How great is it that Suicidal Tendencies is still around in 2017, making music, tearing shit up, and wearing their own band t-shirts? Back in the 80s when it was a pain in the ass to fast-forward past songs on mixtapes, we all had to listen to “Institutionalized” whether we wanted to or not. All the skaters loved Suicidal Tendencies. Now we’re all old, those of us who are still alive anyway, and while I still don’t love thrash I’m super happy that it’s still being made. There’s a place for this kind of music and attitude and it’s healthy for kids (and grownups) to bang around and scream their heads off.
Big budget, high concept music video starring Michael Jackson’s daughter and a kid from “Stranger Things.” Seems odd this band is as popular as they are, considering how mellow they sound, but maybe we all need to let it mellow when the rest of the world is as chaotic as it’s been this year. Who knows?
From the Baby Driver soundtrack, out now on 30th Century/Columbia.
Danger Mouse samples the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s 1994 classic “Bellbottoms.” Annoying that there’s not a higher resolution video on YouTube, but that’s 90s music for you. It exists in the ephemeral pre-digital ether where people taped “120 Minutes” on VCRs; it all eventually gets upped to the internet but it looks and sounds like crap. Oh well. Orange is still a great album and I’m happy I bought it on vinyl back in the day (and that it survived my great vinyl purge of 2005.
From Other Towns Than Ours, out October 13 on Lost And Lonesome in Australia and on Matinée in the USA. The single is out now.
I was just saying how much I miss the Lucksmiths when lo and behold here’s a brand new video from three-quarters of them. Last Leaves has been teasing us with the possibility of new music for years now, but this is the first we’ve heard about a full album. Marty Donald, Mark Monnone, and Louis Richter recruited drummer Noah Symons and recorded Other Towns Than Ours in their fancy treehouse in Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges where this video was filmed.
The song sounds lovely. A little beefier than the Luckies with crunchier guitars and heavier drums. And Donald’s voice isn’t as “pretty” as Tali White’s, so the overall vibe is less twee and more rock and roll. I’ve listened to this at least 30 times in a row now and it continues to reveal its charms. Gone are the signature puns and clever wordplay, but that doesn’t mean they won’t turn a phrase to conjure up emotions.
Did I dream that weekend in a weather-bored hotel
In a tumbled down old tourist town that we had to ourselves?
I kissed you briefly underneath the broken bridge
The moon behind the mountaintops beyond
And I’m sure I was never so happy before
But darling, don’t you sometimes think we could say the same for since?
You were twenty-something the first time you saw snow
We stood there shuttering as the clouds closed in on Buffalo.
I can’t wait to hear the album. Autumn is the perfect time for this type of music.
This new song doesn’t have anything to do with Cube’s seminal 1991 album that it’s tacked onto, but whatever. People need bonus tracks on their anniversary releases and apparently Cube doesn’t have anything contemporary lying around, so…here we are. New Ice Cube.
It’s good. Strong message, fat horns. Has Cube been listening to Killer Mike?
When Death Certificate came out I was doing a semester abroad in Aberdeen, Scotland. I bought the cassette at my local HMV but the UK release eliminated “Black Korea” and “No Vaseline” because of the controversy, which bummed me out. But they have laws about inciting racial violence over there and no first amendment, so what can you do? When I got back home I dubbed “No Vaseline” to the end of side 2 where it belongs. Which made a whole lot more sense than adding three brand new songs to the beginning of the “25th Anniversary” edition, but again, no one consulted me.
Do you like the jingle jangle of hollow-body guitars? Do you dig the folk rock vibes of the Byrds? Have you enjoyed the last couple of Jenny Lewis albums? Then you’re gonna love this song by Nashville songwriter Tristen.
The internet is failing me lately. I didn’t realize that Micah Schnabel of Two Cow Garage had a new solo album out until I heard a song on satellite radio in the car. That’s not how this is supposed to work, guys. I should know about these things before the dorky programmers for “The Spectrum” (the channel for old white guys like me who still care about guitar music).
The song I heard was “Oh, What a Bummer” and it’s really great. Like all of Schnabel’s best music, both solo and with Two Cow, it makes you sad and it makes you smile. And you end up just wanting to give the kid a hug and buy an extra t-shirt from him so hopefully he can spend the night in a motel instead of his van after the show. “My parents still buy me my socks and underwear for Christmas / Want a tattoo on my face but it would break my mother’s heart / And I’m trying to act natural, can you tell that I am nervous? / I’m just trying to make it through this life without falling apart.”
Of all the bands we’ve championed here on Glorious Noise over the past 16 years, I can’t think of any that deserve wider recognition as much as Micah Schnabel and his Two Cow Garage. I don’t know of any musician who has worked harder, toured more relentlessly, or written half as many heartbreaking, ass-kicking, bottle-waving, righteous shitkickers as Micah Schnabel has in the 14 years we’ve been following him. If you like having good things in the world, support them however you can.
From Last Place, out now on 30th Century/Columbia.
Gee, blink and you miss a whole album rollout from one of your favorite bands. This is the fourth single released from Last Place but it’s the first I’ve heard. And it’s great! All the chugging synths, crunchy guitars, and sad lyrics you expect from Grandaddy. What have I been missing? Glad to have them back.
I like this. These Chicago guys are geeky, you can tell. There were a lot of bands like this in the 80s, but it seems to have fallen out of favor. The Pursuit of Happiness, They Might Be Giants, and King Missile come to mind. Maybe Dream Version will trigger a resurgence of quirky, cerebral rock music. Or, as Steve Albini might refer to it: “wieners in suits.”
