December 30, 2007
Free Music for You: The NEW "East Ridge Song"
Bill and Ernie "Phil Spector" Paik pretend to be discussing the music during the recording session for the new "East Ridge Song," December 29, 2007.
In honor of East Ridge, Tennessee's recent triumphant announcement, Ernie Paik and I spent nine hours in his home studio Saturday recording a brand new, super hickified version of a certain minor local YouTube hit. I hope you find this new version to be a tad better, slicker, and a few seconds longer than its predecessor. Click here to hear/download it. (160 kbps mp3)
"The East Ridge Song"
Originally written in 2002 by Dan Lyons and Bill Colrus for the "On The Other Hand" television show.Bill Colrus: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Drums, Hitting a glass with a Sharpie
Ernie Paik: Mandolin, Mouth Harp, Violin, Piano, Electric Guitar, Tambourine
Produced by Bill Colrus and Ernie Paik.
Recorded and engineered by Ernie Paik at Ernie's house, December 29, 2007.
Posted by colrus at 02:23 PM | Comments [4] | TrackBack
July 20, 2007
Help, Please: The New Mute Math Album
Anybody have it? Like it? Hate it?
Posted by colrus at 11:16 AM | TrackBack
July 12, 2007
Corruption and Strife Got You Down? Remember Gauchos
Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" by Gauchos.
Things can only get so bad so long as videos like this exist.
Viva Gauchos!
Posted by colrus at 01:51 AM | TrackBack
July 09, 2007
Not That You Asked: The Police's Albums Ranked
In light of the current (consistently so-so, or so I've heard) Police reunion, here's how I rank the work of The Police:
1. Zenyatta Mondatta.
2. Ghost in the Machine.
3. Outlandos d'Amour.
4. Reggatta de Blanc.
5. Synchronicity.
6. Anything Sting, Andy Summers, or Stewart Copeland has done solo.
Favorite single track? "Demolition Man" from Ghost in the Machine.
Posted by colrus at 12:06 AM | TrackBack
May 16, 2007
Gasp! Melinda Done Got Voted Off!
I know this is really important stuff, but, yes, Melinda Doolittle -- the single best vocalist in the history of the show -- got voted off American Idol tonight.
Perhaps she should have done more beatboxing.
Posted by colrus at 11:20 PM | TrackBack
May 13, 2007
Bonnie "Prince" Billy and the California Guitar Trio Do "Freebird"
Here.
From the CGT member Bert Lams' online diary:
Just before the show Tyler introduced us to Bonnie "Prince" Billy, a well-known singer from Louisville. We invited him to sing on "Freebird" with us, the very last piece of this concert tour. We didn't have time to rehearse, but we did have time to download the lyrics from the internet, some five minutes before the show. He did a great and unique version of the song; it was the perfect ending for this two week tour.
And if the greatness of the CGT was STILL in question, I offer this photo of the trio and soundman/melodica player, Tyler Trotter...
(Click bigger, more bizarre view.)
Posted by colrus at 01:23 AM | TrackBack
May 03, 2007
CGT Show Notes
Last night's California Guitar Trio show at Rhythm and Brews was as good as I said it would be. And then some. I got a CD of the show afterwards. All of the band members signed it. More people showed up than last time.
Some tunes played: "Freebird," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Tubular Bells," Beethoven's "Pastorale," and "Echoes" by Pink Floyd -- in addition to a ripping assortment of the CGT's dazzling repertoire. Ernie got video of "Echoes" and most of "Tubular Bells."
CGT soundman Tyler Trotter joined the band to play the melodica on a couple of tunes. A drunk, annoying guy in the front row asked "what's that instrument?" Paul Richards told him that it was a melodica. The drunk guy, not quite hearing him, then asked what a "mabtropica" was. He also yelled a bunch of stuff in (I think) Japanese to Hideyo throughout the evening. He also almost spilled beer on one of Bert's monitors.
Later, when the drunk guy grabbed the mic during "Bohemian Rhapsody," Tyler turned the mic off. The drunk guy was baffled. Drunk guys, please stay home. Also, loud, middle-aged almost-drunk guys in the back who talk through the whole show, please stay home, too. All of them can be heard on my CD.
Trevor Higgins and I got named-checked by Paul Richards during the show. After the show, Paul called me "the man" about six times. I am most certainly not "the man," but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless.
Trevor, Ernie, and I had a nice chat after the show. Near the merch table, a drunk chick told us that Chattanooga was a "hub" and that being a "hub" draws people. A drunk guy next to her told us "not to think of anything" because "once you think of it, someone else will think of it."
The drunk chick said Heather Mills has a "Barbie Leg." The "Barbie Leg" was "why she lost on Dancing with the Stars," she explained. I didn't know that. I was just trying to talk to Paul.
If you ever get a chance to see the CGT, by all means, do.
Posted by colrus at 01:56 AM | TrackBack
March 31, 2007
Three Albums I Can't Wait For!
1. Sufjan Stevens - Oh, Puerto Rico
The whispery, banjo-totin' cult leader offers three discs -- plus a fan-mandatory(!) companion six-disc/three-DVD boxed set of demos and b-sides -- of odes to everybody's favorite U.S. Commonwealth, written and recorded in the company of a dozen or so sweaty, bearded, shirtless, twentysomething male grad students in a men's room at Lofton State, a small, liberal arts college in northwest Idaho. Be sure to catch Sufjan on tour this spring, when he'll be premiering a double album's-worth of new songs documenting his thoughts about writing the songs found on Puerto Rico. Also be on the lookout for his eight-part (by fan club subscription only) series of releases celebrating El Dia de Los Muertos.
2. Kevin Federline - Marketable Skills
Britney's ex rocks the mic hard in a dozen new honky raps about farting and trying to remember his social security number while filling out a job application at Arby's. DualDisc includes exclusive rehearsal footage and behind-the-scenes footage of K-Fed asking Brit for five bucks so he can get some Kools. She can't loan him the money because she's already spent all her cash getting a Molly Hatchet tattoo.
3. Elvis Costello - Another Muddled Mess That the Cool People Will Be Too Afraid to Admit Actually Blows
On this, his 178th release, Costello screws around in the studio with wife Diana Krall, offers up a capivatingly incoherent duet with Van Morrison, spends an afternoon desperately searching for a melody with Burt Bacharach, and rounds up the Attractions for the flaccidly poignant old-school street-cred slop of "(What's Still So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?" Because Bush sucks. That's why.
Posted by colrus at 12:38 AM | TrackBack
March 08, 2007
Everybody Please Congratulate Josiah Q. Roe on Making the Top 12 on "American Idol"
Sorry. Had to do it.
Meet Josiah's Top 40 alter ego here.
Posted by colrus at 10:49 PM | TrackBack
March 02, 2007
The Majesty of Lord T. and Eloise
I'll keep it short.
The Lord T. and Eloise show tonight at Rhythm and Brews was STELLAR.
The boys drew an energetic crowd, and put on a relentlessly tight set.
Chris, Brian, and I filmed the show with three separate cameras, and Ernie shot a bunch of stills.
Expect a video for "To My Ladies" in a month or so, which is when they're due back in town.
Posted by colrus at 01:09 AM | TrackBack
February 20, 2007
Please Hammer, Don't Wear 'Em
M.C. Hammer went broke not only because he insisted on carrying with him an entourage the size of a small city, but because he blew his money on hideous (and expensive) garb like this.
Posted by colrus at 09:56 AM | TrackBack
January 30, 2007
Sugarplastic Podcast Online
The folks at Dark Meat have kicked off their 2007 podcast schedule with a show devoted to "the world’s brainiest popmeisters," The Sugarplastic.
It's hard for me to express how much I dig this band.
Anyway, enjoy.
Posted by colrus at 02:54 PM | TrackBack
January 25, 2007
And the Halen Will Rock
I know this probably isn't of much interest to most of the youthful, trendy slaves to indie rock who inhabit this particuar wing of the blogosphere, but word of something kind of miraculous within the music world came down today: David Lee Roth is reuniting with Van Halen for a summer tour. Gone from the lineup is original bassist Michael Anthony, who was recently fired. Replacing him with be Eddie Van Halen's 15 year-old son, Wolfgang.
As someone whose ENORMOUS interest in VH waned pretty much the moment Sammy Hagar joined the band, news of this reunion -- regardless of its potential awfulness considering how long it's been -- is a minor dream come true. My excitement about the reunion has also made me face up to a cold, hard truth: I am definitely a thirtysomething.
Here's a clip of the band doing "Unchained" in Oakland in 1981. They used to play this on MTV, and my friends and I were mesmerized every time it came on. The Fair Warning album is currently in my car.
Posted by colrus at 10:37 PM | TrackBack
October 29, 2006
It's OK to Have a Good Time in a Music Video
"Dejate Caer" by the legendary Mexican rockers, Cafe Tacuba.
This is maybe my favorite of all the Cafe Tacuba videos. (Check out more here, in particular the one for "Cero y Uno.") Stick with this one for the killer choreography at the end. Even if the song's main keyboard riff is dangerously close to belonging to Depeche Mode.
If you've never heard Cafe Tacuba before, I highly recommend them. Their recent live DVD/CD set, Un Viaje, is brutally good.
Posted by colrus at 01:26 AM | TrackBack
July 23, 2006
Jake, Wind and Fire
Aside from the solo ukulele pyrotechnics on display at Jake Shimabukuro's solo Nightfall show on Friday night was the greatest bit of choreographed weather I've ever witnessed. As Shimabukuro was reaching the closing crescendo of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the wind picked up mightily, cooling off an otherwise muggy evening and sending hundred of leaves swirling above and in front of him. The wind slowed as Shimabukuro faded out of the song, adding another level of magic to an already-magical performance. The crowd roared its approval at both the virtuoso before them and, it seemed, the storm that was about to hit them.
But it never did rain. Unless, that is, you count the showers of praise that rained down on Shimabukuro that night. And the fury of music that warranted it.
Posted by colrus at 11:25 PM | TrackBack
July 21, 2006
"Indie" Rock is Dead?
Some interesting thoughts from TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek in this month's Spin:
"I don't believe in 'indie' anymore," says Sitek. "Most indie labels started in opposition to what the majors were. But now every indie label's highest aspiration is to do what the major labels have already given up on." He mentions that most indie labels are still fighting for placement in Wal-Mart's end caps, the featured artists slot at the end of a shopping aisle, while major labels have already moved on to bigger battles, like reserving prime space on digital download services. "It's just too expensive for an indie label to take on MySpace, so they're just going to ride this dying horse, and it's terrifying to be contractually locked into that architecture. So if I'm going to continue to do this, I'm at least going to go with the company that admits the old model is ridiculous."
Posted by colrus at 01:58 PM | TrackBack
June 23, 2006
Prepare to Have Your Head Rocked Right Off
This evening, at the quaint, little, FREE AND AWESOME MUSIC SERIES WE HAVE EACH YEAR AT MILLER PLAZA, Austin's own Junior Brown will be exhibiting skills that made me ask once long ago, and I quote, "Holy crap! Who is that?"
If you at all value virtuosity in your musicians -- and are the least bit intrigued in hearing someone well-versed in both old school country and Hendrix-esque guitar pyrotechnics -- I encourage you check out the show.
Junior goes on at 8 p.m. The opening act starts at 7.
And, oh yeah, did I mention it's free?
Here's a Gap ad Junior and his wife appeared in during the '90s:
Posted by colrus at 02:27 PM | TrackBack
June 22, 2006
Devo doing "Satisfaction" on SNL
I'm sorry, but this clip is pretty much perfect -- right down to the Fred Willard (with Red Sox jacket) intro.
Posted by colrus at 01:59 AM | TrackBack
June 08, 2006
Dixie Chick Audiences: Long Time Gone
So, it seems ticket sales are down for the Dixie Chicks this year. I don't know what to say except that, like Natalie, America is also not ready to make nice.
Posted by colrus at 03:24 PM | TrackBack
June 07, 2006
Mp3-for-All
Here are some links to some mp3s that you might like:
From The Sugarplastic's stellar, out-of-print 1996 Geffen release, Bang! The Earth Goes Round:
...and the song that made me fall in love with the band:
(Thanks to I'm Guess I'm Floating for posting these.)
From Yo La Tengo's upcoming full-length, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass:
From King Crimson's August 5, 1982 show at Place de Nations in Montreal:
"Neurotica" (One my faves from '80s era Crimson material.)
From Mike Keneally's August 5, 2000 show in San Diego:
"Mexican Radio" (Great, though somewhat lo-fi, cover of the Wall of Voodoo hit.)
Posted by colrus at 11:00 PM | TrackBack
Lord T. and Eloise: Aristocratic Rap Drops in M-Town
This is Maurice Eloise XIII. His true identity must remain anonymous for now, but let's just say that he's a former co-worker of mine who is now part of an aristocratic rap duo (maybe the first-ever?) from Memphis called Lord T. and Eloise.
And I thought my side projects were out there...
Click here to visit their site and hear some of their work.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
Posted by colrus at 12:22 PM | TrackBack
May 28, 2006
Gnarls Barkley is CRAZY Good
Wha...? Whe...? Who...?
How awesome is this band?
Posted by colrus at 01:54 AM | TrackBack
May 18, 2006
Sugarplastic Back in the Studio
Woo hoo!
From Sugarplastic.com:
The Sugarplastic began recording their fifth full-length CD in Hollywood this weekend. The photo above shows Kiara Geller (right) and Ben Eshbach (center) with engineer/thaumaturge Jamie Seyberth. We see them here striking the "Music Connection" pose -- sometimes also seen in Billboard Magazine and other industry print.
Click here to see more photos.
Posted by colrus at 05:08 PM | TrackBack
May 10, 2006
Now THIS is an Interesting Concert Idea
All I can say is I wish I'd been there.
From MikeKeneally.com:
Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller surprised a full house at the prestigious Lost Coast Live concert series set in an historic Humboldt County town. The Lost Coast Live events, produced by DC3 Entertainment, have a tantalizing premise: each concert is essentially a musical blind date-- no one in the audience knows in advance who's going to appear onstage. Despite (or because of) this lack of information, adventurous and curious music fans are drawn to the shows, causing each LCL to sell out weeks in advance. Production values are first-rate, showcasing gifted musicians with sparkling sound and rich visual effects. In addition, all income from ticket and merchandise sales goes to local community causes. Mike and Bryan's warm, spectacular versions of Keneally songs wowed the enthusiastic crowd for an hour. They topped off their set with a rendition of Frank Zappa's "Inca Roads," during which Mike suddenly decided to wrangle his Taylor T5 guitar and the grand piano simultaneously, much to the delight of those in attendance.
Click here to see the five-minute intro video they played for the audience.
Posted by colrus at 11:22 PM | TrackBack
April 25, 2006
Dear Record Labels, Relax
Like most media outlets, we at the The Pulse receive CDs to review on a regular basis -- reviews that give FREE publicity to record labels and artists and which, in turn, help sales. Most CDs that are sent to us are accompanied by a cover letter, press kit, copies of other reviews, etc. The following letter from Warner Bros. Records was enclosed with a copy of an advanced CD by a fairly popular indie rock band:
As we're undoubtedly aware, illegal file trading and piracy are two of the most daunting issues facing the music industry today, and we at Warner Bros. Records are working very hard to deal with these problems. One of our efforts to thwart unauthorized copying of CDs is to watermark the CDs we distribute.Watermarking enables us to track the CD back to the original authorized recipient. As part of this effort, the enclosed advance (album name witheld) has been individually watermarked with a unique identification number embedded in the music. This watermark is not changed or destroyed by extracting clips of the music, or by using any compression technology such as MP3.
This watermark has been assigned to you as the authorized recipient of this CD. By accepting this CD, you agree to not make any copies of this CD, to not play the CD in your computer and to not upload the CD or any part of it to the Internet or otherwise allow, or make, the CD or any part of it available on the Internet. You agree that you will not lend this CD to anyone, and that you alone will listen to this CD for promotional purposes. Accordingly, you will not play this CD for anyone.
It is our responsibility to protect our music and we take that very seriously.
Some quick thoughts:
1. Most record reviewers - myself included - listen to the CDs they're reviewing ON THEIR COMPUTERS. We do this because it's easy to pause, review and skip tracks while we are writing and because our computers are often the only thing we CAN listen to CDs on while in our offices. Furthermore, I'm not going to make "special arrangements" to listen to ANY (often lame, derivative and annoying) band's CD.
2. Rules or threats of impending doom from record labels to reviewers are likely to make reviewers skip the CDs sent by those making the rules or threatening the doom. These record labels are competing with each other for my ear and not all labels are as stringent in their policies. Some are actually quite pleasant.
3. As I briefly alluded to above, the VAST majority of new music is pure and utter CRAP these days, and when a label is a) pushing their crappy release upon us AND b) bullying us on how, when and where it can be safely reviewed and by whom, it's just not worth the effort. The above letter states that the CD is to be used for "promotional purposes." It should be noted that those are YOUR promotional purposes, not mine.
We'll see what we can do about reviewing your CD. I've got a stack of others sitting here that weren't sent with insulting letters. Have a swell day.
Posted by colrus at 01:12 PM | TrackBack
April 16, 2006
Extremely Short CD Review: The Flaming Lips - "At War with the Mystics"
The Soft Bulletin was a good effort, if not a just tad bit overrated. (Spin gave it a 9 out of 10 upon its release. I give it an 8.)
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was on overly cute, somewhat underwhelming successor.
At War with the Mystics is a welcomed return to the trippy, experimental cacophony of the Lips' earlier material, especially for folks like myself who spent two whole summers wearing out cassette copies of Transmissions from the Satellite Heart and Clouds Taste Metallic.
And people will hate it.
Posted by colrus at 11:11 PM | TrackBack
CD Review: Built to Spill - "You in Reverse"
Dipping gently into the expansive jam-laden approach of their 1997 album, Perfect from Now On, as well as its hookier follow-up, 1999’s Keep It Like a Secret, Built to Spill has created a successful pairing of the two without falling into the somewhat stifled ditch they found themselves in on their last release, 2001’s Ancient Melodies of the Future. Former session contributor and touring guitarist Jim Roth is now a full-fledged member, and the album — the band’s first in 13 years without producer Phil Ek — is a slow burning, sometimes muddy, but mostly sparkling affair.
Relentless album opener “Goin’ Against Your Mind” is a brisk, two-chord exercise, slickly pounded out in layers for close to nine minutes. “Traces” is spooky mid-tempo pop wrapped in Dog Martsch’s warm blanket voice. “Liar” is soft, hooky, sing-a-long folk rock a la R.E.M. “Saturday,” the closest thing to a ballad on the album, is a swift, sweepingly breezy almost-intro to the chunky “Wherever You Go,” which could easily be an outtake from the sessions that produced Neil Young’s “Like A Hurricane,” and which lights a fire under the second half of the album.
From its sick and dirty opening riff and chugging on through to its gorgeous three-guitar break, “Conventional Wisdom” is unfairly good, but “Gone” might actually be the prettiest thing here, sliding in and out of minor key build-up and power chord blasts before slowly sinking in a sea of organ courtesy of Quasi’s Sam Coomes. “Mess with Time” is a fiery, middle-eastern guitar battle where both sides eventually decide to give up the fight in favor of shuffling ska jam session. A lullaby gives way to a fuzzbox freakout on “Just a Habit,” while “The Wait” closes the album in country style with sprinkles of reverb, reversed guitar and outer space sounds sprinkled on top for taste.
Recommended.
Posted by colrus at 10:51 PM | TrackBack
January 17, 2006
Fripp records sounds for Windows Vista
Yet another reason to check out Robert Fripp at Rhythm and Brews on February 27...
He recently recorded a bunch of sounds that will be used for Windows Vista. Check out a video of the recording session here. I'm a Mac guy, myself, but its still pretty cool that they tapped him to do it...
Posted by colrus at 09:12 AM | TrackBack
January 16, 2006
Robert Fripp to play Rhythm and Brews
First, we had the California Guitar Trio.
Then, Adrian Belew.
Now, the King Crimson guitar circle is complete as Robert Fripp is slated to play a solo soundscapes show -- "An Evening of Words and Music" -- at Rhythm and Brews on February 27.
This show will not be for everyone (read my review of his latest solo soundscapes disc), but for those keen on Fripp's brand of guitar wizardry (#42 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list), it will be quite the evening.
Fripp pioneered his synthy, looping solo guitar approach on two albums ("No Pussyfooting" and "Evening Star") with Brian Eno in the '70s. This style was somewhat at odds with his heavy, methodical and gorgeous axemanship within King Crimson, but "Frippertronics" eventually made its way into his playing with the band, too.
Aside from spending parts of FIVE decades in King Crimson, Fripp has also played with David Bowie (that's him on "Heroes"), The Roches, Blondie, Talking Heads, Van Der Graaf Generator, Andy Summers (The Police) and others.
His solo albums -- as well as his League of Gentlemen, League of Crafty Guitarists and Robert Fripp String Quintet albums -- are pretty amazing, too.
Per Fripp's request, this will be a seated, no smoking, no taping show. Check out the new, pretty darn amazing King Crimson/Robert Fripp/DGM site for details, journal entries, downloads, etc.
See you there.
Posted by colrus at 11:30 PM | TrackBack
December 28, 2005
Download Lazy Bear's new Ben Folds Parody
Click here to download "Don't Change Your Pants," Lazy Bear Productions' parody of Ben Folds' "Don't Change Your Plans."
Posted by colrus at 05:01 PM | TrackBack
August 31, 2005
I can die happy now
I just interviewed Adrian Belew, my favorite musician in the world, for 35 minutes.
The interview will run in the paper towards the middle of September. He was a tremendous interview subject, and I think it will prove to be a fun read for Adrian (and just plain music) fans.
Adrian is playing Nightfall on September 23rd and Atlanta's Variety Playhouse on September 25th.
Posted by colrus at 11:48 AM | TrackBack
August 26, 2005
California Guitar Trio at Rhythm and Brews
The stellar California Guitar Trio, who blew it up at Riverbend, will be playing Rhythm and Brews on September 21.
This is amazing:
CGT at Rhythm and Brews on September 21.
Adrian Belew (who I'm interviewing on Wednesday) at Nightfall on September 23...
...AND at the Variety Playhouse on September 25.
This might just be the greatest concertgoing week of my life.
Posted by colrus at 12:31 PM | TrackBack