Tag Archives: Brian Jonestown Massacre

Shorties

New Tess Parks and Anton Newcombe video: Monochrome Wound

Leave a comment

Video: Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe – “Monochrome Wound”

Directed by Jean de Oliveira. From From Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe, out now on A Recordings Ltd.

Oh, man…this is some witchy shit. Tess Parks teams up with Brian Jonestown Massacre bossman Anton Newcombe for a duet (of sorts) and a tour around Aleister Crowley’s Thelema Abbey in Cefalú in Sicily? Hell yes.

Described by Wikipedia as, “This idealistic utopia was to be the model of Crowley’s commune, while also being a type of magical school, giving it the designation ‘Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum’, A College towards the Holy Spirit. The general program was in line with the A∴A∴ course of training, and included daily adorations to the sun, a study of Crowley’s writings, regular yogic and ritual practices (which were to be recorded), as well as general domestic labor. The object was for students to devote themselves to the Great Work of discovering and manifesting their True Will.” It’s now a run-down shack in the middle of the woods, which is oddly appropriate as a metaphor and a monument.

The song is a spooky, sultry rambler right in line with Anton’s mellower takes with BJM accented by Tess Parks’ smoky vocals; this is what my desert dreams are made of.

Tess Parks: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

Anton Newcombe: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

Articles

12 Year Itch: Glorious Noise Interview with The Asteroid No. 4

1 Comment

I kinda laughed when I got the email from their publicist asking if we’d be interested in interviewing “veteran psych-rock band, The Asteroid No.4” I mean, veterans? How old could they be? That was until I realized that we last spoke to them in 2002–yes, 12 years ago.

A lot has happened in the psych-rock scene in the last decade-plus: Dawes got everyone all crazy for Laurel Canyon again and related 60s and 70s west coast culture; the rise of festivals, especially those catering to niche musical genres like garage rock and psychedelic music; and a movie called Dig! raised the profiles of two of the flagship acts of the scene with The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. And while in economics it may be a bit of a misnomer, in rock and roll a rising tide does in fact lift all boats. Twelve years on, The Asteroid No.4 are floating along nicely.

We jumped on the phone with founding member, songwriter and guitarist, Scott Vitt to talk about the changing scene and his band’s move from Philadelphia to Northern California.

Continue reading 12 Year Itch: Glorious Noise Interview with The Asteroid No. 4 →

MP3s

Brian Jonestown Massacre – Let’s Go Fucking Mental

3 Comments

Brian Jonestown Massacre Logo Brian Jonestown Massacre is back with their tenth studio album, Who Killed Sgt. Pepper, and while I love BJM like I love few bands, I wish Anton would put down the My Bloody Valentine and My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult records and go back to the Stones. Maybe he needs to bring Matt Hollywood back to write some actual songs?

MP3: Brian Jonestown Massacre – “Let’s Go Fucking Mental”

Who Killed Sgt. Pepper is out on February 23. US tour dates after the jump.

UPDATE: According to Wikipedia, Matt Hollywood is back in BJM. If true, I will eat a whole bag of crow. Maybe the question is then, did Anton let Matt Hollywood write any songs?

Brian Jonestown Massacre: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki

My Bloody Valentine: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki

Continue reading Brian Jonestown Massacre – Let’s Go Fucking Mental →

Shorties

Cool Band: 1776

2 Comments

1776 I must admit: I got very, very drunk Saturday night. I went to see a couple of local bands who are somehow associated with the Dandy Warhols and ended up mostly incoherent in the back of a cab stinking of gin and Voodoo Donuts. But just before everything went south (and maybe because of it) I saw my new favorite local band: 1776.

Comprised of four young dudes with tasty vintage gear and excellent hair, 1776 enthusiastically pulls from their influences the best kind of psychedelic rock that is as much MC5 as the Buffalo Springfield. Guitarist and vocalist Nigel Legerwood bangs away on a Danelectro 12-string while bassist Zach Whitton keeps the entire troupe anchored with Rick Danko-inspired bass lines and (again) a fantastic mop of hair.

Portland is home to many-a-psyche rock wannabe band who have probably spent too much time watching Dig! And not enough time listening to The Notorious Bird Brothers (I’m talking to you, The Upsidedown), but 1776 has clearly dug deeper and I’m excited to see how they freak out over time.

MP3: 1776 – “Too Much” (via The Portland Mercury)

1776: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki, MySpace

Shorties

Cool Band: Eagle Winged Palace

1 Comment

Eagle Winged PalaceThere may be no other musical sub genre I love more than the neo-psyche folk rock inspired by the ocean waves and grainy film of David Crosby macking chicks in a Big Sur hot tub. Maybe it’s my combined fascination with 12-string guitars and Charlie Manson (who is getting old, dig his recent mug shot-ed.) but there’s something about that wigged out feeling you get from the sound of blissed out chicks in miniskirts and Squaw fringe chanting and singing behind some freaky dude in a jean jacket. It’s my bag, man.

Enter Eagle Winged Palace, the latest in a line of those following in Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe‘s wandering footsteps. Leaning more on the harvest golden tint of things than Anton’s penchant for violence, Eagle Winged Palace is no less spooky. Just because Squeaky Fromme is smiling doesn’t mean she won’t twist the knife in your belly.

Hand of Doom, the debut EP from Los Angeles’ Eagle Winged Palace is available today from Park the Van Records.

MP3: Eagle Winged Palace – “Hand of Doom”

Video: Eagle Winged Palace – “Spiral (Out of Control)”

Eagle Winged Palace: MySpace.

MP3s

Brian Jonestown Massacre – Yeah-Yeah

Leave a comment

MP3: Brian Jonestown Massacre – “Yeah – Yeah” from My Bloody Underground, out April 15.

Note: the track begins with 30 seconds of silence—no idea why. After that, it’s a classic acoustic Anton Newcombe ballad. His voice sounds ragged, scorched, and awesome. Hell yeah.

Also: Brian Jonestown Massacre – “Black Hole Symphony”, a ten-minute ambient drone fest. For fans of sitting in the back row on airplanes.

You have to love a guy who names one of his songs “Bring Me The Head Of Paul McCartney On Heather Mill’s Wooden Peg (Dropping Bombs On The White House).” See the rest of the song titles after the jump…

Continue reading Brian Jonestown Massacre – Yeah-Yeah →

Links, MP3s

Brian Jonestown Massacre – Interview and live, acoustic

1 Comment

A Rhino interview with the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Includes a live acoustic performance. More Rhino podasts.

Also: Not Fade Away – The Rise and Fall and Rise (Again) of OC’s Anton Newcombe, a fascinating article that digs deep into Anton Newcombe’s teenage years, growing up and starting bands in Orange County: “He’d insist that he could make the girl scratch her nose just by concentrating on the image of it happening. They insist he wasn’t joking, that he truly believed he possessed the power of mind control. The strangest part is that, inevitably—sometimes within 30 seconds, never more than a few minutes—the girl would scratch her nose.”

Articles

Lollapalooza 2005: Day One

9 Comments

Lollapalooza 2005Holy shit, it was hot on Sunday. I was pretty sure we were all going to die for a while there. But hey, Glorious Noise suffers unbearable heat so you don’t have to.

It’s hard to believe that the first Lollapalooza was 14 years ago. I was a dopey college kid who could barely drive straight when my pals piled into my mom’s Corolla and we drove across the state to see Perry Farrell’s brand new music festival. I was looking forward to seeing Ice T and Jane’s Addiction, but was most impressed by the Butthole Surfers when guitarist Paul Leary picked up a rifle, aimed it right at my face 60 rows back, and pulled the trigger. I swear to god I saw fire shoot out of the barrel and expected to feel the bullet split my skull. Good thing Leary’s a lousy shot.

This year no one fired a gun at me. But I was blown away by a couple of bands that I wasn’t expecting that much from. It’s a much different world now (George Bush, Iraq, economy, etc.), but a few things remain the same: good music still isn’t played on the radio, and young people still love to get half naked and stomp around in the dirt and listen to bands.

Continue reading Lollapalooza 2005: Day One →