Culture Greyhound

This past week, Aquarium Drunkard really put me in the holiday spirit and posted all the incredibly rare singles from the Beatles Christmas Singles Club.  The Fab Four would release a new 7-inch every year exclusively to their fan club members, from 1963 to 1969.  The early ones were usually the group ad-libbing with good humor, as well as thanking their fans for a successful year and wishing them a happy holidays and new year.  They show the group in their early years as a rowdy, close-knit young bunch of boys having a good time fulfilling a contractual obligation.

As the years progressed, the singles’ content, as well as the cover art, predictably changed, along with the music, mood, and imagery of the 60’s.  Album art, in correlation with the Beatles conventional, non-holiday records, transformed from photos of the four members in their mop tops to aesthetic collages and abstract photography.  The sound of the singles, too, reflected the alterations in their packaging – the content changed from witty, collaborative banter to more avant-garde soundscapes, similar to “Revolution 9.”  The projects became less collaborative, with the final 1969 single completely different from the first; it feature snippets of songs from Paul, spoken bits from George and Ringo (separately), and dialogue from John and Yoko recorded at their home.

While a lifelong Beatles fan shouldn’t be surprised at the change in content, album art, and collaborative spirit in the Christmas singles over the band’s short career (as it is in line with the general scene and spirit of the time, not to mention the well-documented history of this group), this collection of MP3s is a fascinating listen for Beatles complete-ists and rock music historians.  Go grab them for yourself.

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Religion’s Secret to Happiness: It’s Friends, Not Faith

15 Steps to Becoming the Next Indie Buzz Band

This year I made the big move from Lubbock to Austin, and the transformation has done wonders for my live music fix.  I should have been writing down all the awesome bands I saw this year (and the years before, for that matter) but alas, hindsight, she is 20/20 once again.  I think this post covers the highlights more or less, however.  There’s plenty of great live music I saw this year that I’m leaving out, but after the jump, in no particular order, are twelve of the best shows I witnessed in 2010, eleven of them right here in the Live Music Capital of the World.

And for the record, I wanted to put the Sleigh Bells show on here, as fun as it was once they finally started playing, but everyone who attended knows Beauty Bar is at fault for that show’s omission.  What a disaster.

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Today I continue a series of posts dedicated to the best albums of the last decade, posting analysis of one album at a time.

45. The Thermals – Now We Can See

As far as concept albums go, Hutch Harris has nailed the formula.  There’s nothing vague or nebulous about the themes present in the lyrics of Thermals albums, whether it be the compelling tirade against politics and religion on The Body, The Blood, and the Machine or the analysis of love on the trio’s latest effort Personal Life.  As for Now We Can See, the first-person narrative is someone who has just recently died, and the observation is revelatory, unique, and brilliant.

Harris ponders how one would feel once dead through this narrative, and it makes complete sense.  The words reflect regret on things left unaccomplished, but overall, our protagonist is nonchalant and relieved, because, hey who cares, he’s already dead. Nothing to be done.  He’s free from the burden of life and the inevitable end.  The stark, subtle realization that there is nothing left to fear is prevalent throughout the album, and it conjures the brightest feeling of optimism ever felt on a post-punk collection of songs.

As for the music, well, the Portland trio has only gotten sharper and tighter in their feel-good power chord delivery and sing-along chants.  The title track is reminiscent of Baltimora’s “Tarzan Boy,” and Kathy Foster’s bass lines and percussion (when recording, the Thermals only had two members – drummer Westin Glass would join for the following tour) provide solid accompaniment for Harris’ declarative tenor and guitar solo.  While “Liquid In Liquid Out” gives a clever commentary on the wasteful routines of a life passed, “When We Were Alive” rocks harder than anything the band has churned out since Fuckin’ A.

In a solid half hour, the Thermals will win your heart and banging head with simply structured rock and roll and, in contrast, an uplifting approach to a usually fearful topic.  And after you’ve memorized every note and word, go see them live.  It all makes life worth living.

The Thermals – We Were Sick

The Thermals – Now We Can See

The Thermals – Liquid In, Liquid Out

Yuck – Rubber from Yuck on Vimeo.

Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.

90. AC Newman – Drink to Me Babe Then

The head writer for the New Pornographers had an impressive first solo outing – The Slow Wonder combines the melodic superiority with a mellow, easygoing feel.  “Drink to Me Babe Then,” introduced to me by my dear friend Kim way back when we were still on college radio, is a gem and the highlight from the album.  Adding an acoustic sway to the sweet pop Newman is known for, the song easily peaks with a sweet whistling interlude.

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Music, Movies, Television, etc. Pop culture reviews for the short-attention-span Internet age.

Love and Other Drugs

Watch the two-minute green band trailer and you know exactly how this movie goes, more or less.  Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway fall in love, separate, and get back together again.  Welcome to the standard rom-com formula, unchanged since the beginning of time.  That’s not to say the movie isn’t enjoyable (up until the trite ending, which everyone sees a mile away); there is great chemistry between Gyllenhaal’s take on a career-minded, smart-ass, sweet-talking med salesman and Hathaway’s sarcastic, quasi-misanthropic, surprisingly charming twenty-something with Parkinson’s.  Add a dash of breasts, a ton of male ass, and many many boner jokes (the character is selling Viagra, after all), and you’ve got a decent date movie, even if the first third (which is mainly focused on career moves and less on romance) is more interesting than the eye-roll-worthy rest.

Rating: 6

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Summer Camp – Christmas Wrapping (The Waitresses cover)

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The-Dream – Nikki (Gobble Gobble Remix)

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Star Slinger – Baby Mama

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Reading Rainbow – Euphoria

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Depressed Buttons – Ow! (Para One Remix)

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It was 30 years ago today…

Today has been a rough day for me, though hardly anyone my age feels the same.  On December 8, 1980, around 11:15 pm EST, we lost a musical icon and the finest Beatle of them all, John Lennon.  Just Google his name or search for him on Twitter and you will find a plethora of tributes, videos, eulogies, playlists, archived news articles, etc in honor of this sad anniversary. My favorites today are a few from Huffington Post, Death and Taxes, the Village Voice, and Yoko Ono herself, declaring John as the “Teamaker” on her blog this morning.  Although I have nothing incredible or revolutionary to add to the discourse, I would feel empty if I didn’t dedicate today’s Culture Greyhound post to the man and the impact he has had on my life.

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