Ryan's Smashing Life

Metric and Band of Skulls

2009-11-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

RED HOT TOUR

2 Acts You Should Know

Metric and Band of Skulls - Two of the brightest emerges on the emerging music landscape are on tour together right now. They will play back-to-back tonight [ticketing] at the House of Blues Boston.

Metric by Broadbent

It's pretty much an inevitability that a number of music fans will have Metric's Fantasies on their 2009 Best of lists. Classified as Canadians, Metric have a full-rounded experience reflected in their travels. They were formed in Toronto but have resided in Montreal, London, Los Angeles and New York.

Metric - Help I'm Alive (80kidz Remix)

METRIC
Web | Myspace

Band of Skulls by Meg Clark

One of the Best Live Bands We Saw This Year - The UK's Band of Skulls return to Boston tonight. Expect some utterly raunchy guitar, bass and drums. [link. RSL Live Photos - Band of Skulls in Boston Aug. 15, 2009] Do not arrive late. Do not miss this band.

Band of Skulls by Sean Hafferty

BAND OF SKULLS
Web | Myspace

Metric and Band of Skulls
2009 TOUR DATES

Nov 20 - Boston, MA
The House of Blues / tix
Nov 21 - NY
Northern Lights Clifton Park
Nov 23 - Baltimore, MD
Ram’s Head Live
Nov 24 - Pittsburgh, PA
Mr. Smalls Theatre
Nov 25 - Philadelphia, PA
The Electric Factory
Nov 27 - Charlotte, NC
Neighborhood Theatre
Nov 28 - Atlanta, GA
Center Stage
Nov 29 - New Orleans, LA
Republic
Nov 30 - Denver, CO
The Walnut Room
Nov 30 - Houston, TX
Warehouse Live
Dec 1 - Austin, TX
La Zona Rosa
Dec 2 - Dallas, TX
The Palladium Ballroom

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals with Brett Dennen

2009-11-19T07:01:00.000-05:00

RED HOT TOUR
2 Acts You Should Know

When Grace Potter and Brett Dennen reach Boston to play the House of Blues Boston tonight they will likely find a throng of eager new fans. Both acts have made huge inroads with new audiences with their self-effacing, embracing live shows and solid material.

This fall has been a busy one for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, who have been splitting their time between recording sessions for their third album for Ragged Company/Hollywood Records and introducing the band’s new five-piece configuration on a string of tour dates that included five incredible performances at this year’s Bonnaroo festival. Catherine Popper (Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Norah Jones) is the band’s new bass player, while fellow Vermonter Benny Yurco, who plays in the GPN side project Blues & Lasers with lead guitarist Scott Tournet and Matt Burr, makes the Nocturnals a two-guitar band. We like what we've heard and look forward to what's new.

"Ah Mary"
from This is Somewhere

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Brett Dennen has a voice beloved by thousands and he arrives this week for another big performance. He arrives in town this week with a new EP of songs available online. The Live Session EP includes reworked songs from Brett's current album, Hope For The Hopeless, including hit single, "Make You Crazy," a brand new song, "Joan of Arc," and fan favorite (and New York City's cab staple) "Blessed." Fans lucky enough to have seen Brett Dennen and Jason Mraz perform together in October will recognize their notable duet "Long Road to Forgiveness."

"San Francisco"
w/Forro in the Dark
from the Live Session EP

Brett Dennen

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
& Brett Dennon LIVE DATES

Nov 19 - Boston, MA
The House of Blues
Nov 20 - NYC
Terminal 5
Nov 21 - Philadelphia, PA
Trocadero
Nov 23 - Toronto, ON
Guvernment
Nov 24 - Detroit, MI
St. Andrews Hall
Nov 25 - Cleveland, OH
The House Of Blues
Nov 27 - Minneapolis, MN
Pantages Theatre
Nov 28 - Chicago, IL
The House Of Blues
Nov 30 - Milwaukee, WI
Turner Hall Ballroom
Dec 1 - Des Moines, IA
Peoples Court
Dec 3 - Denver, CO
Ogden Theatre
Dec 5 - Portland, OR
Crystal Ballroom
Dec 6 - Seattle, WA
Moore Theater
Dec 7 - Vancouver, BC
Commodore Ballroom
Dec 10 - San Diego, CA
The House of Blues
Dec 11- Tempe, AZ
Marquee Theatre
Dec 12 - LA
Wiltern Theatre

The Lords of Synth

2009-11-18T20:01:00.001-05:00

A Kind Look at Synthesizers!
A Quality Media Product from the BBC

Celebrating Synth

For those new to the site, we pretty much like all genres of music so long as its done well. I can't really speak for the others, but I have always liked the music of pianos and synthesizers, as evidenced by the live program ("From Behind These Keys") I put together earlier this year featuring all acts in which piano plays a pivotal role. So I was delighted to be shown this really cool BBC special celebrating the biggest synthesizer moments in our Modern lives...

part one

part two

The Rest of the Story...

Middle Distance Runner - The Sun & Earth

2009-11-17T20:01:00.001-05:00

New Music this Week!
Someone You Should Know

Middle Distance Runner

Washington DC's indie rock band Middle Distance Runner are on a short East Coast jaunt this week and are in town this week. (Catch them at TT the Bears in Cambridge on Wednesday night in support of Elliott Brood.) The Sun & Earth is the new album, and a very solid sophomore effort out just this week on Engine Room Recordings. The album is an exploration of the band's influences and varied direction. One this is clear, rhythm, piano and guitar are key players. From guitar rock, to indie pop, to soul, the band works their roots on this one. Middle Distance Runner are Stephen Kilroy (lead vocal, guitar, keyboard), Allan Chappelear (lead guitar, keyboard), Erik Dean (drums), Jay Smith (guitar, keyboard, vocals) and Tony Acampora (bass, vocals.)

Middle Distance Runner by filmmaker Maxwell Sorenson

Remaining November Dates...
11/18/09 - Cambridge, MA
~~T.T. The Bear’s~~
11/19/09 - Winooski, VT
~~Monkey House~~
11/20/09 - Hartford, CT
~~Sully’s Pub~~
11/21/09 - Baltimore, MD
~~The Metro Gallery~~

UPDATE -
Less than 12 Hours after this piece ran,
Middle Distance Runner canceled its upcoming dates.
Two band member are fighting the flu.... Yikes.

Middle Distance Runner
Stream -or- Buy the Album / Myspace

Review - Manic Street Preachers

2009-11-17T07:01:00.002-05:00

Manic Street Preachers
by Nick Parker
Growing Old Gracefully but it's a Mixed Bag that results...

In the 1990s British music scene there were hardly any bands faster and more furious than The Manic Street Preachers. Leading the charge of Welsh guitar bands in the period, the Manics were also among the most radical of them, both musically and politically. Then of course, there was James Dean Bradfield’s voice: searing; hugely powerful; completely idiosyncratic.

James Dean Bradfield BBC photo - album

Most of all their story – enduring the (presumed) death of guitarist Richey Edwards, and still managing to produce very successful, sweeping musical anthems in the aftermath – was a narrative as moving as that of New Order’s birth out of Joy Division. We wanted them to win, out of such adversity, and they did.

This year’s new release from the band though, “Journal for Plague Lovers,” really retains only one of these three elements, which had commanded our interest. The album is still marked by Bradfield’s almost operatic singing. The Manics are something I think they would have been horrified by a decade ago though: there is some fear they are becoming tame.

album art by Jenny Savill

I will start out immediately, saying that, “Journal for Plague Lovers” is not a terrible album – it’s in fact ‘solid,’ and even ‘dependable.’ But this a band that has produced such powerful work in the past though. We can hardly be satisfied with that.

"This Joke Sport Severed"
from Journal for Plague Lovers

ONE WRITER'S HUMBLE OPINION - There are a lot of similarities with this story of gentle decline and that of Supergrass’s, another 90s act whose first album, ‘I should coco,’ had an energy that even admittedly engaging later work could never match. Supergrass had a great voice to lead it too, and an incredible force that has now dissipated.

PRODUCTION ELEMENTS / THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM - At fault I think is over-production that evens out both bands’ music to the point where it is just too clear and digestible, and has had the jagged thrall of energy that I feel sure they could still muster hammered out of it. After all, it seems unfair to assume age is the issue alone. There are plenty of older bands that keep up the pace (even much older – I saw the Buzzcocks a little while ago storm through a set at the old Axis). This over-polished production is remarkable, because no less a studio master than Steve Albini was responsible for it.

I suppose The Manics shouldn’t be expected to produce endless, increasingly worn-out parodies of their initial work. What we have from The Manics this time around though is a pale version of their early stuff, and it doesn’t offer a new kind of sound to replace what’s missing of the old one.

NEW REMIX ALBUM - Helping to keep things fresh, the band have released a sister remix album, featuring the likes of British Sea Power, Underworld (their first remix in 10 years), Saint Etienne, The Horrors and Andrew Weatherall. The digital version of the remix product is available om iTunes.

MANIC STREET PREACHERS

The Colorful Dock Ellis gets Animated

2009-11-15T15:13:00.002-05:00

VIRAL VIDEO!
In 1970, Dock Ellis threw a Major League No-Hitter on LSD

Dock Ellis threw a No-Hitter tripping on Acid.
artwork by James Blagen

In 1970, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres under the influence of a very different drug... Ellis was tripping balls when his lady tells him to get to go to work. He sure did - and went on to pitch a no hitter! (An 8-walk no hitter, but a no hitter none the less!) Ellis, who passed away last year from liver illness, provided the audio for this piece. This is Viral Video.

Spend a Few Minutes checking out all these
previous RSL Viral Video selections:

Hipsters and the Wild Rumpus
Totally Geeking Out
Learning from Burning Man
In the Future DJs will get More
Miles Fisher: American Pyscho & David Byrne
Ranger3's Sense of Direction
Who or what is Pogo Poppins?
Pezzettino and the Boston Firehouse
Go Kart Mania in France with The Kooks
RYAN ADAMS in Jamaica!
Weezer covers MGMT!

Don't Get the Swine Flu
Backstage with Dylan and Waits by Seth McFarlene
Bob Dylan sells you Pepsi
Tic Tac Micha!
The Ettes soooo Just Wanna Rock!
(We are Living in) Exponential Times
Super Slo-Mo & Daft Punk
The Power to Change
The Pish Dolls / Ace of Spades
Sunday Afternoon
Psycho Killer
Running in Boston
God is a DJ

Dock Ellis's wild life has become something of a legend.

Subscribe:
The RSL YouTube Page!

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band at LeLacheur

2009-11-15T00:01:00.003-05:00

Previously Unpublished Images from the RSL Music Archives...
Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band
LeLacheur Park in Lowell, MA - 7/11/09
photos by Sean Hafferty

NEW IMAGES FROM THE BALLPARK - On a beautiful Summer Day this July we caught an amazing live show at LeLacheur Park (home to Red Sox Minor League Class affiliate The Lowell Spinners.) The afternoon started out just perfect - Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band played an incredible set under a then-blue sky. (Later, near the end of evening, during the Wilco set, the rains came down in near biblical proportions...)

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
"Nikorette"
from the 2009 record: Outer South

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
LeLacheur Ballpark in Lowell, MA
RSL Streaming Photo Album

images by Sean Hafferty

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

Heath Ledger's Music Video for Hip Hop's N'fa Forster-Jones

2009-11-14T11:11:00.000-05:00

New Music Video!
See It For Yourself...

Heath Ledger directed the video sometime before his death.
It was only released just this week.

Actor and director Heath Ledger's body of work continues to grow following his accidental drug overdose in January. We are all aware of his chilling and celebrated theatrical work in the Dark Knight. Not many of us knew the man was as passionate about music as he evidently was... In August, Modest Mouse released a music video Ledger directed. And this week, Rapper N'fa Forster-Jones chose to unveil this Ledger-directed hip hop video this week. (Ledger and Forster-Jones were friends growing up in Perth, Australia.)

Ledger's final film "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" opens in theatres on Christmas Day.

Are New Collisions the best New Wave Act in America?

2009-11-13T19:06:00.004-05:00

New Music this Week!
Someone You Should Know

BEST START EVER? - It's hard to imagine things going better for any band in it's first year these days. This is the story of The New Collisions from Boston who release their second EP album, Invisible Embraces, tonight. (This one's almost sure to be a sold-out show tonight, thanks in no small part to the stacked deck of talented live bands on the bill this evening.) Many of those in attendance will be there to see The New Collisions' Sarah & Scott Guild, Alex Stern, and Zak Kahn put on a solid showing tonight. As I said - expectations will be high. This has been a truly remarkable first year...

the New Collisions - Parachutes on the Dance Floor

This Was Our 2009 - Formed early this year, and discovered by the Cars' Greg Hawkes. We wrote about them first back in May. By summer's end they had toured nationally with The B-52s and even opened a stage for their artistic mentors in Blondie. Just last week, New York Magazine and This Week in New York chose The New Collisions as one of the top ten bands at CMJ. Just this week, the New Collisions filmed for the nationally syndicated Fearless Music Television, a program broadcasting to millions. Yeah, it's been one hell of a year. It all raises the question if the New Collisions are America's Top New Wave Act?

TONIGHT - The new EP drops this evening at the Middle East in Cambridge. Lineup also features THE FUTURE EVERYBODY, GENE DANTE AND THE FUTURE STARLETS, THICK AS THIEVES, and THE LUXURY.

THE NEW COLLISIONS
bios, album information, touring

WIN an AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THE NEW EP!!!
EMAIL US W/ THE WORDS "The New Collisions" AS THE SUBJECT.

Afraid of the Number 13

2009-11-12T19:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Friday the 13th, and if you are one of the many thousands of superstitious people who fear this day and all that it brings... there's not much I can do to ease your mind. This is the third Friday the 13th of the year. Just to show you what a great sense of humor I have, here's Social Distortion's "Bad Luck."

Social Distortion - Bad Luck
one of the best live bands ever
Web / Myspace / Facebook

Cool 13 Facts:

There are 13 Moons in a year
There are 13 witches in a traditional coven
13 Notches on the horn carried by the Venus of Laussel
There are 13 Buddhas in some schools of thought in India
13 original colonies in America
The known universe is currently thought to be about 13.7 billion years
old, with an error of about one percent.
There are 13 zodiac constellations, which consist of the 12 signs in
the astrological zodiac and Ophiuchus.
In Judaism, 13 is considered a lucky number.
One explanation for this is that the word אחד echad, Hebrew for 'one' and thus a way of
describing the unique God, has the numerological value of 13 according
to the Gematria system.
The ancient Maya used the number 13 in the development of their
calendrical science which served as the basis of their cosmology as
well. The 13:20 ratio expresses the frequencies and cycles of
Creation, now scientifically verifiable through the latest discoveries
about the classical period Mayan Calendar.
In Sikhism, the number thirteen (13) is a number devoted to the
remembrance of God, therefore it is also considered lucky by people
who practice the Sikh faith.

An Evening with The Motion Sick

2009-11-12T07:01:00.000-05:00

The Band's 150th Show with Static of the Gods!
Win a CD and 2 tickets to Friday's Show!

The Motion Sick - The Owls are Not What They Seem
find out about this song - click the interview link below!

FRI 11/13 at the Middle East
The Motion Sick (150th show!)
Static of the Gods (CD Preview)
The Living Sea
Where the Land Meets the Sea
Ghost Ocean

An Evening of 'Wit Rock' - The Smartest Band in America, Boston's The Motion Sick headline a fun-filled rock lineup of FIVE BANDS tomorrow at the Middle East. We have not focused on this worthy (and fun, did I say, fun?) act since March - since that time The Motion Sick have won the hearts of even more folks with their delightful material. (2008's "The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait" was one of the 20 Best Albums of the Tear. No one who has heard the material has yet to disagree.)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Here's my interview with the Motion Sick. I think you will be surprised just how unpredictable and brilliant indie rock can be...

WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN - Enter today to win a pair of passes to see these four bands at a show that's already dangerously close to selling out! Winner also gets a copy of the Motion Sick's album. That's a lot of fun and entertainment for no scratch at all!

WIN the album and 2 tickets
to The Motion Sick show on Friday!

EMAIL ENTRY W/ "THE MOTION SICK" AS THE SUBJECT.

THE MOTION SICK
Myspace / Web / Blog

Blind Pilot + The Low Anthem

2009-11-11T21:01:00.002-05:00

Tour's End - Last Night Together...!
2 Bands You Should Know

Blind Pilot's new album

Blind Pilot and The Low Anthem arrive in Boston Thursday night to play The Paradise. Notably, this is the last night the two acts will play together on this tour. In one showcase tonight, local music fans have a snapshot of two of the most promising bands on tour - at the top of their game. Expect huge things from both acts as they part ways - Blind Pilot heads north on the first of a string of dates with Laura Veirs. The Low Anthem head to Europe for a number of high-profile shows; the first of which in England, is already sold out!

BLIND PILOT

Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard

For Portland's Blind Pilot, the ascension has been fast and undeniable. Having shared a stage with The Hold Steady, Counting Crows, Akron/Family and now The Low Anthem, the band has carved a large and loyal following the last year - playing festivals and small halls alike.

Touring as a six-piece, Blind Pilot is Israel Nebeker (vocals, guitar), Ryan Dobrowski (drums), Luke Ydstie (upright bass, backing vocals), Kati Claborn (banjo, dulcimer, backing vocals), Ian Krist (Vibraphones), and Dave Jorgensen (keyboards, trumpet)Unbelievably textured and tangible, the band is making some incredible music these days...

Web / Myspace

The Low Anthem in action
photograph by Johanna Neufeld

Having seen the Low Anthem up close and personal, backstage and performing at this year's Newport Folk Festival [RSL's outstanding photo album] - we would be not fulfilling our music-blog duties if we didn't point these guys out for you. (We're not alone - Oh My God Charlie Darwin, has been named one of the best albums of the year by Paste Magazine.) If you don't know this Rhode Island act now, this is your chance:

The Low Anthem - Charlie Darwin - Official Video
from End of the Road Films on Vimeo.

ABOUT THE VIDEO: The video for "Charlie Darwin" was produced by End of the Road Films. Glenn Z Taunton and Simon Taffe, a portion of the design team behind The End of the Road Festival, assembled a small team of painters, carpenters and handymen at a studio in Sussex, England to craft the stop-frame animated video.

Web / Myspace

WIN "3 Rounds and a Sound" ALBUM and 2 tickets
to the Blind Pilot / Low Anthem show!!

EMAIL ENTRY W/ "BLIND PILOT / LOW ANTHEM" AS THE SUBJECT.

Recurrent & Funky: Atlanta's Fishhawk

2009-11-11T07:01:00.000-05:00

One of the best new sounds we have heard in many months, Atlanta's Fishhawk is a new kind of indie rock band using elements of several styles to create a new type of musical art. Fishhawk merges several music styles (rock, electronica, rap, slow beats, hip-hop and soul.) Tracks on Bells Underwater are punctuated by beats, stirred with strong vocals and peppered with plenty of pop hooks. The band ventured north in June of this year, playing a well-received set at Great Scott in Allston. Look for us to bring back the band in 2010.

Fishhawk - Night Owl

FISHHAWK
Myspace / Facebook

NEW - REM Live at the Olympia

2009-11-09T21:01:00.002-05:00

NOW IN STORES - R.E.M. Live At The Olympia is a two-CD set featuring 39 songs from the band's acclaimed 2007 sessions in Dublin. These songs sound great and make me hopeful that this is REM's return to their glorious past. (I am thinking old school.) Live At The Olympia gives fans an opportunity to hear those songs at their earliest stages of development. In addition to the new material, the band also served up twenty-nine other songs, spanning their entire career, all of which can be found on this album.

Drive - Live at the Olympia in Dublin

R.E.M. | MySpace Video

Disc 1:
Living Well Is The Best Revenge / Second Guessing / Letter Never Sent / Staring Down The Barrel of the Middle Distance / Disturbance At The Heron House / Mr. Richards / New Test Leper / Cuyahoga / Electrolite / Man-Sized Wreath / So. Central Rain / On The Fly / Maps And Legends / Sitting Still / Driver 8 / Horse To Water / I’m Gonna DJ / Circus Envy / These Days

Disc 2:
Drive / Feeling Gravity’s Pull / Until The Day Is Done / Accelerate / Auctioneer / Little America / 1,000 / Disguised / Worst Joke Ever / Welcome To the Occupation / Carnival of Sorts / Harbor Coat / Wolves Lower / I’ve Been High / Kohoutek / West of the Fields / Pretty Persuasion / Romance / Gardening At Night

remdublin.com

WIN REM'S LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA ALBUM!!
EMAIL US WITH THE WORDS "R.E.M. - DUBLIN" AS THE SUBJECT.
WE SHIP THIS DOUBLE-CD SET TO ONE LUCKY WINNER

Photo Album - The Polyphonic Spree at the Paradise Boston

2009-11-09T01:01:00.001-05:00

Photographic Evidence
by Sean Hafferty
The Paradise Boston, MA - 9/17/09

Tim Delaughter and The Spree at the Paradise
images by RSL's Sean Hafferty

"Hold Me Now"
from Together We're Heavy

RSL Streaming Photo Album
The Polyphonic Spree at the Paradise, Boston (9-17-09)

The Polyphonic Spree
Web / Myspace

Stage Photos - Thao Nguyen with the Get Down, Stay Down

2009-11-08T11:01:00.001-05:00

Photographic Evidence
by Emma Dessau
Live at the Middle East - 11/2/2009

Thao Nugyen at the Middle East
Emma Dessau images

Touring behind the might of their new album, "Know Better Learn Faster," Thao Nguyen arrived at the Middle East to play last week. Photographer Emma Dessau was there to capture Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down as they awoke some musical ghosts in Boston. Be sure to check out the band's new music video, if you dig these shots!

RSL Streaming Photo Album
Thao Nguyen at the Middle East(11-2-09)

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down
Web / Myspace

Ramona Falls - I Say Fever

2009-11-07T16:31:00.000-05:00

New Music Video and Album!
Someone You Should Know

It Doesn't Sound Like A Side Project... RAMONA FALLS

Responsible Party? - Menomena's Brent Knopf
photo by Melani Brown

PORTLAND, OR - Ramona Falls is the music side project of Brent Knopf (Menomena). We are loving Knopf... er... Ramona Falls' new music video for I Say Fever. Check it out and discover out why we picked this sound for today's artist spotlight:

Romana Falls - I Say Fever
from the new Intuit album

Ramona Falls

Cassavettes - Shakedown the Sun

2009-11-06T07:31:00.004-05:00

New Music this Week!
Someone You Should Know

NEW MUSIC FROM ONE OF BOSTON'S BEST - Local readers should head to the Middle East in Central Square, Cambridge, tonight for one of our favorite live acts. Boston perennial favorites Cassavettes are releasing, 'Shakedown the Sun,' their first new studio in almost three years. The album is a scalding attack on inertia - with the band proving once again that they are one of the best going. (The original band: Scott Yoder, Mike McCullagh, Matt Snow and Scott Jones - are friends and each is present and accounted for on the new record.)

The 12 tracks on Shakedown deftly navigate the waters of the band's last three years. Some are more obviously, but updated, versions of the band's Americana past. Others are more howling versions of the band's wrestle with the Pop Sound. And there are abundant examples of their new and glorious future: rock-fueled soul tracks that uses emotion as a primary motivater. This is the Cassavettes that Boston folks have come to know and love - but it's Cassavettes 3.0 - a time when the band is getting better almost daily. This is why RSL has tapped this material as Best of 2009 material.

"Seek Cover"
from Shakedown the Sun

Over the course of the last three years, Cassavettes have found themselves the standard support for a number of prestigious band. The Allman Brothers, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Superdrag, Jesse Malin and Kings of Leon all tapped them to open the stage on different dates. The offers kept coming and the Cassavettes have not let them down.

GLENN YODER of CASSAVETTES: "That Paradise gig (opening up for KOL) really seemed to jump-start our career, actually, more than any other I can think of. KOL showed up after losing all their equipment on a flight connection in Japan, were quite surly, and played sort of a half show after some fans got them all riled up. It was a free show, and as I recall, it was the evening the Kevin Garnett trade was announced. So people were in full-on party mode. We still get people coming up to us, telling us that it was a great time and a show they discovered us at."

RYAN SPAULDING for RSL: "Let's talk about 'Shakedown the Sun,' What was your approach to writing this songs and recording the album? How was it different this time around?"

YODER: "This time it was all about letting the songs really sound, well, BIG. I wanted to put that old 'Let It Bleed' tagline in the liner notes, "This Record Was Made to Be Played Loud," but we figured that idea had been played out. Either way, the record was indeed made to be played loud, because that's how these songs sound best. Over the years, we've evolved into a louder, more "rock" band, and this record reflects that change.

"It actually hits you over the head with it. We have a beast on the drums, who has once been described as trying to put his stick through the drumhead, and keep in mind, Mike and Scott grew up admiring Metallica. Our record certainly doesn't sound like Metallica, but we indulged those rockier aspirations that were lurking deep within us. It turns out that, deep down, we are a rock band. This record is a coming of age story, I suppose -- like "Harold & Maude" without fake suicides and sex with old ladies."

RSL: "Let's talk about the band. In what sense is the new material reflective of you and the band? Or, are these songs inhabited by original characters of fictitious origins?"

YODER: "Well, lyrically, it's a mix bag as it always will be when you have two writers writing separately. Mike likes to write about certain subjects, and I have my comfort spots. This is the first record we've made that doesn't have a song we've teamed up on lyrically (however, we often play with each other's progressions, melodies, etc). So, I think the contrast may be more stark than previous records, which is in some ways cool. Also, these songs are a long time coming, since we haven't put out a studio CD since December 2006, so it's really a document of a few years worth of growth, personally and with the band. Kind of a time capsule. Or, like I said earlier, a coming of age story? That circled back nicely.

RSL: "Would you be willing to take a song from Shakedown the Sun and try to do your best to describe how it came to be?"

YODER: "As I've grown as a lyricist (hopefully), I've started putting a lot more emphasis on writing the words separately. Growing up, I'd often just fit words into what sounded cool or worked in the meter, and if something cool came of that, great, if not, then it was just "playing music." Eh, not always the best way to get good results. Starting with the first Cassavettes record, I think we've really placed a premium on storytelling, and the words have taken center stage.

"I often will write things separately, like a melody and a couplet or a verse, and then pair them together if it feels right. A song like "Golden Fleece" is a great example of that, as it was a story I was trying to get at -- half-true, half-fiction -- about this old woman who is just trying to find peace of mind after a life of extreme misfortune. Heady stuff, I realize, but I had a very clear vision of this character and who I wanted her to be, and the melody was just something I'd been toying with for ages. Eventually, the two made perfect sense together, and from there, it was just a process of refinement until it sounded like it sounded in my head.

"Golden Fleece"
from Shakedown the Sun

"Not all songs work that way, though -- some click instantly. "Lights On" I wrote while we were on tour in Texas in about 10 minutes. I had just woken up at my old friend Jimmy's house, and was playing his guitar while he kept sleeping in the other room. I recorded the song into my cell phone, flew back to Boston, and hardly changed a thing about it when I turned it over to the band. So, it can really go either way."

Cassavettes

Gene McCullagh photo

TONIGHT - Cassavettes release their new CD tonight at the Middle East with Movers & Shakers [on RSL], post), You Can Be A Wesley, Quixote and Jookabox. Highly recommended! 8pm Doors / $12.

Cassavettes on Myspace

Pearl and the Beard

2009-11-05T19:31:00.003-05:00

New Music this Week!
Someone You Should Know

Pearl and the Beard
photo by Tea and Brie

DATELINE: BROOKLYN NYC - Talented three-piece have an album of fresh, top-notch material and an exciting new music video. Jocelyn Mackenzie, Emily Hope Price and Jeremy Styles are known as Pearl and the Beard. The band's new album is titled, 'God Bless Your Weary Soul.' The band just released a new music video for the "Will Smith Medley" - the band's unique take on 8 of the Fresh Prince's hits. We love their fresh approach and you had better believe we will be keeping on an eye on this band in the year to come!

Pearl and the Beard - Will Smith Medley
from Goddamn Cobras Collective on Vimeo.

Pearl and the Beard - Oh Death
from the new album, God Bless Your Weary Soul

PEARL and the BEARD
Buy the Record / Blog / Myspace

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - WOXY 2005 radio session

2009-11-05T07:31:00.002-05:00

Live And Of Note
CYHSY radio session - 9/21/05

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH

One of the most influential bands of the last decade, self-made startups Clap Your Hands Say Yeah told a generation of bands that they could self-produce and release a very successful album campaign. Their eponymous was a huge, soaring exploration of sound. And it took the indie world by storm. By mid-2005, their name was all over the place and the band had an invitation to play the WOXY studios in front of a small, live audience. The songs were broadcast out into the universe for many thousands to enjoy. Here is that show....

Details of the War
Gimme Some Salt
In This Home of Ice
Cigarettes

SINCE THAT TIME - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah went on a pair of hugely successful tours in support of their debut. They made fans all over the world. We saw them play twice. As most of you are likely aware, Clap Your Hands got a record deal (predictably) and responded with a middling effort with "Some Loud Thunder" a record that wasn't at all bad - but it just didn't capture the magic of this band's phenomenal debut. Singer Alec Ounsworth has released a pair of solo efforts. His latest is called Flashy Python. Bandmates went on to form an on-again, off-again Guns N Roses cover band of note called, Mr. Brownstone, and then Robbie and Tyler have recently gone on to form a new act called Uninhabitable Mansions. We want to check this group out but missed them during their visit to Boston in October.

Action Verbs - 'Meeting People on the Internet'

2009-11-04T06:31:00.001-05:00

Going Out Boston - Tonight!
Someone to Know:

THE LATEST BAND TO EMERGE IN BOSTON - The long-awaited EP from Action Verbs emerges tonight in a great lineup over at Church of Boston. We have been staunch supports of this band for a couple of years now after hearing them somewhat by chance. And, we were happy to add them to the RSL's family of live acts when they played our June 2008 lineup at the Middle East. It ended up being one of the best shows we saw the entire year last year. After the show, while the creative winds were stirring, Action Verbs - obviously enthusiastic of how well they were received by an eager audience - began plotting the recording and release of their EP right there on the spot.

Action Verbs - ... to never again
from the 2008 demos

MEETING PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET - The title for the EP is appropriate as this was one of the first ever organically grown internet band. (The members met online - through Craigslist.) We are ecstatic for these guys. If you can make the show - get there early. The band, who sound great live, are giving away 50 copies of the record to early attendees. That's one sweet deal!

Web / Myspace

Thao and The Get Down, Stay Down

2009-11-03T07:01:00.004-05:00

Visiting Artist Profile
by Emma Dessau
Someone You Should Know...

Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down
Shervin Lainez photograph

Thao Nguyen of Thao and the Get Down, Stay Down, the Portland Cello Project is my heroine of all bubble-gum wonderful pop music! She will visit the Middle East Downstairs tonight. Thao's stellar second album, "Know Better Learn Faster," came out early this October. It impressively rivals her 2008's "We Brave Bee Stings and All" primarily because "Know Better Learn Faster" plays like a sequel, or as Pitchfork writer Stephen M. Deusner put it, "a post-party comedown." While "We Brave" was all about the playfulness of life, "Know Better" crosses into disappointment, "sad sex" and relationships gone wrong. Fortunately, Thao hasn't lost her touch for putting the catchiest beats behind the story line.

brand new this week...

The Tuesday show will also feature the Portland Cello Project, a group Thao collaborated with this past summer to produce "The Thao and Justin Power Sessions." The Project hails from Portland, Oregon and claims to make you shout "WE LOVE PCP!" without an afterthought during their performances.

This show isn't something to miss. I hope to see you there. I'll be the one in the front, staring up in awe at Thao with a big stupid grin.

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down
Web / Myspace

Televandals - What You Need To Know

2009-11-02T19:31:00.000-05:00

RED HOT RIGHT NOW!
A Brand New Music Video and an Unreleased Song
Boston's Televandals

NEW VIDEO & NEW MUSIC - One of the best performances from the last month came for me just last Friday night. It was a Halloween covers party put on by The Pill at Great Scott in Allston. I came in with some pretty high expectations. And those lofty sights got set a bit higher with a really great cover of The Smiths by locals The Honors. Immediately following was Boston red-hot hopefuls Televandals who took on the mantle of The Clash. Thus began the band's week in the spotlight here in Boston.

Televandals

TELEVANDALS were a Halloween Treat... Song after well-known song, Televandals hammered the tracks home. (Note to the band: you gotta do Guns of Brixton.) Thoroughly impressive, the Televandals are: J Restless on Guitar and lead vocals, Nico on Synth, Guitar and Backing vocals, Ride-Out on drums, beats and Backing vocals, and Nick on Bass and Backing vocals.

One Thing To Know About Televandals -They're in it to win it. Things are happening for them. They are preparing their full-length debut. (RSL media player with unreleased track, "Endor" is offered up below.) TT the Bears plays host to the Televandals new music video release tonight. (The video is below, but I am sure your ADHD-ass is already watching it.)

"Endor"
from unreleased album

On Wednesday, Televandals will fire up the van and haul the keys to Great Scott. They have an early set (that's a good chance to catch 'em for the first time folks), opening up for Toronto electro act Dragonette.

brand new video.

Televandals

VIRAL VIDEO - Hipsters & the Wild Rumpus

2009-11-01T23:00:00.000-05:00

Artwork (detail) by Saud Boksmati

VIRAL VIDEO: We're a music and entertainment website that regularly risks the murky, perilous waters of hipsterdom at every turn. (Do you remember this piece we posted? Just checking.) Continuing right where we left off, Viral Video storms the website - offering cross-over thrills with socially relevant material. Today we look at mega-hit movie trailer for imaginative blockbuster, Where the Wild Things Are. Then we get to bring one our favorite topics, again... hipsters, to the fore. You see, this is what happens in life when you make good choices and stir your drinks clockwise...

up first, the original trailer...

and... Where the Hipsters Are - the spoof!

Jen Sorensen's funny-as-hell Slowpoke.

Spend a Few Minutes checking out all these
previous RSL Viral Video selections:

Totally Geeking Out
Learning from Burning Man
In the Future DJs will get More
Miles Fisher: American Pyscho & David Byrne
Ranger3's Sense of Direction
Who or what is Pogo Poppins?
Pezzettino and the Boston Firehouse
Go Kart Mania in France with The Kooks
RYAN ADAMS in Jamaica!
Weezer covers MGMT!

original artwork by Clay Sisk

Subscribe:
The RSL YouTube Page!

Lou Barlow's 'Goodnight Unknown' upstages latest Dinosaur Jr effort

2009-11-01T08:30:00.001-05:00

On Further Review!
Barlow gathers himself for solo effort
by Nick Parker

Dinosaur Jr's Lou Barlow : Better on his own

THE SUN COMES OUT - Lo-Fi pioneer and a founding member of both Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, Lou Barlow has released his new solo album, “Goodnight Unknown,” only a matter of weeks after “Farm,” Dinosaur Jr’s latest effort, on which he played bass. You have to wonder, given this proximity, how the two projects fit together, and I’m happy to report the answer is ‘not well at all.’ While I have already written about the incredibly complacency of those involved in phoning it in on “Farm,” it appears Lou has used the funds from that debacle to produce, in 'Goodnight,' his most interesting work in some years.

GOODNIGHT UNKNOWN - There is a short film about the making of the album available here. I’ve tried not to let this documentary color my perspectives on the project. I think I’ve failed. Listening to Lou narrate images of his life working on “Goodnight” – setting-up and then re-configuring his home ‘studio;’ recording the sounds of child’s toys to make ambient sounds; working 9-5 on the album and then returning emoh to play with his 4yr-old daughter – I am left feeling jealous of the resources being a member of Dinosaur Jr has offered him to work, and intimidated by the snatches of music that have been born of it. When I turn back to the album itself, the final product is not quite so overwhelming an experience as his hard work on the film might suggest, but it’s not far off.

Our writer much prefers Barlow's new album to Dinosaur Jr's 'Farm'

"One Note Tone"
from Goodnight Unknown

Why am I not as head-over-heels in love as I was about “The Freed Man” or “Bakesale?” Lou seems to move frustratingly on and off at points on this album. (It's as if he forgets that he is one of world's best songwriters from time to time!) Above all for me, those other albums set the standard for intimacy in music in two ways: they are musically more slight and simple than almost anything else ever recorded, and lyrically they are as open and candid as you might hope to confess on your deathbed.

Not to all tastes, this kind of songwriting (and not even to Lou’s at times it seems), but when it’s done well it’s a consummate enactment of connection between songwriter and listener. And there are moments of this king of bond on “Goodnight,” which is quite an achievement for someone writing their 20th or perhaps 30th album. “One Note Tone” is a song that could stand pretty well with ‘classics’ of his own genre like “Mystery Man,” “Two Years Two Days” or “Poledo.” “Too Much Freedom” is also poignant like tunes of old.

All in all, how much can we ask of Lou? – That he matches or betters his best at every turn? Hardly likely, and hardly fair. He has written an album in which he digs once more into his own deep life, and we can enjoy hearing the sometimes stumbling results.

Lou Barlow