Bar-B-Q-Killers: Comely

Let's get one thing settled first: I bought this record a while ago just because of the band name. I was interested, but I don't know why. I was setting my ears up for failure and undoubtedly put a costly dent into my solid record collection.
Bar-B-Q-Killers, a band from Athens, Ga., released Comely in 1987 on Twilight Records. It was the only album they made, but why? They shouldn't have put this out because it's just not good. These 11 songs sound like Southern-fried shit.
David Judd (bass), Arthur Johnson (drums), Claire Horne (guitar), and Laura Carter (vocals, guitar) are trying way too hard. These songs sound forced and its a mess of a record. Carter sounds like she's about to lose her voice during every song, and since the band never put out another album, she probably did.
However, you must love the song titles: "Weird Shit," Dookie Tingue," "Jose O. Dingleberry," and "Her Shit on his Dick," which finally ends the racket. Even though Comely is distasteful, some songs can be tolerated. "Jose O. Dingleberry" starts the second side with a scuzzy hook, and "Fistula" drives a noisy path into, well no where.
I could throw this record away, but Bar-B-Q-Killers have one hell of a band name and an even worse attitude. I'll keep it for color.

Sonic Youth: A Thousand Leaves

Despite being smack dab in the middle of all the hysteria, Sonic Youth never quite fit in with the grunge era. The band was too obsessed with angular noises to fit the criteria of the genre. Yes, Dirty had a grinding backbeat, but no, it was not grunge. Guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo were too experimental.
Sonic Youth went back to challenging territory with Washing Machine and it continued with A Thousand Leaves in 1998. Sexy and cool vocalist/bass player Kim Gordon starts the record off with a nice soft hush in "Contre le Sexisme" and that continues into "Sunday," one of the few real rockers on the double LP. Sonic Youth fills a lot of space over 74 minutes of Leaves, but there is nare a boring moment in sight. Ranaldo and Moore concentrate on quiet material most of the time, but it has a captivating warmth to it.
Fans might be astonished by the length of the record (three songs over nine minutes), but the music holds the attention. Moore and Ranaldo get into a guitar squall battle on "Karen Koltrane" and then Gordon comes in with some political rants on "The Ineffable Me," with Ranaldo and Moore noodling like it's their day job in the background.
A Thousand Leaves has the twists and turns of other Sonic Youth albums of the past, but the sounds are something completely new. It's a engaging listen that's worth the time.

Heartless Bastards ain't so heartless after all

The Heartless Bastards have an interesting name because their music takes some real heart to make. The name of the band need not describe the product. It's just a name.
On its second full length, All This Time, the Bastards take the swamp rock and mix it with some pop melody to create a piece that would brighten anyone's day. "Into the Open" starts it out slow and sweet with a piano line, but singer-guitarist Erika Wennerstrom eventually pulls out that hott axe and starts to lay some serious riffage down. Bassist Mike Lamping and drummer Kevin Vaughn get the rhythm section rumbling and we're off.
The Bastards' first record, Stairs and Elevators, tore some serious blues up, and the band retains most of it this time, but throws in enough slow jams, like closer "Came A Long Way," to keep things honest. "Finding Solutions" sees Wennerstrom grumbling the chorus line "found solutions unfounded," over a barnstorm that will shock your head. And, "Brazen" is exactly what you think, musically.
All This Time is a step in the right direction for a band that could probably try anything and succeed, as long as it doesn't lose it's heart.

Brothers who rock.

Jeff The Brotherhood. Simple, but not. Smooth, but a little frantic. Loud. Sincere. Funny. Guitar with three strings and a drum set with nothing but bass kick, snare, crash-ride, high-hat, and floor tom.
Five people up at the stage, while the two other opening bands chill outside and ignore the show. It couldn't have been an odder bill. Thanks to Valentine's and its oblivious patrons.
Jeff The Brotherhood, who are brothers, said that the show in Albany on Oct. 24 was the lowest attended of the tour. These two guys from Nashville are headlining Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg in a week and all they could get is 10 people in Albany?
Ya'll missed out on a rocking good time.

See below video

OK, what? How is this acceptable?
Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions just won the game over the Chicago Bears with a great catch in the end zone. The ref in front of the play signals touchdown, but it's over ruled?
Highway robbery.
"The ruling is that in order for the catch to be completed he has got to maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire process of the catch," referee Gene Steratore told Associated Press after the game.
Yeah, well Johnson landed on both feet with control and rolled on the ground. He let go of the ball in celebration because he just won the game. The refs should be more forgiving in a situation like this.
Johnson made an incredible play to give the Lions its first road win in three years. It's sad to see that taken away by a stupid call.

Calvin Johnson Robbed by NFL's Horrible Catch Rule

What's with all the stage diving?

Stage diving can be an exhilarating activity at a show. As long as you're not killing or seriously injuring yourself, of course.
Over the past week, two people have died and one person was seriously injured after jumping from great heights near a concert stage. This is very sad news because music is supposed to give people joy, not misery.
Last Wednesday, a male fan at a Phish show jumped from the balcony at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, N.Y., sustaining serious injuries. The next night, an audience member at a Swell Season show in Saratoga, Calif. roof jumped onto the stage while the band was playing and was killed. Then, the next night, Friday, in Belgium at the Pukkelpop Festival, Charles Haddon, the 22-year-old singer of electro-pop trio Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, was killed after jumping from a telecommuication tower at the festival after his band's set had just ended.
Apparently, Haddon's jump was documented as a suicide. However, the other two incidents remain unexplained. Could drugs have been a factor in these leaps of faith?
Imagine being Swell Season. Just another day on the road until a person goes splat on your stage mid-song. Was their music really that bad, man?
If you're going to stage dive, then do it from the actual stage into a sea of hands. It's a lot more fun and less painful that way.

Sonic Youth is the truth

Sonic Youth makes moving music, no matter how weird people might think it is. The band went off a beaten path back in the early 1980s and luckily stayed on that path all the way to their own amazing music island.
Still, no band sounds like Sonic Youth, even after 30 years. Kim Gordon (bass) still has those simple lines that pace the music so well. Moore and Ranaldo still cut like razors. Shelley on the steady sticks.
Has there ever been a better opening track than "100%"? Only, to go into a churning number like "Swimsuit Issue?" It's like Gordon is crawling in your head, looking for help. Dirty is just one of the band's 15 interesting albums.
That was 1992, the second album after a masterpiece called Daydream Nation, that boosted Sonic Youth with wider appeal. Goo was even a great follow up to Daydream. How can a band to that? By changing the dynamic next time.
"Whereas we were just an anarchy band, and really into being loose, anything goes," Moore once said in "Our Band Could Be Your Life."
Sonic Youth retained the anarchy symbol and kept experimenting with its music. Most of it was mesmerizing.
"Our feeling is that the guitar is an unlimited instrument and for the most part people have not taken it to full advantage," Ranaldo said in the same book.
I'm guessing that the members of Sonic Youth did???

Are you a Mayor or a golfer?

So, I read this story in the New York Times about Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his escapades in Bermuda. He has a huge ass house there and spends a couple weekends a month on the island. I wonder if he pays attention to what's going on in his city while he's gone for "personal time."
I guess Bloomberg plays a ridiculous amount of golf while he's in Bermuda. The article mentioned that Bloomberg managed to stuff 15 hours of golf into one weekend a couple of weeks ago. Does Tiger Woods even practice that much? Maybe.
I wonder if he's ever gotten a hole-in-one?
Politicians need to get a clue and start paying attention.

A new life.

What can be said about Past Lives?
Moving, experimental, unique, moody, spacey, light, dark, and just plain inspiring.
Their first full album, Tapestry of Webs, is all that and more. Jordan Blilie (vocals), Mark Gajadhar (drums), Morgan Henderson (bass, guitar, and other), and Devin Welch (guitar) all have ties to the defunct Blood Brothers of past. But clearly, they have moved in a different direction.
The Blood Bros was music for the angsty teen and Past Lives suits a more mature audience. It's easy to hear.
"Paralyzer" starts the album with a nice mellow mood until the song ends in an epic amount of noise. "Falling Spikes," perhaps the best song on the album, has some interesting lyricism.
Tapestry of Webs goes in and out of numerous genres. It's a work out for the brain and it'll put a smile on your face.

The Snakes have left the building.

One of my most favorite bands, These Arms Are Snakes, called it quits about three weeks ago. I've finally found enough courage and strength to write about the awful news.
This is a very emotional and trying time for music because TAAS was really starting to become a great band.
Steve Snere (vocals), Ryan Frederiksen (guitars), Brian Cook (bass), and Chris Common haven't given a solid reason for breaking up the band. They wrote a letter on their blog page to thank the fans and that's pretty much it. I want to do a story on this and I did come in contact with the bands publicist, but I have yet to find a publisher.
What is TAAS's legacy? Well, it would have to be one of solid musicianship.
Every member in the band was talented in their own way. Snere sang, hollered, screamed, and danced about the stage like a mad man; Frederiksen laid down fierce licks and tones that at times were very catchy; Cook had an unrelenting rhythm that never missed a step; and Common pounded the drums with force and amazing precision.
Common is the only member that wasn't always in the band. He joined for the recording of Easter (2006). TAAS had two different drummers on the previous two albums and Common seemed to be the missing piece for the band. He brought in some engineering experience that added a little polish to the recordings.
One more theme for TAAS –– flexibility. Listeners never really could assume which direction each of their songs would go in. For example, "Woolen Heirs," off their final album Tail Swallower & Dove (2008). It's a surging song that all of a sudden cools into something that might be more comfortable on a Steve Miller record.
As great as Easter and Swallower were, I'd have to say that Oxeneers (2004) was TAAS's best record. It's a challenging listen. Hear for yourself if you don't believe.
These Arms Are Snakes were formed out of such defunct bands as Botch, Kill Sadie, and Nineironspitfire. One can only hope that one of these guys from TAAS will be in another amazing act down the road.
Actually, Cook has made two records with Russian Circles and Frederiksen has been doing work with a side-project called Narrows. Both those bands gave TAAS a run for its money.
Maybe that's where the decomposition started all along. Seriously, how bands can someone be in at once? There has to be a main focus. Obviously, TAAS wasn't it anymore.

Recession has led to less job satisfaction.

According to a survey by the Conference Board research group, only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their jobs. That is down from 49 percent in 2008.
I can't determine which side I'm on. I love my job right now, but the pay is real shitty and it's been getting me down for quite some time. I would love to continue to be a reporter or writer, but I'm going to have to find a higher income. That could be tough.
It's obvious that the recession is to blame for people not enjoying their jobs. People go to work just to see all their hard earned money disappear. Look at health insurance, it's higher than ever. American workers are depressed.
The same survey was taken in 1987 and 61 percent said they were satisfied with their jobs. That makes sense because the economy was thriving from the late 80's into the 90's. Right now, 51 percent of workers think their jobs are interesting –– compared to 70 percent in 1987.
What is going on? The poor economy is not only messing with our wallets –– it's fucking with our minds and getting us down.
I wonder when this will turn around. It'll probably get worse.