Xmas 06

Time for “Bob Longmore’s Xmas Spectacular 2006.” This is in no way a year-end best of list. It is a collection of songs that I put together for friends to enjoy. These are songs that I came to enjoy this year and I thought would sound good together. If you’re interested in last years list, check it out here.

1. Draw Us Lines – The Constantines

A very powerful opening track with swirling feedback that yields only slightly to a thundering beat. I know nothing about this band. In fact, I am pretty sure this is the only song I’ve ever heard by The Constantines, but this one song is really good.

2. De La Souls – P.O.S.

From the fantastic Audition record by P.O.S. this year. This is actually one of my top records from this year. I think this song, among others, showcases the sensibilities of P.O.S., a mixture of hip-hop and punk rock.

3. Province – TV on the Radio

I liked TV on the Radio before this year and I liked their new album Return to Cookie Mountain, but it wasn’t until I saw them live at First Ave. that I really fell in love with them.

4. New Resolution – Heartless Bastards

A hearty fuck you song from the throaty growl of lead bastard Erika Wennerstrom.

5. To Go Home – M. Ward

The best song recorded in a basement in Memphis in 1962 that was actually recorded in a modern studio in the beginning of the 21^st century.

6. Junior High Smiles – Beight

This is such a beautiful song, anchored by Brad Senne’s aching voice floating in and out of falsetto. It captures like no other song, the feeling of the sweaty palms and fluttering hearts of teenage crushes.

7. Duluth – Brian Just

I saw this guy this past summer and was absolutely blown away. He plays intricate finger-picked melodies on his guitar so majestically, it pisses off every other musician in the room because they want what he has.

8. Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis – Neko Case

A Tom Waits cover, this is the pseudo-Christmas song of this year’s collection.

9. On The Way Back Home – Lucero

Every day I fall a little more in love with Lucero. Ben Nichols’ gravelly, whiskey voice sounds like every hung-over morning where you’re unsure of how much remorse you should have for the night before. These guys put on a hell of a show too. I wish I would have seen them when they came through a month or two ago, but I did see them back in April, and it was legendary.

10. Sister Jack – Spoon

One of those bands I “discovered” this year. I’m slow sometimes. I heard their album Gimme Fiction and said to myself, “Why the fuck haven’t I been listening to these guys?” I love this song because in my youth, I played in a dropped-D metal band (although the name was not requiem, but SoulSplitter, I’m not proud).

11. Poor You – Bellwether

Another album that was indeed on my best local album list this year. Sometimes the term AltCountry gets thrown around as some sort of stuck-in-the-mud putdown, but these guys are AltCountry in the most flattering sense of the word. Brilliant songs beautifully played.

12. Forest Whitiker – Brother Ali

Another one of those, “Why the fuck haven’t I listened to this before?” albums. Another kind of a fuck you song where Ali says you don’t have to like me, ‘cause I like myself.

Merry Christmas!

Jim Walsh, You Magnificent Bastard

It pains me to think that I will never write something as kick-ass as this:
(From City Pages)

Tim O'Reagan
Tim O'Reagan
Lost Highway

The test of any classic album is if it plays as well in the morning with coffee as it does at night with whiskey; in the bedroom or car; in the loud or quiet hours. O'Reagan's debut has been with me in every moment imaginable since it was released on House of Mercy Recordings last year, and properly released by Lost Highway this year. His voice reminds me of something a friend of mine wrote about her aging face—"a wizened disaster"—which is to say that most things get more beautiful with age, but some things, like a drummer-turned-unleashed-crooner, get positively translucent. —Jim Walsh

The Death of Music and Cory Branan

Personally, I couldn't picture my life without record stores, but Chris R. in the Strib file the millionth report about record sales slowing. I love the smell of records stores. I love the rows of CDs sitting there ready to be taken. I love the vinyl stores, with that plastic smell mixed with the smell of your Grandma's attic. Please don't take that away from me!

And now I'm going to tell you to listen to music online. Cory Branan made a believer out of me last Sunday. This Memphis musician is a bad ass. Check out his streaming album, 12 songs, for yourself. Cory Branan

Say What Now?

I finally broke down and bought a pair of earplugs.

I figured if I am going to keep seeing Ian Prince play drums, I need them. I saw Kid Dakota a few weeks ago and I was standing right in front of the stage and Ian was absolutely blowing me away. But really I should have got a good pair along time ago, hopefully this will cut down on the buzzing in my ears when I get home after a show.

Matthew Ryan Day

Matthew Ryan has been one of my favorite artists for years now. His new album, From a Late Night High Rise, holds loads of promise. Tom Hallett from Pulse has a great article this week about a few of the things Ryan has gone through in the industry and personally to get to this point in his career.



Ryan played a show here last winter at the 400, which I covered for HWTS. He also came through town with his side project Strays Don't Sleep, which HWTS also covered.

Ryan commented that he sure wasn't coming to Minneapolis in the winter again, I can't say I blame him, hopefully we'll see him in the spring.

Corporate Speak, Pt. 58

I got a meeting request today and the subject was "Discussion around network whatchamacallit."

Wouldn't we be more productive if we had a Discussion about network whatchamacallit?

Bloggity, Bloggity, Blog

It's strange having a blog sometimes. Like when I know that other people actually read what I've written on this thing. Or when I want to write something that I hope nobody will read. Or the opposite, when I write something that I hope everybody reads. These are things out of my control.
Here is my cheese sandwich lately.

I took three classes this semester, which has totally burned me out. Two of the classes have involved an assload of writing. One in particular is a 500-level advanced writing class that has forced me to write things that were previously buried deep down in my psyche. These thoughts were safe as long as they remained untouched.

The assignment was to write a twenty-or-so page multi-genre project about anything. I chose to write about the ensuing birth of my first child, which probably would have been fine. It would have been a nice happy story about a new baby and a proud father, but I just couldn't have that. Instead I started thinking about my neglectful father and the kind of parenting he gave me. Of course on top of that, three years ago he succumbed to cancer after a long painful battle. So I chose to write a story juxtaposing my dad, myself and my unborn child. This study took me to emotional places that I had long ago blocked off.

Writing has always been therapy to me, whether stories, poems or songs, it was a way for me to work out on paper where my head was. I was not prepared for this story though, I began to dread working on this paper because it forced me to think about guilt and pain and consequence. And also about what kind of father I can be to my kid.

This paper is just about done, along with this semester. Hopefully all those thoughts constantly swirling around my head will settle back down into cobwebs and I can begin to devote myself more to the writing I've been meaning to do. Like pointless ramblings about songs that nobody cares about.

Best Albums

By the first week in January I will be ready to vomit at the site of so many top albums of the year lists. Right now though, in the middle of November, I'll play.

The Current has a vote going on for the top 89 albums of 2006, which they are going to play on New Year's Day. They allow a person to vote for up to 20 albums. I really want to vote for 20 albums and there are certainly that many albums that I enjoyed this year, but I don't know if they are worthy of the "Best" tag. Now this voting process that the Current has is not too keen on requirements for an album to be considered best. There will probably be many people who go on their and vote for the first 20 that come to mind, there is nothing wrong with that, but being the nerd that I am, I am going to suffer and agonize over my list. Here is what I have so far:

Duplomacy - All These Long Drives
Eric Bachmann - To The Races
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Lucero - Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers
P.O.S. - Audition
Stook - The Soundtrack to my Minneapolis
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
M. Ward - Post War
Brian Just -Every Tree and Every Stone

and even though I haven't heard the entire album yet, I am sure it will be one of my favorites this year

Matthew Ryan - From a Late Night High rise

Juan Apagado at the Acadia

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

7:30pm at the Acadia Café in Minneapolis

See some high flying acoustic entertainment from…

Juan Apagado

Nick Leet (from High on Stress)

Jim Soule (also from High on Stress)

and

Aviette

Election Day

Go forth and do your thing.

331 Club in Peril

Do something.

Dear Community Member:

As of November 15, 2006, the City of Minneapolis will require the 331 Club to cease providing amplified music and entertainment. We are asking for your support in fighting this ban by the City. With your support, the 331 Club can continue to provide an exciting and progressive music venue in North East.

The city’s concern is that it needs to regulate businesses impact on their communities (ie noise, traffic etc). And amplified entertainment is considered to have an unacceptable level of impact to the community. We think that, rather than harming the community, the music programming at the 331 Club is providing an important opportunity for local musicians and performers and is making the North East community a richer place.

We are asking you to write a letter to your city council member and to Mayor Rybak in support of the 331 Club. Please tell them how the developing scene at the 331 Club has had a positive (or negative) impact on the local community. Your feedback will be important to the City Council’s decisions regarding the future of North East.

Thank you for your support,

Jarret Oulman
General Manager
331club
jarretoulman@331club.com


Note:

Diane Hofstede can be reached at
Minneapolis City Counsel – 3rd Ward
350 S. 5th St. Rm 307
Email: diane.hofstede@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Phone: 612-673-2203


Mayor R.T. Rybak’s office can be reached at
Room 331, City Hall
350 South Fifth St.
Minneapolis, MN 55415
jared.nordlund@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
(612) 673-2100 phone

How am I supposed to know if you're high?

There was a lot of hype around Lifter Puller back in the late nineties. I tried to resist just because everybody kept saying how great they were.

I was at the record store a month or two after the band broke up and I found a used copy of Fiestas and Fiascos. I was blown away and I was kicking myself for not ever seeing them. I learned a lesson that sometimes when everybody tells you how great a band is, that sometimes it's because the band really is great. I did get a chance to see them when they played a few reunion shows in 2003 when the Triple Rock opened.

Then came the Hold Steady. Some are turned off by Craig's voice, but I love it. Some are turned off by the big guitar riffs, which border on classic rock shlock at times. I think if you see it live though, you can really understand that this band is something special.

I saw the Hold Steady last night at a sold out First Ave. They played for an hour and a half and, of course, it was incredible. Craig Finn is such a dynamic front man, he knows how to engage the audience for sure.

Here is an interview the boys did with Mary Lucia at the Current.

Giving Up to the Parent Life

So Mrs. Give Up to the Good Life and I are breeding. I sometimes stop to think about what it means to be a parent and you can imagine that fucks with my head something good.

I think it is impossible to wrap my head around it. I still think of myself as a kid trying to figure what to do with his life. Maybe because I am still trying to figure out what to do with my life.

But,

I have found that there are some seriously cool kids stuff out there. You can bet your ass my kid is going to be rocking a Ramones onesie at some point:


And this Johnny Cash onesie:


Also there are these lullaby CDs of bands like Radiohead, The Cure and Tool(?). I'm not too sure about my toddler listening to too much Cure though, that might have repercussions down the line somewhere.

Anyway, while this whole parenthood thing scares the hell out of me, I know it's going to be indescribably fun too.

TVOTR

photo by RockNRollStar

It was last winter. I was standing by the bar on the music side of the Triple Rock waiting for some band to go on. It was a weekday night and it was snowing outside and their were only a handful of people in the bar. Over the soundsystem came this amazingly complicated weird music with soaring crazy gospel-chanting vocals. It was TV on the Radio.

I'd heard "The Wrong Way" before, but didn't give it much thought, but this night it sounded amazing. I realized that TVotR are not a headphone band, their music is best at bone-rattling volume, that is when it speaks to me.

I saw TVotR last weekend and their live show even further solidifies my fandom. They take the slickly produced sheen of their albums and turn it into raw live energy.

Here is my review from HWTS. Here are some more pictures from Rock 'n Roll Star.

Who Goes There?

Yawn!

Oh! Hello. You scared me, I didn't think anyone was still here.

I've been busy (and lazy). Too busy (and lazy) to blog even. I am attempting a comeback though.

First things first... This badass website that I do stuff for won an award because we are all badasses and the Minnesota Music Academy knows this.

Second. Nick Leet nudged me from my slumber and although it goes against the arbitrary and self-imposed rule of one gig per year, Juan Apagado will play again on Nov. 19 at the Acadia. So all those songs that I forgot how to play after my last gig, I'll have to relearn them, and then I will play the hell out of them.

Top5 - Let the music do the talking...

1. I’ve Got a Plan – Scott Miller & The Commonwealth

I’ve got a plan
To be such a man
That she will see
That I was worth having

2. A Magazine Called Sunset – Wilco

There’s a magazine called sunset
And a tape machine that won’t let
Me ever forget this impossible longing for you

3. Know Your Onion! – The Shins

Shut out, pimpled and angry
I quietly tied all my guts in a knot
I gave up trying to make em,
Figured it take em to long to look up
And besides
It was undeniably clear to me, I don’t know why
When every other part of life seemed locked behind shutters

4. California (Part II) – Mason Jennings

I tell you what I’m going to do
I’m gonna’ lighten up
I’m gonna’ throw a box of books and my beloved guitar
Into the back of my truck
And try my luck
In California... California… California… California

5. Rock For Lite Brite – Lifter Puller

You got a bong you call the Babylon
You picked the name up from a Bad Brains song
Hey Rastafarian, I heard you’re quitting school
Smoking weed and cleaning swimming pools

Top5 - not Top5 edition

I don't have time for a full post this morning. I just want you to go listen to Brian Just. I've been listening to his Every Tree and Every Stone EP constantly for the last week. I especially love the song "Duluth."

Townes says 10 percent is in your fingers
another 10 is flowing through your throat
and 80 comes from signposts and gravel roads
that's folk music and it comes from on the road
yeah...

Other quick notes from locals...
Probably not surprisingly, Malachi Constant reportedly broke up. It was probably just a matter of time.

The ever-awesome Aardvark records is closing according to GF. A very cool record store and NE is worse off for its closing.

I am not Howard Hughes

Hurray!
I left the house this weekend and went to a real live rock and roll show. Well, okay, it's really not that big of a deal. It's only been a few weeks since I went to see a show, but I tell you, it felt like a year. I saw Ada Jane for the first time and I was impressed. Matt Marka's voice is huge and they have a ton of energy.

I was really excited to see Eagle*Seagull though. I had heard some buzz about them and I can say the buzz was justified. The songs are chaotic and loud, but chaos sometimes sounds kick ass.

The one thing that kind of ticked me off was the singer's attempt to acknowledge Ada Jane. He stumbled over the name for a minute until finally after someone yelled Ada Jane from the crowd for the third time, he said, "Oh yeah. Ada Jane." It smacked of indie-rock-hipper-than-thou-pretense.

I saw the E*S singer walking around during Ada Jane's set and the E*S merch booth was a few feet away from Ada Jane's, so I am not sure why he didn't know the name of the band that had been playing in some form for the two plus hours before his band got on stage.

Maybe it was just me. Maybe I was just in a crusty old curmudgeon mood. It's been known to happen.

Top 5

I feel like I have been crazy busy this summer, but I know that I really haven’t done that much. It seems like when I have a lot going on that I just want to pile more of top of that. I start school again next week, so I will probably end up writing more. Who knows?

1. Late at Night – Buffalo Tom

When I was in a band I always wanted to write songs that sounded like Buffalo Tom, but they always ended up sounding, well, I don’t know what they sounded like. I can tell you that they fell far short of sounding like Buffalo Tom.

2. Saturday – Big Ditch Road

BDR are playing Saturday at the Hex. Go see them! You won’t be disappointed. I love the bridge where the swirling guitars drop out and leave Darin Wald out in front of the song, contemplatively singing the lines:

I cleaned up my face
Cleaned up my place
In case it went well
In case it went well

3. Customer – The Replacements

One of my favorite Replacements songs of all time.

I’m in love withthegirlthatworkdjfoasidjjsldkfj…I’m a customer!

4. Wash My Hands – Arson Welles

I really liked this Minneapolis band, but I think I was in the minority on this. Last I heard a couple of the guys moved to LA to pursue production full time.

They were kind of a spacey indie rock that just played well in dirty clubs like the Entry. Now that I really listen hard to the lyrics, I realize they are not exactly poetry, but who cares?

Can you wash my hands with your dress pulled off?
I got a stained glass window and a terrible cough
But the miracle is you’ll never break my heart again

5. Might – Archers of Loaf

One of my favorite all time bands. The lead singer, Eric Bachmann, has a new solo album out this week that I plan to pick up tomorrow. If the things I have heard about the album are true, you may see an Eric Bachmann song in future Top5s.

Two Things

Pitchfork has a download of "Chips Ahoy!" from The Hold Steady's forthcoming album, Boys and Girls in America. The Hold Steady are also playing First Avenue in October.

The always entertaining Minneapoliscast has a 30-second interview with Mark Mallman. Pretty funny.

Have a good weekend.