Ryan Dembinsky, Author at Glide Magazine

Lost Cubicle Chatter: The End

Ryan Dembinsky May 24, 2010 7 Comments

Well gang, that’s all she wrote after last night’s Lost finale. Joker and I decided we’d like to come up with something special later this week, so stay tuned, but it the meantime, here’s the usual recap. As always, SPOILER ALERT. Thanks everybody for sticking with us, and most importantly, thanks to Lost for six great seasons. We’re really gonna miss you.

Synopsis:

Geronimo Jackson, May 23, 2010

Set I (Off Island): Loser (1), Camaro (2), You All Everybody (3), Tranquilize (4), Love Doctor (5), Fix You (6), Reunited (7), Love Song (8), Sweet Child of Mine (9), Romeo and Juliet (10)

Set II (On Island): Got a Job (11), Deal (12), Cabin in the Woods (13), Let’s Do Something Cheap and Superficial (14), Par Avion (15), Blinded By the Light (16), Shot in the Back of the Head (17), Sacrifice (18)

Encore: Father and Son (19) > Let’s Go Crazy (20) > Shine a Light (21)

(1) Beck; Oceanic Airlines Delivery guy with reenactment of the coffin pulling sequence from the Beck music video
(2) Kings of Leon; Hurley and Kate
(3) Driveshaft; Charlie, bass player heavily intoxicated and wearing eye makeup
(4) The Killers; Hurley, Sayid, and Charlie
(5) George Thorogood; Juliet, Sun, and Jin
(6) Coldplay; Jack and Locke
(7) Yes; Sayid and Shannon
(8) Tesla; Sayid and Shannnon
(9) Guns n’ Roses; Claire, Charlie, and Kate
(10) Dire Straits; Sawyer and Juliet
(11) Smokey Robinson; Jack
(12) The Grateful Dead; Locke and Jack
(13) Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers; Bernand, Rose, and Desmond
(14) Burt Reynolds; Lapidus
(15) Mike and the Mechanics; Lapidus, Miles, and Richard
(16) Manfred Mann; Desmond
(17) Moby; Kate, Locke, and Jack
(18) Elton John; Jack
(19) Cat Stevens; Jack and Christian Shappard
(20) Prince; Christian Shappard on intro narration, Ensemble
(21) The Rolling Stones; Christian Shappard, Ensemble

Epic One Liner of the Week: “I’ll see you in another life, brother” – Jack

Lost My Mind Just a Couple of Times: Overall, we’re both pretty happy with how this finale played out. Sure, the reunions were a little sappy, but a happy ending really felt good. We’ve been through enough drama at this point and to close it down with an emphasis on the goodness in these people just felt right. 1) Having said that, I could go all day about Lapidus and co. repairing a plane (with no windshield) that crash landed on a deserted island with duct tape. Do they have any fuel? Where are they flying? What’s with that runway? 2) Also, I don’t understand how MIB went back to being human again, yet in Locke’s body. Wouldn’t he be dead either way, since technically both MIB and Locke are are already dead?

READ ON for more thoughts on the finale and some discussion points…

Marco Benevento: Music Is Still Secret

Ryan Dembinsky May 21, 2010 5 Comments

A curious song on Marco Benevento’s latest album, Between The Needles & Nightfall, entitled Music is Still Secret lends itself to an interesting musical perspective. It’s vague, but it’s also quite thoughtful. In fact, many musicians put forth the exact opposite corollary; that virtually all music has been played before (by men with wigs). The song says a lot – without saying anything – about Marco’s philosophies toward music and how he goes about it.

And he is philosophical, not in any overbearing or annoying way, but in the way he knows what works in order to keep it fresh for both him and the listener. So, what does that mean, music is still secret? It’s really a question that everyone should answer for themselves, but in the meantime, we’ll let you in on some advice for unearthing a response.

Playing Music

“If I played in the same band all the time, I think I would get so bored.”

Since propelling to improvisational glory with comrade Joe Russo as the Benevento-Russo Duo and subsequently Mike Gordon and Trey Anastasio as GRAB, Marco pulled a relative about-face. Whereas most artists would probably be tempted to ride out that wave of publicity, Marco chose to keep his artistic boundaries wide open and apportion time between a slew of bands including Bustle in Your Hedgerow, Garage a Trois, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, and of course, the Marco Benevento Trio.

READ ON for more of our feature on Marco Benevento…

B List: 8 Reasons 12/30/2009 Was a Classic

Ryan Dembinsky May 20, 2010 18 Comments

Now that we’ve all had time to properly digest Phish’s 2009 and allow our respective iPods to sift through the weeds, it’s fair to put some things in the broader context. One thing that keeps coming up is whether anything from 2009 deserves consideration as a legendary Phish show?

While there are certainly heaps of people with strong feelings on both sides of this debate, I think the December 30, 2009 show deserves inclusion, at least to round out say a Top 50 all-time shows list. So, here is a defense of the rationale. All I ask is before you string me up from the rafters is that you read the list.

8) Like a Broken Record – Any Phish dork worth their weight in notepads knew that as the New Years run wound down, Phish narrowly approached their own record for the most unique songs played in a single year – which previously sat at a Wilt Chamberlain-esque 240. When the band stormed out of the gates with a first set that included a debut of Dixie Cannonball, a new song in Gone and a massive helping of 2009 first-timers (What’s the Use, Rocky Top, Corrina and Tela), it became clear they wouldn’t even need New Year’s Eve to eclipse the record. Like many holiday runs past, the night preceding New Years Eve took home top honors over the actual holiday, and the record got shattered.

7) A Lullaby the Breezes Whisper – Phish fans have short memories when it comes to craving for the band to play a song that’s been shelved for an extended period of time. Hence, the buzz for Tela has probably waned somewhat now that it’s been played, but leading up to the Miami show; this was without question the song everybody wanted to hear. A dust off of this magnitude usually runs the risk of some flubs, but the band tackled this intricate number with relative ease and a whole lot of excitement.

READ ON for six more reasons 12/30/2009 kicks fucking ass…

Lost Cubicle Chatter: What They Died For

Ryan Dembinsky May 19, 2010 10 Comments

Check in on Wednesday of every week during Season 6 of Lost to share your thoughts, theories, complaints and assessments of the previous night’s episode. Big time SPOILER alert for anyone didn‘t watch yet.

Synopsis: As always, we teamed up with the Joker from Coventry for this week’s setlist and recap. Side note: Joker ran a reprint of his epic LOST/Phish Tees if anyone missed out the first time around. Check ’em out.

Geronimo Jackson, May 18, 2010

Set I (Off Island): Milk and Cereal (1), Cremation Services (2), Slow and Low (3), Watching The Detectives (4), Mr. Nice Guy (5), I Found a Reason (6), Jailhouse Rock (7), Cortez the Killer (8)

Set II (On Island): Bullet with Butterfly Wings (9), Throwing Stones (10), The End (11), Loving Cup (12), Secret Door (13), The Payback (14)

Encore: Wishing Well (15) > Seek and Destroy (16)

(1) G Love and the Special Sauce; David, Jack, and Claire
(2) Jerky Boys; Desmond and Jack
(3) Beastie Boys; Desmond with “we’re here to help you let it go” banter
(4) Elvis Costello; Miles and Sawyer
(5) Will Smith; Alex and Mr. Linus
(6) Velvet Underground; Locke with Alice in Chains “Angry Chair” teases
(7) Elvis Presley; Kate, Desmond, and Sayid
(8) Neil Young; Officer Cortez (aka Ana Lucia), Sayid, Kate, and Desmond
(9) Smashing Pumpkins; Kate and Jack
(10) The Grateful Dead; Young Jacob and Hurley
(11) The Doors, Jacob and the Candidates
(12) The Rolling Stones; Jack and Jacob
(13) Arctic Monkeys, Ben and Flocke
(14) James Brown; Ben and Widmore
(15) Blind Melon
(16) Metallica

READ ON for this week’s Epic One Liner, summary and discussion points…

Freebie: Turbine’s Sounds in the Hall

Ryan Dembinsky May 18, 2010 1 Comment

Chuck. Chuck. It’s Marvin – your cousin, Marvin BERRY. You know that new sound you’re looking for? Well, listen to this… As a special treat exclusive to Hidden Track, former

Lost Cubicle Chatter: Across the Sea

Ryan Dembinsky May 12, 2010 9 Comments

Check in on Wednesday of every week during Season 6 of Lost to share your thoughts, theories, complaints and assessments of the previous night’s episode. Big time SPOILER alert for

Interview: Trampled By Turtles Back Again

Ryan Dembinsky May 6, 2010 No Comments

“Behold the turtle; he makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”

In releasing their latest full length, Palomino, Duluth’s Trampled By Turtles have not only progressed as a band – complementing their breakneck dexterity with heeding subtlety – but they’ve become integral in the redefinition of the modern string band. Together with peers like the Avett Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show and Split Lip Rayfield, TxT have joined the seminal ranks of acoustic musicians currently leading the seismic (ok, maybe “bookshelf rattling”) shift in bluegrass music.

While the purists may well prefer singing from a hymnal, focusing intently on technique, and dressing like Abe Frohman, Trampled By Turtles infuse elements of indie rock, punk and folk music while maneuvering their heartfelt, earnest songs without losing sight of the most important thing; picking like wild banshees. In effect, they feel like a bluegrass band, yet with an uncanny ability to maintain the average attention span far beyond an opening banjo run.

Back to chat for the second time in the about six months, frontman Dave Simonett took the time to share his thoughts on the new album and sticking their turtle necks out.

Hidden Track: Let’s get rolling with a question about Palomino. So, most reviews I’ve read so far seem to really dig the album, but I found it a bit odd that most focus on the blazing speed and being shredders and all that. I actually thought right away that Palomino was heavier on the folksy side and almost a departure from the speed. I mean there are certainly some burners in there like Wait So Long, Help You and so on, but did you make a conscious effort to make this one focus a bit more on the lyrics and the melodies by including more delicate material?

Dave Simonett: There wasn’t really a conscious focus on faster or slower songs. I always focus on lyrics and melody in either fast or slow, actually. This group of songs put together is what made the album; the speed of each was just coincidental. Sometimes what I try to express needs a little more energy and aggressiveness and sometimes I try for a mellower approach, depending on the mood I’m trying to convey.

READ ON for more of Ryan’s chat with Dave Simonett…

Lost Cubicle Chatter: The Candidate

Ryan Dembinsky May 5, 2010 8 Comments

Geronimo Jackson, May 4, 2010

Set I (Off Island): Spine of a Dog (1), Sea of Teeth (2), Let It Go (3), The Musical Box (4), If I Could (5)

Set II (On Island): Rusty Cage (6) > Trust Me (7) > Airplane (8) > Yellow Submarine (9) > Shot In The Arm (10) Timebomb (11) > Hit On The Head (12) Bathtub Jin (13) > Drowned (14)

Encore: Finish What Ya Started (15)

(1) moe.; Locke with Love and Marriage tease
(2) Sparklehorse; Bernard and Jack
(3) Tim McGraw; Helen Norwood and Jack
(4) Genesis; Claire and Jack with Catch a Falling Star teases
(5) Phish; Jack and Locke
(6) Soundgarden
(7) Elton John; Jack and Flocke
(8) Widespread Panic
(9) The Beatles
(10) Wilco; Kate
(11) Beck; Jack, Sawyer and Sayid
(12) Gomez; Sawyer
(13) Phish
(14) The Who; Jin and Sun
(15) Van Halen; Flocke

Epic One Liner of the Week: “There is no Sayid.” – Jack

Lost My Mind Just a Couple of Times: 1) The subtitled version of Titanic wasn’t nearly as good as the original. 2) It’s getting harder by the day to understand the rules of the smoke monster. I find routinely myself asking “why didn’t he just kill them right there,” but then they go and make up a new rule. READ ON for this week’s recap and discussion points…

Writer’s Workshop: Rob Harvilla, Village Voice

Ryan Dembinsky May 4, 2010 3 Comments

Looking back through the annals of rock journalism, just three publications carry the historical clout to be considered in the upper crust of music scribble: Rolling Stone, Creem, and the Village Voice. Rolling Stone, of course, wielded(s) the biggest brand name and Creem threw its weight behind being the badass on the block. The Village Voice on the other hand, while bohemian, paved its way relatively quietly with great writers, a careful focus on the written word, and of course, the best location.

When current shopkeep of the Voice’s storied music department, Rob Harvilla, took over for Chuck Eddy back in 2006 (shortly after the New Times bought the paper), he slid into a pair of rather large shoes. Not merely did he face filling the void left behind by the beloved Eddy, but also followed in a long line of Mohinder Surresh-caliber verbose superheroes like Greil Marcus and Robert Christgau. And perhaps most challenging, he came into the leadership fold right in the thick of the changeover between old and new media. In other words, Harvilla had his work cut out for him in carrying the the Village Voice’s high standard for musical credibility into the digital age. Fortunately for longtime Voice readers, he’s done a tremendous job and taken it all in stride.

Hidden Track: I read somewhere that you discovered your passion for music journalism while sitting in the waiting room at the dentist reading a Rolling Stone. Do you remember what article you read?

Rob Harvilla: Orthodontist, actually. Dr. Pfister. P-F. No specific article, but I can remember covers (first of my own subscription: Eddie Van Halen), specific features (Cosmic Thing B-52s), a few reviews (how can this guy not like They Might Be Giants?), etc. From that period I also remember that either Time or Newsweek did an Alternative Rock! cover story that broke the genre down into different categories and alleged that if I liked TMBG, I’d love Butthole Surfers, which remains to this day the single worst piece of advice I have ever received.

READ ON for more with Rob Harvilla of the Village Voice…

FMT: Favorite Jam Band Studio Cuts

Ryan Dembinsky April 30, 2010 13 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, Dave, Jeff, Scotty and I attempted to tackle the collaborative project of creating our defining list of favorite jam band studio tracks. Ultimately, we came

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