Posts Tagged ‘Music’

Steam Powered Giraffe

Monday, January 20th, 2014

Every now and then you run across something curious enough that you go “Hmm, people should know about this!’

The band Steam Powered Giraffe is just such an entity. I mean, how many other retro pantomime Steampunk harmony bands are there out there?

An example:

Here’s “Fire Fire,” a little outer-space disaster ditty:

I like the harmonies, but overall they’re a little softer than the mainstream of music I care for.

You wonder what the popularity plateau for a band like this is. There are a surprising number of Steampunk conventions popping up around the country, but the answer may be something like the Asylum Street Spankers, who had almost a two decade career where they both made a living and never had a song or album chart.

Shoegazer Sunday: Bleach’s “Surround”

Sunday, January 19th, 2014

Here’s old-school UK Shoegaze band Bleach with “Surround.”

Shoegazer Sunday: The High Violets’ “Sparkle”

Sunday, January 12th, 2014

Time for another dose of the High Violets:

The Longest Version of U2’s “Bad” Ever

Friday, January 10th, 2014

“Bad” is my favorite U2 song. This version, recorded in East Rutherford, NJ, on April 15th, 1985, is far from my favorite, but at 18 minutes and 17 seconds its certainly the longest. It has a winning batshit crazy intensity, with Bono throwing in riffs to “Waiting For My Man,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Hide Your Love Away” and “Sympathy for the Devil,” plus freeform lyrics that seem to have improvised on the spot, since they show up nowhere before or after.

And it all pretty much works against the base “Bad” riff.

Come on down…

For Elvis’ Birthday: The Trailer for Bubba Ho Tep

Wednesday, January 8th, 2014

Today is the 79th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth. To celebrate, enjoy the trailer for Bubba Ho Tep. And if you haven’t seen Bubba Ho Tep yet, why not?

Shoegaze Sunday: School of Seven Bells’ “Put Your Sad Down”

Sunday, January 5th, 2014

This is going to stretch the definition of Shoegaze, since “Put Your Sad Down” leans more heavily in the TechnoPop direction (imagine a cross between Sarah McLaughlin and 1984-era Eurythmics, with maybe of soupcon of Peter Gabriel’s “Shaking the Tree”). But School of Seven Bells made their bones as a Shoegaze/Dreampop outfit, and after listening to the opening, I decided I needed to have it. It’s off their five song EP of the same name, and Alejandra Deheza’s auto-harmonies are very tasty indeed.

If you find yourself losing patience with it, skip from any time after 2:30 or so to 9:20

I’ll also have to check out their new album Ghostory.

Sadly, Benjamin Curtis, one of band’s the two founding members, died of lymphoma in December.

Shoegazer Sunday: Tamaryn’s “Love Fade”

Sunday, December 29th, 2013

Tamaryn (New York/LA/San Francisco by way of New Zealand) gets compared to Mazzy Star a lot, and you can hear that, but The Jesus and Mary Chain is another good point of comparison. Here’s “Love Fade”.

Simon & Garfunkle’s The Boxer

Thursday, December 26th, 2013

For Boxing Day, here’s Simon & Garfunkle’s classic “The Boxer”:

What do you mean I’m doing it wrong?

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 25th, 2013

To celebrate Christmas, here’s The Dropkick Murphys with “The Season’s Upon Us.”

Shoegaze Sunday: Swell Cover of Slowdive’s “Machine Gun”

Sunday, December 22nd, 2013

Here’s an ethereal electronica cover of Slowdive’s “Machine Gun” by (if I’m decrypting the credits correctly) “Dick Isreal and The Soothsayer with Neon Signal.” So a teamup of three musical entities I’ve never heard of.

I think Amy Archibald is The Soothsayer, and has a beautiful (albeit highly processed) voice on this song. I’m guessing the “Lightwave” of the video title is the theoretical genre this belongs to. Whatever it is it’s very pretty…

Here’s a link to download it from SoundCloud for free.