As you probably know, a few of our writers are in a band called Kazai Rex. Recently, we were given the opportunity to a host a night of art and music on UCLA campus and so we’ve spent the last few weeks putting together a stellar lineup of artists and musical acts. Here’s the info:
(For direction finding purposes, the De Neve Quad is located at 351 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024. It’s also worth nothing that it’s free to attend.)
The event will kick off at six with a set of free jazz from Ryan York and Peter Hargreaves. Following the duo will be the San Fernando Valley-based band Big Moves, whose sound is somewhat reminiscent of Broken Social Scene. Up next is Love Pump, a cover-band led by the maniacal Blake Stokes, whose stage antics are, at the very least, edgy as fuck. The band we’re in, Kazai Rex will follow. Closing out the night will be one of our favorite Los Angeles bands and good friends of ours, Blue Like Water. It’s their final performance before the band’s members head their separate ways, and they’ve got a pretty incredible final show planned.
The night will also feature artwork by Jessica Ayala, Macon Bunn, Ryan Cox, Elliott Kaplan (who I’ve posed about before), Aidan McDermott, Emily-Jane Robinson, and Dagmar Weaver-Madsen (who directed our band’s very low-budget, retro music video).
We can guarantee that this will be the best possible place you can be in Los Angeles on June 1. We encourage everyone who reads this to attend, and to bring his/her friends. It will be a magical evening, and we'd like to share it with as many people as possible.
For those of you who didn’t already know, Will Oldham is one of my all-time favorite artists, coming in second only to the boys from Radiohead. Over the last fourteen years, he’s released ten proper full-lengths, two cover albums, three albums of b-sides and rarities, a live album, and countless EPs under the monikers of Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, Palace, Palace Music, Will Oldham, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and Bonny Billy. He’s collaborated with Matt Sweeney, Johnny Cash, Dave Pajo, Dawn McCarthy, Tortoise, Alasdair Roberts, and Sage Francis and has also scored several independent films. “I See A Darkness”, his 1999 full-length under the name Bonnie “Prince” Billy, has sat comfortably as my third favorite album of all time and will likely remain there for some time to come.
Oldham is also an accomplished actor; he’s had leading roles in both Matewan (1987) and Old Joy (2006), both of which witness his quirky but phenomenal acting ability. The latter is one of my favorite films of the last few years. He also acts in some of his own music videos—below I posted the music video for Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s “I Gave You”, a somber one-shot piece that was easily one of the best music videos of 2005. The point of all this, of course, I have yet to see Oldham involved in anything I didn’t like (his collaboration with Tortoise was pretty sub-par, but that was mostly Tortoise’s fault).
Will Oldham’s work is best described as dark folk-rock with a detectable country influence. Above all things, Oldham’s vocals and lyrics are described as utterly human, capturing despair, the human condition, and little moments of joy magnificently. Look no further than “You Will Miss Me When I Burn” for proof of that. His work is not for those who look to music for escape, but rather for those who see and struggle with that same darkness. It is not music without joy, however; there is joy to be found in identification, as well as in the fleeting moments in which love or friendship can lift a soul above what Oldham considers to be the harsh reality of things.
This podcast is a sort of introduction to the works of Will Oldham, taking some of the best tracks off each of his proper full-lengths as well as his b-sides and rarities compilations. “Ohio River Boat Song” and “Madeleine-Mary” are two of my favorite songs ever and are absolutely necessary listening. What makes the latter even more amazing is that it’s comprised of only one chord, A minor. A faster and better-produced version of “Riding” appears later on “Lost Blues and Other Songs” and is probably better known, but the earlier version captures an unforgettable sense of brooding and incredible emotional strain. “Just To See My Holly Home” is one of his more upbeat songs and, along with “Barcelona”, is one of the Oldham tracks most suited to sing-alongs. “I Gave You” is the haunting closing track from Oldham’s 2005 collaboration with Matt Sweeney. The gorgeous backup vocals on “Strange Form of Life” are courtesy of Faun Fables’ Dawn McCarthy, who appears on the majority of Oldham’s most recent album, “The Letting Go” (for which I wrote a lengthy review).
Contents of the Podcast: [0:00-4:26] “Riding” from There is No-One What Will Take Care of You (1993) [4:26-7:44] “You Will Miss Me When I Burn” from Days in the Wake (1994) [7:44-10:26] “The Brute Choir” from Viva Last Blues (1995) [10:26-14:02] “Stablemate” from Arise, Therefore (1996) [14:02-18:28] “Ohio River Boat Song” from Lost Blues and Other Songs (1997) [18:28-22:12] “O Let It Be” from Joya (1997) [22:12-24:44] “Madeleine-Mary” from I See A Darkness (1999) [24:44-29:05] “Stable Will” from Guarapero/Lost Blues 2 (2000) [29:05-32:48] “Just To See My Holly Home” from Ease Down the Road (2001) [32:48-36:36] “Wolf Among Wolves” from Master and Everyone (2003) [36:36-39:18] “I Gave You” from Superwolf (2005) [39:18-44:50] “Barcelona” from Little Lost Blues (2006) [44:50-48:44] “Strange Form of Life” from The Letting Go (2006)
I’m pretty much overflowing with joy right now. It’s not very often that a television show can get me to care so genuinely about its characters, but Jim and Pam truly do represent the great romance of our generation. Plus, how awesome was it that Jim left Karen in New York? And that split-second look from Ryan that closed out the episode? Absolutely priceless.
I usually listen to sad-bastard music, but this calls for some love songs.
As I write this I am listening to Ozma’s latest album, “Pasadena”, on their myspace. It’s being released this week, and I had been excited for it for the longest time. Sadly, I caught hold of a few tracks and was sadly disappointed, but still left with some hope. If you don’t know, Ozma is an LA-based powerpop band along the same vein as Weezer. In fact, they opened for them years ago during the “Maldroit” tour. It was good times.
And since then, they have made a couple albums, broke up, and got back together again. The only change since they’re previous outings is the acquisition of drummer Kenn Shane, but it’s starting to sound like a completely different band. The divide between principal songwriters Ryan Slegr and Daniel Brummel is growing, and it’s almost painfully obvious here. And I’m only a quarter of the way through the album.
I’ll bet that every song Slegr touches is lame, and anything Brummel writes will be somewhere decent and awesome. I’m not saying I don’t like Slegr’s songwriting, as I’ve enjoyed his work in the past. It’s just…what is up with these new songs? Take a peek at “Fight the Darkness,” and you’ll be laughing within the first 10 seconds guaranteed. Listen to it for yourself.
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Also, over the weekend, I had the pleasure of running into a few sites that had Queens of the Stone Age’s newest single off their upcoming release, “Era Vulgaris”. The single is “Sick Sick Sick” and it is one interesting track. No real hooks, no catchy melodies, but it’s just a memorable song. There’s something about it, with all the clashing noises in the background, that sick guitar riff after the first chorus, and those pulsing drums that make me want to listen to it over and over again. And if you can find it off of hype machine or something of the sort, look for “3s and 7s”, it’s pretty awesome as well. Listen to it along with a funny little lightbulb guy on their myspace.
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And last but certainly not least, the Mystery Jets released their debut U.S. album, “Zootime”, last week. It caught me a little off guard, as I wasn’t expecting it until June. But check it out, please, you won’t regret it. The majority of the songs were already recorded a year or so ago from their U.K. album, but this versions seems a little more polished/cleaner. The title track, for example, has been sped up and been giving a huge energy boost (something I previously thought was impossible as the song was already hugely impressive before). There are a couple of new additions as well, like the very cool “indie-reggae” (Danny’s words, not mine) track “Crosswords.” I like saying Ted Leo has one of the tightest rhythm sections in rock music today working with him, but this song makes me think twice about that statement (only think twice though, I don’t change my mind). Check out the Mystery Jets’ Myspace, with a few tracks off their latest album here.
Iron & Wine - Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car (Live) [mp3] As if I wasn’t already excited about the new Iron & Wine album. I’d have trouble falling to sleep at night, thinking of the breathy and gorgeous melodies, the simple but flawless guitar plucking, and the moving lyrical stories. But then—damn you “Live at Pabst Theater” recordings, damn you—everything changed. There was no bathing, no attending classes, no responding to the people around me. There was only Sam Beam’s voice, rich and authoritative. I urge you: don’t listen to this track. It’s too incredible. Your shower will go unused, your bed unslept in, your mind unable to focus on anything than the fact that folk is the only kind of music that matters and that Iron & Wine is the only kind of folk that matters. I'm serious. Consider yourself warned.
Panda Bear - Bros (Terrestrial Tones Remix) [mp3] The fact that bros are my least favorite type of annoying-jock-asshole only affirms my love for Panda Bear, because I love “Bros” despite its ugly connotations. Right now Panda Bear is fairly uncontested for my Album of the Year (only Feist [marry me!] comes close) and, “Bros” being my favorite song on the album (and thus my current Song of the Year), I thought I’d invest in the 12” single. I normally hate remixes, but this one was a rare success. High five! This track's kind of all over the place, but in the way that air is all over the place—that is, the best way. Sounds like there are some new samples in there, and even more reverb! Just when you thought Noah Lennox couldn’t sound more like he was in a giant, echo-y hall, you were proven wrong. Not that it sounds bad or anything.
Dodo Bird - Men [mp3] My friend just came in and saw me writing this post and commented (semi-jokingly) that Dodo Bird should open for Panda Bear. To which I replied the environmental implications of that were terrible, and that Dodo Bird playing with someone like T. Rex would be much more appropriate, though obviously not from a business standpoint. We’re gonna save those giant pandas, mark my word. Dodo Bird sounds like Beirut with less Balkan and more DIY. Good, though. I think his whole rhythm section is one drum (plus that clickey thing, but that doesn’t count), which I respect because I always try and record tracks with one drum and usually they end up sounding like shit, mostly because I’m awful at tuning drums and the drum I use hasn’t been tuned since the late seventies. His real name is Meric Long, and he’s someone you should watch out for in coming years. Buy his album—you’ll thank me later. Later being when you’ve finished giving it a full listen. “Horny Hippies” is also a good song, although my reason for thinking so is a bit too personal to write on a blog, y’know? So I picked this one.
Paper Stereo used to be a music blog, until it was killed and sacrificed to the gods of mediocrity and complacency. There will never be another post. Feel free to mourn in your own, private way.
