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I had big plans today to continue my exploration of great lyricists. But driving yesterday from Burlington, Vermont, to Denmark, Maine, through the White Mountains to visit family on a rare off-day seemed more suited to silence -- which is nice to have in the middle of a five-week tour. Silence, that is. Today we went on a five-mile hike up and down a mountainside. Made me think of Jack Kerouac's revelation in The Dharma Bums: "It's impossible to fall off mountains you fool." I've tried explaining it to other people to no avail. They all say, "You can totally fall off a mountain. That sounds ridiculous." But there's something to that -- the scene where Jack's bounding down a mountain after a fearless friend. He's entirely timid at first, focusing on the gaping black crevices between the boulders, rather than the footholds on the top of each stone. Here, I'll let him explain:
"Then suddenly everything was just like jazz: it happened in one insane second or so: I looked up and saw Japhy running down the mountain in huge twenty-foot leaps, running, leaping, landing with a great drive of his booted heels, bouncing five feet or so, running, then taking another long crazy yelling yodelaying sail down the sides of the world and in that flash I realized it's impossible to fall off mountains you fool and with a yodel of my own I suddenly got up and began running down the mountain after him doing exactly the same huge leaps, the same fantastic runs and jumps, and in the space of about five minutes I'd guess Japhy Ryder and I (in my sneakers, driving the heels of my sneakers right into sand, rock, boulders, I didn't care any more I was so anxious to get down out of there) came leaping and yelling like mountain goats or I'd say like Chinese lunatics of a thousand years ago, enough to raise the hair on the head of the meditating Morley by the lake, who said he looked up and saw us flying down and couldn't believe it."
Okay, so maybe that's a side-track way of talking about great words, great writers. I love that Dharma Bums scene. I love Jack Kerouac. Good Blonde & Others is one of my favorites.
And now for the meat of today's entry: a photoessay. A whole west coast tour in 12 images. Postcards from the road, I like to call them.
Before we met up with David Bazan, we did a two week tour of the west coast with Crooked Fingers. Here's the whirlwind recap:
Oklahoma City, OK: A double rainbow after a flash thunderstorm was lovely. It also had us laughing about that viral video that everyone seems to be passing around these days...
Austin, TX: We recorded a song for a blog inside of an Airstream trailer. Felt kinda like being on the road -- even though we were sitting still for a hot minute.
Outside of Albuquerque, NM: I love all those junk shops along the desert highways. This one was especially cute with its painted plywood facade.
Tuscon, AZ: Love the ghosts of the haunted Hotel Congress. We didn't see any there, but Patrick swore he saw one hovering above Nicole while she slept when we were outside of Salt Lake City.
San Diego, CA: Stayed with the brilliant photographer Sarah Law, who's been on tour with one of my DC favorites These United States for the past year. Her place was filled with photos of Jesse and all the boys (including this coffee table book) and she was playing Vandaveer on the stereo. She filled our glasses with whiskey and made San Diego feel like home. (On a side note, Jesse was staying at my place in Omaha working on a set of new songs when he put us in touch with Sarah. Funny how the world works like that.)
The Pacific Ocean: Loved those stairs to the sea.
Los Angeles, CA: Found some great advice on the sidewalk in Silverlake.
San Francisco, CA: Loved this corner of my friend's apartment. Something profound in that mess of stuff, I thought.
Cottage Grove, OR: Stopped at Richard Swift's place for a dance party on a night off. He DJ'ed a selection of his stacks and stacks of great records. And we passed around a bottle of Makers. The next morning was a little rough. But totally worth it.
Seattle, WA: Rebecca modeled a hand silkscreened vintage Mynabirds scarf at the Sunset Tavern. We miraculously met up with our friend Macey Taylor who was in town playing with AA Bondy. The world is entirely small and completely interconnected.
Portland, OR: Stopped into Mississippi Records for a great selection of vinyl. Sadly they didn't have any Dandy Livingstone. If anyone knows where to find some, please let me know.
Somewhere in the middle of Nebraska: A Mynabirds tour wouldn't be complete without a brush with a tornado or two. I spoke too soon in Wyoming when we were one state from being home and I bragged about our great weather. A few hundred miles later we ran into this mess. Thankfully, we pulled back into Omaha unscathed.
I can hear you now, "What ever will I do after the DC Record Fair on Sunday?" Well, we're looking out for you.
Pop/punk legends (that's right - after 27 or so years, I can call them legends) Shonen Knife play the Rock and Roll Hotel on Sunday night and we've got a pair of tickets for you to enter to win so you can end your weekend on a high note.
Tell us why they should be yours in the comments to this post, and the most convincing of the bunch will score the tickets to Sunday's show. Be sure to leave us your full name and email address and we'll choose our winner this Friday (9/24) at noon!
Remember, we've teamed up with ReadysetDC for all of our ticket giveaways so you can enter to win either here at TVD or at ReadysetDC.
The top trending hashtag today is #becauseimagangsta. The lack of an apostrophe in this hashtag bothers me, because I am not enough of a gangsta.
One thing that makes me not a gangsta is that I really like to play games. I don’t mean that in a “mess with your significant other” way; I really love board games and card games and computer games and video games and crosswords. In fact, I like games so much that I frequently make up new ones that are maybe not that interesting to the general population.
Which brings me to today’s column. Today will be a three paragraph game. Each paragraph will be based on the #musicmonday tagged tweet that hit the web immediately after I finished the paragraph prior. I am not allowed to make fun of nu-metal or Kanye. If I drop the third strike, the batter is allowed to steal first base.
Wait, no. Not that last one. Just checking to see if you’re still paying attention. Here’s the first tweet up:
@jillesta: #musicmonday please take a minute to listen to Rick Berlin. I saw him perform at @amandapalmer 's #LNFC http://youtu.be/zWRTrz6VcFQ Love him.
I like this Twit already—so polite! In 140 characters or fewer, little niceties like “please” are easy sacrifices. Thank you, jillesta, I will take a moment to listen to Rick Berlin. [pause to listen.] Like the tweet that pointed me to it, this song is simple and sweet—pretty little melody, rather nice, nothing fancy. Reminds me a lot of Damien Rice or Jeff Buckley. It’s like “please” and “thank you”—lovely, but easy to let slide in a crowded media environment. NEXT.
@Ouill: Oh my god yes, yes, yes!! RT @ZUNE Carmen: A Hip Hopera is a perfect throwback to wind down another #MusicMonday - http://bit.ly/c9s1F8
I like to think that @Ouill was making an exaggerated O face when he typed this tweet. Does anyone older than high-school age talk about O faces? I feel like it might be a relic of school busses and kids who don’t really know what Os even are. I don’t know what a hip hopera is, so I’m going to check it out and report back. You’re on your own about Os, though. (Hint: It’s a baseball team. Right?) OHHH Carmen: A Hip Hopera is the title of a movie from 2001 starring Beyonce, Mekhi Phifer, and Mos Def, among other really huge names. I was in high school trying to figure out school bus nonsense when this came out, which is probably why I didn’t see it. But Bizet opera + Beyonce + 1930s costuming means this is going on my Netflix queue. Thanks @Ouill! Next!
messmooka RT @Juneedme: Ooo I had to hear this agn --> #NP MESSMOOKA @messmooka Aftershock mixtape http://bit.ly/ctI7ev #musicmonday
I’m not entirely sure what’s happening here. Sometimes the syntax of Twitter is impossible to parse. I think that @messmooka tweeted “Aftershock mixtape,” then @Juneedme retweeted that with the comment “Ooo I had to hear this agn.” I think @messmooka responded to her tweet by saying “NP” (No Problem) and signing his name…as a retweet. I’m going to take a guess here and say the song in question uses the name Mess Mooka at least once or twice. It’s like a game within a game! [over to the link...] A game that I lost on a technicality because “Aftershock mixtape” is twenty songs, not one. Duh. I will not be listening to all 20. I will note that it took until the second song to hear the name Mess Mooka, so I just lost all the way around.
Game’s over! Except that there’s no score. Want to let me know if this was a win, loss, or draw? Give me an arbitrary point or grade or word in the comments, just make sure to justify your assertion with a brief but logically valid argument.
My #musicmonday pick: Son the Father, by F***ed Up. I wish indie bands would quit using the F word in their names; it’s tough on my delicate sensibilities. Delicacy does nothing to explain why I can’t stop listening to this song, though.
For those of you following attentively at home, it’s no secret that The Mynabirds’ debut release has garnered more than its share of praise in these parts. From swooning over of the first track released to the blogs, to making the LP available in a giveaway, to our First Date with DC ex-patriot Laura Burhenn, she of The Mynabirds (and Georgie James prior) we’ve simply been taken with the level of authenticity and craft—both elegant and (seemingly) effortless. Simply put. “What We Lose in the Fire, We Gain in the Flood” is quite high on our list of favorites for the year.
Laura and the rest of The Mynabirds are currently on the road with David Bazan in support of the aforementioned Saddle Creek release—in the van—making their way to DC where they take the mainstage at the Black Cat this coming Saturday night, 9/25.
We’re delighted to present a bit of a Mynabirds road diary in advance of Saturday night's show. Laura’s in the driver’s seat and it’s her Vinyl District. All week. —Ed.
Well hullo there, dear DC. So good to see you here. Very much looking forward to meeting up at the Black Cat on Saturday. Til then, I'll write you letters everyday, starting now.
After meeting up with David Bazan and his sweetheart crew in Chicago, we wound ourselves through Detroit, Toronto, and Montreal. Just crossed back over into the States a few minutes ago, in fact. In Toronto the sound guy, Ron, said, "Mynabirds, Mynabirds, hmm... Haven't you guys played here before? [PAUSE] Oh wait -- no, there's a Toronto band. Oh, and they were from the 60's." I got a good laugh outta that one -- told him he perfectly pinpointed our namesake. Felt good to play our first Canadian date in the land of Neil and Rick. I joked with our drummer, Nicole, that we should pull out a cover. But I've gotta be honest -- as much as I love the notion of the original Mynah Birds and that incredible cast of characters, those two singles Motown put out aren't my favorites. In fact, I kinda feel creeped out by Rick James singing, "It's my time, don't care what you say. It's my time -- gonna love you anyway." Sounds pretty smarmy. But maybe it'd be a good trick to turn it on its head and have a lady sing it. We'll see...
We spent the night in Toronto with friend and label mate, Nils, from the Rural Alberta Advantage. They're in the midst of finishing their sophomore record. Can't wait to hear it.
The long drive between Toronto and Montreal included a long conversation about great lyricists. I realized three of my all-time favorites are Canadian: Joni Mitchell, for knowing how to set a scene; Leonard Cohen, for his Zen way saying the most with the least; and Neil Young, for his jazz standard strength in simplicity. Then we all wondered aloud about the great lyricists of today. Who's our Dylan? Who can turn a phrase and get the zeitgeist of our whole generation? Do we have a zeitgeist? Or are we just the dregs of a non-movement, content with our bougie coffees and fancy phones while the world turns to shit? I'd like to think not, to hope that the good voices will rise above the top 40 radio crap and redeem us. Sorry for the rant. Probably just preaching to the choir anyway. (Good that we've got a choir on the good side.) But seriously, who moves you these days, lyrically? How do you feel about politically - and socially-minded music? I, for one, eat it up. Reminds me of being a kid with pink hair and combat boots, my friends in bands with high ideals and punk patches, all of us excited about the world we were about to make our own. I say let's do it. There's still time. We'll tear it down and build it back up one lyric at a time.
In Detroit Thursday night, David gave this great little segue way about being courageous in how we consume music. If we don't put our dollars behind music that means something, commercialism will win out and our kids will be left with vapid jingles for crap on TV. Musicians who sing about the real stuff won't be able to keep making music -- they'll starve doing it. I'm hopeful that it won't quite come to that, but it's a good cautionary tale -- and a good reminder about the power we do have. Put your money where your MIND is, I guess. There's a line in a Pedro the Lion song that I just love:
Have you ever seen an idealist With grey hairs on his head Or successful men who keep in touch With unsuccessful friends You only think you did Yeah, I could have sworn I saw it too But as it turns out It was just a clever ad for cigarettes Damn. Now that's a great lyric.
The fine folks at Soundscreen have been producing an incredible pairing of music-inspired design and art in their Artist Music Journals. For their 10th release in the series, they called upon Brian Roettinger, the man behind the design studio Hand Held Heart.
In turn, they received something wonderful and unexpected - not only did Roettinger create the desired book of art, but he also created new music along with the band No Age, a group he is well known for collaborating with visually. That combination has led to Grammy nominations for packaging in the past, and now it gives back to the ears as well as the eyes, with an exclusive 10" record accompanying the book.
We had a chance to pair designer and author John Foster with Brian, to discuss the new release as well as his relationship with music and his design upbringing. Listen in. —Ed.
It's rare that a designer gets to have an intimate relationship with a label - much less a specific artist these days - yet you have this concrete bond with No Age - what brought you all together, and more importantly, what has tightened that hold as the years have moved forward?
Dean and I grew up in neighboring neighborhoods. I am a few years older then him. We were both into skateboarding and punk. He was in a band called Unit End and I was in a band called Phil's Throne (w/ Aaron Hemphill from Liars). Years later we would reconnect via shows at The Smell and he told me that he use to see Phil's Throne play.
The collaboration has gone so well because not only do we seem to share a very similar in interest in visual aesthetics, but that in each collaboration, much like conceptual art, the "idea" or "ideas" always takes precedence over the aesthetics. It's always the most important factor in the collaboration and to share that mode of thinking really bonds us together.
How did you decide to collaborate with the band musically and what surprised you about the results?
We spoke about it for awhile. Rather than design, let's try our collaboration on their side of the fence with music, and with the AMJ, it made the most sense, the joining of music and art. I've made music by myself as a side project and just as a general time waster, as I rarely keep anything or do anything with what I've made.
There is a strong theme in the black and white work here, as well as a ton of imagery - is this something you were working/ruminating on before the music portion came about or only after?
It really happened before, during, and after the music, but the general sense of how I wanted the music to feel and work with the book was always there as somewhat of a series of soundscapes or sound collages based on field recordings and samples we made or collected.
This is a change in your relationship with Soundscreen (you did their identity work.) What was it like coming in as an "artist" they are publishing as opposed to their "designer?"
My "design" and "art" process share similar responsibilities, in that my primary focus is about presenting an idea rooted from an idea, sometimes that is clear - sometimes it's not. What differs is that usually the design involves a client who, unfortunately in the end, has the final say. With my "art" and the AMJ, it was really up to me on what I wanted to do, or in this case, not do.
How did they respond to the idea of putting out a limited edition record to go with the book this time - the first time that has happened in the Artist Music Journal Series.
They were just as excited about it as we were, as long as it was affordable and the final piece was in the same price range as the others in the series.
Some of your work has a lot of production bells and whistles and then others seem to cling to a lo-fi application- with equal success - is that a budget (gallery vs indie band) or conceptual consideration?
It's a little bit of both, but more importantly, it depends on the basis of the project and presentation of the content regardless of its exhibition catalog, monograph or 7-inch record. The form and material, is for me, always a by-product of the idea - although I really enjoy and embrace the quality and "crappy printing" or lo-fi printing techniques like photocopying, Riso, screen-printing, newsprint (Webpress). These are all cheap modes of production that have become aesthetically pleasing regardless of budgets. Coming from a DIY background, I have always been budget conscious (Soundscreen would probably laugh at this) and very hands-on and involved in every step of the process from production, to making, to distribution.
Did you study under Louise Sandhaus at CalArts? What is it like being a student there and then returning as a professor?
Louise was my design instructor during my second year. The year most designers either make it over the hump or shit the bed trying, and transfer over to experimental animation. My first year of teaching I still felt like a student. I had only been out of school for a two years and was teaching a class that I took, in a studio that I spent 18 hours a day in for a year. It was my home away from home and to come back as an instructor was somewhat abstract.
(Super "inside" question - did you do any of the REDCAT posters while there? I will have to see if your work featured in an article I did on the program in 05. Might have just missed you.)
Yeah I did a poster in 2004. I think it was the first poster the museum produced. Here it is:
How much do you think that "CalArts" mode of thinking about typography influences your work even today?
I think, like most designers, the form typography takes and the importance of language is something that were all obsessed with and is a huge part of my process when it comes to design. This was even before CalArts, but CalArts taught me how to really look and understand with a critical eye.
How difficult has it been to stay small and nimble as a studio and what are the benefits and drawbacks to working that way?
It's difficult when you're on the cusp of having way too much work to do by yourself, but not enough work to be able to pay someone to be around full-time - so I have friends who freelance on projects every now and then. The unfortunate thing about having a lot of projects is that I spend a lot more time emailing and project managing than I do designing.
What does the immediate future hold for Hand Held Heart and who would be your dream artist to work with next?
Easy, if Dieter Roth and Joseph Beuys came back from the dead.
To wrap it up on a light note, everyone loves lists. Even random lists. Jon (who runs this operation over here) and I both love this game where you list out the first 5 songs to come up on random shuffle on your itunes/ipod - no cheating and eliminating embarrassing Vanilla Ice (the metal version, nothing embarrassing about those smooth raps.) Go!
Shit… 1. Lil' Wayne - Let The Beat Build 2. Def Leppard - Photograph 3. Syd Barrett - Wouldn't You Miss Me (Dark Globe) 4. 52nd Street - Cool As Ice 5. Run DMC - Son of Byford
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Instead of just talking about the book and 10" you've got an opportunity to put one in your hands in exchange for your feedback in the comments to this post. Let us know why Soundscreen should send you above all a copy, and the best of the bunch nabs the book.
We'll give you a week to drum up the perfect response and remember to leave us a contact email address and by signing up for the giveaway, you'll also get to hear more about Soundscreen's awesome products! Contest closes at noon 9/27.
It's our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices and PR firms want you to be hearing. We post—you decide.
OK, here's what I want you to do: Click the play button on this youtube video, close your eyes, and listen until the end.
Go ahead, I'll wait.
It's not that Fitz and The Tantrums aren't a stylish and attractive bunch—indeed they are. What you're hearing is something that I like to call timeless authenticity. Some bands simply have it - effortless soul, swagger and groove.
I close my eyes and it's the 1970's again. You know, when the real shit was going down.
Fitz and The Tantrums are currently on the road in support of their Dangerbird Records debut,Pickin' Up the Pieces. The tour stops Monday night in DC at the Rock and Roll Hotel and we've got a pair of tickets to put in the hands of one of you authentic souls.
And it's with this show and ticket giveaway that we're pleased to announce our partnership with our favorite DC arts website, ReadysetDC for all of our ticket giveaways going forward. We'll be sharing and cross-promoting both of our ticket contests so you can enter to win any and all either here at TVD or at ReadysetDC. (Yes, we're streamlining your evening plans.)
You have until Monday morning (9/20) at 9am to enter to win the pair of Fitz and The Tantrums tickets by leaving a response in the comments to this post, again either below or at ReadysetDC. Good luck and remember to leave us a contact email address!
"Several of my friends have pointed out that my more recent and more personal material like "Call Me Your Man" or "Tara" sounds much less like a character than the songs that make up our first record Brooklyn Hustle/Memphis Muscle. Re-watching the videos of Jump Back Jake on the Ardent sessions I can see so clearly who this character was.
Though only a couple of years ago, I looked and sounded so different than I do today. If I was playing a character, it wasn't simply a mask I wore for performances or recording, but a person I inhabited. I think I was trying to become a Memphian—perhaps an impossible task for a New York City born yankee like myself, but I did try.
I lived in a house with a huge back yard where I would throw massive barbecue parties on July 4th and Labor Day that usually involved slow cooking a pork shoulder on an oil drum barbecue smoker. I had a hound dog named Jim that I would walk around the neighborhood every day after finishing a shift at my job cleaning houses.
The day we recorded the Ardent Sessions was my 27th birthday and Jump Back Jake was a road weary soul band (we'd just come back from gigs in Shreveport and Little Rock) with a full horn section and a B3 organ player. This is one of the better documents of that moment in time before our music and lives changed.
Six months later, I would hit the road indefinitely with Francis and the Lights, returning home whenever possible to rehearse and record new material with the JBJ. The music borne out of that moment makes up the songs on our new EP, and there aren't any horns or keyboards on it. Just the four of us banging it out in Studio A with the knowledge that the next day I'd be on a plane not knowing when we'd all get together to play again.
But the idea to record live in that room with no isolation at all only doing a couple of takes was borne out of the experience I had listening back to our Ardent Sessions. I was on the road somewhere listening to a captured moment of what Jump Back Jake sounded like in November of 2008 and using it to construct a vision of what we might sound like in the future. Now we can listen to both recordings and figure out where to go next." —"Jump Back" Jake Rabinbach 9-12-2010
Enter to win Jump Back Jake's debut LP "Brooklyn Hustle / Memphis Muscle" on vinyl by simply leaving a comment, your name, and a contact email address in the comments to this post. We'll choose one winner each Friday for that week's giveaway which ALSO includes the entire Ardent Music catalog. (That's just 2 artists at this point, but hey, who's counting?)
To hear more great Ardent Sessions please visit Ardent Presents.
OK it’s “back to school” time for the Idelic Hour. Actually the playlist for this week’s Idelic Hour has nothing to do with school. It was really just back to school for my kids and thus; yours truly along with them for the ride.
Both my kids started new schools this week. My daughter is a hip teenager entering 10th grade at a new high school and my boy is two years old experiencing his day 1! One of the great things about having kids is getting to re-live childhood events. I love getting that nervousness that one gets on the first day of school—that mix of apprehension and excitement.
For this week’s Idelic Hour I thought I’d try and carry that “day 1 feeling” into my playlist of mostly new artists and releases. In many ways it’s just a cop out. The truth is I don’t always have a weekly music inspiration. That's ok, I’m cool to be purely inspired and blown away by watching my kids and grow.
Along with that the music is still pretty fucking cool! The list contains new songs from Black Mountain, Interpol, The Black Angles, Sufjen Stevens and more. Be forever young and hug your wife, kids and parents—and oh yeah, be free to make mistakes. It’s free form.
It's our last day hanging out with Those Darlins and in particular Linwood Regensburg who tackles one of those big, cosmic questions as he departs TVD HQ:
Best Album Ever? HA. | These sort of lists are a drag to try to make. How are you supposed to answer something like that anyway? I'm not gonna make that statement that these are the greatest albums of all time or even my favorites or anything like that. I just listen to them a lot.
The Young Rascals - "Groovin" | The Rascals don't seem to get the cred they deserve. So many great ones on this record, "Been Lonely Too Long","Find Somebody" "If You Knew" etc.
Iggy Pop - "The Idiot" | I like to put this on when I'm cooking. Nothing like hearing the drum beat for "Nightclubbing" kick in while you're smashing up garlic. I bet Iggy and David did plenty of cooking when they made this one. After all, they were in Germany.
The Ventures - "Ventures in Space" | Space Surf. Astronaut Rock. Whatever you wanna call it, the Ventures nailed it.
Alex Chilton - "Like Flies on Sherbert" | This album is a big mess and I love it for that. Especially the fire up tape roll sound they left on before some of the tracks. Alex does some great covers, especially amazing are Earnest Tubbs' "Waltz Across Texas" and Jimmy Newman's "Alligator Man." "Rock Hard" has some killer lyrics ....."rock hard...ripples, rock hard.....nipples...."
Rolling Stones - "Beggars Banquet" | I absolutely love the Rolling Stones. I guess most of the human race does at this point. Either way, neither Martin Scorcese nor classic rock radio can ruin "Sympathy for the Devil" or "Street Fighting Man" for me. The only track on this album I ever have to skip is "Salt of the Earth." I wish Keith would have sang the whole song, might seem more believable.
Sound Dimension - "MojoRockSteadyBeat" | A Soul Jazz reissue. These guys are like the Jamaican Booker T and MG's. Backing up whoever recorded at Studio One, and cutting lots instrumentals, the Dimension made what some might refer to as the "Jamaican" sound.
I’ve long felt that both the ‘70’s and the ‘80’s were both intensely fertile decades for music of merit. I’m not saying they were the best decades, mind you—just perhaps my favorites. (OK, maybe just half of the ‘80s.)
So, we’re delighted to offer up our new Thursday fix from the rare and obscure crates of 80’s vinyl to run in tandem with our ‘Class of the ‘70’s’ series that’s been appearing here for well over a year now. We’ll let our pal Gil fill you in on the specifics... —Ed.
"Each week I will review and bring to light an obscure out of print album from the 1980s that fell through the cracks and went unnoticed by the mainstream music media. I will endeavor to cover the myriad of alternative music genres that were prevalent during the decade of decadence. The genres covered will be new wave, minimal synth, power pop, electro, post punk, indie rock, goth, and synth pop.
There’s no better feeling for a vinyl collector when they find and add an elusive obscurity to their collection. My hope is that this feature gives you some interesting recommendations to ponder before you set off on the hunt...Enjoy."
THE TALK - New Language LP The Talk was an alternative new wave foursome who hailed from the Midwest in Missoula, Montana. Yes, there seems to have been an indie music scene in the outer reaches of the Midwest.
The band was formed in the early 80’s and created two albums. Both albums were privately pressed on Seal Pup Records out of the same town, Missoula. The first album, “Not Just Hearsay” was produced in 1982 and was essentially a power pop rock affair. The second and final album, “New Language” was produced in 1984 and had a more polished new wave approach with melodic arrangements, solid percussion and even some strategic saxophone playing in some of the songs.
There is also a more prominent role for the keyboards on this second album. The lead vocalist has a great voice that sticks out from his many mainstream peers of the day. It was clear that more time and effort was put into the production on this second album, and it’s heard in the overall final eight song product. A first rate new wave album by this talented indie band who should have garnered more attention in their time.
Don't you wish more bands did instrumentals? I have what would amount to an entire record's worth of instrumentals I recorded at Kathy Wariner's (Jessi's mom) art studio last Christmas. Jessi's 13 year old brother Oakley plays percussion on some of it. No one wants to put it out I guess. Which is fine. People are more into that Double Rainbow sound right now anyway. In the meantime I stick tracks on mixtapes and tell people it's some lost Joe Meek recording.
The T-Bones - "Balboa Blue" | I put this song on a mix tape I made for van time during SXSW 2010. Perfect for sitting in standstill traffic, knowing you're already 30 minutes late and probably won't arrive for another 45. Sorry.
The Routers - "Lets Go" | Everybody loves this one. Cheerleaders and cretins, together as one.
Al Casey with the K-C Ettes - "Surfin Hootenanny"| Lee Hazelwood wrote this one. Al was also a member of the "Wrecking Crew" and played on tons of stuff-Pet Sounds, "These Boots are Made for Walking", etc. AWWW CMMMON.
The Turtles - "Buzz Saw" | This is off the Battle of the Bands album. Way cooler than hearing them sing Dylan. Here they pretend to be The Fabulous Dawgs, and rip out some great Fuzz and organ sounds.
The Dyna-Tones - "The Skunk Pt. 1" | Flip this guy over and you get to hear "The Skunk Pt. 2."
Young and Wilder are a new Rock and Roll duo from Portland, OR. I had the pleasure of producing their debut EP in June at Hi/Lo studios in Memphis. This is a single of their song "Amadine" backed with "It's Wrong." Both tracks feature background vocals from Jake Vest and myself and "It's Wrong" has some sweet pedal steel courtesy of Memphis's own Rock 'n' Roll dentist, John Whittemore (Jack O. and the Tearjerkers, John Paul Keith and the 1-4-5s, Neighborhood Texture Jam).
It's always such fun to watch the way Memphis gets inside a group of musicians, filling them with intangible Rock and Roll secrets that you can't find in any other city in the world. Look out for these two. They are unstoppable. —Jump Back Jake
Oklahoma City, OK: A double rainbow after a flash thunderstorm was lovely. It also had us laughing about that viral video that everyone seems to be passing around these days...
Austin, TX: We recorded a song for a blog inside of an Airstream trailer. Felt kinda like being on the road -- even though we were sitting still for a hot minute.
Outside of Albuquerque, NM: I love all those junk shops along the desert highways. This one was especially cute with its painted plywood facade.
Tuscon, AZ: Love the ghosts of the haunted Hotel Congress. We didn't see any there, but Patrick swore he saw one hovering above Nicole while she slept when we were outside of Salt Lake City.
San Diego, CA: Stayed with the brilliant photographer Sarah Law, who's been on tour with one of my DC favorites These United States for the past year. Her place was filled with photos of Jesse and all the boys (including this coffee table book) and she was playing Vandaveer on the stereo. She filled our glasses with whiskey and made San Diego feel like home. (On a side note, Jesse was staying at my place in Omaha working on a set of new songs when he put us in touch with Sarah. Funny how the world works like that.)
The Pacific Ocean: Loved those stairs to the sea.
Los Angeles, CA: Found some great advice on the sidewalk in Silverlake.
San Francisco, CA: Loved this corner of my friend's apartment. Something profound in that mess of stuff, I thought.
Cottage Grove, OR: Stopped at Richard Swift's place for a dance party on a night off. He DJ'ed a selection of his stacks and stacks of great records. And we passed around a bottle of Makers. The next morning was a little rough. But totally worth it.
Seattle, WA: Rebecca modeled a hand silkscreened vintage Mynabirds scarf at the Sunset Tavern. We miraculously met up with our friend Macey Taylor who was in town playing with AA Bondy. The world is entirely small and completely interconnected.
Portland, OR: Stopped into Mississippi Records for a great selection of vinyl. Sadly they didn't have any Dandy Livingstone. If anyone knows where to find some, please let me know.
Somewhere in the middle of Nebraska: A Mynabirds tour wouldn't be complete without a brush with a tornado or two. I spoke too soon in Wyoming when we were one state from being home and I bragged about our great weather. A few hundred miles later we ran into this mess. Thankfully, we pulled back into Omaha unscathed.
