The Fiend Ten - A Farewell to 2012

Don't know if it's old age or something else but it seems like 2012,  good, bad, and otherwise, has flown by.  Rapid pace notwithstanding, there was a wealth of really, really good music from up and coming new acts such as singer/songwriter extraordinaire Frank Ocean to guys named Bob Dylan.  However, only a handful of records make the final cut for the Fiend Ten and here they are:

1. Rush - "Clockwork Angels":  Bands who have been together for nearly 40 years, by rule, are supposed to finance their retirement accounts by touring and playing the hits of yesteryear over and over and over.  Fortunately, Geddy, Alex, and Neil never got the memo and opted to make one of the finest records of their career by making of all things, a concept album.  Chronicling the pursuits of young man looking for his destiny, "Clockwork Angels" is the culmination of Rush's storied and now Hall of Fame career.   

2. Swans - "The Seer":  Hands-down, the second release from the reunited version of noise-rock pioneers Swans is the most terrifying record of the year.  A sprawling, two plus hour epic, Michael Gira and crew use country (A Piece of The Sky), Americana (Song for a Warrior featuring Karen O), and pure Branca-esque, full throttle no wave (Apostate) to make it a trip not soon forgotten.  The highlight of "The Seer" is the 32 minute (not a typo) title track.  While having very few lyrics, the song takes the listener on a journey through some scary places with Gira's crazed guitar parts heightening the insanity.

3.  Chairlift - "Something":  Chairlift's debut "Does This Inspire You" showed some true potential, particularly with great pop tracks such as "Bruises" and "Make Your Mind Up" but there was definitely some room for improvement.   The Brooklyn-based duo have come back with a sophomore effort that is on a completely different level their initial work.  Much lighter and dreamier than "Inspire" this album takes many cues from 1980's electro-pop.  "Met Before" with it's homage to 60's California Pop has more jumbo hooks in 3 minutes than most other bands can put on an entire album.  Bonus points for reaching into the Bad Religion book of polysyllabic words with "Amanaemonsia".   

4. Grizzly Bear - "Shields":  If a band opts for the Lo-Fi route, it had better have both the chops and the songs to make up for the lack of production.  On their fifth release, primary songwriter Ed Droste and crew continue to expand their low key, DIY style pop to new levels.  Picking up from the open-ended fade out of their last album, "Veckatimest",  "Shields" features a couple of drop-dead mellow-pop hits in "Sleeping Ute" with it's thundering drums deep in the mix and epic Spanish guitar climax and "Yet Again" with it's multi-part harmonies and psychedelic mash up at the end.  As with "Foreground" the closing track from "Veckatimest", "Shields" finishes with a bang with the lush, elegant "Sun in Your Eyes".   

5.  Japandroids - "Celebration Rock":  While there are many bands who are deemed the next big thing - this Canadian duo has all of the qualities to become really big, really fast.  On their second full album,  Japandroids refine their unique blend of garage band looseness, power anthems with singalong choruses, and big old sloppy pop hooks.  The theme of the album migrates from the joys of youth ("The Nights of Wine and Roses") to the acknowledgment that it's only there for a short time so might as well enjoy it while you can (the fantastic "House That Heaven Built").  "Celebration Rock" is an wild 40 minute ride that leaves you drained but wanting more at the end. 

6.  Neurosis - "Honor Found in Decay":  Like a fine wine, the founding fathers of doom or experimental or whatever you want to call it metal have managed to age rather gracefully over their nearly 30 year existence.  While the primal scream approach that was so prevalent on their groundbreaking early 90's albums such as "Souls At Zero" may not show up, the intensity and power are still very much there.  Relatively streamlined (only 3 ten minute songs this time) than their recent work, "Honor Found In Decay" reflects the expanding influence of Americana and other types of folk music in the songwriting style of co-leaders Scott Kelly and Steve Van Till.  "At The Well", with it's almost Western movie opening reflects those new influences but eventually migrates into a steamroller of a song.  Keyboardist/sampler Noah Landis, while always a key member of the group has his most prominent role on this record.  

7.  Grimes - "Visions":  Can someone say quirky?   Grimes is the handiwork of Canadian artist Claire Boucher who has definitely spent lots of time studying electro-pop classics of the past 40 years.  Her first full release "Visions" is a mix of old school 1980's style pop music crossed with her extreme falsetto voice and some pretty impressive songwriting chops.  "Visions" starts off with a couple of really powerful tracks.  "Genesis" borrows it's rhythm line from Kraftwerk's classic track Autobahn but Boucher makes it her own with her multi tracked vocals and carefully placed keyboard fills.  "Oblivion" is the standout track on her debut with her multi part harmonies mixed effortlessly with a pretty complex track.  Don't know how what her follow-up albums will sound like but considering this was recorded at home using a laptop, there is some potential there.

8. Killer Mike - "R. A. P. Music":  For those of you who don't know Killer Mike,  he's an Atlanta based rapper with a very strong forceful style who, like Cee-Lo, got his start appearing on Outkast's masterwork Stankonia.  In addition to appearing on multiple Outkast albums, Mike released a couple of solo albums and underground tapes that, while very powerful never took off.  In 2012, he teamed with underground rapper/producer El-P to make his strongest record.  "R.A.P Music" is the perfect of Mike's  dominating rap style and El-P's quirkly, left-of-center beats and rhythms and without being overloaded with guest stars. "Don't Die" is a modern day version of NWA's F**k the Police while "Reagan" is a scorching political commentary that's probably going offend a few people on both sides of the aisle.  After years of establishing his cred as one of best MC's around, Killer Mike has found his perfect foil in the least likeliest of places.

9. Sleigh Bells - "Reign of Terror":   Of all the albums in my top 10, I was really torn on whether to add this to the list or not.  In many ways, this album is a major disappointment compared to the New York duo's crazy, over the top debut "Treats".  However, it made my top 10 because it has two of the best songs of the year.  "Born To Lose" is driven by electronic, speed metal style blast beat and Derek Miller's uber heavy guitar drones and lead singer Alexis Krauss' dreamy lead vocals.  "Comeback Kid" is one of my favorite songs of the year with the perfect pop mix of Miller's 80's style metal guitar mixed perfectly with Krauss' super sweet vocals.  While the rest of the album has some decent moments, they still fall a bit flat when compared to Treats' high points such as "Crowns on the Ground" and "Rill Rill".

10.  Balmorhea - "Stranger":  Based on a Facebook recommendation, I decided check this Austin, Texas based instrumental band out and was very pleasantly surprised.  Balmorhea has a very smooth, feel that evokes memories of bands such as King Crimson, Isis, and minimalist composer Steve Reich.  "Stranger" is a laid back record that crosses a wide variety of influences.  The opening track "Days" features a rolling rhythm across it's 9 minutes and mixes it with steel drums, piano,  before finishing with gorgeous multi-part harmony vocal parts before a gentle, two minute plus fade out.  "Fake Fealty" is driven by a very aggressive acoustic guitar piece while incorporating Steve Reich string pieces.  A very powerful release by a band that's quickly expanding it's horizons.

The honorable mentions - records that I really liked but just missed the top 10
Bob Mould - Silver Age
Animal Collective - Centipede Hz
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
Big Boi -Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors
Blur - Parklive
Enslaved - RIITIIR
Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory
Diiv - Oshin
Donald Fagen - Sunken Condos
Santigold - Master of my Make Believe
Bear In Heaven - I Love You, It's Cool
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

And finally, a shout-out to some legendary musicians who passed away - RIP, wherever you are
MC MCA A.K.A Adam Yauch
Levon Helm (The Band)
Donald "Duck" Dunn (Booker T and the MG's, The Blues Brothers)
Dave Brubeck
Ravi Shankar
Jon Lord ( Deep Purple)
Donna Summer
Robin Gibb (The Bee Gees)
Dick Clark
Ronnie Montrose
Whitney Houston
Etta James

That's all folks - see ya in 2013.  Cheers.

Neurosis - No signs of Decay

If there was any justice, the boys in Neurosis would be getting paid royalties from all of the bands that they have influenced over their 25 plus year career and living the good life.  Their unique approach to metal known as "doom metal" or "experimental metal",  a hybrid form of metal that's equal parts Black Sabbath, King Crimson, and Killing Joke, has been a source of inspiration for any number of bands including Mastodon, Tool, Kylesa, etc.  So what do the Bay Area legends, whose origins are in the same Gilman St hardcore scene that gave us Green Day and Operation Ivy, get for a lifetime of excellence, they all still have their day jobs.

This lack of mass recognition has not deterred Neurosis from expanding on the foundation they have spent the better part of the past three decades carefully building.  While their first couple of records reflected their punk roots, they slowly began to expand their sound into longer, textured much heavier songs incorporating samples and electronics more reminiscent of industrial music. As the 90's progressed,  a new Neurosis appeared with works such as 1992's "Souls At Zero" and 1993's post apocalyptic masterpiece "Enemy of the Sun" which may still be the only metal album to ever feature a terrifying 26 plus minute tribal drum track.  As the 90's moved on, their albums grew in both complexity and intensity.  Starting with 1999's "Times of Grace", punk icon and "recorder" extraordinaire Steve Albini took over the production duties, streamlining their sound without taking away any of their trademark intensity or experimentation.

Five years removed from their last release "Given To The Rising", "Honor Found In Decay" proves that there is no single formula for a Neurosis release.  While the trademark growling vocals and booming guitars of co-frontmen Scott Kelly and Steve Van Till are still ever present, some new influences factor into the equation.  During their five year break between releases, both Kelly and Van Till have released a number of folk influenced solo releases and even collaborated on a tribute to Townes Van Zandt with, of all people, stoner metal icon "Wino" Weinrich.  Another change on this album is the expanded spotlight on keyboardist/sampler Noah Landis.  This may also be one of the most efficient Neurosis albums since their punk days clocking in at just over an hour.

Starting with a single ringing sound, as if someone were running their finger along a glass of wine, the opening track, "We All Rage In Gold" quickly builds tension before detonating into a full blown rocker.  As with many of their past works, "Rage's" lyrics have a decidedly spiritual tone with Kelly exclaiming "I'll walk into the water, to wash the blood from my feet".  While only a relatively short 6 1/2 minutes "We All Rage in Gold" has a number of abrupt shifts in tone and intensity to keep the listener at the edge of their seat.   

The second track, "At The Well" is the direct by-product of Kelly and Van Till's ventures into folk and Americana.  The 10 minute epic track starts with a simple ringing guitar part and Van Till playing the role of a the lone gunman before the rest of the band kicks in.  Drummer Jason Roeder and bassist Dave Edwardson provide a slow, somber driving beat while Kelly and Van Till duet then suddenly everything stops except for a sampled bagpipe accompanied by the same ringing guitar from the first minute of the song.  The song eventually builds back up to a roaring climax with Kelly screaming "In A Shadow World" repeatedly.  If there was a metal song that could fit into a Western movie, this may be it.

With a running time of nearly 12 minutes, "My Heart For Deliverence", starts with a nearly 2 minute ambient intro from Landis before kicking into a slowish rocker that has some rare melodic moments.  Landis is all over the track with a soft piano piece in the middle of the song along with a sampled violin piece at it's conclusion.  "Bleeding of the Pigs" and "Casting of the Ages" are slowish tempo rockers that are very similar to tracks on the past couple of Neurosis' albums.

As the album draws to a close, the intensity builds back up in a big way.  "All is Found......In Time" is a full throttle rocker mixed with slower, more introspective parts interjected by Pink Floyd-ish synth pieces from Landis.  As the song beings to build towards it's conclusion, drummer Roeder's takes the baton with a furious barrage of rolls and cymbal crashes over the past 4 minutes of the nearly 9 minute track.  The closer "Raise The Dawn" is an intense, reflective song featuring some of Kelly's most impassioned singing and some bizarre little samples throughout.  As "Honor Found In Decay" began with a simple ringing sound, a quiet violin piece closes it.

"Honor Found In Decay" finds Neurosis doing exactly what it wants nearly 30 years into a wildly influential career.  They are still one of the heaviest bands in the universe but has no issue whatsoever about evolving and incorporating Americana or more melodic elements into their music.  Neurosis  embraces their past without having to rehash it - a trait not commonly seen by other bands who are hitting their 30th year.

Looks like Neurosis will be making a handful of tour dates over 2013, so hopefully you get a chance to see a true legend of American metal music.  

Rock Fiend Quick Hits - What's in the Active Rotation

After a couple of really, really long posts, here's one for the members of Red Bull addled, short attention span generation.  Plus I've been listening to lots of new stuff recently and thought I'd share my favorites in one column.  And they're off.......

1. Donald Fagen - "Sunken Condos":  The blogmaster general, much to his wife's deep chagrin, is a full on Steely Dan freak and the release of anything new (even solo stuff) is an event.  Lead singer Fagen's latest release is laid back, loose, and more intimate sounding than the stuff he does on his day job.
2. Frosting - "Frosting II": The latest from my cousin Timmy's newest band.  A very fresh mix of pop tunes and some slower paced rockers.
3. Balmorhea - "Stranger": A recommendation from a Facebook friend, Balmorhea is an Austin based instrumental band whose sound reminds me of everyone from minimalist composer Steve Reich to 80's era King Crimson to Sigur Ros.  "Masollan" and "Fake Fealty" are among the standout tracks on this album.
4. The Joy Formidable - "This Ladder is Ours": My favorite new power-pop band is back less than two years after their most excellent debut "The Big Roar".  While still adhering to the blast accelerated pop sound mastered last year, the band has shown some pretty serious growth and refinement as songwriters on this first single from their upcoming album
5.  Neurosis - "We All Rage In Gold": The second track released in advance of their newest work "Honor Found In Decay", the founding fathers of doom metal or post metal or just metal show no sign of relenting even though they've been going at it for three decades.  As with their first single "At The Well", "Rage" features all of the trademark heaviness that Neurosis is legendary but the sound features some nuances, particularly from keyboardist Noah Landis generally not heard before on prior releases.  This is going to be an awesome record.
6.  Enslaved - "Thoughts Like Hammers":  I'm generally not the biggest fan of the whole Black Metal thing but something about the opening track from legendary Norwegian act Enslaved's new album that has a different feel than many of the other albums from this genre.  While it does feature the obligatory blast beats and inaudible cookie monster style vocals that are trademarks of black metal, it also very seamlessly mixes in a very melodic, progressive element into the equation.  A kind of yang to the loud, nasty yin that most Black Metal bands are better known for.
7.  Animal Collective - "Centipede Hz" :  Yes, Animal Collective managed to piss off many of their fans who were hoping for a repeat of their chill-out pop classic "Merriweather Post Pavillion"but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Moving in a different direction this time around, they still have lots of pop hooks to spare it's just backed by a more experimental sounding backdrop.  "Today's Supernatural", "Applesauce", and "Amanita" are among my favorite tracks.

Green Day, Jack White, and Baroness play the maturity game - who won??

I get it - when you give up a conventional existence to join a band, spending the next several decades on the road occasionally knowing what city you're in, the likelihood developing a slightly distorted sense of reality is pretty much an even bet.  Even with this completely altered sense of reality, you would hope that occasionally, some inkling of perspective would remain.  Apparently, a couple of long established acts with some serious underground cred opted not to read that memo.  Conversely, a young, very promising act, just starting a tour behind a powerful new record, is involved in a horrific accident that could easily detour many careers yet they come out of it grateful to be alive and legitimately thankful to be able to continue on.

Case # 1 - Green Day: You would think that a band even though many years removed from their punk upbringing in the legendary Gilman Street scene in Berkeley would still get it.  Even after they became huge with "Dookie", Billy Joe, Tre, and Mike still seemed to have their s**t in order.  However, something strange happened after the mega-success of "American Idiot".  Even though they had been hugely successful for years, they suddenly became Rock Stars, playing giant shows with all the pomp and circumstance of a Kiss concert.  This evolution (or de-evolution) came to a head a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas when lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong, after being informed that they would have to cut their set short, had a meltdown for the ages.  Armstrong proceeded to go off on other acts (including Justin Bieber who wasn't there), the fact the festival (which I'm guessing they were paid handsomely for) was a total joke, and that Green Day's stature as a long running act on the scene afforded them the extra time.

Case # 2 - Jack White:  While not coming up from the same type of scene as Green Day, Jack White cut his teeth in the underground until hitting it big with the White Stripes' 2001 album "White Blood Cells". White, while being a somewhat quirky character, was always known for very intense concerts and generally not known as being much of a malcontent.  After the White Stripes went their separate ways, White went on to form the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather creating some really compelling music with both bands.  Hell, he even made a movie with the Edge and Jimmy Page neither of whom, despite being rock legends, have ever been known going rogue on stage.  Suddenly while playing the first of two sold out shows at New York's Radio City Music Hall in support of solo debut, Mr. White goes diva. According to reports, White seemed to be consistently annoyed with something or possibly everything about the crowd.  As the show progressed, he began to go off on the crowd  either likening them to an NPR convention for being too quiet during some songs and then being too loud on others.  After about 45 minutes, White simply walked off stage, no explanation, no nothing.  His big mistake - the obvious notwithstanding - was pulling this stunt in NYC, nearly causing a riot .

Case # 3 - Baroness:  Over the past decade, a legion of new heavy metal bands came from very untraditional places.  These bands decided to not adhere to the traditional rules of metal and made  names for themselves quickly.  One of the prime scenes of this new wave of American Metal was Savannah, Georgia. - as in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil".  This scene sprouted a number of amazing new bands including Kylesa, Black Tusk, and Baroness.  Embracing traditional metal but also infusing harmony, indie rock and even a bit of progressive rock into their music, Baroness released a stream of excellent records.  In August, while just starting to tour behind their amazing new album, "Yellow and Green", the band was in a horrific tour bus crash in England.  Eerily similar to the accident that killed Metallica's Cliff Burton over 25 years ago, no one was killed but two members of the band suffered broken vertebra and lead singer John Balzley suffered a broken leg and a crushed right arm that required massive surgery.

Surprisingly, not even 6 weeks removed form the accident and obviously in the early, early stages of recovery, Balzley posted a lengthy, very emotional open letter on Baroness' website.  The first part of the letter recounts exactly what happened on that fateful day in England sparing no detail and giving the reader a pretty good idea of what hell is probably like.  However, once the facts are covered, Balzley does not follow the predictable route of feeling sorry for himself and starting up a pity party.  Instead it become motivational, not focusing on what happened but what can happen in the future.  Pretty awe inspiring reading.  To prevent this from becoming yet another dissertation length blog, I'll only post the link to the letter at the end.

It would be easy to sit here and rant about the childish antics of Messrs White and Armstrong and complain that they've lost touch with, shall we say, everything but I think their actions speak loud enough. Instead, I'm going to close with the final paragraph from Balzley's letter and how he found a sense of joy in a moment of pure chaos.

"There was one moment in the crash that cut me deeply. For one heartbeat and one tiny sliver of time, I became disconnected entirely. It was, specifically, the moment I impacted with the glass. In that barest heartbeat of a moment, I came face to face with the infinite. I didn’t see a light, or the tunnel or hear any music. Nor did I get a “best-of” montage of my life. Instead, I felt the tip of my nose brush up against the very same fate I had accepted moments before. I looked into a cold, unreflective mirror. It was the dark, silent, dispassionate logic of the end. I realized in that moment that life can be seen as a light switch: “on” or “off”. When the moment passed and I heard the screaming, felt the pain, and tasted my own blood, I was overcome with joy. I was ecstatic to be back amidst all that chaos and horror because it was alive and real. I finally glimpsed the relative importance of all things. The support of our fans, our friends and our families has real meaning to me now. I say that now honestly, without false humility. Thank you. Everyone.

Till the wheels fall off . . . John Baizley & Baroness"

http://baronessmusic.com/update-from-baroness/#more-501

A Tale of Two New York Cities - Swans and Grizzly Bear

As Will Hermes documented so vividly in his account of it's music scene in the mid 1970's, "Love Goes To Buildings On Fire", even in it's bleakest moments, New York City's musical community is arguably one of the most diverse and vibrant on Earth.  While the city ailed from near financial collapse, blackouts, and the Son of Sam,  Kool Herc was inventing hip-hop in the rec room of a South Bronx housing project, Jeffrey Hyman and John Cummings became Joey and Johnny Ramone and spent the next three decades extracting more value out of three chords than humanly possible, and a strange new form of dance music called disco wafted from old churches and warehouses in Chelsea.

As the 70's moved on, a group of artists and musicians moved into the lofts of the Lower East Side which was an urban wasteland.  Many of these musicians abandoned the traditional verse - chorus - verse song structure and created an extreme type of underground music called "No Wave".   No Wave probably had more in common with minimalist and underground composers than the blues with songs that were short, very loud and very unstructured and tended to veer on the edge of chaos with each chord. Among No Wave's most notable acts included Teenage Jesus and the Jerks featuring Lydia Lunch, Glenn Branca's Theoretical Girls, and DNA.  While achieving any kind of commercial success, the scene attracted and embraced young musicians including Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo who went on to form Sonic Youth, Helmet's Page Hamilton, and Michael Gira who went on to form the over the top act Swans.

The explosion of hip - hop notwithstanding, the New York music scene went into a semi state of hibernation throughout the 80's and 90'.  Punk had become new wave or morphed into a meaner, far more evil twin called hardcore, Saturday Night Fever and Dance Fever helped facilitate disco's early demise, and even the Ramones moved to California.  At the end of the 90's, as the city was going through a renaissance of mammoth proportions, just across the Williamsburg bridge from the Lower East Side, a new generation of bands came unexpected from an unlikely place - Brooklyn.  Bands such as the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, TV on the Radio, and Clap Your Say Yeah suddenly sprang up and made Brooklyn a hot bed for independent music.  While other indie scenes such as Seattle or Minneapolis experienced a relatively rapid rise and fall, the Brooklyn scene - while occasionally suffering from being almost too hip - has continued to attract vital indie acts such as Yeasayer, Dirty Projectors, and lo-fi pop masters Grizzly Bear.

Over the past few weeks, both Swans and Grizzly Bear, representing the old and new guard of the New York indie music scene released extremely powerful new albums. Grizzly Bear's latest "Shields" continues it run of pop gems while the new Swans release "The Seer" is an over the top, two plus hour album of pure insanity.

During it's initial run from the early 80's through 1997, Swans built a reputation for being loud, abrasive, and being just a bit on intense side.  Gira and crew's antics inspired bands such as Tool, Neurosis, and Godflesh.  On it's newest release and second since reforming a few years back, Swans have created an epic 2 hour plus masterpiece.  Nearly every song is a roller-coaster ride with slow moments building up to mammoth crescendos on a dime or vice versa.  The centerpiece of the record is the 32 minute (not a typo) title track.  Beginning with a barrage of electronically processed horns and percussion, "The Seer" becomes an intense evolving jam after an abrupt climax before finishing as a twisted Middle Eastern style jam.  By then end of the 32 minute experience, you feel like you're in another world.  A complete change of pace from the mammoth title track, Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs makes a cameo appearance on the folkish sounding "Song For A Warrior".  Throughout the record, Gira allows the band to teeter on the edge of chaos without ever falling off - finishing with, of all things, a two minute, over the top percussion solo.  Gira doesn't sing much on the record but when he does, it almost serves a means to pull the band from the brink.

Grizzly Bear has made reputation for itself for making smart, layered, powerful pop records with an low-fi feel to them.  The hype behind Grizzly Bear was so huge that their 2009 release, Veckatimest, debuted in the top 10 - something unheard of for an Indie Band.  The hype was well worth it with tracks such as the bouncy pop gem "Two Weeks" and the gorgeous, atmospheric finale "Foreground".  "Shields" takes the formula from Veckatimest and takes it one step further.  The opener "Sleeping Ute" is a jangly tune that starts with a very intense first half then fading to a subdued acoustic part driven by a great Spanish guitar piece.  Throughout the album, songwriter Ed Droste creates a layered lo-fi sound to match the mammoth size hooks that dominate.  "The Hunt" uses a sparse drum beat over a gently strummed acoustic part.  gun-shy's multi-layered vocals bring back memories of XTC's finer moments while Sun in Your Eyes is  a dramatic 7 minute finale starting with a simple piano section but peaking at the chorus with a horn section and clanging percussion.  "Shields" takes the formula from the first few Grizzly Bear albums to new levels.

Regardless of the time frame, New York City  has been the launching pad for many types of music no matter how obscure.  Grizzly Bear and Swans reinforce the fact with two powerful releases that are among the best, if not the best of 2012.

Riot Fest Chicago - An slightly abbreviated review

"Loud Fast Rules"

As a punk fan - those three words are all that matters. Starting back in 2005, Riot Fest was a totally independent, grass roots weekend embracing punk music of all generations featuring local Chicago products such as Naked Raygun and The Effigies to punk stalwarts such as Bad Brains and the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones. Originally anchored at the Congress Theater in Chicago (a few short blocks from the Blogmaster general's house), the festival eventually grew into a multi-venue event culminating in 2011 with a 4 night residence with Weezer(??) headlining the final night.

Having outgrown it's initial locations, the organizers of Riot Fest (with assistance from a few corporate sponsors - a necessary evil) went all in and moved the event a mile southwest from the Congress to Humboldt Park. While generally thought of in a more dubious light because of the high crime rate and gang activity in the neighborhoods that surround it, Humboldt Park is breathtaking 200 plus acre piece of urban landscaping similar to Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

The move allowed the organizers to set up four stages, a carnival (yes - a tilt a whirl, ferris wheel and everything), and a food row with samplings from a number of local establishments. From a music perspective, the bands covered everything from the legends (Iggy and the Stooges, The Descendents, Elvis Costello) to the established (Dropkick Murphys, NOFX, Rise Against, to younger acts (Gogol Bordello, Gaslight Anthem). This was an extremely well organized, well executed two day festival that immediately put it in the same league as Pitchfork and Lollapalooza but keeping a local, independent vibe to it. We can only hope that spirit remains

Now to the bands - I was able to see a ton of bands over the course of the weekend and to prevent this from becoming a PhD dissertation length post, I'm keeping my review of each band to no more than three sentences max. Here we go:

Friday Night - Congress:
 Neon Trees: Bad, worse, worst
The Offspring: More of a metal band than a punk band, they had a solid set that focused on the hits. 

Saturday - Humboldt Park/Congress 
GWAR: Their lead signer wore a codpiece that shot out fake blood. They sounded a bit like Slipknot but lacking one critical ingredient - good songs.
Andrew W.K. The great party set of the festival. Andrew W.K. specializes in brilliantly stupid music. "Party Hard" is a classic.
Gaslight Anthem: If Bruce Springsteen had given birth to a punk band, this would be it. A great, fast moving set from Jersey's finest - they will become huge soon. Bonus points for playing Fugazi's Waiting Room for their intro and covering Nirvana's "Silver"
Dropkick Murphys: They made the most of their short set time with a fast paced, blistering set that mixed the hits with a couple of new songs. It was great to hear "The Gauntlet" live for the first time plus adding AC/DC's "TNT" to the end of "I'm Shipping Out To Boston" was a great twist. Can't wait for the new album.
The Descendents: The inventors of pop punk - if they don't make Milo Goes To College, Green Day, Less Than Jake, etc do not exist. They were simply amazing playing all of their classics plus having punk kids read the All - o - gistics. Thou shalt not commit hygiene.
NOFX: After several opening bands at the Congress, Fat Mike and company rolled onto stage at 1:00 for the aftershow. I've developed a fondness for their un-orthodox live set. Despite Fat Mike's cold (and subsequent hot whiskey cure), they played a quick, great set.

Sunday - Humboldt Park/Cobra Lounge
 Reverend Horton Heat: After making it to 9:45 mass (impressive after a very late show), made it to the Church o' Punk for a forty minute blast of psycho-billy with the Rev. An impressive set playing songs from each album his of 20 plus year catalog.
Less Than Jake: Full disclosure - they are one of my favorite live acts ever and have seen them 10 plus times.  LTJ never fails to disappoint live with their intense mix of ska, punk, and occasional speed metal and smoked again today. Really liked their new songs.
Promise Ring: I was thrilled to see the godfathers of emo come back this year after a lengthy absence. Only saw their first couple of songs "Happiness is All the Rage" and "Very Emergency" but they were fantastic. Hope I get to catch them later this year.
NOFX (again): You know it's a good day when you get to see NOFX twice in 13 hours. Fat Mike's cold really hampered his vocals but still a great, fast set of the hits. Great cameo from Angelo from Fishbone.
Jesus and Mary Chain : They sounded great, played the hits, but had the stage presence of a box of rocks. Am now reminded of why I hated their performance at Lollapalooza 1994.
 Elvis Costello and the Imposters: It was so cool to see Elvis play his classics with most of the Attractions. Turned into a bit of a jam version which showed off his chops as a guitarist but did get a little long winded (a 10 minute version of "Clubland" bordered on overkill). His closing versions of "Pump It Up" and "Peace, Love, and Understanding" atoned for his foray into Dead-land.
Gogol Bordello: Didn't see much of the set but it was like an Eastern European style version of P-Funk,
Iggy and The Stooges: Apparently someone forgot to tell Iggy that he's 65 years old, jumping into the audience, running all over the place. An monster set by the band who started it all 40 years ago. The one two punch of "I Got A Right" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog" still gives me chills a week later
Fishbone (at Cobra Lounge): I got to see Fishbone in a small room no more than 20 feet away from the stage at any given moment. Took me three days to get my voice back. My life is complete.

That's it - my abbreviated (well, not really) review of Riot Fest. While there a couple of bands touring that would have been great to see on the bill such as Refused and OFF!, it was a great start on such a large stage. Can't wait to go back next year.

Neurosis - "At The Well": Folksy Metal

In the 25 + years since their debut Pain of Mind, if anything can be said about uber, uber heavy metal kings Neurosis is that they are very much their own band and do things when they want. Five plus years removed from their last album, the skull crushing Given To The Rising, Neurosis returns next month with "Honor Found In Decay". In advance of the new album, the Bay Area legends have posted a track "At The Well" on NPR's website . Produced by longtime partner in crime Steve Albini, "At The Well" has all the elements of classic Neurosis but also finds them embracing the folky/Americana influences that frontmen Scott Kelly and Steve Van Till have become fond of during their break. It also reminds me quite a bit of the material on the awesome new album by Swans called the Seer. So can't wait for this one to come out. In the meantime, here's the link to "At The Well". Enjoy http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2012/09/20/161430939/song-premiere-neurosis-at-the-well

RIP: No Use For A Name's Tony Sly

Sad news from the punk world today when No Use for A Name's Tony Sly was found dead today at the age of 41. Part of the wave of pop punk bands that came up in the late 80's and early 90's that included Lagwagon and Face To Face, No Use For A Name featured a revolving line up that once included Foo Fighter and Me First and the Gimme Gimme guitarist Chris Shiflett. As the years progressed, the band's work became more melodic without giving up it's punk edge. 2001's "Live in a Dive" or the 2007 compilation "All the Best Songs" both serve as great introductions to the band.

RIP Tony - Gone too soon

Old, Loud, and Still Snotty: Refused and OFF! at the Congress Theater 7/26/2012

"They told me that the classics never go out of style but, they do, they do.  Somehow baby I never thought that we do too"

The legendary opening line to Refused's incendiary 1998 final album "Shape of Punk To Come" reinforces that punk music has always been music for the moment.  However, the music and the musicians who emerge from these scenes, be it London in 1976 or DC in 1982 or Seattle in 1991, have far longer shelf lives than even their mainstream contemporaries.  A perfect example of this took place Thursday night at the Congress Theater when legendary Swedish punks Refused made quite the return to Chicago 16 years after their last appearance.   Joining the Swedes on this well deserved victory-lap was hardcore pioneer Keith Morris' latest project OFF!.  It was fairly apparent that both bands had deep respect for each other (Refused drummer David Sandstrom had an OFF! sticker on his bass drum).  The  pairing of these two bands made for a powerful concert that, despite the sauna-like temps in the Congress, made for a show that none of the 3,500 fans there will forget anytime soon.  

Despite being closer to Del Webb age than one who should be living the punk lifestyle in the van, former Black Flag and Circle Jerks lead singer Keith Morris is still very much the living embodiment of all things punk.  A couple of years ago after a fruitless Circle Jerks recording session, Keith recruited a couple of his compadres from the SoCal punk including Redd Kross' Steven McDonald and formed a "super-group" called OFF!   Their two releases so far 2010's "The First 4 EP's" and this year's "OFF!" are short blasts of classic hardcore that, while evoking memories of early 1980's Orange County hardcore, sound very fresh, vital and really pissed off.   No song on either album goes longer than two minutes but you never feel like they left ideas on the table. 

After some quick pleasantries and introductions from Keith, it was off to the races.  Screaming out of the blocks with "Panic Attack" from "The First 4 EP's", it was apparent that OFF! was going to show no mercy playing 20 plus songs in their 30 minute set.  Keith's voice is still as loud and angry as it was back on the first Black Flag singles back in 1977. Guitarist Dimitri Coats resembled a modern-day Johnny Ramone in both stage presence and playing style making the absolute most out of those three chords.  The rhythm section of McDonald and drummer Mario Rubalcaba did the only thing they could, whip it into an old-school hardcore frenzy.  The great thing about this set was that despite the bands formidable collective history, this was about this band at this moment, everything else didn't matter.  When someone from the crowd asked them to play the Circle Jerks' version of "Wild in the Streets,  Morris' simply replied that this band doesn't play that song.   After 30 very intense minutes, OFF! walked off and left us asking how Refused was going to top this.  

While OFF! and their hardcore predecessors were about following the loud, fast rules, Sweden's Refused took a far different approach to punk.  While sharing similar ideologies to their brothers in arms, Refused took a more experimental, almost Bohemian approach towards punk.  The energy and the anger was there but the music was far more nuanced, using techno, jazz, or even spoken word segments to raise to tension to unprecedented levels.  Their legendary 1998 swan song album "Shape of Punk to Come" was culmination of this process ("New Noise" is one of the greatest songs ever - look it up on YouTube).  The problem was, that what Refused doing was at least 5 years ahead of it's time and the band broke up soon afterwards with only a cult following.  Case in point, their last performance in Chicago was for a very small crowd a few blocks away from the Congress at the Fireside Bowl.  Fortunately post break-up, Refused served as the influence for hundreds of emo and screamo bands in the years ahead and that recognition that escaped them back in the 90's came ten-fold in the following decade plus.   When the news came out earlier  

After a very short break, the house lights went off, the opening drone music began playing and the  tension among the crowd rose to fever pitch.  After a couple of minutes, the black curtain in front of the stage, Refused exploded right into the opening track from "Shape of Punk to Come" "Worms of the Senses".   Any concerns about being one-upped by their opening act were erased sheer power of the band.  The start - stop breaks present throughout their songs helped whip the crowd into a bigger frenzy.  Lead singer Dennis Lyzxen was bundle of energy throughout, jumping around, standing on the monitors, and at one point on the set, walking out over the audience.  Unlike other reunions where the band the band members operate like separate operating entities, the boys in Refused were totally into the set not only enjoying playing these songs after many years but also playing with each other.  

As mentioned before, it was apparent throughout both sets that the the two bands shared quite the admiration for the others.  About 3/4 of the way through Refused's set, Lyznen remarked about how cool it was to have been covering old school Black Flag and Circle Jerk songs as a teenager and then to have the chance to tour with Keith Morris all these years later.  Soon afterwards, Morris joined the band to cover two tracks from the very first Black Flag EP, "Police Story" and "Nervous Breakdows. While it was apparent that some of the younger folks in the crowd were not as familiar with these tracks the rest of of us were completely blown away.  

After a 10 plus main set that focused primarily on "Shape of Punk to Come" with a couple of tracks from their second album "Songs to Fan the Flame of Discontent" (Rather Be Dead was another highlight), the band finished off the main set with a searing version of the title track.  After a quick minute break, the band came back on stage with a short artsy jam and then after a brief pause, the single riff/ringing symbol intro to "New Noise".  As with most Refused songs, the quick techno end to the intro brought the tension to fever pitch and then................CAN I SCREAM, YEAH!!!!  The mosh pit that was 20 feet away from me was suddenly right in front of me.  The crowd sang every verse with the band and people appeared to be flying across the crowd left and right.   Refused's trademark song not only stood the test of time but took on new life in Logan Qquare.  After Noise, the show came to a close with the far more subdued Tannhauser/Derrive.  

Despite the fact that both bands played under 2 hours combined, Refused and OFF! were a perfect combination of punk past, present, and future.  Don't think many of the 3,500 people in the crowd will forget this show anytime soon.  

Here are a couple tracks from the participants for your listening pleasure

     

Gorillaz + Andre 3000 + James Murphy is a really good thing

Over it's 10 + year existence, Gorillaz leader Damon Albarn has cast a wide net when it comes to collaborators.  Albarn has been able to coax such unique talents as De La Soul, Mark Smith from the Fall, and even the late, great Dennis Hopper to join in his animated madness. His latest effort, a track for the Converse "Three Artists, One Song series, "DoYaThing", is no different. This time around, he brings in the big hitters with LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and Outlast's Andre 3000.  The end product  "DoYaThing" is a knockout.  Starting off with a hyper little electro beat, the song features Albarn's deadpan vocals paired with an typical over the top chorus from Murphy.  About halfway through the song, it takes a quick shift and it becomes the Andre 3000 show.  Over a quickly accelerating beat, Andre proceeds to let loose on a minute plus long blistering freestyle rap reminiscent of the classic Outkast track "BOB".  Even the processed harmony vocals at the end remind me of the gospel choir at the end of "BOB" Towards the end of the rap, you can hear Albarn quietly asking "When's the next Outkast album".  Great stuff.

Best thing about this track is that it's free.  You can download it from  http://play.converse.com/blog/2012/02/23/doyathing/

Enjoy

Rock Fiend Wayback Machine - 1987

1987 was quite the year of all things large - "Greed is  Good",  cell phones that were so big they came with a personal assistant to carry them, big hair.  Looking at the music scene , 1987 was the year of super-sized successes.  There weren't just your typical big sellers, this was the year of the jumbo-seller such as the Joshua Tree, Slippery When Wet, Bad, et al.  While 1987 may have been the year of the uber-seller, it was a year that saw an impressive number of classic, wildly influential albums that didn't quite sell as many copies as the overachievers.  Let's turn on the wayback machine and look at some of the best of the best.

Guns and Roses - Appetite for Destruction

As the first wave of hair metal bands became very stale very quickly, a second generation of bands not-so-quietly ascended from the Sunset Strip.  These bands were looser, louder, and nastier than their predecessors. The leader of this new wave was Guns n' Rose and in 1987 they dropped a bomb on the world called Appetite for Destruction.  Appetite was the guidebook to the seamy underworld of mid-80's Hollywood. Songs like "Welcome To the Jungle" and "Paradise City" embraced the grit, grime, and despair of life in the city while "Mr. Brownstone" put a big spotlight into the creeping effects of heroin.  While Axl still carries on as GNR with hired hands, it never got any better than Appetite.



The Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me


One of the great things about the Replacements was that you never knew what to expect. They could look like the greatest band in the world one night and crawl out on the stage rip-roaring drunk and barely make it through a song the next.   Their albums however, were the stuff that legends are made of and very few bands had a roll like the 'Mats did between 1983 and 1987. The conclusion of this cycle of legendary albums, Pleased To Meet Me, saw them polish their sound but without sacrificing the quality of their songs.  Recorded in Memphis with legendary Big Star producer Jim Dickinson, this album has some barn burning rockers like "IOU", typical smart-ass Mats tunes "I Don't Know", and, oh by the way,  the greatest rock and roll song of all time "Alex Chilton"  - Westerberg's homage to the leader of the one and only Big Star.  While the Replacements would make a couple more decent albums before their surreal break-up on stage in 1991 (I was there), Pleased To Meet Me represents the end of one of the great runs in rock history.



Anthrax - Among The Living 


By the time Anthrax was ready to release their 3rd album in the Spring of 1987, their fellow members of the "Big 4", Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer, had all released their masterworks (Master of Puppets, Peace Sells but who's Buying, and Reign in Blood) within the last year.  With the standard level raised to  insane highs, Anthrax responded with an album that seamlessly crossed their East Coast hardcore infused thrash metal with song topics that ranged from their fondness for Stephen King books "Among The Living" and "A Skeleton In the Closet", comic book characters "I Am The Law", and the dangers of drug abuse "NFL".  All of the time, the band managed to keep it's sense of humor intact as proven their legendary B Side "I'm the Man" which served as the catalyst for that little thing called Rap Rock.  Nearly 25 years after Among, Anthrax is still going strong with their latest Worship Music.




The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me


Robert Smith will never be confused for someone with an upbeat view of life.  Over their three plus decade long existence have been the long-running champions of "mope rock".  Following their legendarily bummer classic Pornography in 1983, Smith and the Cure made an abrupt 180 degree turn and switched to a somewhat more upbeat, poppier approach.  Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was a double LP that surprisingly had no filler songs among it's 18 tracks.  Since this is a Cure album, it does contain a couple of typical dark dense tracks "The Kiss", "Torture".  But, for the most part, this is an album of great new wave tracks with almost playful lyrics on tracks such as "Why Can't I Be You" and "Hot Hot Hot".  The highlight of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, "Just Like Heaven", is arguably the Cure's finest moment.  Not surprisingly, Smith took the downward road after Kiss Me and followed it up with the Mother of all Mope Rock albums Disintegration.

Make way for the Comeback Kid

Only 10 more days until the return of the Sleigh Bells kiddies!!!  Say hello to the Comeback Kid

Chairlift - Something (Everything)

Like many of their fellow New York based pop duos, Chairlift has carved out it's own little niche.  While Phantogram pursued a dreamier, Cocteau Twins like sound and Sleigh Bells mastered the art of brutally sweet pop, Chairlift has opted for an artsier, more bohemian sound.  Featuring songs titled "Le Flying Saucer Hat" or "Evident Utensil" their 2009 debut Does This Inspire You definitely had it's own thing going on.  While it had a couple of drop dead perfect pop songs in "Bruises" and "Make Your Mind Up", there were some rough moments on the debut.
With their brand-new album Something, Chairlift went on a really, seriously major eighties kick.  And if you're going to channel the eighties, it doesn't hurt to have Alan Moulder - who produced or mixed such slightly well known bands as My Bloody Valentine, U2, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nine Inch Nails back in the day - as a co-producer.
Something bleeds 80's alternative pop right out of the gates.  "Sidewalk Safari" starts off with a classic noisy synth line followed by a quirky beat throughout. "Wrong Opinion" features the soft synth lines crossed with crashing percussion parts that harken memories of "Black Celebration" era Depeche Mode.  The middle part of the album slows down a bit some mellower songs such as "Take it Out on Me" and "Cool  As A Fire".  This part of the album drags a bit but not nearly as much as the rougher spots on "Does This Inspire You".
On the latter part of the album, Chairlift comes roaring back. Despite it's odd title, "Amanaemonesia" is a knock-out track that shows the full range of vocalist Caroline Polachek with well timed vocal assistance from her partner in crime Patrick Wimberly.  As with Bruises on their debut, "Met Before" is a perfect pop song, reaching back to the California pop of the 60's as their influence here.  To finish up their sophomore effort,  Polachek and Wimberly switch to a dreamier tone with "Turning" and "Guilty As Charged" Both of these tracks bear the trademarks of Moulder's work with shoegaze legends Ride and Curve.
While Chairlift has an serious fixation 80's alt pop, Something never sounds annoyingly revisionist.  Much of this can be attributed to the songwriting skills of Polachek and Wimberly who are becoming master popmeisters quickly.  They embrace their influences without needlessly drowning their songs in nostalgia.   Co-Producers Moulder and Dan Carey help to keep the songs lean and mean.  It always comforting to see a band not rest on it's laurels and come back with a superior work the second time around.

And if this wasn't cool enough - only 3 more weeks until the new Sleigh Bells album!!!
  

Happy BDay To The King and The Thin White Duke

Birthday greetings to two members of Rock and Roll Royalty. Elvis Presley helped create this little old thing called Rock and Roll and David Bowie took it pushed it numerous different directions. Here are a couple of songs to celebrate - Happy Birthday Gentlemen


This one requires no introduction.



A great, under-appreciated from Bowie's last album Reality

American Idiot - An Appreciation

On my way home from work today, was scrolling through the iPod figuring out what to listen to and happened upon Green Day's American Idiot.  For whatever reason, the over exposure the band between the Broadway musical, their over the top stage show, and their metamorphosis into uber Rock Stars turned me off so much that I stopped listening to them for a long time.  So, I don't what it was that behooved me to listen to them today, but I took the plunge.  After that first riff of American Idiot, it all came back to me -  this is amazing record - arguably the best of their 20 + year career.

Now, in the eyes of many punk purists still steaming that they left the confines of the Gilman Street punk scene nearly 10 years before, there is nothing that Green Day could do to ever win them back - ever.  The ironic thing about American Idiot is that, in a number of ways, it's taking that same Descendents-style pop punk prominent on their indie releases like Kerplunk and just refining the formula.

The album storms out of the gates with "American Idiot", a three minute bomb that throws just a few subtle jabs at the administration that was in charge at the time along with the general apathy that was so pervasive then.  Featuring some of Billie Joe Armstrong's most blistering lyrics, this would be the best song any other Green Day album - except this one.

Coming out of left field, Green Day took the concept of the mini-rock opera immortalized in The Who's classic song "A Quick One While He's Away" and punked it out - literally.  "Jesus of Suburbia" is a five part rock opera that sounds effortless for a band that had specialized in two minute pop punk tunes.  And they liked it so much they did a second one "Homecoming" to finish the album.

The rest of the album is filled with pop punk nuggets and a couple of more traditional rock tunes, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends".  While I think these two songs are probably the weaker songs on the album, they did expose Green Day to a new audience who probably wouldn't have seen them at 924 Gilman Street back in the day.  To show their indie cred is still at least somewhat intact, "Letterbomb" features a cameo appearance from Riot Grrrl extraordinaire Kathleen Hanna (a.k.a. Mrs. Ad Rock).

All told, American Idiot represents a pinnacle for Green Day.  It's a perfect mix of pop-punk, politically charged lyrics that would make the editors at Maximum Rock and Roll reconsider their eternal disdain for anything on a major label, and, dare I say it, epic rawwwwwwkkkk songs.  While I may never go see the Broadway musical,  the album has flown back into my active rotation.  

Here's a clip of them performing Jesus of Suburbia.  Enjoy

Sleigh Bells is back and bringing the pain again......

Sleigh Bells is not a band for the faint of heart.  Their 2010 debut "Treats", a lethal combo of Derek Miller's nuclear metal guitar parts and Alexis Krauss'  interchanging vocals/screams, was possibly the loudest album ever made.  Despite the crushing volume, Sleigh Bells managed to write some some really catchy melodic songs along the way.

Not one to waste an opportunity, the Brooklyn based duo are set to release their second album in February and to kick off the new year the right way, here's the first single.  If this song is any indication, they've taken some big strides in terms of their songwriting but still manage to retain that tuneful sledgehammer sound that made Treats such a great record.

Merry New Year and Enjoy!!!!!!