Category: Music

The Church at The Roxy

I was killing time out in front of the club, watching people be interviewed for a documentary on the band’s tour when the interviewer said to me “you look like someone who would be a fan, care to say a few words?” Turns out he was someone I knew from the Seance list so I agreed. The question was “what is it you like about The Church?” and my answer went something like:

“Complete obstinacy. I can’t think of any other band who’s been around as long as they have who are stubborn enough to not break down and retrace their path back to those two songs that got them here in the first place. Every new album sounds just enough like themselves to be familiar but each has an implicit statement of ‘this is what we’re doing Right Now.’ Never would have figured on a group of fifty year olds, thirty years into a career, going full D.I.Y. into some of the best moody psychedelic Floyd-esque around.”

I took some photos, but since it’s me, they’re mostly of amplifiers and effect pedals so here’s some video from Solana Beach the night before:

and the full session from KCRW:

And yes it was me who sent in the proposal for a 33 1/3 book on Priest=Aura.

Coachella

Until someone uploads some video of Brian Jonestown Massacre’s tremendously gritty it’s-Medway-1982-or-1965 set (especially the “When Jokers Attack” blow out) if I had to pick a favorite moment from yesterday it would be this (unsurprisingly)

For the full effect, imagine that a truck-sized Tesla coil is shooting off to your right and a sixty foot flaming tiki torch spire is outgassing behind you.

Two other things worth taking a picture of…

Coachella Winehouse ambulanceCoachella trash can

Other favorites: Yeah Yeah Yeahs (especially their cover of “Human Fly”), Peter Bjorn and John (who I knew nothing about until yesterday), Public Enemy (of course), the east side Lemonade stand, and the lentil curry stand next to it.

My Bloody Valentine again

It sounded about how it looked and vice versa…

My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine

I wasn’t sure if the room acoustics of the El Rey would be completely overwhelmed by the sound, but it was actually easier to hear what was going on now than at the Total World Anhiliation of the Santa Monica show last year. The band was looser, false starting a couple times, occasionally smiling, and utterly killing it with all the power of an asteroid strike. Deb and Colm don’t nearly as enough credit as they should.

More photos on Flickr.

And to repost: Here are the details of Kevin’s guitar set-up and the band’s sound design.

No Line On The Horizon Preinterpreted

From the I Make Music subboard of ILX:

it would be awesome if various music people on this board would each claim one of these song titles, then write and record a song with that title, then put a link to it on this board. the songs don’t have to sound like U2 or have anything to do with U2 at all. the u2 album comes out march 3, if we could get this all done before then, it would be awesome. anyone interested?

The end result (of which I have a small part) can be found here.

imm-no line on the horizon preinterpreted.gif

UPDATE: There’s a Facebook group for the project now.

Running The Numbers III: 2008 in Music

Albums released in 2008 that I listened to more than once and still have a non-trivial number of songs in my iTunes library as of today. Best way I can think of to describe what I liked last year without resorting to an arbitrary top ten/whatever list.

  1. Alastair Galbraith – Orb
  2. Antietam – Opus Mixtum
  3. Aterciopelados – Rio
  4. Au Revoir Borealis – Dark Enough For Stars
  5. Auburn Lull – Begin Civil Twilight
  6. Avrocar – Against The Dying Of The Light
  7. The B-52’s – Funplex
  8. Barbara Morgenstern – BM
  9. Bardo Pond – Batholith
  10. Barn Owl – From Our Mouths A Perpetual Light
  11. Beangrowers – Not In A Million Lovers
  12. Belong – Colorloss Record
  13. Belong – Same Places
  14. Benoît Pioulard – Temper
  15. Bitcrush – Epilogue In Waves
  16. The Black Angels – Directions To See A Ghost
  17. The Breeders – Mountain Battles
  18. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – My Bloody Underground
  19. Brightblack Morning Light – Motion To Rejoin
  20. The Broken West – Now Or Heaven
  21. Caesars – Strawberry Weed
  22. Calexico – Carried To Dust
  23. Camille – Music Hole
  24. Caramelitus – El Otro Habitat EP
  25. Cat Power – Jukebox
  26. Celer – Discourses Of The Withered
  27. Cloudland Canyon – Lie In Light
  28. Clue To Kalo – Lily Perdida
  29. Crystal Stilts – Alight Of Night
  30. David Byrne & Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
  31. David Gilmour – Live In Gdansk
  32. The Declining Winter – Goodbye Minnesota
  33. Duffy – Rockferry
  34. The Duke Spirit – Neptune
  35. Ed Kuepper – Ed Kuepper Live
  36. Ed Kuepper – Ed Kuepper Live Vol. 2
  37. Ed Kuepper – Ed Kuepper Live Vol. 3: The Euroboot Album
  38. The Fall – Imperial Wax Solvent
  39. Fennesz – Black Sea
  40. First Communion Afterparty – Sorry For All The Mondays And To Those Who Can’t Sing
  41. Fuck Buttons – Street Horrrsing
  42. Gas – Nah Und Fern
  43. Grails – Doomsdayer’s Holiday
  44. Grails – Take Refuge In Clean Living
  45. Grouper – Dragging A Dead Dear Up A Hill
  46. Headless Heroes – The Silence Of Love
  47. Helen Boulding – New Red Dress
  48. Hollow Ox – Hollow Ox
  49. Infadels – Universe In Reverse
  50. James Blackshaw – Litany Of Echoes
  51. Jane Birkin – Enfants D’hiver
  52. Jasper TX – Black Sleep
  53. Jasper TX – Closet Ghosts
  54. Jasper TX – This Quiet Season
  55. Je Suis Animal – Self-Taught Magic From A Book
  56. Juliana Hatfield – How To Walk Away
  57. Kontakte – Soundtracks To Lost Road Movies
  58. Ladytron – Velocifero
  59. Lakes Of Russia – Stars Decorate The Fire
  60. Lau Nau – Nukkuu
  61. Lawrence English – Kiri No Oto
  62. Lights Out Asia – Eyes Like Brontide
  63. Lola Dutronic – In Berlin
  64. The Long Blondes – Couples
  65. The Lovetones – Dimensions
  66. M83 – Saturdays = Youth
  67. Native Korean Rock & The Fishnets – Native Korean Rock & The Fishnets
  68. Nicole Atkins – Digs Other People’s Songs
  69. Our Sleepless Forest – Our Sleepless Forest
  70. Piano Magic – Dark Horses EP
  71. Portishead – Third
  72. The Postmarks – By The Numbers
  73. The Quarter After – Changes Near
  74. Quiet Village – Silent Movie
  75. R.E.M. – Accelerate
  76. The Raveonettes – Sometimes They Drop By
  77. The Raveonettes – Wishing You A Rave Christmas
  78. Red Sparowes – Aphorisms
  79. Sam Phillips – Don’t Do Anything
  80. School Of Seven Bells – Alpinisms
  81. Scott Tuma – Not For Nobody
  82. Secret Machines – Secret Machines
  83. The Shortwave Set – Replica Sun Machine
  84. Sophie Hunger – Monday’s Ghost
  85. Spectrum Meets Captain Memphis – Indian Giver
  86. Spiritualized – Songs In A&E
  87. Stereolab – Chemical Chords
  88. Steve Kilbey – Painkiller
  89. Suki Ewers – Kind Of Hazy
  90. Thee American Revolution – Buddha Electrostorm
  91. Ulaan Khol – Ulaan Khol I
  92. Ulaan Khol – Ulaan Khol II
  93. The Verve – Forth
  94. Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls
  95. The Walkmen – You & Me
  96. White Hinterland – Luniculaire EP
  97. Windy & Carl – Songs For The Broken Hearted
  98. Windy Weber – I Hate People
  99. Wire – Object 47
  100. Wooden Shjips – Wooden Shjips Vol. 1
  101. Wye Oak – If Children
  102. Yellow6 – When The Leaves Fall Like Snow
  103. Yo La Tengo – They Shoot, We Score