As I was doing my daily perusing around the internet I stumbled upon an article that shocked me. It read
Chimps: Not Human, But Are They People?.
At first I clicked on the article expecting an article that would finally tell me that chimpanzees are just furry dwarves with hands for feet (something I always suspected after watching videos like this one)
But what I found out in the article was even more frightening than a chimp getting a haircut. According to scientists, via WIRED magazine, the chimp population has now reached critical levels. In recent years the number of chimps has fallen from 10,000 in West Africa to only a couple thousand. I was appalled by what I had read and immediately needed to get a hold of the situation. To help put things into perspective I listened to a band I had just discovered a band called Buena Vista Social Club. A collection of all the great Cuban artists of the 40’s and 50’s they joined together in the late 90s with slide guitarist Ry Cooder to form this Cuban Super group. Their afro-cuban beat helped me put things into perspective and realize that I can’t do anything about the chimp population, but I can dance like an idiot in my apartment to “Candela”. So to help you forget your worries I am putting the song up here for your enjoyment. Dance away.
This has been pent up for a while but I have finally gotten up to the point where I have to put it out there. Stevie Wonder is the man and everyone should know this!! if you haven’t heard his album Songs in the Key of Life it is definitely something that everyone needs to pick up and listen to! There are too many good tracks on the album to count and each one is imaginative and creative in its own right. It took him nearly three years to finish this massive double album ( an extra ep had to be included in the original pressing to fit all the songs on) it was definitely worth the time in the studio. There are so many good tracks on the album but one of my favorites is a song called “Pastime Paradise”. Many of you may have heard a sample from this song in both Coolio’s “Gansta’s Paradise” and Weird Al’s “Amish Paradise (I still like Weird Al’s version better, thats right I said it), but here is the original which I think is definitely Wonder-Full(terrible pun but what do you expect? its midnight). Anyways take a listen.
In the past decade the record label Elephant Six has turned out some really great bands, but the odds are you’ve probably never heard of them. If thats the case let me fill you in on some history. Begun in 1993 by Robert Schneider, William Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and Jeff Mangum it was only active until 2002 but in that small amount of time signed dozens of bands. Some notable bands from the Label were/are Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Of Montreal, Beulah, Circulatory System, The Sunshine Fix, Elf Power and many other notable side projects and off shoots. These bands all had held the idea that they whould bring back music from the sixties and, to verying degrees, each band attempted to do so before either moving on or breaking up. If you haven’t already heard some of these bands here is your chance to hear some of my favorite songs by some of these artists. Enjoy!
Apples in Stereo
Neutral Milk Hotel
Olivia Tremor Control
Of Montreal
Beulah
In case you enjoyed some of those videos you will be pleased to know that the Apples in Stereo (one of the founding bands of the label) brought back the Label in 2007. Elephant Six is back in business! Woot Woot.
So this week has been a busy one. I started my new job, had a midterm and needed to schedule a dentist appointment for my wisdom teeth to be removed, so its needless to say I haven’t had much time to blog. However I have had some time to check out some good new music. My friend introduced to a song called “Knife” by the Brooklyn band “Grizzly Bear” and I have to say it is a song to behold. Very ethereal and moody complete with haunting moans and crisp soft guitar in the background. It sounds kinda like Radiohead “Kid A” but a little more poppy. Heres the video for the song which has an extra dose of creepiness to it, which makes it even cooler. Enjoy.
p.s. Don’t set your toaster oven to “dark” to make pop tarts.
So, I know everyone is really excited to know that there is yet another remix of Lil Wayne’s “A Millie” floating around, to complement the 10-millie-on other ones out there. Well, there is. It’s Obama style, and it’s made by A.P.T. Hopefully Bangladesh won’t be too offended…
Here it is, check it out:
Okay, so I won’t blame you if you didn’t listen to anything past the first 10 seconds, but you’ve gotta admit that was pretty funny.
Now this one here is a little bit older, but it’s actually one you might listen to a lot more times (I have). Vote for whoever you want, but this tune sure is catchy!
Coco Tea - Barack Obama:
To be fair, I did check around to see if there were any McCain songs. If you’re interested, check out Jordan Rich’s “Raisin’ McCain.”
For a band whose name describes their striving to reach beyond the bounds of the local Bay Area music scene, Facing New York has done pretty well for themselves.In addition to numerous support slots throughout the country for bands like Cursive and Coheed and Cambria, their unique brand of progressive and post-rock has brought them as far as Japan to tour with Eastern Youth in 2006 and across all of Europe with RX Bandits in 2007.
On April 18th, the Bay Area boys were a little closer to home (376.9 miles from home, give or take) as they played at the Troubadour in Hollywood along with Los Angeles brethren The Outline and veterans of the KSCR concert series, Division Day. This was guitarist (also on Rhodes and vox) Matt Fazzi’s last Southern California show as a member of Facing New York.
The band, also comprised of lead vocalist Eric Frederic on keys and guitar, bassist Brandon Canchola and drummer Omar Cuellar, announced just weeks ago that Fazzi was leaving Facing New York and would be playing his last shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco. His reasons for leaving, though not fully disclosed, relate to an opportunity that recently presented itself to Fazzi, which “he’d be a damn fool to pass up.” FNY has assured fans that they are parting ways cordially and these shows would not be Fazzi’s last time on stage with them. This is not the first time fans or members of Facing New York have seen a founding member leave. Just two years ago, Rene Carranza went back to school at UC Berkeley, leaving Fazzi and Frederic to fill in on keys, and leaving Facing New York as a four-piece. Carranza joined his former band mates for the encore of Fazzi’s last show, in San Francisco the night following their Hollywood show.
Now as a three-piece, the band plans to begin recording in May, for their upcoming album – the first since their self-titled full-length release in 2005.As the band’s lineup and influences have fluctuated through the years, the next album promises to reflect the evolution of Facing New York and present new sounds and structures which they’ve been eager to share with their fans - and did so that night at the Troubadour.
Facing New York opened the show humbly with Frederic explaining, “We usually don’t do big intros.” Instead, they let the music speak for itself, beginning with syncopated hand-clapping and their signature duet of dueling drum kits as they introduced their fans to “All a This,” a song which they’d not yet played live and just recently debuted the demo of on their Myspace page. Similarly, I won’t say much more about the song or their performance of it and let the live footage speak for itself. I should warn you, however, that the video has the slight potential to cause nausea as well as seizures. You have YouTube user mojoerose and the fine lighting technicians at the Troubadour to thank for that. But for those not particularly sensitive to light or motion, click play and enjoy.
Another highlight was fan (yours truly included) favorite, “Full Turn,” which had the audience hanging on every beat, note, and riff. For much of the song the audience stood still, wide-eyed and open-jawed, anticipating parts of the song they knew so well, yet sounded and felt like a new experience live. And the rest of the time? Well, they rocked the hell out, of course.
Facing New York returns to Los Angeles on May 20th opening for Subtle at the Knitting Factory, before their US tour with RX Bandits and Portugal the Man.
Meanwhile, you can catch Eric Frederic’s solo side project, Wallpaper. fresh from Coachella and playing gigs EVERY night this week all over Los Angeles, at hipster faves Check Yo’ Ponytail and Club Moscow among others.
