Monday, November 15, 2010

We're moving to Reviewstalker.com

Hi there Ladies and Germs!

It's was just a matter of time before I decided to pack my crap and move over to a proper domain. I love blogger but it was time to move and rebuild. I was thinking about it for awhile but it was more of a matter of literally finding the time to move. Crap I started this blog in 2005 so it was about time. still no money in it but whatever. I don't do it for that reason.

Overtime I'll add some bells and whistles on the new site. The basic content migration seem to go ok and now it is time to tweak this junk and will be deleting old articles but have no fear you should be able to find them and dig through the archives. Which are skinny at best.

Please join me: http://reviewstalker.com

Thank you!

Daviso

PS If you are looking for Creative Services or Video Production  help based out of New Jersey please take a look over on the Viva La Hara Creative Collective site. Probably more affordable than you think to make that video for your small business.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Wesley Willis covers Bowie


I had the pleasure of hosting Wesley Willis(RIP 1963-2003) a few times on his tours. You might even heard or read me tell the story that every time he managed to break my toilet seats but despite that he was a totally sweet human being. He had his moments being a diagnosed schizophrenic and all and it was quite the chore for any band to bring him out. One of those bands was a Chicago band called Today's My Super Space Out Day. Sort of a short emo band name by today's standards but actually a really powerful rock trio. Anyway, below is a jam recorded in my living room in Red Bank, NJ one morning after a rock show. Rock Over London Rock over New Jersey. Now give me a head-butt. Miss you Wesley.

"Ziggy killed the band" by Wesley Willis w/Rick Nitz on Acoustic Guitar from TMSSOD.
"Henry Rollins" by Wesley from SMD Promotions CD (autographed)

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Held Ransom by Elvis Costello's R&B

ALBUM REVIEW: Huge change in what we'll call "introverted" Elvis Costello for right now on National Ransom. This music is free in form with the it's subtle blues and that driving rhythmic bass pounding found on earlier Costello releases...

For the rest of Elvis Costello National Ransom Review please visist the new Review Stalker Music and mp3 Blog!

Get a sample after the jump.

Saturday, November 06, 2010

If only you were braindead Black Angels

ALBUM REVIEW: Working too much. Too tired to write or listen to music most of the time. I am so pathetic but i did just manage to pick-up Phosphene Dream by the Black Angels...

Get the rest of the Thank You Black Angels Album Review after the jump on the all new ReveiwStalker.com Music and mp3 blog.

Lots of awesome stuff on the other side. Won't you come over to the other side. If you stay in the boat it's up to you but if you get off the boat, you will dip into the other side. I promise the water is fine.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Halloween Costume playlist for Ghouls & Goblins


I'm stuck trying to decide if tonight I should be The Situation or Bruce in keeping with our Jersey theme tonight. In the meantime here's some halloween songs for all of you who have decided to be your favorite political figure, a iPhone or that Oldspice Guy. Nerds.

Hallowe'en by Sonic Youth from Badmoon Rising
Halloween by the Dead Kennedys from Plastic Surgery Disaster
Haunted House Blues by Bessie Smith
Halloween by The Dream Syndicate from The Days Of Wine and Roses
It's Halloween by The Shaggs from Philosophy of the World

New hot and scary reviewstalker.com music blog over here.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Big Takeover by Jack Rabid - A Super Fan


Dear CMJ Friends, here's the one guy who has had the honor of drinking with Joe Strummer, seeing the music industry implode and basically keeping one of the most in depth music magazines alive for the past 30 years - The Big Takeover. This humble guy is Jack Rabid. His army of devout writers and friends have helped carry the torch for music with heart and that matters in a time when we need it the most. If you love music and understand the creation of it as one of those things that makes life meaningful. Then this is the essence what Jack and co have captured in print for all these years. I always talk "oh-crap - how did I miss this band or that band". Jack Rabid and company don't miss a beat or least twice a year they feature many not so obvious bands. What is super unique and whole reason in of itself to back-issues is he's never posted one word of the content featured in the pages of his magazine. So you'll only what I am talking about if you read and subvert this whole social media thing.

Back story: As I embarked on working on this Artist series for Ogilvy; little did a I know that myself as a super fan of his magazine, and a random music post about his 30th anniversary show that it would lead to episode in this mini documentary series. The topic is so close to my heart as the blood is in my veins that having him end up being featured has seriously made my year. So I am happy to share this video and I hope you dig it. Plus some of the others artists and tremendous talent I have been privileged to have met so far. Who should I interview next?

(The Create or Else Team: L-R Nancy H, Myself, Jack and D.Zellerford)

Related links:
Read more up on this Artist series on the Create or Else Blog.
The music post that started this journey: The Big Takeover turns 30!
From the Bell House Show photos

A short playlist for friends:
I Didn’t See It Coming by Belle and Sebastian from their new one Write About Love [BUY]
Second Life Life by Gang of Four from the Second Life EP [BUY]
Nothin' 'bout Nothin' by Joe Strummer. This track is music Joe Recorded after disbanding The Clash. I didn't know it existed until i found this comp from Permanent Records. [BUY]
Big Takeover b/w Attitude by Bad Brains self titled (1982) - [BUY]
Aftertaste by For Against from Nebraska. Featured in the video above. [BUY]

Monday, October 18, 2010

2 Minutes of Silence to remember dead Soldiers


I think this could be considered a ode to John Cage's thoughts on Silence. Where on UK's Remembrance Sunday for us all to think about all the troops who have lost their lives in idiotic wars. The Goal is to get a silent single to go to #1. Thom Yorke has lent his mug to give this thoughts attention to this cause. This is Bono territory and good to see him not just talk the talk. Check out the poppysingle2010 page on facebook. This is the 10 second video single for "2 MINUTE SILENCE". Help get it to Number 1 in the charts for Nov 14. Sign up at the British Legion for a friendly reminder.



"The sound experience which i prefer to all others is the experience of silence. And the silence almost everywhere in the world now is traffic..." - John Cage.

Cage is known for the piece "4:33" or yes that is four minutes thirty-three seconds which you can see here being played here by a full concert orchestra on TV. On analog clock of course!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Hot Wax by Grant Hart


(Photo from Aviso'Hara tours pics circa 2001, 40 watt Athens, GA - Grant and his bag-o-money. Note can of PBR in my hands. Was part of our pay... Get the rest of this Grant Hart Music Review pm the spanking new Reviewstalker.com music blog. It's very sexy Devil Dick.

Monday, October 11, 2010

60ish Surf Music


I'm not a huge fanatic of Surf Music genre but there are a bunch of great bands that have kept this type of homage alive to 60's nostalgia, drive-in movies and the Hawaiian shirt. Ok a lot of images come to mind when you think of tunes drenched in fender reverb, fast guitar picking instrumentals and hot babes. Crap they'll write a song about anything. The greatest thing is the music is devoid of pretense and rarely a is there a vocal melody to be had. The guitars do the talking in it's purest of white-bread Americana.


Drag Strip by Link Ray w/ The Fenders Benders from Some Kine of Nut Vol.3. Yeah, this guy single-handedly pretty much defines quality control for Surf Music having recorded probably more than any other or even lent his gear to folks recording his kind of music. Frederick Lincoln AKA "Link" Wray Jr.(1929 - 2005) was first known for his song "Rumble."

Fathom This! by The Fathoms from Boston, Mass. Are you noticing a theme with all the water related names? Noticeable pun perhaps or just good surf marketing? Is there such a thing as bad surf music marketing? Some of these bands brought back the genre in 1990's and others are just some of the originators, which there are 100's of.


Six Pack by The Phantom Surfers. Yeah a cool a song about beer. What kind of beer? Does it even fucking matter? I could and will some day write a whole blog post about beer. From San Francisco according to their MS page and

"Better than Most Surf Bands, Not as good as Some". Have put out records on Estrus, Look-out you name it. Crap i don't even think the artwork is right but whatever...

Psychotronic by The Insect Surfers from the compilation Rock Don't Run Vol.3. A lot of great stuff on here. One song or band is more brilliantly titled after the next. Also features tracks by Los Straightjackets, Boss Martians, and The Tiki-Tones. Coming up with the kookie surf band names is a fun drinking game. TIS claim to be the longest running "modern" surf band.

Wave by Satan's Pilgrams from Around The World With Satan's Pilgrims. I was introduced to this band by Empty Records back in 94-95 and I loved them ever since. They took their name from 60's B-flick Satan's Sadists. Great shit. [Buy]

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Ten songs about the future and aliens

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.


Today is 10.10.2010: Here is what earth looks like from an alien's point of view. ok this father and son duo with small team of enthusiasts figured out how to send a balloon into space with their iPhone to get this amazing footage and documented the whole thing for their own Brooklyn Space Program.

Here is some music for aliens and humans:
Subterranean Homesick Alien(radiohead cover) by Easy Star All Stars from the album Radiodread
Watch Me Jumpstart by Guided By Voices from Alien Lanes
Like an Alien by Transilvia
Body Snatcher by The Dynamites from the album Kaboom!
First In Space by the band Tim from Kentucky off the record German Engineering.
Crushed by the Brian Jonestown Massacre from the record Space Girl And Other Favorites
Neither Heaven Nor Space by Nada Surf from Let Go(2002)
Space Gun by Poster Children from Daisy Chain Reaction (1991)
Wish you were here (featuring sparklehorse) by Radiohead from Lost Treasures 1993-1997.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

John Peel says listen to some music



‎"To be free you have to speak another language"

-Henry Rollins from Get in the Van

JOHN PEEL DAY!: I did not know there was such a thing as a International John Peel Day so thanks Ted Cogswell. The music geeks will argue if Mr. Peel(RIP 1939-2004) liked the oldies over live music even though he spent his whole career hosting and engineering live bands on his John Peel sessions on Radio1. This video series has never really been seen much before but for some more go check out sheffieldvision.com It's been up on youtube for years. Anyway, as a tastemaker he forged a lifetime career listening and recording bands from around the world. From The pixies to more obscure stuff. He would champion some pretty uncomercial stuff seemingly to seek out those that took risks and as he says in this videos even groups like The Slits who could not even tune their own instruments. More about the performance and execution than the virtuosity.


Horizontal Hold by This Heat from the record Made Available(1996). For a elite few of you the cover should be familiar as Shellac borrowed the packaging idea for 1000 Hurts(2000). This Heat is considered the missing link between progressive rock and alternative because of their mix of their musical expression with instrumentals, tape loops and general choas captured here in this live jam. Start with this track and then deep dive into a record called Deceit. [Buy]


Flying Saucer by The Wedding Present(Select tracks from later era Peel sessions 1992-1995). On a quick scan it seems David Gedge performed an awful lot on his show. Then again he is from the UK. Very tight band. Friend of mine from Third Hand Films was working on a live tour concert documentary tentatively called drive but it never got any muster out of the gate which shows The Wedding Present as a hard working band. Check out the documentary trailer. Gedger should get it together. [Buy]

French Disko by Stereolab from ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions. In spirit of finely recorded live music this double LP is awesome. This particular track was recorded on Mark Radcliffe show but the album mixes sessions from both. I just picked this track because I love the spelling of the title. If that is not a node to Kraut rock I don't know what is...

Monday, October 04, 2010

Birthday Boy by Ween


COVERS: This is probably one of my favorite Ween songs, ok in the top 10 but it's a perfect little Bob Marleyesque ditty. I've seen Chris Hartford cover it really well what seems like 15 years ago at the Court Tavern and I even think Dave Dreiwitz was playing bass at the time. Here are a couple others plus the original from God Ween Satan The Oneness. Oh the picture above is the commemorative hat and coolie for music dorks over 40 I might make.

Birthday Boy by Ween [Buy]

For more Ween tracks that you can shake a boognish at try the Brown Tracker.


This is a good one by Mary_Lou Lord with Elliot Smith on guitar.

Ween plays a small records store in Denver.

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Fake Matador 21 Las Vegas, NV Set-List 1

SET 1: The Guest MC is Mr. Rick Sanchez & I am right there in the front row inbibing beers and peeing in-between the bands(not literally between them). Sometimes maybe in a cup. Thankfully the live stream exists so I can check the scene over the weekend. Catching some great performances and then...

After the jump get the rest of Fake Matador 21 Fantasy set-list story on the new Reviewstalker.com music and mp3 blog.