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Pansy Division – North Star Bar (Philadelphia, PA) – June 24, 2009
Playing their first Philly show since the awesome double bill at the First Unitarian Church with THE AVENGERS back in 2007, Pansy Division put on quite a show. Bassist CHRIS FREEMAN ripped up a bible and lovingly mimed along to singer/guitarist JON GINOLI‘s lyrics, all while wearing a sparkling dress that exposed his nipple (though somehow I don’t think that any wardrobe malfunctions were to blame). Of course, none of this would matter if they didn’t play fun, instantly catchy power-pop/pop-punk to go along with their gay-positive lyrics. In any case, all who came to this woefully underattended show (the crowd was also not quite as enthusiastic as at that aforementioned earlier show) left with a smile on their faces!
Sunny Day Real Estate – The Rising Tide (Time Bomb)
News of their upcoming reunion made me pull this one out. Truth be told, I never got into them until this, their final album, came out in 2000 and since then I’ve listened to their earlier records and despite what most of their fans seem to think, I prefer this one by far.
Its reference points seem to center around U2, QUEENSRYCHE, JANE’S ADDICTION, THE POLICE (especially on the song “Television”) and even RUSH. In other words, this differs sharply from their earlier, more post-hardcore inclined works. Nevertheless, the songs, hooks and JEREMY ENIGK‘s unbelievable vocals carry this forward. To my ears, this is a classic of the past ten years.
Idlewild – Post Electric Blues (self-titled)
After spending some more time with this one, I think it’s gonna sit alongside Warnings Promises as a solid but ultimately disappointing Idlewild record. I know that they’ll never top 100 Broken Windows, but I would happily settle for something as energetic as Make Another World, their previous album.
Despite any misgivings I might have, a new Idlewild record is still a cause for celebration and some of the songs here (particularly “To Be Forgotten”, buried at track 9, and “No Wiser”, available only as a pre-order bonus track; what were they thinking?) are outstanding.
Sonic Youth – The Eternal (Matador)
Although I’ve been listening to this for over a month now, the official release was this past Tuesday.
Anyway, from the opening notes of KIM GORDON‘s “Sacred Trickster”, you know you’re in for a corker. She also sings “Malibu Gas Station”, another one of the album’s finest songs. The highlight for me, though, is “Walkin Blue”, an eight-minute plus riff and melody fest that might be one of their greatest songs ever.
Overall, the feel is highly reminiscent of other recent Sonic Youth records (especially 2004’s Sonic Nurse), though a bit rawer, but otherwise the change from Universal to Matador really isn’t such a big deal because they’ve always done what they wanted. Parts of this album also remind me of their mid to late ’90s period (i.e. Washing Machine and A Thousand Leaves), so don’t expect Daydream Nation or Sister. Still, this is one of 2009’s finest releases so far.
The CD version, like the much more expensive vinyl version, comes with a bonus live Lp taken from their show at Battery Park last July 4th.
Pansy Division – That’s So Gay! (Alternative Tentacles)
Pansy Division’s first full-length album since 2003 is typically excellent, topical, melodic pop-punk/power-pop that’s a lot of fun. With song titles like “Twinkie Twinkie Little Star,” “Ride Baby” and the hilarious “20 Years of Cock”, you pretty much know what you’re in for. This is far from a bad thing, though.
The album also features the first Pansy Division from guitarist JOEL READER (formerly of THE MR. T EXPERIENCE and THE PLUS ONES and currently in THE AVENGERS), the cleverly titled, anti-homophobia “Some of My Best Friends”. Additionally, “Average Men” features their label head JELLO BIAFRA on lead vocals and a riff that’s not too dissimilar to “Holiday in Cambodia”, though it was written by main singer/songwriter JON GINOLI. And of bassist CHRIS FREEMAN‘s songs, the title track (deriding the colloqualism) is the standout, reminding me a lot of BLONDIE‘s “Rip Her to Shreds”.
The Sound – From the Lion’s Mouth (Korova/Renascent)
It’s a shame that The Sound’s entire recorded output (and in particular, the excellent Renascent reissues from the earlier part of this decade) seems to be out-of-print, fetching outrageous prices on Amazon and what not.
Regardless, I consider this their finest work and one of the best post-punk records ever. If you want two tracks that represent not only The Sound, but post-punk, at its peak, try the mourning and plaintive “Contact the Fact” and “The Fire”, as fierce as its title.
Dinosaur Jr – Farm (Jagjaguwar)
The second Dinosaur Jr album since their improbable reunion in 2005 follows 2007’s stellar Beyond with an album just as good, if not even better! Parts of it remind me heavily of the jammiest sections of 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me, though the songwriting style is in truth more similar to 1990’s excellent Green Mind and 1992’s Where You Been.
Starry Eyes – Starry Eyes EP (Radiopaque)
After VELOCITY GIRL broke up, singer SARAH SHANNON and guitarist JIM SPELLMAN (later one of the singer/songwriters in the already-missed, excellent JULIE OCEAN) formed this short-lived combo. With guest guitar playing from BRIAN BAKER (!), this nicely splits the difference between Velocity Girl and some of these musicians’ later projects. It’s long out-of-print, but you can find it here
Roy Orbison – Playlist: The Very Best of Roy Orbison (Legacy)
While I won’t pretend to be an expert on Roy Orbison, I do know that some previous greatest hits compilations have included re-recordings of some of his classic ’60s sides instead of the originals. Fortunately this problem is fixed on this short but sweet 14-song collection. Concentrating on ’60s gems like “Only the Lonely” and his posthumous 1989 album Mystery Girl, this is a nice primer for fans who only want a little Orbison.
Dean Wareham – Black Postcards (Penguin, 2008)
If you’re a fan of GALAXIE 500 or LUNA, this is an absolute must-read, but then again you’ve probably absorbed it by now if that’s the case. I’m a little late on this one, but wow. One can say a lot of things about Wareham based on the behavior he describes in this book, but you can’t say that he hasn’t written an absolutely riveting memoir not only full of the usual sex, drugs and rock and roll, but with some measure of regret and self-deprecation concerning some of his behavior. It can be a little snarky at times, but not enough to really affect the reading experience. Oh and ignore those who say that the Galaxie 500 section is the only worthwhile part of this book. While that section is great, particularly because it’s the first time Dean has publically written a response to the infamous DAMON AND NAOMI interview from 1997 (which you can read here) concerning their breakup, the Luna section is just as juicy (if not more so).
