Indie Music Chatter

One of my favorite bands in the world is set to announce their reunion — and nope, it’s not Superdrag.

Led Zeppelin, one of the most seminal rock bands of all time is set to announce that they will reunite in a press conference to be held on Wednesday, September 12. For those kids who think that Led Zeppelin are dinosaurs who should just stay in their wheelchairs, let me just remind them that a whole slew of bands owe their music to the legendary British rock group. Everyone from Soundgarden to Wolfmother can trace their sound to LedZep.

I love Led Zeppelin but I have to say that this is going to be halfbaked reunion without John Bonham. Having said that it would interesting to see John Paul Jones on stage again. More than Page and Plant, I am a Jones and Bonham fan.

It’s already September. This is that magic month when the days start passing you by in a blur. Before you know it, it’s already December — that painful month when your pocket groans from the sheer amount of money that just flies off your wallet.

December is also the month when most people start compiling their “Best of” lists. Having been writing about music for the last couple of years, I know how difficult it can be sometimes to narrow down all of the good stuff that you’ve listened to over the year and then condense it into a list of like ten or twenty. What is going to make it doubly harder for me this year is that I forgot to make my monthly list. You see, I usually compile a list of albums that I love. This list grows from month to month and this is becomes the basis of my year-end list. Unfortunately, I totally forgot to do this and only started listing down albums from July onwards. I am afraid that I may miss some cool albums on my 2007 Best Of list. One album that’s certainly a shoo-in though is Tegan and Sara’s The Con.

What about you guys? Who do you think will make it into your own list?

I had a lot of fun last weekend.

I took out a few of my favorite CDs and also made a playlist on my PC of songs that I love singing. Yes, I had my own mini concert at home by singing along to my favorites songs! It was quite a riot and it really brought back memories of when I was a pubescent teenager who had just discovered rock. I remember going crazy over U2’s Joshua Tree and singing my lungs out as I tried to reach the notes the great Bono was singing effortlessly. At that age, all I ever wanted to be was to become the singer in a rock band.

Well, fast forward to the present. I never got to fulfill that dream mainly because I was too shy to even go on stage. My first attempt at being a member of a band (I played bass) was more funny than inspiring. I was too nervous to play so I ended up playing the bass while sitting on a stool. Our singer didn’t know how to sing (I knew how to sing but I refused to even go near the mic because of my extreme shyness), and we played a song I didn’t even like. Reliving those memories and trying to be a “rock star” for even one day was still quite a thrill for me. I sang (or at least tried to) my anthem of the week Cherry Ghost’s People Help The People, the whole Dust album from Screaming Trees, A few tunes from Jose Gonzalez, and even my regular staple U2. I even tried singing some of Glen Hansard’s songs from the Once soundtrack. I think I’ll do this again next week — provided I can find a room in the house where I can let go of my inhibitions and hide from my wife who must be thinking her husband has lost his marbles.

Cherry Ghost, Screaming Trees, U2, Jose Gonzalez

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Now playing: Buffalo Tom - gravity
via FoxyTunes

Radney, a good friend of mine, recently gave me a copy of Magnitude the 2-CD remastered retrospective of the 80’s UK band The Wild Swans. What can I say? It’s a blast from the past! The Wild Swans never really got big worldwide. Only those who were immersed in the “new wave” movement of the early to mid 80’s would actually know them. They never had a hit single and their popularity among the new wave cognoscenti started out as second hand recognition because this group was composed of members who would become more popular in other bands, namely, Paul Simpson with The Care and Jeremy Kelly with The Lotus Eaters.

Magnitude collects The Wild Swans’ two albums. The debut Bringing Home The Ashes as well as Space Flower. These albums have been remastered and additional tracks were added to each album. As retrospectives go, this is a great buy. Firstly, because Wild Swans albums are so rare now (remember, they never really became massively popular) and second, the collection is a nostalgic glimpse into 80’s music — the ones that are cool, mind you and not the cringe inducing music of The Jets or Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.

The Wild Swans, Lotus Eaters, The Care

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Now playing: Eisley - A Sight To Behold
via FoxyTunes

I recently acquired a couple of albums from the band Devastations, and I have fallen in love with their dark sound. Devastations is like The Tindersticks trading in their suave undertones with something more sinister — something Like Nick Cave and his barroom experimentations. There is a certain slinky sexiness to their sound that can also turn foreboding and dangerous in some songs. The band only plays within the boundaries of these aforementioned grooves/textures — a formula that they have established for the band. I have to say I like their sound. Devastations is the kind of band whose album you will play on a dark, chilly afternoon.

Devastations, Nick Cave, The Tindersticks

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Now playing: The Devastations - An Avalanche Of Stars
via FoxyTunes

Talk about indie music and the usual suspects almost always come from Canada, the US, the UK and Europe. Unfortunately, Asia never gets the attention it deserves. The region has some of the freshest and most innovative bands that are just waiting for a bigger audience to discover them.

Take for example the Philippines’ Up Dharma Down. This quartet has, to my mind, singlehandedly elevated indie music in the Philippines. They play a kind of dreampop/jazz/triphop hybrid that is so accomplished, so sophisticated you will almost cry from frustration because they really deserve to be heard by a far bigger audience than the lucky mofos in Manila.

The band has one of the tightest sounds I have ever heard from ANY band. And that includes any single one of the bands in the US or the UK. It is mature, deep, many layered and highly nuanced. Every single song from the debut Fragmented is like a warm wash of sounds that envelop you, tickling your senses and leaving you wanting just a little more…

If you guys want to discover for yourselves what I’m talking about just make a Google search on Up Dharma Down because a number of sites have cropped up that feature some of their songs. Prepare to be amazed.

Philippines, Up Dharma Down, Fragmented

I love women rockers that reek of menace and danger. I think these kind of women are sexy and they really turn me on. The confidence and swagger they present on stage and also bring with them wherever they go is like musk that attracts me to them. It’s no wonder I am so obsessed with rockers like Polly Jean Harvey, Allison “VV” Mosshart of The Kills, the girls of L7, and to some extent even Kathleen Hanna (who has managed the almost impossible task of mixing girly cuteness with rocker danger).

These are the women that populate my music reality. These are women who are so confident in their femininity that they can choose to flaunt it in ways that can be seen as subliminally subversive. Even their music reflects this confidence and sexual assuredness — qualities that no man can dare equal.

A friend of mine recently sold some old turntables in his collection. I’ve always been interested in going analog but the initial investment of getting a turntable and LPs deterred me. Anyway, I just asked this friend about the equipment he was selling a few questions just out of curiosity. Before I knew it, he sent me a linear tracking turntable and a few LPS to try out. Well, to cut a long story short, I eventually bought the turntable and I’m now in the process of collecting LPs.

I have to admit, all the claims made by turntable enthusiasts really have a kernel of truth in them.  Audio is just more lively, brighter and has a much wider soundstage. Separation is also more defined.

What am I trying to drive at? Well, I’m now hankering to get some LPs of my favorite artists, that is, if there are any available pressings. I think the music of Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart will sound exceptionally well in analog. So too the music of The Arcade Fire.

I knew going analog was going to be the death of my wallet.

turntable, analog, Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Arcade Fire

I recently read about the reissue of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s three seminal albums. The Apeology reissue is a great chance to listen to one of dub and reggae’s foremost visionaries at his strangest. The three albums in this reissue (RoastFish and Cornbread, Super Ape and Return of Super Ape) are some of the strongest examples of how Perry sees music as well as wonderful glimpse into his whole thought process as a musician and producer. You want to talk about the indie spirit, well Perry embodies the whole indie ethos. This is a guy who did everything based on his own unique vision — no compromises, no bargaining.

One of the biggest things that irritate me is when I hear someone say that they love reggae and yet could only cite Bob Marley and frigging UB40. There is more to reggae than Marley and Perry is waiting there to welcome you with open arms.

Lee “Scratch” Perry, Bob Marley, Apeology

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Now playing: Eskimo & Sons - No Elephant
via FoxyTunes

One of the most embarassing things to happen to an avowed music fan is to actually miss an important piece of information with regards to music. And what makes it doubly embarrassing is that the information involves a band of which you are a big fan.

That’s just what happened to me today. I am a HUGE Buffalo Tom fan. I think that all of their albums are great examples of American rock — brash, atmospheric and earnest. I have all of their albums in my collection and, in fact, always mention Let Me Come Over as one of the finest albums ever made. So it came as quite a shock to me to find out that they released a new album last month. Three Easy Pieces was released last July 10 and I completely missed it.

I’m not going to make excuses for what happened but to put it in perspective, this album of new material is a follow up to Smitten, an album that they released waaay back in 1998. for the next four or five years, I would periodically check if they have released any new CDs. But except for a Greatest Hits package (which I always consider as a sign of an impending breakup) no new material came out from the Bill Janowitz and company. I guess, subconsciously, I thought that Smitten would be their last album.

Sometimes, it’s good to be wrong. Oh, and welcome back Buffalo Tom. Pleased to make your acquaintance once again.

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Now playing: Buffalo Tom - three easy pieces
via FoxyTunes

Buffalo Tom, Smitten, Three Easy Pieces

Over the past couple of days I’ve been immersing myself with the music of Joy Division. I’m doing this to prepare myself for my planned attendance to a screening of Anton Corbijn’s Control, the biopic of the late Ian Curtis.

I’m an avowed Joy Division fan. But if you ask me how many of their albums I have I’ll tell you that I only have one. It’s actually the Heart and Soul 4 - disc set that encompasses the whole dicography of Joy Division (which is, obviously, tragically short). Call me a half-hearted fan if you want but I deliberately bought this CD set because I knew that it will be very hard to track down each and everyone of the band’s releases. Some may think of this as a Cliff’s Notes version of their discography, to which I have to voice my contrarian opinion. It may be true with some of the other artist retrospectives released by money grubbing record companies. But Heart and Soul, to me, is like a trade paperback — a tidy collection of the whole run of a comicbook (or a particularly memorable story arc). This collection is supposed to contain every single release the band made during their very memorable, but very short time together. I think that this noble attempt to compile everything in one manageable package is commendable and is a great service to Joy Division fans and serious music listeners.

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Now playing: Film School - On & On
via FoxyTunes

Joy Division, Ian Curtis, Anton Corbijn

I have such an intense crush on Kathleen Hanna. So big in fact, that I follow every single thing she’s done — from Bikini Kill to her Julie Ruin project to Le Tigre.

I am tremendously in love with Le Tigre’s self titled album that I had no choice but to remove the album from my iPod. I kept coming back to that album so much that I had this tremendous backlog of albums that I never got to listen to in my player, so the painful decision to remove the source of my addiction. And the one song that I consistently play among all the other songs in that album? Deceptacon.

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Now playing: TV On The Radio - Province
via FoxyTunes

Kathleen Hanna, Le Tigre, Bikini Kill

My Amazon orders arrived today and finally got Snow Patrol’s Final Straw and Blue Screen Life, the second album from Pinback.

Now, one of the biggest mysteries for me is why Pinback is not even getting big. Even my friends who listen to basically the same stuff as I do never mention Pinback. They never got excited when I told them that Autumn of The Seraphs, their newest album, will be released September of this year. They do not even share my general enthusiasm for Pinback’s music.

I love Death Cab for Cutie and I think Ben Gibbard is a genius but Pinback has as much right to get as big as Death Cab, if not more. Zach Smith and Rob Crow are music geniuses. I personally think they are two of the most innovative artists ever to collaborate. I do hope that at some point in the future they finally get the recognition they so justly deserve.

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Now playing: Pinback - Good To Sea
via FoxyTunes

Pinback, Blue Screen Life, Autumn of The Seraphs, Death Cab for Cutie

I am quite stoked about Control, the new film and directorial debut of Anton Corbijn. Control is the biopic of the enigmatic Ian Curtis, the frontman of seminal band Joy Division who committed suicide on the eve of their US tour. Curtis has, over the years, become a rock icon and legend and the influence of Joy Division is being felt in the present crop of bands (Interpol, Editors, Killers, The Bravery, The Rakes) that are, for better or worse, channeling Joy Division’s unique post punk vision.

Corbijn, a lifelong Joy Division fan, is a wonderful choice to make the biopic. I have always respected his unique vision and I am quite confident that he will deliver solidly on this film.

Ian Curtis, Joy Division, Anton Corbijn

My friend Dodo just tagged me with a music meme, which I have to admit I love answering…

What Music Are You Currently Grooving To?

Most of the artists I’ve talked about in this blog are currently in my playlist. This would include Chow Chow, Tom Waits, Tegan & Sara, Film School, Mixtapes and Cellmates, Au Revoir Simone, and The Rumble Strips. Other artists that are on my playlist (I may blog about them) are The Go! Team, Ariel, Jubilee’s Child, Chet Baker, The Aluminum Group, Plane and the wonderfully named DD/MM/YYYY.

What, If Push Comes To Shove, Is Your All-Time Favorite Album?

I hate absolutes. There are just so many good things in the world that it is practically impossible for me to just name just one “ultimate” all-time fave. So I’ll just mention some of the albums I think should be considered as an all-time favorite in everyone’s list — Nirvana’s Nevermind, U2’s Achtung Baby, Tom Waits’ Closing Time, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, The Stone Roses’ debut album, and The Beatles’ White Album.

What Was The First Record You Bought? And Where Did You Buy It?

The first record I bought with my own money ( that’s a pretty big distinction there) would be The Police’s Synchronicity. It was a second hand tape with a battered liner. I bought it from a high school classmate who probably nicked it from his older brother.

Which Musician Have You Ever Wanted To Be?

Again, an absolute — which means I give more names. For sheer genius, it would be Kevin Shields. For tortured vision, Kurt Cobain, For pomp it would have to be Bono, for coolness cranked to 11 it will have to be Chet Baker.

What Do You Sing In The Shower?
I haven’t sung in the shower in ages, having a family limits your private rock star moments. But I have to admit that I’ve been singing Snow Patrol’s You’re All I Have whenever I’m alone in my work area at home.
What Is Your Favourite Saturday Night Record?

Hands down it has to be Tom Waits. Closing Time, The Heart of Saturday Night and Nighthawks at The Diner. Three albums’ worth of broken down blues and honky tonk jazz is a perfect companion to a glass of good cognac and a darkened room.

And Your Sunday Morning Record?

I have a hyperactive three year old who knows what he wants. This means my Sunday mornings are spent listening to The Backyardigans and those products of a ’shroom trip, The Wonder Pets.

Ariel, Jubilee’s Child,   DD/MM/YYYY