Thanks to all who listened to my first radio shows of the spring last night. I did a Deep Dive of David Bowie and then two hours of my Nocturne mix. Here are the playlists.
Deep Dive of David Bowie
David Bowie – Let’s Dance
Little Richard – Tutti Frutti
Ronnie Ross – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
The Konrads – Slide
King Bees – Liza Jane
Mannish Boys – I Pity the Fool
Lower Third – You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving
The Buzz – Do Anything You Say
David Bowie – The Laughing Gnome
Oscar – Over the Wall We Go
Billy Fury – Silly Boy Blue
T. Rex – Cosmic Dancer
David Bowie – Space Oddity
David Bowie – Black Country Rock
David Bowie – Changes
Mott the Hoople – All the Young Dudes
Lou Reed – Vicious
David Bowie – Life on Mars? (live)
David Bowie – John, I’m Only Dancing
David Bowie – Don’t Bring Me Down
David Bowie – Rebel Rebel
David Bowie – Young Americans
Iggy Pop – Fun Time
David Bowie – Golden Years
David Bowie – Sound and Vision
David Bowie – Joe the Lion
David Bowie – Look Back in Anger
David Bowie – Fashion
David Bowie – Blue Jean
Tin Machine – Under the God
Nocturne
Us3 – Chilli Hot
Com Truise – Air Cal
Caribou – Sister
Hound Dog Taylor – The Sky Is Crying (live / request)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes radio ad
Daft Punk – Something About Us
Caroline Rose – Got to Go My Own Way
Thundercat – Dragonball Durag
Love at First Bite radio ad
Jamiroquai – Where Do We Go from Here
Temples – Hot Motion
Diagonal – Detroit
The Flaming Lips – All We Have Is Now
Radiohead – Anyone Can Play Guitar (live)
Drive-in intermission ad
Diagonal – Are “Friends” Electric?
The Shivas – Gloria
Mountain – Theme for an Imaginary Western (request)
I first heard most of Elephant Stone‘s new album, Hollow, at the 2019 Levitation Music Festivalin Austin, Texas when they played a good chunk of it on the inside stage at Barracuda. I’d heard a couple of tracks ahead of the gig and was intrigued by the heavier-than-normal sound. That sound was even heavier live, and the theme of the album – a story set in an apocalyptic future in which people are trying to flee a dying Earth to another planet – takes on even more weight when you hear it live and / or in its entirety.
The album opens with “Hollow World” – a track brimming with Elephant Stone‘s trademark psychedelia and lyrics about having to finally say goodbye to Mother Earth because the human race has succeeded in destroying it. “Darker Time, Darker Space” is a quick interlude as doomed Earthlings fly into unknown space in hopes of finding something better.
“The Court and Jury” decide who leaves, however. Lead singer / bassist / sitarist Rishi Dhir‘s vocals sound like they’re coming through a faulty intercom system on an old spacecraft and his sitar sounds like circuits working overtime as the ship lands on the “Land of Dead.” This was the first track I heard off Hollow. The bass and drums are heavy and the guitar shreds for just under two minutes of raw power.
“Keep the Light Alive” brings in a children’s choir to represent the new generation of Earthlings alone on what could be a hostile new world. “This place is far too cold,” Dhir sings on “We Cry for Harmonia.” The Earthlings are quickly realizing the new planet might end up as wasted as the old one (“How can you fill this space with air you cannot breathe?”). Gabirel Lambert‘s guitar solo on this track is top-notch, by the way, and the backing synths and hand percussion only elevate the song higher.
“Harmonia” is dreamy psych accented by Dhir’s sitar and more of that groovy hand percussion. Dhir’s bass takes center stage on “I See You” (and how about that wicked high-hat work by Mile Dupire, too?) – a groovy track with some light pop touches that could be a radio friendly smash if enough DJs give it a chance.
“The Clampdown” isn’t a cover of The Clashsong (although that would be great), but rather a song about the Powers That Be coming after those of Earth living in underground communities. The dark synths underline the menace of the lyrics. The synths are bright on “Fox on the Run” – the title of which seems to reflect the hunted Earthlings making another run for it. “House on Fire” has the Earth, or is it the new world, burning while people try to ignore it. The guitar on it is like a distant warning klaxon, but the synths are still bright – giving us some hope while things crumble around us. The album closes with more hope on “A Way Home.” The Earth has been all but abandoned, but the ones who remain realize they can repair it and build something new while old karma continues to build new paybacks on the new world inhabited by the privileged few.
It’s a wild record, and I don’t think anyone expected a concept album with doom overtones from Elephant Stone, but it’s great that they’re pushing the envelope and exploring new avenues.
Following the release of their new concept album, Hollow, Elephant Stone have announced a spring North American tour starting with a free show in Winooski, Vermont and ending in Chicago, Illinois. All tour dates are with DJ Al Lover, with whom Elephant Stone‘s lead singer / bassist / sitarist Rishi Dhir has worked in the past with their Acid House Ragas project. Tickets are available for all dates.
4/29 Winooski VT @ Foam Brewers FREE SHOW 4/30 New Haven CT @ State House TICKETS 5/1 Brooklyn NY @ The Sultan Room TICKETS 5/2 Allentown PA @ Muhlenberg College TICKETS 5/3 Washington DC @ Comet Ping Pong TICKETS 5/5 Cleveland OH @ Beachland Tavern TICKETS 5/6 Indianapolis IN @ Square Cat Vinyl TICKETS 5/7 Windsor ON @ Meteor TICKETS 5/8 Milwaukee WI @ Milwaukee Psych Fest TICKETS 5/9 Chicago IL @ Sleeping Village TICKETS
The forthcoming tenth edition — #10! — of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip will be available, fittingly, on April 20th, 2020. As the celebrated series reaches landmark double-digits, there are no indications it will slow down in the near future. Hear and share the first single, “Tensions” released in 1969 by Detroit rockers Sounds Synonymous via YouTube and Bandcamp. The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. Read interviews with the series curators via Paste MagazineHERE and LA Weekly HERE.
About The Tenth Trip: Here we are, arriving at the tenth edition of Brown Acid in just half as many years! As always, we packed in the highest highs of the dankest hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks previously lost to the sands of time. Like we’ve done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. It’s hard to believe we’re already up to 10 volumes of this lysergic Neanderthal wail, but the long-lost jams just keep-a-coming like Texas crude to fuel your rock ‘n’ roll engine and melt your metal mind. This Trip kicks off with the Hammer of the Gods howl of “Plastic Thunder” by Bitter Creek. The Atlanta, GA quintet’s lone single from 1970 on Mark IV Records is rated #6 of the Top 50 Heaviest Songs Before Black Sabbath by GuitarWorld Magazine. You can hear why in the ominous riff and larynx-ravaging chorus that merges the deepest of Deep Purple sludge with The Who’s rollicking psychedelia.
Not much is known about The Brood‘s 1969 bluesy paean to dirtbag weed consumption “The Roach” on the It’s A Lemon imprint, except that it’s a big, growling rocker with a crazed in-the-round blowout of wailing guitar solos, screeching organ blasts, wildly overlapping vocals and drum rolls for days.
Nova Scotia, Canada sextet Brothers and One‘s double-entendre laden single “Hard On Me” certainly pushes the boundaries of what would be acceptable at the time (especially amongst their ever-polite Canadian brethren.) Their lone full length was released in 1970 on short-lived Audat label, the group featuring two sets of brothers (hence the name) recorded the album while all members were between age 13-18-years-old. This glam-influenced single was privately released on the band’s own label nearly 4 years later.
Louisville, KY quartet Conception‘s excellent revision of Blue Cheer’s “Babylon” (1969, Perfection Records) adds heavy phaser effect on the guitar and a more driving rhythm to make the song entirely their own. Lead guitar and high harmony vocals by Charlie Day (not to be confused with the Sunny Philadelphian actor) are assertive and commanding as he implores listeners onward to hallucinagenic nirvana.
Not exactly a typically psychedelic band name for the era, but First State Bank‘s “Mr. Sun” (1970, Music Mill) pays hearty dividends of boogie bustle. The Central Texas band led by guitarist/vocalist Randy Nunnally released only 3 singles in its career from 1970-1976. For those keeping score at home, their song “Before You Leave” was featured on The Third Trip back in 2016. “Mr. Sun” is the heavy B-Side to “Coming Home To You.”
Clearly inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Tucson quartet Frozen Sun topped the local charts in 1969 with this barnstorming rocker “Electric Soul” (Capt. Zoomer Records.) The song is replete with guitarist/vocalist (with big Hendrix hair) Ron Ryan’s spoken interlude, “Well have you been electrically stoned? You know, living in the danger zone?” We say yes.
Ralph Williams and the Wright Brothers took flight with “Never Again” on Hour Glass Records in 1972, and apparently never landed after this 45 with “Dark Street” on the A-side. The serpentine riff and sexually-charged backing vocal grunts drive this archetypical tale of a young man’s chemical odyssey… or, should we say, trip?
Sounds Synonymous pretty much epitomized heavy fuzz from Michigan with their 1969 single “Tensions” on the Wall Productions label. The Hendrix “Fire” meets Arthur Brown’s “Fire” track lunges and lurches with glee throughout its 3-minutes and change of unbridled crunch.
Tabernash‘s “Head Collect” (1972) is the suburban Denver quartet’s only release following the name change from The Contents Are and a move from Davenport, IA. This more stately psych-rock chune features Byrds-like harmonies, twangy reverse-looped guitar soloing and Keith Moon-esque drumming that should’ve made it a chart-topper, but we all know there’s no justice in rock’n’roll.
The Tenth Trip closes, appropriately, with the “War Pigs” reminiscent fuzz of New Orleans quartet The Rubber Memory‘s 1970 tune “All Together.” The band self-released only 110 copies of their lone album, making it an incredibly sought-after rarity for decades. Alongside a limited edition reissue in 2000, the group reformed for a one-off show before quickly bouncing back into our collective cosmic consciousness.
About the Brown Acid series: Some of the best thrills of the Internet music revolution is the ability to find extremely rare music with great ease. But even with such vast archives to draw from, quite a lot of great songs have gone undiscovered for nearly half a century — particularly in genres that lacked hifalutin arty pretense. Previously, only the most extremely dedicated and passionate record collectors had the stamina and prowess to hunt down long forgotten wonders in dusty record bins — often hoarding them in private collections, or selling at ridiculous collector’s prices. Legendary compilations like Nuggets, Pebbles, ad nauseum, have exhausted the mines of early garage rock and proto-punk, keeping alive a large cross-section of underground ephemera. However, few have delved into and expertly archived the wealth of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock tracks collected on Brown Acid.
Lance Barresi, co-owner of L.A./Chicago retailer Permanent Records has shown incredible persistence in tracking down a stellar collection of rare singles from the 60s and 70s for the growing compilation series. Partnered with Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, the two have assembled a selection of songs that’s hard to believe have remained unheard for so long.
“I essentially go through hell and high water just to find these records,” Barresi says. “Once I find a record worthy of tracking, I begin the (sometimes) extremely arduous process of contacting the band members and encouraging them to take part. Daniel and I agree that licensing all the tracks we’re using forBrown Acid is best for everyone involved,” rather than simply bootlegging the tracks. When all of the bands and labels haven’t existed for 30-40 years or more, tracking down the creators gives all of these tunes a real second chance at success. “There’s a long list of songs that we’d love to include,” Barresi says. “But we just can’t track the bands down. I like the idea that Brown Acid is getting so much attention, so people might reach out to us.”
Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on April 20, 2020 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.
Keep your mind open.
[Trip over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
Southern California trio Warish recently released a new single, “Woven,” and also wrapped up a tour with The Black Lips. “Woven” is available on all platforms.
Rolling Stone previously hailed Warish as a Song You Need To Know feature HERE.
Warish hit the road this week supporting The Black Lips on the East Coast. Please see all upcoming dates below. Imagine if early, weird Aberdeen Nirvana were crossed with low budget horror-obsessed garage-punks. You’d have sinister vibes with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish.
Warish formed in early 2018 when guitarist/vocalist and pro-skater Riley Hawk (son of skating legend Tony Hawk) and drummer Nick (Broose) McDonnell decided they wanted to try their hand at something more distinct than they’d done previously. “We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show,” Riley explains. “A little more punk, a little bit of grunge… a little evil-ish.”
Their sound takes cues from a variety of cool underground sounds and twists it all into an energetic and exciting fist to the face of dark fury. Hawk’s effect-laden vocals hearken to 90s industrial monsters Ministry and David Yow‘s tortured caterwaul in Scratch Acid. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Cobain‘s and Buzz Osbourne‘s wiry contortions. The rhythms bash and pummel right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated and the horrors keep coming throughout the band’s uh, warlike assault.
The band’s debut album,Down In Flames, is available on LP, CD and download, was released on September 13th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Available to order in all formats HERE.
Keep your mind open.
[Wander over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
Randy Holden, former guitarist and vocalist of metal pioneers Blue Cheer, debuted his first solo album, Population II (because it was just Holden and his drummer / keyboardist Chris Lockheed – and it’s also a term for a star cluster with heavy metals in it), in 1969 to stunned audiences. He recorded the proto-doom metal record with sixteen 200-watt Sunn amps in an opera house and troubles with releasing it bankrupted Holden. The album was bootlegged and copied many times, but RidingEasy Records has unleashed it in a new, high quality remaster that sounds like, as Holden once put it, “Godzilla walked into the room.”
The album opens with the cosmic sludge of “Guitar Song.” Holden moves back and forth between heavy stoner psych and gold old-fashioned metal shredding. Lockheed keeps the drums minimal, letting Holden’s guitar take center stage. Don’t ask me to figure out the meaning of “Fruit Icebergs,” just enjoy the epic riffs and iceberg-heavy drums as they come at you like an unstoppable force. The song (with lyrics about enjoying colors and heaven, among other things) is so massive that there’s a groovy break in it entitled “Between Time” in which Holden sings about loving his guitar before “Fruit Icebergs (Conclusion)” comes back for nearly another two minutes.
“Blue My Mind” could refer to Holden’s time in Blue Cheer or a woman who once gave him a wild ride. Either way, Lockheed thumps out the heartbeats of a titan while Holden’s guitar seems to be the marching music of an orc army. The album ends with the stunning ten-minute long “Keeper of the Flame.” Holden compares women to beautiful blue skies and rainbows, but don’t let the lyrics make you think the track is some sort of acoustic hippie love jam. It’s a chugging blues-influenced rocker that sounds like an out of control big rig truck at some points.
This could easily be one of the top reissues of 2020, and it’s a treasure if you’re a fan of cosmic / stoner / doom rock. Many thanks to RidingEasy Records for giving it a proper release.
Submersion is a great name for this EP from The KVB(Kat Day and Nicholas Wood). Listening to it is like indulging in a night of psychedelic shoegaze music and then sinking into a warm pool, or lying down on a comfortable bed, or finding a comfy couch in the back of a nightclub.
The title track opens the EP with shimmering synths and simple guitar strums as Day and Wood’s vocals almost chant to us from behind a wall of mist. The synth bass builds and Wood’s guitar lights up the room like a mirror ball. “Outlands” has a great synth-bass groove throughout it that gets your toes tapping and torso writhing.
The alternate version of “Into Life” (from their 2018 album Only Now Forever) is a sultry, breathy make-out track you’ll want to permanently keep on a playlist for such activity. The next two tracks, “Above Us” and “On My Skin,” are also from the same album but remixed by The Holydrug Couple and Miniami Deutsch, respectively. The Holydrug Couple’s mix is, at you might expect, full of trippy synths and heavy reverb on the vocals. Minami Deutsch’s, also as you might expect, turns the song into a krautrock dance track that brings to might sun breaking through gray clouds.
Submerse yourself into this EP. You’ll be better off for it.
The Pitchfork Music Festival will celebrate its 15th anniversary this summer, Friday, July 17 through Sunday, July 19, at Chicago’s Union Park. Today, the Festival announces the full 2020 lineup, including headliners Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Run The Jewels, and The National. Leading up to the Festival weekend, there will be a week of special 15th Anniversary Events commemorating 15 years of the Pitchfork Music Festival and the city of Chicago. Further details will be announced soon.
The festival opens on Friday with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Angel Olsen, The Fiery Furnaces playing their first show in 10 years, Jehnny Beth, Deafheaven, Waxahatchee, Tim Hecker & The Konoyo Ensemble, SOPHIE, Fennesz, Hop Along, Dehd, SPELLLING, KAINA, and Femdot.
On Saturday, the festival hosts Run The Jewels, who had a formative moment in 2013 during which they were originally booked as solo artists before joining each others’ sets. They will be joined by Sharon Van Etten, Twin Peaks, Danny Brown, Thundercat, Cat Power, Tierra Whack, BADBADNOTGOOD, Dave, Oso Oso, Divino Niño, Boy Scouts, Ezra Collective, and Margaux.
Sunday will feature The National, who played Pitchfork Music Festival’s first year in 2006, Big Thief, Kim Gordon, Phoebe Bridgers, Yaeji, Caroline Polachek, DJ Nate, Maxo Kream, Rapsody, Faye Webster, Mariah the Scientist, Dogleg, The Hecks, and Dustin Laurenzi’s Snaketime.
For 15 years, the Pitchfork Music Festival lineup has spanned genres and generations, consistently placing contemporary cutting-edge artists alongside some of the most influential acts of our time. Year after year, this significant balance has made the event stand out as one of the most enjoyable festivals and celebrated weekends in music.
“For the 15th anniversary of Pitchfork Music Festival, we’re excited to showcase musicians who have been formative to our readers and pivotal to their respective communities,” said editor-in-chief Puja Patel. “It’s in Pitchfork’s DNA to seek out rising talent and the best new music out there, and this year’s lineup exemplifies that across all three days. We always hope that fans will come to see their favorite band and leave the weekend having found a new one as well.”
Pitchfork Music Festival tickets are on sale now. Currently, three-day passes are $185 and single-day passes are $75. The Pitchfork PLUS upgrade, including a range of exclusive amenities, is $385 for a three-day pass and $160 for a single-day pass. Payment plans will be available for all tickets over $100. More details are available here.
FRIDAY Yeah Yeah Yeahs Angel Olsen The Fiery Furnaces Jehnny Beth Deafheaven Waxahatchee Tim Hecker & The Konoyo Ensemble SOPHIE Fennesz Hop Along Dehd SPELLLING KAINA Femdot
SATURDAY Run the Jewels Sharon Van Etten Twin Peaks Danny Brown Thundercat Cat Power Tierra Whack BADBADNOTGOOD Dave Oso Oso Divino Niño Boy Scouts Ezra Collective Margaux
SUNDAY The National Big Thief Kim Gordon Phoebe Bridgers Yaeji Caroline Polachek DJ Nate Maxo Kream Rapsody Faye Webster Mariah the Scientist Dogleg The Hecks Dustin Laurenzi’s Snaketime
For more information, including lineups, event news, and the latest updates, please visit PitchforkMusicFestival.com, facebook.com/pitchforkmusicfestival and follow Pitchfork Music Festival on Instagram and Twitter.
RJD2 is pleased to announce his return with new album, The Fun Ones, out April17th on RJ’s Electrical Connections, alongside lead single, “Pull Up On Love,” and its accompanying video. His first album since 2016’s Dame Fortune, The Fun Ones is the seventh solo album in the constantly expanding RJD2 catalog. Assembled as a mixtape using samples taken from a number of conversations with his contemporaries, including PhonteColeman, J-Zone, KidKoala, Mr. Lif, and Son Little, The Fun Ones draws largely from the basic DNA of hip-hop and funk music, with heavy brass, plenty of thump, and slick chord changes.
Though The Fun Ones largely emphasizes modern funk and instrumental music, RJ still occasionally flirts with vocal stylings across the album. On “One Of A Kind,” RJ links up with HomeboySandman, pushing the levels of syncopation into the red. “A Genuine Gentleman” sees RJ and the king of west coast abstract rhyming, Aceyalone, reuniting on record for the first time since 2006 over a Meter’s-esque groove.
Longtime RJD2 collaborators, STS and KhariMateen, reconvene on lead single, “Pull Up On Love,” to bring the spirit of James Brown to the quintessential Atlanta rib shack. JordanBrown steps in to bring a falsetto lilt over a cacophonous drum break that would leave Ginger Baker scratching his chin. “This tune started with some Zigaboo-inspired drums, a nice little sweeping guitar lick, and a bass line that left plenty of space for wherever Slim (aka STS) was gonna take the track,” says RJ. “I purposely left some room to fill out the track once the vocals were in place. So when Slim sent it back to me, and Khari had did his thing on it, it had such a great vibe to it that I didn’t want to drench the track in production tricks and overdubs. I wanted the vocal performances to shine, so I basically cleaned up the mix, did a few breakdowns, and left it as is. It was great for the three of us to link up once again, since it had been years since we did ‘See You Leave’.”
RJ, STS, Mateen, and Brown all appear in the song’s accompanying video, filmed at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, alongside ChuckPalmer on drums, and StephenGreenberg on bass.
RJD2 will play select dates in support of TheFunOnes this spring, including dates in Seattle, San Diego, Austin, Columbus, Brooklyn, and Bostonat Boston Calling Music Festival. A full list of dates are below, with all shows on-sale now.
The Fun Ones Tracklist: 01. No Helmet Up Indianola 02. Indoor S’mores 03. 20 Grand Palace 03. One of a Kind 05. High Street Will Never Die 06. Pull Up On Love 07. All I’m After 08. Flocking To The Nearest Machine 09. And It Sold For 45k 10. The Freshmen Lettered 11. A Genuine Gentleman 12. Itch Ditch Mission 13. My Very Own Burglar Neighbor 14. A Salute To Blood Bowl Legends
RJD2 Tour Dates:
Fri. March 20 – Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge Sat. March 21 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box Thu. April 9 – Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room & Garage Fri. April 10 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theatre Sat. April 25 – Columbus, OH @ Otherworld Sun. April 26 – Cincinnati, OH @ Urban Artifact Fri. May 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Sat. May 23 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival
As the story goes, singer-songwriter June Moon (also known as Forever) had just left a terrible relationship and was inspired to write her new EP, Close to the Flame, by a ghost. I’m not sure I can write something that will make you more intrigued by the EP than that, but I’ll give it a whirl.
The opening song, “Blur,” is a Portishead-like groover that details the murder of the woman who would become the aforementioned ghost. It hides a sad story amid bedroom grooves. “Make It Happen” (featuring guest vocals by Just John) is a sharp house cut with Moon’s vocals bouncing around the room like a happy sparrow.
“Devotion” has these cool organ chords throughout it and weird beats that sound like they’re underwater. Speaking of such things, “Diving Bell Blue” has Moon saying goodbye to her ex and assuring herself that “everything is going to be better.”
Moon’s falsetto is nicely matching with synth-bass and chill beats on “Brad.” The ghost at the beginning of Moon’s story has become an angel by the time we reach the closer, “Adonis.” The slow, subtle beats of the track are like the wind pushing the fluffy cloud of Moon’s vocals.
For a record made after a bad relationship ended, this EP sure is lovely – but that’s probably the point. Moon found new life and peace while making it, and she’s kind enough to share it with us.
