if I am there).
Bottom line is this: “Sister Christian” gets lots of love, and deservedly so. But based on “When You Close Your Eyes,” I believe that Night Ranger deserves to be remembered as more than just a One Hit Wonder. I believe the time has come for the world to know that Night Ranger did not peak with “Sister Christian.” The world should know about “When You Close Your Eyes” and the time for this revolution is now.
Maybe I should set up a booth at the show or something to try to sign people up for the cause. Will you join me?
Night Ranger plays at 8:30 tonight at Troy Field, next to McMenamins Old St. Francis School in downtown Bend. Sagebrush Rock opens at 5 p.m., followed by The Show at 7 p.m. The concert is free, but you need a ticket to get in. To find out how to get a ticket, listen to 98.3 FM The Twins radio station.
Saturday, May 21st, 2011
I wanna be on the record with my favorite albums of 2011!
And if it doesn’t, well, then these are my favorite albums of 2011 so far.
1. Fleet Foxes, “Helplessness Blues”
A stunning sophomore effort by the Seattle-based masters of rustic harmonies that is, at once, among both the prettiest and most ambitious albums of the year. Add Robin Pecknold’s informal three-song solo EP (see below), and you’ve got a fast-growing case for him as arguably the best young songwriter going.
2. Adele, “21″
A powerhouse pop record by a woman blessed with incredible talent and excellent taste. It’s not often that the best music is also the most popular music, but that’s the case here.
3. Yuck, “Yuck”
Young, frail, floppy-haired and English, this quartet has all the charisma of a wet mop in a dark closet. But put instruments in their hands and distortion pedals at their feet, and they’re a fuzzy pop-rock Frankenstein of a band made up of the best bits of Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., Teenage Fanclub, Sonic Youth, Built to Spill and the Pixies.
4. The Decemberists, “The King Is Dead”
After the bloated, underwhelming excess of “The Hazards of Love,” Portland’s brainiest band went back to their roots, strumming out 10 solid tracks of modest, jangling Americana. It’s not as challenging as Colin Meloy’s most literate rock opuses, perhaps, but sometimes being endlessly listenable is enough.
5. The Psychic Paramount, “II”
Noisy, frenzied psych-rock freakouts that’ll leave you frazzled, paranoid and anxious. An acquaintance said “II” is “kinda like getting kicked around by a hit squad with the helicopter hovering ten feet above.” Yes, please!
6. Telekinesis, “12 Desperate Straight Lines”
Dude tosses out power-pop gems like it’s his job. Which it is. And he’s better at his job than just about anyone.
7. Moon Duo, “Mazes”
More repeato-drone from these space travelers, this time with a touch more psych-damaged sunshine melody mixed in.
8. Foo Fighters, “Wasting Light”
One of the best BIG rock bands returns with more arena-ready hooks for the masses. Sweaty, muscular, fist-pumpin’ shout-alongs, etc.
9. Frank Ocean, “nostalgia, Ultra.”
Say, have you heard of Odd Future? Tyler, the Creator? Yeah? This dude knows those dudes, and his mixtape’s better than anything they’ve done this year.
10. (tie) White Fence, “Is Growing Faith” … Explosions in the Sky, “Take Care, Take Care, Take Care” … Jonny, “Jonny” … Grails, “Deep Politics” … Hauschka, “Salon des Amateurs” … Mogwai, “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will” … Big K.R.I.T., “Return of 4Eva” mixtape … Thee Oh Sees, “Castlemania” … Tim Hecker, “Ravedeath, 1972″ … Matthew Robert Cooper, “Some Days Are Better Than Others” soundtrack … The Dodos, “No Color” … AgesandAges, “Alright You Restless” … Robin Pecknold, “Three Songs” … Xray Eyeballs, “Not Nothing” … Apex Manor, “The Year of Magical Drinking” … Darlings, “Warma” … Beastie Boys, “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two” … The Very Best, “Super Mom” mixtape …
OK, I cheated. But at least I got everything in “print” so that when whoever, whenever opens up Earth’s vast online time capsule and makes a beeline for this blog to see what I was into in early 2011, they won’t be disappointed. And they’ll learn that the Beastie Boys actually made a good record. Talk about a sign of the apocalypse!
Monday, April 25th, 2011
…on this poster for their show tonight at MadHappy Lounge, spied recently on Parrilla Grill’s bulletin board.
Truer words, etc., etc.
If you’re interested, here’s what I wrote about the show in last Friday’s GO! Magazine:
Good news for fans of atmospheric psych-rock: We have a Concave Perception Chamber sighting. The long-standing (but sometimes hard to find) Bend combo will play Monday at MadHappy Lounge (850 N.W. Brooks St., Bend), draping the cozy bar with gentle waves of lush, chiming guitars and experimental pop know-how. 9 p.m. Free.
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
This is one of the two bulletin boards at Longboard Louie’s on the west side right now.
I had a breakfast burrito with cheese, in case you were wondering.
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
Before we get too far away from this article, in which I listed my hopes and wishes for the Central Oregon music scene in 2010, I want to add one item to it.
This addition is actually prompted by not one, but two e-mails I received from readers who expressed disappointment in the number of local concerts geared toward an older generation. Let’s call them … Baby Boomers. (I just made that term up. OK, not really.) Take it away, bummed Boomers …
Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Tomorrow morning in GO! Magazine, the music section will be dedicated to the best music of 2010, with four whole pages dedicated to the favorite things — albums, concerts, instruments, whatever — of those closest to Central Oregon’s music scene.
A couple weeks ago, I sent out a call to everyone I know asking them for their top five musical moments of the year. I’ve done this for four years in a row, and always received more lists than I could fit in the paper.
This year, however, there were even more lists than usual, and they were longer and more substantive than ever before. I ended up with way more material than I could use in print. Lucky for all of us, the internet is infinite! So I’ve taken all the overflow and placed it right here. Scroll down to see what a whole bunch of local folks were into in 2010.
Larry And His Flask
roots-punk road warriors
1. Best out of town shows: Austin, Texas at the Hole In The Wall with Possessed by Paul James and Tom Vandenavond. Playing at the House of Blues in Boston on Saint Patrick’s Day with Sick of it All and the Dropkick Murphys. Playing with Matt Hensley of Flogging Molly at Matt’s bar in Carlsbad. Playing acoustic at the House of Blues in Hollywood, Calif., in Jimmy Kimmel’s personal VIP section at the Mighty Mighty Bosstones show.2. Most listened to albums of 2010: Possessed by Paul James, “Feed the Family.” Punch Brothers, “Anitfogmatic.” Noman, “Broadcast.” Murder by Death, “Good Morning, Magpie.” The Tallest Man on Earth, “Shallow Grave.”
3. Best hometown shows: Playing with The Devil Makes Three and the Dela Project at the Domino Room. Super rowdy show! Also, watching The Aggrolites at the Domino Room.
4. Best singer-songwriter of the century: Willy Tea of Oakdale, Calif.
5. Best party in Florida: The Fest, Halloween weekend. We played two shows that were awesome, then snuck onto the fourth floor of the Holliday Inn. Played on the fourth floor only to get kicked out by security and then to play again in the lobby with the manager’s permission at 4 a.m.
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