unpiano: music

Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts just dropped their awesome debut, Alight Of Night, on Slumberland Records and hit the road with caUSE co-MOTION!. Dark, reverby pop just in time for autumn weather.

Crystal Stilts - Departure
Crystal Stilts - Prismatic Room

I’m really psyched because I just found out that this King Tuff record will be released on vinyl in the next couple of months. That means that I’ll be able to play these sweet jams really loud over some bar speakers real soon. Did I just say “sweet jams”? Hell yes I did, have you listened to it yet? Granted, it makes me feel sort of weird that they come from Vermont since it’s so full of sunshine and stuff. Shouldn’t it come from a California coast somewhere. Whatever, the last time I went to Brattleboro was when I was like sixteen so what do I know. Umm.. what else. Oh yeah, this band is actually Kyle Thomas, who is also the frontman in J. Mascis’s stoner-metal side-project Witch. Did you know that already? The internet just told me like 30 seconds ago.

King Tuff - Sun Medallion
King Tuff - Lazerbeam
King Tuff - Dancing On You

Oh what, it’s Monday again? No big deal since I got this Wings’ song to help me out. I owe my friend Jane’s blog big time for this one. Also on a geekier note, I always forget what a great bass player Paul McCartney is. Super underrated as far as all that stuff goes.

Paul McCartney & Wings - Silly Love Songs
Paul McCartney & Wings - Silly Love Songs (video)

The Airing Of Grievences appeals to me in the same way that everything that Hickey or the Replacements did appeals to me. It’s a mix of a lot of things I like in one place at full volume. Well crafted pop-songs sung by a lunatic punk band full of alcoholics who were going to art school (or hanging out with a bunch of rich kids going to art school) and made sure it sounded fucked. Really, who else names their band after a Shakespeare tragedy or calls their first single “Camus” after an existential philosopher? That’s right, wasted art-fags from New Jersey. How’d you know?

Titus Andronicus - Fear And Loathing In Mahawah, NJ
Titus Andronicus - Joset Of Nazareth’s Blues
Titus Andronicus - My Time Outside The Womb

Goth’s have always fascinated me. Growing up in Southern California in the 80’s & 90’s, you couldn’t get away from them. Everyone had a goth older sister who was supposedly a lesbian but only time would tell. It was just part of the Southern California cultural landscape, if you were really into punk you missed it. They were going to clubs, doing hard drugs, fucking like crazy way before dance-punk made kids who grew up on hardcore lighten up. It transcended gender issues way ahead of its time, it didn’t bother with racial bullshit either - if you were willing to pile on the velour, hairspray and shirts that looked like tea-doileys you were in the club. Propaganda zine drove the goth/death rock scene fashion wise, with freaky vampires and Edward Gorey cartoons come-to-life gracing the pages in billowing, black & white costumes. It seemed so serious to me, yet all those fucking depressed freaks got jobs at the most unlikely places; McDonalds, The Warehouse… anywhere that called for a bright colored uniform and peppy customer service. Funny right? That’s how I learned what the word “irony” meant. The kids I grew up with eventually outgrew it, came out of the closet, or got into something more fashionable. But still, the only place you can find real goths these days are Los Angeles, the Valley and the Sacramento suburbs. That’s it. So hats off vampires; here’s to zits and cake makeup, ambiguous sexuality, 4 layers of carefully placed fabric in 100 degree weather, a bummer trip and the worst shoes ever.

Christian Death - Romeo’s Distress
Christian Death - Figurative Theater
Christian Death - Dream For Mother

//photo by Jason Fischer

Hey guess who’s on tour right now? Guess who also put out one of the best records of 2008 (that’s an empirical fact not up for discussion btw)? San Francisco’s Thee Ohsees that’s who. From little home-taped solo project of SF enigma John Dwyer (of the Coachwhips, Pink & Brown, Zeigenbock Kopf, Swords And Sandles, etc.) to full blown rock band of the year, The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In is a killer fucking record and “Block Of Ice” shreds (neither of these pure, empirical facts are up for discussion either). Look them up on MySpace for tour dates with the Sic Alps.

Thee Ohsees - Block Of Ice
Thee Ohsees - Ghost In The Trees

Bonus:
Thee Ohsees - Block Of Ice (live @ Cake Shop, NYC)

What can you say about Lindsey Buckingham? No, really.. what can you say? ..Because I have no idea. I think I’m starting to use this blog as a way to exercise all the songs that are stuck in my head. A friend sent this video to me a couple months ago and I still fucking hum it on a weekly basis. What else can I do but put it out into the internet in the hopes of putting it to rest. I hope you don’t mind..

Lindsey Buckingham - Holiday Road
Lindsey Buckingham - Holiday Road (video)

The rambling, ramshackle country-folk of Seattle’s The Dutchess And The Duke has been a good soundtrack to the hot summer nights we’ve been having. A departure from their previous punk outfit The Flying Dutchmen, Jesse and Kimberly pull together a record of rootsy, familiar hooks and lyrics that smack of sincerity without being cheesy. Its not a happy record, but not a hopeless one either.

The Dutchess And The Duke - Reservoir Park
The Dutchess And The Duke - Mary

I know very little about this band other than it hails from Richmond VA and is the brainchild of one Jason Boyer, whose warped sense of pop is one of my big finds for 2008. Noise, reverby Psychocandy era Jesus And Mary Chain sentiments mix with the destitute jangle of Americana. So far all that’s available are a handful of very limited cassette releases, from which these tracks were lifted, with their debut 7″ on the way.

Nerve City - The Creek
Nerve City - Junkyard
Nerve City - Living Wage

Here’s some awesome amped-up power-pop from Atlanta, two songs off what’s definitely one of my favorite 7″s from this year. Somewhere between the Exploding Hearts and early Joe Jackson (especially on the 2nd track below), Jesse Smith (also of garage punk faves The Carbonas) delivers.

Gentleman Jesse - I Don’t Wanna Know
Gentleman Jesse - No Rest (For The Wicked)