Due to a miscommunication over my press tickets (the kind of miscommunication I seem to only have at the Troubadour, but so it goes), I had to catch this show while my fiancée waited patiently next to scribbled portraits of the Mad Men cast and forgotten ’50s actors at the bar of the Palm Restaurant. So you’ll have to forgive me for skipping the openers in favor of steakburger sliders and bowing out in the middle of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s otherwise totally compelling set.
I think they’d understand — dudes are gentleman. The Detroit band came equipped with an on-stage “corporate lounge” for their most fervent fans and plenty of energy for the rest of us, growing heated enough to drop their jackets after the first song or two. The band’s very good debut album, It’s a Corporate World, has only the unfortunate weakness of following last year’s flawless Horse Power EP, but the Technicolor synth-pop of newer songs such as “Morning Thought” felt fresher from the stage. The sold-out show, by my count the band’s third pass through L.A. in the last year, drew both bottle blondes and a bro in a Bon Iver shirt; if that’s any indication, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s made it. Hopefully LP2 takes their economic themes to their logical conclusion and includes a Curren$y collaboration titled “Warren Buffett Green.”
In acknowledgement of the tragedy’s 10-year anniversary, I’ll share my memory of the day, if only because it’s music-related. I was in high school; my dad was driving me to first period and I was, of course, running late. (In the last decade, the rest of my life has changed entirely. But not that.) During the previous few days, the local classic rock station had been playing Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” in the minutes before 8 a.m. and I turned on the radio, anxious to hear it. Instead, we were interrupted by a broadcaster talking about planes and Twin Towers and confusion. My dad, uncertain, let me out of the car and I went to class. I did not listen to Led Zeppelin that day. But when I do, that’s the moment I go back to, far from the darkest depths of Mordor and somewhere much more sad and strange.
Here are my recommendations for this weekend, which will see a nice mix of touring acts and local favorites hitting L.A. stages. Read the rest of this entry »
Fans of the Mountain Goats will find a kindred spirit in Lawrence Marcus, a New Yorker whose debut album recalls John Darnielle’s eloquently hard-charging folk-rock. Tersely strummed chords at the ready, Marcus covers busted relationships, alcohol and the occasional comedy bit, his lyrics a patchwork of location-specific details and internal uncertainty. His reedy voice plays just fine atop a single acoustic guitar on songs such as “Come to Me” and “Harlem Meer,” but broader arrangements — an electric guitar here, a legato piano chord there — add flavor to tracks including “Composure Delenda Est” and “Intense Song for Glenn Danzig to Sing.” It’s really an intense song for Marcus to sing, of course, and Wolves in the Living Room announces a sharp new songwriter who has many more ahead of him.
Rawkblog historians may remember “Learn to Love,” a short-lived column that attempted to introduce readers — or deepen their knowledge — to the catalogs of my favorite artists. With the advent of legal alternatives such as Spotify, Grooveshark, etc., I’m going to revive the idea with a mixtape series called 45 Minutes. It’s pretty self-explanatory.
We’ll start with misunderstood icon Ryan Adams, whose catalog is so dense and intimidating that I’m breaking the compilation into two parts. After the break-up of seminal alt-country act Whiskeytown, Adams’ songwriting has ranged between heartbreaking folk ballads, ’70s-influenced country-rock and — and this is where he lost the critics, humorless bastards that they are — goofy, great hard rock. The vast majority of his recordings of any sort are worthwhile: this is an introduction, not necessarily a greatest hits. For part 1, I’ve mined the easy stuff: the ballads. Get to the end of this without tears in your eyes and you’ll have my sympathies for your cold, cold heart. Part 2 will focus on the rockers and the twang.
Adams has literally a dozen or so unreleased albums/studio sessions that have made the rounds in pirated, sometimes incomplete form for years. This collection mostly shies away from those, but you can find a primer I wrote on six of the better unreleased sets at the Wall Street Journal.
Here’s a homemade clip for Wilco’s “Born Alone,” the latest track from the band’s upcoming The Whole Love. I’m getting Summerteeth vibes, but mostly, it’s amazing to hear the band sound so completely democratic — no member’s contribution outweighs another’s, everyone just sounds sharp and happy. The album’s out Sept. 27, I’ve already pre-ordered it.
Turns out Ben Folds Five’s “Magic” was just the tip of the iceberg for Darren Jessee, the former (soon to be current!) Folds Five drummer and songwriter who now performs as Hotel Lights. His latest single, “Falling Down,” is more super-serious L.A. power-pop — it’s a decade or so too late for its proper place on the Beverly Hills, 90210 soundtrack, but hopefully fans of hushed vocals and open guitar chords haven’t turned to dubstep just yet.
Fans of the Mountain Goats will find a kindred spirit in Lawrence Marcus, a New Yorker whose debut album recalls John Darnielle’s eloquently hard-charging folk-rock. Tersely strummed chords at the ready, Marcus covers busted relationships, alcohol and the occasional comedy bit, his lyrics a patchwork of location-specific details and internal uncertainty. His reedy voice plays just fine atop a single acoustic guitar on songs such as “Come to Me” and “Harlem Meer,” but broader arrangements — an electric guitar here, a legato piano chord there — add flavor to tracks including “Composure Delenda Est” and “Intense Song for Glenn Danzig to Sing.” It’s really an intense song for Marcus to sing, of course, and Wolves in the Living Room announces a sharp new songwriter who has many more ahead of him.
Turns out Ben Folds Five’s “Magic” was just the tip of the iceberg for Darren Jessee, the former (soon to be current!) Folds Five drummer and songwriter who now performs as Hotel Lights. His latest single, “Falling Down,” is more super-serious L.A. power-pop — it’s a decade or so too late for its proper place on the Beverly Hills, 90210 soundtrack, but hopefully fans of hushed vocals and open guitar chords haven’t turned to dubstep just yet. 
