citizenrobot.com

Going to Dolly Parton at the Bowl Tomorrow Night?

I posted this on the Bookface this morning and I want to open it up to anyone swinging by, say via Jitter.

To everyone going to see Dolly Parton at the Bowl tomorrow night: let us do a hive mind experiment. I want us all to visualize Kenny Rogers suddenly taking the stage to duet with her. I want you to feel the ‘WTFness!?’ of it all ahead of time. I want you to close your eyes and see my all-caps status update about it. Concentrate. Let’s see if we can make this happen using psychic energy.

Deerhoof at the Echoplex, 1/29/2011

Deerhoof is one of those bands I have seen so many times I have lost count now. First show: All Tomorrow’s Parties, Long Beach. Then gigs at these places – Troubador. Avalon. Coachella. Natural History Museum. More than a few times at the Echoplex. The ticket stubs are lost to time, the precise memories destroyed by substance intake – yet every time I’ve seen them they put on a stellar show. Top notch energy. I’ve never seen Deerhoof’s B-game, if they have one.

This appearance coincides with the release of their newest album, Deerhoof Vs. Evil. If you’ve been following the ‘Hoof, you need to check out this album as it contains many departures from their ‘usual sound’ but it’s all woven carefully into their signatures – the nearly heavy-metal guitars, surreal, childlike lyrics and powerful (yet often jazzy) drumming.

Honestly, is this man one of indie rock’s greatest drummers or WHAT.

I should mention, I believe they did at LEAST 4 encores last night.

Time for hipster hyperbole. If I could magically Inception myself into 3 bands, they’d be Deerhoof. Sonic Youth. The Kills. In that order.

See the rest of my Deerhoof pics here.

Citizenrobot’s Favourite Tunes of 2010

11 songs. Sorry. I couldn’t cut out 1, and hell, why not 11?

“Riot Rhythm” — Sleigh Bells
One of this year’s personal sorrows was being stuck on the damn Hollywood Bowl shuttle bus while Sleigh Bells was rocking the venue miles away, as they opened for LCD Soundsystem. Note to self: you suck, Sherrie. You missed hearing them execute this noisy beat driven stuff that brings to mind M.I.A. and a marching band of white girls colliding into each other. You. Suck. Sherrie.

“10 Mile Stereo” – Beach House
Yes, this will tide me over until the next Grizzly Bear album. Is that a mean thing to say? That some bands can fulfill your desires for other bands? Or is it better to say that I clearly like echo-y, misty albums with shimmering layers of sound that conjure up gray introspective days and the distant rumble of waves breaking on an empty beach? Man. That’s good stuff.

“Giving Up the Gun” – Vampire Weekend
It’s very fashionable to bash this band, but it’s also very fashionable to be a pretentious unlikeable blowhard who wears a knit scarf regardless of the weather, okay. It was a worry of many fans that they would be unable to top their ineffably bouncy smash debut album, but there’s a lot of maturity poking through the sunshine on this second album: “When I was 17, I had wrists like steel, and I felt complete – and now my body fades behind a brass facade, and I’m obsolete.” One’s inevitable aging is a lot easier to acknowledge with a catchy beat, yes?

“Anyone’s Ghost” – The National
Matt Berninger Sings Wikileaks. I would buy that album.

“Looking at the Invisible Man” – The Dead Weather
This smoking, dramatic and over the top bluesy album put together by this super group kind of slipped under the radar, which is RIDICULOUS considering how hard Jack White and Alison Mosshart are screaming and sweating to make you FEEL this stuff. And nothing beats this sardonic little comment on our post-media society – “I’m like a newspaper, YOU CAN’T READ ME.”

“I Want the World to Stop” – Belle & Sebastian
This band is still at it, dropping little poppy sweet gems into our laps, coming up with adorable album names, and making us hold ourselves and sway. Who knew twee Scottish chamber pop was going to have such serious longevity?

“Dancehall Queen” – Robyn
Robyn put out a LOT of music this year. 3 albums worth. That’s a lot of downright-perfectly-crafted dance songs to choose from, but I’m rather fond of this slower number because its chorus has that kind of simple melody that burrows into your head; you will most certainly find yourself whistling it later on in Trader Joes as you peer into the freezer dessert section. Its eye-popping and sexy video is the icing on the cake, especially if you like buttockses.

“hahahaha jk” – Das Racist
Alright, nothing, NOTHING that man could ever produce can top their other word of mouth hit “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” – that song’s banal lyric, repeated over and over again is probably the greatest anti-corporate anthem of recent times, an ode to how bored to death we should be by our own consumerism. This song off their new mixtape is full of more of their trademark deadpan delivery and humor. Are they joking or not joking or just joking? “Call me Dwight Shrute the way I eat beats – no beet farm, just farmed beats.” And THEN, all those soap operas references? Stop it, you guys, you’re fucking killing me.

“Zef Side” Die Antwoord
I had the pleasure of seeing this South African “zef” hip hop act at the Henry Fonda. The experience was slightly dampened by the world’s most incredulous girlfriend, standing next to me. She kept repeating “Is this for real?” “No way, I can’t believe this.” “OMG this is the most amazing thing I’ve…IS THIS FOR REAL?” Shut the FUCK up sister, yes it’s real, people from South Africa are real and some of them are capable of most excellent flow.

“Goodbye” – Best Coast
Those girl group harmonies. That echoing vintage sound. All that teenage longing + a love of cats? It pairs so well with our Southern California sunshine that I’m convinced the rest of you just don’t know. Yeah, this is probably my 2nd favorite album of the year.

“I Can Change” – LCD Soundsystem
Once again, James Murphy and his gang of merrie music makers have crafted another seemingly effortless album that slid right into that first place spot in my heart – dance music for the heartbroken, the too-drunk, and all the sinners of the world who face all those bleary post-party mornings. This particular song is truly epic in its depiction of a crumbling romance. Notice how it goes from “Never change, never change, never change, this is why I fell in love” to “I can change, I can change, I can change, if it helps you stay in love.” It’s an honest song about how much love can hurt you, and it even lands a few zingers in there: “Love is an open book to a verse of your bad poetry – and this is coming from me.” Here’s to hoping Murphy and company keep these soulful tunes coming (and stop threatening to take a hiatus).

How to Rock: A Quick Visual Primer Featuring Carrie Brownstein

(The Wild Flag / Grass Widow / Eux Autres show at Spaceland last night was one solid show. It’s rare I see the opening acts, and especially rare I see the *first band* at a show nowadays as old age and infirmity lay me waste – but each one of these groups featured 1 or more women who rock. I highly recommend all 3 of these bands.)
Step 1: Black jeans, purple boots.

Step 2: Play a bad ass blue Gibson.

Steps 3 to infinity: Thrash like you mean it. Maybe get down on Spaceland’s grotty gray carpet.

End with a kick. Fin.

Record Store Nostalgia

Tony was taking some stuff to the thrift store today – including an old box of plates from my first apartment days. He opened up the box and found that I had stuffed plastic bags in between the plates in order to cushion them. But then, we realized what bags they were, and we felt a little wave of nostalgia for these 3 record stores that don’t exist anymore.

I used to go to Rhino to look at expensive import CDs I couldn’t afford, and ogle all the cult DVDs and assorted merchandise. I think it’s a lamp store now. Sigh.

Aron’s Records could really smell on a warm summer afternoon, but the used CD selection was good and cheap (cheaper than Amoeba’s almost-new used prices). I bought a lot of electronica and trip hop stuff there in those days of the late 90s. I probably bought my Portishead CDs there. They also had a gargantuan warehouse sale from time to time where you could spend hours picking through the selection. Good days, even with the record store armpit funk.

I wasn’t emotionally attached to Tower Records on Sunset…until I realized they were gonna put something super douchey and pointless there, and that is EXACTLY what is there – some kind of designer clothing boutique. I never knew how excellent it was to work near a record store until it was gone. We used to walk to Poquito Mas for lunch and stop on the way back to the office to browse the sale CDs. I once saw Paris Hilton in the parking lot. Not nostalgic for that though.

Do you remember these places? Share some memories.

A Crazy Run of Shows

I am going to try to fly through this and not bore you to tears with metaphors. It’s been a great couple of weeks.

September 30th – Pavement, Sonic Youth, No Age – Hollywood Bowl
No Age is a much “tighter” act since they dropped a band member, and I can safely say they were the loudest group I have ever seen at the Bowl. I especially liked the long chaotic descent into pure noise that was their closing song. Sonic Youth is always ineffably cool, Kim Gordon – my favorite old lady of rock. Pavement sounded even better than they did at Coachella. “Shady Lane” makes people happy.

October 3rd – Belle & Sebastian – The Palladium
The band seemed tired, they had come from Las Vegas where they played the big Matador anniversary orgy – but despite this, they managed to be in good spirits. The minute the crowd heard Stuart Murdoch’s trademark gentle Scottish twee-croon, they broke into cheers. It’s amazing how well material from just a few albums back has aged. “Step Into My Office, Baby” sounds like a classic now. Whoah, it *is* 7 years old!

October 13th – Corin Tucker Band – The El Rey
I think the audience was kind of in awe just looking at Corin Tucker, and hearing her voice again. And there certainly was nostalgia in the air; lots of fans came wearing old S-K shirts. Tucker seemed downright shy, not a veteran at all – as though she were starting all over again in a little no-name band. Some of the songs are great, especially the high energy tunes, but the softer, more intimate stuff outnumbers the rock pieces. We look forward to seeing the other 2/3rds of Sleater-Kinney next month at Spaceland, in the band Wild Flag.

October 15th – Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem – Hollywood Bowl
Hot Chip does not look like a band that makes dance music. It’s kind of interesting. One of the guys looks like a nice English guy who would know a lot about tax codes, and not a guy who sings a song that goes “Bendable! Poseable!” to a robotic Kraut-ish beat. But LCD Soundsystem was the real star of the night. This was the 3rd time I’ve seen LCD-S this year and this was the most solid performance. They seemed a little punch-drunk or just downright drunk at Coachella, and the Palladium show was lots of fun, but this was the show where the band seemed to be playing their hearts out. I got a little verklempt during “All My Friends”. (More proof the show was great – I managed to not take a single picture – see also, next entry!)

October 17th – Die Antwoord – Henry Fonda Theater
WHY. DID. YOU. MISS. THIS. SHOW. These people are no gimmick, they are the real deal. They have real flow. They have solid braggart-y rhymes. They have great beats. Their DJ wears a monster mask. WHY. DID. YOU. MISS. THIS. SHOW.

Lobsterfest 2010

This was my first Lobsterfest. I’ve been down to the Port of Los Angeles a few times before. One of those visits ended in a mild case of food poisoning from possibly-rotting shrimp. Ever since then I’ve been scared off the place and paranoid about only eating de-veined shrimp. People, if they show you how to de-vein a shrimp in almost any seafood episode of any Food Network cooking show, it’s probably pretty important.

Fears of a toilet-based death aside – for $18 (on top of the price of admission) you received a lobster, a cup of strange always-melted butter, a side of potatoes, coleslaw, a bread roll and one tiny handiwipe. I’m always a little worried about having to deconstruct your own seafood – all those tiny flying bits of shell! The splatter of juice! The sheer violence! Julia Child was REALLY good at it. I was doing just fine until I got into the really gnarly green guts of the bug – which grossed out two possibly vegetarian girls standing at the table next to us.

Apparently we lucked out walking up and picking up a lobster within 10 minutes. On the way out of the ‘fest, we noticed extremely long lines had formed for food.

Getting a drink proved to be another queue-up. I don’t drink Bud Light or any derivatives there of, so I drank two of those “mojitos” you can buy in a bottle now. The kind that get 19 year old girls drunk at frat parties. Classy.

But fuck the lobsters and whore-mojitos (whore-itos?) and people wearing lobster hats. I came to see the Growlers!

I’ve seen these guys a few times before, most notably, when they opened up for Devendra Banhart in small club in Santa Barbara last year. I’ve also seen them play the Echo – a thick crowd of young girls immediately swarmed the front of the stage when they came on.

They have a jangly, echo-y 60s vibe, but a better writer has also referred to their sound as psychedelic swamp rock. During their sound check, lead singer Brooks Nielsen kept asking for more, more reverb for his vocals.

This here’s my favorite Growlers’ song – Old Cold River – the one that truly feels like sexy humid swamp rock.

Things girls notice? The guy who plays the bongos and additional percussion has a heart tattooed at the corner of his eye where a cholo/a would normally have his teardrop tat. Just a detail. (He also kind of looks like a pirate.)

The crowd down in front was very young. I’m talking zits-all-over-their-faces-get-excited-by-the-smell-of-marijuana-smoke young. The combination of the realization of my own inevitable aging plus the realization that I was going to have to line up for another bottled mojito was enough to drive me away from the rest of the fest. We did not stay until Dengue Fever. Pal InlandEmpirical had more patience though.

So Lobsterfest next year, yes or no? Totally depends on the bands. The lure of lukewarm lobster devoured standing up isn’t enough to bring me back – though if I return – next time, I’ll be armed with a flask.

Coachella 2010 Musical Round-Up

Day 1 High Points | #1 Grizzly Bear

The crowd was packed in tight – too tight - in the Mojave tent, a bad venue choice for this band that clearly has a passionate following. This year Goldenvoice sold 15,000 extra tickets, making seeing some of the bands in the tents downright miserable and impossible.

Edward Droste has one of the most beautiful vocals in indie rock today, and seeing this band again was worth sweating it out with the pack.

Day 1 High Points | #2 LCD Soundsystem

This is the 3rd and presumably last time I will see LCD Soundsystem in action as James Murphy has said the band’s most recent album could be their last. The first time I caught their show was at the El Rey, and I remember leaving that night feeling damp all over from the egregious amount of sweaty ass shaking I had just successfully executed. So much cowbell, so much ecstatic feeling – these are the things that issue forth from this band. Murphy also took the time to hilariously rail against a certain segment of the DJ population, shouting “You’re a fucking DJ, and you can’t carry some fucking records?!”

Day 1 High Points | #3 Jay-Z

LISTEN. I’m not a hater, I just was never the world’s most passionate advocate for Jay-Z. I’m West Coast, people. They fed us Dr. Dre and Tupac and Snoop with our Cheerios during our pleasant sun-drenched So-Cal youth! Still, it’s hard not to be converted when Jay-Z just starts tearing through his many, many hits with veteran aplomb, even throwing in some fireworks for good measure. And then, in one of those great magical Coachella moments, Jay-Z starts looking into the crowd and giving people individual shout-outs, including one “to the guy with no shirt on, lookin’ like The Situation” which cracked himself up. There’s something utterly classy about a man that rich, that powerful, telling a rabid fan in a triangle bikini top “I see you, baby girl.” Oh yeah, Beyonce was there too, wearing a little hipster girl fedora. Her image on the big screen TV caused thousands to leap to their feet and start heading toward the stage. Beyonce inspires standing, y’all!

Day 2 High Points | #1 Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

I’ve had some kind of odd life revelation, and it’s because of this band. Am I…a hippie? Did…something happen to me? Either I’ve fallen and hit my head along the way or I’ve eaten some kind of brave new acid, but this was probably the happiest show I’ve seen at any Coachella I’ve attended, including that blissful Belle and Sebastian set from 2003. ES&TMZ has an epic sound that reminds me of Arcade Fire, if Arcade Fire hung out in Joshua Tree a lot more and maybe eschewed every other shower. Their anthems convey pure joy and delight, and often emphasize a sense of home, community, and friendship. You know, hippie stuff. Folk rock that can stand out at a festival boasting hip hop impresarios and guitar gods is truly noteworthy.

Day 2 High Points | #2 DIE ANTWOORD

LISTEN I THINK IT’S SAFE TO SAY THIS ZEF-RAP STUFF IS REALLY GOING TO TAKE OFF. I’M TALKING AN ALL CAPS TAKE OFF. Using less all-caps, I’m glad to report this band really delivers in the hip hop energy department and is destined to be bigger than just another internet viral video phenomenon. Their appearance at Coachella was also their North American debut. Hopefully when we see them next they’ll get something longer than a 20 minute set!

Day 2 High Points | #3 DEVO

This show was as satisfying as last year’s X performance. Seeing an act like Devo just makes all the bands in their tight pants, barely only one or two albums deep, look like real rubes and newbies. And think about how many of today’s indie bands wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for the conceptual and oddball influence of Devo. My beloved Deerhoof probably wouldn’t exist! Devo also gave festival-goers a chance to do the robot. During their entire set.

Day 3 High Points | Planting My Lazy Ass at the Coachella Stage for Most of the Day

Yo La Tengo, Spoon, Pavement! Why bother moving? Oh that’s right, we have to head over to see Thom Yorke. That’s the most we moved this day.

Yo La Tengo performs this one song that goes on for nearly 12 minutes or so, with the same drum pattern and bass line repeating throughout, like a meditation. You can’t quite call it jam rock, although Ira Kaplan is improvising through out. It’s a masterpiece performance and a study in concentration, that also manages to look effortless. Solid stuff.

Spoon came on right afterward and brought back the pop. All those *short* yet memorable little ditties from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga are so good live when they have their entire horn section. Everytime I see Spoon I’m mostly reminded by the fact that they have a very female-centric fan base. What can I say? We chicks like an opportunity to do a little dancing.

I skipped Phoenix, who I had already greatly enjoyed at the Wiltern last year, to stick around for the reunited Pavement show. As Malkmus himself said after playing a string of old songs, “that was the 90s in a nutshell”. Pavement was the perfect antidote to the overblown rock theatrics of Muse the night before – they still sound so lo-fi and outsider-y.

Those are big memories from this fest. This year was a tough year to enjoy. Goldenvoice did not plan accordingly for the swell in attendance, so trash piled up everywhere and smaller venues were easily and quickly swamped and overly packed. By day 3, the ground was so littered with food refuse that sitting down on the grass became a rather sticky and disgusting enterprise. I am hoping they hear the feedback and do better next year. Although I have this terrible dark feeling inside that Lady Gaga will be there next year. Shudder. We’ll need 1,000 Pavements to cope with that nonsense.

As always, my Coachella wishlist still includes: Snoop Dog, David Bowie, Neil Young, Talking Heads reunion, and the B52s. See you next year.

Under the Great White Northern Lights

We braved a level 3 hipster clusterwank to get into last week’s American Cinematheque screening of the White Stripes rockumentary, Under the Great White Northern Lights. I’d say it was well worth having to sit through the general skinny-guy whining and feathered-haircut chaos of a long line-up of a free movie screening. Jack and Meg are in great form in the live concert footage in this doc. They seem legitimately content to be touring their neighbors to the north (”We grew up across the street”, Jack says early in the film). In a genuine touch of respect for their fans, they put on a number of free shows between their venue shows, playing bowling alleys, pool halls, town squares and even inside a Winnipeg bus (you may have seen this footage on YouTube). They meet with Native Canadian tribal elders in Nova Scotia, march around with kilted Highland soldiers in Halifax, and generally dazzle the locals with their well-dressed roadies and camera crew.

The documentary relies heavily on the live footage, which is shot in a very arty style, making the red, white and black of their stage performances really pop and sizzle your retinas. The minutiae of their performances (the back of Meg’s drummer stool has her name on it, Jack’s picks are lined up in a row on top of a speaker) are captured lovingly. I wanted a bit more interview time with J & M, especially since Meg never says much. In a few of those interview snippets, Jack reveals their recording style (fast and quick, to capitalize on inspiration) and how they feel about how the music press feels about them. One of Jack’s favorite quotes about the band goes something like: “They are simultaneously the most fake and most REAL band you will ever hear.” Jack underlines for us – nothing that they do on stage is fake, they don’t even have a set list, and what can be construed as “fake” is artistic thoughtfulness – the power of colors, the power of their two-some.

Meg floats throughout this doc like a bit of a lost, pale soul. Jack always looks like a rock star, talks like a rock star. He exudes confidence even if it is a front for a more sensitive soul. Meg follows him from gig to gig, smoking quietly, grinning to herself, looking out the window. As much as we think we may know – or not know – about this band, they are still quite enigmatic to us. On the one hand you have the schoolyard sweetness of “I Can Tell That We Are Going to Be Friends” and the electric spazzmatic bravado of “Icky Thump”. Who are these people? The documentary doesn’t tell us, it just shows us. It’s a must see for Stripes fans.

Citizenrobot’s Best Live Musical Moments of 2009

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at Club Nokia