From here.
From here.
Okay! Okay! I hear you! Heavy Roc has been hitting me with mpfrees from The Knocks for weeks now–covers of oldies, remixes, acoustic versions . . . But my inbox has been overflowing, and I don’t review singles. Ever. Except now.
This extraordinary production duo came on everyone’s radar with “Blackout” (a single that was later sampled by blog-fave rappers Chiddy Bang Bang), and then followed up with a remix of the top 50 tunes of 2010 according to Hype Machine–a 23 minute seamless mixtape, basically, with perfect flow. “Dancing With The DJ” was another quality single from Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “JPatt” Patterson. And now, they’re prepping and repping heavy for an all-covers EP of oldies like “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “Knock on Wood.” The release will be on Startime, which is a major label, but all the below tunes are available for free off of
Tags: Covers
If I said Freewood‘s album was free, would you hold it against him? 
I know there’s tons of free (terrible) crap on the internet, and most of it comes through bandcamp, but trust me, this is different. Freewood is really one dude from Los Angeles (0kay, I know I’m asking a lot, but don’t hold that against it, either) playing a guitar and singing. It’s intended to be raw–he insisted on less than 10 takes for each cut and singing and playing the main tracks simultaneously before going back to overdubs, etc. So, it’s intended to be genuine. And it is.
Titles like “Maggie May” (not a cover), “Layne Staley,” and “Satellites” give a fairly good impression of the influences: Classic and modern dark rock. But “Talanzias” is mostly acoustic–or at least it feels like it’s mostly acoustic–and is far more than the sum of its influences. I haven’t enjoyed listening to an album this much in a while–in the sense that you can never tell what’s coming from track to track. In that regard, it reminded me a little of Beck’s first album or Weinland’s “Breaks in the Sun.” It feels a little sad, a little down, but it’s not. It feels a little offbeat, and it is. I can’t say it’s genius or life-changing, because it’s very hard, at the end, to get a sense of cohesion or character here; this is very much a work of experimentation–not experimental music, experiments in style by a man who is clearly quite talented and is trying to find his way. Lots of folks may find that offputting, but being a person who enjoys art for artists’ sake, I really, really enjoyed it. It’s a keeper.
Get the whole thing for free here or here.
Or taste a few of my favorite tracks below:
Tags: Indie
The cool kids in High School all liked Peter Gabriel’s Genesis, but I always thought it was unlistenable pretentious crap. I was a Phil Collins guy.
Actually, that’s a lie. The cool kids in High School listened to The Fat Boys.
But I like Phil’s smooth pop songs over Peter’s pensive, depressing anthems. And Phil is much, much, much better to cover. And I’m not even posting the Postal Service’s famous Phil cover–which blows away just about any cover, any time, any where.
There’s a lot of live stuff here of various levels of quality, but they are all a lot of fun. The songs I find particularly good are starred. ‘Cause I’m a tastemaker.
A is for Another Day In Paradise (phil collins)-Copeland* vs. Ari Hest’s cover of Mercy Street.
B is for Brian Dolzani-Ain’t No Sunshine/In The Air Tonight (PC)* vs. Sledgehammer-Bridge. By the time this post is done, you’ll wonder if Peter Gabriel ever had any hits other than Sledgehammer.
C is for That’s All (Phil Collins’ Genesis)-Clare and the Reasons*
D is for David Ryan Harris’ really cool medley that includes Prince, Phil Collins, Hall & Oates . . . It’s a late 1970s/Early ’80s masterpiece!* Way better than Digging in the Dirt (Peter Gabriel)-Sound Rabbit.
E is for In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)-EBE
G is for Guster’s In The Air Tonight* versus Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel)-Smashing Pumpkins*. All right, this one I give to Gabriel. This song is just so damn awesome.
H is for Sledgehammer-Herbie
I is for Invisible Touch (PC Genesis)-Magicyclops
J is for Solsbury Hill (PG)-Joshua Popejoy vs. Jimmy Swift Band’s Misunderstanding (PC Genesis). Actually, here’s another Gabriel song that’s superior. Misunderstanding is one of my least favorite Phil compositions.
L is for Land of Confusion (PC Genesis)-The Breakfast
M is for Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel)-Mightycondria
N is for Take Me Home (PC)-The New Familiars
O is for One Ton Tablespoon-Land of Confusion (Phil Genesis)
P is for Perpetual Groove-Digging in the Dirt (PG).
Q is for Quagmire-Sledgehammer
R is for Take Me Home (PC)-Raq vs. Mercy Street (PG)-Tim Reynolds. Yeah, I’m sure Mercy Street is a better song musically. But given the choice, I’d listen to the Phil song any day. For one thing, it doesn’t make me want to slit my own wrists.
S is for Sledgehammer-August Solstice
T is for Takka Takka-In the Air Tonight*
U is for Umphrey’s McGee-Abacab (PC’s Genesis)*
W is for Sledgehammer-Gene Ween Band
Z is not for Zip File. All the above are direct downloads. Take what you like, take ‘em all, I don’t care. Just don’t bitch at me about how much time it takes to snag ‘em all. That’s your problem. I’m audi.
Tags: A to Z, Covers On Fridaze
It’s been a long time since I heard a new record that made me say, “Wow–that’s actually something new!” There have been a few really good albums so far this year–The Builders And The Butchers; Kurt Vile; Jenny and Tyler–but there hasn’t been one so far that sounded like nothing I’d heard before. Until now.
The Dirtbombs have, apparently, been around for a long time–in different configurations. I’d never heard of them before now, but they seem pretty well respected. Anyway, “Party Store” is their first album to grace my ears, and holy crap. The record is something like a techno version of a Stooges album. Or like a Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ version of a Clash record. Or like . . . Well, like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Relentless, propulsive beats move each song forward in disco style, borrowing dance beats and rhythms, but the vocals–when they bother to show up–sound like Lou Reed or Iggy Pop or Nick Cave, only more excitable. Slightly more excited, anyway. The music is rough, hypnotic, simmering . . . Like a grease fire about to start, or a lit fuse slowly winding across the floor.
This album is phenomenal.
Tags: Indie
Marvel calls it an Omnibus. D.C. appears to call it “Absolute.” Dynamite seems to call it “Definitive.” By any name, it’s a hardcover, comprehensive collection of reprints on high-quality paper that’s a little bit bigger than the average comic book, so it has room to breathe. You hold it in your hands, it’s art. I’ve got editions of Garth Ennis’ “The Boys” and “Punisher,” as well as JMS’ Squadron Supreme relaunch, the second Bendis/Maleev Daredevil Omnibus, Brubaker’s Death of Cap Omnibus, and a few others, and they make a handsome addition to any bookshelf. But why aren’t there more? Why can’t we get comprehensive reprints of some of the other series that found a niche audience who will spring open their wallets for the extra bucks it takes to put these works out in volumes that will last forever, rather than grinding out the paperback editions?
And even if we don’t the oversized edition, how about big “stuff ‘em all in” volumes, like the first Walking Dead compendium that was printed as a thick softcover and included the first 48 issues? I mean, I appreciate Marvel’s “Essential” editions, but they’re black and white–and really intended as pulp fodder for new writers who take on a series. (Hickman read ‘em all before taking over Fantastic 4.)
CHECK THE BREAK…….
Tags: Comic books, Filthy Muties, Garth Freakin Ennis, Spider-Man, The Avengers, The Caped Crusader
To see all the answer keys of who’s who, go here. Great site!
Dudes–I’m sorry. Such regrets. I haven’t been good about keeping up with my news posts. Job has been off-the-hook busy. Anyhow, it’s been a long time, so some of this may be old news, but I’m sure you’ll find some surprises. After all, the Superman movie is getting cast fast-and-furious–and it looks like the hottest cougar in Hollywood will be playing his mom! Oh, and then of course there’s the new X-Men cartoon. That’s right.
Hit the break.
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Tags: Comic books, Filthy Muties, Garth Freakin Ennis, Movies, Spider-Man, Superman, The Avengers
