Here's what I've been listening to lately. I've done full reviews for Pterodactyl, Jay Reatard and Black Lips at Dusted. So you can get my full opinion on 'em there.

Jay Reatard's Blood Visions has got to be one of the best punk albums of the last decade, if not ever. It's made me realize how much I don't like over-emotive singing. He's so pent up and stiff on this record, I gets to me in a way being moany never would.

Pterodactyl have a new take on wobbly, spazzy post punk, which is hard to believe after so many bands have coursed through those scorched wires lately.

The Menomena track is a stand out on a solid album of arty pop- the sax riffs remind me of Roxy Music, but the whole thing is so jumbled and pleasant and epic, I'm a taken aback at how seamlessly they fit so many parts together.

Bobby Conn does over-the-top rock that's so campy that it starts to become seriously affecting.

Black Lips have a new live record that upstages the studio takes of the same material. Not only are the songs tighter, but the monochrome tone makes them stand out more than the shifting levels of noise on their studio records.

And there's some older stuff from the Swans and Amon Tobin. When I first got "Money is Flesh" back in 1986, I used to stick it on the walkman and I'd feel like Godzilla as I walked down the street. I was playing a Swans live show from the same era on my headphones at work, and I worked right through a fire alarm. Dangerous stuff. Amon Tobin takes drum n' bass minimalism to it's lushest extremes.

Running order: 1. Pterodactyl "Astro", 2. Swans "Money is Flesh", 3. Amon Tobin "Bridge", 4. Bobby Conn "King for a Day", 5. Menomena "Evil Bee", 6. Jay Reatard "My Shadow", 7. Black Lips "Stranger".

April Listening (~30 Minutes, 37MB)

Having a productive night sitting on my butt and looking at YouTube, tracking down the big rock. First up, Suzi Q in full glory:



Then these mid-seventies guys Hello. Never heard of 'em, but this is pretty catchy. Reminiscent of the pop metal that followed fifteen years later, but that spoken bit by the bearded dude makes it stand out:

In 1972, I was really into Robin Hood, and had a birthday party where I dressed as the outlaw. If only I'd have been able to get Lt. Pigeon and his mom to play my fourth birthday party:



And finally, Tim Curry, post-Rocky Horror, pre-character acting:

Dusted Magazine published my year-end round up this morning. To sum it up real quick, here is a chronological list of the records of 2006 that I keep returning to, and some links to longer reviews of the discs (including reviews by excellent Dusted writers like Emerson Dameron and Jennifer Kelly):

Tarantella - Esquelitos
Eagles of Death Metal - Death by Sexy
Epsilons - S/T
The Gossip - GSSP RMX
Various - The World Is Gone
Battleship - Hearts Addendum
Dark Meat - Universal Indians
Nina Nastasia - On Leaving
Dirty Faces - Get Right With God
Entrance - Prayer of Death

And if you'd like to play along at home, here is an hour-long MP3 mix of some of songs I talk about in the article:

Bendy - 2006 Mix

Finally got a chance to digitize this. More vinyl to hissy cassette to wav to mp3 hillbilly from Dick Thinker, carefully compiled around 1991. I think the Charlie Feathers tracks are from the 80s, but most of this is vintage, and Charlie Feathers is always in good form. This side is more rockabilly, and many of the artists on this set did cut straight up Rock n' Roll. Mr. Thinker didn't list the final track. It has a cajun yodel feel to it, so if anyone knows, let the rest of us know.

Hillbilly Boogie - Side B

(side A, with the cover)

So, you can now buy the whole of our Media Slut EP at the iTunes Music Store. Soon enough, you'll be able to get it on my preferred music service, eMusic.com. The iTunes music store was uptight enough to change the name of the record slightly. However, the letters the chose to obfuscate suggest an even ruder word.

We've made some of the tracks Creative Commons licensed, too. And I'm glad we did, because one of our songs caught the attention of a DIY filmmaker, Wrayer. He used our track as the theme music for a short meditation on anarchy. Check it out,

Veronique Diabolique and The Experts and Blackstrap on August 25, at Joe and Jo's Downtown Durham. That's a Friday night. Veronique are our gothier Gallic kindred spirits, and Joe and Jo's shows always seem to sound great.

Veronique Diabolique - Spleen

Spleen was my introduction to VD- they've got a punky take on darkness. And when I first heard it on local radio it totally jumped out at me. The Experts are straight forward enough to call themselves southern rock.

We're on a new 307 Knox compact disc of local music and so is Veronique. It's free if you stop by you favorite area little record store, and it's at Joe and Jo's too.

Our track is the song "City of Meds" which has been through a lot of permutations, dropped and revised from the set several times. This latest version comes from a recording we remixed ourselves, making it into a sort of dub. Now we got to learn to play it that way love. I'd post the song, but since the comp is FREE, you best track that down. 'Cause you'll hear a whole bunch of great bands from around Durham. Out-of-staters and other foreign types should contact 307 Knox and tell 'em you're interested.

So here's a excerpt, and an excerpt from a 2003 recording, so you can see how much it's changed.

Blackstrap - City of Meds (2006)

Blackstrap - City of Medicine (2003)


We chose the name "Blackstrap" 'cause at the outset, we thought the band might be a bit twangy and country-ish, like molasses. But our sooty black hearts took things in the more strapped up direction.

Chaz put us on the bill of next Wednesday night's punk gig. We're the TBA! Blackstrap, Bob Ucker, Lefty Loosie and Army of Jesus. We'll go on at 9PM.

Let's see. Bob Ucker doesn't have music on MySpace. But they're an offshoot of a band I've been listening to quite a bit, the Modern Machines- they've got a Midwest punk and pubrock feel. Lefty Loosie are solid pop punk. And Army of Jesus are hardcore. I'm not sure if I've got the trackname "Airopine" correct, but that's what I see as the first song when I squint at their cover art online.

Modern Machines Flash Infatuation
Army of Jesus - Airopine

And we've got one coming up on July 16th, and the Wake Forest Skate Park. This is part of the Jimmy Jam fundraiser. Details to follow.