Playing what was perhaps their last Philadelphia show ever, Sleater-Kinney went out with a bang. Appropriately enough, it was uncomfortably hot in the venue as they cranked out one super-intense song after the other with material ranging from 1997’s breakthrough album Dig Me Out to last year’s The Woods. They will be sorely missed.
Although some misguided fools tore down a PINK FLOYD poster on the wall and threw it at the band while they were playing, thus shortening their set, the 2006 version of The Dicks still had the goods and then some, focusing on their great early material like “Kill from the Heart,” “Dead in a Motel Room” and the immortal “Dicks Hate the Police”.
Although this wasn’t the best setting to see them in (a hot, overcrowded, poorly ventilated dance party called Making Time) and although the sound was awful, The Long Blondes still played a killer set, running through early singles like “Appropriation (By Any Other Means),” “Separated by Motorways” and the new “Weekend Without Makeup” along with unreleased gems like the upcoming single “Once and Never Again”. Catch them when they tour in your town.
The first new New York Dolls album in thirty-two years is surprisingly very good and a lot better than I thought it was gonna be after seeing their so-so show at New York’s Irving Plaza last year. From what I’ve read, the new band has gotten better live and from the sound of this record, DAVID JOHANSEN, SYLVAIN SYLVAIN and new guitarist STEVE CONTE (who does a credible JOHNNY THUNDERS impersonation on this new disc) have apparently translated their improved live shows into writing stellar new material, too. The single “Dance Like a Monkey” is the most accessible and fun, but others like “Punishing World” and the bluesy “Ain’t Got Nothin’” are nice surprises as well and the album is a good, consistent listen as a whole. Listen for a MICHAEL STIPE guest backing vocal appearance on one track, too.
Honestly I’m still not completely thrilled with this new album. I keep trying but thus far it’s missing the mark a bit. The title track “You and I Are a Gang of Losers” (which I loved from the first time I heard it played live last year) is terrific and others like the surprisingly NIRVANA-esque “Death or Life We Want You” are thrilling as well, but it just doesn’t have the immediacy or emotional connection of No Cities Left. Then again, The Dears have always been a band that’s much better live than in the studio, so I look forward to how they’ll reinvent these songs in a live setting.
I got turned on to this Chicago band from a posting on a TRASHCAN SINATRAS mailing list that I’m on. One of the few current U.S. bands heavily influenced by the likes of PREFAB SPROUT as well as the aforementioned Trashcan Sinatras and other ‘80s and early ‘90s jangle-pop, this is thrilling to me not only because of that but because this song as well as “Her, You and I” (also from their self-titled EP from last year) are instantly memorable, well-produced and catchy. Look for their album in the fall. I have a feeling you’ll be reading about them on a lot of blogs as soon as the album drops. In the meantime you can listen to some of their tracks here.
A fine addendum for those those who already own the excellent 1980-1986 compilation or better yet, their actual early records like the “Dicks Hate the Police” 7” EP or their split live Lp with THE BIG BOYS, this collection features a live show from last year, another one from 1980 and two demos for songs that were left off of their first single. The sound quality is excellent throughout. Unfortunately, this CD seems to be hard to come by and I was lucky enough to get a copy at their show here last week, but you can try contacting the label at this site.
A Scanner Darkly (R)
Although the pacing is a little slow and the story a bit convoluted, this RICHARD LINKLATER film, shot in live action but then later animated and based on a PHILLIP K. DICK story, hits upon a lot of pertinent issues of the day and is worth seeing for that reason. It’s amazing how so many of the themes of Dick’s writing, like issues of privacy, fear, paranoia, gun violence and drug addiction (of both the illegal and pharmaceutical variety), are eerily present in today’s society. Plus, you get a typically wooden performance from KEANU REEVES, a typically great one from ROBERT DOWNEY JR. and WINONA RYDER, who has seemingly spent more time making tabloid headlines for shoplifting and dating the likes of BECK and others than appearing in movies since Girl, Interrupted five years ago.
This is the Beastie Boys’ finest hour. Misunderstood and a commercial failure upon its release in 1989, it was ahead of its time, re-appraised and is now considered the masterpiece that it truly was all along. Not only is it hard to imagine producers THE DUST BROTHERS working with the likes of BECK seven years later on Odelay without this groundbreaking album, it’s also hard to imagine how the Beastie Boys could’ve sustained a career if they hadn’t traded the goofy, frat-boy humor of Licensed to Ill for a direction that would lead them to become not only one of the most commercially successful artists of the ‘90s, but one of the most challenging, restless and experimental as well. With all that history and importance aside, Paul’s Boutique stands the test of time because of amazing songs like “Hey Ladies,” “Egg Man,” (which brilliantly samples “Superfly”) “Looking at the Barrel of a Gun” (prefacing RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE by a good three years) and the RAMONES (“Suzy is a Headbanger”)-sampling “High Plains Drifter”. Plus, awesome lines like “sitting next to a man reading El Diario, riding the train from the El Barrio” still resonate with this former New Yorker, especially since I once lived in the El Barrio (East Harlem).
The first song to leak from METRIC and BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE singer Emily Haines’ forthcoming solo album is a good teaser for the album. Emily’s forceful style is still apparent, though it’s toned down somewhat by the piano-heavy treatment of this song.
