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June 30, 2004
Wet Hot American Summer Dance Party
It's back. Yes, it's finally time for another Hell dance party. Friday, July 2nd, from 9pm until 3am. Since we're about to kick off both a patriotic holiday weekend and the hot-as-hell month of July, the good folks at Hell wanted everyone to be able to revel in this wet hot American summer. So they joined forces with your friends in the Bueno Love Baller Soundsystem....and together we proudly present: The Wet Hot American Summer Dance Party. With no apologies to the Janeane Garofolo movie, since each of the words in that title will accurately describe this event in no uncertain terms.
Anyway, I'm especially amped about this particular dance party because we will be debuting my brand new pair of enormous JBL speakerboxxxes, reported to have "extra low-end punch". Can you feel that B-A-S-S bass? Come on Friday and find out.
Oh, and a shout-out to our easily aroused pals at The Merch for designing and screenprinting the flyers!
Posted by Tim at 10:44 PM | Comments (2)
June 29, 2004
A Red State Movie?
Like a lot of other folks, I was thrilled to see Fahrenheit 9/11 win the box-office battles by grossing $23.9 million in its opening weekend (note, that's $2.1 million more than the $21.8 million estimate that most news outlets wound up reporting). But I was especially intrigued by Michael Moore's Monday morning comment that F9/11 was "a red state movie". This NYTimes article quoted Moore making several references to North Carolina:
"We sold out in Fayetteville, home of Fort Bragg. We sold out in Army-base towns. We set house records in some of these places. We set single-day records in a number of theaters. We got standing ovations in Greensboro, N.C. The biggest news to me this morning is this is a red-state movie. Republican states are embracing the movie, and it's sold out in Republican strongholds all over the country."
Sure, part of this is energizing hype and spin that leaves out the details of exactly which red-state residents are embracing the movie, but I'm glad Moore's framing the success in a way that tries to break the film out of the lefty anti-Bush ghetto in which most commentators placed it before the weekend. Still, I was really curious about exactly which NC cities and theaters F9/11 had played in and/or would be playing in. Because while selling out opening night showings in the massive 1000+ seat Carolina Theatre is really impressive, Durham is an extremely blue city. As are Chapel Hill & Carrboro, from which many of us spilled over on that rainy night. Fayetteville, on the other hand....
According to this list, there will be 29 North Carolina theaters showing F9/11 by this Friday. That's over double the 13 that are already showing it. Turns out that the sold-out Fayetteville theater was the Cameo Art House Theater in downtown Fayetteville. Applause to the Cameo for showing the movie in the first place, but I'm excited by the fact that the Fayetteville Carmike 12 will start showing the movie on Friday, as will several other large Carmike theaters in Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, Jacksonville(!), Washington, Morrisville, and Durham (second/first viewing at the Wynnsong anyone?). Not to mention the non-Carmike theaters in Sanford, Hickory, Southern Pines, etc.
While it remains to be seen exactly what effect the movie will have on the November election, I'm really enjoying reading speculations about the potential impact. And yes, NC is a red state historically, but we're getting somewhat purple these days, at least according to this recent statewide poll. Put John Edwards on the ticket and factor in things like heavy turnout and maybe the pundits start to get a little color-blind?
PS: I realize that I didn't say anything about the content of F9/11 here, but plenty of other folks have written insightful commentary....besides, I didn't want to give away any spoilers. You know, in case someone out there doesn't know whether we invaded Iraq or not...
Posted by Tim at 09:53 PM | Comments (6)
June 26, 2004
A Sort of Homecoming
I'm pretty excited about tonight's show at Go! Room 4. Opening up for psych-folk genius Devendra Banhart and Drag City harpist/songstress Joanna Newsom is the San Francisco folkie band Vetiver (pictured to the right, photo by Christoper Woodcock). Vetiver actually includes Banhart as a member but the band is headed up by former Greensboro, NC resident Andy Cabic (third from the left in the picture), who locals might remember from his days in The Raymond Brake. This particular show will be a bit of a homecoming for Andy - it's his first North Carolina gig since The Raymond Brake broke up in 1998. In my biased book, The 'Brake were one of the brighter lights of the mid-90s NC rock scene, a perfect amalgam of catchy pop, frenetic punk, and screwy Polvo-ish/Grifters-y guitar rock. I listened to their 1995 album Piles of Dirty Winters the other day and it's still a great listen. Not sure if the album is out of print or not, but since the Cognitive Mapping Vol. II CD comp is now completely unavailable, here's an mp3 of The Raymond Brake's "Sentiment" for anyone who's interested in (re)hearing a pretty invigorating slice of melodic mid-90s indie-rock.
Andy moved out to San Francisco in 1998 and this SF Bay Guardian article has some good info on his two current SF bands Vetiver and Tussle and even Vroom, the weekly multi-genre DJ night at El Rio where he often spins records. I think that first Vetiver show might have been at an Adobe Books art opening, as I vaguely remember standing next to some snack-hungry 16th Street winos while seriously digging the skinny motherfucker with the strange high voice. Vetiver's come a ways since then, they've fleshed out into a "string quartet" and their extremely pleasant new album on DiCristina even features guest spots from MBV's Colm O'Ciosoig, Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, and Nick Holdzkom of Bevel (the early 90s Bevel from Chapel Hill, not the newer Bevel). Midheaven/Revolver has kindly posted an mp3 of Vetiver's "Farther On", as well as snippets from the rest of the album tracks.
Andy's other band Tussle is 180 degrees away from Vetiver but pretty awesome in its own right...totally tripped-out dub-rock with big loping basslines and lots of percussive dancy beats. Similar to Liquid Liquid in many ways but without the vocals or all the metallophones. Tussle's Don't Stop EP is one of my early 2004 faves and I can't wait for their full-length to come out on Troubleman Unlimited this fall. Some album excerpts and unreleased recordings can be streamed and/or downloaded here.
But back to tonight's show....local rock connections aside for a moment, I'm most looking forward to Devendra Banhart himself. On our last night in London several weeks back, my friend Todd and I went to see him play at the Institute for Contemporary Arts, a pretty amazing space perfectly situated on The Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace. Devendra's UK press has been pretty gushing and the show was totally sold out...but somehow we lucked our way in, mostly due to the kindness of some incredibly nice British ticket-takers who offered us some unclaimed will-call tickets at the last minute. After a very cool set of loud, hyper-raw stomp-blues from Baltimore's Entrance, Devendra Banhart assumed a lotus-like positon on stage and wowed both the Brits and us with that amazing, otherworldly voice. And on his birthday, no less! Andy Cabic accompanied him on several songs and Devendra closed out the set with an intense cover of Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory". No, I guess you can't, but I'll remember that show for quite awhile....a great last hurrah before heading back home to the States.
Posted by Tim at 12:18 PM | Comments (6)
June 23, 2004
Battle Me
Several months ago, I wrote a little blurb about the disappointing new incarnation of Don Caballero and claimed that I would soon follow it up with a live review of Battles, the exciting new band featuring ex-Don Cab guitarist Ian Williams. Heh, what is "soon"? Anyway, maybe now's as good a time as any to finally go off about Battles, seeing as how not one but two debut EPs have recently become available for public consumption. Battles is one of those "supergroup" bands that requires the boilerplate personnel listing...in addition to Williams, there's former Helmet drummer John Stanier (still pounding the skins loudly and precisely), experimental sound wiz Tyondai Braxton (son of a guy named Anthony), and Dave Konopka, formerly of a band called Lynx. Stanier is a fascinating drummer choice for Ian Williams, 'cause his militaristic restraint is so unlike the typical styles played by Kevin Shea (Storm and Stress) or Damon Che (Don Caballero). As a result, Ian Williams gets to do things like rhythmically noodle on top of the methodical beats in a minimal sorta way...and then hit that loop pedal and play a different part right on top of the one that he just finished looping. I think Ty Braxton must've turned Ian onto the loop pedal, 'cause during the live show it sometimes sounded like there were three Ian Williamses playing simultaneously!
If you're one of the small minority of people that is thrilled with the idea of multiple Ian Williams tracks going at the same time, then you probably want to pick up EP C, which I was able to order online from the quick folks at Monitor Records. The first track "B + T" is super-hot and almost Steve Reich-y with all of its shifting layers of repetitve glory. I won't describe the rest of the tracks here, but there are 5 fairly different-sounding tracks and the whole thing is a nice 24 minutes long. The Tras EP (out on the Cold Sweat label) only has two tracks at 12 minutes, but one of them is a nine-minute cut that sounds like drum machines jamming out at 115 BPM....and I really dig it. The shorter more Battles-like title cut is accompanied by its own enhanced CD video, which is really a humorous non-video take on a video (still image up top). Good to see that Ian's screwy sense of humor is still kickin'....I'm guessing that it was his idea to turn an online Battles audio sampler into a hilarious (albeit grating) parody of hip-hop mixtapes, complete with annoying voiceover shoutouts and the occasional gunshot. Take that, DJ Clue and DJ Kayslay!
While I'm on the avant-rock tip, I think I really messed up when I missed The Psychic Paramount at Go! last week. Arrgh, I didn't know that a band with two ex-Laddio Bolocko members would be opening up for Acid Mothers Temple, who I probably should have gone to see regardless. Oh well. At least I can listen to live mp3s and watch a live video....
Posted by Tim at 12:26 AM | Comments (7)
June 20, 2004
Electoral Calculus
On Friday I was talking with my Coloradoan friend Chris about the fascinating new Colorado ballot initiative that seeks to change the way the state allocates its electoral votes. Right now the state uses the same winner-take-all method used by almost every other state (exceptions: Maine and Nebraska). But if this particular ballot initiative were to pass in November, Colorado would start allocating electoral votes proportionally based on the statewide vote total, starting with this 2004 election. In the immediate short term, this would mean that instead of Bush getting 9 votes and Kerry getting 0 (the very likely scenario now), Bush would get 5 or 6 and Kerry would get 3 or 4. If only Colorado had split their votes up this way in 2000, Al Gore would have received 3 out of 8 electoral votes and would have won the electoral vote 270-268.
In the medium term, this change would drastically alter the way candidates approach Colorado. A proportional split would certainly be more representative of the wishes of the people, but if only one state out of 50 were to make this change, candidates would concentrate on the all-or-nothing prizes and not waste their time trying to get that one extra electoral vote. I also worry that something like this would really up the legal-tricks "win-on-a-technicality" ante that we've seen far too much of during the last 4 years (Florida 2000, the California recall, Texas redistricting, etc.). I want Bush to lose by whatever means necessary but it'd be nice if it was via a decisive landslide and not just because his legal team was slightly outmanuevered this time or because someone used their wealth to fund a strange ballot initiative.
In the long term, maybe this sort of change would help bring about drastic electoral reform. If every state allocated their votes proportionally, we'd be getting close to having a truly national popular-vote election that would value the votes of a New York Republican and a Idaho Democrat exactly the same as those of the voters who happen to live in swing states. Probably won't happen for a long time, if ever, but it's a nice thought. Of course the downside to that would be that there would no longer be any point in playing with this awesome interactive electoral map that is still up on John Edwards' campaign site. My overly optimistic 337-201 victory for Kerry is pictured above. Click on the preceding link or on the image above to view past election results or play around with 2004 possibilities.
Another election-related thread from some Friday night conversations....is the voter registration effort headed up by hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons going to kick into high gear sometime soon? I haven't really heard much about it but maybe it's already hard at work. Simmons spoke out against the Iraq War and has said that he wants to help sway the election against Bush. Here's hoping that his group is going to be bringing the noise over the next few months.
Posted by Tim at 05:31 PM | Comments (8)
June 17, 2004
I've Got The Power
Given the remarkable number of scandals that have bubbled to the surface during these oh-so-glorious Bush II years (Halliburton no-bid contracts, the Chalabi mess, the Abu Ghraib prison fiasco, the Plame affair, the yellowcake lies, no WMDs, those pre-9/11 intelligence memos, the medicare bill cost distortions, the list just goes on and on...), it's no wonder that people would have mostly forgotten about the California energy crisis of 2000-2001. I barely thought about it during the last couple of years and I actually lived in CA back then. Granted, I only lost my electricity once for a very brief period and I never had to pay exorbitant power rates (thanks to laws preventing PG&E from passing on those ridiculous wholesale electricity costs to customers). Anyway, big kudos to CBS News and reporter Vince Gonzales for bringing the California energy crisis back into the light with several recent stories about some very incriminating audio tapes of Enron energy traders discussing the situation in extremely colorful and coarse language (example: "Oh best thing that could happen is fuckin' an earthquake, let that thing float out to the Pacific and put 'em fuckin' candles"). The tapes are basically a smoking gun that proves what Gov. Gray Davis (who, despite his many other faults, indirectly and unfairly lost his job because of the whole budget-busting energy fiasco) and a lot of other people suspected all along: that there was no real power shortage and that Enron and the other energy companies were completely manipulating the recently deregulated electricity market in order to drive up prices and maximize their profits. The Seattle Times recently posted sample audio clips and written transcripts of several of these Enron trader conversations and they're pretty outrageous - in both the "hilarious" and "infuriating" senses of the word.
Ever since the big Enron bankruptcy and subsequent accounting scandal broke a couple of years ago, I've gotten a perverse pleasure from laughing at all things Enron-related. I still enjoy hunting for Enron memorabilia on eBay....funny stuff like the "Enron Code of Ethics" (unused, of course!!) or Enron schwag peppered with ironic quotes like "Ask Why" or MLK's "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." But I digress....I got such a kick out of these Enron trader conversations that I decided to take portions of the audio clips and incorporate them into a remix of a song that seemed pretty topical: Snap!'s big 1990 hit "The Power". I uploaded the mp3 file here in case anyone is interested in hearing it. While I was working on this tonight I discovered that more tapes are actually being released, perhaps due to pressure from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA). Cantwell has rightfully pointed out that the corporate lackeys at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have been suppressing these tapes for over two years now. If the new tapes have some even juicier Enron trader conversations (and I bet they do), someone with superior digital audio skills should try a remix of the Electric Slide (aka "Electric Boogie" by Marcia Griffiths) or maybe Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue". And then we'll take it higher...
Posted by Tim at 01:21 AM | Comments (4)
June 13, 2004
Soulful Strut
Damn, I'm behind the curve on this months-old news but I just learned that the awesome Strut Records label shut down operations last year. What a shame, Strut released some amazing records over the past several years...stuff like vintage 1970s Afro-funk, archaeological glimpses of the seminal work of early hip-hop and disco DJs, reissues of bands who became better-known through hip-hop's use of their breakbeats, and those excellent Disco Not Disco comps. I guess the label's demise helps explain why we saw a bunch of Strut CDs on sale for 1 to 3 pounds each at the FOPP store in Edinburgh. I bought a second copy of the great Blo CD reissue Phases 1972 - 1982 and will gladly trade it to someone for that Black Rio comp or something else I don't have. Actually, it looks like Dusty Groove has several of the Strut CDs on sale at cheap $6.99 - $8.99 prices. Anyway...rest in peace, Strut. Hopefully Soul Jazz and Stone's Throw will keep rockin' the groove-centric archivist beat in your absence.
Given all the music giants that have died during the last month, maybe I ought to be writing tributes to human beings instead of a record label. But others have written those obituaries in a more detailed and eloquent way than I ever could. Additional rest-in-peace shouts to Ray Charles, Robert Quine, Steve Lacy, and the one and only Elvin Jones.
Posted by Tim at 08:44 PM | Comments (5)
June 09, 2004
Taj Mahal, Taj Mahal
I went to Durham tonight to eat dinner with some friends and we decided to go to the excellent Sitar India Palace, a tinted window joint in the Kroger-anchored strip mall across the street from South Square the future Sam's Club. I hadn't been there before...and it was so dark-looking that I probably never would have even noticed it or realized that it was open for business. As we strolled through the parking lot I realized that I was wearing my yellow Black Taj t-shirt emblazoned with a black Taj Mahal image. Oops. I remembered Grant explaining the myth of the never-built "Black Taj" and some of the rationale behind the band's name but I couldn't figure out whether the t-shirt might get me some cold stares or a free plate of nan. As it turns out, it got me neither (apologies to anyone expecting a better punchline to the story). But I did have a huge bottle of Taj Mahal with my tasty mushroom saag. I've been steering somewhat clear of beer since returning from the UK but I tend to be a sucker for ordering the appropriate national beverage (Kirin, Harrar, Tsing Tao, etc.) when eating out at ethnic restaurants. Even if the beer is just a plain Budweiser-esque lager, it helps add something to the meal/experience. Taj Mahal was actually a cut above generic beer status or maybe it just seemed that way because it went really well with my spicy entree. Anyway, it struck me that if the Taj Mahal brewer ever came out with a dark beer, they could call it Black Taj. Or perhaps they actually started to work on the recipe once but never finished it for some unknown reason.
(Apology in advance to anyone who Googles their way to this post in hopes of finding info about the great semi-local rock band Black Taj. I saw BT again last December at Kings and they were pretty awesome but I'm not sure what they've been up to since. I should've asked Grant when I talked to him last Friday but I'm sure it gets old when people ask you if/when your album is coming out. If a Black Taj CD is destined to be released one day, it will surely be a marvelous object of beauty that was well worth the amount of time that it took to put it together.)
Posted by Tim at 12:58 AM | Comments (3)
June 07, 2004
Reagan is the Pres, But So Was Harry Truman
A listserv that I'm on is currently abuzz with remembrances of the many anti-Reagan songs that came out during the 80s. Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Kennedys, and all sorts of other hardcore and punk songs like these. Let's face it, one of Reagan's unsung accomplishments was helping to galvanize the whole independent/underground rock movement of the 1980s. I'd hate to think what The Minutemen might have sounded like during the second Clinton term.
Earlier today I was trying to think of Reagan references in hip-hop. There are definitely a few out there, but my personal favorite is still Biz Markie's classic "Nobody Beats the Biz" verse:
Reagan is the Pres, but I voted for Shirley Chisholm.
Of course if The Annotated Biz Markie ever comes out, it will probably point out that U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 and that she ran her last Congressional race in 1980 when a young Biz Markie was only 16 years old. But still, it's an awesome line. On "Biz is Goin' Off", Biz used the very similar Truman line that serves as the title to this post. I know he probably just needed something to rhyme with "boomin'", but the line does a really good job at summing up the way I am already starting to feel about the media deification of Reagan vis-a-vis other presidents.
It's a little odd that Reagan's legacy was just being debated last fall because of that controversial CBS/Showtime mini-series The Reagans. Anyone who missed it the first time around should read the brilliant reminiscing-about-the-Reagan-years letter that U.S. Representative John Dingell (D-Mich) wrote to CBS President Les Moonves about seven months ago in response to the overly loud outcry from the right.
Oh, and it'll never ever happen, but I'd love it if one of the cable news talk shows would go out and get Melle Mel to be a guest commentator on one of these remembering-Reagan panels so that he could bust out that equal-time-provision verse from 1984's get-out-and-vote anthem "Jesse":
See Ronald Reagan speakin' on TV
Smilin' like everything's fine and dandy
Sounded real good when he tried to give a pep talk
To over 30 million poor people like me
How can he say that we gotta stick it out
When his belly is full and his future is sunny?
I don't need his jive advice
But I sure do need his jive time money!
CHORUS: Vote! Vote! Everybody get out and vote!
Maybe people will this year, Mel. Maybe people will.
Posted by Tim at 01:16 AM | Comments (1)