My Internet is really spotty today, so nothing elaborate for your Monday. Instead, I invite you to check out some pretty spectacular blogs done by people I know (all of which can be found to the right, along with many others).
Adult Acid – music-related blog by my good friend Burgers, specializing in the weird/post-rock stuff that sometimes isn’t accessible, but always cutting-edge.
The Numerators – highly entertaining as of late, since these boys are currently on tour promoting their new EP
Mucho Mucho Bueno Bueno – my good buddy Alan and his lady friend Kelly are contributors to this fairly high-traffic site (as well as Kelly’s sister, I’m told), which is a pretty cool read in terms of fashion, photography, music, and pretty much whatever else these peeps feel like sharing.
So Let the Horror Flow – my buddy Daniel Markham’s horror blog. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Rad Works – Rachel Daily’s creative mind laid out for all to see. Always an interesting read.
Media Mirage – my partner in crime Laura’s blog – she’s a journalism nut, and I’m always educated when I make the trip to her corner of the Web.
This is just a sample – check the links to the right for more awesome blogs by awesome people. And if you want your blog listed, let me know in the comments. Just be sure and return the favor, cool kids.
Take ten minutes out of your life and listen to the best EP you’ll hear all spring – The Numerators‘ sprawling, six-track ride that is Human Blanket. It’s available for free on the Lubbock trio’s blog, and you West-Coasters should pick up the cassette version when they come to your town this month. The EP is a great introductory course to the band’s wild, colorful, frenetic live presence. Before you know it, it’s over, and you’re not sure what exactly happened, but you know it was definitely fun. The boys are like Half Japanese on ginseng…..and other substances.
Today I begin a new feature at Culture Greyhound. Once every three months I will be listing the best of what I heard in albums/songs/remixes for the quarter. I do this to personally keep up with all the awesome music I hear, as it ultimately helps me at the end of the year when I do my overall listing for the previous twelve months. I also do it to introduce you cool cats to tunes you may have missed independently.
Up until 1965, this quartet was merely known as the Four Seasons, but you can’t keep a trilling falsetto like that of Frankie Valli out of the shadows for too long. Once he launched a solo career, the other guys were happy to follow the money trail.
I think, for most of my generation, we associate this group with the scene in Mrs. Doubtfire where Robin Williams walks in step, in old-lady attire, to “Walk Like a Man.” Of course, our college rock and roll history classes briefly cover Valli and the gang when discussing the post-Elvis/pre-Beatles period of the early ’60s, featuring Spector’s girl groups, the surf-rock fad (featuring the Beach Boys peak), and, my favorite, the doo-wop style. The Four Seasons were probably the most popular of the last category, churning out almost 40 singles and over 20 albums on the Billboard pop charts.
The group’s fame began to wane around the time Rubber Soul and Blonde on Blonde were being released, but the Four Seasons continued to deliver hits sporadically throughout the 70’s. They are a treasure of oldies and rock’n’roll music, and their songs were usually pretty airtight and awesome. While other vocal groups of their time dabbled in cheekiness, the charisma of the group – and strong leadership of the talented Valli – made them stand out as the best.
A sampling of classics can be found after the jump.
Two years ago, when Daniel Markham split from Waiting to Derail, he changed direction completely. He formed One Wolf, making a remarkable transformation from Whiskeytown alt-country to REM-influenced, Western-tinged rock. Much like the local peers in Thrift Store Cowboys, Markham had come into his own, producing what could only be described as the sound of Lubbock. Markham’s skill in pop craftsmanship was honed, but the lyrics were more introspective, the songs slower, sadder, and slightly more rock and roll than country. It was an audible representation of West Texas; Buddy Holly would’ve been proud.
And now, with One Wolf’s sophomore release, Markham and the boys have done a 180…..again.
I spoke with Markham many months ago during a podcast interview for the now-defunct KTXT-FM. Some favorite influences of his at the time were Nirvana, REM, Deadsy, and Starflyer 59. So what’s the new One Wolf record sound like? All of the above, and more. In a word, it’s a lot LOUDER.
Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.
90. IYAZ – Replay
Usually in December of every year, I go home for Christmas. The indie world is dead at the end of the year, so I usually do research on the pop charts, listening to songs I have missed for most of the year. Nearly all of the songs I am happy to have avoided, but there are always a few candidates that make the cut. I’m a sucker for well-crafted pop music, as everyone knows, and IYAZ’s first single had my head bobbing enough for it to make my year-end list. It’s charming, super-infectious, and it name-drops a common household item that no one owned ten years ago (that would be the iPod).
I feel incomplete not posting something before I go to bed, so here is the trailer for the upcoming “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” I just have one question: Is this real? I mean, I know it’s far from accurate, but this can’t be an actual movie…can it? It’s likely fake…but it shouldn’t be.
