Big thanks to Fally at I Heart Local Music for rocking out and taking some video and photos last Friday night at the Replay in Lawrence. Photos and review at the post, but here’s the video of “Stars Above,” a new jam.
Sound guy politely suggested our amps were too loud, so blame us for the buried vocals. Drew loved that, and will probably be louder next time because of it, so that’s one reason we love him.
Beyond the hits CD — and Christmas In LA, the Killers’ eighth festive charity single — the band will take a breather. Brandon is working on a solo album, but he assures me that he will return to the group when the time is right.
“This is the end of something,” he says. “Maybe we have become too comfortable. I’ll do my solo stuff and then come back to give The Killers a kick in the pants.”
Two words; Steve Albini.
The Killers are a fantastic live band. Their hits shake stadiums, and even their deep cuts, which can be weak on record, sound great and earn a response. They have never made an album that captures that energy; the band has made good albums, but they haven’t maxed out their potential.
Steve Albini tends to record bands live, all at once. His straightforward approach pushes bands to write and play their best. He’s a kick in the pants, embodied.
(Wouldn’t this be worth it just to hear Ronnie as recorded by Steve Albini, if nothing else? Even if the songs weren’t good? Yes is the correct answer.)
I’d love to hear a lean, raw, aggressive Killers album. Let the rhythm section wail, lots of guitars, only the keys that Brandon can play while singing, minimal overdubs. I want to hear the Killers album that Drew could appreciate. I think they have it in them.
Killers & Albini in 2014! USA! USA!
In random order once again, here is the best music we heard in the past year. Most, but not all, was also released in 2013.
Honorable mention:
The National, “Trouble Will Find Me” (2013)
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, “Mind Control” (2013)
My Bloody Valentine, “m b v” (2013)
Arcade Fire, “Reflektor” (2013)
Eccentric Soul: The Forte Label (2013 reissue)
Doomriders, “Grand Blood” (2013)
Atoms for Peace, “Amok” (2013)
The Stooges, “The Stooges” (1969) and “Fun House” (1970) (I’m still coming to terms with “Raw Power” -h)
Paul McCartney, “Ram” (1971)
High on Fire, “Snakes For The Divine” (2010)
2014 January 3, Friday – Lawrence, KS – Mars Lights at The Replay Lounge w/ The Sluts, Stiff Middle Fingers. Ages ?? (usually 21+?), $?? (usually $5 or under?), The Sluts @ 10, Stiff Middle Fingers @ 11, Mars Lights @ midnight. FB event page.
One of the year-end lists I’ve seen – can’t recall which… maybe one of the AV Club’s individual ballots – described Tricot’s album The in a way that sent me straight to Youtube. Results below; I love the physical joy this band takes in their music.
That was the gist of what she said, anyway.
There’s not a lot of middle ground with metal; most people either love it, or stay as far away as possible.
My taste has gotten heavier over the years, but it’s hard to remember when I really started listening to metal. Not in school, though I loved Deftones and some other borderline stuff. Then five years ago (which is when my iTunes library basically starts) I was ripping Mastodon, Back When, and DragonForce CDs, and reading Pitchfork’s Show No Mercy column (Sunn 0))), Hammers of Misfortune, Kylesa) (sac)religiously. I went back to the beginning, and worked my way through Sabbath. So I came to metal as an adult, mostly on my own, through reviews. I’ll guess that’s an atypical initiation.
Nothing else feels like a great riff. Hearing one is a direct route to egolessness. It’s a creative destroyer; it can stop me short, ending my train of thought, and it may show me a new way to look at time, pitch, and timbre, too. It can give pain a voice or be cathartic, but the best are actually joyful. They communicate the experience of overflowing. They are too much – too much awe, too much saturation, too heavy, too loud, too fast or slow – so they point toward something beyond themselves.
I listen to it because it speaks to me. Because it challenges me (how did they make that sound? Write that riff?) Because it feels great, and at its best, better than anything.
If it bugs you, that’s just because I haven’t found your gateway band yet.
…when the AV Club’s Year in Band Names piece appears. I didn’t notice any locals this year (Matt maintains that Fifty Bears In A Fight would have been included, had we stuck with it and popped up on their radar).
Still, there were plenty of awfully great band names in 2013. All hail Warboner! (Maybe that could replace “hawks” in our political discourse? Instead of “Senator X is a real hawk on Syria,” we could say “Senator X has a real warboner for Syria.”)
Amounts/measurements updated 26 Dec 2013
Some weeks I need to put together a fast, healthy dish that’s going to give me a bunch of leftovers and still taste delicious in a couple of days. (Actually, a lot of weeks are like that.) I’ve been trying to figure something out for months; some kind of pasta salad emerged early on as a good idea, but it took a long time to discover what holds up in the fridge. This guy does, and it’s packing all of your protein and iron, too.
In a soup pot, boil the lentils in 6 cups of water for 15 minutes, then add the pasta and cook until the pasta is al dente and liquid is almost entirely absorbed. Let the lentil and pasta mix cool for 10 minutes or so, then toss in a large (read; gigantic) bowl, dress, and serve, garnished with the sunflower seeds.
You could make it fancy with good olives, capers, chili sauce… use your imagination. Anything that works with hummus should work here.
2013 November 23, Saturday – Lincoln, NE – Mars Lights at The Bourbon Theatre w/ Demos (Lincoln). Ages 18+, $5 ($7 for 18-20), 7:00 show, Facebook event page.
This week I’ve updated the sidebar; now, you can download or stream any MFR release with one click from the front page, and you can click around the site without interrupting your stream! Pretty slick. Comment or PM me if you notice any bugs.
Why not dig back and revisit an old favorite (Calla Lily? The Musical Tales of Pat Bradley?) or check out the latest Mars Lights?
From: h@home.cim
To: drew@workinghard.nit
Subject: craigslist drinking game
drink every time you see a boss mt-2 metal zone
finish your drink if the seller is asking $50 or more
i’m gone
-h
From: drew@workinghard.nit
To: h@home.cim
Subject: Re: craigslist drinking gameHAHAHA
YES
Do you love my banana bars yet? They’ve been my basic weekday breakfast for a couple of years now, and I still look forward to them.
This fall, though, in all of the ridiculous pumpkin-spice frenzy, I had the thought “The consistency of canned pumpkin is a lot like mashed bananas…” and this happened:
Combine ingredients, spoon onto a baking sheet in bar, scone, or cookie shapes (I make about 12-15 bars), and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
They’re a nice change of pace this time of year.
The next frontier? I’m thinking applesauce.