Category Archives: Shorties

Shorties

Flaming Lips – I Am the Walrus

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Video: Flaming Lips – “I Am the Walrus”

I actually expected this to be a lot weirder than it is. It’s a surprisingly faithful rendition of the Beatles classic, considering the stripped-down nature of the effort. It’s almost entirely driven by the fuzzed out Rickenbacker bass, but Drozd fills in all the sound effects with his own mouth.

I can remember buying the Beatles’ “Blue Album” on vinyl from Believe in Music on Plainfield Avenue. I was in junior high, and it made a big impression on me. “Walrus” was my favorite. The lyrics blew my innocent mind. I had never heard anything like it with its self-references (“See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky”) and its graphic, gory images (“Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye”). It’s an intense song.

The Lips do it justice, reveling in the psychedelia, but not taking themselves too seriously. It’s a rock song, and these guys emphasize that. People are too reverential about the Beatles. Putting them so high up on a pedestal obscures the fact that the Beatles were just four guys who wrote and played cool songs. You don’t have to be a God to do that. You just need to find someone to pound the shit out of a drum set.

Speaking of drummers, dig that Tonight’s the Night shirt!

Shorties

Daptone Celebrates Ten Years

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This video illustrates so much of what I love about independent music makers in general and Daptone Records specifically.

Celebrating ten years of service to soul music, Daptone Records takes you on a tour of their Brooklyn studio and HQ with stories of their humble beginnings and continued humility as they do what they love. See Sharon Jones wiring the control room, Charles Bradley roughing in the live room, and label chief Gabriel Roth showing off his pride and joy. Great, great stuff.

Shorties

Who the hell is Toby Goodshank?

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Video: Toby Goodshank – “Truth Jump Fall”

First you hear the “Whiter Shade of Pale” Hammond organ. Then an acoustic guitar. Then the lyrics: “We got the generator bill in the mail today / That’s when my father freaked out.” If you’re like me, that’s all you need to get hooked.

I have no idea who this kid is, but I like what he’s doing enough to download his album for $7 from bandcamp. Haven’t listened to it yet, but I wanted to pass this along to everybody before I lose my enthusiasm/motivation.

Thanks to JD for the tip!

Shorties

New Amy Gore video: Drivin’ Around

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Video: “Drivin’ Around” Amy Gore & Her Valentines

Check out the video for the new single by Detroit rock goddess Amy Gore. The former Gore Gore Girl has a new band, the Valentines, featuring Jackson Smith on guitar, Leann Banks on bass, and Joe Leone on drums. “Drivin’ Around” is a power pop nugget built around a catchy hollow-body riff with a bunch of tasty slide work. The lyrics accurately reflect the “nothing to do” experience of every bored teenager in Michigan.

Not that it matters much, but we wouldn’t be Glorious Noise if we didn’t mention the fact that Jackson Smith is the son of Patti Smith and MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith. He also happens to be married to a certain Megan Martha White. (We may try to dig up their marriage license eventually, ha ha.)

The video was directed by Brittin Richter and the song is available on Bandcamp, Amazon, eMusic, and iTunes.

Shorties

New Neutral Millk Hotel Naomi Video Directed by Inspiration

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Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Naomi” from Naomi Yang on Vimeo.

Former Galaxie 500 bassist Naomi Yang, currently in Damon & Naomi, has directed a video for the 1996 Neutral Milk Hotel song that was supposedly written about her (“She walks through Cambridge…”). It might seem a little weird and narcissistic to lip-sync a love song to yourself, but Yang has nice teeth so hey, why not?

In other Neutral Milk Hotel news, Jeff Mangum is going out on another tour in 2012 (I’m going, woo hoo!) and is releasing a big vinyl box set that includes 15 previously unreleased songs. It was originally supposed to ship on November 22, but it’s been delayed until December 15.

Your prettiness is seeping through
Out from the dress I took from you, so pretty
And my emptiness is swollen shut always
Always a wretch i have become
So empty

I’m watching Naomi, full bloom
I’m hoping she will soon explode
Into one billion tastes and tunes
One billion angels come and hold her down
They hold her down until she cries

I’m tasting Naomi’s perfume
It tastes like shit and I must say
She comes and goes most afternoons
One billion lovers wave and love her now
They could love her now and so could I

There is no Naomi in view
She walks through Cambridge stocks and strolls
And if she only really knew
One billion angels could come and save her soul
They could save her soul until she shines
So pretty

Shorties

We’ll Sweep Out the Ashes…for a Fee

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Cremation ad over Parsons video
Gram could have actually used "cremation planning" services.

This is one of those times when my dueling interests collide. While watching a video of Gram Parsons a text ad for cremation services scrolled across the screen. Now, knowing a thing or two about how YouTube’s ad service attempts to match banners to content and known user behavior, this is more than just a creepy coincidence. I mean, what kind of algorithm put these elements together? Or what are Gram Parson’s fans clicking through after watching his videos?

For those who may not know, Gram Parsons had asked to be put to rest in Joshua Tree National Park. When he died at the age of 26, friends kept their promise and “stole” his body from LAX and eventually burned it in the desert. Due to a lack of clarity in the law at the time nobody was charged with a crime and the story now lives in the annals of rock and roll legend.

(Read a cached version of a great telling of the story here)

But how unsettling is this ad matching? What’s next, carpet cleaner over a Kurt Cobain tribute?

VIDEO
Flying Burrito Brothers – Christine’s Tune

Shorties

New Tom Waits Video: Satisfied

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It’s always a pleasure to see Tom Waits getting freaky in a new video. While it might be possible to argue that he’s been treading a lot of the same ground since 1992’s Bone Machine, he continues to raspily breathe new life into his form. The new album, Bad As Me, sticks to the formula of mixing a bunch of clangy brawlers with a few (too few) moving bawlers, but hey, it’s Tom Waits. Nobody else is making music anything like this so if he wants to release the same damn album every five years, I’ll keep buying them and loving them.

“Satisfied” features Keith Richards and Marc Ribot on guitars. It’s a shame Waits couldn’t get Keith to appear in the video. I can picture old Cap’n Keef dancing around like a wasted pirate in the backyard.

When I’m gone
Roll my vertebrae out like dice
Let my skull be a home for the mice
Let me bleach like the bones on a beach
I’ll be hard like a pit from a peach

Good old Tom Waits.

Shorties

Noel Gallagher Debuts at #1, Liam Open to Reunion

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Noel Gallagher’s first solo effort debuted at #1 in Great Britain, moving 122,000 units in its first week. While a nice feather in Noel’s cap and a stick in the beady ey of his brother (who debuted at #3), it’s unlikely to rival the sales of Oasis’ catalog but this is a different time, isn’t it?

Speaking of…brother Liam Gallagher has said he’d be open to a reunion to mark the 20th anniversary of the band’s chart topper What’s the Story Morning Glory.

Liam told Rolling Stone, “In 2015, if we can put our shit aside, we can tour and play the album in its entirety for the 20th anniversary,” he says. “I’d be up for that, if it’s on our terms. There’s got to be two-way respect.”

It appears Noel still knows the songs since he played nine Oasis tunes in his live debut. Maybe the hoopla around the Stone Roses has got the old boy thinking…

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds North America Tour Dates:
November 7 & 8 @ Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
November 11 @ Philadelphia, PA @ Academy of Music
November 12 @ Boston, MA @ Wang Theatre
November 14 & 15 @ New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
November 17 & 18 @ Los Angeles, CA @ Royce Hall
November 19 @ San Francisco, CA @ Orpheum Theatre

Shorties

Video: Waters – For the One

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I have to admit I had never heard of Waters before a note showed up in the GLONO in-box touting this new video, but I love this song and video. I mean, who doesn’t love simple acoustic music and shots of the Northern California coast? Isn’t this what we all dreamed of when putting plastic sandwich bags over our feet before walking through slushy snow and biting wind to a playground teeming with bullies and weirdos? Or was that just me?

WATERS “FOR THE ONE” (Acoustic) from WATERS on Vimeo.

WATERS tour dates:

OCT. 13 DAVIS, CA, SOPHIA’S THAI KITCHEN
OCT. 17 NEW YORK, NY, MERCURY LOUNGE (late show)
OCT. 18 WASHINGTON, DC, RED PALACE
OCT. 19 NEW YORK, NY, CMJ
OCT. 20 NEW YORK, NY, STUDIO AT WEBSTER HALL (CMJ Fenway Recording party; 7:30pm set)
OCT. 21 NEW YORK, NY, ACE HOTEL (Live KEXP Recording Session; 10:30am set; FREE)
OCT. 21 BROOKLYN, NY, KNITTING FACTORY (Distiller Promo party; 4:20pm set); UNION HALL (10pm set)*
OCT. 22 BOSTON, MA, GREAT SCOTT (early show)
OCT. 25 SAN FRANCISCO, CA, RICKSHAW STOP#
OCT. 27 SAN DIEGO, CA, THE CASBAH#
OCT. 28 SANTA ANA, CA, CONSTELLATION ROOM#
OCT. 29 LOS ANGELES, CA, THE SATELLITE#

* with Boy and Bear
# with Male Bonding

Check out the digital life of Waters.
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Shorties

Video: Ryan Adams – Lucky Now

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As noted in our review of Ryan Adams’ new album, things are looking up for our favorite Americana shit stirrer. Proof lies in the music and apparently the old chap is confident enough in the material to put out a good old fashioned music video. Don’t try too hard to decipher the symbolism, just enjoy the shots of Ry-Ry scootin’ around town in an old Cadillac while menacing looking Pink Ladies cruise the streets looking for trouble. I’d like to see this album sell if only to buy the poor dude some furniture.

Video: Ryan Adams – Lucky Now

 

Ryan Adams Tour Dates:
10/11 San Diego, CA – Balboa Theater
10/13 Big Sur, CA – Henry Miller Library
10/14 San Francisco, CA – Herbst Theater
10/15 Napa, CA – Uptown Theater
10/17 Santa Cruz, CA – The Rio
10/18 Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre
10/20 Eugene, OR – The Shedd
10/21 Seattle, WA – Benaroya
12/2 Philadelphia, PA – Academy of Music
12/4 Baltimore, MD – Lyric Opera House
12/6 New York, NY – Carnegie Hall
12/8 Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre
12/10 Toronto, ON – Winter Garden Theatre
12/11 Chicago, IL – Cadillac Palace
12/13 Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre