Reading is Fun-Da-Mental

Reading is Fun-da-Mental.

If you were born between 1972 and 1983 (let’s not get caught up in specifics, somewhere in that range), you must read Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs.  It is incredibly entertaining.  No other book has made me laugh out loud so many times (in fact this may be the only book to ever make me laugh out loud period).  Klosterman makes the kind of observations about pop culture most people fleetingly consider and ties them into astute and tangible theories regarding the psyche of a misunderstood generation (the Gen-Xers).

Here’s the synopsis from the back of the book:

“Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman — with an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and a seemingly effortless ability to spin brilliant prose out of unlikely subject matter. Whether deconstructing Saved by the Bell episodes or the artistic legacy of Billy Joel, the symbolic importance of The Empire Strikes Back or the Celtics/Lakers rivalry of the 1980s, Chuck will make you think, he’ll make you laugh, and he’ll drive you insane — usually all at once.  Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is ostensibly about movies, sports, television, music, books, video games, and kittens…but, really, it’s about us. All of us. As Klosterman realizes late at night, in the moment before he falls asleep, “In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever ‘in and of itself.’”

**I’m telling you, even if you’re not a reader, check this book out.  It’s freakin great.  Don’t worry, it’s only 240 pages and the font on the pages is nice and big.

Matisyahu covers KOL and lives to tell about it.

Found a video of Matisyahu covering Kings of Leon’s Use Somebody for “Mashup Mondays” on Billboard.com.  I love when he beatboxes at the end with the acoustic guitar playing wingman.  It’s pretty legit, check it out.

Here’s the link:  http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid65813736001?bctid=74176421001

-B.

Related articles:

• Chuck Klosterman (chuckpalahniuk.net)
• Chuck Klosterman accidentally undermines ‘indie popularity’ in Pavement article (trueslant.com)
• Chuck Klosterman and the study of culture (cultureby.com)

Bill Kreutzmann (The Grateful Dead)

The Tracks brings you Mr. Bill Kreutzmann, drummer for The Grateful Dead.  In this interview, we touched on The Grateful Dead’s influence and interactions during President Obama‘s campaign, their responsibilities to the Deadheads, and if the Bay Area’s New Year’s Eve shows will be the curtain call for The Grateful Dead.

M:  Mr. Bill Kreutzmann, of the Grateful Dead, thank you very much for being here on the Tracks.

B:  Yeah, nice being here, thanks for having me.

M:  Legends… The Grateful Dead… Obviously if you think about American bands, you think about the Grateful Dead.  How do you feel the Grateful Dead’s influence and responsibility to the fans has been over the years?

B:  The responsibility lies in the love of playing music and trying to play the best music you possibly can.  For years and years we never pitched politics until this last horrendous eight years came up.  We’re always pretty much a-political and we didn’t tell the fans anything, we just entertained.  We just played music, that’s all we cared about.

M:  So you said these horrendous past eight years, how are the next years going to happen, how do you feel about it?

B:  I think the next eight years are going to be incredible.  At least it’s going to be a lot different, a lot better.  I got to meet President Obama and he’s real, man.  I stood closer than you and I are talking right now and I looked right in his eye.  He’s also from Hawaii so I kidded him about his surfing.  There was a picture of him bodysurfing and he had really good form, he was on his side and had his arm out like you’re supposed to have when you bodysurf.  I was kidding him about it, and he didn’t know where I was from, he thought Grateful Dead, he must have lived in the states or something.  He looked me in the eye real close and said, “You’re from Hawaii, aren’t you?”  That cat’s smart, man.  No, I really see a freshness.  We played the inauguration.  We played the Atlantic Ball.  He came and he met us there the first time and it was terrific.  The guy really took time to come and meet the people that helped him because we had played at Penn State to about 16,000 people, a young audience, college educated people, and that really helped.  I think the

young vote really helped him.  And the way he did his campaign was so smart.  Dave Axelrod is a wonderful person and he lead President Obama down the right path.  He said, “use computers, use the internet, don’t get lobbyist money, get donations” and that was smart.  Now he doesn’t owe any one person something, like some big corporation or something.  Of course, you know all about lobbying, I don’t want to get into all that nonsense, I dislike that myself.  That’s not politics.  You hire somebody from your state to be your senator and then they’re paid for by something

else.  That’s no good.

M:  So the Dead influenced the voter’s vote?  (laughs) Did you get him into office or what?

B:  I think we influenced them at Penn State for sure.  What happened to me is, about four or five years ago, I read his second book, The Audacity of Hope, and I said, my God, this is a dream if this guy can be president.  So I’m really happy with it.

M:  The show on New Year’s Eve is in the Bay Area.  The rumor is that that will be the farewell show for the Dead.

B:  That’s a rumor.  We have actually talked about that yet.  I’ve been asked a few questions today about plans and records and stuff but we haven’t actually gotten together and had a sit down about what we’re going to do yet.

M:  Well, thank you for the music for all these years.

B:  You bet, man!  It’s been fun!

M:  You’ve made a lot of people happy.

B:  It’s made me happy.  That’s probably why I’m still alive!  (laughs)

M:  Appreciate it.

B:  You’re welcome, man.

Related Articles:

• The Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead (futurelab.net)
• 7 Walkers Tour: Papa Mali, Bill Kreutzmann, George Porter Jr. (jambase.com)
• Bob Weir, Phil Lesh keeping the Dead alive with Furthur (pbpulse.com)

Waxing Excelsior: King B’s Album Reviews Fight For Their Right

Here’s something I know about music:  it’s created to move you (literally and figuratively).  At its core, it is the most visceral of the arts.  The capacity to hear music and be moved by its sound is an innate human ability (a gift that the world mostly unconsciously acknowledges).

Waxing Excelsior:  King B’s Album Reviews Fight For Their Right

Here’s something I know about music:  it’s created to move you (literally and figuratively).  At its core, it is the most visceral of the arts.  The capacity to hear music and be moved by its sound is an innate human ability (a gift that the world mostly unconsciously acknowledges).  Everyone, and I mean everyone, listens to music.  Grandfathers, little kids, nuns, prisoners, cops, politicians, teachers, athletes, teenagers, judges, assholes, philanthropists, rich, poor, black, white, hispanic, asian, etc; everyone appreciates some form of musical expression.  I have never learned to play a musical instrument and, unfortunately, I have managed to convince myself that I will never fully appreciate music unless I am properly trained in playing it on some level.

Well, I’m tired of apologizing for that.  I finally came to a realization tonight, (Proclamation!) I’m no less qualified than anyone else to voice my opinion on how good, or shitty, the music that I hear is.  So long as I listen to it openly, uncategorically, and without preconceived notions.  You see, when I listen to music (with my untrained ear), I hear it as it’s meant to be heard, as a whole, not the sum of parts.  Music is made for me, the non-musician.  (The music that’s made to impress other musicians is usually self-applauding elitist crap.)  I don’t endeavor to hear new music on some transcendental, emotional, spiritual, or philosophical level.  I simply let it come to me sonically and then react as it affects me in real time (which may in fact be in a spiritual, philosophical, or sentimental way).

…come with us, as we take you on a journey OF EPIC PROPORTIONS!!

- B

MGMT – Congratulations (8.5/10)

Congratulations, Congratulations is good, REALLY good.  Despite my best efforts to debunk the duo and finally expose them for the postmodern hipster fakes I have secretly (until now I guess) suspected them to be, they fucking did it again.

MGMT – Congratulations (8.5/10)

Congratulations, Congratulations is good, REALLY good.  Despite my best efforts to debunk the duo and finally expose them for the postmodern hipster fakes I have secretly (until now I guess) suspected them to be, they fucking did it again.  And, actually, the album’s quite brilliant.  But, I WILL catch you next time, MGMT (or once again, you’ll be the one who’s exposing me).

Prime lyric- “If you’re conscious you must be depressed, or at least cynical.”

- B

Related articles:

• MGMT – “Flash Delirium” (stereogum.com)
• MGMT’s New Album (Congratulations) Available To Stream (musicbyday.com)

Broken Bells – Self-Titled (6.5/10)

My real struggle with Broken Bells is that I’m not sure what role it could play within the ranks of my daily listening arsenal and I suspect that’s because, at times, the album itself struggles to find its own identity.

Broken Bells – Self-Titled (6.5/10)

I guess I really didn’t know what to expect to come out of a collaboration between the Shins frontman James Mercer and producer Danger Mouse (of Gnarls Barkley fame).  I can’t say that I’m truly disappointed by the experimental self-titled effort; but I won’t concede that the fireworks I’d hoped for are there either.  I’ll admit that the album is way more hazy-melodic than I anticipated (certainly more Shinsy than DMy).  Perhaps I should recalibrate my expectations.

Regardless, my real struggle with Broken Bells is that I’m not sure what role it could play within the ranks of my daily listening arsenal and I suspect that’s because, at times, the album itself struggles to find its own identity.  Highlight track– The Ghost Inside.

- B

Related articles:

• Spoon, Broken Bells Grab the Spotlight as SXSW 2010 Launches (rollingstone.com)
• The Sound of Broken Bells (online.wsj.com)
• Breaking: Broken Bells (rollingstone.com)

POS – Never Better (9/10)

An ex-punk rocker turned rapper turns out a top-five rap album of 2009.  What’s up with all that good hip-hop coming out of Miota?!?

POS – Never Better (9/10)

An ex-punk rocker turned rapper turns out a top-five rap album of 2009.  What’s up with all that good hip-hop coming out of Minnesota?!?

- B

Related articles:

• No More Hip-Hop For Fiddy (perezhilton.com)
• What Makes A Piece of Music Hip Hop? Vol. 2 (current.com)
• Jack White hails ‘incredible’ Jay-Z (news.bbc.co.uk)

The Suicide Machines – Definition By Destruction 9.4/10 (Classic Review)

With tracks like New Girl, Hey Ska!, Face Values, S.O.S., and Break the Glass, TSM had written and performed the perfect punk ska album.  From 200 to 120 BPM, The Machines were a high energy, yet very danceable group who performed amazing live shows.

The Suicide Machines – Definition By Destruction (9.4/10)

Classic Review

The punk ska (or third wave ska) craze that seemed to dominate the early to mid-90′s was a scene that I was heavily involved in.  As a matter of fact, it’s where I truly gained a love for the music scene, and started my own band punk/ska/reggae band called The New Victims… Yes, the album is out there if you really want to find it.

With days reaching back to the inception of the Warped Tour, punk ska’s rambunctious and upbeat feeling had everyone rocking their two-tone wingtips and “skanking the night away.”  The Suicide Machines are a prime example of the raw embodiment of energy that ran through the scene back in the day.

Definition By Definition was on constant rotation in my CD player from the moment it came out, and it still gets regular play on my MP3 player to this day.  With tracks like New Girl, Hey Ska!, Face Values, S.O.S., and Break the Glass, TSM had written and performed the perfect punk ska album.  From 200 to 120 BPM, The Machines were a high energy, yet very danceable group who performed amazing live shows.  The upstroke of the ska rhythms fused seamlessly with the crunch of the Rickenbacker guitar to form perhaps the best punk ska album ever made.

Jason Navarro, Derek Grant, Royce Nunley, and Dan Lukacinsky created and broke the mold of what the ska core movement should have been.  Unfortunately, after quite a few lineup changes, The Suicide Machines disbanded in 2006.  However, in the 15 years that TSM was together, they were very instrumental in forming a flourishing music scene.

Gentlemen, I salute and thank you for all the years that you’ve given the scene.

- Moe

Hot Chip – One Life Stand (3.5/6)

Personally, the appeal of Hot Chip has always been their seamless ability to follow catchy and insistent

Hot Chip – One Life Stand (3.5 out of 6)

Personally, the appeal of Hot Chip has always been their seamless ability to follow catchy and insistent electro-pop dance tracks with equally enjoyable, atmospheric slow-jams.  Unfortunately, the London five-some has forgone the former for almost exclusively the latter.  As a result, One Life Stand turns out to be, for lack of a better word, boring.

A disappointment for me, sorry guys, but you need that contrast.

- B

Related articles:

• New Hot Chip Video: Crazy Sexy Creepy (trueslant.com)
• Hot Chip – “I Feel Better” Video (stereogum.com)

Jónsi – Go (9.3/10)