TVD's Daily Wax | Better Than Ezra "How Does Your Garden Grow?"

College rock. Just those two words together in a sentence make me want to hurl. REM, Camper Van Beethoven, They Might be Giants, 10,000 Maniacs, Cracker, Blind Melon, Pearl Jam, et al...keep it. Keep all of it.

But how then to justify my BTE love? It's impossible - but there it is. OK, maybe it's not impossible. This could be the best LP of that loathsome era of 90's godawful "alternative" radio...and that's not damning with faint praise.

As I wrote at Fun and Heartbreak and referenced last Friday, I was out of town at the New Orleans Jazz Fest when I got the news that my friend Anne had killed herself. If there's ever a reason to jump on a plane and get home, that was it...but I was convinced to stay in town and that night was persuaded that seeing BTE at Tip's was probably the better idea than just sitting in the hotel room drinking. A lot. So, BTE takes the stage on a sticky, humid New Orleans night and opens with a loopy, slow and mournful "Live Again." And that was sweat streaming down my face just then. Really.

Better Than Ezra - Je Ne M'en Souviens Pas (Mp3)
Better Than Ezra - One More Murder (Mp3)
Better Than Ezra - At The Stars (Mp3)
Better Than Ezra - Live Again (Mp3)
Better Than Ezra - Everything In 2's (Mp3)

Doesn't do 'em justice, but...

...from last night:

TVD's Weekend Shots

The hand-wringing...the tears...the sleepless nights--all to conjure up this list o' TVD's Top Ten Crowded House Tunes in preparation for tonight's 9:30 show. And if anyone REALLY cares, this wasn't all that easy -- so many great songs, so small a list. And they're more of the darker variety (TVD = miserable f'er.) and not ONE from 'Woodface.' Go figure. So, we'll count them down all Casey Casem Top 40-like...cue jingle! (Towels at the ready...)

10. I Feel Possessed (Mp3)
...we are one person not two of a kind...
9. Black And White Boy (Mp3)
..and you run like a cat to the cream / and you're acting so nice it's obscene...
8. Don't Dream It's Over (Mp3)
...try to catch the deluge in a paper cup...
7. In My Command (Mp3)
desolate in anger and safe in isolation / you're about to be the victim of a holy visitation...
6. Kare Kare (Mp3)
..i've got my senses on / and this is the only place that I always run from...
5. Fingers Of Love (Mp3)
i hear the endless murmur / every blade of grass that shivers in the breeze...
4. Walking On The Spot (Mp3)
the odd times we slip / and slither down the dark hall / fingers point from old windows / an eerie shadow falls...
3. Private Universe (Mp3)
no time, no place to talk about the weather / the promise of love is hard to ignore / who said the chance wasn't getting any better / the labor of love is ours to endure...
2. Into Temptation (Mp3)
...as I turned to go / you looked at me for half a second...
1. Not the Girl You Think You Are (Mp3)
...and all the people that you know / will turn their heads as you go by / but you'll be hard to recognize / with the top down and the wind blowing, blowing...

TVD | Friday @ Random

Eight years ago this weekend, my friend Anne put a gun to her head and killed herself. I wrote a little bit about it here not too long ago.

Last winter as I stood waiting to get the bartender's attention at the Friday Night Haunt, I looked to my left and spotted a friend of hers and with more than a few in me I said, "Hey, didn't you used to be the drummer in so-and-so band? I think we have a friend in common." "Oh yea," he says as his date begins to gush at him having been recognized as this drummer that people know or something. I say, "Anne"...and it was like...a...light...went...off -- not on. "Don't bring her up, man..." he starts stammering and begins to physically back out of the conversation. "She should be remembered, you know" I press on. He's shaking his head, "No man, no." I'm not sure if it was too painful or just something else entirely.

I suppose I could do this post on Halloween because that was her birthday, but I often recall the goodbyes much more than the hellos.

Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number (Mp3)
Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You (Mp3)
The Posies - Fall Apart With Me (Mp3)
Silver Sun - This 'n' That (Mp3)
Longpigs - On & On (Mix) (Mp3)
Bernard Butler - Stay (Mp3)

TVD's Daily Wax | Crowded House "Time on Earth"

It's just not lived in enough I think to have its tracks considered for tomorrow's Crowded House Top Ten. It's a fine return to form and I'm sure after a few more bottles of wine and some late night spins it'll walk its way into the favourites lane. But for now, it's merely a wonderful and welcome return. And as tomorrow's list will reveal, Finn & Co. aren't the sunny and breezy little outfit that much of the first LP and 'Woodface' lead one to believe...there are some seriously dark undercurrents at work texturally, sonically, and lyrically--and after the death of original drummer Paul Hester, that tone is front and center here. Absences do indeed have shapes.

Crowded House - Don't Stop Now (Mp3)
Crowded House - Heaven That I'm Making (Mp3)
Crowded House - People Are Like Suns (Mp3)
Crowded House - Silent House (Mp3)
Crowded House - You Are The Only One To Make Me Cry (Mp3)

A TVD Night Out | The Sound of Words: A Scheme to Rock The Writer's Center

When Chad Clark (Beauty Pill, Silver Sonya) was mixing The Caribbean's last record Populations, a recurring idea fixed in his mind: a group as literate as The Caribbean would likely appeal to an audience not plugged into experimental pop music, an audience not obsessed with hooks and melody, but who loved the sound of words. Likely, he reasoned, there was also a music crowd that didn't find itself at poetry readings but liked, in general, to read and understood the romance in literary things. Having friends in both DC's music and literary worlds, Chad had a thought, which he describes as follows:

"Okay, let’s say you had two brilliant, eccentric friends. One an innovative songwriter in an unusual, forward-thinking band. The other a masterful poet and founder of a respected literary journal. Each creative in their own ways, but with parallels. Cult figures in their respective worlds. Let’s say they didn’t know each other. Let’s say you introduced them. Let’s say they they hit it off and became fans of each other’s work. Let’s say they decided to collaborate as curators and performers of a shared evening of poetry and music. I’m telling you, it could happen."

To that end, an event at The Writer's Center in Bethesda was imagined among Chad, Michael Kentoff of The Caribbean and DC poet Deborah Ager, who also publishes the poetry magazine 32 Poems. Here are the details of the reality:

THE SOUND OF WORDS: A SCHEME TO ROCK THE WRITER'S CENTER
Featuring The Caribbean and 32 Poems Magazine
DATE: Friday, May 9
TIME: 8 PM
COSTS: Nothing
LOCATION: The Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD

TVD's Daily Wax | Crowded House "Afterglow"

In advance of Crowded House's sold out show at the 9:30 Friday night, we're going to get a bit Finn-centric here at TVD for the balance of the week. See, the thing is, next to Sir Paul, Neil's the Best Living Songwriter we've got. So nope, it's not Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Paul Weller, Paul Westerburg, Elton John, Elvis Costello or Colin Melloy. It's Neil. And the guy can kinda' sing too.

These tracks from Crowded House's 2000 rarities and b-sides collection 'Afterglow'-- songs deemed not album-worthy (?)--are added highlights to what arrives Friday: TVD's List of Top Ten Crowded House Songs. (Bring a towel.)

Crowded House - I Am In Love (Mp3)
Crowded House - Left Hand (Mp3)
Crowded House - Help Is Coming (Mp3)
Crowded House - Recurring Dream (Mp3)
Crowded House - Time Immemorial (Mp3)

TVD's Daily Wax | Peter Murphy "Deep"

Quiet here today, huh? Quite figuratively spent the whole day as this LP cover depicts...

Peter Murphy - Shy (Mp3)
Peter Murphy - Crystal Wrists (Mp3)
Peter Murphy - Marlene Dietrich's Favourite Poem (Mp3)
Peter Murphy - The Line Between The Devil's Teeth (And That Which Cannot Be Repeat) (Mp3)
Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up (Mp3)

TVD's Daily Wax | Pride Tiger "The Lucky Ones"

Their PR firm was scouring The Hype Machine for blogs that post about Thin Lizzy, and no surprise, TVD came up. A lot. And I wrote the guy back in about a minute after hearing the twin guitar attack and those vocals...

"Pride Tiger finds Matt Wood, Sunny Dhak, Bob Froese and Mike Payette coming together to produce a hook-laden, vintage rock album. On "The Lucky Ones", produced, engineered and mixed by Matt Hyde (Slayer, Monster Magnet, Fu Manchu), they weave Wood's vocals and Dhaks' guitar lines with ease, resulting in 13 exhilarating songs that range from the bluesy wail of "A New Jones" to the heart-pumping stomp of "Let 'Em Go." And this year Pride Tiger's "The Lucky Ones" was nominated for the Canadian Best Rock Album Juno Award. ...When I put on this Pride Tiger album for the first time it was 1976 for me all over again. They really do channel the spirit of the late Phil Lynott. These riffs, these drums and these vocals are truly from a simpler time when gas prices were high and so were our older brothers and sisters."

And for the record (ahem...) they sent me a promo copy -- on vinyl.

Pride Tiger - Let 'em Go (Mp3)
Pride Tiger - Fill Me In (Mp3)
Pride Tiger - The Lucky Ones (Mp3)
Pride Tiger - Forget Everything (Mp3)
Pride Tiger - A New Jones (Mp3)

TVD's Weekend Shots

I met Spike, your DJ for this weekend's Tenacious Ten, when I was 3 and he was 4. Spike tells this rather lucid story about how he peered over the redwood fence that separated our backyards and there was wee TVD, mashing blueberries into a Frisbee. Spike's my brother from a different set of parents -- and being adopted myself, it ain't a stretch. We grew up together, went to the same university here in DC, and even though he's lived in New York City with his lovely wife and gorgeous daughters going on 16 years now, (Spike, am I right...that long?) ...he's got some Friday tunes for the D of C. Now, if you'll forgive me, I've got some blueberries and a Frisbee to attend to. Take it away, Spike:

"I was fortunate this year to catch two shows during the Brooklyn Next series of concerts. Brooklyn Next highlights the innovation and diversity of the Brooklyn's music scene with two weekends packed with shows all over the borough. More so, the series made me realize how many bands in my music collection are Brooklyn based. So I present to you a sampling of some music made in the borough."

National - Apartment Story (Mp3)
National - Fake Empire (Mp3)
Bravery - Believe (Mp3)
Citizen Cope - Brother Lee (Mp3)
Ambulance LTD - Heavy Lifting (Mp3)
Ambulance LTD - Stay Where You Are (Mp3)
TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (Mp3)
Sufjan Stevens - Chicago (Mp3)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth (Mp3)
Oneida - High Life (Mp3)

This is your Friday Forum, TVD reader. Ten tunes and a tale to tell?

Fashion advice from a music blog?

Indeed. Perfect for the church social, a business meeting, book club, the walk to work, or simply sunning yourself on the beach -- creepers. (And they're unisex!)

TVD: your friend in the street.
Ramones - Sheena is a Punk Rocker (Mp3)
Sex Pistols - EMI (Mp3)
Damned - Love Song (Mp3)

TVD | Friday @ Random

Johnny Carson. Merv. Mike Douglas. They all had them. Joan Rivers for Johnny (before the falling out, of course.) Totie Fields on Merv Griffin. Sammy Davis, Jr. in the afternoon for Mike. Heck, that's how Lettermen and Leno got their start.

Y'know, very early on in I had a few tips from the sorely missed Retro Music Snob. He said, "Kid... update daily. Give 'em a reason to come back. Make it exciting and thoughtful -- just don't make it a JOB." Which is a roundabout way of saying, "MAN, we were coasting this week, huh?" See, I think I missed my calling - I shoulda' been in radio, because each morning pondering posts for the day, I just wish I could flick the ON switch to a live mike instead of pushing pixels toward particular portions of a playlist. And there'd be no spell check either. Or syntax errors.

So, yea -- cohosts. Someone to guffaw next to Ed McMahon and take the reigns for a week. I'm dead serious. Think you could pull it off while I slather on the tanning butter in sunny Barbados? I'll hand ya' the keys to TVD HQ. (It's ok, I trust you.) Got it in ya? Be in touch because I'll be...right. Here.

Hand picked for your Friday Cube Dancing:
Adrian Borland - Lonely Late Nighter (Mp3)
Nilsson - City Life (Mp3)
Robert Palmer - Johnny And Mary (Mp3)
Modern English - Blue Waves (Mp3)
It's Immaterial - Summer Winds (Mp3)

TVD's Daily Wax | Pulp "This Is Hardcore"

Help the aged | one time they were just like you | drinking, smoking cigs and sniffing glue | Help the aged | don't just put them in a home | can't have much fun when they're all on their own | Give a hand, if you can | try and help them to unwind | Give them hope and give them comfort | cos they're running out of time | In the meantime we try | Try to forget that nothing lasts forever | No big deal so give us all a feel | Funny how it all falls away

Pulp - Help The Aged (Mp3)
Pulp - Party Hard (Mp3)
Pulp - Seductive Barry (Mp3)
Pulp - The Fear (Mp3)
Pulp - This Is Hardcore (Mp3)

TVD's Daily Wax | Manic Street Preachers "Generation Terrorists"

Find your faith in your security | All broken up at seventeen | Jam your brain with broken heroes | Love your masks and adore your stereo | We're a mess of eyeliner and spraypaint | D.I.Y. destruction on chanel chic | Deny your culture of consumption | This is a culture of destruction | Don't wanna see your face | Don't wannt hear your words | Why don't you just | Babes on the run with poisoned lips | Wrap your arms round this everlasting kiss | Clinging to your own sense of waste | All we love is lonely wreckage | Your school your dole and your chequebook dreams | Your clothes your suits and your pension schemes | Now you say you know how we feel | But don't fall in love cos we hate you still | Don't wanna see your face | Don't wannt hear your words | Why don't you just | Destroyed by madness | Destroyed by madness | Destroyed by madness | Destroyed by madness | Anxiety is freedom

Manic Street Preachers - Stay Beautiful (Mp3)
Manic Street Preachers - Democracy Coma (Mp3)
Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness (Mp3)
Manic Street Preachers - Little Baby Nothing (Mp3)
Manic Street Preachers - You Love Us (Mp3)

TVD's Daily Wax | Japan "Quiet Life"

Doucement, ne les derangez pas
Ilya des gens qui vive comme ca
Les artistes de demain
En desespoir agreable

Japan - Quiet Life (Mp3)
Japan - Fall In Love With Me (Mp3)
Japan - Despair (Mp3)
Japan - In Vogue (Mp3)
Japan - Alien (Mp3)

TVD's Daily Wax | Steel Pulse "True Democracy"

It's a funny thing about college...I have NO recollection of this photo being taken (circa 1986) YET I recall today's selection on constant rotation almost 24/7. And yea...where do the time--and styling products--go?

Steel Pulse - Chant A Psalm (Mp3)
Steel Pulse - Leggo Beast (Mp3)
Steel Pulse - Man No Sober (Mp3)
Steel Pulse - Ravers (Mp3)
Steel Pulse - Your House (Mp3)

So, there's like...an event coming up or something?

We never hear anything.

I Need That Record!

“I Need That Record” is a documentary feature examining why over 3000 independent record stores have closed across the U.S. in the past decade. Are they going to die off? Will they survive?

Record stores serve as important community spaces that provide foundations for new musical and artistic scenes and movements, a place where unique under the radar bands have been continuously supported, a place where the underground can thrive, a place where independent thought is encouraged and challenged, a place where people of different ages, races, and taste can mix and mingle face to face. Unlike the internet, physical stores are a real place, with real people, where community is formed and supported. Not just record stores, but original mom and pop main street stores are all in a fight to stay alive. Independent businesses are hubs for new jobs, new innovations, and creative thought.

Over the past ten years it has become increasingly harder to compete with big chain businesses that have big money and Congress protecting them. The rich and powerful in business and government have thrown a wrench in the wheels of progress. American culture has become more isolated and atomized as a result of homogenous culture and thought. Businesses and establishments that make different parts of America distinct from one another are disappearing. In order to save community, ourselves, and our world what we need are independent creative places where new ideas and thought can be nurtured. Not more of the same…

Some interviews include- Ian Mackaye of Dischord Records Fugazi/Minor Threat/Teen Idles, Chris Frantz of the Talking Heads, Pat Carney of the Black Keys, Mike Watt of the Minutemen/reunited Stooges, Noam Chomsky, guitar composer Glenn Branca, punk author Legs McNeil, rock photographer Bob Gruen, Bryan Poole guitarist of Of Montreal, Numero Records, Rhino Records, Bloodshot Records, United Record Press (the largest vinyl plant in the U.S.), and many many many indie stores across the U.S. (NYC, Boston, DC, Cleveland, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Chicago, Minneapolis, Memphis, Nashville, L.A.). (Via thedailyswarm.com)

TVD's Weekend Shots

Music from the bus stop, cigarettes, pinball, a buttered bagel, and the Aquarian.

Todd Rundgren - Couldn't I Just Tell You? (Mp3)
Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knocking (Mp3)
Alice Cooper - No More Mister Nice Guy (Mp3)
Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper (Mp3)
Led Zeppelin - Fool in the Rain (Mp3)
Pat Benetar - Heart Breaker (Mp3)
Queen - I'm In Love With My Car (Mp3)
Judas Priest - Living After Midnight (Mp3)
Rainbow - Since You've Been Gone (Mp3)
ACDC - Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution (Mp3)