Published by Scott June 28th, 2006
in Meta-Chatter.
There’s a really interesting feature at Pop Matters called I Have Been Floated: An Oral History of the Elephant Six Collective. As the title suggests, it’s an informal look at the origins of that scene told through bite size quotes from the musicians themselves. I already knew some of the story but have always wondered how it came to be more or less centered in Athens. I figured at least some of the people involved must have moved there to attend the University of Georgia. Turns out someone just happened to visit a friend and discovered it was a cool town with cheap rent. The oral history format is compulsively readable and it’s definitely worth looking at if you are a fan of Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, Elf Power, and/or Of Montreal.
Brian Heater, the article’s author, also wrote a brief overview of the collective in a recent Spin issue. I learned about both from the fine E6 blog, Optical Atlas. You can actually read the Spin article, Crash Course: Elephant Six Recording Company, at OA as well as some other scanned features from print sources. That guy has a lot of great stuff to check out so head on over there and look around!
Published by Scott June 26th, 2006
in Meta-Chatter and Review.
I caught the tail end of Athfest’s free outdoor shows yesterday. Had a really good time hanging out and taking in the scene but was kind of disappointed by the two bands I saw. Dubconscious, as their name implies, play delay heavy, dubbed out rock. They sounded okay but my friend and I lost interest after a while and wandered off to score some burritos. My feeling toward that style of music is ambivalent at best. We missed the mini twenty minute set by The Dexateens but made it back for Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s first song. I love the balance of Southern fried hard/roots rock on their first four albums (haven’t heard the rest) and was pretty excited to see them. Unfortunately, they were only okay. Kevn Kinney has a great voice but it was lost in the mix for this performance. Their albums have some pretty heavy guitar crunch but that edge was shorn off in favor of extended jams and a more classic rock feel. I’m sorry but watching some dude go off on a Hammond XB-2 for multiple solos is about as exciting as watching someone type. Oh well, it was still fun getting out for the evening and the price was right.
Published by Scott June 1st, 2006
in Random and Meta-Chatter.
Some random music related thoughts and happenings:
- I had two teacher work days this week to finish up the school year. Brought in my DIY boom box and rocked out. It was quite a luxury. For some reason I can’t get away with that when the students are around.
- One of the best new-to-me albums I heard was The Spinto Band’s Nice and Nicely Done. They sound to me like a cross between Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Arcade Fire, and Weezer. Very, uh, nicely done. I love “Brown Boxes” and must have played it a dozen times. There’s your mixtape track.
- I’m thinking about checking out Saturday night’s show at the Athens Popfest on August 12. I sure would love to see Apples in Stereo and Circulatory System. If only it wasn’t so late. AiS isn’t even scheduled to start until 1:00 AM. Factor in an hour and fifteen minute drive and I probably wouldn’t make it home until around four. I’m not even sure I could stay awake that long! Yes, my wild stay-up-all-night days are behind me. It might be different if I could sleep in the next morning but my kids would definitely put a stop to that. I think I just talked myself out of it…
- I am going to Sunday night’s outdoor free show at Athfest on June 25 to see Drivin’ n Cryin’. I’m pretty excited. I wouldn’t mind seeing Jason Ringenberg (only a twenty minute set) and Don Chambers + GOAT on Saturday either. I’ve never listened to Now It’s Overhead but will check out the freebies on their site to see if I can convince myself to go two nights in a row. If Summer Hymns was playing a longer set on Friday I wouldn’t hesitate to make the trek then either.
- I subscribe to Paste and generally think it’s a decent magazine. A little heavy on singer-songwriters for my tastes but definitely worth reading. I also like to support it because it’s based in Decatur, GA which is close to where I live. That said, the new issue is pretty lame. It’s got a 60’s era picture of Bob Dylan on the cover for the “100 Best Living Songwriters” feature. I understand that people like lists and they’re trying to sell magazines but to me it smacks of Rolling Stone, especially considering the list contains all the usual yuppie worshiped icons that have been drooled over ad infinitum. You mean Dylan is a great songwriter? Who knew?!?
Published by Scott May 23rd, 2006
in Meta-Chatter and Free Tracks.
I just want to call attention to a new music blog called Southern Shelter by esteemed Athens area taper and scenester, Sloan Simpson. I’ve grabbed many live recordings from Sloan over the past few years at various trading sites (Sharing the Groove, Dime a Dozen) and he always has high quality, interesting stuff. At his blog he’ll be spotlighting local Athens artists by sharing pictures and mp3’s taken from their shows. That city has a vibrant music scene and I’ll be especially interested in hearing songs by bands I’ve only read about.
From his initial offerings, definitely check out Kenosha Kid’s cover of REM’s “Camera.” I wasn’t crazy about Liz Durrett’s tracks but you might dig her if you’re into Cat Power. And Producto sound like they’re a really cool (and hard to categorize) art punk band. The singer, Ane Diaz, used to be in The Causey Way. I’ll be looking forward to what Sloan puts up next.
Thanks to The Day Jobs for pointing this one out.
Published by Scott May 4th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Elf Power’s eighth album finds the band veering off in a far more folky direction than on past efforts. Back to the Web is especially striking in contrast to its predecessor, 2004’s guitar-centered rocker, Walking With the Beggar Boys. About the only song that matches that album’s vibe is the glam styled “All the World is Waiting.” The change in sound isn’t exactly jarring though. As soon as Andrew Rieger starts to sing there’s no mistaking these songs for anything but Elf Power. Rather than the fuzzed out psych rock of their previous work, this is more of a jangly folk-psych rock. Electric guitars are subdued bordering on absent for most of the tracks. Instead songs are acoustic based, with prominent strings and clarinet weaving together with drones to produce exotic and often dark sounding textures. New drummer Josh Lott, an excellent addition, inventively drives the songs forward and anchors them firmly in rock territory.
Standouts on this solid album include the pounding, string drenched “An Old Familiar Scene,” whose sinister bassline after the bridge adds an especially wicked touch. The little three note clarinet riff on the upbeat “Peel Back the Moon, Beware!” helps make the song especially memorable. “23rd Dream” is elegantly folky, featuring banjo and mandolin. “Somewhere Down the River” kicks off with the psychedelic flourish of droning Indian flavor over murky dialog before segueing into jangly Elf Powered rock. And as mentioned above, “All the World is Waiting” reflects the band’s enthusiasm for T. Rex.
You can stream a few tracks from Back to the Web on the Elf Power MySpace page or download the whole thing from eMusic.
Published by Scott March 27th, 2006
in Meta-Chatter and Free Tracks.
Sad news about Nikki Sudden’s passing on Saturday. I came across an excellent history and interview with him just the other day. He was a busy guy, in the midst of writing an autobiography, touring, and recording a new album at the time of his death.
I was fortunate enough to see him play last summer at Athfest. He was on the second stage and only played a six song set but I was really impressed. He even played a song from his old Swell Maps days, “Midget Submarine.” I remember he gave a nonchalant intro for “Countess,” saying you meet all kinds of interesting people when you travel the world and have a career like his.
Emusic has a wealth of Nikki Sudden available. Topping the list of recommendations is the classic Swell Maps album, A Trip To Marineville. His solo material is quite different than the Maps’ art punk, more like Dylan meets the Stones. Disc one of The Last Bandit provides a good overview of that work. And his band with brother Epic Soundtracks (who was also in Swell Maps) and Dave Kusworth, The Jacobites, is worth checking out too. Robespierre’s Velvet Basement in particular is excellent.
You can also grab a bunch of stuff for free at the Secret Canadian mp3 page. That label has reissued a pretty big chunk of his catalog in recent years, including The Jacobites and Swell Maps.
So have yourself a Nikki Sudden fest in tribute to this legendary but underappreciated icon. He’s left behind some truly wonderful music.
