PDB

Do not read this blog.

Alex — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:07:21 +0000

Aunt Becky and minion

No, not this one. This one. That blog is the innertube HQ of the evil Aunt Becky. Why am I drawing attention to the forces of evil with this free publicity post? Only because she has sworn that she will forcefeed alcohol to minors, send live flying cockroaches through the US Mail to my FB friends list, surround my house with PsyOps troops using Rod Stewart and a 50,000-watt PA system to bend my will to her evil purposes, and I might win some dumb gift cards and a bottle of wine that I won’t drink if I don’t talk about her in this space, usually reserved for high-minded discussion of music and other things I feel like talking about every six months.

What are those purposes you ask? Well, good question. I’m sure they involve vodka, small children, and poor taste in tunes. (Didn’t you read my first paragraph? Isn’t this obvious?) Other than that, she’s very close-mouthed about the whole thing, which, if you know Aunt Becky, is a dead giveaway. Are you following my logic yet? Have another and the whole thing will become clear.

She’s also forcing me to link to her blog in the sidebar here. Whatever you do, don’t click the link. Don’t. I warned you. Now we’re fucked.

The real question is why does Mommy want vodka? And if the answer to that question is somehow not obvious to you, you aren’t a parent, but you still might think, as I do, that Aunt Becky is one of the best parental bloggers out there an evil force threatening to take over the innertubes with even more time-wasting opportunities and use her power to make sure none of us go through a day without laughing. She forced me to say that last part. Don’t read her. Really. Don’t.

Ballad of a tin man

Alex — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:39:34 +0000

Post Post “Drafts” from Post Post on Vimeo. (That’s Post Post back in December 2009 at Lunt Basement.)

Post Post/A Place to Bury Strangers/The Big Pink
North Star Bar, March 31, 2010

You walk into the room
With your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked
And you say, “Who is that man?”
You try so hard
But you don’t understand
Just what you’ll say
When you get home

Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Dylan pretty much describes my experience of seeing Post Post at North Star Bar last night. Don’t get me wrong, they were great. And tiny. And skinny. And had little tiny amps. And I was old and Mike said “So, that’s what the kids are into these days. Cool.” And I said, “If they’re under 19, then ‘Fuck you.’ ”

Turns out they’re college juniors, or were when they formed. So they’re probably only slightly less than half my age. Fuckers. Good on ya. Their singer/guitarist, Michelle, is like a Norwegian pixie with a voice somewhere between Joanna Newsom and Corin Tucker. Post Post write catchy intricate treble-y pop with melodies that layer on each other and build into glittering messes like shattered glass in treacle. They were good on this bill which tended toward darker/heavier.

Here’s a link to an mp3 off their ep, “Say When.”

Worth seeing live, and if you’re around Philly you have no excuse.

Post Post at Awkward Core

Post Post myspace

This show with A Place to Bury Strangers and The Big Pink was originally slated for TLA—a much larger room than North Star. I’m sure it was disappointing that the show was moved—I’m guessing not enough advance ticket sales as the recession takes its toll on entertainment—but despite that the bands played well and the sound was great. I like the room at North Star, with the brick and the tapestry on the back wall.

APTBS lived up to their noisy rep, generating tremendous breaking waves of reverb-drenched feedback. It took about 30 seconds to get my earplugs in. Let’s just say even with ear plugs it was so loud I’m certain I’ve made a decade of progress toward the final total deafness that is my fate. Lots of smoke. Lots of strobe lights. An atmosphere of disorientation I find comforting. If you haven’t heard them, check these out:

APTBS - Ego Death

In Your Heart on You Tube (embedding disabled)

APTBS official site

I snagged the set list. Unrepentant fan boy.

APTBS set North Star, 3/31/10

The Big Pink are a band I only knew one song of before this show:

I find that chorus irritating, though I like the sounds in the song. That was definitely the “hit” of the evening. But overall, I liked their other songs better. The band was polished, loud, and good. The beats and tones mix slightly uptempo trip hop grooves with shoegaze guitar/bass work and inventive noisy synth/dj work.

The Big Pink on 4AD

The List

Alex — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:45:22 +0000

This is an attempt to document my live music history. After investing about three hours in this (last night and this morning), it may become an ongoing project with its own “page” here at PDB.

I started this list because I kept getting tagged in that Facebook note “50 Bands/Concerts,” list note thingy.* When I noticed some people were calling it “99 Bands/Concerts,” and extending the original number, I knew it was time for me to jump in and go for the overkill. I’m hesitant to post, because this must be evidence of mental illness, lack of a real life, or having missed my calling as a librarian.

It’s far from complete. And in evidence is just what a lousy concertgoer I am. All the shows I’ve missed. All the bands I wish I’d seen. (There’s another list to work on.) I know there were plenty of nights where I could have been out seeing something memorable and the only thing that kept me from going was a failure to check the listings. Now I’m old and married and have kids and a mortgage—the full catastrophe. I don’t get out much. I know, some of my friends in a similar position still manage to make the scene. I guess I’m just lazy and my feet hurt.

Thanks to my friends whose Facebook lists were invaluable in jogging my middle-aged memory: Lisa, Carl, Walter.

I excluded bands I played in: Twig, Mayfirst, Hex 49, ExVegas, Prosolar Mechanics, The Evolutionaries. Some of these bands I was on bills with, but I’m going to pretend to be less conceited and not name them out of false modesty. But I’m calling myself out here. So maybe I should just go and do it. No, it may make me look even lamer when you see that list. Nothing personal, bands I’ve shared bills with. Shit, this hole is getting really deep.

A great many of these bands I saw multiple times, especially in the 1990s when I was active in bands and on bills or out at a show to support friends at least one night a week, if not three or four. I’ve forgotten more bands off those bills than make up this list. If I saw you and you’re not here, it’s because you weren’t memorable. If you were, then my memory must suck, as you can tell from all the bands I don’t list.

I’m posting this nightmare now so I can go do something worthwhile. I may come back later and work on it some more.

If you like the idea of anally keeping track of this sort of trivia, check out the concert history tool at: http://songkick.com

Also, this is barely in any kind of order. Chronological only by decade. Sort of. I’ll work on it. And you don’t really care, so piss off.

The List

1970s

Bruce Springsteen – Jadwin Gymnasium, 1 November 1978 tour for Darkness on the Edge of Town. My first real concert, and though I’m not a huge Springsteen fan, this was an amazing show. Still ranks as one of the best concerts I’ve seen. Top 10 for certain. Thanks to my friend Peter for inviting me to to go along for his 14th birthday.

The rest after the jump.

1980s

Regressive Aid
King Crimson Saturday 06 March 1982 Alexander Hall, Princeton NJ
The Groceries
Stanley Jordan
Lui Collins, Bath Maine, 1981
David Mallet Bath Maine, 1981
The “English” Beat Finney Chapel, Oberlin College, Saturday 09 April 1983
REM – several times, first Finney Chapel, Oberlin College, Saturday 09 April 1983
Talking Heads, 1983, Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, Speaking in Tongues tour
Billy Bragg – 1984, Boston
The Alley Cats 1984, Boston
Echo and the Bunnymen, 1984, Boston
Genesis – Duke tour. 1981 or 82. Awful. Last row seats at the Spectrum but it still would have sucked if we’d had front row seats. This leads me to think of other bad stadium shows I saw in the 1980s:
Aerosmith: omgwtfbbq Love in an elevator? Dude looks like a lady? Dude, where’s my car?
Elvis Costello – I love this man, but I saw one of his worst performances ever at Madison Square Garden
Phil Collins – oh my god. Someone had a free ticket, seriously. I have no excuse. Sucked even worse than Genesis. Su-su-ssudio! However, the experience does make the reading of American Psycho even more fucked.
U2 – Giants Stadium, Unforgettable Fire, Forgettable Concert. So full of themselves and they sucked. “The Edge” plays worse than I do.
Frank Zappa 1986 Tower Theater, Philadelphia. Fourth Row. Guitar god.
Sonic Youth – countless times over three decades. All-time favorite live act. Best show 1988 CBGB for Daydream Nation. (w/ B.a.l.l. and Barbetomagus)
Black Flag
Circle Jerks
Blood on the Saddle – Scott Hall, Rutgers University
Jackson Browne
Smashing Pumpkins (Gish tour at Maxwell’s)
Squirrelbait
Adrenaline O.D.
Agnostic Front
Agent Orange
Killing Joke
The Stranglers
The Replacements
Lemonheads (1989, at CBGB Cantina! Touring on their first record, playing to about 10 people including the bartender.)
Suzanne Vega (Busch Student Center, Rutgers University)
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Peter Murphy
The Dead Kennedys
Rollins Band
Echo and The Bunnymen
999
Steel Pole Bathtub – The Knitting Factory, 1989
The Fall
The Descendents – City Gardens, Trenton
They Might Be Giants – City Gardens, Trenton
7 Seconds
The Dead Milkmen
The Dickies
The Ramones
Husker Du
Living Color
The Butthole Surfers
Dream Syndicate - Boston 1984
Richard Lloyd
Gwar
Dag Nasty
Destroy All Bands
Null Set
Das Damen
Die Kreuzen
Lone Justice
Pay the Man
Love and Rockets
Meat Puppets
Stiff Little Fingers
Violent Femmes
Lunachicks
Spy Gods
Dumptruck
Front 242
Psychedelic Furs
John Cale
The Alley Cats
John Zorn
Naked Raygun
The Sugar Cubes
Leather Studded Diaphram
Opium Vala (Matt Pinfield)
The Ex w/ Tom Cora
Ministry
Slint
The Cure
Spiral Jetty
All God’s Children
Third Party

1990s

The Buzzcocks – first US show when they got back together, The Ritz, 1991
Depeche Mode
Low
Luscious Jackson
The Jesus Lizard
Shonen Knife
The Boredoms
Ff
Flu Thirteen (CBGB)
Superchunk
Monster Magnet
Ween
Boss Hog
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Dinosaur Jr.
Pavement
NIN
Neil Young
The Pixies
Gang of Four
Radiohead
Yo La Tengo
Kelly Deal 6000
Juliana Hatfield
Primus
Faith No More
Yo La Tengo
Interpol
The Wrens
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Fishbone
Bouncing Souls
White Zombie
Fugazi
Fear
The Mentors
Helmet
Tool
Failure
Bailter Space
Deborah Harry, The Stone Pony
The Poster Children
The Mekons
Madder Rose
Cobra Verde
Cocteau Twins Tuesday 02 April 1991 Roseland Ballroom, NY
Meat Beat Manifesto (may have been 2000)
Curve
George Clinton and the P. Funk All-Stars (Funkadelic + the JBs—James Brown’s horn section—with Eddie “Maggot Brain” Hazel on guitar) City Gardens
The Stuntcocks
Remote Control Yeti
Bionic Rhoda
The Gravel Pit
Instant Death
Ray Davies
WE Fest 1998, 1999
Kristin Hersh
Les Savy Fav
Letters to Cleo
Sigur Ros
SteepleTop
Stereobate
Stereolab
Sweet Diesel
Swirlies
Seam
Teenage Fanclub
Toadies
Urge Overkill
Cop Shoot Cop
Lunachicks
L7
Unsane
Unrest
Christmas
Hum
Therapy?
Afghan Whigs
Laughing Hyenas
The Mooney Suzuki
The Grifters
The Wallmen
The Negatones
Joan Jett
Boss Jim Gettys
Kise
Tar
Come
Girls Against Boys
Jawbox
Cheap Trick
Bjorn Again (Abba Tribute)
Shonen Knife
Velocity Girl
The Goops
Turbo Ass
Built to Spill
Alice Donut
Victim’s Family
My Bloody Valentine
Codeine
Mudhoney
The Raveonettes
Bad Religion
Rodan
Casper Brotzmann
The Dismemberment Plan
The Melvins
Teenbeaters
The Mad Daddys
Nudeswirl
The Wedding Present
Dan Cray
Daniel Johnston
Buzzkill
The Swingin’ Neckbreakers
Three to Six Inches
Aviso ’Hara
Jhon Thumb
The Urchins
The Faux Monks
Bubble Gum Thunder
Landspeed Record
Scott Farkus Affair
All the Dead Pilots
Godboy
Rye Coalition
The Blisters
Mildred Pierce
Evelyn Forever
Ben Trovato
Val Emmich
Hippie Killer
The Loaded Poets
The Cogs
Lumous
Moistboyz
Drag Pack
Thorazine
The Scrapers (WE Fest 1998)
Jack Beast, (WE Fest 1998) from Dublin
Bob Fields
Footstone
Mayflies USA (WE Fest 1998)
Raw Novembre (WE Fest 1998)
Sonny Sixkiller
Today’s My Super Spaceout Day
Doc Hopper
Sicker Than Others
Mars Needs Women
Seething Grey
Elvis ‘77
Plug Spark Sanjay
Cropduster
Casanovocane
Velocity Girl
XBXRX
D-Generation
Fur
NY Loose
Loose
Clowns for Progress
The Raging Lamos
Muzza Chunka
Ric Slave and The Phantoms
Nashville Pussy
TAD
Dead Spot

2000s

Clydesdale
Gap Scatter Recovery
The Karloffs
The Slow Jets
Turkish Taffy
The Wahoo Moment
Like Moving Insects
The Make Out Party
Joshua Marcus
The Cherry Valence
The Jack McCoys
Fa5hion Colt
Dewey Defeated
The Swimmies
Digger Phelps
Beaux
The Blue Ribbons (November 2001, Blacksburg, Virginia)
WE Fest 2000
WE Fest 2001
Slayer
Autolux
M83
Cex
Mogwai
Midiron Blast Shaft
Fair Verona
Punch Drunk Monkeys
Mil Mulliganos
Beautiful Bear (Osa Bella)
Spoon
Britt Daniel
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Ex Models
Arab on Radar
Autechre
Lusine
Matthew Dear
Pieter K
Hrvatski
Les Paul
LCD Soundsystem
The Damn Personals
Runner and the Thermodynamics
Jim Testa and The Jersey Beats
Kristen Forbes
Joanna Newsom
Pattern is Movement
Pilot to Gunner
Ralph Stanley
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Tris McCall
TV on the Radio
Ulrich Schnauss
The Beta Band
Smarty Pants, WE Fest 2001 from Oklahoma
A Place to Bury Strangers, Post Post, The Big Pink (at North Star Bar, 3/31/10)

*Here are the original Facebook “rules” if you want to participate (though I hope you’re like my friend Walter, who had the restraint to stop at 50, he has a life, apparently, probably needed to get to band practice):

Here are the rules. Test your memory and your love of live music by listing 50 artists or bands (or as many as you can remember) you’ve seen in concert. List the first 50 acts that come into your head. An act you saw at a festival and opening acts count, but only if you can’t think of 50 other artists. Oh, and list the first concert you ever saw (you can remember that, can’t you).

Should you choose this challenge, here’s what you do:

Copy my note. Click on “notes” under tabs on your profile page. Select “write a new note” in the top corner. Paste the copy in the body of the note. Make your list. Change the number at the top, and add your title. Once you’ve saved, don’t forget to tag friends (including me) on the right.

Top this

Alex — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:26:09 +0000

For a long time, I thought “top” lists sucked. Who can actually come up with a top five or top ten anything that they are solid about? It’s always open to debate, even between me and my other me. Those scenes in High Fidelity are irritating. I want to climb into the screen and start screaming in Jack Black’s face or tell Cusack that he has no taste in music (and the film song picks are way better than in the novel, though I do like the book).

Then I realized such lists aren’t really meant to be definitive. (Sometimes I’m a bit rigid, but I come around. Usually.) They’re conversation starters, like Jack Black’s Top Five Monday Morning Songs. So this post marks the kick-off of a semi-regular posting at PDB of not just the same old lists. (And that means I’ll probably never post another list here again.)

Top Five Top Five Lists I’d like to see:

1. Top Five Top Five Lists I Hate
2. Top Five Top Five Lists
3. Top Five Internet Timewasters
4. Top Five items for your Mars Exploration Kit
5. Top Five Ways to Self-induce Sleep
Bonus list: Top Five Foods to Eat in the Car that you Shouldn’t But Do Anyway

What do you love or hate about lists? Which ones are you favorites? Which ones would you like to see from other people but not have to participate? Which ones do you hope you never see?

A Man Ray kind of sky

Alex — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:24:44 +0000

You meet him at the resort in 1981 while your boyfriend mails you joints from eight thousand miles away. He smiles at you on a Nile houseboat and over brunch in the delta, milk charred in clay pots, the rice is sweet, and wet. You pretend you are older and from an older people still. I watch and imagine I am also descended from the jackal. The world is an afternoon by a canal in a wheat field. We do white lines the following summer in the city, but not the same one. You stop writing after you go away to school. I never get closer to the sun than on the back of that donkey.

If you’re not familiar with this 12” from Liquid Liquid on 99 Records (pronounced nine nine), “Cavern” is where Grandmaster Flash got the bass line for “White Lines,” and “This record is what ultimately destroyed 99 Records.” (Scroll down at that link if you don’t want to read about other 99 Records releases.)

Listening to this you can hear the same sensibilities happening in the nascent hip hop scene that influenced Gang of Four, PiL, and A Certain Ratio in the post-punk world, a groove still copped today !!!

The whole 12” is worth listening to. These mp3s are ripped from my so-so copy, decent, but the tracks are not without their pops and tics. Here for your perusal at 320 kbps.

Liquid Liquid
Optimo/Cavern/Scraper/Out 12” 99 Records (1983)

Optimo
Cavern
Scraper
Out

And because it’s Monday:

PiL
Swan Lake

A Certain Ratio
Shack Up

Gang of Four
He’d Send in the Army

!!!
Shit Schiesse Merde, Pt. 1

Take-away concerts

Alex — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:17:24 +0000

or more precisely, Les Concerts a Emporter from La Blogotheque. Yeah, it’s en français mes amis Américains but just put down your fritures de liberté for a couple of nanoseconds and get this: You know you love live music, but you’ve got a trick knee, a bum hip, sciatica, glaucoma, gout–you name it–and not to put too blunt a point on it but you’re tired of the scene and the hipsters and the smell of stale beer and vomit now that smoking is a felony–if this resembles you slightly or not at all then imagine

the national at your dinner table
vampire weekend in an empty courtyard
pattern is movement in a van

well over a hundred song-long performances. And you can brush up on your french.

A free lunch for your ears

Alex — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:19:08 +0000

Ex-Blake Babies and one-time Lemonhead John Strohm has released all of his solo material for free download at Musical Family Tree. Well worth a listen and not to be missed for completists. Thanks to eskimo kiss for the heads up.

The king is dead. Long live the king.

Alex — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:00:11 +0000

Welcome to the PDB restart. The original can be found here. Jon and I were going to move that blog, archives and all, here to takeitlikeamun. But MyPHPAdmin is so borked at the old host that a successful exodus proved impossible. Pharaoh’s army caught us at the Red Sea while Moses ate hot pastrami on rye at Katz’s. The original PDB will remain up for a short time, then disappear as we have stopped paying the hosting fee. We’ll bring you our greatest hits from v.1 occasionally. It is our sincere hope that reposting them will make us appear more productive than we are.

As far as the new, improved, PDB (now with 53% more zest!), expect the same great music conversation, downloads, and appreciation, along with a whole lot more nonsense, rumination, expostulation, and holding forth. And now, let the wild rumpus (re)start!