POST NYCC NEWS BOMB!

Posted on October 17th, 2010 by ekko

Tons of news this week following NYC Comicon, so let’s just do it all rapid fire style . . .

MOON KNIGHT NEWS

Perhaps the best news out of comicon was that Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev will be re-teaming in 2011 on . . . A Moon Knight ongoing series! This is now officially my most eagerly anticipated series ever. Bendis and Maleev are brilliant together, most recently in the underrated Spider Woman miniseries that collapsed because Maleev couldn’t produce the art fast enough. Here’s hoping he can keep to a schedule for this one. Bendis also said he’s planning to relaunch Alias—one of the most criminally underrated Marvel books of the past 20 years.

PRICE WARS.

First D.C. blinked, announcing a full-dollar reduction of all ongoing titles from $3.99 to $2.99, then Marvel quickly followed suit (on its newly launched titles only).  Does this mean that ongoing print titles are on the way out, to be ultimately replaced by the digital medium?

RELEVANT ANNUALS?

Whoever heard of such a thing? Unlike the past, when you could rely on Annuals to introduce major characters (like Rogue, from Avengers Annual #10) or weddings (Spider-Man, the Inhumans, etc.), today’s annuals usually have little to do with anything and . . . Kinda suck. Marvel is looking
to change that in March 2011 by releasing a three-part story told in X-Men, Steve Rogers, and Namor Annuals. The characters will be stuck in the Negative Zone (not to be confused with D.C.’s Phantom Zone), and, one presumes, will be fighting dudes like Annhilius and Blastarr The Living Bomburst. Meh.

THE FLASH AND GREEN LANTERN 2.

D.C. advises that both films may be ready by X-Mas 2011. Rumors abound that Bradley Cooper will play the scarlet speedster.

SIN CITY 2.

Robert Rodriguez says he’s ready to make the film, but the script isn’t done. He’s looking to make it after he does Spy Kids 4. Guess that means Deadpool’s off his plate?

EXPANDING THE ULTIMATE LINE

I’m on record saying that Ultimates Volumes 1 and 2 were two of the best comics of the last decade, and Ultimate Spider-Man has generally been up there as well. As for the rest of the Ultimates line: The Loeb books were terrible and the Millar reboot has been okay but underwhelming.  I thought for sure it would all go away once Bendis and Millar got bored with it, but instead Marvel has been expanding the line. The last announcement was that Jason Aaron and Ron Garney will be doing an “Ultimate Captain America” miniseries that will take take place out of regular continuity and will be about
a different Captain America. I trust Aaron (and Garney), so this seems like an Ultimate book worth getting. To be fair, almost all the Ultimate books have been pretty good (except the Loeb ones)—they just haven’t been, well, “ultimate” for many years.

DOLLHOUSE, THE COMIC

I guess everything Joss does gets to live on in a series: Buffy, Firefly, Angel, and now Dollhouse—coming in 2011 from Dark Horse and written by Jed (not Joss) Whedon.

MARVEL ANIME!

We’re looking at four different series, at 16 episodes each, featuring “Iron Man,” “Wolverine,” “X-Men” and “Blade,” and the four series will have “universe bleed”—meaning that the characters could show up in each others’ series. Due in Summer 2011.

IN GRENADA-Break

Posted on October 16th, 2010 by ekko

“Familiarity breeds contempt.”  There’s probably few places where that is more true than in the world of indie music snob bloggers.  We are constantly looking for the next crisp sound–the next band who can take something ordinary and give it a subtle, peculiar, or even violent twist.

At least most of the time.

Nothing on Philadelphia’s In Grenada is going to blow your brain out.  It all hues pretty tightly to the indie rock formula pioneered by The Arcade Fire, but at the same time, the album delivers.  In spades. This is a tight, polished, and musically impressive debut.  It’s dense, muscular, and rich, with especially rewarding interplay between the vocals and the rhythm section.  I imagine these guys are amazing live.

Hills (Flooded Valleys)

Distance and Temptation

It Doesn’t Matter

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Posted on October 15th, 2010 by ekko

BLACK MOUNTAIN-Wilderness Heart

Posted on October 14th, 2010 by ekko

“Play those death wish chords!”  Most of the time, I have no Earthly idea what the hell Black Mountain are singing about.  They’re like old Black Sabbath on white lightning acid.  It’s bleak, retrorock, heavy and hard, with lyrics about pain and death and nuclear war and all kinds of things I can’t understand.  But I’ve loved this band for years.

On their new release, Wilderness Heart, they continue to morph into a band with range and serious acoustic ability.  If you’re looking for more of the same, this is the wrong album for you.  But if you’re looking to see a band grow, look here now.

We find more duets, more synthswirls, much more acoustic guitar, a slower pace, and a departure from the slow-build/extended jam songs that marked their first album.  Not that they can’t still rock out like that.  “Roller Coaster” is of this genre, and it’s just as good as anything they’ve ever done.  And it’s the perfect lead-in to the slash and burn motorcycle gang anthem “Let Spirits Ride,” a gimme-Steppenwolf song if I’ve ever heard one.  These songs enter in the album’s second half, after a series of interesting, mellow duets over mostly acoustic instruments.

I was concerned for a while that Black Mountain had disbanded, what with lead singer/guitarist Stephen McBean going to do his Pink Mountaintops record and keyboardist/vocalist Amber Webber going on the side with “Lightning Dust,” but this, their third album, put my fears to rest.  They’ve clearly gotten inspiration from their side-projects, moving their heavy sound into new areas, and making their most versatile album so far.

Old Fangs

The Hair Song

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF SUICIDE

Posted on October 13th, 2010 by ekko

I look at the search terms used to find my site, and “cats” is right up there.  “Cats”?!?  Really?!?

You want f*ing cats doing crazy stuff on the internet, fine.  Here.

That’ll teach you to ask for stupid crap.

RUN D.M.C. versus L.L. COOL J

Posted on October 13th, 2010 by ekko

LL Cool J called himself the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time), but Run DMC had more sneakers.  Run DMC tread the gangsta/good guy line, hooking into the mainstream and pretty much breaking rap into the suburbs, but Cool J is a freakin’ movie star who at 16 roared louder than anyone else.

So who’s better?

In the end, for me it’s really a toss-up.

10 REASONS TO (STILL) LOVE COOL J AND RUN D.M.C.

10.  Run DMC-The Pete Rock Megamix.  I love this–it’s an amalgam of a whole buncha great Run DMC tunes. This reminds me what geniuses these dudes were, and how their work still holds up.

9. Mama Said Knock You Out-B.A. Baracus Band. But speaking of holding up, here’s a 2010 cover that rocks hard.

8. Mama Said Knock You Out-Lagawagon. And even foreigners can sound good covering that song!

7. You Be Illin’-Redemption Thong. Then again, chipmunks sound cool covering Run D.M.C. Chipmunks!

6. Rock the Bells-Eminem. Of course, the biggest rap superstar of the day has personally covered Cool J. So there’s that.

5. Rock Star Freestyle (with Run DMC bite)-Jay Z. Speaking of the biggest rap superstar of the day . . .

4. Around the Way Girl-Travis Morrison. Okay, but Cool J can do cool and slow and low. (By the way, Slow and Low (the Beastie Boys cut) was actually first performed by Run D.M.C. I’d post it here, but it was released by an RIAA label as an outtake, so sucks for that.)

3 and 2. But Run D.M.C. have the mash up scene down tight. Cool J’s been in his fair share, but DMC’s are the best.

It’s Whiskey!-Run DMC vs. The Pogues

Trickysharona-Run DMC vs. The Knack

1. But then there’s this, by Too Much Joy, which is pretty damn cool . . .

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VIDEO OF THE DAY

Posted on October 12th, 2010 by ekko

You’ve probably seen this before, but it’s worth watching again….

THE DAR WILLIAMS GIVEAWAY!

Posted on October 12th, 2010 by ekko

Dar Williams is an indie-minded folk-singer who has been in the business a lot longer than you probably realize.  And her new album, Many Great Companions, is kinda like a best of.  Actually, it’s more a retrospective–she reworks, acoustically, songs from her 15+ career, with alongside a bunch of truly awesome guests like Sean and Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gary Louris of the Jayhawks . . . Along with a second CD of new material.  Facebook her here, if you’re into that.  Get it on iTunes here.

Here’s a free taste:

As Cool As I Am

It’s real good stuff, and it can be yours . . . Free!  Here’s how to win it:

1.  Be from the U.S.

2.  Drop a comment with your e-mail, and tell me why you should be the winner.  Best answer gets the CD.

3.  Winner will be picked in 7 days, so check your e-mail: If you don’t respond with your address within 24 hours, I reserve the right to move on o the next best comment.

And just because I love it so much, here’s Dar doing The Kinks’ “Better Things.”

DAR WILLIAMS 2010 FALL TOUR

Oct 15 – City Winery – New York, NY
Oct 16 – City Winery – New York, NY
Nov 11 – Triple Door – Seattle, WA
Nov 12 – Triple Door – Seattle, WA
Nov 19 – The Crystal Bay Club/Crown Room – Crystal Bay, NV
Nov 20 – Livermore Performing Arts Center – Livermore, CA
Nov 21 – Hotel Café – Los Angeles, CA

WOLF PEOPLE-Steeple

Posted on October 11th, 2010 by ekko

On of the great things about indie rock is that independent record labels often develop a “sound.”  Unlike the majors, who dabble in everything that they think will make them $$$, indie labels hand select artists who they feel will compliment their roster.  And this year’s Jagjaguwar addition, Wolf People, is a great example of this.  Jag’s sound is heavy and fuzzy and/or intense folk–the likes of Besnard Lakes, Black Mountain and Dinosaur Jr. complimented by Bon Iver and Okkervil River.  Wolf People, with their mix of Jethro Tull and Black Sabbath, represent the whole Jagjaguwar sound–they’re almost the epitome of the label.

“Steeple,” Wolf People’s debut record, is a grunge/psychedelia bash–a mix of early 1970s fog-machine metal and late 1960s “folk metal.”

Jagjaguwar, you’ve done it again.  What a great label, what a great band.

Tiny Circle

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Posted on October 10th, 2010 by ekko

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