Tag Archive: Lazy Saturday


Been a Long Time Since I Lazy Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest
Nov.11, 2011

 

(Editor's Note: 

(Shuffling through the grocery store, bathrobe half open, staring at the milk jugs, trying to find one with a late date, I see the Internet.  We haven't seen each other since high school.  It's awkward.) 

Me:  Hey there, Internet.  Been a minute.  How you doing?  How're the kids? 

Internet:  Fuck yourself. 

Me:  Great to catch up.  We'll see ya around.)

Kevin I caught Dawes and Blitzen Trapper last week at the Beachland.  I went in a Dawes virgin and had my socks blown clear off.  Brad Cook (I'm allowed to name drop; it's the primary reason to have a blog) told us that they were stellar.  The message, as always: if Brad tells you something, you should listen.  Dawes manages the best cica 2002 Bright Eyes imitation possible.  When they leaned into the "It's like trying to make out every word when you should simply hum along" line, I got honest-to-god goose bumps.  (That "matador and the bull" gets me too; not sure why.)  All this to say that Dawes is (are?) the real deal.

There's not a whole lot more that I can write about Blitzen Trapper at this point.  The new record is back to form (many of us would prefer to look past Destroyer of the Void.  There was good stuff there, but I'm not dipping into it with any regularity.  American Goldwing feels like a Blitzen Trapper record, which is a decidedly good thing).  They're professionals and the live show, per usual, was off the charts.  I wish they'd have played "Devil's A-Go-Go," but it was pretty sweet that they pulled out a Zeppelin cover.  If' Dawes' Conor Oberst impression is in the pocket, Eric Earley's Bob Plant is over the moon.  The next time Cousin Marty and the boys roll into your city, make the trek.  You never know what you might miss.

Dawes – Little Bit of Everything (live)

Blitzen Trapper – Good Times, Bad Times (live)

The worst part about being gone this long is that we haven't updated you on some localish stuff that deserves your attention.  First (and most egregiuosly) if you live in Cleveland (or the surrounding envrions) and haven't been hipped to the music venue tax, you've got to take action.  Others have written more thoughtfully about this, but the long and the short of is that The Beachland, Now That's Class, The Happy Dog, and other venues in Cleveland are getting royally shafted by the city.  Take a minute to call or email your councilman and encourage them to get their shit together.  

Secondly, if you're out and about tomorrow, Music Saves is having a pretty sweet sale.  It's definitely worth a pop in for some Christmas shopping.  If they're cool enough for Iron and Wine, they're cool enough for you.

Thirdly, C.D. favorites Deadwood Floats just lobbed another excellent Radiohead cover in to the ether.  They're also up for a Best of Columbus thing of some sort.  The song and the vote are both worth a click.

Deadwood Floats – High and Dry

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Wednesday is the new Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest, New Music
Jul.06, 2011

Portland's Jackie-O Motherfucker has been making records for a long time; they released their fifteenth, Earth Sound System, yesterday.  (Note: they're from the Oregon Portland, not the Maine one.  Do you think the residents of those cities have a visceral hate for each other?  If there was another Cleveland Heights someplace, I'd be pissed.)  To once again illustrate that I am a slightly inept (but totally honest) music blogger I have the following confession: the song below is the first song that I've heard from the band.  I've had fifteen years to get on the bus, but I haven't until today.  The good news: the Jackie-O Motherfucker bus is a really cool place to be.  "Where We Go" grabs you by the scruff with that militaristic drum cadence, slaps you around a bit with that deeply distorted guitar and then gets better and better for five minutes.  Pay attention to that drum bit, cause it's there the whole time, but flits about just enough to let you know that it's not a machine, which (it goes without saying at this point) is right up my alley.  I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon listening to the rest of this record.  I'm not a completist (more on that later), but if Earth Sound System is as good as the single, I might even dip my toe into the back catalog. 

Jackie-O Motherfucker – Where We Go

I've made the "some bands sound like places" argument too many times to count.  When Stereo Deluxe popped into my inbox yesterday, I understood that I'd have to make it again.  These dudes sound like the midwest.  They've got the right blend of classic rock (something like "Smoke on the Water") and mid-nineties alt-rock (circa Siamese Dream Smashing Pumpkins, say), with the tiniest tiny dash of T. Rex (mostly "Get it On") for flavor.  They sound like they listened to the same blend of radio stations growing up that I did.  Granted, they're from Indiana, not Ohio, so the call letters were different, but it's the same idea, I'd wager.  Stereo Deluxe have some New York dates on the schedule and are working on getting to Cleveland.  More details on that as they become available.

Stereo Deluxe – Evil Twins

Back to that completist thing for a minute to wrap up.  I've written about this before, so I'll keep it brief.  Kevin thinks that you need everything; I think you can get by with less than that.  Kevin and I started this argument over The White Stripes and The Waterboys.  It boils down to this: he has all The White Stripes songs ever made and zero Waterboys songs.  I have two White Stripes records and one Waterboys record.  I think Ted Leo is on my side on this one.  (Note: this debate will be completely nonsensical for my kid in ten years, because everybody will have everything all the time.  I don't know what that means.  If everybody has all the records, how do we decide who's the coolest?)

Ted Leo – Fisherman's Blues, Live

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No chrome on the Lazy Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest
May.28, 2011

I was driving home from the library last weekend.  Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" was playing on 98.5, Cleveland's home for classic rock.  (I still listen to terrestrial radio.  I understand that some of the readership might not know what those two words mean.  "Ipods" and satellite radio and the continued fracturing of the zeitgeist mean that all you little fuckers get whatever songs you want on your car stereo.  I'm old school (or, perhaps, just old).  I get what Michael Stanley wants me to get.)  I shot Kevin a text message declaring that "The Chain" is the greatest rock song ever recorded.  (Other songs that I have declared, via text message to Kevin are the greatest rock songs ever recorded (an incomplete list): The Rolling Stones – "Sympathy for the Devil", AC/DC – "Thunderstruck", The Marshall Tucker Band – "Can't You See", Styx – "Renegade."  It's my favorite current running joke.  I try to get Kevin as mad as possible by declaring the most ridiculous possible song the best ever.  Kevin should expect a text concerning "Fat Bottomed Girls" in about seven minutes.)  Kevin texted back his preference for "Silver Springs," and duck egg omelets.

And then.

I got an electronic mail from a PR firm about Citizen Dick proteges Young Buffalo.  Dudes have a record coming out on Cantora.  I feel, a little bit, like I made that happen with my brain.

And then.

I saw this video of Young Buffalo playing "The Chain." 

Synergy.  Fucking synergy.

In completely unrelated news: You ever start thinking about Iggy Pop?  And then find that you can't stop thinking about Iggy Pop?  Me too.  The Black Angels appear to have the same problem.  Enjoy.

The Black Angels – I Wanna Be Your Dog, Live

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I am a lonesome hobo, without Lazy or Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest
May.21, 2011

Bob Dylan turns 70 on May 24.  (This of course assumes that the world didn't end today.  Look at a clock.  If it's after six o'clock in the evening wherever you are, we all made it out alright.  If you're currently on fire and/or with Magic Jesus, Mr. Zimmerman isn't gonna be blowing out any candles.)  I know this because I still get Rolling Stone for free.  (Again, Jann Wenner, thanks for keeping me in the loop.  I'm still waiting on that job offer.  You know where to get me.) 

My initial reaction to the news of Bob's impending semi-sesquicentennial (less five) was, roughly, big deal. 

Then I remembered the amazing video you see above; it's our good friend Phil Cook singing the hell out of a song most closely associated with Dylan; it's prescient reminder that Dylan's music cuts across generational lines.(We know that this cut isn't a Dylan original.  You can take the reference to his music in that last sentence to mean his music and/or his interpretations of traditional folk music; hell, "Alberta #1" is on Self-Portrait, which Dylan has occasionally called an intentional goof.  When the stuff that you may or may not have tossed off can raise the goosebumps, that means something). 

Then I remembered that I love it when the Dead cover Dylan.   There's a whole record of these, but the two below do the job in a pinch. 

Then I remembered that I love when MMJ covers Dylan (below as well, although, obviously, the Jim James song from that movie soundtrack is (probably) a touch superior).  For those of you who don't dig on Dylan quite as much as the rest of us, there's a bit of a bonus at the end of that MMJ track, so keep your ears perked.

Then I remembered that Music from Big Pink is on the list (if that video doesn't make you appreciate Richard Manuel a bit more than you did a minute ago, I've got no answers for you). 

And so on. 

All this to say that Mr. Bob Dylan is important (I feel like I'm really breaking some journalistic ground with that particular pronouncement). 

Happy birthday, sailor.  I'll be listening to John Wesley Harding on Tuesday if you need anything.

Grateful Dead – Maggie's Farm – Live – 1993

Grateful Dead – When I Paint My Masterpiece – Live – 1989

My Morning Jacket – Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You (+ a bonus)

 

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Gonna ride a freight train, down to Lazy Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest
Apr.25, 2011

I'm late on this post.  I'd planned on getting it up on Saturday, but the combination of the Spring holidays and a huge pile of grading to plow through stymied my efforts at timeliness.  I'm actually just taking a break from that selfsame grading, so this particular missive will be brief.  We start today with a fantastic song from Miami's Axe and the Oak.  We got wind of the band through Record Store Day and are super impressed with their sludgy, Nick Cave-on-valium-y sound.  You'll like the track below and can hear another one at the band's sound cloud.  We expect big things from these fellows and will keep you abreast of any developments and/or new tunes.

The Cultural Attache to Lake County, Vince, and I saw Mike Watt and the Missingmen a few weeks back.  They played his opera straight through.  Watt walked onto the stage, gave us a quick thank you for coming out on a work night and then launched into 45 straight minutes of punk rock opera.  It was awesome.  Watt and Co. appear to be playing the opera throughout their spring tour; it's a can't miss.  We've got two top drawer songs from the opera below, from a performance earlier this spring.  Enjoy.

Mike Watt and the Missingmen – Pinned to the Table Man

Mike Watt and the Missingmen – Mouse Headed Man

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I live in a silver mine and I call it Lazy Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest
Apr.09, 2011

(Editor's note:  I'm going to go ahead and use "we" for the whole first paragraph here.  It's not the editorial we, per se.  I also do not have a tapeworm.  The "we" below grabs my immediate social circle; I'm acting as their mouthpiece.  The Cultural Attache to Lake County, Left Coast Impresario, Dr. Marvin Monroe and all the rest almost certainly share my feelings on the Cleveland Scene.  So there you go.)

Like many of you, we have our problems with the Cleveland Scene (not the scene itself, lame-ass out-of-towners, but the free weekly that shares it's name.  Ian MacKaye will not catch me whining about my hometown scene in this forum, given that I'm still trying to get him to play a backyard gig for us).  They're vaguely out of touch (we'd argue), frighteningly paternalistic, a bit on the pandering side, and (perhaps worst of all), still running those "smoke weed, get paid" ads.  I think we'd also argue that the Scene has suffered from it's wholesale consumption of the Free Times; in this, as in so many other venues, competition is a decidedly good thing.  More than that, we considered ourselves Free Times readers, that paper having a scruffier edge, a deeper propensity for both muck-raking and the shining of lights on unknown yet praiseworthy artistic ventures.  You won't find coverage of, say, Prisoners in the Scene, but you would have found them in the Free Times.  

But.

I do love the Best of Cleveland issue.  It's consistently good at both confirming my opinion on things that I know are awesome (Music Saves, The Happy Dog, and Peyton Hillis all made the list this year, for instance) and turning me onto stuff that's happening in town that I did not know about.  The Scene certainly has flaws, but it gets the Best of Cleveland issue pretty much right every year.

The biggest thing that the Best of Cleveland issue hipped me to this year is Misterbradleyp, a local DJ who spins regular sets at The B-Side Liquor Lounge.  You won't be surprised to hear that I don't get to late-night dance parties very often, so Mrbradleyp is new news to me.  The reason that all of this is important is the fantastic Radiohead remix album that the cat put out recently.  It's an hour of consistently solid remix magic (the highlights (for me) are the track below and the "Pyramid Song" reworking, which has to be digested to be understood.  It's pretty sweet).  The messing about with "Just" is tremendous (in much the same way that some of the Prince of Ballard's stuff is good) because it takes and epochal track and re-imagines it as (more or less) a hard bop standard.  (Aside: Does it make me sound like a total contrarian if I say that The Bends is the second best Radiohead album?)  There's even a rap verse in this one.  You can download the whole mix (and several more examples of Mrbradleyp's work) here.  Enjoy.

Misterbradleyp – Just (Remix)

I like this song.  I don't have a lot to say about it.  I just like it.  I also like Canadians and the outdoors, so this one is a pretty big winner.

The Wilderness of Manitoba – Orono

In a perfect world, I'd be posting a twenty-minute live version of "Sister Ray" from 1972, but I didn't want either Lou Reed or Atlantic records to sue me.  The track below (from one of the bands that Kevin's been pestering all of us to listen to for quite some time) is a middling substitute.  It's not as good as the New Order version and (for some inexplicable reason) it's way too short (which kind of defeats the purpose, right?)  But, any port in a storm.

Woven Bones – Sister Ray (live, short, instrumental)

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Still reaching for the Lazy Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest, New Music
Apr.03, 2011

(Editor's note: I know that it is Sunday.  Sorry for the one day delay on Lazy Saturday.  Shit got real.)

It's a throwback Lazy Saturday.  Our mutual friend Kevin was complaining that my Lazy Saturdays have gotten lazier over the last couple of months.  I used to throw a new band out into the ether (Young Buffalo, AIDS Wolf, and so on) along with some old live music.  I've hewed more closely to an only live music (if any music at all) approach for a little bit.  My bad.  Kevin guilted me into digging into the new stuff today. So, without further ado.

Our first track today is from Bay area underground rapper Dregs One.  The flow is smooth and the beat brings to mind a whole heap of old school soul samples.  It's almost certainly over the top to say that this makes me think of classic era De La Soul, but I'm going to say that anyway.  It also (bizarrely) makes me think of the Dream Warriors, which is a decidedly good thing.  Much more information on Dregs One is available here.

Dregs One – Wake Up

Any combination of the following terms in an email is probably going to get our attention: "Ohio-based," "folk," and "Radiohead cover."  Deadwood Floats (along with a picture perfect band name) hits all of those notes.  They're from Columbus and they know their way around a banjo and multiple part harmonies.  At the time of this writing, it is unclear if Jim Tressel knew they were getting tattoos for free.  The original material on the record we've heard is fantastic, so it might be kind of a cop-out to go with the cover in this post, but the cover is tip-top.  It takes some stones to cover Radiohead, (unless you're Prince) but these kids absolutely pull it off; the piano at the front end is going to knock your socks off.  The whole record (which is well worth your time and is free) is available at bandcamp.

Deadwood Floats – Knives Out

It seems weird to post something from a new Columbus based band without doffing the proverbial cap to ekoostik hookah.  We used to wait with baited breath for this one when we'd see them live; you can't really beat turning around on cue and that crazy look that comes over Cliff Starbuck's face when it all goes down on this one.  This version has a particularly face-melting Sweeney solo (and if you're not on the Steve Sweeney train yet, I've got nothing for you.)  Mrs. Citizen and I included the album version of "Schwa" on our wedding compilation CD, so this one's (obviously) a bit of a sentimental favorite.  In related news, my mama said: "there's a goldmine up on the mountainside, but you're never gonna get it, if you're never gonna try."

ekoostik hookah – Schwa – Live, 1996

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We’ve got Lazy Saturday to do.

Filed Under: General Interest
Mar.26, 2011

I've written in the past about cool music related things that have happened to me because of the blog.  I get to hear way more new music than I would otherwise and I get to talk to people I wouldn't talk to otherwise (best example: tell 1995 me that 2009 me would make a phone call to Billy Martin and 1995 me would poop his pants).

This post isn't about that though.  Sometimes cool things happen because you're in the right place at the right time.  Sometimes the universe gets into the right alignment and awesome things pop up at random.

Today, Mrs. Citizen and the kid and I went to the Cleveland Museum of Art.  They're open late on Fridays and the little dude likes walking through the galleries, listening to his babbles bounce off the walls.  He's also fond of portraiture (he seems to be attracted to realist pieces at this point; my guess is that abstraction doesn't mean a ton to toddlers). 

On the way out, we saw Henry Rollins. 

We were walking in a narrow hallway and he was walking towards us with a museum employee; he's in town for a spoken word thing at the Museum tonight.  I shot out my hand, said "Mr. Rollins?" and got a quick handshake.  I didn't get a photograph (mostly because if I was Henry Rollins, I'd be peeved if I asked me for a picture), but I shook hands with Henry Rollins.

So I got that going for me, which is nice. 

Classic live Black Flag for you, in both mp3 and video form today to celebrate my brush with hardcore.  Now we've just gotta get Ian MacKaye to shred in my backyard and I'll be all set.

Black Flag – My War/I've Heard It All Before – Live, 1982

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But, for now, we are Lazy Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest
Mar.19, 2011

(Editor's note: I just saw a commercial with John Thompson III talking about how much he sweats.  I also recently saw a phone commercial with "Infinity Guitars" playing in the background.  I am rapidly losing my ability to "relate to the modern world.")

There are a lot of things happening soon in Cleveland that we are super excited about.  Some of them (The Black Angels and Mike Watt in particular) we've either already told you about or will tell you about in the future.  Today, we're digging in deep on three shows happening over the next couple of months.

J Mascis/ Kurt Vile – March 30 – Grog Shop

With Sebadoh and Mike Watt's stops in town in April, it's (more or less) old home week for Our Band Could Be Your Life in northeast Ohio. (While we're in Azerradian territory: Ian MacKaye, if you are reading, I am still ready and willing to host a Fugazi show in my backyard.  No booze and I make a killer vegetarian sausage sandwich.  Holler at me if you're up for it.)  Suffice it to say that we are pumped to see J Mascis.  I'll be taking my plugs for sure even though the recently released solo record is principally acoustic material.  On the off chance that Mr. Mascis laces into "The Lung," I don't want to leave with a bloody earhole.  I'm intentionally avoiding any reviews of J Mascis shows leading up to the Cleveland date because I want to be surprised.  If it's all acoustic jams, I want to feel what I feel about that in real time; I don't want Brooklyn Vegan to prep me.  Tack on every hip Philadelphian's favorite guy (Kurt Vile) and this one isn't to be missed.

J Mascis – Is It Done

Southeast Engine/The Modern Electric – April 30 – Grog Shop

It's tough to wrap your brain around the quality of the new Southeast Engine record, Canary.  The lyrics are intricate and meaningful and the music is variable in both tone and tenor but consistent in quality.  There's a lot to like.  It's similar to their last record, From the Forest to the Sea, in that it appears to be a linked narrative.  Where the last record used a government cartographer and his search for underwater oil to breathtaking effect, the new record moves a bit more subtly, a bit more internally.  The record moves through (what seems to me) to be a family history in a small town in Ohio (full disclosure: I am still sinking my teeth into the lyrical content; it's way denser than the older material.  There's levels of meaning that I have not plumbed yet (I think).  I feel like I have a handle on the broad sweep of the narrative, but I might recant later on.  I've listened to this thing a ton and it's still opening up, which is a really good thing).  The record opens with the small town being cursed (again, I think) by the will-nilly actions of a lumber company.  On the record's stellar opener (complete with the year's single best tempo shift), Adam Remnant sings: "men overtook these branches to feed their iron tongues/they carved their initials into the trunks/and they carted them off leaving nothing but sawdust" and lays the groundwork for the rest of the record.  We follow a family through the depression and (again, I think) the years following it; I'm a touch unclear on the timeline.  We get a son of one of the early settlers on trial for a crime he doesn't understand (shades of Kafka), his relationship to his sister (in the deeply beautiful, back country ballad "Adeline of the Appalachian Mountains") and his eventual redemption and marriage.  The record closes with a little instrumental snippet that sounds like the world's most legit bluegrass band playing a wedding.  It's a kick in the nuts.  Musically, the record leans way closer to Appalachia than its predecessor.  From the Forest to the Sea sounded (sometimes) like Gordon Gano channeling country demons; Canary sounds like the actual country demons.  (Southeast Engine remains the band I most want to see play "Country Death Song." (Builders and Butchers are a close second.))  All this to say that the record is really good.  It's been looping in the house. (Mrs. Citizen and the kid prefer the last record, mainly because there are more dance songs; I'm rapidly loving Canary as much or more.  I like the cut of its jib.)

The town that the record appears to be built around, Canannville, actually exists, a couple of miles outside of the band's home base, Athens, Ohio.  Kevin (like most of the band, an Ohio University alumnus) is particularly smitten by the fact that band dug deep on local history.  I think they're using Canannville to caution us about modernity (with the town serving as the titular canary in the coalmine), which is the thing that smites me.  In the long run, we're both winners.

(Extended aside: I think Southeast Engine listened to a shit ton of Neutral Milk Hotel when they were recording this.  I don't really have any solid evidence for this suspicion.  There's not really a ton of sonic connection between Canary and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.  They just kind of feel the same to me.  I can't quite put my finger on it.  There's some Salvation Army horns in the track below, but that's not quite it.  I kind of think that "1933 (Great Depression)" is a semi-reference to "Holland, 1945," but that's not quite it either.  I know that this is really lazy criticism.  But.  Listen to Canary and tell me I'm wrong.)

The material from Canary should be awesome live.  I'm probably most looking forward to the iterative, pulsing groove of "1933 (Great Depression)."  It's the song from the record that I put in my headphones when I'm shoveling the sidewalk, so I'll certainly be shaking my ass when they launch in to it.  In a developing theme, the opener is worth showing up on time for.  I'm rooting for The Modern Electric to play "Ziggy Stardust."  It probably won't happen, but it would be sweet if it did.

Southeast Engine – New Growth

Super bonus: Adam Remnant dropped a video on Couch by Couchwest.  It is the bee's knees.  Dude is earnest (in a good way).

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The Flaming Lips – May 14 – Nelsonville Musc Festival

The Flaming Lips!  In southern Ohio!  Yeah!  We get to see Yo La Tengo as well!  Holy cow!  (I'm done with exclamation points for a while.)  We've all seen The Flaming Lips live deal at this point, so I'm hitting you with a less than high-fidelity video; I think it captures the sense of the thing.

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Dead leaves and the Lazy Saturday.

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.05, 2011

You've probably already heard that The White Stripes broke up.  There's been a bit of dissension in the Dick camp about what this means.  I might contend that this band effectively broke up several years ago; this week's announcement was little more than a pro forma declaration of something that many of us already suspected might be true.  I might also have been a little miffed by the high-handedness of the announcement itself.  (The music is now mine to do with what I wish?  Thanks, but it already was.  In the immortal words of another self-involved music dude: "What was yours is now everyone's from now on.")  Kevin and Diamond Jim (both far more devout worshipers at the shrine of Mr. White than I've been lately; I'm something of a lapsed Jacktist) would probably contend that we all ought nod solemnly at the official end of something awesome.  (In the same vein, that Lady-Gaga-loving-Matt Picasso went so far as to say that The White Stripes (along with MMJ) are the last great rock bands.  Really?  How would we know?)  The truth probably lies somewhere in between my cynical shoulder shrug and James's half-masted jeans.  No matter what it all means, the early shit rocked.  (For that matter, it all rocked.)

The White Stripes – The Big Three Killed My Baby, live 1999

There's something about "Dark Star" that makes sense when it's cold outside.  It's also a nice counterpoint to that stripped down bit of grit and guitar above.  This is a particularly clear crowd recording from 1969.  It is the goods.  Enjoy.

Grateful Dead – Dark Star, live 12/11/69

 

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