Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
09 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: oregon shores, yukon blonde
Yukon Blonde: “Oregon Shores” (2012)
Yukon Blonde are a Canadian Indie rock band who may bring fellow Canucks Sloan to mind. This is 70’s-style pop rock with sweet harmonies, a nice biting guitar solo and reverb that carries echoes of transistor radio days.
Folks, these guys are really good.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/08/01/recommended-albums-23/
09 Oct 2012 2 Comments
in On a Lighter Note Tags: spinal tap
(Reprinted from Guitar World)
Some of the most memorable quotes from a most quotable movie:
“These go to 11.” – Nigel Tufnel
“I believe virtually everything I read, and I think that is what makes me more of a selective human than someone who doesn’t believe anything.” – David St. Hubbins
“It’s like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” – Nigel Tufnel
“Here lies David St. Hubbins … and why not?” – David St. Hubbins
“I think that the problem may have been that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf.” – David St. Hubbins
“Have … a good time … all the time.” – Viv Savage
“Authorities said … best leave it … unsolved, really.” – Nigel Tufnel
“You can’t really dust for vomit.” – Nigel Tufnel
“Oh, we’ve got a bigger dressing room than the puppets. That’s refreshing.” – David St. Hubbins
“They’re two distinct types of visionaries. It’s like fire and ice. Basically I feel my role in the band is to be somewhere in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water.” – Derek Smalls
“Well, this piece is called ‘Lick My Love Pump.'” – Nigel Tufnel
“As long as there’s, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock ‘n’ roll.” – Mick Shrimpton
“Well, I’m sure I’d feel much worse if I weren’t under such heavy sedation.” – David St. Hubbins
“But you’re not as confused as him, are you? I mean, it’s not your job to be as confused as Nigel.” – David St. Hubbins
09 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: bad religion, prodigal son
Bad Religion: “Prodigal Son” (2007)
If Bad Religion are a punk band, or a hardcore band, as is commonly asserted, they aren’t a typical one. Let’s start with the fact that they’ve been together for more than 30 years. Punk bands have a life expectancy of next Tuesday.
Also, punk bands don’t tend to use wall of sound harmonies to back up strong melodic hooks–unless they’re latter-day Social Distortion. And they don’t typically have the vocabulary and wordplay skillz that Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz put on display:
Modernistocrat Horatio Alger…ever waiting for that canticle of manacles abating…he’s a mourning star with a champagne heart at his curtain call…you better redress the level of the cowardice rising to drown you…
A little more Elvis Costello than Ramones in the lyric department. Actually, this band sounds to me like a power pop band slapped up against chugging hardcore guitar and punk drumming–a pretty thrilling combination to me when you throw in intelligient lyrics.
I really always thought smart punk–or at least snarky punk–was more powerful than the dumbed-down kind anyway. Elvis Costello was more artful than the Ramones, and therefore spoke more directly even to my visceral receptors. (I’ll have to check to make sure I have visceral receptors, but I feel like I do…)
09 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: candy butchers, mike viola, the wonders
Candy Butchers: “You Belong to Me Now” (2002)
Mike Viola and his New York power pop band Candy Butchers. Although their catchier material draws comparisons to Neil Finn and Crowded House, Viola can be acerbic and Graham Parker-esque at other times:
Heaven knows, but Hell knows better/I wear my heart like bells on a leper
And if his voice sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because Mike Viola is the voice of the lead singer of these one-hit Wonders:
So if you want you can fantasize that “You Belong to Me Now” is a solo single released by lead singer Jimmy sometime after the breakup of the band…or not.
See also: Video of the Week: Making That Thing You Do! | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)
08 Oct 2012 7 Comments
in Articles, Best of the Blog, General Posts Tags: mumford & sons, the beatles
Fact: Mumford & Sons have six songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart this week.
Wild, misleading hyperbole, courtesy of Paste magazine:
Mumford & Sons Tie The Beatles for Most Hot 100 Hits in a Week
…The quartet is now in a league with The Beatles as the band with the most Hot 100 hits in a week. Lead single “I Will Wait” moves up to No. 57, and joining it are the debuts of five others including the title track (No. 60), “Lover’s Eyes” (No. 85), “Whispers in the Dark” (No. 86), “Holland Road” (No. 92) and “Ghosts That We Knew” (No. 94). (http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/10/mumford-sons-beat-the-beatles-for-most-hot-100-hit.html )
Reality check:
During the week of April 4, 1964 the Beatles not only occupied the top five slots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (#1 “Can’t Buy Me Love”, #2 “Twist and Shout”, #3 “She Loves You”, #4 “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and #5 “Please Please Me”) but held twelve positions overall. Twelve. Twice as many as six.
Oh, and of the twelve songs the Beatles charted simultaneously, three topped the chart at some point. And others didn’t only because they were crowded out of the number one slot by other Beatles songs. (“Twist and Shout” and “Do You Want to Know a Secret” were #2’s and “Please Please Me” peaked at #3)
Oh, and that same week’s chart also included two singles that were tributes to the Beatles (“We Love You Beatles” by the Carefrees and “A Letter to the Beatles” by the Four Preps). Oh, and two more Beatle tribute songs charted just two weeks previous (“My Boyfriend Got a Beatle Haircut” by Donna Lynn and “The Boy With the Beatle Hair” by the Swans).
Oh, and the following week another Beatles number 1 , “Love Me Do” would debut on the American charts.
Also beginning the same month Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas would chart three hits written and given to them by the Beatles, including top ten “Bad to Me”. Then starting in May a string of three Beatle-penned top twenty hits came from Peter & Gordon, including number 1 “A World Without Love”.
You see, the Beatles weren’t a flavor-of-the-month iTunes wonder–you know, like Kings of Leon, the last Next Big Thing? They were, and are, a cultural phenomenon. They owned not only the decade of the sixties but (let’s be honest) every decade since. In the less than seven years between their first chart hit and their breakup they established a record for most number 1 singles (20) that still stands. The great Rolling Stones, who made their chart debut within nine months of the Beatles and are still at it, remain at number fourteen on that list with 8.
The Beatles had 15 American million-selling records in 1964 alone. Their total worldwide record sales are in excess of 1 billion units.
Every conversation about the greatest rock and roll album of all time starts with one or another of their LPs.
The Beatles’ drummer has had seven more top ten singles as a solo artist than Mumford & Sons. In fact, Mumford & Sons have never had a top ten single. Or a top twenty single.
I could go on. The point is that calling a band like Mumford & Sons “in a league with the Beatles” is irresponsible hype. And saying they’ve tied them for the most chart hits in one week is factually incorrect. Correct your post, Paste. Post haste.
Every Moment Has A Song 