kxlu

reverb: music from los angeles & beyond

Monday, September 17th, 2007

kxlu is the best radio station on the planet…and we need your support!!!

There has been a veritable explosion of good new music lately! Here’s some of the highlights.

Whenever Pinback releases a new record, it’s a sure bet that I’m going to be spending some quality time with my mp3 player. I’ve been a fan since their very first self-titled album in 1998. Four full-lengths and three EPs later, they’ve never let me down. How many bands can you say that about? Their newest, Autumn of the Seraphs, is exceptionally strong in the not-letting-me-down department. Older fans will hear many new sounds on this album, but the terrific songwriting hasn’t been altered a single bit. Pinback’s always had a gift for gorgeous vocal harmonies and tasty little guitar lines that weave and twist through each song… but they’ve really outdone themselves on this record. It’s out now on Touch & Go Records, and you need it.

Back in June, I did a post on one my favorite bands, Les Savy Fav. I promised you then that their forthcoming album would be a terrific one. Well, the band delivered, and I’m happy to say I’m no liar. With all four members rapidly approaching their forties, you have to marvel at the power these guys still pour into what they do. They effortlessly manage to sound like a band more spry and vital than most twenty-somethings boring the public with their lame-rock. From the first track to the last, Let’s Stay Friends puts you in the presence of greatness. It rocks with swagger and intensity, but dispenses with the faux-angst that so many contemporary rock bands just can’t seem to shake. You need this too.

On the hip-hop end of things, Aesop Rock has laid true poetry to fat beats in the form of None Shall Pass out now on Def Jux. Many rappers have claimed to be poets. Aesop Rock doesn’t have to because his poetry speaks it for him. He extracts humor and absurdity from this world of ours with a keen eye and a sharp tongue and spins it into some of the tightest, most complex rhymes you’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing. Spend some time with this album. Some of the lines go by so quickly, it can take a few listens to fully grasp just how deep this dude truly is. Highly recommended.

Lastly, I’ve been really enjoying an electronic album from Future Conditional. They are two-fifths of the band Piano Magic (Cedric Pin and Glen Johnson), and they have a new record on LTM Recordings called We Don’t Just Disappear. This side project was intended as an homage of sorts to bands like New Order, Kraftwerk, OMD, and a host of others. But it’s much more than that. As much as this album could have existed in 1982, it’s got an equal amount of futurist appeal. It’s an icy cool record with just the right amount of funk and danceablity. If you’re a fan of Figurine or any of the bands mentioned, you’re in for a treat with Future Conditional.

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I’d like to make an appeal to your generous nature, if I may. The radio station I dj for (and hold very dear to my heart) is having its annual Fundrazor pledge drive this week (9.14 – 9.21). If you’ve ever listened to KXLU 88.9 in Los Angeles, or our live webcast, you know that we really strive to bring you the new and unusual. There are other stations in L.A. that bandy words like “independent” or “eclectic”, but we actually are both. We’re a tiny, listener-supported, 3000-watt baby of a station operating on a shoestring budget. If you can spare $5 or $5000, we’d be eternally grateful. Give us a call this week at 310.338.KXLU or pledge online at kxlu.com. There’s a special place in heaven reserved for people who donate. We’ve got great premiums too!

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If you enjoy these tunes, tune into my radio show on kxlu 88.9fm 10a-2p every monday. we’re also streaming live at www.kxlu.com.

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reverb: music from los angeles & beyond

Monday, August 27th, 2007

i heart metal.

I love metal. Metal is one of very few music genres that demands an equally rabid devotion from both its purveyors and its fans. Metal has evolved over the years, but the power and intensity that it is founded on has always remained unchanged. It will forever be the refuge of the misfit and the outcast because it is simultaneously empowering to the listener and off-putting to the average square. Most bands that play metal do it foremost for the love of the music (commercial success is beyond a long shot). And when you play music with a pure heart, that passion makes it one of the rare, good things in this world.

One of my personal favorites came from right here in Los Angeles. Well, Inglewood to be exact. 16 broke up a few years back but they left some great records and more than a few bruised ribs. They still play every once in a great while, and it’s always an intense show. Wanna see Japanese kids go apeshit? Book a 16 show in Tokyo. Then stand back. Check out “Drinkin’ Strychnine” below.

It’s become something of a heavy metal inside joke, just how many bands hail from Norway/Denmark/Scandanavia in general. Laugh all you want, but when’s the last time you burned down a Christian church for your pagan beliefs? The Swedish band Craft may not be dropping any matches, but they are dropping some of the heaviest riffs you’ve ever heard. And give a listen to Satyricon from Norway… metal doesn’t get much blacker.

If European metal is dark and precise, perhaps American metal is just a little bigger & burlier. Especially if it’s from the American south. Atlanta’s Mastodon is one of the biggest & burliest sounds I can think of. There’s also my current favorite, The Sword from Austin. They’ve been compared to Sleep and Black Sabbath, of course. But they’ll rock your face in half, and they’ll do it nobody’s way but their own.

Crank these up at work and start a two-person mosh pit with your boss. Your co-workers will love you forever.

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If you enjoy these tunes, tune into my radio show on kxlu 88.9fm 10a-2p every monday. we’re also streaming live at www.kxlu.com.

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reverb: music from los angeles & beyond

Monday, June 11th, 2007

elp-lie-detector.jpg

Back around march, el-p put out a long-anticipated 3rd album, and i’ve been sleeping on that shit for three months. Shame on me! I finally picked it up this last week, and my mind is officially blown. A lot of mc/producers claim to be “pushing boundaries”, but mr. jaime meline, aka el-producto is one of the few actually doing just that. It’s a toss-up which is deeper, the beats or the rhymes. The complex grooves reveal something new upon each repeated listen, and el-p’s lyrics are equally compelling, albeit a bit cryptic. The record features some cool cameos from the likes of cedric (the mars volta), chan marshall (cat power), and fellow def-juxer aesop rock. Underground hip-hop’s been in a lethargic state for the last year or so. The aptly-titled “i’ll sleep when you’re dead” was just the jolt it’s been needing. learn from my mistakes… buy this now!

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Do you:

1) like dark sunglasses?
2) like lots of reverb? like, a lot.
3) recognize that jesus & marychain, slowdive, and my bloody valentine are musical gods?

If so, read on.

Sometimes, you just don’t want to listen to music that’s about the state of the world, social change, and the pressures of life in modern times. That’s when you need to be carried away on great washes of noise, ponder loves (past & present), and get lost in a sound that only gets better the louder you turn it up. You need a band like ceremony.

Admittedly, i know very little about ceremony. And god knows i’ve looked. Their myspace page reveals very little about them other than that they hail from fredricksburg, virginia. They may (or may not) bear a connection with fellow spacerockers skywave. I’ve solicited cd’s from them for airplay at kxlu, but they seem totally disinterested in self-promotion. Apparently, they’re perfectly content to play as loudly and fuzzily (huh?) as they can. And i will just have to be content to love them for it.

New releases 6.12.07:

Nothing terribly exciting coming out this week. a couple re-releases for the bongos and sonic youth. There’s datarock, if new wave-style kitsch pop is your thing. And there’s queens of the stone age, which i couldn’t be more ambivalent about. Go buy a kyuss record instead.

As always, i invite you to tune into my radio show every monday 10a-2p on kxlu 88.9fm in los angeles or www.kxlu.com everywhere else. I’ll treat ya right.

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reverb: music from los angeles & beyond

Monday, June 4th, 2007

pigeon john live

for the inaugural installment of this column, i thought i’d start by mentioning a couple favorites from the town i call home: los angeles.

despite the fact that it’s 2007, i still get meatheads who call my radio show every week requesting (read: demanding) that i “play some punk rock”. man, am i tired of punk rock. well, more accurately, i’m tired of the people who desperately cling to it, despite the fact that 1977 was officially 30 years ago. punk rock was intended to be confrontational, immediate, and more than a little dangerous. while there’s plenty of bands who still fly the flag, there’s few who really capture that spirit in a way that’s updated and relevant.

die princess die is one of those rare exceptions. in the loosest terms, sure they’re a punk band. but somehow they’ve melded all that intensity of yesterpunk with modern samples, loops, and beats. make no mistake…this is no electroclash band. their sound is big, punishing, and relentless. live, they have a jagged elegance that belies their imposing presence. pick up “lions eat lions” on the gsl label. turn up “the racer” in your car…i personally guarantee a speeding ticket.

pigeon john is the real deal when it comes to hip-hop. he grew up in inglewood, came from a broken home, light on cash. so now that he’s a rapper with a record deal, why isn’t he rappin’ about bitches & money? real simple…pj’s got too much class for that.

with a couple full-lengths under his belt, pigeon john finally hit the bigtime when he signed with quannum projects last year. you know you’re doing something right when the guys from blackalicious and dj shadow give you the nod. check out “pigeon john and the summertime pool party”. it takes a brave soul to laugh in the face of gangstas, evil bosses, and golddiggers. pigeon john laughs, and does it with panache. give a listen to “the last sunshine”. it was produced by rjd2 and also features j-live on guest vocals.

new releases 6.5.07: go buy the new shellac album, “excellent italian greyhound”. just do it, trust me.

if you enjoy these tunes, tune into my radio show on kxlu 88.9fm 10a-2p every monday. we’re also streaming live at www.kxlu.com. if you think radio’s not worth listening to anymore, give me a chance to prove you wrong.

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Reverb: les savy fav

Saturday, June 2nd, 2007

tim harrington

I’ve been finding myself behind the wheel a whole lot more than usual lately. Braving the horrors of L.A. traffic is not for the faint of heart, and a man needs to find solace in the confines of his little Japanese driving machine if he’s going to make it crosstown with sanity intact. Recently, that solace has been coming out of my mp3 player in the form of Les Savy Fav. Although by no means obscure, it still surprises me how many people call my radio show to find out “Who was that awesome band” I just played.

As their website proudly proclaims, Les Savy Fav have been “missing out on cashing in for over a decade.” They formed in 1995 while attending the Rhode Island School of Design. Within a couple of years, they had established a sound that has been plagiarized and bastardized countless times over. When you listen to Inches, their collection of singles spanning nearly a decade, you can’t help but ask, “Why in the hell isn’t this band huge?”

In addition to being a tremendous band, they also subscribe to the DIY ethic founded by bands like Fugazi and their Dischord label. Their bassist, Syd Butler, runs the label Les Savy Fav currently reside with, French Kiss. They’ve also done great releases from Lifter Puller, The Bloodthirsty Lovers, and The Big Sleep, to mention a few. Les Savy Fav have a new cd in the works, and I’ll go on record saying that it will probably be as excellent as all of their previous recordings. I’ll keep you posted when that gets released.

Check out the tracks I’ve posted below, but you really owe it to yourself to just go buy Inches. If Les Savy Fav is new to you, and you’re thinking you haven’t heard anything intelligent that truly rocks in awhile… add it to your list for that next record shopping trip.

It doesn’t happen often, but if Les Savy Fav come to your town to play live, cancel dinner at your grandma’s house to go. Vocalist Tim Harrington is a brilliant lunatic in concert. If you’re not wowed by his between-song non-sequiturs and covered in his sweat by the end of the show, then you’re not standing close enough. They’ll be in your Top Ten Favorite Shows of All Time… that’s a promise.

New Releases 6.26.07: Re-releases from Amon Duul & Metric. Frank Black gets the greatest hits treatment. New release from local Los Angeles band, Great Northern. And for the truly pretentious, John Zorn is releasing another mystically themed opus entitled From Silence to Sorcery.

Surf here, to the original post, to sample JC’s nutritious and lovingly prepared mp3s.

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