Sunday Metal Video: The Chariot, “Daggers”

Posted in Sunday Metalhead Minute with tags , , , , , , , , , , on Sunday, May 10, 2009 by Ryan Buege

The Chariot is a band that seems to have gotten the short end of the stick during the last few years. Mostly because he left Norma Jean right before they really started to go downhill, I don’t think Josh Scogin’s The Chariot has ever really gotten the kudos they deserve for the freeform, peerless, raucous punk-n-metal noise that they create. Somehow the crappiness of latter NJ releases unfortunately tended to overshadow the consistenly awesome output that Scogin’s new band contrbuted to the music world, but hopefully some of that will start to change. Landing on the music map somewhere among an array of bands such as Converge, Lightning Bolt, Meshuggah, Sonic Youth, and Drive Like Jehu, I believe The Chariot are a band who have earned the right to be mentioned among the hardcore genre’s modern luminaries for their commitment to purely original and exciting underground punk rock.

The band just released their new album Wars and Rumors of Wars, and I’m hoping that this will finally be the one to grant them their justified notoriety as one of hardcore and metals most independently minded collectives. For a preview, watch their visually stunning new video for “Daggers” below and get a sense of the controlled, epic, experimental chaos that the The Chariot creates. …And local residents take note: tomorrow they’ll be in St. Paul for a show with equally exceptional modern tech/death metal bands Gojira and Car Bomb; don’t miss it!

Northern Outpost begins second season with Halloween, Alaska as debut guest

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on Saturday, May 9, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Back after only a month-long absence, Northern Outpost has now uploaded the first episode of their summer season online, and for this week’s episode they’re visited by the renowned local indie/ambient/post-whatever troupe Halloween, Alaska at the Owl Recording Studio in Uptown. Still, change is noticeable, with their snowy winter lake intros now replaced by a much more inviting image of our fair city of Minneapolis in the springtime. I don’t think they have done a better job with their choice to kick things off. Halloween, Alaska just released some fantastic songs of jazzy, ambient indie rock via their new album Champagne Downtown, and the intimate confines of the Owl Recoridng Studio are the perfect place to witness the chemistry of the band. After a short interview where they discuss their new album, the originality of the local music scene, and the dedicated people that support the scene, the band gets into a moving rendition of one of the most somber and reflective pieces from the new release, “Be A Man”. It’s a great demonstration of the interesting minds and enormous talent that are just brimming out of this city, and it’s an episode that you don’t want to miss. ..makes me proud to be Minnesotan!

Look forward to the future, as well. In two weeks, the next episode will be added and will feature beloved singer-songer Lucy Michele with the Velvet Lapelles as the profiled band!

The Replacements, Social Distortion, Elvis Costello & more get added to Rock Band

Posted in Music News with tags , , , , on Saturday, May 9, 2009 by Ryan Buege

It has been announced that legendary local independent alt rock heroes The Replacements will be getting the Rock Band treatment  within the next few weeks, along with other greats such as  Elvis Costello & Social Distortion (and “meh”-inducing artists Steely Dan and Disturbed). In fact, this isn’t the first Replacements song to be translated into a video game; “Alex Chilton” (from their 1987 album Pleased to Meet Me) was  part of the initial Rock Band 2 release last September. This time, though, we can thank the game’s weekly downloadable release series for making the rebellious rocker “Kids Don’t Follow ” (from their earlier 1982 Stink EP) playable worldwide on consoles on May 12 (XBOX360) and May 14 (Playstation 3). Have fun with this one!

All of the tracks added in this round include:

Social Distortion, “Bad Luck,” “Ring of Fire”
Social Distortion, “Story of My Life”
The Replacements, “Kids Don’t Follow”
Elvis Costello, “Radio Radio”
Disturbed, “Stricken”
Disturbed, “Stupify”
Steely Dan, “Black Friday”
Steely Dan, “My Old School”

Disembodied concert photos via Degross Punk Photography

Posted in Art with tags , , , , , , , , , on Friday, May 8, 2009 by Ryan Buege

(Disembodied @ Triple Rock)

I just stumbled upon the page of Degross Punk Photography, a supreme quality photographer based in my own Minneapolis who seems to share a taste for some of the most revered and respectable names in hardcore and punk; I thought it was important to pass along my new knowledge to everyone else, hence this post. Recently, Degross shot at shows for HR (solo show from frontman of Bad Brains) and Destruction/Krisiun at Station 4 (that I also attended), as well as local sets from Agonstic Front, Have Heart, Suicidal Tendencies, The Bronx, Trash Talk, and the brilliant show that a rejuvenated Disembodied put on at the Triple Rock Social Club on Cedar a couple weeks ago. Click the link to go to his blog, and book mark his RSS or something. I’m certain his page will be updated quite frequently as the spring/summer heats up with the future ENR showcases and all other types of madness. Stay tuned!

Steve Aoki Gives N.A.S.A. the Remix Treatment on “Gifted”

Posted in Audio, Downloads, Music News with tags , , , , , , , , on Thursday, May 7, 2009 by Erik Burg

      N.A.S.A‘s more than audacious project of an album Spirt of Apollo has been polarizing to this point. It’s not quite a hip-hop album, it’s not quite the electro album it tries to be at points either. 

      Here is where doctor Steve Aoki steps in to cure the problem. Taking what is arguably the album’s best track “Gifted” featuring Kanye West, Santogold, and Lykke Li, Aoki gives the song a strong does of banging electro medicine. Turning many of the choruses into mashed-up tweaked-out bass-ladened masterpieces, Aoki delivers once again. I’ve heard endless amounts of Aoki production, mixes, and remixes already, but I have to say that this might be his strongest to date. 

steve-aoki-crowd

      Aoki is able to make “Gifted” sound like it was always this dirty European techno track, going back and listening to the original is almost a let down knowing that it never reaches the peak that Aoki takes it to in this remix. If you enjoy anything in this line of work, it’s worth checking out for sure. Enjoy!

N.A.S.A.- Gifted (Feat. Kanye West, Santogold, Lykke Li) Steve Aoki Remix

Simian Mobile Disco Drop Info On New Album + Two New Tracks

Posted in Audio, Music News, Video with tags , , , , , , , on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by Erik Burg

      In a year dominated by releases of heavyweights Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear, the London duo of James Ford and James Shaw are aiming to dethrone the likes of said bands and steal the show with their new album Temporary Pleasure. Simian Mobile Disco‘s debut album Attack Sustain Decay Release in 2007 was a bit lost amongst the shuffle thanks to electro monsters Justice, but anybody who took the time to listen to it found a gem of an album. The album combined deep deep bass lines with some Simian-like pop vocals and synths patterns that simply can’t be matched.

      So if Attack and SMD’s various remixes are any indication, Temporary Pleasure will surely be a fan favorite again this year and hopefully propelling them into the spotlight much like what what Cross was able to do for the aforementioned Parisian duo. But this time around they’ve thrown a little extra pizzaz into the album, enlisting tons of guest spots on the tracks. Highlights include the likes of Mind Inversion favorite Yeasayer, Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, and Jamie Lidell. The cameo I’m most interested in hearing, simply do to the risk/reward aspect of it, is Telepathe on the closing track. The female duo (how many times am I going to use that word in this column) that make up the ghostly Telepathe were terrible live, yet terrific on record. 

smd

       Temporary Pleasure will be released August 17th in the UK on Witchita Records, but SMD have been kind enough to release two of the tracks (unfortunately neither of which feature a guest) already via video. The videos aren’t exactly normal videos though, the tracks are set to live visual backing for each and feature tons of lighting patterns set to the bass and synth hits. Think Windows Media Player on crack. I highly recommend the HD version is you’re running a nice computer. Be excited people… Be very excited.

Temporary Pleasure:

01 Cream Dream [ft. Gruff Rhys]
02 Audacity of Huge [ft. Chris Keating] 
03 10000 Horses Can’t Be Wrong 
04 Cruel Intentions [ft. Beth Ditto] 
05 Off the Map [ft. Jamie Lidell] 
06 Synthesise 
07 Bad Blood [ft. Alexis Taylor] 
08 Turn Up The Dial [ft. Young Fathers] 
09 Ambulance 
10 Pinball [ft. Telepathe]

The Sunday Show Episode 5, “Apartment Living”

Posted in Media, The Sunday Show, Video with tags , , on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by Tim Althaus

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Here is episode 5 of your favorite podcast about nothing in particular, “Apartment Living”. This is a great episode for all of you out there living in an apartment looking to spice things up for a reasonable price. The discuss interior design and solutions for your apartment needs with special guest Aga Artka (Interior Design specialist from Milwaukee). Shouts to all of you guys on set who were drinking New Castle, it’s my favorite beer.

Make sure you go over to sundayshow.tumblr.com for more details. You can also send the guys an e-mail @ sundayshowpodcast@gmail.com.

Wild Style Wednesday Review: Jay-Z, The Blueprint

Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags , , , , , , on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by Tim Althaus

jay-z-the-blueprintAlthough you guys don’t hear my talk about Hov very much, I can assure you that he is one of my favorite emcees of all time. In my opinion The Blueprint is his shining moment as an emcee (although many would argue Reasonable Doubt is) without a doubt. This album has pristene production and Jay-Z’s flow, delivery and lyrics on this album are truly top notch. I picked up this album when I was in 8th grade, and I’ve been bumping it ever since. Now that I look back on this album, I can’t believe that I didn’t even think about this record for my top 10 most influential albums. The production on this album is handled by Kanye West (in his prime), Just Blaze, Bink & Eminem. With those names already you know the beats are going to be crazy as hell. Continue reading

Sonic Youth performs “Teenage Riot” live on Jools Holland

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , , on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Sonic Youth graced Jools Holland’s stage last week for a performance of “What We Know” from their new album The Eternal, but what we didn’t know was that they also recorded a performance of “Teenage Riot” for the show that day. Watch above to see the band dominate through their classic in ways  that I didn’t know possible anymore!

If this is any clue, the band look like they’ll be playing their old songs with a renewed fervor on their world tour this spring – I hope we can expect them to embrace all their classics as beautifully as this revamped “Teenage Riot” sounds to my ears. Don’t forget, we’ll be getting our own Sonic Youth performance at First Avenue in June. Tickets are available now.
VIDEO: Sonic Youth, “Teenage Riot” (Live on Jools Holland)

The Streets are behind you, and they all got swine flu

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , , on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by Ryan Buege

When I came down with a cold this weekend, the first thing that everyone kept saying to me was that I should get checked out for Swine Flue. Seriously, I’m not joking when I say that I had around 20 people suggest that I may have contracted H1N1. In my mind, all I could do was laugh; to me this flu scare is nothing more than a media frenzy cooked up to district the world from the global financial meltdown that’s still taking place, and people should be embarrassed by legitimizing the problem as much as they have with their overreactions. (personal opinion)

That’s why I was so stoked to log on to the interwebs this morning and see that my main man Mike Skinner from The Streets was on the same page as me. At least, I think we’re on the same page; he’s got a wit that I can’t quite match. Skinner is back, sounding as fresh as ever, and in the hilarious new track “He’s Behind You, He’s Got Swine Flu” he likens the swine flu “pandemic” to a zombie takeover; the metaphors are spot on, as you can see from the glorious, classic cult zombie visuals that were sync to the outlandish rhymes. The Streets end each verse by suggesting you just “decapitate your mate” and don’t worry about becoming a zombie, sharply taking a jab at the governments around the world that are blindly sacrificing so much to adhere to the precautionary principle. It’s great to hear Skinner spitting with a spark again…

VIDEO: The Streets “He’s Behind You, He’s Got Swine Flu”