Dharmic *DUBS* out now!!

Last night’s Late Show was probably a repeat; Gladiator was on the couch, not talking about “Cinderella Man” but some trouble he’d gotten into. I’m sure I missed most of it, but apparently he hit somebody? at a hotel? and went to jail.

But Paul Anka was on to promote a new disc, Rock Swings, and he’s been singing for five decades. Nobody told him about The Bad Plus; he covered “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with his big band in a fast lounge style, playing up the “My libido…” line and linking it to the “Hello, hello…” parts by his stage moves. Your opinion how successful he was (or was not) at making the song sexy is probably proportional to your age.

I know most of us kids-to-30-somethings still get into “Teen Spirit,” but hearing the original track makes me a little sick. Watching Anka perform, I realized that Kurt’s suicide really shouldn’t have been a surprise. He saw what the world was doing with his music (on which hung serious ideological weight), co-opting Nirvana’s operating ethos for the sake of greed. And it hasn’t stopped. Why else would Paul Anka be covering it? Don’t tell me it spoke to him on a deep level, and he had to pay tribute. More like get paid, in order to cover the bill from his plastic surgeon.

Nevermind was a good album, and it has had some impact on the course of pop/indie music, but I can’t listen to it. Breaks my heart, like Orwell’s 1984. To be confronted with such idealism and striving, corrupted and turned towards profit/power, is unbearable. If anyone did that to signs, I would be broken.

All this is not Paul Anka’s fault. He’s just a face to put on a larger trouble.

Cody runs sound at WCC on Sunday mornings. That’s what he does; he’s a renegade professional sound-man, for hire to local/touring acts and venues around town. He’s great, he likes round, warm sound (like I do), and he did the gig Monday night at Bunker’s in the warehouse district. I went along, as a friend, and as a techie’s techie; a sort of informal job-shadow. All through my recent job search, Cody was after me to work for a sound company he has connections with. The show was; “Am I able to do this? Would I enjoy this? What would it take to turn sound into a viable career?”

Because my sound education is entirely informal, there are gaps. Example; I had to ask what the crossover processor does (it takes a mono signal, and splits it into multiple outputs based on different frequency ranges – these separate signals are sent to different PA speakers, so you get low tones headed for the subs and higher tones for the smaller speakers). But I understand what is happening to the sound pretty intuitively, once it’s explained. Everything Cody did I could hear or see. He’s fast with making connections between what we hear and the right frequencies to cut to make it better, but that comes with experience. I haven’t worked much with the 31-band EQs that are used at this kind of show; I’m used to the high/mid/low EQs on mixing consoles, and (on the other end of the spectrum) the paragraphic EQ in the Ozone mastering suite I use in the studio.

The Combo featured a couple notable players; Jellybean on guitar (he played drums for Morris Day & The Time – remember, at the end of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” ???), Mike on drums (Prince, Paul Westerberg – both of whom Cody has worked for too), and a Grammy-winning guitarist (wrote the song for J. Vaughn). They played funk/R&B which was fun, and sounded alright; a case of obviously talented players, but no quarterback. Songs meandered (tightly), even going on for considerable periods without a soloist, everone just vamping on their rhythm parts. Still, I thought of all the bands I’ve seen at Knickerbocker’s, and The Combo seemed like an alright Monday night.

Bottom line, I learned something important; if I ever mustered up the courage/machismo/desire/fortitude to do it, I could be a sound guy. Cody’s pretty happy with it, even if it can be crazy work. My concern about this potential path is more the bar/tour scene than anything; everyone’s got a tragic story (which tend to come out, verbalized or not) and for the most part they’re so predictable. I don’t insulate myself from that very well, which could be hurtful/dangerous. At least it’s out there and I’m aware.

I even wore my pure black t-shirt. -h

In the past few months, I’ve written out music/guitar tab on four different howie&scott songs for three different people. That makes it seem worthwhile to clean up and publish those notes and words, so others might learn, play, and enjoy the songs. It’s also a fitting time, as we finish work on the Nebraska Verses and plan a glance back at the roots of Mr. Furious Records in 2001-04. Here are links to tabs (chords in the case of “So In Love…”):

New Title (berlin), from signs.comets (2004)

Major & Minor, from signs.comets (2004)

Thanks For Visiting Me On The Radio, from signs.comets (2004)

I’m So In Love (and Never Thought That It Would Be You), from near and far (2002)

For the uninitiated, guitar “tab” is a type of musical notation that is easily written in HTML format and shared across the internet. Six horizontal lines represent the six guitar strings; numbers on those lines represent the frets on which notes are played, moving from left to right in time (like sheet music). Chords appear as vertical stacks of numbers; lead lines, solos, and arpeggios are spaced out across the lines.

It was by sitting at the computer with a stack of CDs, listening to my favorite songs and reading guitar tabs, that I learned how to play guitar. Besides taking the requests for tabs as a high compliment, it feels like good karma to author some tabs for others. Thanks Cory, Scott, and Kelsey for asking for these. I’m happy to have done them.

So, last Saturday, Tucci and I were one. Well, we’ve always been ONE,
but what I mean to say is, we played together at Meadowlark Coffeehouse
in Lincoln, NE.

Originally, it was supposed to be Beach Puppy, but my feeling is that
once you add a member to a solo group and the band member writes their
own parts, it becomes a band, right? Anyway, it was cool, and we
played as “Church Directory Photo Starring: Benjamin Axeface.”

Impressions: We played well. We were buzzed enough to be relaxed, but
not sloppy-buzzed. We were on point, precise, and we played our songs
pretty well. There were about 20-30 people there, and some of of them
were myspace friends that I’d never met before, which I thought was
awesome.

There was a dude who was observing us, and once in a while, he’d write
down some stuff on a pad of paper.

One dude in the corner had his headphones on the whole time.

They kept making smoothies in The Loudest Blender Ever, which was kind
of crappy.

Blane played with us, and he sounded terrific.

My mom had a latte and two coffees, and I think she was visibly
vibrating at the end there…..

We didn’t get paid, but it was really fun to play. Annie will play
with us next time.

Cory Alan

The Twin Cities music scene is infinitely worth sharing with you (for the second time!), and what better way than through a mixtape?

This second edition of MIX-MSP is full of the amazing beats, pop, and quirky music that bubbles around a community known more for the Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, and Semisonic. Atmosphere is the Twin Cities’ hottest international export in hip-hop, Vicious Vicious makes irresistable blue-eyed funk, and I’ve got a favorite iTunes playlist of my own that juxtaposes Jeff Hanson with Elliot Smith. Dosh breaks the idea of solo-instrumental music in a thousand pieces, and bands like Thunder In The Valley and Coach Said Not To push the boundaries of pop. But Astronaut Wife, Romantica, and Mark Mallman ground the mix with catchy, memorable tunes.

Like the music on Mr. Furious Records, right-click + “save target as” to download the songs. Also, download last week’s edition of MIX-MSP below; Punk, Rock, and How!

MIX-MSP: BEATS, POP, AND WHY
Links verified 1/September/05

1. “Trying To Find A Balance” / Atmosphere, from Seven’s Travels. rhymesayers.com.

2. “Shake That Ass On The Dance Floor” / Vicious Vicious, from Blood & Clover. viciousvicious.com.

3. “Drop Me a Line” / The Owls, from Our Hopes and Dreams EP. www.theowls.net.

4. “Call It Clear” / Halloween, Alaska, from Halloween, Alaska. www.halloweenalaska.com.

5. “A Tiger Dancing” / Heiruspecs, from A Tiger Dancing. www.heiruspecs.com.

6. “Naoise” / Dosh, from Pure Trash. www.anticon.com.

7. “Superpowers” / Astronaut Wife, from Now That 1999 Is Gone. www.susstones.com.

8. “Manifesto” / Valet, from Life On The Installment Plan. www.valetmusic.com.

9. “Words That I Employ” / Coach Said Not To, from Coach Said Not To EP. www.coachsaidnotto.com.

10. “Altar” / Thunder in the Valley, from Thunder in the Valley EP. walkingdead.net/~titv/.

11. “Just Like Me” / Jeff Hanson, from Son. www.jeffhanson.net.

12. “On My Mind” / Romantica, from It’s Your Weakness That I Want. www.romanticamusic.com.

13. “Hardcore Romantics” / Mark Mallman, from Mr. Serious. mallman.com.

The local music scene in the Twin Cities is infinitely worth sharing with you; MFR listeners and [blog] readers. What better way than with a mixtape?

Enter MIX-MSP, a digital playlist/”mixtape” of links to free, legal mp3s from bands in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Carefully selected, impeccably sequenced, this compilation of Minnesota music might become your new favorite summer soundtrack. The first edition, Punk, Rock, and How covers the rockist angle with plenty of electric guitars, from The Tin Horns’ funky stomp & swagger to Soviettes’ grrl-punk to Kid Dakota’s sparse balladry. Olympic Hopefuls and The Plastic Constellations are essential listening for everybody… don’t miss a track! Download the whole mix!

Just like the music on Mr. Furious Records, right-click + “save target as” to download the songs. Next Tuesday, next edition of MIX-MSP; Beats, Pop, and Why!

(“MSP” refers to the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul)

MIX-MSP: PUNK, ROCK, AND HOW
Links verified 1/September/05

1. “Ballad of Nonsenso” / The Tin Horns, from The Champions of Victory. myspace.com/tinhorns.

2. “Blue Stars” / The Soviettes, from LP. www.thesoviettes.net.

3. “Davico” / The Plastic Constellations, from Mazatlan. theplasticconstellations.com.

4. “Holiday” / Olympic Hopefuls, from The Fuses Refuse To Burn. www.olympichopefulsmusic.com.

5. “Motobike” / Olympic Hopefuls, from The Fuses Refuse To Burn. www.olympichopefulsmusic.com.

6. “Road Kill” / The Bleeding Hickeys, from Lovers and Haters, Unite! www.bleedinghickeys.com.

7. “New Infection” / The Melismatics, from New Infection. www.melismatics.com.

8. “Surprise, Surprise” / Landing Gear, from Break-Up Songs For Relationships That Never Happened. www.landinggearmusic.com.

9. “Aries” / Die Electric!, from Push Pull. www.dieelectric.com.

10. “Where We Shine” / The Cardinal Sin, from Oil and Water. thecardinalsin.com.

11. “Winterkill” / Kid Dakota, from The West Is The Future. www.kiddakota.com.

12. “Twister Party Fails To Get Dirty” / Chariots, from Congratulations. www.chariots-music.com.

13. “Bed of Stars” / Dallas Orbiter, from Magnesium Fireflies. www.dallasorbiter.com.

I drove up to Minneapolis this weekend to visit my Uncle, Emerson Biggins, and to visit/record some hip-hop freestyle battles with Mr. Furious.  This is what I listened to:

On the way there:

The Return; Danger, Danger Silent Stranger
Kula Shaker; I forget, but the record with “Mystical Machine Gun” on it
Simon and Garfunkel: Greatest Hits
The Streets; A Grand Don’t Come For Free
Dumb and Dumber Soundtrack
Kara’s Flowers; Stagg Street Recordings

On the way back:

Spoon; Girls Can Tell
Elliott Smith; XO
Built to Spill; Perfect From Now On
Footloose Soundtrack
Kanye West; The College Dropout

That’s all I can remember.  The two soundtracks were a weird fit, but the Dumb and Dumber one is genuinely good, I think, with some tracks by Echobelly, Pete Drodge, Crash Test Dummies (I like them; get over it) and the Butthole Surfers.  Footloose was put on because Lara sings “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” like it was her job.  My favorite record to listen to was either Spoon (because it’s new) or Kara’s Flowers (because I hadn’t heard it in a long time). 

Favorite quote:  “No one wants to hear what you dreamt about unless you dreamt about them” – Made Up Dreams, Built to Spill.