Guided by Voices- King Shit & the Golden Boys (1995)

As if the day would never come, Guided by Voices are revisiting the spotlight once more. Earlier this month the band agreed to take on a reunion tour of their classic lineup circa '94-'96, and Robert Pollard has already announced to release five albums within a ten month span. However, none of these albums will be under the name GBV.

King Shit & the Golden Boys is as non-traditional as any of Guided by Voices' numerous records. It originated as part of the band's first box set released in 1995 suitably titled, Box. King Shit was included as an LP of previously unavailable material, reminiscing old tunes from Bee Thousand and miscellaneous demos from their first four releases. The record is satisfying in terms of the GBV signature lo-fi to the extreme, but the static and background noise doesn't take away from the beauty that the group has managed to slip in between grit through all of these years. Call it wankery, but I find that a lot of lo-fi recordings tend to be a lot more interesting than a solid studio cut. Maybe it's something about the buzzing, empty air, or the background noise you hear right before the first strike of a song. Nothing is more intimate than a pure, straight cut of a band playing together in a small room.

For those who are already familiar with Guided by Voices, it won't be hard to pinpoint old tunes and melodies found on previous releases from the prolific band. "At Odds with Dr. Genesis" can be easily recognized as an extended cut of Bee Thousand's gorgeous "Ester's Day." Other mellow songs like "Don't Stop Now," as unnerving as it may sound near the end, are fairly catchy and easy to come back to. It is a trait that makes a Guided by Voices track so prone to love: short, jingly tunes with a sentimental intimacy; Robert Pollard's silly and sometimes nonsensical lyrics are also a factor in this. You just can't help but love a lot of these songs.

"It's my birthday... aren't you going to sing happy birthday to me?"

The American Astronaut - "Party"

I turned 18, you guys.

Andrew Jackson Jihad @ Skull Alley, Louisville

My pal Devin and AJJ's Sean

Andrew Jackson Jihad/Laura Stevenson and the Cans/ The Wild/ Paul Baribeau/ beady/ The Ambulars
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Skull Alley
Better than: breakfast for dinner.

Never before has the letdown of a previous night's show effected me so anxiously the following day. As I'm beginning to piece together the blueprints for my life as a high school graduate, there has always been a nauseous skeptical feeling in the pit of my heart, even as things may seem they're going the way I wanted. Perhaps these feelings are normal, but the optimistic thrill I feel today seems like it was meant to be. Seeing Andrew Jackson Jihad at this peak in my life was destiny.

As this was my first time seeing AJJ in action, it was also my first time to attend a show at Skull Alley. Although it's small size may be climatically suffocating, the space still serves for a much more intimate show. In the long run, this is really all that matters; it's hard to pinpoint this kind of experience in the midst of a crowded arena. But the only things that keep those moments alive are the immense amount of talent and fanship that pour from the venue's walls. An exhausting familiarity found between the fans and musicians has created a close-knit environment that feels both comfortable to music scene queens and casual showgoers alike. This relationship bonds an understanding. Faulty strings and forgotten lyrics can be excused as a part of the show, and impromptu performances of cover songs are taken as a treat over filler. Attending this show has reminded me that these imperfections can sometimes transpire to be what truly complete an experience. And I guess that evening I was lucky.

Before headlining act Andrew Jackson Jihad took the stage, their predecessors of opening acts handled the small venue's spotlight surprisingly well. Among these artists was the Brooklyn-based collective Laura Stevenson and the Cans, who pounded out an impressive and moving set led under front woman Laura Stevenson's sweet croon. Paul Baribeau, a solo artist from Michigan, also presented himself quite intimately, who for a small instant was able to hush an entire venue of people.
It was mid-intermission when AJJ's Sean Bonnette broke me the news that the band's other half, Ben Gallaty, was unable to attend. In lieu of a duo performance, Sean executed a one man act of Andrew Jackson material, including both freshly written songs and older works from their debut record, People Who Can Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World. With "Rejoice" as the set's suitable opener, Sean veraciously strummed through AJJ's other standards, "No More Tears," "Brave as a Noun," and "Personal Space Invader." Near the set's close he surprised the crowd with the long awaited "People III," a song that picks up from where "People II: The Reckoning" had left off on their debut album. It seems that despite the lack of Ben, Sean was able to perform comfortably as a solo act. Among the stage patter, Sean took time to explain some of the purposes behind his typically angry songwriting while also touching upon subjects like the nutritional mistreatment of the homeless. It was a serious inspiration to hear someone tell me to "be the best fucking human you can be."
Rest assured, I was promised by Sean that Ben will be present for their following Louisville show. Lucky for us that the group loves to play here. For those who may have missed Thursday evening's show, AJJ will be returning on June 24th for yet another round at Skull Alley. I hope to see you there.

Bobby Vinton- Blue Velvet (1963)

Like many easy listening artists of his time, there were only a handful of tracks Bobby Vinton could claim for his own. Ironically enough, the one song on this record that was actually written by Vinton himself, "Little Miss Blue," received little to no commercial success. His chart topping hits remained as the iconic "Blue Velvet" with "Blue on Blue" right on its heels, both of which played as candidates for the title of his soon to be best selling album. After being renamed Blue Velvet, this chart dominating record permanently engraved Bobby Vinton's name among the long and exclusive list of great vocalists. The remainder of the album is a diverse collection of jazz and pop covers that Vinton so willfully adapted to complete the album's blue concept. Therefore, every single track on the record has something to do with the color blue. Whether it is if Vinton himself feels like "Mr. Blue," or if he feels optimistic enough to invite you to his "Blue Heaven;" both the calming effects of Bobby's soothing, timeless voice and the color blue have a chilling inducement on the soul; the effect is almost romantic in a way.

After the success of Blue Velvet, Vinton's career was put on the back burner, although, his material continued to flourish among the Top 40. David Lynch titled his 1987 film "Blue Velvet" after the song, bringing a small wave of interest back to Vinton's music. Later on, his tracks were used in commercials and his voice was once again borrowed for something few artists can pull off with dignity: a Christmas album. He continued to release new records, but there has yet to be any to match up with Blue Velvet's success. Bobby Vinton was merely part of the curse. It's a curse where nothing you create outside of your peak years will ever overshadow your best selling material. But the older material always wins, doesn't it?

Happy Record Store Day~

While it's unfortunate that this year's Record Store Day is the same date as the obnoxious Thunder over Louisville celebration, I still encourage everybody to stop by your local music source and show some support. Most stores are hosting sales on vinyl/CDs, so it's the perfect day to nab something while it's cheap!

Pictured above is Ear-X-Tacy, Louisville's famous locally-owned record store. The business started in 1985 as a small outlet run by John Timmons whose stock was his own personal collection of music. Now, over twenty years later, Ear-X-Tacy has become a landmark for both music and movie lovers alike. Unfortunately, as with many modern record stores, the economy has begun to take its toll on this once thriving business. And as less people feel the need to purchase music in a physical form, places like Ear-X-Tacy are being closed down. Anyone from Louisville knows it wouldn't be the same without this sacred place. Even after only living here for three years, I hold a lot of sentimental value with this store.

To quit downloading music and to throw yourself in debt to buy it instead would be too much for me to ask. But I do ask for some acknowledgement. After all, there are things you simply can't experience from an illegal download.

Pink Mountaintops- Axis of Evol (2006)

Is there anything Jagjaguwar puts out that doesn't fucking rule? As a home to Dinosaur Jr.'s Farm, Women, Black Mountain and Sunset Rubdown, it's not hard to distinguish what the true answer may be. Pink Mountaintops is also not immune to this truth. Starting out in 2004 under the control of Black Mountain's crooning frontman Stephen McBean, the band released a self-titled under the name of The Pink Mountaintops, but since the release of Axis of Evol, they made a good call to drop "The" from their name.

Even though I started as an initial fan of McBean's similarly named band, Black Mountain, there was still room to be pleasantly surprised by Axis of Evol's continuous flair. It wouldn't be right to say it's more chic than a Black Mountain album, but it's definitely a little more controlled. You can really tell this is all McBean, from the solo acoustic opening tune "Comas" to a psychedelic voice overlay with Black Mountain bandmate Amber Webber on "Slaves." Contrary to what McBean's roots may suggest, the album's foray into electronic undertones is what really sets his side project apart from the stoner rock label he might have gained in his other involvements. But there's definitely a balance of those undertones with gentle acoustic ballads between these funky tracks. No nonsense here; McBean made a hell of an album.

R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country (2006)

One thing I love about Robert Crumb more than his drawings is his taste in music. Without him, I probably wouldn't have dared venture into weeding out the good blues/ragtime artists, even though I consider them one of my favorite styles of music. This CD came with a book I bought of the same title, which was based on a trading card series Crumb drew of old blues artists. It's a fairly good sized book, each section split into labeled sections (Heroes of the Blues, Pioneers of Country Music, and Early Jazz Greats), so it makes it easy to reference an artist if I need to. Each picture is drawn by Crumb himself, along with a small biography of the artist with their origin and time of activity. All of this, and a free CD! But for those of you who may not read, or who wouldn't want to trouble with a book, I'm being nice enough to offer this fantastic compilation for free. All songs were arranged by Crumb himself, all of which are highly regarded recommendations from the brilliant cartoonist. So, you have nothing to lose. And if you find yourself craving more, it wouldn't hurt to check out the soundtrack to Terry Zwigoff's disturbing and moving documentary, Crumb, based off the artist's life (conveniently found here). Enjoy!

1. Memphis Jug Band- On the Road Again
2. Blind Willie McTell- Dark Night Blues
3. Cannon's Jug Stompers- Minglewood Blues
4. Skip James- Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
5. Jaybird Coleman- I'm Ganna Cross the River Jordan/ Some O' These Days
6. Charley Patton- High Water Everwhere
7. Frank Stokes- I Got Mine
8. "Dock" Boggs- Sugar Baby
9. Shelor Family- Big Bend Gal
10. Hayes Sheperd- The Peddler and his Wife
11. Crockett's Country Mountaineers- Little Rabbit
12. Burnett & Rutherford- All Night Long Blues
13. East Texas Serenaders- Mineola Rag
14. Weems String Band- Greenback Dollar
15. Bennie Monten's Kansas City Orchestra- Kater Street Rag
16. "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band- Sobbin' Blues
17. Parham-Picket Apollo Syncopaters- Mojo Strut
18. Frankie Franko & His Louisianians- Somebody Stole my Gal
19. Clarence William's Blue Five- Wild Cat Blues
20. "Jelly Roll" Morton's Red Hot Peppers- Kansas City Stomps
21. Jimmy Noone- King Joe

R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country (2006)

Holopaw- Quit +/or Fight (2005)

While you'd have to be pretty hard-pressed to not know who Modest Mouse is, there is sometimes the occasional fan who hasn't been exposed to Isaac Brock's side stint with Ugly Casanova. In fact, it's even easier to discredit its eclectic cast of cabin rockers. Brian Deck produced two of Iron & Wine's most critically acclaimed albums (Our Endless Numbered Days and The Shepherd's Dog), while Tim Rutili remains as the driving force of Califone. John Orth of the Florida-based band Holopaw is a grand element to Ugly Casanova's sound; with writing credits on four songs, he accompanied Brock on the microphone with a wavering voice that will soon be unmistakable to your ears.

Only formed just a year before Sharpen Your Teeth's release, Holopaw provides soothing, mellow folk jams and ballads with a certain grace and majesty that is as fragile as it is powerful. Maybe that's milking it a little too much, but every once in a while, "that" kind of music just happens to be composed and is left waiting to be discovered. The band's sophomore release, Quit +/or Fight, was and still is mostly forgotten, especially on the tails of their latest 2009 masterpiece, Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness. They're both excellent tapestries of pure musical charm, but today we'll be unearthing the former and giving it some extra necessary exposure.Quit +/or Fight may only run for half-an-hour, and it may be too delicate for some in terms of its cushiony execution and Orth's feminine croon, but underneath lies 11 resplendent tunes that beg to be loved. If it rubs you in the right spot, return the love and share it with others; Holopaw is far too brilliant to fall into the unknown.

The DarkSide of the Wall @ The Brown Theater, Louisville

The DarkSide of the Wall
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
The Brown Theater
Better Than: Going to the dentist...?

I have spent at least ten minutes trying to remember what music I listened to in middle school through freshmen year of high school, and the only thing that prominently comes to mind are the words Pink Floyd. This is when I realized that through that entire period of my life I listened to virtually nothing else. There may be a foggy memory of Dinosaur Jr's Green Mind, or a Mars Volta album somewhere in the mix, but as far back as I can remember (and that's not very far), I lost my entire middle school/9th grade years to Pink Floyd, and there's no regret there. I've benefited from the binge. From an exhausting knowledge of their catalog, to a growing affection that becomes stronger as the years go by, I find that having such a strong connection to a band is like having affection for a kitten: it's unconditional. Even if they may piss on your rug that really tied the room together (Momentary Lapse of Reason, ahem), or split up because one of the members is a little bitch, you find a way to overlook that flaw. The great thing about having this affection for such a high capacity band like Pink Floyd is that there are so many different albums, eras, and sounds to get into at once. You're never left bored or pining for more; it is emotionally, physically (and maybe a little sexually) satisfying. The downside to liking a band like Floyd, though, is that two very significant members are already dead. Syd Barrett may have been kicked out of the troupe earlier on, but it doesn't stop that part of Pink Floyd from being totally irreplaceable. And speaking of which, how are we supposed to expect a reunion now that Richard Wright is dead? This is where tribute bands come into the equation.

There's always been a sort of 50/50 love-hate affection I've had with tribute bands, but when your long time favorite band is slowly dying off, sometimes you have no other choice, especially when you long to hear that music amplified to a live capacity. I've seen The Pink Floyd Experience twice: four years ago in Huntington, West Virginia and roughly one year ago while residing in Louisville. Both sets where sensually satisfying, but not because they played "Wish You Were Here"- in fact, they didn't play it at all. They were satisfying because they took time to cover virtually every era of Floyd, cascading from the late Division Bell to the ancient jam tune known as "Astronomy Domine." No Floyd was left behind. So after seeing this band twice, I've had pretty high expectations when it comes to these kinds of concerts.

The DarkSide of the Wall is a Louisville-based band consisting of what the website claims as "some of the top music and production talent in the region." Unfortunately, there is a difference between being exceptional and genuine. I totally understand the concept of playing what the crowd may want to hear, but sometimes the crowd isn't all middle aged washups. Perhaps there are eager high school girls crammed between drunkards who simply wish to hear a song from Obscured by Clouds, or maybe just a couple tracks from Relics. It's hardly a selfish thing to ask for; after all, why would we want to hear songs we hear consistently on 107.7 anyway? No luck. It was all strictly Dark Side and The Wall as their name so fittingly proclaims. Although I have no complaints about hearing "Welcome to the Machine" or "Pigs," I just kind of wished there would be more variety. You would be considered naive to think this set list did any justice.
But the set list wasn't the only problem I noticed with the band. There were several instances during the show where specific guitar solos were omitted in replacement for vocal solos instead. Take the second acoustic solo in "Wish You Were Here," the glorious moment when David Gilmour scat vocals with his guitar: completely ignored here. It's almost like the guitar player was either too stupid or too lazy to learn the solo. Even I know how to play that solo. I also noticed a problem with the band's guitar tones, specifically on songs like "Run Like Hell" or "Pigs" where the initial guitar tone is absolutely key. I've listened to these songs enough to know a wrong tone when I hear one. As opposed to the hollow and twang-like tone used in these tracks, the band adapted a more heavy and almost metalesque sound that didn't work well with the music they were supposed to be playing. The lead guitarist was also prone to jumping around the stage as if in a slow motion mosh pit, something I've never seen David Gilmour do on stage before. His only job is to play and look cute!

I feel I could fill up another paragraph or so about how I was close to walking out mid-show or about the sloppy vocals on "The Great Gig in the Sky," but I guess I should have seen this coming. I can't expect less-than-perfect musicians to give me the absolutely perfect show that I want. That's not what a tribute band is about. They may know how to play all the notes and use all the right lights at the right time, but it all comes down to the fact that it's not Floyd. Not even close. These are merely people like me, committed in their fanship, just in a different way. I know I wasn't fortunate enough to be born in a time where a Pink Floyd tour was the norm, but I wish that I could at least have a taste. Just a little bite.

Huevos's Best Records of 2009

Although not taken kindly to by my Imprint staff, I still hold strong to my year's end list. It's good to know there's no prejudice here against things that people would consider 'too obscure,' even though some of these results are pretty obvious (i.e. Embryonic or Merriweather) But even so, I did try to include albums I believe to be wildly underrated and unfairly overlooked during the passing year. And even though this may be what's posted, there is always an underlying feeling I've forgotten something, so be sure to tell me yours!

10.
Akron/Family
Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free




9.
Blackout Beach
Skin of Evil




8.
Built to Spill
There is No Enemy




7.
Monsters of Folk
Monsters of Folk




6.
Yo La Tengo
Popular Songs




5.
Tom Waits
Glitter and Doom Live




4.
Dinosaur Jr.
Farm




3.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart




2.
The Flaming Lips
Embryonic




1.
Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion

Honorable Mentions

Big Business- Mind the Drift

Meat Puppets- Sewn Together

El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez-Lopez- Cryptomnesia

Antony and the Johnsons- The Crying Light

Bat for Lashes- Two Suns

The Bad Plus- For All I Care

Tortoise- Beacons of Ancestorship