Be Resolute: 2013

1. You've tried deleting Facebook; it's unnecessary and doesn't stick. So scale back Facebook presence to near-obscurity.
2. Exercise. Everyday. Somehow, some way.
3. Stop pirating comics and music. Only taking from major labels of artists you have philosophical issues with is no excuse. If you're not willing to pay for it you don't need to read or listen to it.
4. Subscribe to Spotify (see #3.)
5. Limit comics pull-list to 5 titles.
6. Comic books are great but read more book books.
7. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper. Cool it on supper; you don't get home until 7 anyway so enjoy a light soup or salad.
8. Don't argue or instigate Republicans regarding politics or religion no matter how right you may be.
9. No fast food for the entire year. Fast food being as Anthony Bourdain refers to the likes of McDs and BK: soggy discs of ground up elbows and assholes. It's not even real food.
10. Get up and out of Hobbiton and back to the W-B, even temporarily so as to...
11. Get to school on time: this Fall. Web Development AS, here I come!

New List'nin': Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city

BMSR April Fools

The following status was posted by Black Moth Super Rainbow main man Tobacco's Facebook early yesterday afternoon:

My opposite of an April fools joke - song from the new album, forever in the making, tomorrow afternoon: http://soundcloud.com/black-moth-super-rainbow. #freebmsr

After some fans speculated the release of BMSR's much belabored album Psychic Love Damage, a video for "Like A Sundae (edit)" was posted to Tobacco's website late last night. Whether this is the #freebmsr in question or not, the one minute thirty-seven second track is a welcome return from the Pittsburgh band.

The keys in BMSR songs always reminded me of the music during the scenic country drive in the neo-zombie flick 28 Days Later. That recollection is stronger than ever here, especially with the nuclear playground scene of the accompanying video. Take a peak below and follow Tobaxxo.com throughout day for more treats, April Fools or no.

VIDEO: Regina Spektor - "All the Rowboats"

Regina Ilyinichna Spektor's music has been labelled "eccentric" by music journalists too lazy to formulate a genuine opinion on a diverse (albeit scatterbrained) body of work ranging in style from classical piano ("Apres Moi") to cutesy pop ("On the Radio") to the utterly macabre ("Chemo Limo"), sometimes within the very same song ("Back of A Truck.") Criticism aside, Spektor has risen from posting free albums to the internet (2002's Songs) to certifiable Gold (2006's Begin to Hope) in just under five years. That's no small feat for anyone, let alone an eccentric Russian-born classical pianist.

But when 2009's Far felt heavy by the hand of over-production, many fans were left want for the intimacy of her earlier recordings: little more than Regina, piano, and her patented human beatbox metronome. Ironically, its under the hand of superstar producer Mike Elizondo (Eminem, Fiona Apple, Dr. Dre) that new single "All the Rowboats" channels the live studio energy of her earlier work paired with the broken electronics of previous tracks "Edit" and "Machine."

 

The Adria Petty directed video (she also directed the excellent "Countdown" for Beyonce) features the sort of Michel Gondry cartoon reality props that are reminiscent of his video for Bjork's "Human Behavior" as Regina fights her way through claymation waves, undersea nets, and a ginormous maritime rope vice before finally rowing to freedom on fluorescent oars. A perfectly nightmarish video for an ominous track that bodes very well for her upcoming album.

"All the Rowboats" is the first single off What We Saw from the Cheap Seats out May 29th.  Watch the video below:

MUSIC NEWS & INTERLUDES: BADBADNOTGOOD

Cannuck hip-hop/jazz-strumentalists BADBADNOTGOOD are poised to release their second studio full-length on April 3rd. The no-frills titled BBNG2 continues the eponymous naming of 2011's mostly covers mixtape BBNG and two following live sets. BADBADNOTGOOD's sound is firmly rooted in jazz and live instrumentation emulation of Dilla beats with the end result sounding like a looser, free-form version of The Roots, sans vocals.

But that's about as close to FM radio or anything BNM'd by Pitchfork as they're likely to get. As far as comparisons go, they're more akin to the nerdy kids jamming in your University's jazz club, although they do share much in common with the "future rock" of Providence, Rhode Island's now defunct Grüvis Malt.

According to their Bandcamp page, the trio met while enrolled at Humber College in Toronto, Canada, over a mutual admiration of hip-hop artists OFWGKTA, Gucci Mane, and Wacka Flocka Flame. They tend to lean toward the neo-jazz production of Flying Lotus and covers of Legend of Zelda's Ocarina of Time, though; although they did some sessions recordings with Odd Future's Tyler, the Creator.

Seriously, only these guys could make that dude tolerable.

 

No word on cost or method of release, but if their previous live and studio releases are any indication, BBNG2 will be available as a free download on their website. Until then, check out the promo video above which parodies recent Apple ads. Watch for the witch house spoofing album art at the end and make sure to snatch up all the free musics on their site and stay based.

OMGWTFBBNGKTALOL: Four Tet, Rounds | BADBADNOTGOOD, BBNG

MUSIC NEWS & INTERLUDES: March 7, 2012

Indie rapper DOOM (a.k.a. MF DOOM) is the focus of the Spring 2012 issue of quarterly urban magazine Frank Book. Distributed free to select metropolitan areas by Frank 151, the pocket-sized publication is "helmed by a special Guest Curator and focuses on a unique editorial theme," as described by the media group itself. According to Stones Throw, the DOOM issue will feature "ILLUSTRATED DOOM LYRICS, ARTICLES FROM COLLABORATORS, [and] PHOTOS" from the likes of Jeremy Povolny, Mr. Kiji, and more. Keep a lock on Stones Throw for copies and locations.

Follow the jump for news on Tobacco, Flying Lotus, and more.

Melvins Free EP, Album; Tour Van For Sale

Little more than ten years ago, intrigued by name recognition and reverse packaging, I found my first taste of the Melvins. I wasn't sure what to expect behind the greyscale bar code television collage and DayGlo orange packaging of Colossus of Destiny, but what I found was almost 60 minutes of bleeps, blorps, squeals, and samples. At the time, I found it completely unlistenable.

Luckily, though, I was still curious -- a few months later they released Hostile Ambient Takeover, which delivered high octane guitars and drums and limited the electro-experimentation to an a 16-minute track and an extended outro. I was hooked. Material over their 25-year plus career range in sound from proto-grunge garage rock, Sabbath sludge at a snail's pace, and avant garde noise experimentalism. It's no wonder they've influenced bands from Nirvana to Queens of the Stone Age to Mastodon and beyond.

The grunge godfathers continue their campaign of annual output this year with not one, but two releases under two lineups and one new moniker. Listen to the track "Friends Before Larry" (via Metal Sucks) below and follow the jump for more, including the two releases.

MUSIC VIDEO: Gorillaz (feat. James Murphy & André 3000) - DoYaThing

Happy Leap Day, folks! Before celebrating by bumping into Leap Day Williams on the street, take a gander at the just released video for Gorillaz collaboration "DoYaThing." The video features the combination of live action and 3D character rendering we last saw in director and Gorilla Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl)'s "Stylo" video. The video features the morning routine of the Gorillaz gang at their apartment on 212 Wobble Street, London.

Looking like the digs of some broke college kids rather than the self-touted "world’s most successful virtual band" (Comic Book Resources), the video follows 2-D in his morning routine. Along the way, he's interrupted by Murdoc comically holding up the staircase by chairlift and later beating 2-D with the very shoe that inspired all this nonsense. Meanwhile, OutKast André 3000's apparition also haunts the cupboards and refrigerator, looking like Pimp Racer X.

Check out the video above and follow the jump for video storyboards and more.

MUSIC NEWS & INTERLUDES: Feb. 26, 2012

I wanted to follow up on the rampant "DoYaThing" news (which we should all be well aware of by now) with a link to the possibly leaked 13-minute cut, but however righteous the news, I felt another post would be approaching overkill. So, I took a few moments to scour the interwebs for some overlooked and generally noteworthy music headlines to supplement.

First, here's that Gorillaz+James Murphy+André 3000 extended jam. I searched far and wide for a download to no avail. Same goes for embedded streaming content, so head on over to those news-greedy bastards at 107.7 The End to listen to Murphy's extended electro-rock jam and André's now infamously ad lib refrain, "I'm the shit," which we can only assume was pirated directly from Murdoc's hard drive.

In related news, André 3000 revealed to GQ magazine that there are no plans for a new OutKast album, despite a 2008 interview with Pitchfork where Big Boi indicated the two were recording new material. Bummer.

"DoYaThing" Out Now

The Gorillaz, James Murphy, André 3000 collabo we've been repping is finally out today, and let me say, it's well worth the wait. The four-and-a-half minute track packs all the elements you'd expect from each artist involved. Gorillaz is way up front with a reggae-funk beat and Albarn's mumbled vocals which Murphy accentuates with LCD-ish keys and falsetto vocals on the chorus. André pops in at the 1:49-minute mark with some The Love Below stylized crooning, singing "every time we try we get nowhere," before dropping some serious whirlwind rhymes.

Download the track and follow the bump for Murdoc's official announcement.

MUSIC VIDEO: Gonjasufi - The Blame

Check out the video for "The Blame" from almost colossus tested and approved genre-bending singer/songwriter Gonjasufi. The video is directed by photographer Neil Krug (who has previously worked with Ladytron) and features a contemplative and often angry Sufi (born Sumach Ecks) in various locations in what appears to be a sand-buried post-apocalyptic Los Angeles.

JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: Homeboy Sandman: Subject: Matter [EP]

JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER makes a preliminary judgment on a work of art based solely on the merits of its cover. A second review of the content will then challenge the idiom "never judge a book by its cover." Almost Colossus Mythbusters.

Homeboy Sandman, Subject: Matter [EP]; Stones Throw, 2012

Critiquing hip-hop on the merits of album art could be a challenge. So much of what defines hip-hop is in the lyrics, its content and flow. But the cover of Subject: Matter says a lot about the artist and content. Its the maximalist counterpoint to the minimalist matter-of-fact-ness of the Black Keys' Brothers by way of Mackie Osborne's backwards-forward packaging that's become synonymous with the Melvins' Ipecac catalogue.

There's a distinct vintage Nineties Hip-Hop vibe here, too -- before hip-hop got too flashy. Homeboy Sandman is decidedly under-dressed (are those sweatpants?), looking like he walked right out of a Naughty By Nature video, although the wordiness of the "liner notes" (the actual content of which I'm choosing to ignore for now) indicate Sandman wants more than other people's, er... property. He wants their minds, their attention. Homeboy is deep; he makes you think. He's not looking down on you and you're not looking up at him. You're looking into him.

Musically, the art suggests simple beats -- an 808, sparse samples -- while the Stones Throw label dictates with almost certainty obscure jazz and R&B breaks. Independent, underground; adverbs aside: non-mainstream, backpacker rap.

Tobacco - Streaker (feat. Notrabel)

Tobacco (birth name Thomas Fec, Black Moth Super Rainbow) continues to deliver the goods to his fans from his Facebook page. Last night, Fec posted a track from the upcoming as-yet-untitled Tobacco album via his Soundcloud page. "Streaker" features guest work from Notrabel (Brian LeBarton) and what sounds like Fec repeating "Ride / Ride / Ride, motherfucker / Ride" under heaps of vocal distortion.



One Soundcloud user commented on the track, "methlab junkyard fucken [sic] doomcore sockhop spankysuit yo." We're just going to stick with that description because there are no precise words to do this absurdist noise jam justice.

BMSR Album Scrapped for Tobacco Album, Air Remix

Last time we checked in on Thomas Fec, a.k.a. Tobacco, he and bandmates Black Moth Super Rainbow were poised to release an EP with psych-weirdos The Flaming Lips. BMSR were also in the process of recording the follow-up to 2009's Eating Us. Neither the collabo or Psychic Love Damage ever saw the light of day. When greeted with the question of what to expect from the new album in an interview with the website CMPRSSR posted January 16th, Fec responded, "I guess the first thing they shouldn't expect is an album," adding, "it got scrapped." He released a statement via Facebook regarding the abandoned album:

sorry guys, i don't have a pr person right now to write press releases for me so gotta do this on my own. in 2011 i made a bmsr record called Psychic Love Damage. it was supposed to come out this year, but it wasn't very exciting. and not good enough in my opinion for you to spend your $ on. so i junked it for its best moments and made an album that i'm really in love with. not sure how or when that'll come out, but in the meantime, enjoy these bits from the orphaned psychic album.

Fec's Facebook page has been a hotspot for Tobacco activity this year. Among the posts, he alleged that Yolandi of Die Antwoord turned down an opportunity to appear on the new album, "because it made her sweat all over." True or not, she would have made a good fit for an as-yet-titled album which seems to be a growing experience for Fec, who had this to say, "learning what a disgusting person i [sic] am through the making of this tobacco album. PSYCHED FOR MYSELF!"

Gorillaz + James Murphy + André 3000 = "DoYaThing"

Albarn, Murdoc, Hewlett

Free from an apparent gag order, Murdoc, the Satanic bassist of cartoon band Gorillaz, announced a new track from musician Damon Albarn (Blur) and illustrator Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl)'s alternative (in every sense of the word) cartoon pop band via his SoundCloud page. "DoYaThing" will be available as a free download Thursday, Feb. 23rd, through Converse. Yeah, the shoe company.

Now, get this -- "DoYaThing" features two "retired" modern music icons: James Murphy (in his second post-LCD Soundsystem appearance) and André 3000 of OutKast.

JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: A Place to Bury Strangers: Onwards to the Wall [EP]

JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER is a feature where selected media (music, film, book, etc.) is first reviewed based solely on the merits of its cover. A second review of the contents then proves or disproves the idiom "never judge a book by its cover." Almost Colossus Mythbusters.

A Place to Bury Strangers
Onwards to the Wall [EP]
Deep Oceans; 2012

A juxtaposition of modern and ancient buildings? Looks like a David Byrne TED lecture.

The left side of A Place to Bury Strangers' EP, Onwards to the Wall looks immediately like a close-up on last year's Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will by post-rock vets Mogwai. It could just as well be the cover of any trendy NYC indie band, so the sound could vary anywhere from droning guitars and electronics to whatever hipsters listen to today. So, like, Black Bananas? Yeah, whatever they sound like. But the right side's temple is deceiving. It's easy to think jam-band. But the psychedelic Instagram water-coloring hints at something less Rusted Root and more Akron/Family. It's also eerie; a pillar of impending doom -- Mayans, 2012, all that. Wait, that's it -- doom, stoner metal, drone. Whatever you want to call it, there is definitely some amplifier feedback and sludgy guitars to be found within.

WHO DID ST. VINCENT COVER NOW: Pearl Jam - Black

WHO DID ST. VINCENT COVER NOW? is a feature where we follow the many cover songs performed live by the lovely St. Vincent. She tends to do this quite often, but who's complaining?

During the Bowery Ballroom, NYC, stop of Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's Portlandia tour, Ms. Clark made an appearance for a rendition of Pearl Jam's 90's hit, "Black." The performance will air on February 3rd's episode of Portlandia on IFC.

Watch the video below, courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan. The song begins at 2:56 after some character interaction between the show's stars. Watch for Clark urging the audience "Don't make me fucking sing this all alone" during the somewhat uncomfortable performance.

Click here for previous installments and follow the jump for two recent performances we missed.

Mr. Bungle Reunion Slightly Less Bungled

Ipecac Records posted an article on their Facebook page yesterday from music news website Gun Shy Assassin reporting that front-man of innumerable bands Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, Mondo Cane, etc.) has contributed vocals to a Secret Chiefs 3 track on the Traditionalists: La Chanson de Jacky/Exile 7-inch vinyl single, out now.

Patton's contribution appears on Side A's cover of Scott Walker's cover of Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel's not-cover "La Chanson de Jacky."

Secret Chiefs 3 is the brainchild of Patton's former Mr. Bungle/Faith No More band mate Trey Spruance. The musicians have had a bitter relationship since Mr. Bungle dissolved, officially, in 2004. While we shouldn't expect a reunion tour anytime soon, this is the second time in as many years that Patton and Spruance have set aside their differences and performed together. In 2011, Spruance joined the reunited Faith No More onstage in Santiago, Chile, for a performance of the entire King For A Day... Fool For A Lifetime album, Spruance's contribution to the FNM catalogue.

Mr. Bungle was and is one of my favorite bands and helped shaped the way I perceive and my expectations of music to this day. Check out this live performance of Disco Volante's incredible "Desert Search for Techno Allah" and a fan-made video of my favorite Bungle track, "Retrovertigo," from their final album, California:

Tunage: Secret Chiefs 3, "La Chanson de Jacky (feat. Mike Patton)" | Mr. Bungle, California

11 Albums of 2011

Here it is, gang; I made it! Well, almost. It's nearly 1:00 a.m., February 1st -- so technically, its The Year of Colossus -- but who would I be if I weren't fashionably late?

I made some complaints about the state of music in 2011 (what self-avowed critic hasn't), but looking back, it really wasn't that bad. Still, it lacked many familiar names and The Onion AV Club declared it The Year of No Important Albums. Near the end of the year I found myself scavenging the critics lists and downloading everything I hadn't heard that received some fanfare but when finally piecing this together, it came down to my own personal favorites, anyway. Trust your gut.

I took the liberty of numbering the selections, but they've changed daily leading up to "print." So, really, in no particular order:

11 ALBUMS OF 2011

1. Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues

Helplessness Blues is the long-awaited follow-up to 2008's critics list-dominating Fleet Foxes. All the familiar elements are here: the elegiac Beach Boys harmonies ("Montezuma") and the pensive neo-folk guitar ballads ("The Shrine/An Argument"), but this time it's all about the title track. "Helplessness Blues" begins as expected -- folk strumming and crunchy philosophical ponderings ("What's my name, what's my station?"). Then, it suddenly elevates into a lush vibrato electric guitar and cascading harmonies until front-man Robin Pecknold finds solace at last in tending an orchard where he'd "work 'til I'm sore." It's all quite inspiring, actually. I think I'll go plant a garden.

2. St. Vincent, Strange Mercy

Strange Mercy continues Actor's formula of unapologetic personal lyrics thrust against Annie Clark's penchant for catchy, fuzzed-out Guitar Anti-hero pop songs. Clark plays the naïve ingénue card a little heavy this time around, from the source material of opener "Chloe in the Afternoon" to the admission "I've spent the summer on my back" ("Surgeon.") Clark's string of heroes covers (Tom Waits, Big Black) paved the way for an irresistible third outing.

3. Shabazz Palaces, Black Up

Palaceer Lazaro (née Ishmael "Butterly" Butler of Digable Planets) and  multi-instrumentalist Tendai Maraire lay down some spaced-out jazzy electro hip-hop ish, channeling Butler's own 90's rap past with cut-and-paste vocal harmonies, exotic instrumentation, and Def Jux beats. But despite its own noir, Black Up is easy, uplifting ("Recollections of the Wraith") and inspiring ("Swerve... The reeping of all that is worthwhile...")

Stop SOPA!

Almost Colossus is joining with over 7,000 websites today in "going on strike" to raise awareness of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA) currently awaiting decision in the U.S. House and Senate, respectively. SOPA/PIPA would allow the government and corporations to censor the internet at will without threat of due process, thus crippling freedom of speech and access to information in accordance with our 1st Amendment rights.

To understand the effect of these laws from the perspective of the independent artist (and since I could not have stated it any better), posted below is a petition to Pennsylvania Congressmen from Gavin Robb, friend of Almost Colossus and human avatar/front man of Philly Cyber Art Rock group S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D.

To learn more, visit AmericanCensorship.org and help stop Congress from passing this Orwellian bullshit!

Dear Representatives Toomey, Fatah, & Casey,

The internet has been instrumental to each and every modern artist, rewarding them fairly for their often undervalued sacrifice and the hard work required to make a living (no matter how meager) sharing their talents and passions. In the frighteningly common event that we are unable to sustain ourselves on our art alone, simply being able to share it with others is instrumental to our sense of compensation. S.968, the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) would cripple that ability, ultimately taking the simple, sincere joy of sharing art for arts sake away from those who cherish it. And for what?

The very industry that has forever shortchanged the artists who have sustained it is comprised of the corporations who support this bill, all in the name of their own infinite greed.

Their self serving interests in ending the golden age of the internet is not worth irrevocably hindering something that has meant so much to so many.

Gavin Robb

Listening to: David Bowie, Low | S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D.

That Shit Cray

Just a little something to keep the posting momentum going.

Stereogum reported that comedian Aziz Ansari (Parks & Recreation, Human Giant) and Matthew Shawver (I don't know) created an emoticon tribute to Jay-Z & Kanye West's Watch the Throne track "Niggas In Paris". This isn't the first time Aziz has paid tribute to "Paris". Leading up to a Conan O'Brien appearance last year, he tweeted that the two were to perform the track as a duo.

And because it's hilarious (and I'm still waiting for that mixtape to drop, guys!), check out this video of Aziz as rapper/comedian Raaaaaaaandy with Dave Sitek (TV On the Radio) and Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) in a recreation of the theft of Justin Bieber's hit "Baby" by the Pop-tart himself.

"Bieber straight popped a shit in the tank; killed the fish!"

Baby, baby, baby: Oneohtrix Point Never, Replica | The Big Pink, Future This