Marshall Allen with Weasel Walter – The Art Alliance (Philadelphia, PA) – Tuesday, May 6, 2008
This show, SUN RA ARKESTRA bandleader Marshall Allen’s 84th birthday party, was absolutely transcendent.
Fucked Up with Hard Skin, Invasion and Retard Strength – First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia, PA) – Saturday, May 10, 2008
Afternoon matinees like this one inevitably remind me of being in high school and college, when I would typically see at least one of these types of shows every weekend. This was a particularly good one, with the great Canadian band Fucked Up playing their customary awesome show. The real highlight, though, was Hard Skin. They’re a parody Oi! band comprised of members of UK punk bands like WAT TYLER. Not only were the songs funny as hell, but their between-song banter was funnier than most stand-up comedy, too.
Elvis Costello and the Imposters – Momofuku (Lost Highway)
This one is growing on me. I like it more than The Delivery Man and thus it’s my favorite Costello album since 2002’s excellent When I Was Cruel.
British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music? (Rough Trade)
A record I’ve rediscovered lately, I’m really looking forward to their upcoming shows here on Friday. Like a mix of JOY DIVISION and ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN circa Porcupine or Heaven Up Here, this disc doesn’t feel nostalgic or like a put-on. The fact that three albums in, they’re making the best music of their career so far and that they can write a song as wonderfully anthemic as “Waving Flags” makes me think that they’d got a bright future ahead of themselves.
No Age – Nouns (Sub Pop)
After several listens, I’m neither here nor there on this one despite the generally great reviews it’s gotten so far. I really liked last year’s singles compilation Weirdo Rippers, but this is a much more straightforward noise-punk album. It’s short and sweet, clocking in at 28 minutes or so and it does have several really memorable songs on it. I guess I have to wait for the rest of them to click with me, though. I only counted two songs that have the dream-like atmospherics found all over Weirdo Rippers as well.
Black Flag – Who’s Got the 10 1/2? (SST)
Everyone (myself includes) loves the early, pre-HENRY ROLLINS material as well as Damaged, but my favorite Black Flag album is actually this one. A little backstory is necessary here. It was the first record of theirs I’d ever heard. Before I got this one, I’d only heard “TV Party”, and hearing it as well as other albums like THE DEAD KENNEDYS’ Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death and MINOR THREAT’s 1st few singles changed my life. Inevitably, my love for this album will always be tied to how moved I was hearing it as a teenager and walking around my high school blaring songs like “My War” on my Walkman. However, I put it on the other day and it still rages. They pioneered a fusion of hardcore punk and hard rock that was often imitated (their later period is a huge influence on Seattle’s grunge movement), but never quite matched.
British Sea Power – World Cafe Live (Philadelphia, PA) – Friday, May 9, 2008
After a show last October that disappointed me because of the sound mix, this Free at Noon show more than made up for it because not only was the sound mix perfect for a change, but the band was absolutely on fire! It’s as if they found a setting in the way-back machine for 1982, the moment when Echo and the Bunnymen went from Heaven Up Here to Porcupine, and stuck with it for the entire set. Despite the obvious parallels to artists like the aforementioned Bunnymen, Joy Division and even DAVID BOWIE (a fan of the group), it didn’t feel like cheap nostalgia at all.
Wire – Chairs Missing (Harvest/EMI/Pink Flag)
Although their debut Pink Flag and their third album, the incomparable 154, get praised more often, their second album Chairs Missing is just as crucial to their development and perhaps as great as either. Clearly a transition album between Pink Flag and 154, it clearly has much in common with BRIAN ENO’s ‘70s vocal albums (particularly Here Come the Warm Jets and Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)). Still, the short-song lengths and taut arrangements that were left over from Pink Flag are here on songs like “Men 2nd”. However, “Outdoor Miner” is their first great pop single, setting the way for 154’s “The 15th” and “Map Reference 41 Degrees North, 93 Degrees West”. Furthermore, their are longer pieces like “Heartbeat” (later covered memorably by BIG BLACK) as well.
BARACK OBAMA’s big victory in North Carolina on May 6th
The pundits said that the controversy over the REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT’s comments, Obama’s own (widely misunderstood and taken out of context, much like some of Wright’s comments as well) comments about “bitter” voters and his perceived weaknesses amongst white, working-class voters would weaken the Obama campaign. Of course they ignored the simple delegate math the whole time (he really won this thing in February) in their focus on obsessing over these non-controversies, but in any event, they were wrong. Between the 14 point victory in North Carolina and HILLARY CLINTON’s narrow win in Indiana, it’s now assured that Obama will be the Democratic nominee. To say that I felt both elated and relieved when I found this out would be an understatement.
Aesop Rock – All Day (Nike/iTunes)
I know this is over a year old at this point, but I just heard this the other day thanks to my fiancee making me listen to it when we were at the gym since my iPod ran out of battery power. I’m glad she turned me on to this because it’s great. Similar in obvious ways to LCD SOUNDSYSTEM’s track in the same series, it’s a mix of hip-hop and electro that made my bike workout (similar to its purported intent) quite pleasant.
