This song came on the other night while we were deep into the third round of a freeze out tournament. I love playing poker, and I love it even more when I’m listening to good music and catching cards. “The Low Spark…” is over 10 minutes in duration song. A lot can happen during that time in a poker game. Fortunately, I was playing pretty tight, and wasn’t catching much — so I just sat back, folded my hands, and listened. Poker is a game of patience and well-timed aggression. I’ve learned that much.

This is a magical song–pure analog bliss. I’m walking on the beach listening to the waves. I’m sitting in a cafe in Paris drinking a glass of Red Wine. I’m taking a drive, late at night, on an empty highway. I’m taking down a massive pot after value betting the full-house I caught on the river.

There is a lot to learn from the music of Traffic. It’s timeless. It’s epic. And it rocks hard. I’m not sure what the title of the song means. Any ideas? Have a listen.

Part 1:

Part 2

I’ve really been enjoying Blip FM. It’s the closest I’ve come to a real-time DJ experience since my college radio days. Here’s how it works: Let’s say you have a hankering for a song, like “Police Story” by Black Flag. Simply login, do a quick search, and most likely you’ll find the tune your looking for. I’m thinking Blip crawls the web, finds the file your looking for, and then bingo bango 3-seconds later your song is there. Now, it’s definitely more difficulut to find an obscure Hellbender tune, but even then your chances aren’t half-bad. Check out some of the tunes I’ve blipped and you’ll see what I mean.

The interface works almost identically to Twitter, with a couple of other music oriented features. With Twitter you have followers and with Blip you get listeners. The other community aspect is that when someone likes a tune that you Blip — they give you “props”. It seems like the more props and @mentions you give and get — the more listeners one acquires. This makes you feel incredibly important and self-satisfied. There are people on Blip with something like 12,000 listeners. I’m not sure how they’ve accumulated that many listeners; although, I imagine it comes from spending a lot time blipping. This to me — will eventually be the down fall of Blip unless the admin starts practicing a little quality control.

All in all the popularity contest is pretty silly, but I still dig the site as an opportunity to create online play lists for free. And I have to say, there is a certain satisfaction that comes when some random Joe from Dayton gives me props for throwing up an old Avail tune.

Also, I heard the Real Kids today on the Underground Garage for the first time, and was blown away by their sound. And the tune “Glad”, by Traffic, is as good as Grandma’s oatmeal cookies. How about Wire’s first album, Pink Flag? I am ashamed to say I only came to discover that album last month. Not too many bands can say they were doing post-punk before the hey day’s of punk was even over.

Okay, time to feed the baby, and come check me out on Blip if you get a chance.

Everyone needs a mix for the summer. Something new. Something to listen to on the way to Northern Michigan for a weekend on a secluded lake. Something to listen to in heavy traffic on the BQE with the sun putting blisters in the eyes. Something to listen to with the windows down as a light rain brushes against your arm on a cool August night.

Cheers to the guy who invented summer.

The Story: (go to the bottom of this post to download or stream)

1. The Boys — “Monotony”
2. Small Faces — “Tin Soldier”
3. Brant Bjork — “Punk Rock Guilt”
4. Toots & The Maytals — “Time Tough”
5. Seam — “Petty Thievery”
6. Halo Benders — “On a Tip”
7. Drive by Truckers — “Marry Me”
8. King Khan and the Shrines — “No Regrets”
9. Humble Pie — “I Don’t Need No Doctor”

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Once in a rare moon I get together with some good friends for what we refer to as “Man Night”. Translation: a night without girlfriends or wives. It also means a chance to play DJ — two turn tables and a mixing board. Showtime.

Picking out the records is always fun — yet stressful. That’s because every song counts. And keeping within the spirit of competitive male bonding — someone always wins.

Throughout the week, I’m making out my set list with the hope that I will impress all my buddies with a rare Pretty Things LP or some out-of-print Badfinger album I picked up for $3 at a flea market in Maine. Phrases like: “Hey man, who is this?” or “Can I see the liner notes?” earn big points. Excessive talking during your set about other bands people are currently listening to is a bad sign.

It was on one of those nights a few years back that I came in contact with Chubby Checker’s psychedelic album, New Revelation. I don’t recall the name Chubby Checker ever conjuring thoughts of greatness, just “The Twist”. Before he slapped the album on the record player a fellow competitor declared: “This album isn’t what you think. After this, you will never again think of Chubby Checker as the dancing clod from American Bandstand.”

Initially, I was skeptical, and exclaimed, “I don’t know, dude. Chubby Checker is definitely not cool.”

Then he hit play and the song “Goodbye Victoria” erupted. That’s when I apologized. “I should have never doubted you,” I said.

The first track was a stirring groove that slapped me in the face with cool water, and then Chubby:  “We’ll be in heaven. In the light of day,” I don’t fully understand why this song is so good. There are organ solos that merge into piano interludes. Chubby’s voice is deep and powerful. Everything fits together in a room where nothing makes sense.

During the chorus, Chubby talks a little more about Victoria. He says, “Goodbye Victoria. Everyone is going to the moon.” That’s deep.

Either way, I like it. I don’t necessarily get it — but I sure as shit dig it. So here’s to Chubby. And here’s to “Man Night”. And here’s to you.

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How about VH1 Classics? I can’t get enough of the show Classic Albums, and was recently turned onto Deep Purple’s 1971 LP, Machinehead.

Since then I’ve been moving steadily through the early Deep Purple catalog, and have to say they are one of the coolest sounding rock/blues/heavy metal bands I never listened to. Damn, was I missing out. Tunes like Lazy, Space Cowboy, and Into the Fire have hooks that send me into a zone of unbalanced clarity. I love that that there is still so much undiscovered greatness out there. Half the fun is the chase.

Classic Albums is the perfect show to gain a quick peek into the inner workings of producing an album. The best part of the show is when they take you behind the sound board, while band members detail their recollections about about the making of a particular song. For example, I never knew the story behind “Smoke on the Water” and always had this more or less nauseated opinion of the song. The reality is it’s an interesting story about a fire at a hotel where the band was recording. Also, Richie Blackmore’s hooks on that song are far more complex than Joey GuitarHero thinks.Subtle nuances like that, along with a healthy dose of the rock, keep the casual listener like myself extremely engaged.

There aren’t too many quality TV shows out there — so it’s nice to come across a bit of media that puts a smile on this guy’s face.

Hey, have you ever heard of Fugazi? They’re a really cool band and I think you will like them a lot.

Here are several reasons why this song transcends the garbage heap:
1) The dual vocals of Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto.

2) When Mackaye says “outrage”.

3) The lyrics are a wake up call. I’m not much for political rants. But I have always made the exception when it comes to Fugazi. I don’t know why. It must be because they are an amazing fucking band. And is someone rallying me to “Do it now” — behind the support of ripping guitars and the snap of a snare drum — such a bad thing anyway?

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I’m about half-way through the John Joseph memoir, The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon, and have to say it is one of the most powerful stories of struggle and resilience I have ever had the joy of experiencing. Here is a man who overcame more by the time he was 10-years-old than I will in my lifetime. I wish I had a teacher like John Joseph in 10th grade, instead of that wang, Mr. Parky, who yelled at me for speaking out of turn.

I just finished a section in which John talked about when FEAR played SNL in ‘81. “With that Fear broke into ‘Beef Bologna’ and I hit the stage, launching out over the crowd in perfect stage dive form,” said Joesph. Fear is one of the best punk bands of all time, and this performance encapsulates a time we will most likely never see repeated on mainstream television. See it for yourself. Ian Mackaye was also in the audience.

via videosift.com

“Some days are better than others — this just happens to be one of those days.”
–Some guy I overheard on the subway

Here we go with Episode 4. This show is about getting by; I hope it helps.

Ryan, this one is for you, brother.

The Story:

Title: “Falling”
Artist: Kill Your Idols
From:This is Just the Beginning e.p.

Title: “Not Alone”
Artist: Krupted Peasant Farmerz
From: Everything Seems OK (collection)

Title: “Don’t Wanna Die In My Sleep Tonight”
Artist: La Peste
From: Better Off La Peste

Title: “Politics in America”
Artist: Bill Hicks
From:Philosophy - The Best of Bill Hicks

Title: “La Madres Lloran”
Artist: Los Crudos
From: discography 1991–1995 Los Primeros Gritos

Title: “Hi Pro Glow”
Artist: Dillinger Four
From: This Shite is Genius

Title: “The Ledge”
Artist: Paint it Black
From:New Lexicon

Title: “Sluttering (May 4th)
Artist: Jawbreaker
From: Dear You

Title: “Down in Flames”
Artist: The Dead Boys
From: Young, Loud, & Snotty

Title: “Goodie the Rat”
Artist: Fivehead
From: Guests of the Nation

Title: “Hyperventilate”
Artist: Pollen
From: Peach Tree

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There is something unnerving about the way people treat one another in NYC. The only way to experience it is to live here for awhile. I remember when I was 17 or 18 and I was at a show at 404 Willis, a hole-in-the-wall anarcho punk den in Detroit’s Cass Corridor. Somehow my friend and I got in a conversation with this guy, Rat, in an alley close to the show. Rat was the real deal, and we were angry youth from the suburbs. Anyway, we were talking with Rat, and after throwing a brick through the window of an abandoned Escort, he  mentioned that he lived in New York for awhile. He went on to say that it was the worst experience of his life. He said living on that “scumshit infested island” left him feeling dirty as a toothless bum. That wasn’t saying much. Rat didn’t smell much better than the lingering aura of urine billowing through the corridor.

At the time, I was a huge fan of the New York hardcore scene. Shit, who wasn’t? I had a dubbed copy of the “Where The Wild Things Are” comp on constant repeat in my car. I couldn’t get enough of bands like Underdog, Bold, Killing Time, and of course — The Cro-Mags, who are responsible for the greatest hardcore album of all time “Age of Quarrel”.

Digression: I’m hoping at this very moment some kid chewing on a vegan Popsicle is reading this and thinking something like, “Actually, my man, — SSD’s ‘Get It Away’ EP is a far superior release.” That’s the problem with making affirmations like, “Melon is throwing the greatest party ever ..” because there is always going to be some schmuck out there ready to knock you off your block and show you up.

Even though Rat wasn’t a big fan of NYC he spoke adamantly of his love for the NYHC scene. He talked about how the singer from Sick of It All, Lou, was a real nice guy.  “I crashed on Lou’s floor for 2-nights. That dude is a real bro.” He talked about how tight knit the hardcore community was, and how even though the Lower East Side was a wasteland of drug addicts and poverty — “The hardcore kids always had my back,” Rat explained.

That night after the show, I went home and cued up “Age of Quarrel” on my turntable and was instantly transported to the streets of NYC. My boots were laced up, and I was walking down Avenue D ready for whatever came my way. And when the second tune “World Peace” kicked in I listened intently as vocalist John Joseph barreled through the lines “world peace can not exist”. I thought about how living on the streets of ’80s NYC might have even led a sociopath like Rat to carry a pessimistic outlook about NYC. For some twisted reason I was intrigued and wanted to see what it was like for myself. Kids imagine all kinds of stuff when they’re laying in their beds staring up at a ceiling filled with flyers for the upcoming Feisty Cadaver’s show at Blondies.

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One of the first hardcore albums that I couldn’t get enough of was “Start Today”. I still remember sitting at the kitchen table writing Revelation records a letter, thanking them for putting out an album that spoke exactly to what I needed to hear. It was as if the dudes in the band knew every pain ailing my 15-year-old mind. To this day, I am always happy when a GB tune pops up on shuffle.

My letter went something like this:

Dear Rev Records,

You guys put out the coolest music. The Gorilla Bisquits are the best band ever. All I want to do is listen. This album rules my life. Enclosed is a check for 15 bucks, my ma is good for it. Can I get the green hoodie and also maybe a few stickers. Tell the guys in GB that they better come play Detroit real soon. I hope you know this music really helps.

Thanks alot,
–d

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