HARDCORE MUSIC BILLY JOEL REVIVAL (An A to Z Post)

Posted on July 8th, 2011 by ekko

The title of this post is not the name of an ironic screamo band.  Although if I ever start one, it’s a great contender for a moniker.  No, the title of this post refers to the fact that these days, lots of folks seem to covering Long Island’s own Sinatra.

For example, take Hussalonia.  Go here to download, for free, their cover of the entire Glass Houses album.  That’s one I played until the needle wore through the wax.  Perfect album for a ten year old boy.  Especially All For Leyna.  Nothing like comparing love to electrocution.

So, today, we post a tribute to Billy Joel covers!

A is for Anthony’s Song-Garret Anderson.  I love this song because it sums up Billy so well: A Jew who wants to be Italian.

B is for Big Shot Pimpin’-Jay Z and Billy J.

C is for Charlotte Martin’s Madman/We Didn’t Start the Fire medley.

D is for Das Racist-You Oughtta Know. Not a mash up, a sample.  And one of the best songs in this post.

E is for Ernie Halter doing the lesser known Joel song “And So It Goes.”

F is for Fire!  We Didn’t Start The Fire-Hoosiers.

G is for Guster doing “My Life.”

H is for Hi8us’ version of Movin’ Out.

I is for Italian Restaurant-Ween.  See, I know Ween are being smartasses when they cover Billy, but I just don’t care.  I’m diggin’ it.  And they do it a lot.

J is for Just the Way You Are-Brian Chartrand.  See, now this song is just bad.  A great example of a bad song.

K is for Knuck if You Buck-Crime Mobb meets Billy Joel! (A mash up.)

L is for Leyna.  Hussalonia-All for Leyna.

M is for Movin’ Out-Tanner Walle.

N is for New York State of Mind-Travis Allison Band

O is for Only The Good Die Young-After the Fall.  O is also for Downeaster Alexa-O.A.R.  See, now I think this is an ambitious song to cover…

P is for Pale Pacific’s take on Anthony’s Song.

We Didn’t Start the Fire-PLeeko.  One of my favorite live covers on this post.  I love the tacky keyboards!

Q is for Big Shot-Raq.  Look, at least there’s a Q in there….

R is for Movin’ Out-Restless Groove.

S is for Robbie Schaefer’s version of You May Be Right.

T is for Tek and Steele-Reloaded (sampling Billy Joel’s “Pressure”).

U is for The Stranger-Umphreys McGee.  Anyone out there ever see this band live?  I love their stuff on the Archive.

W is for Weezer’s “Uptown Girl” cover.

Y is for You May Be Right-Grampa’s Chili

Z is for Zip File!

And back around to A again: A is for Alternate zip!

Tags: A to Z, Covers, Free Album!

THE 2011 HARVEY KURTZMAN AWARDS

Posted on July 8th, 2011 by ekko

As always, they’ll be announced at Baltimore Comic-Con, and I’ll be there with my two wee ones, hoping to get a glimpse of Stan Lee, among other things.  Typically, the awards eschew typically the commercial (Marvel and DC), but this time we see either (and often both) of those publishers in just about every category.  I know this is an indie blog, and I dig the rebellious, experimental nature of independence in music, but when it comes to comic books, the entire art form is in jeopardy.  And Marvel or DC go down, we all go down.  So it’s nice to see them getting some support.  Here’s my comments on the major categories.

Best American Edition Of Foreign Material

• AX: Alternate Manga, edited By Sean Michael Wilson And Mitsuhiro Asakawa, Top Shelf

• Blacksad, Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, Dark Horse Comics

• It Was The War Of The Trenches, Jacques Tardi, Fantagraphics

• The Killer: Modus Vivendi, Matz And Luc Jacamon, Archaia

• Torpedo Volume 2, Jordi Bernet, IDW

I don’t usually write about this category, but I have to throw some support out there for The Killer, a truly extraordinary and different book about what it’s like to be a hitman.  The art is unusual and the storyline provocative.  If you get a chance, you really ought to check it out.  I’d vote for it here, but I don’t know anything about the other entries, so it’s enough for me to tell you to go buy The Killer; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Best New Series

• American Vampire, Scott Snyder, Stephen King and Rafael Albuquerque, Vertigo/DC Comics

• Echoes, Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rashan Ekedal, Top Cow

• Gutters, Lar Desouza, Ed Ryzoski and Ryan Sohmer, www.the-Gutters.com

• Kill Shakespeare, Anthony Del Col and Conor Mccreery, IDW

• Sixth Gun, Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt, Oni Press

• Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee, Marvel Comics

Most Promising New Talent

This is a very tough category for me—although I don’t know the first two nominees’ work.  Samnee, Snyder and Spencer are all deserving here, so I’m going outside the envelope: I’m voting for Snyder for his work with Batman on Detective Comics.  Finally, a Bat-writer worthy of taking on the character in Morrison’s absence.  Most Batman books are mediocre, relying on concept over quality, but Snyder’s run—about a murder victim found in the belly of whale in the lobby of a bank (no, that’s not a typo) is nothing short of incredible.  But if I had to pick just between these here, I’d probably go with Spencer.

Best Cover Artist

Best Continuing Or Limited Series

• Chew, John Layman and Rob Guillory, Image Comics

• Daytripper, Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, Vertigo/DC Comics

• Echo, Terry Moore, Abstract Studio

• Fantastic Four, Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham, Marvel Comics

• Locke & Key: Keys To The Kingdom # 1, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriquez, IDW

• Love And Rockets: Volume 3, Jaime And Gilbert Hernandez, Fantagraphics

I haven’t read Daytripper, but plan to.  I don’t like Chew (I know that’s sacrilege, but I think it’s too high concept for me) or Locke & Key or Love And Rockets.  I think they really missed the boat here by not including Sweet Tooth, X Force, and, more than any other, DeadpoolMAX.  So Hickman gets it by default.  I do enjoy the F4 stuff he’s doing, but it’s not life-changing or anything.  On the other hand, he actually made Fantastic Four interesting, which ain’t easy.  But still, nobody’s reading DPM and you all really, really should be.  It’s hilarious and disturbing, all at once.

Best Writer

• Cullen Bunn, Sixth Gun, Oni Press

• Joshua Hale Fialkov, Echoes, Top Cow

• Roger Langridge, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Marvel Comics

• Ryan Sohmer, Gutters, http://www.the-Gutters.com

• Mark Waid, Irredeemable, BOOM! Studios

Best Artist

• Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit, IDW

• Dean Haspiel, Cuba : My Revolution, Vertigo/DC Comics

• Brian Hurtt, Sixth Gun, Oni Press

• Ed Ryzowski, Gutters

• Chris Samnee, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Marvel Comics

I’ll go with Cooke.  I didn’t like the comic all that much, but the art is great.

Best Cartoonist

• Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit, IDW

• Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets, Fantagraphics

• Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth, Vertigo/DC Comics

• Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, Oni Press

• Jeff Smith, RASL, Cartoon Books

What’s the difference between a cartoonist and an artist, and how does Cooke get into both for the same work?  I dunno.  But Jeff Lemire’s work gives me chills, so it gets my vote.  No contest.

Tags: Comic books

JK SOUL-Dinner With FAT Beatz

Posted on July 7th, 2011 by ekko

Know who JK Soul is?  Probably not.  Should you?  Definitely yes.  He’s a beatmaker who has been classified in just about every standard genre: Hip hop, trip hop, turntabilist, chill, dub, funk/soul/jazz, etc., but these are mere words.  Here’s a stark fact: Other than Madlib and Diplo and maybe a handful of others, I never, ever listen to sample-based, primarily instrumental music.  It sounds like a bed to me–like something waiting for lyrics.

But I’ve listened to JK Soul’s fourth album thrice already.  And I still find cool stuff there.

The dude has a rep as the best “scratch DJ” in Slovenia.  I can’t speak to what the competition is like there, but I can say that this latest album definitely puts him in a class with MF DOOM, the afore-mentioned Madlib, and those other producers who breathe rarified air.

Oh, and you might actually have heard of him: He just recorded with Lil’ Wayne.  But cop JK’s own stuff–it’s hot.

JK Soul Get Over It

Video: A Love Has Died (watch it for the music–there’s not much to really see)

Tags: Hip Hop, Instrumentals

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Posted on July 6th, 2011 by ekko

Tags: Picture of the day, The Caped Crusader

TOM THUMB’S NEW E.P.s

Posted on July 6th, 2011 by ekko

I compared last year’s Tom Thumb to Clem Snide, and the same could be said for this year’s EP, “Creatures to Feed.”  But not this year’s “Faux Romantic.”

Tom Thumb has dropped two EPs that could have easily been an A-side and B-side of an album: Side one, Creatures to Feed, is a gentle collection of acoustic songs about faith and love. Acoustic guitar, a little piano and vocals.  Faux Romantic sounds a lot like it’s name: It’s also gentle, but it’s all keyboard, and it’s got overdubs and echo and all kindsa studio devices designed to make mood.  All that, with a Cyndi Lauper cover.

Oh, and if I were to compare the Faux Romantic to anyone, I’d say it sounds like Paul Simon.  Covering Clem Snide.

Seriously, though, great stuff.

Unfolded Notice (from Creatures to Feed)

Good Enough (Cyndi Lauper cover) (from Faux Romantic)

BONUS!

Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (Bob Dylan cover)-Clem Snide

Tags: Covers, Extended Player (EP), indie folk, Indie Pop

MOLLY THOMASON-Beauty Queen

Posted on July 5th, 2011 by ekko

Molly Thomason‘s latest album, Beauty Queen, won’t change your life. But it may brighten your day.

Thomason’s debut, Through The Static, was recorded when she was just 16, and got her several nominations for Canadian music awards and lots of attention.

She’s just two years older now, and her voice is older than her years.  Very solid singer-songwriter pop.

Plus, it’s got a tune with a chorus that goes: “I’m In Love With a Zombie.”  So, it’s gotta be cool.

The Zombie Song

I LOVE (free) ROCK AND ROLL

Posted on July 4th, 2011 by ekko

Who says everything costs?  Not me!  This stuff is all free.  FREE!!!:

• An entire album of odd covers of King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man.  Here.
• J Cole’s new mixtape, Return of Simba, is free here.
• Bloodshot Records’ samplers are always terrific, and the latest one has Ha Ha Tonka, Mark Lanegan and the Detroit Cobras, among others.  Here.
• Cut Off Your Hands offer a free EP here.
• Jungle Bodies’ free Bandcamp album is way, way better than it has any right to be.  Go here.
• Kill Rock Stars’ is probably the best: Elliot Smith, Deerhoof, Gossip, Sleater Kinney and many more.  Go here.
• Oooh!  And Secret Canadian’s is cool too!  Go here.
• An entire album of covers of The Ramones’ “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker.”  Here.

Tags: Free Album!, Hip Hop, Indie, Mixtape

THE NEWS IN COMICDOM

Posted on July 4th, 2011 by ekko

I know I just did one, but with the release of new Justice League pictures, and information about the Batman reboot and upcoming sequels to GI Joe and R.E.D., I couldn’t wait for a regular bi-weekly update . . . Also, I want to say that the critics who said Transformers 3 was good and better than the first . . . Were wrong.

Hit the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Comic books, Filthy Muties, Flash, Green Lantern, Movies, Spider-Man, Superman, The Caped Crusader, Thor

THE DEBT CEILING.

Posted on July 3rd, 2011 by ekko

I know this isn’t a political website, but I’m so confused.  I don’t know whether to admire Republicans for fiscal responsibility or scratch my head about why they won’t raise the debt ceiling now, when they did it no fewer than SEVEN times for when George W. Bush was President, to the tune of $4 trillion.  After all, President Obama already caved on corporate buyouts and previously extending the tax cuts, and didn’t end the war on any kind of a timeline.  What’s worse: That the Republicans are complete hypocrites, or that the Democrats stand for absolutely nothing?

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Posted on July 3rd, 2011 by ekko

Tags: Picture of the day