The Other, Other, Other, Other Scott Pilgrim Soundtrack

While this is the second Scott Pilgrim soundtrack i'm posting, it still isn't either of the two official ones. This is the playlist Bryan Lee O'Malley has on the last page of Volume 5, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe, probably my favorite book in the series.

And why post a second one? Well, i just got back from the movie, and i have to admit, it's pretty damn good. Practically every review i read beforehand essentially trashed the flick, and as a huge fan of the series, i was worried Michael Cera was going to potentially trash another one of my favorite reads. i can say that he did not. (Also, for a pretty good review about Scott Pilgrim reviews, i recommend this one from NPR.)

i'm not going to go into a full review here, but will point out that sometime around the third and final act, the movie goes its own route, not even close to the Book Six, Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour, ending. Since the Missus opted for a nap instead of the flick, i might just have to go and see it a second time, which in and of itself is a pretty good measure of how much i enjoyed it. The nailed the parts that mattered, and that's good enough for me.

Je ne pas accuse, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World Movie!

mp3: If We Can Land a Man on the Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart (Beulah from When Your Heartstrings Break)

mp3: Off the Block (Black Lips from Good Bad Not Evil)

mp3: October, First Account (Be Your Own Pet from Be Your Own Pet)

mp3: Heart of Glass (Blondie from Best of Blondie)

mp3: Under My Thumb (The Rolling Stones from Aftermath)

mp3: Lion's Jaws (Neko Case from Fox Confessor Brings The Flood)

mp3: Perfect Day (Acoustic Demo) (Lou Reed from Transformer (Expanded Edition))

mp3: Flight (Art Brut from Bang Bang Rock & Roll)

mp3: Without You (Badfinger from No Dice)

mp3: I Summon You (Spoon from Gimme Fiction)

mp3: I'm Not Through With You Yet (Sloan from Navy Blues)

mp3: Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac from Greatest Hits)

Free Music Friday: The Junkie, Rented, BRRRR, Ravey, Percussiony, Cartoony, Shoed, Toyed, Napkiny Edition

Ah yes, another Free Music Friday, which differs from every other free music day at LET in ways that are hard to explain, but they're there. Or i simply couldn't come up with a better intro paragraph today, so this is what you get. The price is right, so deal.

Tobacco's Maniac Meat is quickly becoming one of my favorites CDs of 2010. His chopped up style of electro/sampling just does something for me. Which is probably why i'm really digging Junk Culture, a new project by Deepak Mantena with his younger brother, Nitin, on skins for live performances . i'm obviously not the only one who hears the similarities, as JC will be joining Tobacco and Dreamend (whose So I Ate Myself, Bite by Bite, is another fave CD this year) on their tour this September. Unfortunately, i missed their headlining spot at IOTA just the other night, but i've already got my tickets to their DC9 gig on September 9. i recommend you do the same.

mp3: West Coast (Junk Culture from West Coast)

For those familiar with the Rentals, you're obviously familiar with last year's Songs About Time Project. For the rest of us, the band decided to create three-hundred and sixty-five days of photography, fifty-two weeks of film, and four albums of music. Initially, very little was released, but the Rentals have come back with a vengeance with a new boxed set, appropriately entitled Songs About Time, that gives us gems like this dream-pop number.

mp3: Honey Life (left click to download) (The Rentals from Songs About Time Chapter Three The Future)

While white guy piano rap may or may not be the next big thing, Chilly Gonzales finds a way to make it work. Sure, his cadence is a bit stilted, but i think that's supposed to be part of the charm. Regardless, the man definitely has a way with his rhymes, which is saying more than you can for half the shit getting pushed these days. Which is nice.

mp3: Never Stop (Rap Mix) (left click to download) (Chilly Gonzales from Never Stop)

LET stalwarts The Raveonettes dip their toes into the remix pool with their spin on The Drum's "Let's Go Surfing." Remix may not be the best description, on further thought, as it really sounds more like the Ravenonettes simply playing over the record itself. The end result, i think you'll agree, speaks for itself on this fuzzed-out, surf-rock number.

mp3: Let's Go Surfing (The Raveonettes Remix) (left click to download) (The Drums from Let's Go Surfing)

Digital Underground alum Money B. has a new project, M.A.S.K. While i assume it stands for Money (B.) And Scott Knoxx, i'd like to think it's also an homage to the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. While it appears an album still is in the works, both cats show they're still at top form on these two head nodders.

mp3: Lemme See U (Dirty Version) (M.A.S.K. from TBD CD)

mp3: Gettin' It In (Dirty Version) (M.A.S.K. from TBD CD)

For the summer of 2010, i've pretty much crowned Best Coast as your best bet, go to band for appropriate soundtracking. The folks at Converse Shoes, of all places, must have agreed. Check out this team-up between them, Kid Cudi and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. (Quick note to Cudi--dude, no need to be lonely. i'll smoke with you any time you want.) While it's a bit much to declare this THE song of summer 2010, it certainly should make the playlist.

mp3: All Summer (Best Coast, Kid Cudi and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend from Converse)

At long, long last, it appears Autolux FINALLY is going to release the hotly anticipated (at least by me) follow-up to their freaking phenomenal debut, Future Perfect. Transit Transit is expected to drop this August 3rd. The band trotted out a few numbers their last time in town at the Black Cat, and i, for one, cannot wait to hear the entire thing on wax. If this single is any indication, expect more of that spacey, fuzzed out alt-rock goodness. Do the smart thing and see them when they return to the Black Cat on September 1st. If nothing else, it's another opportunity for you to not introduce yourself at yet another concert i've plainly told you i'll be attending myself.

mp3: Supertoys (Autolux from Transit Transit)

And to close out this edition of Free Music Friday, Black Lips are back with their own style of blues-infused rock. Whereas some might go the purist route, the Lips sound like they'd be more comfortable taking it out behind a shed, getting it shitfaced on corn liquor and high on mushrooms before taking advantage of it. Whether or not the Blues was asking for it is a question i shall not even attempt to answer. Check out this one and decide for yourself.

mp3: Best Napkin I Ever Had (left click to download) (Black Lips from Scion A/V Garage: Black Lips / Pierced Arrows)

100 Shows of 2010 - #4: The Black Lips/Box Elders/The Vermilions @ Black Cat, 3/19/10

Once more, dear friends, I was on pins and needles to see this next show. Sure, I saw The Black Lips last year down in Austin, but that’s different. I had always wanted to see them here, at the Black Cat, while sucking down pints of amaretto sours (thanks, Al). Seeing them was surely gonna be awesome enough. But throw in Nebraskans Box Elders and promising Frederickburgians The Vermilions, and you’ve got a recipe for a bitchin’ show. I was stoked to bring my friend Kat along for the ride, since she hadn’t ever seen The Lips before and was dying to. Needless to say, we were both verily entertained.

MINI RECAP: The Vermilions = Fantastical! Box Elders = Also fantastical! The Black Lips = Again, fantastical! Overall score: A.

There was a line halfway down the block by the time I got to 14th Street. Given who all was playing, this wasn’t entirely unexpected. In fact, I have to say I was surprised it wasn’t busier at the show. What’s wrong with you, People Who Were Not There? In any event, I assumed the position (cocktail in one hand, pen in another) and prepared to be wowed. And may I just say, I was pretty dang wowed.

If you’re not familiar with The Vermilions, might I suggest you make yourselves acquainted. They were a perfect fit for the bill, loud and jangly and very, very likeable. To give you a better idea, they cite bands like Detroit hellions The Stooges and the MC5 amongst their influences, not to mention the great Commonwealth of Virginia. Accordingly, they play their guitars something fierce. And I like it. They’re feisty and kinda cute, so naturally I dug them. I do believe you probably will, too.

From one great set to another, Box Elders took the stage next. As with The Vermilions, it was immediately obvious why The Black Lips chose to bring Box Elders out on their road trip with them. The Omaha-ians are also loud, and while their songs aren’t quite as offensive as the ground the Lips tend to tread, they sure are amusing. The three-piece really impressed me, and while I already knew I liked them before the show, by the time second song “Alice & Friends” started I was hooked. Perhaps it was their utilization of not one but two double-neck guitars. No, really. It was amazing. Perhaps it was their pop meets surf meets punk meets garage sound. Perhaps it was their song about Hippy Druids. Yes, you heard me. Or perhaps it was that their drummer was so very excitedly animated, bouncing around and waving his arms all over creation, like the human version of Animal. Minus all that orange hair. It was probably everything about them, really, that made them so bloody endearing. Their set was over far too soon, if you ask me. The dudes of Box Elders are cheeky little buggers (i.e. playing Jefferson Airplane’s song “White Rabbit” and calling it a cover of a song by a band they just played with), and it’s a fine thing indeed.

And then it was time. Time to get ill/rowdy/inappropriate. Yes indeed, it was time for The Black Lips, Atlanta’s, er, finest. “How y’all doin,” they began. “We’re The Black Lips from Atlanta, Georgia.” And the crowd went nuts. Really, what can you say about The Black Lips? They’re seriously snarky, bratty, dirty, and absolutely irresistible. They also happen to make some of the finest garage revival music around, and their low-brow lyrics can’t quite manage to detract from how good they are as a band. One of my favorite things about their set was the occasional projection of the blobby liquid globules, looking like a high school science experiment and a flashback to a time when nobody in the crowd was born yet. It was “magic time” anytime the projection was turned on, and with some amaretto in me that was one of the most amusing things I’d heard all night. As for the music, The Black Lips were even better than at SXSW 2009. It was wonderful to see them in an enclosed space, where the crowd was there to see them and not all the bands coming after them. The kids loved ‘em, and the band was on point. They played a lot of my personal faves, like “O Katrina,” “Dirty Hands,” “Lock and Key,” “Bad Kids,” an amazing version of “Juvenile,” and an encore of “Navajo.” It was insane.

I don’t think I could have enjoyed myself more. Ok, maybe if the Lips had played “Veni Vidi Vici.” And “MIA.” But that’s about it. Good company, good bands, and good booze. It doesn’t get much better, folks.

mp3: Alice & Friends (Box Elders from Alice & Friends)

mp3: Lock & Key (Black Lips live at Amoeba)

Best Gig of 2009: SXSW

Ok, perhaps this isn’t really all that fair. Festivals really do, by their very nature, out shadow just about any regular gig. Their sheer size and stature, for one, assures that they are forces to be reckoned with. And last year’s SXSW was no exception. It’s the biggest show and biggest festival I’ve ever been to, and hot damn was it a good time. It was head and shoulders above just about every other show I went to last year, and easily wins this here category.

From our first night’s dive bar special seeing bands like Cartright and Your 33 Black Angels at a wonderful dive to the bitchin’ New Zealand party in Brush Square Park to the awesomeness of Primal Scream at La Zona Rosa to the killer wall of drone put forth by The Black Angels and special guest Roky Erickson, the entire festival was an endless, frantic, frenzied party. I mean, you know it’s gonna be good when entire city blocks are literally shut down to traffic to allow for the smooth (-ish) foot traffic of bands and festival-goers. Bar after bar after bar plays host to hundreds and hundreds of bands and thousands and thousands of press and industry people. Sure, I got so into SXSW that I was physically sick, but it was so worth it.

The schedule of the festival was so jam-packed full of bands that trying to schedule what to see was a Herculean task. But really, it was a no-lose situation. No matter what you see at any given SXSW, you’re almost assured that it’s going to be something good. And after seeing The Black Lips, Primal Scream, Ringo Deathstarr, Graham Coxon, The Love Language, Glasvegas, and many others, I can safely say that SXSW 2009 was the top dog of 2009 live events. And man oh man, I sure do wish I was going back this year. The lineup sounds fantastic, and it's just such a grand old time. SXSW 2011, here I come. Dammit.

mp3: Sparxxx (The Love Language from The Love Language)

mp3: Veni Vidi Vici (The Black Lips from Good Bad Not Evil)

mp3: Medication (Primal Scream from Vanishing Point)