Lightning's Girl

Cause & Effect Lambchop Update

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Sun, 27 May 2012 12:17:00 +0000

If you missed this week' radio show on the band Lambchop, you can download it in full here. The set list for the show (all done by DJ Baconfat) can be found here.

Rock in the kitchen for a mere $10 ...

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:59:00 +0000

with this sweet mini Flying V cheese grater.

Candy Cannibalism in the name of Indie Rock

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:34:00 +0000

A good or a bad idea, you decide?

The Mock Suns made a video for one of their songs in which they consume cream colored candy hard shell masks of their own faces filled with a red gooey syrup that doubles for blood. The band then hid 100 CDs all over their city of Philadelphia with redemption codes on them. The first 25 people to turn them in were rewarded with one of these edible custom candy faces.

More pictures of this package can be found here.

This clever marketing concept neither made me like their music or inspire me to eat such a creepy confectionery item but I applaud the creativity behind the promotion of their record and it did inspire me enough to post about them here. While I wouldn't buy one of their records or eat one of the unappetizing candy masks, I think this band has a future in advertising.

May 24th, 2012 : Cause & Effect : Lambchop

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

As much as I would love to think I know a little something about all kinds of music, there are always genres and artists that manage to somehow miss my radar all together.

In my never ending attempt to bring all kinds of styles of music to Cause & Effect I am feeling fortunate to have a special guest this week to take over the Cause & Effect duties and focus on the band Lambchop, an artist I am sadly under-educated on.

I would like to offer up a huge thank you to DJ Baconfat who will be my guest this week. He does a spectacular weekly radio show on WTJU in Charlottesville, VA. Tune in to WRIR tonight to from 7PM to 9PM to hear all things Lambchop.

DJ Baconfat has offered up some ideas of what we can expect from his show. Tasty!

Loser's Lounge : Lee Hazlewood Edition 1999

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:54:00 +0000

I just stumbled across the program for the Lee Hazlewood tribute that took place Saturday, April 4th, 1999 at Fez in NYC and thought I would share the scans of it here. My favorite memory of this event is two fold. Lee sat in the back for some of it sipping Chivas and gave funny comments using that baritone voice I wouldn't call velvet-like but maybe more velour in quality? He sat like a king in the back of the small room while his dedicated minions did their best to pay tribute to him.

The other great moment was the surprise guest appearance of my old friend Mark Pickerel, solo artist but also the first drummer of the Screaming Trees, who joined Tiffany Anders and J.Mascis for "Sundown, Sundown". As I have mentioned here on the blog before, Mark is the whole reason I fell in love with Lee Hazelwood in the first place. In the late '80s Mark was my Sub Pop sales rep and was kind enough to send me two of Lee's records to check out. The moment I heard those songs, it was love at first sound. Little did I understand at the time that there was a cult of Lee followers and we would all have a chance to meet and celebrate the legendary artist (no less in his presense) a decade later - timed to go along with the reissues that Steve from Sonic Youth was doing for Lee on is label Smells Like.

Other memorable Lee Hazlewood moments was the meet and greet at Maxwell's in Hoboken, N.J. as well as a Q & A after some film shorts featuring Lee, also in NYC.

Outstanding Punk Rock Documentary

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:08:00 +0000

This documentary comes from PBS circa 1995. In one hour you will go from NYC to England to Jamaica and back again.

Tribute to MCA / Beastie Boys Cause & Effect Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:52:00 +0000

Missed last night's Cause & Effect? Download it in full here. The set list can be found on the WRIR website.

May 10th, 2012 : Cause & Effect : Revisiting the Beastie Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:12:00 +0000

I did a C & E on the Beastie Boys nearly two years ago but with the recent passing of Adam Yauch (MCA) I thought I would revisit that set tonight as my humble tribute to him.

Tune in tonight to WRIR from 7PM to 9PM to hear many of the original songs they sampled in the making of their first four classic albums.

I hate taking a look at the Beastie Boys remarkable discography again for such a sad reason but all of the music you will hear tonight is well worth a second (and a 3rd, 40th, and 5000th...) listen!

This Just In

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:06:00 +0000

From the creator of the Musicmavericks.org website!

2 things:

There is a really great book that is like a published scrap book of all of Harry Partch's writings and personal photos and letters -- really amazing and a work of art itself .

Also, there is a Harry Partch Symposium coming up -- a chance to hear and see the original instruments, plus meet some of the people that performed in Partch's ensembles (might be your last chance as these people are getting on in years.)

The Harry Partch Legacy: Microtonal Constructions and Intercultural Dialogues
A Symposium and Festival
September 19–21, 2012
New England Conservatory and Northeastern University Boston, MA

Featuring:
NewBand (Dean Drummond & Stefani Starin, Directors)
Bob Gilmore (Brunel University)
Kyle Gann (Bard College)
Danlee Mitchell (Harry Partch Foundation)
and others TBA

The composer Harry Partch (1901-74) is best known as a radically individualistic musical experimentalist, an emblematic “American maverick.” Seeking to create a music close to human speech, he found himself "seduced into carpentry" to create an orchestra of unique instruments and a substantial corpus of instrumental, vocal and dramatic works. His 25-year career cut across composition, music theory, and instrument building, and its conscious links to music-making outside of Europe have attracted the attention of a diverse following of listeners, musicians and scholars. This three-day event, co-sponsored by Northeastern University and the New England Conservatory of Music, will explore the continuing impact of Partch's work, with a combination of academic conference sessions, interactive workshops, and concert performances.

Thanks,
Preston Wright
Creator of the Musicmavericks.org website

Thanks Preston for the note - truly a fan of the website you have created.

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:51:00 +0000

I always wondered what the ever talented and sweet Toko Yasuda (Enon / Blonde Redhead / Lapse /The Van Pelt) was up to - (besides apparently playing keyboards in St. Vincent) and now I know.

Check out her solo work : Plvs Vltra! It appears that she has a new record coming next month on Spectrum Spools.

I was at this show!

Toko and I grew up playing in the same music scene around NYC in the '90s and it always feels good to see / hear friends still making music all these years later.

Adam "MCA" Yauch RIP

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:59:00 +0000

The Beastie Boys's website has posted a memorial page for Adam.

Playing with Harry Partch

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:04:00 +0000

Not the man, but his one of a kind instruments! This website is brilliant; not only does it display all of his various creations in one place BUT you can play them all via your computer. You can see and hear first hand what this "philosophic music-man seduced into carpentry" has crafted and explore the microtonal scale system he was so obsessed with. I have played around with 5 of 6 of them so far and I swear to you, the unique tones you create with just a stroke of a key will make you feel like a member of Boards of Canada or an avant-Asian orchestra. I am obsessed with this wonderful site and am so please I stumbled across this last night when looking up crychord, an instrument he made and I named a Dahlia Seed song after (my old band).

If you aren't familiar with this American composer, inventor of instruments, theorist, ex hobo, and visionary, check out this BBC documentary. (And I salute the BBC for having the best documentaries on every possible subject. I swear I watch a different one a day!)

Powers of Ten

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

My new band has posted a new song tonight! The band is called Positive No and the song is called "Powers of Ten". You can listen to it here. Positive No is my better half Kenny on guitar, me singing, and on these first three demos a fella from L.A. named Jody on drums. Kenny and I do all the songwriting together.

We used these first three demos to find local Richmonders to play with and we almost have our line up secured. Our new local drummer is Willis Thompson who plays in / has played in a ton of bands but I guess the best known of these is Tao with the Get Down Stay Down (Kill Rock Stars). More news on our bass player soon!

Lyrically "Powers of Ten" is an ode to some thinkers, philosophers, and artists I admire : Carl Sagan, Alan Watts, Charles and Ray Eames.

Brief Music Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:36:00 +0000

Occasionally I do CD reviews for the radio station and share them here. They need to fit on the front of a CD so they are brief and to the point. The Richter Magnitude Rating Scale key is on the right side of my blog.

Artist: Twilight Sad
Title: No One Can Ever Know
Label: Fat Cat
Genre : Rock
Richter Magnitude Rating Scale: Strong
Review: Analog Synths! Programmed Drums! It's the late '70s meets the '80s meets '90s! They are still very Scottish, moody (emotive) but channeled through a whole new filter; less noisy but no less dramatic. Now a trio on their third album, they are Suicide 2.0 while still managing to stay true to their Arab Strap heart on the sleeve doom and gloomery. (That's a word, right?) Perfectly under-produced by Andrew Weatherall, I give this a solid B+. Next time when I am in the mood for Fad Gadget or Cabaret Voltaire, I am grabbing this instead.
Recommended tracks: 6,1, 8, 3, 4 ,5

Artist: La Sera

Title: Sees the Light

Label: Hardly Art

Genre: Rock

Richter Magnitude Rating Scale: Minor.2

Review: Let's agree to disagree. If you are like everyone else out there in the music critic world, you probably found this record to be a delightful, pleasant Pop romp but I find this 30 minutes of music to be annoyingly average and all rather sound-a-likey. Katy Goodman who exited the Vivian Girls a few years ago has moved just slightly away from her garage rock Wipers meets '60 girl group concept and moved into soundtrack work for romcoms and shampoo commercials. Rather than carry the expressive power of Blondie, these songs are compressed into flatined BLAHndie.

Recommended tracks: 3,9, 4, 2, 6 (since I have to pick some for on air play)

Artist: Breton

Title: Other People's Problems

Label: Fat Cat

Genre: Electronic / Rock

Richter Magnitude Rating Scale: Moderate to Strong

Review: So what does a bunch of UK filmmakers gone musicians named after the father of the surrealist movement Andre Breton sound like? Apocalyptic glitch-hop party music where some of the crew has taken some brown acid so it doesn't exactly sound like a good time. It sounds paranoid, disjointed and at their more commercial moments, like The Streets. With three well received EPs under their belt from the label that brought us James Blake, there are several moments of greatness (see reco tracks for the hits) and luckily those aren't diluted by the misses of which there are a few of as well.

Recommended tracks: 3, 5, 7, 8, 10

Artist: Feedtime

Title: Sampler

Label: Sub Pop

Genre: Rock / Blues

Richter Magnitude Rating Scale: Moderate for me, Strong to the Northwest

Review: For those looking where bands like Mudhoney (and so many other early Sup Poppers) get their primal raw chainsaw slide guitar sound from, look no further. This '80s noisy Australian trio churns out rock that is rooted in Blues but sounds more like Birthday Party or Flipper. Barely melodic, file under heavy uneasy listening that Sub Pop is reissuing to give a whole new life. Makes sense as this will appeal to those who appreciated the bands who helped put Sub Pop on the map as well as followers of Amphetamine Reptile Records or that Chicago chunky bass sound ALA Shellac.

Recommended tracks: 6,1, 4, 7, 9 (straight up blues)

VERY Rare Mogwai Record With a Twist

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:54:00 +0000

Mogwai not only doodled the cover art of this Young Team LP but this Ebay item also comes with a handwritten note from a member of Interpol. If you care about Mogwai , Interpol, and rare records...this one is for you!

And if you are a Murder City Devils fan, this LP comes with the rare promotional crime scene band photos / postcards.

De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:32:00 +0000

You can find the set list for last night's show here.

You can listen to / download the podcast of last night's show here.

I stupidly forgot to hit record last night for the first few songs and my intro so I redid it this AM using my recording software and crappy laptop mic. Soooooo, the first 5 minutes is a redo of last night's intro and then the rest of the show is the actual one from last night.

Do you wish your guitar tone sounded more like a record?

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:25:00 +0000

Well good news, there is a pedal for that.

Did You Know Record Store Day Has a Documentary?

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:48:00 +0000

Well it does! Written / directed / produced by Jason Wilder Evans.

Taken from the Easy Street Records site:

"Shot mostly in Seattle but also in Nashville, Memphis, and NYC - the documentary uses archival footage showing the process of pressing vinyl records along with interviews from brick and mortar owners, Duff McKagan, Peter Buck, Jody Stephens, and music from Telekinesis, Zoe Muth, and the Lost High Rollers. This documentary also looks at the event and what makes it special."

Hip Yourself To the Philco Hip Pocket Record Player and Record Series

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:11:00 +0000

.

More about Philco here

And then check out these other wacky turntables!

April 26th, 2012 : Cause & Effect : De La Soul / 3 Feet High and Rising Samples

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Allow me to pull the curtain back and show you the inner workings of this Cause & Effect with a hint of a confession. There are many things I know a thing or two about but hip hop samples would not be one of those subjects I am well versed on. I am however after years of doing Cause & Effect pretty good at doing homework for the shows I pick. Quite frankly 15 years ago I couldn't have put this show together without the help of a crate digger with a good ear. Luckily the internet is now filled with the wisdom that I lack and thanks to a bevy of blogs I was able to find multiple lists of the samples used for what I consider to be not only one the best Rap albums of all times but a highly pivotal one in the timeline for this genre, De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising. (stylistically, samples, themes, skits, and the lawsuits that were filed against them in regards to using samples without paying to license it / getting permission) Even more amazing to me, the De La crew were Long Island teenagers when they made this pop culture capsule that is so historically important that Library of Congress selected it to be placed in the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2010.

When I heard De La Soul was coming to Richmond to play the Shadrock Music Festival I thought it would be the perfect time to revisit one of my favorite albums and get to know it in a whole new way by deconstructing about half the songs they sampled to make this record possible. Listening to the music that serves as the backbone to Three Feet High and Rising still only tells half the story of what makes this record so brilliant. It is still nearly impossible to listen to these song samples and imagine how anyone had the talent and ear to know how to take bits and pieces from each tune and use them like a painter uses color on a blank canvas, further changing them with speed shifts and other effects. Add in unique lyrical content and an understated emceeing technique and you have the birth of the Alternative hip hop movement.

I can't say after this show I have any better understanding of how one makes such a masterpiece but I am further convinced that all music is connected more deeply than you could ever possibly imagine. When I was a teenager enjoying this record for the first time and limited in my knowledge of music samples, little did I know that I was being introduced to an amazing body of work by artists like Johnny Cash, Cymande, Double Dee / Steinski , Sly and the Family Stone, The Headhunters, Kraftwerk, The Mad Lads, The Turtles, and oh so many more.

Tune in tonight from 7PM to 9PM to hear me play two hours of the original songs (about 35 songs total) that went into the making Three Feet High and Rising. 97.3 fm for locals or stream it live here.

More EPs Featuring Women from the '90s I Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:38:00 +0000

I sang the praises of Earwig's - Hardly a few months ago but here are two more bands for you.

The Nightblooms : Butterfly Girl : Fierce Recordings : 1992

This was a Dutch band that existed from 1987 to 1996. This band blew me away because they were shoegaze to the most brutal levels of noise and static yet the female vocals were so fragile and delicate (and such a cute accent / lisp!). When I am asked to name my top 10 shoegaze songs of all time, "Butterfly Girl" is always on that list. I was lucky enough to see them play live at Maxell's in Hoboken, NJ in the early '90s but they were a bit on the sleepy side live (although loud), a common issue for many shoegaze bands (including MBV) during this time period.

Delicious Monster (Rachel Mayfield ) : Snuggle : Flute : 1993.
(Oddly this release is not mentioned on Discogs!) They have several EPs (at least 5) and I believe one full length called Joie De Vivre, none of which go for much money on Ebay. I loved the vocals for this band because they go from super darling to daggers in seconds flat.

Hey Cult Movie Fans / Record Collectors

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:06:00 +0000

Did you know there is a label that caters just to you? I bring you Death Waltz Recording Company. Their website describes their focus on soundtracks in this way:

Founded by Spencer Hickman, manager of Rough Trade East in London, Death Waltz Recording Company will concentrate on delivering high end collector's vinyl that will include extensive liner notes from composers and directors as well as brand new and exclusive artwork from a variety of fine artists. All releases will be on colored vinyl and contain bonus screen prints and posters.

Death Waltz Recording Company is set to become the premier vinyl soundtrack label for cult film enthusiasts.

AMEN!

Death Waltz Records has the ultimate subscription plan for people just like you. It ain't cheap (around $275.00 with shipping) but dare I say that money is no object when what you get in return is so darn amazing?

* Six LP releases on colored vinyl
* A numbered lithograph print
* A2 poster
* Bonus goodies that include badges, exclusive colors, bonus prints
* After every 6th record you will get a special box that houses all 6 releases
* A shirt
* Special offers on giclee / screen prints at reduced rates in advance of release to the public!

Thoughts on Record Store Day : Not For Everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:24:00 +0000

There has been an interesting running commentary / exchange of thoughts on Record Store Day and in particular, the pop up store that Numbero did in their hometown of Chicago. This isn't for everyone but for those of us who work in the behind the scenes side of the music industry, some interesting points on all sides are being made on this blog post by a record store named Saki that is tied into the distribution group Carrot Top, again all in Chicago. (Thanks D for the tip on this!)

And one other thing to ponder. How equal opportunity is Record Store Day? In the hundreds of articles, blog posts, television footage, and first hand experiences with the big day I have had, there is a shortage of diversity to most of the releases and those who turn up to buy them. File under stuff white people like and mostly dudes at that? It seems that way to me. I would love to know, is there a big support for RSD from the Urban Community and I am just clueless to it?

Music appeals to people all over the world, from every possible background, so how can we make this day accessible and interesting to all walks of life and not just the collector crowd? If the idea of RSD is to keep record stores alive and inspire people to become lifetime shoppers at their local stores it seems like we would want to woo as many different kinds of music loving people as possible but then again, are there enough RSD releases for a less Rock focused following to be lured in to stores?

Again, I could be completely ignorant and maybe Record Store Day is more diverse than I think it is. I really look forward to some people schooling me so I can bring those ideas into my local community next time around.

My Wet Calvin : Box Set and Pantone Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:34:00 +0000

This new album was produced by 5 different sound engineers who get their own color coded single; 2 songs per 7"er.

While I can't say much about the band name or the music itself (not to mention a website that doesn't seem to agree with my web browser), they have outstanding taste in packaging. I can't fathom how much something like this cost to make but the final product is pretty damn remarkable.

For a bevy of images of this gorgeous singles box, go here.

Let the bidding begin!

noreply@blogger.com (Lightning's Girl) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:31:00 +0000

I can't begin to guess what this crazy limited Jack White 12" will go for on Ebay / Discogs post Record Store Day. The record can only be purchased at the Third Man store in Nashville so no other store in the world will have it but theirs.

I wonder how many record collectors are plotting out their drive to Tennessee as I write this? And wow, Jack White really is the Willy Wonka of the recording industry! I applaud his creativity and am in awe of the financial freedom he has to create these one of a kind, never produced before in the history of record music vinyl.

And here is a look at my thoughts on Record Store Day from last year in case you missed it.