The Unblinking Ear Podcast 1/24/13

Here tis. The first Unblinking Ear podcast of 2013. And the first in over a month! I do apologize for the delay and the lack of a best of the year podcast (which was kind of a dumb move as they're usually my most listened-to podcast of the year). However, I do hope any of the three WFMU fill-ins I did in the intervening time (including a best of show) kept you satiated. If not, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe I'm just not the rock music guru/obsessive/nerd/creep for you.

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The Unblinking Ear Podcast: Avenue Obstructed

Earlier today, WFMU's Evan "Funk" Davies (pictured left) commented on the post for my previous podcast that the download link was broken.

I don't know exactly how this went unnoticed for two weeks (a fortnight!) by myself or my loyal listeners. It couldn't be that this podcast doesn't inspire the unmitigated devotion I assume it does, right?

Nah.

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The Unblinking Ear Podcast: Priceless

Who knew that the power of music could transform a middle-aged desk jockey into an incredibly obnoxious-looking modern hipster? At least that's what implied by the Mastercard commercial running ad nausem on TBS during the MLB playoffs. You would think that he would become a younger version of himself but no. I suppose it's possible that he may have also been mulleted and mustachioed in his glory days. Perhaps Mastercard didn't want to shell out the money for the publishing rights to an Eddie Money track.

Should you listen to this podcast and feel yourself morphing into a paisley-shirted English psych rocker, skinny-tied new waver or indifferently-dressed gentle bedroom recording artist, just remember: it's not what you listen to but how you accessorize that makes you annoying to those who gaze upon you.


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Matador Records: 20 Years is Two Decades

20 years!!! So many Matador memories. Going to CBGBs for the first time to see a Matador New Music Seminar showcase (and still having the Bunny Brains 7" to prove it). The finale of the label's 10th anniversary show where Jon Spencer joined Yo La Tengo onstage for a rendition of "Slack Motherfucker." The time Robert Pollard bought beer for my underaged self at Sideshows by the Seashore on Coney Island and was inspired to write "The Official Ironmen Rally Song" as I vomited over the boardwalk. (Note: one of the preceding statements is untrue.)

Matador has sometimes been the object of ridicule among less than enlightened music snobs, partially for their occasional dalliances with evil major labels Atlantic and Capital. Yeah, fuck them for making a profit and attempting to expand the audience of their artists. Truth be told, a few labels in history have discographies as adventurous, diverse and high in quality as Matador, and even fewer have been able to do it for as long. I don't think it's hyperbole to state that modern music would be very different if not for the label's influence. We all owe them a debt of gratitude.

To commemorate the label's anniversary, my colleague at Pop Tarts Suck Toasted put together his list of the Top 20 Matador Albums of All-Time. I'm not going to argue with his choices (though, being the contentious type, I certainly could) but it inspire me to create my own Mata-list. I was considering making my own list of their best albums but that seemed a little predictable and dull. Does anyone really care if I think the SF Seals' Nowhere is better than Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain?

So instead, I thought I'd present to you
The Top 10 Matador Records You Don't Own:

10 Yo La Tengo "Shaker"
I'm sure many of you own a good chunk of the albums Yo La Tengo have released on Matador, and possibly a few EPs and rarities collections as well. This seven inch was their first release for the label, arriving just a couple of months before the Painful album, and has unfortunately gone unnoticed by a lot of YTL fans. It's simply one of the finest songs from a band with too many great songs to count: a dark and menacing psych-tinged rocker blend that gives one reason to think the band was paying close attention to the material coming out of New Zealand's Xpressway label at the time. The band apparently thought quite highly of the song as well. They selected it as the first track on their Prisoners of Love career retrospective. Plus, the flip, a cover of Richard Thompson's "For Shame of Doing Wrong," aint bad either.

9 Come Eleven:Eleven
Probably the best album in the long career of Thalida Zedek (Live Skull, Uzi, Dangerous Birds). Teaming with Chris Brokaw, a brilliant guitarist whose work remains one of the underground's best kept secrets, probably helped. Together their guitars interlocked to chart dark and bluesy sonic territory explored by few before or since, with the rhythm section providing rock solid foundation and Zedek's raspy wail cutting through the maelstrom. Their surprisingly reverent cover of the Rolling Stones' "I Got the Blues" gave some clue as to a blueprint, but originals like "Off to One Side," "Sad Eyes" and "Fast Piss Blues" display a style and power that's utterly individual and totally compelling.

8 Bettie Serveert Palomine
There was brief period where it looked like Bettie Serveert might get swept up the the whole "women in rock" trend of the mid 90s. You have to wonder if a lot of people though singer/guitarist Carol van Dijk was "Bettie." In any case, it wasn't to be as the masses decided they'd rather listen to the insight offered by Meredith Brooks and Tracy Bonham. It's unsurprising as BS was far too subtle for the mainstream. A quick listen to the near-hit "Tomboy" provides evidence of that. Pop music often gets its potency from persona, immediate identification with the singer as protagonist. While blessed with a clearly gifted vocalist, the tune derives its power from the ensemble playing of the whole group, with subtle shifts in dynamics providing tension and release to frame van Dijk's warm and evocative voice. The band matches this feat throughout much of Palomine, and if their subsequent released never quite topped it, few bands have made an album as memorable.

7 Babylon Dance Band Four On One
This one takes some explaining. The Babylon Dance Band were one of the Midwest's earliest post-punk bands. After releasing a handful of singles the band split up and some members went on to achieve a modicum of fame as Antietam. In the mid 90s, for whatever reason, the original band reunited and recorded this album. Perhaps, there was just a sense of unfinished business, as this disc is more vibrant and immediate than anything Antietam did (to my ears at least). The band's unique combination of angular post-punk and subtle Americana underpinnings is surprisingly warm and moving, with singer Chip Nold sounding like Pere Ubu's David Thomas returning from the brink and forced to deal with human concerns. Had the band recorded and released this during their original run, one suspects that they'd be regarded along with Mission of Burma, the Embarrassment and Pylon as one of the greatest post-punk outfits the US has ever produced.

6 Railroad Jerk One Track Mind
Bios for Railroad Jerk jokingly(?) described the band as "industrial folk" but that description isn't that far off. Actually, it suffices fairly well for RJ's unique stew of New York noise, roots music and who-knows-what-else. Try to imagine the Voidoids jamming with the Band and you're maybe halfway there. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion took a similar approach to deconstructing trad rock but while Spencer and co. may have gotten the accolades and sizable following, the truth is they never made an album this good.

5 Love Of Diagrams Mosaic
A much more recent release than most of the albums on this list, Mosaic never garnered as much attention as it should have. Nearly every time I'd play a song from it at one of my DJ gigs, someone inquired about who it was. And why wouldn't they? Aussie trio Love of Diagrams displayed rare musical empathy as players, creating a rich and nuanced sound that most faux-orchestral 7-piece indie rock outfits couldn't hope to match. And they rocked. Hard.

4 La Peste s/t
In their original incarnation, Boston's La Peste released exactly one single, the thundering classic "Better Off Dead." Their self-titled Matador release collections that single, and handful of demos and a 1979 live broadcast on WBCN. Taken together, they paint a portrait of absolute titans of US punk rock, on par with the Pagans or the Germs. Their songs are melodic and memorable, containing undeniable hooks and played with blinding speed and fury. Matador has released a handful of reissues during their 20 years, but this one is arguably the most revelatory and essential.

3 Bassholes Long Way Blues 1996-1998
Not even their best album (that would be the double LP When My Blue Moon Turns Red Again, released the same year on In The Red), this collection of home recordings is nonetheless one of the finest records of the 90s. Lo-fi before (or after?) that could be considered a selling point, the Ohio band rips through absolutely savage garage blues stompers like "She Shimmy Wobble" and "Turpentine" and it's not hard to imagine that they've had immediate contact with the fellow who tuned Robert Johnson's guitar. Others cuts, like "Angel of Death" and "Cabooseman Blues," are more quiet and intimate, which makes their profound weirdness all the more disturbing. It's tempting to claim to that the Bassholes two-man blues set precedent for the success of the White Stripes, but the truth is, despite Jack White's attempt to turn himself into some kind of living kabuki doll, the Stripes never recorded anything as nearly bent as this.

1 & 2 Silkworm Firewater and Developer
I've already written extensively about my love for Silkworm so doing so again would probably be awfully redundant. However, I will point out that these two records may well be the most essential in a discography that was consistently excellent and your record collection is incomplete without them.

The Unblinking Ear Podcast: Awe Inspiring!

Okay maybe it's not that awe inspiring. Maybe I sound more like I just ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich using bread that probably should have been thrown away like two weeks ago.

Anyone who wants to make me a home-cooked meal will get their band played on the next podcast. Despite others' claims of my integrity, I'm really not above a little quid pro quo.



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Because I feel the need to blog at least once a month

If any of you are interested there was a blurb about me in the Staten Island Advance's entertainment section last week which you can read here. Yes, I'm one of many on an "Island of DJs" though unlike many of the others, I own a turntable. I actually had a long conversation via telephone with the piece's author, Ben Johnson, a few days prior to the article's publication. We touched on such subjects as records that weren't well known but could still get people dancing, the phenomenom of the exclusively-playing-MP3s iDJ and many other things. Unfortunately, he only wrote about the the first 5 or so songs I thought of when asked what were good dancefloor-filling crowd pleasers. Of course, if I had bothered to return his message days prior it might have allowed for him to write a piece where I don't don't seem like a hacky Bar Mitzvah DJ. Mea culpa, Ben.

In any case, I did write later write up a more balanced mini-playlist that probably better reflects what I play but probably sent it to him past deadline:

1. New Order "Blue Monday"
2. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five "White Lines (Don't Do It)"
3. Prince "Erotic City"
4. Pigbag "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag"
5. Fugazi "Waiting Room"
6. The Misfits "Last Caress"
7. The Pretty Things "Come See Me"
8. David Bowie "Watch That Man"
9. The Futureheads "Decent Days and Nights"
10. James "Laid"

Eh, that's not really a great list either.

If you have the desire to hear me play all, some or none of these songs, I'll be DJing this Saturday night at the Cargo Cafe on Staten Island. I'm really hoping this gig will lead to getting me some tracks on the next Ghostface record. Somebody tell him to come out please.

Since I haven't posted here in a while, I thought I'd grace you all with some random thoughts (or, more accurately, gripes).

One of benefits of working in an office with people who do not share my musical tastes is that I get to hear all kinds of music I wouldn't normally listen to because I assume it's terrible. Usually my assumptions are correct and in the case of the Mars Volta they turn out to be even worse than thought they might be. Seriously, while my co-worker was playing their new album I though we were listening to Helloween or something. I had heard they were kind of "proggy" but i figured they were like math rock or something not unlistenable mess I heard. They are now a nominee for my award for worst current band in the universe. If anyone wants to defend them (or nominate other bands) the comments section is below.

Did anyone catch the commerical during the Super Bowl for the upcoming Adam Sandler movie Don't Mess with the Zohan? I had to do a double take to make certain it wasn't a spin off movie of John Turturro's character in The Big Lebowski.



Actually under further examination it seems to be ripping off Borat more than The Jesus. IMBD tells me that Judd Apatow is the co-writer which means one of three things:

1) It isn't the total piece of garbage I'm assuming it is and is actually very funny in a silly Anchorman kind of way
2) Someone bought a Judd Apatow script and turned it into an Adam Sandler vehicle. (After all wasn't I Now Pronounce Chuck and Larry written by the guys who wrote Sideways?)
3) My opinion of Judd Apatow is way too high

Finally, in a non-griping, rather delightful tidbit, I suggest you check out the latest edition of Kaplan's Korner.