some recent pics of the cats

Hank and Blanche

The 3 cats snoozing on their favorite blanket  L to R: Hank, Norma, Blanche

Hank snoozing on the couch arm.

Ticket Stub Nostalgia: My life in concerts

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Mix Discs: In Garage We Trust volumes 1 through 4

Here are four Garage Rock mixes that I made a few years ago. The series was subtitled "Unbridled 60's Garage Punk Action" and I had tracklistings for 2 more volumes that never got made. The plan was to then do two volumes of the first garage revival (70's and early 80's) and a few more volumes of the modern garage revival, but those never happened.

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Back when I used to trade mixes on Art of the Mix, the IN GARAGE WE TRUST series were by far the most requested of all of my mixes.

Beer new arrivals for the house

The house beer supply was running low so it was time to restock. Normally we go for a mix of ol' standby's and beer we never tried - this time it's all stuff that's new to us. Between the Mrs and I there were a few beers on our list going in and a few impulse buys. I'm most eager to try the Big Muddy Monster (brewed near where I went to college so there's a nostalgic appeal) and the 5 Vulture Oaxacan style dark ale.

left to right

Chocolate Stout (American Stout from Rogue Brewery-Newport OR), Big Muddy Monster (American Brown Ale from Big Muddy Brewing-Murphysboro IL), Yeti Imperial Stout (Russian Imperial Stout from Great Divide Brewing Co.-Denver CO), Walker's Reserve Porter (American Porter from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.-Paso Robles CA), and Zywiec Porter (Baltic Porter from Zywiec Breweries PLC-Zyweic Poland).

Two full six packs (the Pandora's Bock and 5 Vulture Chile Beer) and a make-your-own sixpack.

left to right
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter (American Porter from Great Lakes Brewing Co.-Cleveland OH), Purple Haze (American style wheat beer with raspberry from Abita Brewing Co.-Abita Springs LA), Pandora's Bock (bock from Breckenridge Brewery-CO), 5 Vulture (Chile Beer from 5 Rabbit Cerveceria-Chicago IL), Hazel (American Dark Wheat Ale by Uinta Brewing Company-Salt Lake City UT), Café Negro Coffee Infused Porter (American Porter from BridgePort Brewing Co.-Portland OR), Dark Rain Black Pale Ale (American Black Ale from BridgePort Brewing Co.-Portland OR), and Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Oatmeal Stout (Oatmeal Stout from Buffalo Bill's Brewery-Hayward CA).

Disnëyzende Neubauten

Once the fervor over Disney's Joy Division t-shirt dies down I think calm heads will prevail and everyone will realize that the real issue is the lack of selection in the Disney post-punk collection. So in an attempt to get ahead of problem, here's my suggestion for the next mouseification: Einstürzende Neubauten.

REVIEW: GUIDED BY VOICES – Let's Go Eat the Factory (2012)

GUIDED BY VOICES – Let's Go Eat the Factory (Guided By Voices - January 17, 2012)

The classic Guided By Voices line-up returns with an adequate facsimile of their glory days.  

As far as reunited bands go, the much heralded Guided By Voices return appears be a success in meeting fan's expectations and touching on past glories. Let's Go Eat the Factory, their 16th, is the band's first album since disbanding in 2004. More importantly, it's the first album with the revered mid-90's line-up since 1996's Under the Bushes Under the Stars.

Like the best GBV albums, the new one is a hook heavy hodge podge of lo-fi indie pop full of quirky musical twists and Robert Pollard's wonderfully weird and occasionally ridiculous lyrics. But also like even the best GBV albums, the quality is erratic and filler mingles with the gems, throwing off the momentum. I'm a long time GBV fan, but I don't think they've ever made an entirely great album (although 1994's Bee Thousand and 2001's Isolation Drills come close). For me part of being a GBV fan means having the willingness to sort through the throw-aways and focus on the winners. MP3 player technology has made listening to the band much easier - I no longer have to keep the skip button at the ready - I can just program my faves and hit play.

One of the charms of GBV is how excessively prolific they are. It's as if they're accepting a challenge to put out X number of songs in a year. But ultimately they could use an editor - someone to say no. They're not a band that makes choices - it seems like once the song is finished it's guaranteed a spot on the album. They already have another new album in the chamber and there's a third 2012 release being discussed. Three albums in one year is funny, but I'd love to see the band finally put out one focused, great album. They can save the lesser songs for b-sides or rarities collections.

Let's Go Eat the Factory is an enjoyable album with the usual mix of punchy power pop, lo-fi garagey indie-pop, and hippy-ish experimentation (aka "dicking around").  The four or five best songs here stand up to the 4 or 5 best songs on just about any other GBV album. But this one seems to be a bit thinner on the next tier of songs. The result is an adequate album that might have sounded more substantial fifteen years ago, but today sounds more like a decent recreation of the GBV glory days rather than actually reclaiming any of their previous glory.

STANDOUT TRACKS: There's a great 3 song run of "Hang Mr. Kite", "God Loves Us", and "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" that probably plays a big part in me coming back to this album more than I though I would.

REVIEW: GARY NUMAN - Dead Son Rising (Redeye 2011)

GARY NUMAN - Dead Son Rising (Redeye 2011)

Electro-industrial epics dominate Numan's 16th album - his best in years.

Reviewing a 2011 release before I start in on the 2012 releases. I didn't even know this one came out until I finished my year end list, but this most likely would have come in around #20 had I heard it in time.

Gary Numan makes great sounding records. Whether it's new wave synth pop or dark industrial dystopian grooves he's always had a gift for making his records sonically exciting, creating just the right soundscapes to compliment the batch of songs he's currently armed with.

Gary Numan's influence on the industrial electro-metal music in undeniable, and it's almost impossible to discuss Dead Son Rising without mentioning how he's incorporated the style of some of his best known followers into his current work. Sure, the Trent Reznor influence is felt on Dead Son Rising (more than on his last few albums), but this is most definitely a Gary Numan record in every sense.

Gary brings elements of Tubeway Army and Replicas into the electro-industrial era with a wall of distorted keyboards, electronically treated guitars, and one of the most distinctive voices in rock. The album is sinister in tone, heavy on menacing, slow chugging keyboard riffs that build into epic choruses. He slows it down a few times, including two sparse piano numbers, but the album is at it's best when he's forging ahead with angular rockers with monster bass lines.

All of the songs come from a batch of unused demos from his last two albums (2000's Pure and 2006's Jagged). but the record sounds like a cohesive piece rather than random songs thrown together. That's something else Gary has always done well - he knows how to sequence an album and pace the songs perfectly. This isn't one of his best albums overall, but it is his best in 20 years and should satisfy fans of any era of his career.

STANDOUT TRACKS: "Big Noise Transmission" (which reminds me of a modern take on Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans") and fuzz-synth filled "Dead Son Rising"



 And if you haven't seen/heard it - here's the fantastic video for "My Machines" by Battles with Gary Numan on vocals - one of my favorite songs and videos of 2011.