Laneway 2009

One very good thing about Laneway Festival: even in 35 degree C (95 F) heat, there is quite a lot of shade going around. This is made possible by a number of large trees around the area, as well as a couple of rather large buildings. One very bad thing about Laneway: two of the four stages are located between said buildings in very narrow lane-ways. Here I was thinking the festival was named after Nathan Lane and his crazy effeminate ways.

Jack Ladder
Sydney's own Jack Ladder opened the festival at the Basement Stage. The Basement is a very dark, stuffy, underground, low-ceilinged venue. My thoughts on Jack Ladder: Oh good, it's not just him with an acoustic guitar! That would have been pretty boring. This music isn't too bad. Wow, he's REALLY trying to be Jonathan Richman. Did he just say "Turn a frown upside down"? These are the worst lyrics ever. This guy is a mega-dick.

Still Flyin'
I had heard about this band only in a Will Sheff interview. The way I understood it was that it was like a younger version of Broken Social Scene, with a revolving cast of musicians and more people on stage at any one time than could comfortably fit into a doctor's waiting room. I was only afraid that it might be a little too twee-pop for me. Fortunately, they're a 14-unit ska/reggae party band. At any given moment, only about 70% of the members were playing instruments. The rest were dancing/jumping/rolling around, passing a boogie board around the crowd, giving sweat-hugs to audience members, and singing backup on one of their many "brew-grooves." Possibly the best, and certainly most life-affirming, band I saw all day.

Born Ruffians
Finally we venture out into the light of day. This was where I first encountered this "laneway" situation. The band had already started playing, and there were maybe 150 people in front of us. The sound was bouncing between the buildings and it wasn't worth the effort. Food and beer instead.

Spiral Stairs
I had to make a decision between No Age and Spiral Stairs. No Age was playing at the same stage as Born Ruffians, and I wasn't sure I wanted to risk waiting around for a band that hasn't gotten very favorable live reviews. I'd rather see the Pavement dude on the big stage. About 15 other people made the same (wise) decision. Spiral Stairs, aka Scott Kannenberg, took to the stage on crutches. He announced that he had broken his foot in Perth two days before, yet he still somehow managed to move around more than a lot of bands with fully-functional legs. A couple of the new songs were a little off the mark, but the Preston School of Industry "single" "Caught In the Rain" went over quite nicely. The real highlights, of course, were the three Pavement songs- "Date With Ikea" and renditions of "Kennel District" and "Two States" with the Still Flyin' guys. I seriously thought dude was going to break his foot a second time during "Two States." I've never seen a man shake that fast.

I skipped out on Jay Reatard (again, laneway stage) for more beer and chillin. Oh and some feral douchies in line for the bathroom. Some broad snuck to the front of the line and tried getting into the toilet that I was first in line for. "Someone just went in there," I informed her. "Oh, well I'm just guarding it because I'm next." "Well actually, I've been waiting." "OH MY GOD! Chivalry is DEAD. Are you REALLY going to PUSH your way in front of a GIRL? I don't GET it with you guys. You have PEEENISES. In a couple hours you can just go ANYwhere." I did the right thing by making her feel bad and then going in front of her anyway.

Wait around for Stereolab at the main stage and catch some of Melbourne's Temper Trap. They're ok, but probably not something I'll go check out later. Their last song is a very sub-par cover of "Dancing in the Dark" that gets the sub-par audience screaming.

Stereolab
I finally got my chance to see the seminal Stereolab. I wasn't quite sure what to expect since they haven't been much of a band at all in the past few years. The band started out with some of the new cuts off "Chemical Chords." I didn't really get into this album much. It's just a little too poppy. I like my Stereolab experimental and kraut-ish. Fortunately the second half of their set was more to my liking, with songs like "Mountain", "Lo Boob Oscillator", and "French Disko". Also Laetitia Sadier made eyes at me more than once, and there is nothing wrong with a little sexy French to go with my indie rock.

El Guincho
This was the first and only act I saw all day on the other laneway-situated Red Bull stage. This stage basically presented DJs all day, though for some reason the organisers thought it fitting to advertise acts like Four Tet and Daedelus as live. Live, like, in person? Anyway, El Guincho played just about everything off "Alegranza" although sometimes it was actually difficult to distinguish between the songs because the BASS WAS VERY LOUD. So loud, in fact, that you couldn't hear vocals, keyboards, or samplers. It didn't seem to deter the crowd too much and everyone was dancing and generally having a good time...that is until 6:45 when everyone ran to see Architecture in Helstinky.

Architecture In Helsinki
After The Guinch, I made my way to the big stage where the Hold Steady would be performing in an hour. Originally the Drones were meant to be playing on this stage, and I had wanted to catch a little of them anyway because I'd heard good things. But then it turned out Architecture in Helsinki got the nod. Since I was planning to be front and center for Hold Steady, I sat through the last 20 minutes of AIH. My god, this band has seriously spiraled downward in the past few years. When did they turn into a cheesy 80's soft rock band? It even took me a while to recognise songs that I know, like "Do the Whirlwind" and "Heart It Races" because of long, meandering synth intros. Then I noticed that the Still Flyin' dudes were hanging out up there and putting AIH to shame with their dance moves.

Hold Steady
I pretty much expected to be transcended to a higher plane for this band. Their albums are decent, but everything I've ever read has said that these guys are THE rock band to see live. So the band comes out, the crowd goes wild, and they begin "Constructive Summer." Then I realise how many morons are in the crowd. Some guys start moshing and knocking people over, people are getting their feet stepped on, and kids are crowd-surfing and kicking unsuspecting victims in the face. It was hard to fully enjoy the music when I'm afraid I'm about to get a Volley to the head. As for the band, they played all the songs I wanted to hear, but it was basically note-for-note from the record. The band didn't seem to be having a lot of fun or really enjoying themselves, but what came across most was that more than anyone else at the festival, these guys are a professional band. Craig Finn is definitely a dynamic frontman, Tad Kubler has guitar hero written all over him, and Franz Nicolay is a virtuoso at piano and mustache.

So, how does this compare to ATP?
Better bands
More shade and buildings
More douches
Longer, faster moving toilet lines
Still Flyin'
So many bad tattoos
Worse stages
More beer

-Cole

Grizzly Bear

We here at the Regular Express foam at the mouth for anything Grizzly Bear related. It's been a little while since they've released anything new (though there was that Department of Eagles record last year), so word of a release date or new songs being played live is like discovering a "bear"-ied treasure. Recently there have been a few new jams floating around that I'd like to share. They're all from a live show in Boston that the Grizz played in August. Why they're only making the rounds now, I'm not sure. This is the digital age! Lightning fast people, let's do it!

Aside from these new songs, there's a remake of "Service Bell," recorded with Feist, set to be released in about two weeks on the 4AD Dark Is The Night comp. Indie compilation of the century. Unfortunately I can't seem to find the new "Service Bell," so these live ones will have to do for now.

Grizzly Bear - 2 Hud
Grizzly Bear - Fine For Now
Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

-Cole

Robert Palmer

I think it's unfortunate that Robert Palmer always gets lumped into the "Dad music" category. It's understandable considering the major hits that he had- "Simply Irresistable," "Doctor, Doctor," and "Addicted to Love." These are all powered, cheesy 80's pop songs that go hand in hand with REO and ZZ Top on classic rock radio. What you wouldn't know from these songs are both Palmer's smooth, smooth grooves as well as his more contemplative, insightful side. Palmer's also been known to throw in a decent cover here and there, including Little Feat's championing of cocaine, "Sailing Shoes," Toots' "Pressure Drop," Gary Numan's "I Dream of Wires," and Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy Me." These covers SCREAM smooth/insightful.

I'd like to share what I think is Palmer's best track, and is probably in my top 20 all time favorite songs. The third track and first single off the (excellent) 1980 album "Clues," Johnny & Mary is a poignant tale of a doomed couple set to a drum machine and (what I can only assume to be) a highly phased bass riff. Top notch.

In September of 2003, Palmer got "layed" for the last time as his body was put to rest after a heart attack.

Robert Palmer - Johnny & Mary

-Cole

Holiday Road

As I mentioned before, and will most certainly mention again, I really love Fleetwood Mac and nearly all Fleetwood Mac related things. The other day friend Mikey asked me if I had ever seen the video for Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road." I realized that I had not. I went home that night and took a gander on youtube. It was not at all what I expected.



This video really gets me "under the skin." Ha ha! Get it?! If I had to watch it over and over, I think I would "go insane." Hey, this guy's on fire...

In actuality I really like the video. The song is a bit too poppy and upbeat considering most of Lindsey's other material, and I think the video shows some of that darkness we all know and love.

-Cole

Lipa Kodi Ya City Council

A label called Mississippi Records has been putting out some incredible releases over the past few years. Apparently the label started around '03 or '04, but my first introduction was this album in late 2006. The record cover itself is a silk-screened piece of cardboard glued onto an old Latin Big Band sleeve. Attached is a photo of a Nigerian dude, wearing what appears to be traditional dress and a couple of reeds, playing electric guitar plugged into a generator. Needless to say, this record is mind-bogglingly good.

The first side consists of songs meant to be a celebration of life and death, sung in the colloquial language of southern Nigeria called Efik. The second side is in the official language of Nigeria, called Ibo, and celebrates the officers and members of a "cultural organisation" (whatever that means). Elements of reggae, gospel, ska, and highlife can all be found here, and for the most part it is a very upbeat compilation. The recordings are somewhat lo-fi, but not in that Times New Viking way where everything is distorted and it sounds like somebody is chewing granola in the studio and they accidentally put that way up in the mix and now you're listening to it because 1) you're punishing yourself 2) because you have no actual opinion of music and your "tastes" are learned. No no, it's lo-fi in the way that the songs have been recorded on a tape machine in the late 60's with limited equipment. The first two tracks are definite standouts, but I think the center of the album is track 6, a slow, peaceful gospel chant done by a bunch of missionaries and religious drummers. No, they're not referring to the drummers from Jars of Clay and PM Dawn (amusingly enough, when I clicked the link for the PM Dawn website, I was alerted that their site contains malware..way to go guys). I put this song on the mix CD I made my mom for Christmas, and now you can too!

LIPA KODI YA CITY COUNCIL

Track listing:

A1 Moussa Doumbi - Yeye Mousso
A2 Yaseen Mohammed and Saada - Lala Mpenzi
A3 Sami Kamar & The Black Diamonds - Egun Dide
A4 Kabushi and Mwenya - Mwe Baiyashi Centeleni
A5 Mbasela Kunda and William Monyanda - Nina Namusonda Sanguweji
A6 Noviciat De Soeurs Missionaires De Notre Dame D' Afrique & Four Religious Drummers - Yesu Ka Mkwebase
B1 Cabdulashi Iman Zamir / Xaaji Cusmaan / Nuur Maxamed Curuba - Siina Miiri
B2 Ester John / Mdawida Fadhili William* / Ben Nicholas / Fundi Konde - Mwanamali Wa Maridadi
B3 Frida Sonko - Gwenasobya
B4 Marehamu George Mukabi - Bibi Mama Ngani Mzuri
B5 S.E. Rogie - Do Me Justice
B6 Isaya Mwinamo - Lipa Kodi Ya City Council

This album is out of print on LP and probably won't ever be available on CD, so I'd suggest you grab this right here if you're even remotely interested. It should not, will not, cannot, let you down. Also get your hands on everything you can from this label. Their records are cheaper than dirt and always of a very high standard. "Always - Love Over Gold."

-Cole

L.A. Night

When you're romancing with the lady, glass of wine in hand, chilling by the fireplace, and your Sade records are nowhere to be found, throw on this jam. It's called "L.A. Night" by a woman named Yasuko Agawa. I can't seem to find anything about her except her website, which is in Japanese. It doesn't stop me from enjoying the smooth.

Yasuko Agawa - L.A. Night.mp3

-Cole

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

Here's a song from possibly the best album of the Peter Green era of Fleetwood Mac. I definitely gravitate more toward the powerhouse stylings of the McVie/Nicks/Buckingham trio, but I don't want to discredit the output from Green and associates. A lot of the Danny Kirwan material is exceptional as well. Really I can't say a bad thing about the band through their many, many lineup changes until after they broke up and reunited for "Tango in the Night" in 1987. Even that album has some great songs on it (though the production is pretty terrible). What I'm trying to say is, buy every Fleetwood Mac album you can get your hands on.

Anyway, here's "Closing My Eyes" from the 1969 album "Then Play On." It's a sparse, slow heartbreak ballad in the midst of a pretty great blues album (coming from a guy that doesn't like blues). Sadly it was Green's last album with the band as he suffers from schizophrenia and had some serious drug/alcohol problems. He released a few solo albums after his departure, most notably "The End of the Game," featuring a lot of messy guitar heroics.

Fleetwood Mac - Closing My Eyes.mp3

Also for your listening pleasure is the Green instrumental "Albatross," most recently featured in the movie "Man On Wire." John Lennon was such a fan of this song that he implemented the "feel" of it when writing his homage to Green- Abbey Road's "Sun King."

Fleetwood Mac - Albatross.mp3

-Cole

Triple J

Triple J, the "great" Australian independent (government-owned) radio station that gave us that live Hot Snakes album a few years ago, hosted their annual "Hot 100" Countdown yesterday. Of the top five spots, two were Kings of Leon songs, two were MGMT songs, and one was some Australian band that was blatantly ripping off MGMT.

If the kids that listen to that station like that music and decide to vote for it, I have no problem. But why is it that most of media's top critics didn't bother mentioning Kings of Leon at all in their year-end reviews and lists, while MGMT was buried behind TV On the Radio, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Deerhunter, Beach House, and Hercules & Love Affair? Again, I'm not commenting on the music itself, by why would only two bands corner the top 5 songs of the year?

Because Triple J operates much the same way that commercial radio does. They plug a very select few bands to no end, and ignore a lot of other music going on. In a world where there is practically unlimited resources for finding new music, crossing over genre lines, geographical boundaries, and major label/promotions influence, shouldn't the list be a little more varied? Maybe it has something to do with distribution, then. A lot of albums don't get a major label distribution deal here in Australia, so radio stations don't bother playing them. Of the aforementioned bands, only two had major label distribution: MGMT and Kings of Leon. In a post-major-label-industry, where supposedly listeners are dictating more and more of what's popular, Triple J, like nearly every radio station out there, is still operating with major label values in place. What makes this hurt a little more is that Triple J is supposed to be independent.

To their credit, they do make a concerted effort to play a lot of local music (and it doesn't hurt that the government forces them to). But in supporting local artists, there are plenty of very talented bands that, because of their geographical location, don't get a fair turn. A similar comparison would be that of affirmative action, except that the candidates aren't equal. Not by a long shot. In a lot of industries, I agree with regulation. In the music industry, I don't. Let the most talented artists get their due props, and the up-and-comers and down-and-outs will fall into place behind them.

Radio has never been a platform for promoting the "best" bands. Payola and cronyism have always played pivotal roles in radio. But we've been living in a hyper-aware world. Most people know of at least some corruption involved in the music industry, and can immediately circumvent such corruption by using the information superhighway. Most major labels are facing a financial crunch that's unrivaled by previous musical eras. They're turning to just about every sellable form of media to salvage their companies (ringtones, pre-loaded mp3 players, greeting cards, singing fish). So if there was ever a time for radio to change its tune, this would be it. Yet Triple J is still prescribing the music that people want to hear. And the kids are still eating it up.

THE LIST

-Cole

Silkworm/Crust Brothers/Bottomless Pit/Pavement

So, firstly I'd like to say that I've just moved into an internetted house, which may or may not result in more frequent updating. I can't promise anything, but it's possible that you'll start getting more of my sass talk and cynicism. Lord knows Emily isn't up to any of that (or much of anything at all), so I'm carrying the burden on my own.


I'd like to rap about Silkworm, if I may. When I first heard this band, I thought little of them. They reminded me of Pavement without the good lyrics or interesting musical shifts. Somehow I listened to enough of them to come around, and I'm certainly glad I did. Their recent output as Bottomless Pit has cemented their ability to consistently prove themselves as underrated indie rock heroes.

It turns out the link between Pavement and Silkworm is more than just stylistic similarity. Last year saw the release of the Crust Brothers' Marquee Mark, a one-off collaboration of Silkworm and Stephen Malkmus. Not only do they cover 7(!) songs from the Dylan and the Band's Basement Tapes, but there's also a cover of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone." If that isn't enough, Stephen also takes vocal duties on Silkworm's "Never Met a Man I Didn't Like."


The Crust Brothers - Marquee Mark
(You can buy it here)

Also here are a few Silkworm/Bottomless Pit songs, as well as Silkworm's cover of a Pavement song.

Silkworm - Bar Ice
Silkworm - Never Met a Man I Didn't Like
Silkworm - And Then... (Pavement cover)
Bottomless Pit - Dogtag
Bottomless Pit - Repossession

-Cole

ATP Sydney

The day started off with a slow ferry ride across the Inner Harbour to Sydney's Cockatoo Island. This turned out to be one of the best places to hold a festival, as it was previously a prison, reformatory, industrial compound, and shipyard. It was kind of like Alcatraz. The crowd was decidedly older, which meant no 17 year olds lying on the ground in an ecstacy-induced seizure (thanks, Field Day!). What I thought was most interesting is that the people at the festival weren't there for a party, or to be seen, or to watch the newest flash-in-the-pan-one-hit-dance-band (whattup MGMT?), but actually wanted to listen to the bands.

Ah yes, the bands. Upon originally hearing of an Australian ATP, I creamed jeans. Then I heard Nick Cave was curating it, which meant absolutely nothing to me. Then I saw the lineup, and became increasingly disappointed to find that both the Dirty Three and Bill Callahan were only playing the Mt Buller show (as if anybody actually knows where that is). Still. Harmonia. Spiritualized. Michael Gira. Robert Forster. Fuck Buttons. It can't be too bad. Right? RIGHT?

Right. It wasn't too bad at all.

AFRIRAMPO
Two weird skinny Japanese girls wearing red boas and war paint, wanting to have party at Nick Cave's house...in Melbourne...with family. One deep-throated a beer bottle. Lots of yelling and jibberish. They also played music (and were surprisingly competent).

MICHAEL GIRA
Please have Akron/Family as backing band. Please have Akron/Family as backing band. Please have Akron/Family as backing band. What do you mean he's playing solo?? Three songs in and I left. Way too much negativity coming off that dude. Maybe he could take a hint from AKRON/FAMILY.


HARMONIA
"We are Harmonia. We are from Germany." Uh oh. Live German music? This could be a non-stop flight to bored city. Laptops?! Shit! Nothing good can come out of seeing a live German laptop band. They make very very good music, and the fun stops there.


LAUGHING CLOWNS
This was one of the best things I saw all day. I had never heard (of) this band before, and I will definitely be hearing more when I get a chance. Saxaphone, double bass, and regular rock band instrumentation. Fronted by ex-Saints guitarist who looks exactly like Rick Nielsen.


ROBERT FORSTER
I guess the easiest way to explain this guy's music is this: if you like the Go-Betweens, you'll like Robert Forster. If you think the Go-Betweens are underwhelming, you'll think the same of this dude. Good time summer fun guy plays no frills pop/rock songs in the vein of REM, Big Dipper, and most things on Flying Nun.


SPIRITUALIZED
This was probably my most anticipated act of the festival. Much to my surprise, they didn't play anything off the newest album except for "You Lie, You Cheat." Also to my surprise, they played "Walking With Jesus." I've only heard that song off the Spacemen 3's "Taking Drugs to Make Music to Take Drugs to" compilation, and hardly recognized it at first. Gone were the feedback and distortion, and present were slide guitar and gospel singers. This turned out to be a pretty great laid-back version of a song that has at least 10 different recorded versions. Now I love a good ear-splitting wall of guitar noise freakout, but fortunately there was plenty of that going on in the last ten minutes of the normally 4 1/2 minute "Take Me to the Other Side." The set was stellar, the backup singers were strutting in unison, and Jason Pierce was on target all throughout. I only wish they would have played longer.


Now it came decision time. Do we stay for another 4+ hours to watch Nick Cave (who I have nary an opinion on) and Fuck Buttons, or do we head home early and eat fish and chips? Fish and chips it is!


THE SAINTS
I caught a few minutes of the Saints while trying to decide what to do. Singer was smoking cigarettes in his pajamas and the guitarist is still wearing Rick Nielsen.

Cue ferry ride home and watching Michael Gira trying to evade paying the fare, only to get caught and act like a confused American tourist. Wah wah.

-Cole

Biz Markie

In honor of the new profile photo, I thought I'd offer up a little video from the Biz Mark hisself.



-Cole

New Year - Seven Days, Seven Nights

A video from The New Year's excellent s/t 2008 album. They must have talked to Puff Daddy about the best place in O'Hare airport to shoot a music video:



(Just go to 1:17 if you don't want to listen to this terrible, terrible song [but maybe watch the first :15 to watch that asshole fall of his bike])

-Cole