Listen up: Cracker - "I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right"

Cracker has some really great records, so great that I consider them to be classic albums ("Kerosene Hat" and "Cracker" for instance). But even their less-popular albums are worth listening to. Every song isn't stellar, but there are some really good songs mixed in. Their new album "Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey" probably won't fit into the classic category with the records mentioned above but there's some really good stuff on it. You may have heard the single "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" which is quite good (watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_HtYcmHpEM). You may not have heard "I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right", but it rocks very hard. Check it out.

I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right - Cracker



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_HtYcmHpEM

Video: Two Cow Garage at Valentine's

There's not a lot of good quality Two Cow Garage videos out there on the interweb. So I took matters into my own hands and shot this video. It came out pretty decent. The sound isn't great, but not bad considering the shrimpy video camera I have.

Town: Albany, NY
Date: 8.14.09
Songs: Should've California/Come Back to Shelby
Show summary: Kick-ass

Live Slobberbone: Netherlands 1998 FM Broadcast

I've been searching for good live Slobberbone recordings for a while now and man, this is it. Download this show! Originally an FM radio broadcast, I'd classify the sound as "great bootleg quality". The band is in their prime and on fire. Live rock and roll doesn't get much better than this.

http://nathanscountryranch.blogspot.com/search/label/slobberbone

Check 'em out: The Gourds

The band: The Gourds

Hometown: Austin, TX

Sounds like... a Texas Rock and Roll Ho-down

There's a good chance you're more familiar with The Gourds than I am. For years I had heard about them and what I heard made me think that this is a band that I'd definitely like. But for some reason I dragged my feet. Well, they came to Albany last year. I went. They were great.

Their country influence may seem a bit strong at first listen, but as you listen to them a bit you'll begin to realize that they're a straight-up rock band. The first thing that jumps out at me about this band is their catchy songs - man, some of them can really stick in your head (in the good way, not in the "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba kinda way...). Secondly, the instrumentation and what I'm gonna call song craftsmanship really sets these guys apart. They work mandelin, fiddle, accordian, organ and a host of other instruments into their songs so well and it all gells together nicely, producing a captivating overall sound. Thirdly, the bands rocks pretty hard, even though they don't have a dominant instrument that leads the band down that road (ie. a strong electric guitar). When I saw them there was a point where I was like, "These guys are jamming so hard," even though no one in the band was soloing or even playing fast for that matter. These guys are a fluid musical unit and they lock in with each other instinctually. And that's some special shit when a band can do that.

I saw them at the performing arts space of the local public radio station, which is sterile/snooty to say the least (In In the Aisles I had written that I wouldn't be going to this Gourds show because "I'm not going to that place ever again until they start selling beer"). So I look forward to see them in a packed club with 200 other people who are drunk and ready to get down. Cause this is the band you want to see in that situation.

http://www.thegourds.com/

www.myspace.com/thegourdstx

I only have 3 of their albums, but you gotta check out the first 7 tracks of their 2006 album Heavy Ornamentals. A pretty kick-ass 7 straight songs to start a record for sure. Listen here:

The Gourds - Heavy Ornamentals

The dudes are serious road warriors, so a picture with the van is appropriate

Video: I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House

Here's a pretty great video of the fantastic "Westboro Baptist Church" (which I mentioned in the previous post) by the shit-kicking band I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House.

note: I gotta be honest here - I have no idea who Fred Phelps is or anything about the Westboro Baptist Church. But after hearing this song, I can do nothing but want to fuck 'em.

Check 'em out: I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House

Band: I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House

Hometown: Portland, OR

Sound: hard edge new-Southern Rock

Status: broke up 2006

I just got my hands on a CD by these guys a few days ago (actually, I downloaded it from iTunes, so I guess my hard drive got its hands on it...) and I think people need to check 'em out. I often think of Two Cow Garage as a "child of Slobberbone" in a way (that's a compliment), and I'd call I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House Two Cow's sister band. Actually, it would be fraternal twin sister band, as the 2 bands are stylistically so similar. Lead singer Mike D's voice is across between Tow Cow's Micah Schnabel and Patterson Hood of the Drive by Truckers. The harmonica in the band will reach out and grab you. Listen to tracks on their myspace page (listen to "Gone" first, since it totally kicks ass. If you don't think that song is absolutely rocking, click off their page, turn off your computer, wrap a plastic bag over your face and duct tape it really fucking tight around your neck. Or something like that.) And don't listen to "Westboro Baptist Church" in mixed company or aloud at work...

http://www.myspace.com/icanlickanysonofabitchint

More on these guys as I get some time to digest this album more.

more Two Cow...

I just have to add that I've been captivated by the song "Swallowed by the Sea", the last track on the new record. While I love Two Cow for their balls-out, rock-your-face-off live shows, this slower song has stuck with me for days now. Shane's less-than-awesome voice fits the song like a glove, the sparse lyrics work so well with the cool harmonica and there's just something about the guitar...Listen to it at their myspace page:


http://www.myspace.com/twocowgarage

Two Cow Garage: "Speaking in Cursive" mini-review

I'm a big Two Cow fan, and I had every intention of buying this record when they came to Albany last October. But the show was cancelled (DAMMIT!) and I procrastinated like a mofo on getting it. To be honest, I wasn't overly inspired by the 3 or 4 tracks I heard on the web, so I didn't rush to get it. And considering how much I liked their previous albums I didn't want to be disappointed. Well, I just got it and, while there aren't any of the balls-out rockers the band is famous for that really jump out at me, it's a lot better than my first impression had lead me to believe. I particularly like "Skinny Legged Girl" (stream it below), with its super-catchy ba-ba-ba-ba-da chorus. And check out this video from Tequila Brad of "Swingset Assassin*". It's a pretty weird video- you can't see a goddamn thing since it's recorded in a pitch dark parking lot after a show (I assume) - but it's just so cool. I love the train whistles in the background. Watch it here: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=54908049

* the "with these clothes picked by my mother/handed down from my big brother" line reminds me so much of The Drams [fantastic] "Robert Cole". A little too close for comfort even.

Skinny Legged Girl - Two Cow Garage

video: Slobberbone Reunion opener - Tilt-a-Whirl

Slobberbone opening their 2 Feb reunion gigs with the over-the-top ass-kickin' "Tilt-a-Whirl" - so..fuckin..cool...

What the? Lucero on some MTV show?

Just caught this trailer for what looks like one of those crappy MTV shows that is somehow about Memphis. The very rocking Lucero just so happen to be from Memphis and they're "in" the show. The shows looks pretty painful to me, but the brief clips of Lucero look pretty cool. It doesn't make that much sense, but it's worth checking out... I think it airs tonight at midnight eastern time.

MTV five dollar cover Trailer (HD)

Listen Here: Cracker - "It Aint Gonna Suck Itself"

Cracker is one of the great, modern day American rock bands. Smart, often scathing lyrics, scores of extremely catchy songs and perfectly placed smatterings of light twang mix nicely with David Lowry's wit and view of the world (I'll write more about Cracker in the future). I don't own their entire catalog, but I guess they put out an album called "Countrysides" which I assume is meant to be Cracker's take on country - or at least countryish - songs (frankly, the 2 songs I've heard from it don't sound that much different than Cracker's normal style). And the song "It Ain't Gonna Suck Itself" is really good (and I love that weird keyboard part). Check it out here* (and listen to "Duty Free" while you're at it):



www.myspace.com/countrysidessongscracker



* Cracker has done something very cool with their myspace page. They've created a separate myspace page for each of their albums, and they're easily linked to on their main myspace page. That way you can click around and preview songs off each album to get a feel for that record. God, it seems so obvious. With every band jockeying for the listeners ear these days, I can't believe stuff like this isn't a more common practice.

Video: Lynyrd Fuckin Skynyrd "T for Texas" 1976

Skynyrd, Knebworth Festival 1976

Contrary to what I said in the previous post (below this one), there is some good shit on youtube, such as this Skynyrd gem from Knebworth England, 1976. Super-quality pro-shot video with great audio (though there are some weird segments like when the camera is fixed on the singer who's basically just passing time while one of the guitarist is tearing it up. What the hell?). Hours spent in my basement as a kid listening to One More From the Road LP instilled a strong love for this very rocking song, and the guitar shit on here is fucking top-notch. A great way to spend 9 minutes of your life.

Watching this video lead me to 3 main conclusions:

(1) Skynyrd fucking rules! (already knew that though)

(2) This fact was never more true than in the 70s: Crazy long hair plus wild clothing plus a guitar in your hands can make the ugliest dude look pretty goddamn cool (Man, I just love the bass player with the English police hat on...)

(3) Why is it that to see some good live rock footage we have to go back to footage shot on film in 1976? With all the groundbreaking advances that have been made in both audio and video technologies (with the obvious one being the advent of simple, cheap and easily attainable digital audio and video devices) over the past 25 years you'd think that wouldn't be the case. But it seems the technological advances have just lead to an annoyingly large quantity of horrendous quality audio/video. Doesn't that just seem backwards?

video: Oakley Hall "Volume Rambler"

I've been searching youtube for good live videos from a number of different bands and came up with very little. I've said it before but I'll say it again: I'm amazed at the overall shittiness of the quality of youtube videos. They suck! However, this Oakley Hall video is quite good. It's from the same source and show as the Lazy Susan video I posted previously. Check it out.

www.myspace.com/oakleyhall
www.oakleyhall.net/

Video: Wilco "I'm Always in Love"

I rock. My sweater does not.

You never would've thought it, with Jeff Tweedy's often schlub-like appearance(above), but with the documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" and the bonus DVD that came with Sky Blue Sky(which is really cool), Wilco has proven to be a very camera-friendly band (and I'll add the band's appearance on Saturday Night Live last season where they played an absolutely rocking "Walkin").

There's a lot to like about "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" - the cool black and white footage, the band-gets-dropped-by-record-label story that unfolds, all the stuff shot in the band's loft practice space. And there's some great music as well, one of my favorite of which is shown below, "I'm Always in Love". Tweedy's in full ice cream man regalia, the camera's right in his face, and the band is rocking. And the drummer is just having himself some fun. Check it out.


For the record: I hate when people in the media continue to refer to Wilco as "alt-country." Their first record "AM" was definitelt alt-country, but what they're doing now is in no way alt-country whatsoever. So the moral of the story for all the young bands out there: you never get a second chance to get pigeon-holed into one musical genre. Never.

Update: Slobberbone Reunion?

Following their 2 reunion shows in February, I just learned that Slobberbone has a 3-night run booked in Wisconsin in August. I've never been this excited about concerts that are 1,000 mile from my house that I have no chance of attending. Are these shows part of a longer tour hopefully? This adds fuel to the Slobberbone new album rumors previously reported on this here website (http://tallboycan.blogspot.com/2009/01/rumor-slobberone-new-album.html). Pretty cool...

http://www.pollstar.com/resultsArtist.aspx?ID=14143&SortBy=Date&SearchBy=slobberbone

If anyone has info regarding future Slobberbone plans let me know.

Video: The Band - "Slippin and a Slidin'"

This is a great performance of the rollicking"Slippin and a-Slidin" by The Band from the Festival Express movie (recorded 1970). Read more below.

The film Festival Express was released in theaters in 2003. Compiled from footage found in the Canadian archives that had been lost for 30+ years, the movie chronicles a trans-Canadian rock festival that occurred in the summer of 1970 which travelled from location to location by a private train (very cool!). The bands (The Grateful Dead, The Band, Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy and some other strange acts (Sha Na Na?)) apparently partied and jammed hard on the the train - and that part of the film is cool (especially when they show the train make a stop at a railside liquor store and then proceed to buy the place out - the ultimate beer run). Overall, the tour was kind of a disaster with riots and the promoter losing big money at each show, but the movie is definitely cool. The music isn't really as great as I'd expected, but The Band's segments are the highlights hands-down. I like The Last Waltz but I like the footage in this film more - it's much more real and not as contrived and pristine as The Last Waltz.

note: Man, Janis Joplin was ugly.

Pretty fuckin kick-ass train, huh?

this chick's boobs were not in the movie. Dammit!

The Band in there heyday in their upstate New York stompin grounds, which is actually not all that far from Tallboy headquarters

Philly's Dr. Dog in 2008, obviously trying way too hard to be like The Band in 1970

Check 'em out: The Most Beautiful Losers

The Band: The Most Beautiful Losers

sounds like: Americana hard rock; strong Slobberbone influence

Hometown: Canton, Ohio

I don't know about you, but I find that I gravitate toward young, borderline unknown bands. I'm not sure why exactly, but I'd much rather see a struggling band just starting out play in a dirty rock club in front of 35 people than see some hot buzz-band play to a crowd of 2,000. It just seems more real to me - the essence of rock and roll is thick in the air of those small clubs. Anyway, while I've never seen the Most Beautiful Losers play, they're that kind of band. And they fall directly in the Tallboy cross-hairs: from some scrappy midwest town; they sing about getting too drunk, having horrible luck with the ladies, and general down-and-outness; they don't take themselves too seriously, but they take rocking quite seriously. I think you have to put their first 2 records into the "demo" category, as the sound quality and production can be cringe-worthy at times. But there are some good songs there and I dig their overall sound.

If these guys get a couple cross-country tours under their belt (for some experience) and with a decent recording studio situation, I think they could really turn some heads (ears? Is turn some ears even a phrase? It should be. Hey, I just came up with it. I'm gonna copyright it like Pat Riley did with "Three-peat").

Oh, and you just gotta love their little tagline: "A drinking band with a rock and roll problem"

http://www.themostbeautifullosers.com/

www.myspace.com/mostbeautifullosers

Here are 6 tracks for your streaming pleasure. "Asshole" is a sure-fire crowd pleaser. The last 2 are slower songs to show that side of the band as well.

The Most Beautiful Losers

Under the Covers: La Grange by Phish 1989

Before allegedly being offered $1 million to shave off their ridiculous beards

You gotta admit, Old ZZ Top - you know, before "Legs" and that stupid car and shit - was some pretty kick-ass rock and roll. The Texas boogie-woogie rock sound they had at the time was flat out cool-as-hell. If that shit doesn't make you wanna pound a cold tallboy can, then nothing will. I searched youtube long and hard for some video of the band from that era and surprisingly came up with nothing.



So instead of that (and in honor of last weekend's reunion in Hampton) I bring you Phish playing ZZ Top's "La Grange". This is from a killer show at Townshend State Park in Vermont in 1989 - Phish was young, tight and feeling their oats. This song rocks!

Important note: If you think you hate Phish and are unable/unwilling to listen to this with an open mind, skip it. Don't listen. Go away and come back later. What you definitely should not do is: listen to this song closemindedly with "I fucking hate fucking Phish" forever burned in your mind, then email me or comment about (1) how much Phish sucks (2) how much I suck or (3) how much both Phish and I suck. Save it.

Phish - Townshend State Park, VT

link to download:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4wt3g2

stream it here:

Phish "La Grange" 8.26.89

Listen Here: "Amphetamine" by Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3

The Band: Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3

The Song: "Amphetamine"

The Deal: fantastic down-and-dirty guitar leads over a great driving bass line. This song is one of the inspirations for this blog.

Longer description:

I stumbled onto this song while casually listening to a coworker's Pandora station and it kicks ass. I'm sorry, I mean it kicks ass! This song hits the ground running with a prominent driving bassline and very cool feedbacky guitar shit for the first minute or so. Then it's lyrics > more guitar > cool dual-guitar thing > guitar solo > vocals > the "I'm gonna live, until the day I die" refrain (complete with the great "Na na na na na na na yeah!" backing vocals.) The super slow fade-out serves this song well, as it gives you the sense that the band may in fact continue to kick ass indefinitely. Everything about this song rocks.

note: minimal research has lead me to conclude that a track this kick-ass in nature seems to be a one-off anomoly for Wynn.


Listen to Amphetamine" on Wynn's myspace page:

www.myspace.com/stevewynnthemiracle3

http://www.stevewynn.net/

Yeah, this may be kinda fucked up as I normally abide by copyright laws and stuff, but here's a link to the download::

http://www.sendspace.com/file/uovil8

Live download: The Drams 6-11-05 Twangfest, St. Louis

The band in uniform (black t-shirt and jeans)

This is one of the Drams first few shows ever and it's the best recording of them I've heard (I've listened to a few of their shows up on archive.org (http://www.archive.org/details/TheDramsMusic) but was unimpressed with the sound quality. The sound quality of this show is quite good and I love the mix). While the band's debut album Jubilee Dive is very produced - overproduced in my opinion - this show presents the much rawer live sound of the band. Which I like. Considering the band had only played a few shows when this show was recorded, they're tight and play this set with a lot of force. The show is strong all the way through with the highlight clearly being Des Moines - the guitar solo part is The Drams at their best (and that's pretty damn good). And even though I'm usually 100% behind the blow-the-roof-off-the-place closing songs, the mellow closer "When You're Tired" works well here.



Yeah, the file by file download is a pain I know. But that's the limit of my tech-geekery. If there's any problems downloading or playing them let me know. Enjoy.




track 1 - hummalong: http://www.sendspace.com/file/vlp167



track 2 - fireflies: http://www.sendspace.com/file/51e2ru



track 3 - truth lies low: http://www.sendspace.com/file/37dl32



track 4 - september's high: http://www.sendspace.com/file/vcm0kt



track 5 - shortsighted: http://www.sendspace.com/file/iia23a






track 6 - you won't forget: http://www.sendspace.com/file/hwei88






track 7 - des moines: http://www.sendspace.com/file/ryez48






track 8 - unhinged: http://www.sendspace.com/file/8brh0a




track 9: when you're tired: http://www.sendspace.com/file/r1m1hj



For anyone who thinks I'm posting this show with blatant disregard of all copyright laws, I assume I'm not since the go-ahead was given to archive.org to host Drams shows:



"I, Brent Best, erstwhile comandant and general leader in all manners spiritual and managerial for the band The Drams, hereby grant my permission for performances by said band to be archived and made available on Archive.org.



brent"



But if the band/management ain't down with this just let me know and I'll take 'em down right quick.