Cup has been raging about it for months. Allan finally got a hold of an import dvd of it (and a t-shirt!). Andee's just about to watch it. And we've got the import soundtrack compilation in stock now!
Sooo, what's with all the hubbub?! Well, the center of attention is a mockumentary indie film which may be described as "Driver 23" meets "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" meets "American Movie", but... Canadian. It's all about the tragicomic misadventures of two Molson-chugging burnouts (think a Canadian Bill and Ted, ten years older and wasted most of the time) spewing stoner wisdom like "turn up the good, turn down the suck!"
If that piqued your interest (or not), give the following news a moment's ponder too...
This cd contains a couple of extra special songs performed by AQ ultra-fave Canucks the New Pornographers *and* Sloan (psst, they even do a Rush song)! This very well could be the only peep you'll be hearing from those NPs until they unleash their new album sometime next year, and who knows when we'll be hearing from those Sloan boys? So if you need your fix... FUBAR is where it's at! It's also where you'll find NoMeansNo, Chixdiggit, The Sweet, Girlschool and more. For the most part the concept here is Canadian indie/pop punk bands doing covers of Canadian rock/metal classics from the past: thus, NoMeansNo does Neil Young, GOB tackles Kick Axe's "Heavy Metal Shuffle", Sum 41 performs the Helix anthem "Rock You", while other bands cover April Wine, Loverboy, Toronto, BTO, etc. And lets not forget he-man Canadian metaller Thor (a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek 80's relic himself) doing the film's catchy theme, "FUBAR Is A Super Rocker". Throw in some originals from Creeper (loser metal band of Fubar star "Dean") and some out-of-context dialogue from the film, and what other album could possibly be more fun and surreal?? ...Know what else? These filmmakers received funding from the Canadian government to do this. Fill yer boots, eh!
Finally as a little aside, we'd like to clarify that the Aquarius Records who released this compilation is not us, but a Canadian label with the same name. But, unlike most things on their label, we'd be proud to have put this out ourselves if we were a label... Canada + Comedy + Metal + The New Pornographers + Helix + Thor + Sloan + Kick Axe = Aquarius Record of the Week Big Time!!!
"Heat & Birds" is the second 'friends and family' compilation to emerge from the Jewelled Antler collective, offering an overview not only of the numerous activities that are constantly evolving within the collective but also of like-minded artists from across the globe. Common to Jewelled Antler sound is a magical wistfulness, which seeps through every sound within the label and draws metaphors to half-dreamt memories, impossible lands that only exist in the imagination, or the simple awe of nature. While the core members (Glenn Donaldson, Loren Chasse, Rob Reger, and Steven R. Smith) are present, they've presented themselves in a variety of unique monikers and projects: such as Hala Strana (an uncredited pseudonym for Steven R. Smith, recreating a manic Hungarian folk instrumental with his trademarked production style of layered sounds building repeated riffs up to bittersweet crescendos), Of (an enigmatic project of evocative etherialism by Loren Chasse), and The Floating Birthday Children (the duo of Donaldson and Kerry McLaughlin offering pensive folk meanderings). Other, better-known Jewelled Antler projects, The Blithe Sons & Daughters, Thuja, and Franciscan Hobbies, also make appearances.
Of the non-JA projects, "Heat & Birds" also features the Finnish avant-improv-rock bands Kemialliset Ystavat, the medieval sounding Markus, and the elusive Avarus. Also, the San Francisco band Golden Hotel have produced another brilliant, drugged-out folk song, but do they remember recording it? And, there's some wonderful field recordings by AQ's own Byram Abbott of the birds in rehabilitation at Fort Cronkite just north of San Francisco. I could go on, but why spoil the mysteries? "Heat & Birds" is a great collection from a great organization. Recommended.
To commemorate their 100th release, Bloodshot Records put out this release which is loaded with out of print or hard to find singles. There's plenty of lively covers (of Funkadelic, Loretta Lynn, Poison, and Madonna to name a few) and a handful of previously unreleased treasures too. Tracks include: Waco Brothers "Harder They Come", Kelly Hogan "1,000,001" (previously unreleased), Ryan Adams "Goodbye Honey" (previously unreleased from the "Heartbreaker" sessions), Andre Williams & 2 Star Tabernacle "Lilly White Mama/Jet Black Daddy", Moonshine Willy "Complicated Games, The Meat Purveyors "The Madonna Trilogy", Neko Case & the Sadies "Rated X", Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", The Sadies "Little Sadie", Moonshine Willy "George Set Me Strait", The Volebeats "Maggot Brain, Parts 1 & 2", Kelly Hogan & the Mellocremes "Hanky Panky Woman", Ryan Adams "To Be Young" (previously unreleased acoustic version), Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights", Kelly Hogan & John Wesley Harding "It's Only Make Believe" (previously unreleased), Andre Williams & 2 Star Tabernacle "Ramblin' Man", Moonshine Willy "Alone", and Jonboy Langford "Nashville Radio".
San Francisco's The Vanishing proves that a Goth band with a female lead vocalist doesn't have to sound like Siouxsie & The Banshees (but it's not necessarily a bad thing if they do since several other AQ goth novices think this does indeed sound quite a bit like Siouxsie!). Not that I don't find Siouxsie's records quite good (especially "Juju" and "Kaleidoscope"), but the small Gothic resurgence that's paralleling the New Wave revival has mostly been mimicking the aloof theatrics of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Sisters Of Mercy, or Siouxsie, without really saying anything beyond their heroes. Fortunately, the trio of Jessie Trashed (formerly of the Subtonix), Brian Hock, and AQ's own Sadie Shaw (also of The Lies, The Husbands and the co-director of the 8mm indie-gore film "Charm") have developed a pretty unique (or referentially obscure) signature sound. The Vanishing builds an intense, dissonant gloom through monotonous, distorted basslines and Carnival of Souls' organs twisted into sinister melodies, all without any guitars. Jessie's haunted vocals have been treated with an eerie tremolo warble as a well-executed complement to The Vanishing's throbbing music. As Sadie has admitted to having never heard X-Mal Deutschland before, I can safely say that The Vanishing has unintentionally arrived at a Goth sound previously carved out by that oft-forgotten 4AD band. And that's fine by me!
This is Aaron Calvert (of the L.A. band Evergreen) and Mikel Garmendia of Cars Get Crushed. Which is why I was surprised by this cd. I was expecting that post punk late 90's sort of thang. Instead I found some good ol' Americana with a healthy dose of No Depression with interesting production, at times reminiscent of Tom Waits or Vic Chestnutt. EP length at 35 minutes.
There is nothing groundbreaking here but it's done really well. Totally captivating and charming. The vocals are slurred and lazy and drunk sounding, maybe even a bit too much... Really pretty nice.
The English-speaking world's leading journal devoted to the hippest of rock, jazz, electronica, dub, etc. On the cover: Asian Dub Foundation. Other features include MC5 guru John Sinclair doing the "Invisible Jukebox", articles on the Schimpfluch noise collective, SF's own avant rock brutes Oxbow (yay!), and a trio of pieces focusing on free jazz legend Albert Ayler, Ayler bassist Henry Grimes, and the Shandar Records label. Plus a zillion reviews, news, etc. AND, this is the year-end "2002 Rewind" issue, so you can peruse the Wire's Top 50 Albums Of The Year list (#1: Sonic Youth) and read about what various artists and writers thought about the year that was. These lists are sure to spark some dissension, 'round AQ they did anyway! ----* ----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed : ----* ALVA NOTO / RYUIKI SAKAMOTO "Vrioon" (Raster-Noton) lp/cd 14.98/14.98 AREA "Event '76" (Akarma) cd 16.98 BASTARD NOISE "Rrrevenge" 2cd 14.98 BROWN, MARION QUARTET "s/t" (ESP Disk) cd/lp 14.98/14.98 BUCK 65 "Square" (Warner Canada) cd 15.98 CAGE, JOHN / MAX NEUHAUS "Fontana Mix" (Alga Marghen) lp 25.00 CASH, JOHNNY "Sings Hank Williams" (Get Back) lp 14.98 CHARALAMBIDES "In cr ea se" (Eclipse) lp CUTTHROATS 9, THE "Anger Management" (Reptilian) cd 9.98 DAFELDECKER, HAUTZINGER, TILBURY, SACHIKO M "Absinth" (Grob) cd 15.98 DANIELL, DAVID "Sem" (Antiopic) cd 14.98 DUNGEN "Stadsvandringar" (Dolores) cd 22.00 F/I "The Past Darkly / The Future Lightly: Rare & Unreleased 1983-1989" (Lexicon Devil) 2cd 17.98 GURU GURU "Essen 1970" (Garden Of Delights) cd 16.98 GZA / GENIUS "Legend Of The Liquid Sword" (MCA) cd 15.98 HAINO, KEIJI "Mazu Wa Iro O Nakuso Ka" (PSF) cd 21.00 LEVIN, GOLAN / SCOTT GIBBONS / GREGORY SHAKAR "Dialtones" (Staalplaat) cd 14.98 LIARS / ONEIDA "Atheist Reconsider" (ARRCO) cd 8.98 MACLISE, ANGUS "Astral Collapse" (Quakebasket) lp 14.98 MAGIC CARPATHIANS PROJECT, THE & ZYGMUNT STENWAK "Water Dreams" (Fly Music) cd 17.98 MAGYAR POSSE "We Will Carry You Over The Mountains" (Verdura) cd 14.98 MICROSTORIA "Invisible Architecture #3" (Audiosphere) cd 16.98 MUSLIMGAUZE "Uzbekistani Bizarre And Souk" (Important) cd 14.98 MYSTIC FOREST "Waltz In the Midst of Trees" cd 13.98 NECKS, THE "Athenaeum, Homebush, Quay & Raab" (Shock) 4cd 49.00 NECKS, THE "Hanging Garden" (Fish Of Milk) cd 14.98 PICKPOCKET ENSEMBLE "If I Were A Highway" (New World Cafe) cd 14.98 PLAYBACK DEVICE CONFUSION "Volume One" (Mego) 3"cd 11.98 SADIES, THE "Stories Often Told" (Yep Roc) cd 16.98 SATYRICON "Volcano" (EMI) cd 24.00 SEA AND CAKE "One Bedroom" (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98 SIMMONS, SONNY "Music From The Spheres" (ESP Disk) cd/lp 14.98/14.98 SUN ALSO RISES, THE "s/t" (Scenescof) cd 14.98 TIPPETT, KEITH GROUP "Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening" (Akarma) cd 16.98 V/A "A Place Called Africa" (Trojan) 2cd 19.98 V/A "Funky Kingston: Reggae Dancefloor Grooves" (Trojan) cd 14.98 V/A "Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol.6" (Bacchus Archives) cd 14.98 V/A "Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol.7" (Bacchus Archives) cd 14.98 VALENTINE, MATT "Tonight! One Night Only! MV & EE In Heaven" (Time-Lag Records) lp 19.98 VANDER, CHRISTIAN "Les Cygnes Et Les Corbeaux" (Seventh) cd 21.00
