The Ear Hole

The Meters - Ain't No Use

2009-10-16T15:47:50-07:00

Friday dirt:

Starlight Mints, Bishop Allen; New Breakestra

2009-10-13T12:00:58-07:00

Two new obsessions this week thanks to Last.fm's recommendation algorithms. Not sure why I wasn't already hip to Starlight Mints or Bishop Allen, but both have quickly made the jump to my varsity squad. We'll see about their stamina.

Starlight Mints — Zoomba

Bishop Allen — The Ancient Commonsense of Things

(hearing some heavy Andrew Bird nods in the chorus)

New Breakestra is out. More appropriately, the new Miles Tackett is out. The mind and muscle behind the L.A. funk outfit is a one-man rhythm section when the band takes to the studio, handling bass, guitars, keys, drums and vocals. And so it goes with Dusk Till Dawn (Strut Records), the band's second full-length of original material.

Not to say Tackett doesn't keep good company. Mixmaster Wolf still figures heavily in the vocals, the horn section is back and a handful of sit-ins and cameos ice the cake. But Dusk, for better or worse, is a pretty meat-and-potatoes Breakestra record with standout moments where guests crash Tackett's studio space.

Breakestra — Posed To Be (feat Chali 2na, Mixmaster Wolf & DJ Dusk)

Breakestra — You'll Never Know (feat Jeremy Ruzumna)

This is just awesome

Sondre Lerche, Portugal. The Man @ The Troub

2009-09-23T15:15:56-07:00

Looking forward to a couple good gigs at the Troubador this week.

Thursday night it's Sondre Lerche whoring his brand-new Heartbeat Radio, which finds the Norwegian singer-songwriter again reinventing himself, just as he did with each of the previous four full-lengths (not including his most recent "release," the soundtrack to that old 2007 blockbuster, Dan In Real Life, which simply embedded existing Lerche tracks alongside a few fresh helpings of film-score acoustic work).

Musically, Radio falls somewhere between 2007's frenetic Phantom Punch (his last actual release) and the melodic and hooky Two Way Monologue, his 2004 breakout record. Gone are the punked-out guitars of Punch, making room for more of the orchestral flavors that defined his earlier work...not to mention the jazz chops flexed on Duper Sessions. But throwbacks aside, Lerche continues to evolve as a composer. The arrangements are still characteristically intelligent and unpredictable, as the Norseman continues to make heady songwriting sound effortlessly poppy.

It's a solo acoustic leg of the tour. Interested to hear some of these new multi-layered tunes in stripped-down form.

Sondre Lerche — Words & Music

Sondre Lerche — If Only

Sondre Lerche — Goodnight

Sondre Lerche on Amazon

Then on Friday we do a complete 180 with Alaskan psychedelic indie prog-rockers Portugal. The Man. I've discussed them here before, but Christ, how do you define these guys? Here's allmusic's stab at it, which still sort of shies away from trying to nail down their sound. It's tough...especially when they sound like a completely different band with each release. Come to think of it, I guess they do share something with Sondre Lerche.

You decide. Here's a track from each of their four, in reverse chronological order:

Portugal. The Man — Kill Me. The King

Waiter: "You Vultures!"

Portugal. The Man — The Bottom

Church Mouth

Portugal. The Man — 1989 / Our Way

Censored Colors (separate tracks meant to be consumed as one)

Portugal. The Man — The Home

The Satanic Satanist

P.TM on Amazon

An aside to the soul-searching regulars:

As you know, sometimes we weave some indie and other stuff into this space. It's been happening more frequently of late, but you know we never leave you hanging completely. Here you go:

Sister Love — Mr. Fix-It Man

Saint Motel; The 88

2009-09-10T10:57:18-07:00

Saint Motel and The 88 are enjoying a Monday and Tuesday residency, respectively, at Spaceland in Silver Lake this month. Angelenos: Make it a date. All others: Hop on the bandwagons. Plenty of room...for now:

Saint Motel — Butch

Saint Motel — To My Enemies

<-- Buy it

The 88 — Like You Do

<-- Buy it

Also, this just in:

Buy Local on Beatles Day

2009-09-09T13:30:47-07:00

As you've no doubt learned from any imaginable media outlet over the last several days, today is National Beatles Remasters Day.

Yep, 9/9/09 marks the release of the re-massaged material, and although the new CDs were already on display in the checkout line of my local grocery store yesterday afternoon, record shops everywhere are parlaying today's official street date with in-store Beatles galas. Take Amoeba, which is gearing up for a day of Beatles trivia, look-alike contents, auctions, giveaways and DJ sets across its three California locations.

Get down to your local indie shop. You may draw some dodgy looks if you roll up in Lennon shades and a blow-up Yoko doll safety-pinned to your belt, but if there's no costume contest they'll at least have some fresh-sounding Beatles spinning on the house system.

Haven't yet heard these new mixes...heading down to Amoeba Hollywood to take care of that now. But as remasters go, word is they are pretty damn impressive. Sharing them in compressed format would of course defeat the purpose, so don't look for any tracks here. Get off your ass and buy a hard copy.

In the meantime, whet your palate with a few remakes that put the beat in Beatles:

Beatlejazz — Let It Be

Ramsey Lewis — Cry Baby Cry

David Porter — Help!

Isaac Hayes — Something

The Bar-Kays — Yesterday

Mormons

2009-09-05T19:58:50-07:00

College FB broadcasting line of the day goes to ESPN play-by-play man Brad Nessler.

Quoth Nessler after Oklahoma freshman kicker Tress Way came up short (and wide) on a potential clutch 54-yard game winner: "I think [BYU QB] Max Hall just said 'Oh my gosh...or whatever it is they say in Provo.'"

Beautiful.

He wasn't done: "One of the 36 married players on the BYU team, Max Hall, can go home to wife McKenzie — well, she's probably here..."

Thanks Brad.

Robbers On High Street — Married Young

Also, Bob Davie still loves the word, "football." Listen for it.

Outside Lands '09: The Dead Weather, Ween and Tenacious D

2009-09-04T00:13:07-07:00

Some sights and sounds from the downplayed and overlooked day three of Outside Lands. The hell with Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews — Nino Moschella>Betty Lavette>Atmosphere>The Dead Weather>Heartless Bastards>Ween>Tenacious D made for a pretty damn good Sunday.

Frankly, The Dead Weather's set alone was worth the price of admission.

THE DEAD WEATHER

A snippet from "Cut Like A Buffalo":

An aside to Mr. Mosshart: Your daughter is a badass. I offer a dead cat, a wool blanket and a year's supply of nonperishable food items for her hand in marriage. Negotiable.

WEEN

Am I gonna die, mommy?

TENACIOUS D

The D closes out Outside Lands '09 with a tight medley of excerpts from The Who's Tommy.

------

Bonus:

Nino Moschella — Continue To Call

The Bamboos — King of the Rodeo (feat. Megan Washington)

Meters Live in '75

2009-08-25T10:21:54-07:00

Just got my hands on a soundboard bootleg of an old Meters show from '75. You know, back when they were really good at doing drugs. Sounds like a good time.

The Meters - Right Place, Wrong Time

The Meters - People Say

The Meters - Stand By Me>Cupid>Don't Play That Song>He Don't Love You>Stand By Me

Lolla '09; Portugal. The Man

2009-08-24T22:41:27-07:00

Rain. Then scorching sweatbox. Then humid cloud cover. No doubt, Lollapalooza 2009 brought its notorious weekend of shitty weather to the Windy City.

That's the only thing the annual summer soundfest can't seem to get right.

Lineup-wise, 2009 was no 2008. But how the hell do you top a headliner core of Radiohead, RATM, NIN, Wilco and The Raconteurs? They came close this year, with the likes of Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tool and Jane's Addiction at the top of the bill...not to mention an arguably stronger supporting roster strewn across eight stages over three long days in Grant Park.

Here's a taste, featuring clips from Andy Butler of Hercules & Love Affair (DJ set), Santigold, Diplo, Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cold War Kids and MSTRKRFT (and an awkward intro from an awkward Perry Farrell and his awkward voice):

Cold War Kids

You'll notice I went a little heavy on the Cold War Kids footage. Two reasons: a) it was the best-quality video I was able to get; b) their set blew me away. Here's a full version of their opener, "Mexican Dogs":

Pleasant discovery: Portugal. The Man

Badass in the studio, and even more so on stage. These Alaskan indie freaks have a Zeppelin-like live sound that their records don't seem to capture.

P.TM's (relatively) poppy "Lay Me Back Down", from last year's Censored Colors, has made the rounds, but do yourself a favor and pick up 2007's Church Mouth.

Here's the title track.

Their latest, Satanic Satanist, is no Jimmie Vaughan either.

Also, their keyboardist is smoking. (Um, the female one).

Diane Birch

2009-07-02T01:49:59-07:00

Man, I've been digging on this chick for a few weeks now and it keeps getting better.

Stop being so good, Diane. You're threatening my manhood.

Also, I like your eyes. Nice work.

Beautiful songwriting, lush melodies and a tight band. Starting to sound like Norah Jones with some indie grit.

Dig it:

Nothing But a Miracle

buy it