VIDEO THRWBCK: Guns 'N Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (1988)
If you didn't hear, this week some guy who really likes football jerseys, boot cut jeans and hair braids who used to be a badass rock singer released an album called Chinese Democracy under the name Guns 'N Roses. And, yes, it took him seventeen years. I think it's pretty safe to say that whoever is on that record (we're guessing upwards of like fifty musicians, most of them uncredited because their parts are probably like a decade old) they are still not really "Guns N' Roses" since Duff, Slash, and Izzy aren't involved. Gilby Clarke is more of a member of Guns N' Roses than these guys are. Here's the band in better times (sort of). At least it's nice to see footage of Steven Adler where he doesn't look like a shriveled gollum (we see you Dr. Drew. You do good things.) Also: the other record that came out this week from an arrogant one-man-show is way better.
DOWNLOAD: TK Webb & The Visions - Closed Caption Slang
The serpentine guitars in “Closed Caption Slang,” are just a hint of what Thomas Kelly Webb is capable of sweating out of a six-string, doing fret cartwheels around a hum-drum tempo and making it sound like the whole thing is emanating from a speaker stack high atop some Appalachian peak. Those on the East Coast will be able to catch Webb’s mind-melting (and ear-bleeding) playing when his band TK Webb & The Visions hit the road later this month with The Secret Machines. Grab the epic mountain song below and hit the jump for tour dates and a fantastically shot video for TK’s solo track “Lonely Wine."
Sounds like: The Black Angels, Dinosaur Jr., Dark Meat
Download: TK Webb & The Visions - Closed Caption Slang
TK Webb & The Visions' RCRD LBL Page
Previously:
DOWNLOAD: Ladyhawk - I Don't Always Know What You're Saying
Posted 2/27/2008 12:11 PM by Daniel Arnold
Ladyhawk play mad but don't they come off so happy? I mean the music is dark. Distinctly. But, like basically everything from Vancouver, it feels so good. In case you've somehow never listened, it's like The National got their brakes cut and they go on driving anyway because they just don't give a goddamn if they end up on your lawn or in somebody's pool. And somehow that recklessness gives the band this vibe like they're your best friends from high school who you don't talk to that much anymore but you're still cool every time because who really needs all that talking anyway.
These new Ladyhawk jams, which are so right on it's kinda brutal, have sort of a goth '80s edge to them. All the chugalug and screaming choruses and flannel shirts with yellowed edges are still there, but there's also a hint of Echo And The Bunnymen. Sounds weird, I know, but listen and tell me it's not there. Anyway. Ladyhawk. Sheeyit. Their new record's called Shots and it's out March 4. Pick it up. Raise a beer.
EXCLUSIVE STREAM: Ladyhawk - S.T.H.D.
DOWNLOAD: I Don't Always Know What You're Saying
DOWNLOAD: Pride Tiger - Forget Everything
Can the music industry please enlist Pride Tiger to instigate a ‘70s revival and kill this whole ‘90s vibe we have going on right now? Not that we don’t love like, old house, but this band sound like Thin Lizzy injected with a dollop of Def Leppard, and it’s kind of making us regret not being alive in 1976. The band have serious cred as well: three members (drummer/vocalist Matt Wood and guitarists Bob Froese and Sunny Dhak) used to be in highly-reveled heavy metal act 3 Inches of Blood, and bassist Mike Payette was in S.T.R.E.E.T.S., the best band-name-as-acronym ever (“Skateboarding Totally Rules Everything Else Totally Sucks”). Pride Tiger’s song “Forget Everything” sounds like Jailbreak on even more amphetamines, shoved into exactly three minutes of raw power. Definitely worth multiple listens. Pride Tiger's debut record The Lucky Ones comes out March 11 on Caroline Records, so be sure to cop it when it drops.
DOWNLOAD: Band Of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You
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As much as we like candlelit spaghetti, we spent Thursday night with our best palentines, Dirty On Purpose and Band Of Horses. They took us to the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, an echo heavy bread box with a great poster collection, where they serenaded us all night with gentle love songs.
Now I gotta switch over to "me," because I haven't been as up on DOP as my RCRD LBL brethren. Got seduced by them once in a sidebar at SXSW about four years ago, but quickly lost track after that. And whaddya know? Totally new band. Paranoia and reluctance have given way to full on swagger. They've taken big sonic steps toward Nashville and California without ever taking their eyes off their shoes. Twangy, beachy and mopey, all at once. Call it shoehaze? Sure. Anyway, very pleasant surprise to find them blossomed into a real deal band with a wallop of a sound. Consider me re-seduced.
And then there's Band Of Horses, who recently told The Fader, "we should be the biggest band in the fucking world." And as bad a look as that may be, gotta tellya, standing there with my elbows on the stage (got real lucky that way), it sorta felt like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Not so much musically, but the feeling... you know? Total daydream. As that Village Voice blog bumout says, BOH isn't rocket science, but it is a good ol' time. Definitely lobbying hard for heavy airplay on our kids' classic rock radios. Man... that'll be weird, won't it? Here, have some music.
DOWNLOAD: Band Of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You
DOWNLOAD: Dirty On Purpose - Leaving, Hard To Tell You and more...
Film: U2 & Stones concert films think big
If you're the biggest band on earth, you need your concert film on IMAX. That's exactly what U2 and the Rolling Stones are doing: "U2 3D" opened this week exclusively on 60 IMAX screens, and the Martin Scorsese-directed Stones film called "Shine A Light" will bow on 100 IMAX screens (as well as in regular theaters) on April 4.
The U2 film was shot in Buenos Aires' River Plate stadium as part of their Vertigo tour, and it was shot specifically for a 3D experience on double camera rigs. Filmmakers were able to manipulate images, play with depth of field, and shoot angles that would pop in 3D since it was shot entirely in that format, and the end result is stunning. Dope IMAX sound certainly helps, and whether you like U2 or not it makes for a pretty stunning concert experience. Is it as awesome as the Beasties' "Awesome I Fuckin' Shot That"? Visually yes, conceptually no.
Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert film is regular 2D format, but we hear its raw and personal. It's also an entirely different beast than "U2 3D" as it spans the career of the group by weaving archival backstage footage with footage from 2 recent, legendary shows at NY's Beacon Theater. From the trailer it also looks as if there's compelling traditional documentary elements as we see Scorsese scrambling to put the whole thing together.
In any event, we're psyched that there seems to be no end in sight to the tidal wave of music docs and concert films that are hitting theaters. Let's hope more bands are into IMAX.
VIDEO: Dead Meadow - What Needs Must Be
Classic rock is back in a big way, whether it be the Led Zep riffs of Wolfmother or Kings and Queens’ psych grooves. We just came across the new Dead Meadow video for “What Needs Must Be”, which is just about as classic as you can get: Sabbath-like guitars and distorted basslines fill the song to the brim while a laid-back back drumbeat ties it all together. Bonus: the video has a pretty rad druid theme going on, which of course makes it the psych-est thing we’ve seen in a while. Enjoy.
Soundtrack: Prez candidates rock out (sort of)
If caucus fever has grappled you recently, perhaps you've noticed the campaign songs. We definitely have. Because what's more rock & roll than old men (and a woman) in suits waving like robots to complete strangers? Still, we love the thought of aides pulling Barack aside to play him "Simply The Best" by Tina Turner. And then him nodding solemnly and saying "Yes. That is IT goddamnit." Campaign songs have had a rich history in America, from Ross Perot picking Patsy Cline's "Crazy" (wow), to Tom Petty threatening to sue George W. for using "I Won't Back Down".
This year, as always, candidates from both parties have picked songs that represent their beliefs while making a statement. It's just that this year, some of these are the wrong statements. First, the Dems: if people forgot about Barack's disappointing 2nd place finish in New Hampshire after another rousing speech, they were reminded by the awkwardness of hearing Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" in what's now a close race. Rookie move! (He should have used the above track from Chicago's Kidz In The Hall.) Hillary's effort to appear more personable in NH was nicely highlighted by her choice of Tom Petty's "American Girl", which is a vast improvement over her previous song "You And I" by Celine Dion which was originally commissioned and used by Air Canada. Ouch. John Edwards, in dead last, appropriately takes the stage to the worst song: "This Is Our Country" by John Mellencamp. Although according to idolator he's apparently dropping a new mixtape on our asses.
Our boys of the GOP are doing only slightly better: Huckabee's humor was personified nicely after New Hampshire by walking on-stage to the epic "Sprach Zarathurstra" from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Fortunately Huck spared everyone by not performing any songs with his band "Capitol Offense" (oof). John McCain might be the only candidate who actually likes his song: "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry. Respectable choice for a respectable win in NH. Mitt Romney walks out regularly to "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond; ironic considering Neil Diamond probably loathes Romney's politics which, apparently, is in line with what the rest of America thinks as well. Ron Paul, meanwhile, maintains his rep as the rogue of his party by routinely rocking out to "The Ron Paul Song" by Brooklyn indie rockers The Violets. (Not as cool as it sounds).
So there you have it. We'll keep an eye out for any developments throughout the caucuses, and especially during the national conventions. We predict lots of U2, John Mayer, and Smash Mouth, so stay tuned.
FEATURED: The Kinks
We’ve recently gotten super into the Kinks’ 1968 recordThe Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, as we’ve realized it’s basically the prototype to all good indie pop albums ever (it features themes like small town living, school children, nature, lost love… sound familiar, Stuart Murdoch?) Anyway, rumors have been flying that iconic lead singer Ray Davies has been confirming left and right that there will be a Kinks reunion show sometime in the near future, their first as a full band in decades. However, it was reported over the weekend that his brother and co-vocalist/guitarist Dave Davies has denied all ties to a Kinks reunion tour and has likened the experience to a revival of Night of the Living Dead. Drama! Head over to Spinner for more info.
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