I talk about Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction too much. By too much, I mean every couple of years. I really should read some other stuff that he’s written, so I don’t get too pseudo-intellectually scholarship-boyish. Like I’m about to. I collect stuff, not a lot, but stuff nonetheless. It used to be baseball […]
On 13 May 2010, I went to the Front Room Gallery for John G’s Caveman Diaries 7 ‘zine release; Megachurch’s album release & show with Clan of the Cave Bear and Swindlella. Great crowd, great exhibition by John G, and great music. Unfortunately I forgot my earplugs. Fortunately, I got my mitts on CMD7, the Megachurch album (which […]
Big Purple Records Smog Veil Records Snax Records Sun God This Moment in Black History Cool shit happens when you work together.
Mastodon blew my fucking mind for two hours last night. For the majority of the show I was in the pit. At one point I was pushed over a dude right as he fell down and received an elbow to the face that popped a lens out of my glasses. I found it after the show, but it was scratched […]
I finally made it to Blue Arrow Records on Saturday, and picked up two Bowie albums that I’ve been haphazardly hunting for: David Live at the Tower in Philadelphia and Aladdin Sane. While I was in the store I determined that Pete Gulyas doesn’t see his job so much as shopkeeper but as a curator. This isn’t the […]
Junior Boys kicked off their American tour the other night at The Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. This is the second time I’ve seen them and they put on a great show. That night was officially the first time that anyone in the States had a chance to buy their new album Begone Dull Care, since it […]
On Saturday I was at the Beachland to see Gunslingers: and Terminal Lovers: Lou was there as well. So was John G at NinePanelGrid, who just finished a month-long poster-a-day marathon. I’ve collected a lot of John G’s work from shows I’ve attended over the years. Here’s his poster for the Gunslingers show [click on it for high-rez, it […]
I used MPEG Streamclip to snag the audio from the bands I’ve recorded over the last two years. The hard part was putting all of the metadata on the resulting MP3s [Many of the songs have ‘Unknown’ as the title. If you know what the title is, please let me know]. I’ve zipped them up […]
I was listening to David Bowie’s cover from the 1973 album Pin-Ups of The Who’s 1965 song I Can’t Explain when the main riff caught me in such a way that it reminded me of another song. After much thought I came up with Fatboy Slim’s hit Going Out of My Head. Wikipedia confirms. I’m not ready for […]
On Wednesday I went to The Grog Shop to see Toadies, one of my all-time favorite bands. They played all of their old hits and most of their new album, which, after a few listenings, is quite good. The Grog was full of folks that looked like they hadn’t been to a concert since Cobain was alive, but […]
Last Thursday I went to the Grog Shop to catch Cadence Weapon while everyone else was at the Beachland seeing Explosions in the Sky. I managed to chat with Rollie for a bit before the sets started. He said that their tour had been intersecting with EitS a few times already. He was also sick as a dog, but put […]
I’ve been burning up Immortal Technique lately; digging through a bunch of covers by of Montréal, Downloading the thousands of songs in the SXSW music torrents, the online-only release Over the Counter Culture by Tim Fite [who was in my 2006 Best of CD] and this electronica release by Fake Corporation of America: You Are Not […]
If you click on the cover you can download the mix.
Jon Hicks has a show of his concert posters at B-Sides under the Grog Shop. Last night was the opening and a free show by mostly local bands upstairs. Mystery of Two, Paleo, Brian Straw, Chum and Blk Tygr all put on great shows. I really need to get a better low-light camera if I’m going to be taking […]
This past Friday was an event that I’d been looking forward to for several months. Tower Control Records’ CD Release Party for The X Bolex and Jerk. 12 bands, $5 cover and free food pre-show. It was super-well organized, no chance to miss a band’s performance and just enough time in between them to snag a smoke if […]
I went to Pat’s in the Flats last night to see a couple of bands. I know The Very Knees and like them muchly, and wasn’t familiar with Heartwarmer. Heartwarmer are from Kentucky and had some danceable poppy tunes, a bit reminiscent of Of Montréal sans the glam and nods to the orchestration of Arcade Fire. My only […]
I was at the Pitchfork Music Festival this past weekend. I took the Megabus to Chicago on Friday after work, even though I still didn’t have my tickets. I’d called up Ticketweb and had them hold the tickets at will call instead. Once I got there it seemed to be the case for just about everyone. No one had […]
I took a break from pulling staples and inhaling what might be lead paint dust to go to the Beachland for a show. Just about everyone I know in the Cleveland music scene was there, which is always a good sign. I’d even found my old “THE BOSSES YOU LOSE” shirt on my last visit home, so I could bust […]
During unending hours in the back of a conversion van and brief respites on land in Canada I read Chuck Klosterman’s Fargo Rock City. This book was recommended to me by Nate Scheible during a discussion outside of Parish Hall while waiting for a noise show to start and over a few Commodore Perry IPAs. He found out that I was […]
I first heard Division of Planes on MetaFilter Music. I told them to come to Cleveland because I thought they’d go down well. One of the band members contacted me for more info. Well, they’re coming to Cleveland, and they got the gig on their own gumption. If you check out their website they’re described as post-punk […]
A part of this viewing list: Criterion Collection Spine #100: Beastie Boys Video Anthology. I have a distinct memory of dancing Intergalactic stop-motion style at some dance or other with my high school buddies senior year. I was never a huge Beastie Boys fan, though I certainly got down to their music. For a person my age, it is pretty […]
Blk Tygr was playing again at the Beachland last night, so I went and heard one of their new songs. It was an odd bill for them, since all the other acts were rockabilly associates. I particularly enjoyed Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival. Their act is just as cognitively dissonant as their band name. For instance, one of […]
Been Listening to: Eccentric Soul: Twinight’s Lunar Rotation Pacha Massive — All Good Things Ted Leo and the Pharmacists — Living with the Living Lifesavas — Gutterfly Coco Rosie — The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn The Very Knees Chum PJ Harvey Charlie Parker Getachew Mekuria + The Ex + Guests
I was at Edison’s last night for some great music. First off was Blisse Anonyon Atu from a redirected show at Visible Voice Books. It was just her, an iPod with her tracks on it, and an effects machine. The result was an ethereal bit of indie-electronica, dancy and languid at the same time. The only […]
I went to a sparsely attended but good show at Pat’s in the Flats last night. Three NYC bands played for an audience of about 7 folks, while everything wrapped up in about three hours, it was a good time. The first group was The Two Man Gentlemen Band; a banjo, a bass, a rhythm boot and two kazoos with the […]
Last night was the first real night of summer for me. Filled with music, familiar faces and late-burning eyeballs. Asterisk Gallery had a fairly impromptu show featuring Chiara Giovando and Daniel Higgs [lead singer of Lungfish]. Ha Ha La was the first act, a sort of Daniel Johnston with a dash of Sigur Ros and [when-used] Jesus and […]
I went to the Beachland tonight to see Blk Tygr and ended up with a cartload of local music. I either know enough people, or the right people enough to end up with stuff just getting handed to me. Of course, I also stopped by Music Saves and picked up three CDs I’ve been meaning to get. All […]
I just downloaded this awesome iTunes plugin called iConcertCal. It uses the iTunes index and then searches for artists in your playlist and makes a calendar showing when and where they’ll be in your area. It isn’t foolproof, since I imagine smaller groups aren’t going to be easily found, but it is certainly better than checking every […]
I saw Ratatat for the second time last weekend. The first time was almost two years ago when they were touring with Clinic. Stroud didn’t appear to be pounding whisky as hard as he was last time, but I wasn’t paying much attention, since the Beachland was inundated with middle and high school kids in an […]
My favorite song off the new Air album is Napalm Love. Wincing the Night Away didn’t do much for me, I think I’m outgrowing Shinsish music. On the other hand, Ratatat’s Classics is finally starting to grow on me. Ratatat Remixes would be better if the rap wasn’t quite so gangsta. I’m liking Cat Scientist, although no […]
What is interesting about this post is that I tried to post it via YouTube’s WordPress API. After hitting submit, I was given a notice that there would be a delay before posting. I figured they meant a few minutes. Apparently they meant two days. I won’t be using THAT functionality again. Soft Spots I saw Soft Spots, formerly Friend, formerly Little Songs at […]
I saw Soft Spots, formerly Friend, formerly Little Songs at the Beachland last night. They’ve quickly become one of my favorite Cleveland bands, if not the favorite. They started less than a year ago, and their music, already good to begin with, has only tightened and matured with age. They blindfolded the willing last night and […]
This was another ridiculous weekend of music, art and poetry in Cleveland. Last night I went to C-Space and listened to a few local women poets followed by the double-barreled feature shotgun that is Alixa + Naima [MySpace page]. The poem Being Human [read it here], made me tear up. I snagged their CD and a sweet DIY silkscreen […]
I’m not in a content-providing mood this week. Instead, for a change, I’m linking to others’ content. Today I’ll post some links to mp3s you may or may not like. Eric Satie: 1. Four Gnossiennes 1-Lent 3:34 [mp3] — Satie was a French composer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If you like this you can […]
When I first moved to Tremont almost two years ago I only knew two people in the neighborhood. They’ve since moved to New York City, greener pastures, and better opportunities. As I’m not very good at making friends, I decided that a good way of meeting people in the neighborhood would be to start a weblog and forum that would […]
A part of this viewing list: Criterion Collection Spine #12: Rob Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap. This will be short since I don’t know if I’m capable of speaking critically about a film that is so near and dear to my heart. In a sense, its execution was prescient, though rockumentaries like The Song Remains The Same and […]
I had a full and excellent weekend, full of superlatives. I had sushi at Pacific East because Kimo’s was closed for the Indian’s game, watched A Murder of Crows by Mac Wellman at The Liminis and had a Pisco Sour and Bourbon Daisy at the VTR. A Murder of Crows [I’m probably going to go see it again to make […]
My high school buddy Phil came in this weekend for a visit. We did a tiny music odyssey, went to a show at The Church, the Rock Hall, and the Happy Dog. Even though this wasn’t the best weekend to see a band [nobody particularly big was playing] we still rocked out to noise on Friday and bluegrass on […]
Last night at The Church I saw three bands. Slackjaw [soon to be Early Girl] was a folky-moving-toward-rock band from Cleveland that put together a decent sound but I seem to have caught them in the awkward part of the transition. The vocals are still folky and get overwhelmed by the music. Amy Kasio was a two-piece electronic outfit with poppy lyrics […]
Saturday was an extremely full day for me. I rode my bike down to the Hanna building and then took a 6 hour neighborhood tour of Cleveland. Once that was over I went to a free all-day local band rock show at The Compound and then went to Parish Hall to see the legendary The Red Krayola. The bus tour […]
I went to the Grog Shop last night to see my friend’s band Humphry Clinker and Tim Fite and Tarantula A.D. and drink a few Newcastle’s. HC put on a good show, but the surprise of the evening for me was Tim Fite. He’s got a passionate Southern feel to his music, a bit of twangy Appalachian and a great sense […]
I watched just over half of the Super-boring Bowl [complete with lame-ass commercials] and then headed over to the Beachland Tavern to hear a few bands. I saw two locals, The Driven High and my friends Humphry Clinker and a band from Boston called The Beatings. All three bands had chick leads, which was nice. I also had an Irish […]
My bros Bo and Phil [who are bros] just started an mp3 weblog. Go check out Lead Singer Disorder, bro.
In which Adam reviews a Boom Bip and Interpol concert at the Agora Ballroom.
In which Adam visits Pittsburgh for the first time, has an excellent chai latte, and attends a sparsely attended rock and roll music show.
We all have music that reminds us of certain times in our lives. So here are my top five albums from High School, and the top five from Notre Dame. Also, what I associate them with.
Emily Strand played at the Barking Spider last night. It was a good show despite the fact that I was almost asphyxiated by cigarette smoke. I bought her CD for a couple of fivers, found out she works for the University of Dayton and surprised her [I think] by requesting Voodoo Doll [mp3]. She played a bunch of songs, including […]
Press Release: West Lafayette, Indiana. David Ledman, recently of the Prozak Kittens, releases Burn Through Me [2.7Mb mp3], and the world was never the same.
If you’ve noticed the appearance of a couple of mp3 links up top, it is because my new host provides me with 3Gb of transfers per month. I don’t come anywhere near to using this much, so I figured I might as well share some of my bandwidth. “Guzzle Greed” is a live track recorded at the Barking Spider and […]
Wednesday evening was the annual company ‘event.’ Since no one really knows if it is a Christmas dinner or a fall party or what, it is just known as the ‘event.’ It was at the Crawford Auto Museum, so I pretty much only went to see the antique cars. I saw an electric car from 1906 and a magnetic car […]
I played live for the first time as a member of Subliminal Self last night. Got free Guinness out of it too.
I read music pretty well, but sometimes I think my guitar instructor thinks I’m an idiot, because I read music strangely.
Here are some random music thoughts.
I woke up today to this on my weather page: But I’m not going to let that get me down. This weekend is the Cleveland Music Festival, and while GWAR is no longer headlining, I’ll still get the chance to see The Misfits and avoid Mushroomhead. Tonight I’m going to see one of my ex-coworkers […]
I saw Ratatat and Clinic at the Grog Shop last evening. Ratatat was surprisingly good. Just two guys and their guitars, some groovy bells and whistles [and a cool projected psychedelic accompaniment] and lots of jamming. They didn’t have any lyrics but since each song seemed like a blend of experiment, improvisation and virtuosity, words probably wouldn’t […]
I was rummaging through my old sheet music last night in search of something simple enough for me to play on my guitar. While doing this I came to the conclusion that eight years ago I was a damn good saxophonist. Up until high school marching band killed my love of musical performance [a love that had already […]
So, because I have developed a few connections through my work and have started writing music reviews for Urban Dialect, I have now had guestlist access to two shows that I would otherwise had to pay for. Last night I waltzed in to the Grog Shop to see Waiting For Evangeline, Murder By Death! and Rasputina. The evening cost me […]
Look, you all know that I am a frigging doofus. The fact that you know this is probably part of the reason you read this [if, in fact, you read this]. Thus, it might not surprise you that, in my typical overenthusiastic way, I could purchase concert tickets that are not even worth using as toilet paper [too […]
This album is absolutely amazing. I might have said that about some other albums sometime in the past but I was lying or under the influence of some sort of mind altering substance. In fact I’m under the influence of a mind altering substance right now. That substance is, of course, this wonderfully vibrant and unassuming band called […]
Tonight I’m going to see Subliminal Self at the Hi-Fi club. Five Dollar Beer is part of this musical creation so I expect most of the songs to be about world foods. I was teamed up upon yesterday by those who I thought were my friends. They tried to convince me that tonight’s show was also a costume party. […]
Franz Ferdinand’s [FF] self-titled album is released tomorrow and is very anticipated. I’ve been listening to it for about six weeks now due to certain connections I have. From what I’ve read they seem to get lumped in with The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and other neo-garage rockers. I think this is pretty spot-on but they thankfully […]
My musical tastes change with the weather and seasons. I might have taken this down before but I’m doing it again. Just mark it up as a testament to the fallibility of human memory. …anyway The weather has warmed up a bit here in Cleveland and that means I am going back into the dustbin of my CD collection […]
I just got back from a sweet night of the blues featuring Robert Lockwood Junior. Lockwood is allegedly the only person to have actually learned guitar from the king of delta blues, Robert Johnson. The blues ensemble that played with him was quite good, but it was obvious their style of blues wasn’t the same as […]
Making a Compilation CD [c-CD] is quite an affair. The process is described in detail in several places, some shallower than others. I never make c-CDs for myself. The discs I burn that are composites of artists, aren’t compilations. I just put them on a CD so I can listen to them elsewhere. A c-CD must be made for someone else, […]
I won some Cash for Christmas and today I received it. I got the CD– American IV: The Man Comes Around and the DVD– Johnny Cash: A Concert Behind Prison Walls. I also received a couple of stickers. I had heard the album with Phil right when it came out and was impressed, so it was great to win it […]
I’m typically not very excited when I am given a hypothetical question along the lines of ‘If you were on a desert island what five things would you want with you?’ My answer is always something along the lines of ‘A Coast Guard ‘copter, fuel for it, a book on how to fly a ‘copter, enough food and water […]
So I just found out today that The Shins played in Cleveland 3 days ago. I could have seen them for $15. Motherfucker.
Powerman 5000’s latest LP, Transform, marks a transition for the band from gothic space-rock to a niche between n?-metal and standard hardcore. Its not as good as it used to be, but at least it ain’t Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit. If it is anything, Transform is one of the strangest calls to arms I’ve ever come […]
Deloused in the Comatorium [DITC], the new semantic experience from The Mars Volta. Read my pompous review, but first go buy the album. When At the Drive In split a while back, my friend Kyle was pretty miffed, they were one of his favorite bands. From the splinters of this band emerged two new musical directions: Sparta […]
Hell, I’m always on the lookout for some good new music. Unfortunately my search often results in less than good new music. There are far too many bands out there with delusions of grandeur, weird gimmicks, and stranger sounds, all of which don’t particularly agree with my constitution. Thankfully, The Decemberists album Castaways and Cut-outs […]
I’ve been burning up Interpol in my CD player lately. Theirs is a musical experience that I have never had the pleasure of listening to before. Turn On The Bright Lights is a very taut album. It goes through a series of anxious peaks and introspective valleys but remains rife with a feeling akin to what post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) […]
I saw Queens of the Stone Age and ZWAN last night in Normal, IL. It was a pretty good show, with two very different but capable bands. QOTSA rocked out hard, ZWAN was more of a musical odyssey than anything else. Billy didn’t talk to much, but it was obvious he enjoyed the crowd. Paz Lenchantin, the […]
i realized as i went through my collection of mp3s and deleted 853mb of them that i have very few of what might be termed ‘love songs’ on my computer. most of the few that i had were subsequently deleted. what does this mean? does it reflect an inherent lack of love within myself, or perhaps an alienation […]
So plenty of people think that The Vines sound just like Nirvana. I can see what they mean. Plenty of people also agree that Creed sounds just like Pearl Jam. I agree with them. Why do I like The Vines and abhor Creed? Perhaps its because every Creed song sounds the same, or perhaps the fact that Creed […]
Student Film Festival was last night. ’twas excellent. leaving in a few hours to fence at OSU and kick some buckeye ass. The Friday mp3 I’m not too big on rap, yet I like Jurassic 5. They rap with an old school flavor that in a way that is refreshing from crap stuff like Nelly or Nellie or eminem or […]
I’m not a big one for japanese pop music, or even japanese-american pop music, or even pop music. but i’ll make an exception for this song by Shonen Knife. It is called Jakalope. I find no end of interest in the fact that a some middle-aged japanese women were so fascinated with an animal that lives in the […]
it is rather difficult to get into the christmas spirit with finals/papers/projects looming over me. every year i attempt it and every year i cannot seem to get excited for the holidays until around the 20th, when school ends and i get to go home. i guess for me holidays don’t exist without family. The Friday mp3 this week is […]
This Friday’s song comes from a band that kicks no end of ass: Jimmie’s Chicken Shack. They are funny, creative, sometime political and always good to listen to. They hail from the southeast coast of the US. Heavily influenced by reggae and the dead it is inevitable that they smoke up alot, but hell people have […]
today’s choice was a no brainer. the band coincidentally has the same name as my site, Organic Mechanic. you can sample 4 of their mp3s on their site. but if you just want to grab something now I recommend Life is Everywhere. jazzy, poppy and catchy describe it pretty well. its obvious these guys know a bit about musical […]
Balls! tis been awhile. Here is the last week. wednesday: went up to Purdue then drove with Phil to Chicago where we stayed with his brother Bo and his fiancé? Kerri. played monopoly. lost horribly. i HATE that. thursday: area2 concert featuring Ash, Blueman Group, Busta Rhymes, David Bowie, and Moby. all around good concert. but David […]
I’m starting to get hyped up, in a week i get to go see David Bowie and Moby on the Area2 tour, and Juliana Hatfield. Plus I’m going to get to chill with some friends a I haven’t seen in awhile in Chicago. I’ve also been listening to some new music. my buddy Matt recommended Dovetail Joint, they […]
Weezer, budd-y! Last night was a good concert night and could only have been improved if the Strokes hadn’t had to cancel. Of course, there was the inevitable roadtrip associated with attending a concert in the midwest but O My how fun it was. I got some free concert tix to a 12 local band show in September and a drumstick. […]
wish I could write like this: Enough searching to know that we’ve lost ourselves in our slot machines, shotguns, and stripmalls baby your technology so slick and functional and me without my nuclear arsenal And if I could kill without guilt or sin there’d soon be a few less record executives and if I could kill and recieve forgiveness there’d […]
5.20.02 INT. SIEGFRIED HALL RM 450 9:44pm NIGHT i’ve got a lot to talk about. home was good, i stayed just long enough but didn’t see a whole lot of mom which i know she doesn’t like. bo and kerris place in chicago was pretty nice as well, the q101 jamboree wasn’t very fun. the bands i saw were ZWAN, Tenacious […]
i don’t want to write anything today. so here are some song lyrics. what do they make you think about or feel like or what do you think they mean? actually just say anything about them that you want, i’m interested. Soft now– the lips that dragged me down Soft now– until I hit the ground […]
mom is showing up today for Junior Parents’ Weekend. I hope this is a great experience. We have pornstar seating at table 1 and table 6 for the meals. i’m not getting any work done this weekend, i can already tell you. concerts i have been to: The Beach Boys: I think I was 8. All I remember was that there was a huge column […]