Archive: 2008

Ever since those four lads from Liverpool landed at Idlewild Airport, British bands have been a major part of rock history. Honoring the Brits, this week’s Grousing The Aisles honors three of the best acts to emerge from Britain in the ’70s.

We start with the David Bowie tribute from Jam Cruise, which features members of moe., Phish and the Greyboy Allstars among others musically rimming The Thin White Duke. Next, we take a look at Elton John’s legendary Christmas Eve concert from 1974, and, finally, we let you know about an amazing compilation featuring The Police playing blistering versions of all the tunes from their reunion tour.

Oh! You Pretty Things: Jam Cruise Tribute to David Bowie DAUD [FLAC, MP3]

Photo by David Steinberg

The best music to come from Jam Cruise over the past few years has stemmed from the all-star tribute jams that have emerged. On Jam Cruise IV, certain members of Umphrey’s McGee formed the Brain Damaged Eggmen with a few members of the Disco Biscuits to pay tribute to The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Then members of the West Coast bands on board Jam Cruise V combined forces to form the Sounds of San Francisco to honor the bands from that city. This year, a group of musicians channeled David Bowie under the moniker Oh! You Pretty Things. The first tapes from their gig have emerged, and they sound pretty damn good.

Oh! You Pretty Things combined the talents of Al Schnier, Jon Fishman, Jans Ingber, Ron Johnson, Robert Walter, Jeff Austin and a few other special guests who made cameos. During their public rehearsal the band decided to play a short, tight set at the actual gig instead of a solid long set, and the band delivered, dropping fantastic versions of 16 Bowie classics. Some of the songs are played straight, while others such as Let’s Dance are jammed out a bit. Hopefully a soundboard of this classic performance surfaces soon, as the quality of the recording isn’t as good as the quality of the performance — the strong winds which hindered the taper. Read on for much more GTA…

Fire up the back room at Satriale’s Pork Store: We jokingly discussed increasingly confirmed East Coast Coachella‘s menacing impact on the definitely confirmed Vineland festival. But the New York Times this morning advanced the story, casually mentioning that both New Jersey festivals are tentatively scheduled for the weekend of August 8th – 10th. Is it […]

Radiohead tonight will debut many of the songs off In Rainbows in front of a live audience on London’s Brick Lane. Fans have been queuing up outside the intimate venue — Rough Trade East — for the free show, waiting for their chance to be among the first people to witness the new material in […]

Widespread Panic may not have much in common with Brad Pitt (aside from the equal good looks of Dave Schools and Pitt), but the band and the actor share a deep love for the city of New Orleans. And now Panic’s helping Pitt’s Make It Right program by offering downloads of the band’s new single, […]

Hot on the heels of 2006’s profound and critically acclaimed solo journey From A Late Night High-Rise, ambient folk/rocker Matthew Ryan enjoys the company of longtime band Vs The Silver State for his eleventh release Matthew Ryan vs The Silver State (MRVSS), out April 1, 2008 on Brooklyn indie 00:02:59. MRVSS is an arrival that’s […]

One of L.A.’s most daring producers, Daedelus weaves together a true "love-sound" that falls between honeyed melodies and avant-electronics .He chops and splices disparate acoustic sources into incredible works of staggering resonance. Contrasting IDM styled cut-ups with childlike arrangements from the 30s and 40s, he has refined a style that has no imitators. Exactly the […]

The ever-prolific trumpeter, arranger, composer and bandleader Steven Bernstein is back with his latest recording Diaspora Suite, the fourth installment from his critically-acclaimed  Diaspora series on Tzadik Records. True to the high standards set by its predecessors, Diaspora Suite further evolves the concept of radical Jewish music, however, this time around Bernstein contributes all twelve original compositions. The music was recorded in one day during […]

The Black Angels hold an enhancement for that lurking guitar drone that turns their songs into blissfully psychedelic sensory overload, gauzy blues, and industrial-edgy shoegaze. What about all that critical posturing about the Black Angels turning "drone into an art form"? It’s one hundred percent accurate.

Medeski, Martin and Wood might seem one of the last viable prospects to share one of Levon Helm’s Rambles at his studio/barn in Woodstock. But it’s the joy of playing, far more than chosen musical style, the former Band drummer shares with these three contemporary jazz wizards.

When I headed over to Perez Hilton last night for the latest batch of Britney news, I received a nice shock. Turns out the Queen of all Media had quite the scoop about a competitor to the new Vineland festie. Hilton broke the news that Goldenvoice, the folks behind the Coachella Music Festival, are planning […]

You may be well familiar with the bands featured in this section, but Some Dude from Hits from the Blog wants to ensure there’s No Jambandfan Left Behind…

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but [insert random singer-songwriter’s name here] is the new Bob Dylan. I swear!

How many times have you seen or heard that weighty comparison thrown around for any number of wordy songsmiths? It’s a lofty and mostly unfair expectation to live up to, considering the profound impact on music of the former Mr. Robert Zimmerman. Who else could have come up with such nuggets like “Jewels and binoculars hang from the head of a mule” or “The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken” and a) be taken seriously and b) have said lines dissected with a fine-toothed comb, or at the very least a giant Jewfro-pick.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some fine, fine singer-songwriters out there that at the very least are the next Gordon Lightfoot (Canada’s Bob Dylan – Anyone? Anyone? Is this thing on?). While it would be too easy to go with indie-rock pin-up boy Connor Oberst (Bright Eyes for those of you scoring at home), I’ll dig a little deeper. So read on after the jump with me and let’s take a look at someone else that I think deserves your attention: Elvis Perkins.

It may only be one night, but we’d like to welcome back the band that every blogger is required by law to fellate virtually because they’re that damn good. Off the road for far too long, My Morning Jacket just announced its return to New York for what looks like a one-night engagement at Radio […]

The Mars Volta brought its rolling ball of wild energy, wicked improvisation and hyphenated names to New York’s newest big venue last night, and our main man Danfun headed to the west side for the band’s 150-minute nonstop spectacular.

Dan reports: “The show was fucking great. It had everything I look for in a show. It was loud, high energy and fucking heavy. The band played for close to 2.5 hours without stopping. These guys just blow me a way every time I see them. The setlist featured both old and new songs, but the theme of the night seemed to be that the band was sick of people saying ‘Why don’t you make your first two records over and over again?’ I can’t wait until they tour again great time.”

So read on after the jump for some more amazing photos from Danfun…

Pre-Ed Sullivan even: “Fifteen previously unreleased Beatles tracks recorded live in 1962 have been acquired by Fuego Entertainment, a production company which plans to release them in conjunction with the Echo Vista Group. The new tracks mark the first time the classic Beatles lineup was captured live on tape, shortly after Ringo Starr replaced Pete […]

Roots-rock group the BoDeans will be releasing their eighth studio album, “Still,” on March 4th via their record label He & He LP, with distribution through Koch. The disc was produced by T-Bone Burnett and features 12 new tracks full of the heartfelt lyrics, passionate harmonies, and ringing guitars they have become known for. To […]

Punk band Rancid began recording today in a studio on the California coast with long-time friend, producer and label president Brett Gurewitz, who has worked with Rancid on virtually every record in their extensive, accomplished career. In the five years since the release of Indestructible, the members of Rancid have been anything but dormant.  2004 saw […]

The Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival is heading for the east coast, it is being reported. The festival is still scheduled to take place at it’s usual location of Indio in the Californian desert, but an additional festival is apparently in the works. According to Perezhilton.com, it will take place in New York or […]

By the time you’re finished reading this, Warn Defever of His Name will have probably recorded a new album. The experimental rock band from Michigan have been around since 1990, landed on a handful of different labels (Silver Mountain Media, 4AD, Ryko, Sony, High Two, Kill Rock Stars, Warner Bros) and have released ten albums, including two in 2007 – Xmmer and High Two; the later is the band's tribute to free jazz saxophonist Marion Brown.

Although the band’s Latin influences are curiously subdued on the album, The Bedlam in Goliath is a hauntingly rich adventure. 

Atmosphere, the prolific duo of Slug and producer Ant are set to release their highly anticipated sixth official studio album  When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold on April 22nd 2008. The acclaimed Minneapolis-based hip hop group have performed over 2000 shows and sold well over 1 million units worldwide as the […]