club.kingsnake.com - Features

Feature: ACL Fest - Zilker Park, Austin Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:50:00 -0500

Jakob Dylan on the ATT&T Stage at ACL - more photos
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

It was hot. It was dusty. It was ACL Fest.

Austin's long, dry summer came home to roost during ACL Fest, manifesting itself as an ever-present haze of dust that steadily grew in presence driven by millions of footfalls as concert goers tramped from stage to stage in Austin's Zilker Park all weekend.

Though the dust was a problem, over 80,000 people ignored its chalky properties choosing to overcome and adapt to see headlining artists like Manu Chao, John Fogerty, David Byrne, Beck, Robert Plant & Allison Krause, The Mars Volta, and culminating with the Foo Fighters on Sunday night. Plenty of people turned out early as well to check out lots of other eclectic artists representing a huge variety of genres, from the harder edge of bands like Flyleaf, to the beach vibes of Slightly Stoopid, and the country twang of Paula Nelson or Rodney Crowell.

Rivaling SXSW as the "other" Austin music event, the Austin City Limits Music Festival downtown in Zilker Park drew thousands of people to town to hear a smÃ¶rgÃ¥sbord of bands representing a variety of musical genres playing on 8 different stages. With multiple bands playing at once it was tough to know which stage you were at and which band was playing without a schedule, a map, a watch, and a little luck. Even then with all the outside ACL aftershows and parties it is impossible to see every performance. Heck there are performances associated with ACL that the general public never even hears about. I didn't know about the "warm up" show played by Blues Traveler on the ACL fest stages on Thursday until my sister told me about attending it the next day(thanks for the heads up sis!).

Bavu Blakes and The Extra Plair on the Austin Ventures Stage at ACL- more photos
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

I really didn't expect to get invited to cover ACL fest this year so I was a bit shocked to find that we had been approved for 2 media passes for the weekend. I had applied early on in the year and hadn't heard back until a week beforehand so it kind of came like a bolt from the blue. Luckily I re-arranged my schedule and was able to find time to take in some of the bands and cover a few of the outside activities.

I spent a good part of Friday roaming the festival grounds, as did Jaime Butler one of our staff photographers, and though we didn't have photo passes, our media passes allowed us to wander about and shoot pics of a few bands before the crowds made it impossible to get close to the stage. I ended up Friday over at the Blender house, sipping Sweet Leaf Ice Tea and playing Bocce ball with Ben Cyllus and his band. Ben and his crew had driven all the way down from Nashville to be the very first band of the festival to perform, and with their set done they were looking forward to checking out the rest of the festival as well as sampling Austin's world famous nightlife.

Paula Nelson on the BMI Stage at ACL- more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Jaime returned to the main festival on Saturday and wandered about taking pictures. My 14 year old nephew Blake was in the thick of things and thought crowd surfing was pretty cool until he got dropped. His mother blames me. I got invited to cover the ACL aftershow Saturday at Stubb's headlined by the legendary Gibby Haynes and the Butthole Surfers and spent my evening there dodging my own crowd surfers(check back later for a review).

Neither Jaimie nor I were brave enough to face the crowds on Sunday, though somehow nephew Blake ended up on the front page of the local paper in a crowd shot of Sunday. My sister also somehow managed to wrangle an all access pass and was hanging out backstage with the famous and near famous Sunday night, though even she didn't have the stones to get backstage for the Foo Fighters.

While I missed most of the festival's headline sets, including the Foo Fighters on Sunday, I made up for it Monday night by getting invited to the Foo Fighters Austin City Limits taping down at the KLRU studio on the UT campus. That in itself made the whole ACL experience for me. This show was the hottest ticket of all ACL fest, how I lucked out and got a ticket only the gods know, but that is another story.

Feature: Club Kingsnake Meets The King & His Snakes

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:22:00 -0500

Kerry King of Slayer and Avery Allen of Austin's Applicators - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

My cell phone buzzed and glancing down I knew it was my sister.

"Ok, I got you a pass to an exclusive Pre-VMA party with Young Jeezy"

I was in Anaheim for the North American Reptile Breeders Conference for my real job and I always look for interesting away gigs to cover when I am on the road. Last year it was the Kings Of Leon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Manchester Orchestra at The Greek in L.A. . This time I had planned my trip with the hope of riding out to check out Kerry King's reptile collection and maybe get that long sought after interview that just never seemed to come together. Still it was good to have a backup plan just in case, so my sister had done some calling around and got me probably "THE" VMA hookup. The Young Jeezy party was supposed to take place at a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, and the next night, the night of the VMA's, Brittney Spears would perform at an after party in the same place.

Luckily for my staff who fear my attraction to trashy women, my specific attraction to the Brittney, and our relative proximity would lead to me being labeled Mr. Spears No. 3 the next day, I was going to be gone by the time the Britster made her appearance. Still that Young Jeezy party would be interesting, promising lots of hot babes and celebrities.

In the end I passed on Young Jeezy (no disrespect) to slam a few JÃ¤gers with Kerry. I think I made the right choice.

Continue reading "Feature: Club Kingsnake Meets The King & His Snakes"

Thirteen Great Political Songs

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:16:05 -0500

I won't pretend these are the "World's Greatest Political Songs," because they're not. They are some of my favorites, that's all, representing a fairly narrow range of musical genres, taken off the "Just Politics" playlist on my iPod. In no particular order:

will. i. am. of the Black Eyed Peas, "Yes, We Can"
Supergroup song mixed to a speech by Barack Obama. It's had over 7 million views on YouTube, and it's what inspired this post. Love him, hate him, vote for him or not, this was one hell of a speech, and one brilliant song and video:

Peter Gabriel, "Biko"
I lied about the "not greatest" part because I truly think this might be one of, if not the, greatest political songs. I saw this tour, which was a benefit for Amnesty International, in Oakland, California, and this performance was unbelievable. What actually sicks most in my mind, though, is that he was introducing a song and said something like, "This is a song about love -- the love between a woman and a man, or a man and a man..." and there was loud booing from the audience. He made them turn up the house lights and read the crowd, and said that anyone who had booed should leave immediately. I cried.

Bruce Springsteen, "The Ghost of Tom Joad"
This live version was performed with Tom Morello.

The Nightwatchman, "Alone Without You"
Speaking of Tom Morello... this is a song he wrote after seeing a pre-release screening of "Sicko." The fucked up health "care" system in this country is on my mind right now, seeing a fully employed friend who has no health coverage at her job and can't get it privately due to serious pre-existing conditions is literally on the brink of living in the streets because she can't get health care... way to go, America. So while there are at least a dozen Nightwatchman songs I could have chosen, I chose this one today:

The Dead Kennedys, "Holiday in Cambodia"
These guys always had something sharp and raw to say. I used to tell them they were too testosterone-y back in the day, but I miss them now.

Eight more under the jump....

Continue reading "Thirteen Great Political Songs"

Working Class Hero: Covers of the John Lennon classic

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:32:20 -0500

I don't know what it is about cover songs -- I just love 'em. This is John Lennon's brilliant "Working Class Hero," from his first post-Beatles album, 1970's "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band." I once heard a version of this song by Yoko Ono, but it must have been a bootleg because I can't find it now, no matter how hard I search.

First, of course, the original.

Then the version that in my view is the best, better than Lennon's, the brilliant live cover by the indomitable Marianne Faithful; she also has a studio version from her iconic album "Broken English," but I like this one better:

Green Day's version, part of a benefit for the people of Dafur, and also pretty fucking great:

Folksy treatment by Tina Dickow from "Instant Karma," a tribute to Lennon recorded to benefit Amnesty International. Strong, but not as much my taste:

I heard that Cyndi Lauper's live version of this is good, but sadly, both the audio and video in this clip are so bad, you couldn't prove it by me. She looks damn good, though:

Bowie did a jazzy/glammy live version in 1989 -- kind of creepy, really:

Marilyn Manson also covered this song. There's a short, bad quality live clip here, and an audio only clip here. And another audio-only clip here, from Ozzie Osbourne.

Any others you can recommend?

Interview with the unstoppable multi-band playing maniac Dave Witte!

nospam@example.com (Nokturnel Tom) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:25:00 -0500

I had the chance to catch up with a good friend of mine, Dave Witte, drummer for the extremely popular thrash band Municipal Waste. In the early 90s our bands did many shows together and even way back then Dave was very well respected. Dave is having the time of his life playing for Municipal Waste, and I had a killer time at the show talking about all he'd done since I last saw him. Dave rules! Read on...

Club Kingsnake: Of all the bands you have played with which one of them was your favorite? I understand if you name a few bands as you have done so much since Human Remains.... did a clash of personalities or musical tastes have anything to do with you playing in so many bands?

Dave Witte: Human Remains was my first real band so that has a place in my heart that no other band can match. As for playing in so many bands, I guess I had more needs to express myself in multiple ways than others, I wanted to do everything I could so I was always in a few bands at the same time.

Club Kingsnake: Did playing fast get old for you? Do you prefer the older style of say Municipal Waste over the blasting?

Dave Witte: Never. I love the speed aspect of drumming and music in general. Speed has its place in every kind of music.. I just think people lost the creativity of speed and it became more of a contest with the music taking a back seat. I still love blasting and I sure did my share of it, but for me personally...you can only do the same thing for so long.

Club Kingsnake: How much cooler is life since you left that shit hole of a state New Jersey?

Dave Witte: Way cooler. Whenever I go back, I can only take it for a few days and I just wanna leave. I'm so much more relaxed and I enjoy the quality of life as opposed to being high strung and stressed out in the rat race. I can't deny where I am from at the same time, I learned a lot of great things and met some really great people living in NJ and for that I am grateful. Scott Ruth and Jack Monahan had a lot to do with my musical upbringing and if I wasn't in NJ I probably wouldn't have met them. I also wouldn't have met Martin O'Connor, Mot, Donut, Bekov, Wickmen and Nokturnel. :)

Club Kingsnake: Do you have any endorsements, how'd that come about?

Dave Witte: Yes, I proudly play Trick drums, Paiste cymbals and Vic Firth drumsticks. I submitted myself for all these companies time after time and never gave up. It was hard work, but I never gave up. There were some people that really helped me with Paiste 'caue they were super hard to get through too. They get thousands of submissions yearly ya know?. Chris Hornbrooke (Poison The Well), Aaron Harris (Isis), Mike Ambrose (Set Your Goals) and Matt Byrne (Hatebreed) really went to bat for me and I'll never forget that.

Club Kingsnake: I noticed Municipal Waste has an outrageous amount of views/plays on your myspace page. When I spoke to the guys about it they all seemed shocked. Who keeps up on the industry stuff and who handles booking the tours? You guys play everywhere and never seems to stop....is this all planned out far in advance or are you able to pick up and leave at a moment's notice?

Dave Witte: I never really pay attention to the Waste myspace page, or read the interviews or press about us. I know there is a good and bad and fortunately more good than bad. We are lucky to be able to work so hard to get a great response. The music we write is what carries us after all, but the people who come see us show after show is what keeps us going. We are a pretty democratic band and all handle duties within the band. We all work together to plan our schedule around our lives for the year, it's planned pretty far in advance.
We have plans into December '08 at the moment.

Club Kingsnake: Name a few drummers who you think are worthy of praise in the extreme metal scene.

Dave Witte: One of the greatest and most underrated is Brandon Thomas of Ripping Corpse/Dim-Mak. He had the biggest effect on m when I was younger. Roddy, Laureno and Longstreth are in leagues of their own. I'd say Nick Barker is the Neil Peart of extreme metal drumming. Everything beat and fill is so tasteful and thought out, I love listening to him. The drumming on Dimmu Borgir's Death Cult Armageddon is perfect.

Club Kingsnake: Is playing drums for you a full time thing or do you also have a day job?

Dave Witte: I still work 'cause I like to be constantly busy. I work in a kitchen for a catering company. I love it and the people who work there. They are the people who let me come and go over the years as well, so I'll work when they need me.

Club Kingsnake: Do you have any desire to play in the technical metal category any more? Is it more rewarding to play music people have an easier time following?

Dave Witte: Yeah, that part of me is still there. After a while of playing the same songs all year long I need another something ya know? I don't miss the pressure of technical music. When I was younger and I would make mistakes, I would get really down on myself. I've learned to let that go and have a good time, it's a better mental state.

Club Kingsnake: You guys are so god damned lucky to have a spot on the At the Gates tour. Tell me a little about the friendship you have with them and how long have you known those guys?

Dave Witte: We are very lucky and we know it; it's a dream tour for lots of people. I've been a fan since Gardens of Grief, so it means a great deal for me. Anders and I were pen pals in the early 90s death metal underground before email existed and we traded demos. The Waste also toured with The Haunted last year as well. Needless to say we all very excited when they invited us on the tour.

Club Kingsnake: Hollywood seems to have run out of ideas with tons of remakes hitting the cinema. Do you see the same redundancy is metal?

Dave Witte: Yeah, of course, but I'm a firm believer that the clones are needed to spawn the next thing. Everyone jumps on some band wagon one time or another and in time, "that one band" will realize and change. Take At the Gates, for example; they came out of Sweden in the death metal heyday, evolved into greatness and changed the whole US hardcore scene. I'm still waiting for something to come out of there though, haha Human Remains was a total Ripping Corpse worship clone before we figured it out, but we flew over people's heads, we went way out there.

SXSW: The Emotional response to Body of War.

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:24:41 -0500

Tomas Young and Tom Morello
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

I'm the big guy with the short fuse..... actually for a lot of years I've had that under control. Now I feel like I have a fuse running the other way. Maybe it's the exhaustion of being at SXSW for eight days or maybe Christie's passion and dedication, but I found I was really moved on Thursday at the Body of War events. Even before coming to Texas watching the trailer for the movie stirred a deep emotional response in me.

I had planned to go to the screening with Christie. Really, I had. Even though I wasn't sure I could sit though that. At the last minute, Christopher Rees asked me to come shoot his show at the New Music from Wales showcase so he could have some photos for a travel piece he's writing for a paper back home. I called Christie and begged off the screening with the promise that I will be at the theatre to take photos during the Q&A afterwards. I was there in plenty of time and listened for close to an hour from the lobby. Suspicions confirmed, I didn't want to sit through that.

On my way back to the Hotel last night Christie sent me a text message asking for some of my Body of War photos to accompany her article. I've been taking well over 1000 photos every day wandering the streets of Autin and had taken several hundred of the Body of War events so I was getting a little behind. It was when I sat down to look at those photos that I felt very proud. When photographing live events you are at the mercy of ambient lighting, but the combination of the skill of the lighting tech at Stubb's and my conscious effort to portray the event in the proper way seem to have suceeded.

Christie's going to post several of my favourites in her feature but to the left is one that I really liked. This was after the showcase and Tomas was posing for a photo with Tom Morello. I like to think of it as everyman whispering in his ear "we're here and we care".

I will see this Movie.

SXSW: Body of War, Preview

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:22:29 -0500

I left Clint and Jeff in Austin and headed home after 8 days -- completely exhausted. I had to leave at 5 this morning, which means I've had around four hours sleep, if that. I got back to San Francisco around the time I would normally be getting up. There just isn't enough coffee in all the Starbucks in all the aiport waiting areas in the world to fix that.

My final day at SXSW was the longest and busiest of the entire week, but two events dominate it absolutely: the premiere of an unbelievably powerful documentary, "Body of War," and the showcase concert that followed, featuring artists from the soundtrack including Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, the Nightwatchman), Ben Harper, and Billy Bragg.

The undeniable star of both events was Tomas Young (photo of him visiting Ground Zero, courtesy of bodyofwar.com), the disabled Iraq veteran who is the subject of the film.

I'm still waiting for Clint to upload photos from the "Body of War" film q&a and the concert, and will post more then -- he just texted me from the streets of Austin that he's uploading them shortly. But in the meantime, the CD will be released Tuesday, and the film starts nationwide in the next few weeks -- different dates in different cities. The schedule can be viewed by clicking on "In Theaters" here.

I went for the soundtrack -- and it is incredible, featuring original material by Eddie Vedder as well as contributions from dozens of other alternative artists. But right now I'm just grateful the music got me there, because I wouldn't have missed this for the world.

SXSW: Lou Reed Keynote

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:22:26 -0500

This morning, Lou Reed will be giving the keynote address for the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, which starts at 11:30 AM Eastern Time. I saw him yesterday at the U.S. premiere of "Lou Reed's Berlin," after which he did an audience Q&A.

As has been usual here in the Austin Convention Center, there's almost no internet access whatsoever, and I may or may not be able to update this as I go along.

This is a live record of the address. I'm typing it in real time and there will be typos. Only things in quotation marks are direct quotes; anything else will be a paraphrase or summary. If you're reading in real time, hit "refresh" now and then to see new material.

Clint is here shooting and ~~we'll get photos added to this post as soon as the Internets allow~~ I have updated with photos.

Roland Swenson one of the founders of SXSW, welcomes us and thanks us for coming out early this morning after a late night.

Last year he stood before this audience and said he feared the war would still be going on and none of the political candidates would be acvocating an end to the war in Iraq... and that was true. Three trillion dollars for the war. What we spend on the war every three days would provide health insurance for every child in the country who does not have it. Conservative pundits say the war is going well. The families of the soldiers who died in the last week would probably disagree.

The good news is that this time next year, we'll have a new president. Normally 75 people attend his local caucus -- this year, 400. "A posture of disaffected cynicism is a luxury we can no longer afford." To quote last year's keynote speaker, Pete Townsend, let's get on our knees and pray we don't get fooled again.

Introduces Louis Black, fellow SXSW founder and editor of the Austin Chronicle.

Lou Reed is such an impotant and influential artist that he's actually, for the first time, nervous. Says SXSW is about artists who are following their vision. If they weren't successful, they keep doing it anyway. They are driven. They have to do the work they do.

Lou Reed has always stayed true to his vision, and he has always inspired other artists because of that.

Standing ovation as Reed takes the stage. Hal Wilner is with him.

Reed calls Wilner one of the great producers, and his friend. They have worked together a long time.

Wilner says he feels like Tony Soprano and his shrink.

"Pretty funny, huh?" deadpans Reed. "Good thing you're a producer."

Wilner said yesterday they showed the American premiere of Julian Schnabel's "Lou Reed's Berlin." Less than half the audience had seen it, though.

Wilner: Lou's heard this before, but this is one of the great things he did (Berlin). Lou is sort of the rock and roll Miles Davis as far as more than half a dozen times, what he does has basically changed the direction of rock and roll. You can't deny the influence of the Velvet Underground, Transformer, Street Hassle, Metal Machine Music.

It is an amazing thing to be be able to put it on stage with choir, strings, horns, the original producer... all from 1973.

"Worst album ever made," "Most depressing album ever made" Reed says, quoting reviews.

Reed: Only a couple of successes, Wild Side, Berlin, Rock and Roll Animal. Berlin was used in a lawsuit against me by management to show why I shouldn't be able to handle my own affairs if I made a record like that. A great example for those seeking guidance in the music industry.

New York was a baby success.

Wilner: People call Billie Holliday records depressing, but they're also very healing.

Reed: Tour is going back out this summer, but only in Europe. Staged originally in Brooklyn with New York people except for Rupert on keyboards. But not in LA, music business town. Not in the states. For those of you who went yesterday, that's what we wanted to show you.
Continue reading "SXSW: Lou Reed Keynote"

SXSW: Lou Reed's Berlin/Q & A

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:21:04 -0500

Lou Reed is doing the keynote address for SXSW Music tomorrow morning, and I'll be liveblogging it, but this afternoon he made an unscheduled (but not unanticipated) appearance at the U.S. premiere of "Lou Reed's Berlin," a film by Julian Schnabel.

Shot over five nights at St. Anne's Warehouse in Brooklyn, "Lou Reed's Berlin" is a film of the first live performances ever of Reed's legendary 1973 conceptual album. Because Reed was one of the first alternative music artists I ever listened to, after hearing a Patti Smith bootleg of the Velvet Underground's "White Light, White Heat," and because "Berlin" in particular is an album I have loved for its music and for the time in my own life it evokes, this film was pretty much the reason I came to Austin -- that and the hope of seeing Reed perform, and hearing him speak.

So it's really no surprise that the concert the film depicts blew me away. It was brilliantly conceived and executed -- with even the somewhat-loose-on-the-lyrics Reed nailing every phrase perfectly.

Austin's Paramount Theater did full justice to the film's excellent sound, particularly the guitar solos by original "Berlin" guitarist Steve Hunter as well as Reed. There was an orchestra, conducted by original "Berlin producer" Bob Ezrin, who along with Hal Willner produced the stage show.

Fernando Saunders on bass, Tony "Thunder" Smith on drums, Rob Wasserman on stand-up bass, and keyboardist Rupert Christie were backed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and... Antony.

Antony, of a group called Antony and the Johnsons, has what may be one of the most perfect voices I've ever heard. He caught my ear once or twice during "Berlin," but for an encore, he and Reed did a duet on "Candy Says," and his insanely beautiful and powerful falsetto knocked me flat. At the end of the song, Reed looked at him with affectionate awe, and just gestured at him and said, "Antony."

Director Julian Schnabel is an painter. He's a renowned filmmaker as well, and I thought the staging (which he designed) as well as the concert footage were amazing. As a live performance, the lighting and use of film on stage worked extremely well.

What did not work for me was the extra footage shot by filmmaker Lola Schnabel (Julian's daughter). I had an image of Caroline, Jim, and the setting of "Berlin" in my mind already, and seeing it spelled out was jarring for me.

Before the film started, Reed was escorted into the theater and seated on the aisle just three seats away from me. I'd have been surprised if he wasn't there, but he wasn't an announced guest. I admit I kept glancing at him during the film to see how he was reacting to it -- and several times caught him moving his head in time to the music.

After the film, he and producer Hal Wilner took the stage to answer questions from the audience. This is from my notes; only things in quotation marks are direct quotes.

Q: How did this project come about?

Hal Wilner: Susan Feldman first suggested it as part of the arts programs at St. Anne's in Brooklyn. It seemed so big, so unlikely -- just a dream. "But she pulled it off eventually."

Q: Please talk about how the two of you created those guitar sounds.

Lou Reed: Me and Wilner, we've been working a real long time now to get those sounds and not lose your hearing. I've known Hal since the Kurt Weil album.

Hal Wilner: I'm from the old school of production. We brought back the original producer, Bob Ezrin, along with Steve Hunter and keyboardist Rupert Christie.

Q: Will we ever see Time Rocker in this format?

Lou Reed: "Well, wouldn't that be nice?" He explained to the audience "Time Rocker" is a play he wrote with Robert Wilson. They never got to record it. "This was not supposed to be first in a series."

"Why not?" shouted someone in the audience.

Reed said he never thought it would happen, there's no money in it; that's why.

Q: Antony... what's the story there?

Lou Reed: We met through Wilner...

Hal Wilner: They were doing another play with Robert Wilson. While looking through some records for a singer, he saw one called "I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy" by Antony and the Johnsons, so he gave it to Reed with a bunch of others.

Lou Reed: He played it and after around 10 seconds, said, what an astonishing voice. And he was like 15 minutes away. "That's New York." Then he added, "Antony is 6'4". Don't screw around with him."

Q: Will you work with Robert Wilson again?

Lou Reed: "We're always threatening to."

Q: How much time did you rehearse with the youth choir?

Hal Wilner: Three time together. Other times they rehearsed with music teachers etc.

Q: How did you and Julian work together?

Lou Reed: "Julian's been in love with this album for a long time. He just understood it. There are some things you don't even have to discuss. And that's how."

Q: How did it feel to revisit the emotions of this album, which run very deep?

Lou Reed: "The main thing to me is, do the lyrics hold up?....It's about jealousy, and impotence, and the inability to communicate." He tried not to use slang venacular in case they ever had the chance to do it later.

They finished up to loud applause. I'll be back in the morning with his keynote address, and Clint will be there to shoot that, so we'll have photos. Now I'm off to see Tom Morello!

SXSW 2008: A Conversation with Moby

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:47:39 -0500

A conversation with Moby, SXSW 2008 -
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

I'm at South by Southwest in Austin, and as I did last year with Pete Townsend's keynote address, I'll be liveblogging first this conversation with dance/electronica artist Moby, and tomorrow, rock legend Lou Reed

I'm doing this live, so there will be typos. If you're following in real time, just hit refresh on this post from time to time so you can see new material. Anything with quotations marks is a direct quote; otherwise, it's a paraphrase

The conversation will begin at 4 PM Eastern Time, around ten minutes from now. Clint is here with his cameras, and we'll try to add photos as we go along. If that's not possible, we'll add them at the end

I should also mention that this world-class internet conference has truly crappy internet connectivity so if it's a while between updates, blame Austin

From the program description:

This session, hosted by BMI, will take a look at the musician's relationship with cinema, from composing original scores (Southland Tales) to contributing and licensing his music for film and TV projects (The Bourne Ultimaturm, Heat). In addition, it will include a look at "moby gratis," the musician's new endeavor to offer some of his music, free of charge, to independent filmmakers.

More under the jump...
Continue reading "SXSW 2008: A Conversation with Moby"

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:48:20 -0600

Leonard Cohen wrote one of the most beautiful -- and frequently covered -- songs of all time, "Hallelujah." He recorded two versions of the song, the original version from Various Positions and a version I like better, longer, edgier, more modern, with very different lyrics, from Leonard Cohen Live In Concert.

Given that there are ten thousand versions or so of this song out there, it's hard to believe that there's only one video of Cohen performing it on YouTube -- and it's the original 1985 version -- and sadly, it's not very good, just a European television appearance lip sync.

Some of the best and most interesting of the many other versions, under the jump -- John Cale, Allison Crowe, kd lang, Jeff Buckley, Brandi Carlile, and Bono.
Continue reading "Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah"

Review: Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 23:58:00 -0500

I've noticed something about the reviews I've read of Stephen Kijak's documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man. Most of them end up being more about Walker's music than the film.

The intense focus on the music rather than the man isn't an accident, nor even a concession to Walker's legendary privacy, but a genuine reflection of Kijak's own focus. When I interviewed Kijak in Austin, the entire hour was spent talking about almost nothing but the music. So don't see this film expecting an uber-cool alt/indie version of a VH-1 special. Scott Walker: 30 Century Man isn't an industry "music bio."It's a film documenting what director Kijak called "the evolution of a songwriter over time."

David Bowie
From Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

That evolution has covered a lot of territory, from his early years as a 60s UK boy band pop star, to his presence today as a composer of work so experimental and abstract it defies categorization. Scott Walker has crooned ballads to an orchestral accompaniment, and created percussion by thwacking a side of pork. He brought Belgian singer Jacque Brel into vogue with Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel and his still-iconic performances of Mathilde and Jackie. He entered the consciousness of a new generation of listeners with the stunning compilation Boy Child: The Best of Scott Walker 1967-1970. He's influenced everyone from Lulu to David Bowie (who executive produced and appears in the film) to Sting to the Smiths to Brian Eno to Marc Almond to Radiohead to Pulp (he produced We Love Life, and Jarvis Cocker is all over the film) to Dot Allison, and dozens, even hundreds, of other musicians. And once you've seen it, there's something else anyone who has listened to alternative/indie music in the last forty years will quickly realize: Even if you didn't know Walker's name, you've been listening to musicians influenced by him all your life.
Continue reading "Review: Scott Walker: 30 Century Man"

Something I Missed During the 90s

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:11:00 -0500

I interviewed filmmaker Stephen Kijak in Austin during SXSW last month (my review of his music doc Scott Walker: 30 Century Man will be out in the next few days, in time for you East Coasters to catch it at the Tribeca Film Festival in May), and in the midst of a long rambling discussion of basically every single bit of music he and I had listened to in our entire lives, he asked if I was familiar with Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris.

Now, despite my anti-country black-nail-polish youth, I got the Emmylou love a long time ago, and her live Lillith Fair duet of "Angel" with Sarah McLachlan owns me body and soul. Nonetheless, I was genuinely unfamiliar with Wrecking Ball. It was produced by Daniel Lanois, who I knew originally for his work with Brian Eno, but who also has produced Peter Gabriel, U2, Ron Sexsmith, Bob Dylan, and a long list of others. It got released in 1995 - hell, it won a Grammy - but let's just say 1995 was a rough year for me and leave it at that.

Anyway, I got home from SXSW and immediately plunged into covering the pet food recall story, and only a few days ago got around to playing the Wrecking Ball CD I ordered from Amazon based on Stephen's raves about it.

Then I fell down dead.

This album is just beautiful. I've heard complaints about the sound mix/production value, but on a marginally decent system (mine), it sounded beautiful. Hell, it sounded great on my computer speakers.

Of course Harris is best known as a country singer, but this album completely transcends genre. Lanois' production is as atmospheric as anything he's ever done, but in combination with the strong melodies of the songs, and Harris' killer vocals, the album manages to sound edgy and completely accessible at the same time.

Wrecking Ball isn't exactly a hidden treasure. The biggest names in music collaborated on it... U2's Larry Mullen is keeping the beat, Lanois produced and wrote two of the songs, Neil Young sang along. There are a number of covers - including Bob Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand" and Young's "Wrecking Ball."

Harris' voice has never been clearer, more nuanced, more expressive. And it's not just that she has a great voice; her phenomenol phrasing brings every bit of meaning to the lyrics. I'm not sure there is a better female vocalist recording today.

If you held a gun to my head, I'd probably say that "All My Tears," "Deeper Well," and "Wrecking Ball" are the strongest cuts on the album. But most likely I'd just have to let you shoot me, because there's not a single track on here that isn't pure brilliance.

I you, like me, missed it, you should fix that. And if you didn't miss it, but haven't heard it in a while, you should fix that, too.

And I may need to send Stephen Kijak roses or something.

SXSW: The dark side

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:52:54 -0500

I just spoke to Jeff on the phone. His voice sounded ragged, but he assured me he'd had a really good night's sleep, possibly as much, he said, as six hours.

Clint is apparently ~~dead~~ still sleeping.

I should never have left those two in Austin unsupervised.

I've been holding off on posting my review of Scott Walker: 30 Century Man until I've transcribed the hour-long interview I did with filmmaker Stephen Kijak, not the easiest thing in the world to do with a carpal tunnel syndrome flare-up caused by two long liveblogging sessions.

Hopefully the boys will have some good video and photos and reports ready to upload for us in a little while - I know Jeff got some great footage of REM's Peter Buck last night, if he can only access enough brain cells to download it and write something.

I feel bad but I honestly didn't know that part of my editorial duty would involve getting those two Lojacked. I'm so sorry.

Here is some more Ask a Ninja blogging, this time with me and my tiny little laptop. Kent Nichols on the left, me and said tiny laptop in the middle, Douglas Sarine on the right, club kingsnake booth in the background.

And as soon as I have this interview transcribed, I'll post my thoughts on the Scott Walker music doc. Short review: Great film, and hopefully the reclusive genius will find a few new fans when it starts showing on the American art house circuit. Those who don't like Walker because they think he's pretentious may change their minds when they actually see him interviewed and watch the footage of him recording The Drift, but those who don't like him because his current work baffles them will most likely not. And fans will think they've died and gone to heaven. Interviewees include Brian Eno, Johnny Marr, Marc Almond, Lulu, Dot Allison, Radiohead, David Bowie, and a lengthy list of other notables in experimental, alternative, and pop music. I got chills, but then again, I'm a complete freak.

SXSW: Pete Townshend

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:35:14 -0500

Pete Townsend Keynote Interview - photo by clint gilders - staff photographer

Pete Townshendâ€™s keynote address to the SXSW Music Festival is being held in the same room where I liveblogged Dan Ratherâ€™s keynote interview at the interactive part of this conference a couple of days ago â€“ same stage set, and lots of the same people. Quite a few less laptops in evidence, though. And with less than 15 minutes to the start, plenty of empty seats, although people are streaming in â€“ I think they may be making people without badges wait until the last minute to come in, not sure.

Itâ€™s now only 6 minutes until the address is supposed to begin â€“ still more than half the seats are empty, and the number of rock â€˜nâ€™ roll as opposed to indy/geek types is growing. Probably not so much now with the Rather crowd. And a lot more camera equipment.

I shall now amuse myself counting Grateful Dead t-shirts.

Four minutes nowâ€¦. I canâ€™t help but think this is a disappointing turnout, although I donâ€™t really know what they were expecting.

I also noticed when the music festival officially opened, there was suddenly a deluge of tan, white haired, industry types from LA with cell phones glued to their ears. Itâ€™s not that the tech crowd didnâ€™t have cell phones glued to their ears. Itâ€™s not that I didnâ€™t. Itâ€™s just these guys do it in a certain self-important way quite different from how geeks do it.

It should be starting now, but people are still pouring in. Thereâ€™s a girl who is probably young enough to be Pete Townshendâ€™s granddaughter, wearing army fatigues and a Grateful Dead t-shirt.

Here we go. Welcome to SXSW XXI etc. Then more etc. â€œIt is entirely reasonable for kids, and adults, to devote their passions and their lives to rock and roll.â€?

Standing ovation for Pete. Chants of â€œPete, Pete, Pete.â€?
Continue reading "SXSW: Pete Townshend"

SXSW: Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:17:16 -0500

Clint and I saw Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, the new documentary on musician Scott Walker, last night - Clint wasn't familiar with Scott Walker, and was entranced (my word) by Walker's more recent works, while I found Walker years ago via Bowie and Eno and freely admit to being more appreciative of his middle period than either his early pop star days or the experimental music of his last two albums. Then again, Clint is a musician and I'm not, and Walker is typically revered by musicians.

I'll review it more fully lately, but I thought the documentary was brilliant and should be interesting even to those who've never heard of Walker - at least, those with an interest in music. I was very surprised to see how articulate and witty Walker is, given his extremely reclusive nature. The technique of having the musicians interviewed for the film listen to Walker's music on camera is something I've never seen before - I loved it.

I'm interviewing director Stephen Kijak this afternoon, and Clint's coming along to take photos. Tonight I'll also be liveblogging Pete Townshend's keynote address from SXSW here on club.kingsnake.

Update: The review, plus an interview with Stephen Kijak, is here.

SXSW: Snake t-shirts on an airplane

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:46:09 -0500

I was clearing out spam, I mean, approving comments, on the blog this morning, and there was one from someone who'd seen one of our "My snake is bigger than your snake" t-shirts on someone on an airplane, and wanted to know how she could get one.

I've also been on a crusade to get every woman at SXSW here in Austin to wear one, because it just seems so subversive somehow.

Tonight I'm dragging Clint off to see the US premier of Stephen Kijak's documentary about the reclusive and elusive cult musician Scott Walker, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man. I'll be interviewing Stephen on Wednesday and asking the question: how did YOU discover the music of Scott Walker? I found him on a roundabout journey that started with Patti Smith. It's a long story.

But for now? I'm handing out t-shirts.

Canadian Bands That Don't Suck - Lost Cause

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:24:00 -0600

Lost Cause - www.lostcause.ca
Location: Oshawa, Ontario
Status: Unsigned
Style: Hard Rock/Metal
Releases:

Kill The Sickness of Being

Why they don't Suck: I saw this band live for the first time on January 13th, 2007, and they severely kicked my ass. I then gave their latest CD a spin and felt like I was privy to something great. The brothers Bailey have crafted a sound that draws from many influences but is at the same time unique. Yeah they are damn heavy, but there are enough hooks to make the music accessible to the masses.

See them Live:

01.20.07 - Oshawa, ON @ DUNGEON
03.10.07 - Oshawa, ON @ EPTAYLORS
03.14.07 - Burlington, ON @ FORMAC

Also see their myspace page

Photos: club.kingsnake gallery

I'm not ready for the 80s to be back

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 13:27:08 -0600

I just got back from New York, and if there's one trend I picked up on in the clubs, it's that the 80s have made a massive resurgence on the dance floor.

Between the remixes and remakes of 80s songs, and just plain old playing 80s hits - I swear to you, I heard "Billie Jean" FIVE TIMES - it was completely frightening.

They say New York is the city that never sleeps, and that's both true and apparently contagious, since I got roughly four hours of sleep over the course of four days. It's been a long time since I got home from a night out, changed, and went out dancing.

The hotel I stayed in had a DJ.

Please consider this my application to renew my lapsed membership in the "I Love New York" club. Thanks.

Where were you? Fall 1991, Nirvana - Nevermind

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:40:00 -0600

Quietly on my PVR sat an episode of VH1's classic albums. I've watched lots of these before, but never has such an emotional response been stirred in me.

This episode was about Nirvana, Nevermind. Released in late September 1991, Nevermind pretty much single handedly brought the Seattle "grunge" scene to the mainstream, and signed the death warrant for the most popular music of the time. What is now affectionately known as Hair Metal died that year.

I can still vividly recall where I was the first time I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I close my eyes and I'm in my girlfriend's tiny, dank basement apartment at 132nd Street and 106a Ave in Surrey (the armpit of) B.C. I'm alone. Andrea is probably working at the Subway on King George Highway, selling sandwiches to the junkies, hookers, and strippers, hoping to screw one up so it can't be sold and she can bring it home and we can eat that day. Much Music airs the video and I am transfixed. I have never seen anything like this. The emotion, the distortion, the destruction.

On the other side of the country in Quebec's Eastern townships are Sliky and T-Bag, lead singer and bassist in my band Scooter Trash. They also witness this phoenix rising from the ashes of corporate rock.

Shortly after their return to B.C. it was Andrea, Sliky, T-Bag, and myself all living in the tiny apartment on 106a Ave. T-Bag had returned from Quebec with a vintage Harley and an old pickup truck (I'm not saying where the money came from). This at least allowed us to escape from the 200 square foot basement apartment prison. We set out to find this Nevermind. Nowhere in Surrey is it available so we decided to head south, across the border, and try our luck. Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A ..... success. We now had Nevermind (on cassette!).

The journey home was an education and an indoctrination, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" blasting out of the speakers while the truck's pathetic stereo begs for mercy. Never have we experienced anything like this and I can say that I have not heard anything like it since.

Did Nevermind effect you this way? Maybe you didn't care, maybe you hated it? What album is important to you?

Road Rage

nospam@example.com (Tony Reptiles) — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 00:48:28 -0600

This week I have been mostly ... driving into lamp-posts.

Having just got my decrepit old 1971 MG Midget back on the road, I thought now would be the time. The car is a bit like my girlfriend - unreliable, expensive to maintain, makes too much noise, and smells really weird, but beautiful, and I love being inside it.

Anyway.

Now that Iâ€™m back on the road, I thought I needed some tunes. Shit! After an hour of shuffling and burning I only came up with my ultimate road rage album. If Iâ€™m dead soon youâ€™ll know why. Strap yourself in; this is gonna be one hell of a ride.

1. Offspring â€“ Bad Habit
Well, what else was this compilation gonna start with, you stupid, dumshit goddamned mother fucker? Even the intro gets adrenalin my pumping. Possibly the archetypal road rage track.

Drop a gear when you hear â€“ â€œWhen I go driving I stay in my lane!â€?

2. Rage Against the Machine â€“ Killing in the Name

The soundtrack to many a dance-floor punch up. Starts slow but makes your foot twitch as you feel it build up.

Drop a gear when you hear â€“ â€œFuck you, I wonâ€™t do what you tell me!â€?

3. New Model Army â€“ 125mph

Heavy and hard Heaton drumming at its best. When the boys played it live, you saw the pit swell, eyes grow wild and wide, and fists clench. Poor bastards didnâ€™t now what hit 'em.

Drop a gear when you hear â€“ â€œIâ€™m heading North, Iâ€™m heading home. Doing 125!â€?

4. Prodigy â€“ No Good

Oh god! This track just makes my eyes bleed! Each time the beat kicks in, Iâ€™m stamping on the pedal so hard I think itâ€™s going through the floor pan! It should be against the law to play The Prodigy in your car. Iâ€™d drive better if I was drunk. Oh shitâ€¦â€¦..itâ€™s building again!

Drop a gear when you hear â€“ anything you like. It drops in so often.

5. Aphrodite â€“ Heat Haze

An instrumental that takes you on a journey, whether you like it or not. A phat bass and frantic drum machine make you want to corner sideways. Try not to punch the windscreen with your face.

Drop a gear when you hear â€“ â€œYeahâ€¦.yeahâ€¦..yeahâ€¦.yeahâ€¦..YEAH!!!!!!!!!!â€?

6. Limp Bizkit â€“ Take a Look Around

The theme to Mission Impossible II. I used a remixed version of this as my walkon music when I was boxing. The drum beats drop in like a heavyweight journeyman. Killer!

Drop a gear when you hear â€œNow I know why you wanna hate me. Cos hate is all the world has even seen lately.â€?

7. Pop Will Eat Itself- Not Now James, Weâ€™re Busy

UKâ€™s Stourbrige grebo rockers. I used to roadie for these fellas, and they were pretty big on the UK indie/punk. If you missed out, you missed out. This oneâ€™s a spoof account of the godfather of soulâ€™s famous police chase. At least youâ€™ll be smiling on the stretcher.

Drop a gear when you hear â€œMrs, Brown you got a lovely son, but heâ€™s on the run on a shotgun mission!â€?

8. Motorhead - Ace of Spades

Where would we be without a bit of Lemmy? If I have to tell you why this is on here, you shouldnâ€™t be here.

Drop a gear when you hear â€“ the guitar kick in.

9. Dust Junkies â€“ Nothing Personal

Gritty UK rock/rap, but theyâ€™d rob Linkinâ€™ Park and then set fire to them. The lead singer looks like he wants to cut you. Think Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Think Lenny MeClean. Think about walking in the opposite direction if you ever meet these guys.

â€œDrop a gear when you hear â€“ â€œlâ€™ll cut you straight up and down if you think youâ€™re hard enough!â€?

10. Soundgarden â€“ Jesus Christ Pose

A religious theme seems to be developing. (See below.) No wonder I feel angry as hell when this tune kicks in. Chris must have been having a really bad day. So will anyone who cuts me up while this is banging out. I have a complete disregard for my personal safety when this tune kicks in.

Drop a gear when you hear â€“ â€œBut you're staring at me like I need to beâ€¦â€¦ savedâ€?

11. Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod

Soon I discovered this rock thing was true. Jerry Lee Lewis was the Devil. Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet. All of a sudden I found myself in love with the world, so there was only one thing I could do, ding a ding dang my dangalong ling long.

Drop a gear when you hearâ€¦â€¦ too late!

So, what are you guys trashing cars to? Iâ€™m expecting a lot of thrash and the like but I wonder if thereâ€™s anything a bit less obvious that I have missed?

Let me know so I can add it on and take it for a test drive.

Canadian Bands that Don't Suck: David Gogo

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 07:18:16 -0500

My friend Jim submitted this to me. I have to agree....... David Gogo doesn't suck.

David Gogo davidgogo.com
Location: Nanaimo , British Columbia
Status: Signed to Cordova Bay Records
Style: Blues
Releases:

Acoustic: Official Bootleg Series - Volume 2 (2006)
Skeleton Key - U.S. Release (2006)
Vibe (2004)
Skeleton Key (2002)
Live at Deer Lake: Official Bootleg Series - Volume 1 (2003)
Halfway to Memphis (2001)
Dine Under The Stars(2000)
Change of Pace (2000)
Bare Bones (2000)
David Gogo (1994)

Awards and Nominations:

Juno Nomination - Best New Artist
West Coast Music Awards - Musician of the Year 1999/00
Real Blues Magazine - Top Blues/Rock CD of the Year for Skeleton Key
2003 Maple Blues Awards - Guitarist of the Year
2004 Maple Blues Awards - 5 nominations
2004 CBC Saturday Night Blues - Great Canadian Blues Award for Lifetime Contribution
2005 Maple Blues Awards - Guitarist of the Year winner and Entertainer of the Year nomination

Why he doesn't suck: Wayyyyyy back in '96, my buddy called me up and said, "Hey - we're going to the Max Webster Reunion show - wanna come? "

When we arrived at the venue, I asked the doorman who the opening act was, and he replied, "Some guy named David Gogo." Never heard of him, so we expected 45 minutes of lameass crap. Wrong! This guy came out and rocked the place with tons of old blues standards and jaw-dropping guitar playing. I saw him again in 2004, and he still has it - rippin' it up in a local bar. As he walked around the bar playing an extended slide guitar solo, he started using any items the crowd offered up for a slide - even a white cane held high by one of the patrons who was blind!

See him Live:

http://www.davidgogo.com/tour.php

Canadian Bands that don't Suck - KillRhythm

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 06:58:00 -0500

Kill Rhythm - killrhythm.com
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Status: Unsigned
Style: Hard Rock/Metal
Releases:

KillRhythm (E.P)
Double Platinum (E.P)
KillRhythm III (E.P.)
KillRhythm 4

Why they don't Suck: Over the course of their 4 recordings Kill Rhythm have evolved into a powerful band that writes great songs. Garth Allen is one of the most talented frontmen I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. "The Future Hurts" just grabs you by the throat and won't let go. What a great song!

See them in cyberspace: The Future Hurts
See them Live: They only seem to play once a month. Check their MySpace Page for upcoming dates.

The Horror That Is Celebrity Duets

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:19:48 -0500

I've never watched any of these talent/reality shows, like American Idol. I'm not so much on the television watching.

But there was a time I was hopelessly addicted to a campy, intoxicating show called Xena: Warrior Princess, starring former Miss New Zealand Lucy Lawless in the title role.

I knew Lawless (Battlestar Galactica) could sing, since XWP had several musical episodes (I told you it was campy), so it makes sense that a B-list celeb fest like Celebrity Duets might include her. It pairs entertainers not known as singers with musical legends - usually code for "has-beens," and there are a few of those, but many genuine legends as well, including Smokey Robinson, Patti LaBelle, and Gladys Knight.

It's not hard to see where a show like this could suck. It's hard to see, in fact, how it couldn't. And if you're sitting there thinking I'm going to tell you it doesn't suck, you're wrong. Because it sucks so massively it's causing a disruption in the space-time continuum. It's sucking at Olympic levels. It's sucking like the last sucky thing in the galaxy.

Are you getting the picture?

Let me give you an example, much as it pains me.

Actor/comedian Hal Sparks (Survival of the Richest, Queer as Folk, stupid VH-1 series I Love the 70s, I Love the 80s, and I Love the 90s) and Dee Snyder (Twisted Sister) singing "We're Not Gonna Take It." The sheer badness of this duet is, frankly, indescribable, although that won't prevent me from attempting to describe it for you. Sparks is notable for having been called "too white" by Celebrity Duets judge Marie Osmond earlier in the show, and when Marie Osmond thinks you're "too white," honey... you're too white. Not just to sing Motown, which he tried to do, not just to sing, but to GO ON LIVING.

But I'd rather see him singing Motown every day for the rest of my life than have to live through his duet with Dee Snyder again. It was tuneless and soulless and horrifying. He was wearing too much eyeliner, and in his case, any is too much.

And I must not be the only one, because despite much diligent searching, I can't find video of this ~~nightmare~~ performance on YouTube or anywhere else people upload these things.

I can, however, show you the following:

Lucy Lawless singing a pretty crappy song, "Footloose," with Kenny Loggins, but when you look that freaking hot in a fringed mini-dress who the hell cares?

Lucy Lawless singing "Oooh, Baby Baby" with Smokey Robinson - she looks like a trashy Vegas showgirl instead of a Warrior Princess, but just ignore that and think about the fringed mini-dress. I did.

As soon as someone uploads it, I'll show you Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) singing "Lady Marmalade" with Patti LaBelle. She can still sing like some kind of goddess even though her wardrobe needs serious attention. And Jai looks like a debauched paperboy. Just listen but don't watch, because vocally? They owned me.

In the meantime, here is Jai singing "Still in Love With You" with Gladys Knight. It's almost as good. It might be better since you don't have to close your eyes during it.

And seriously, don't watch this show. Just don't. Not even the Warrior Princess can save it. Just look for her parts on YouTube.

Canadian Bands that don't Suck - This is how it's gonna be - Jimmy Bowskill - Protest the Hero

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 07:34:00 -0500

So here the deal. I've stumbled across lots of great Canadian bands/musicians either at live shows or on that crazy little thing called the internet (they have it on computers now). What sets them apart is that they suck me in and leave me wanting more. They might be veteran touring acts, major label rockers, an indie act just finding their following or some kids in their parents basement. Inspiration and Innovation seem to be my keywords these days and again that's what I'm looking for.

Lets begin, shall we?

Jimmy Bowskill - jimmybowskill.com
Location: Bethany, Ontario
Status: Unsigned. Two independently released albums with another on the way.
Style: Blues
Releases:

Old Soul (2003)
Soap Bars and Dog Ears (2004)

Awards and Nomintions:

2005 Juno Nomination - Blues Album of the Year
2005 Canadian Indie Award - Favourite Blues Artist
2004 Canadian Indie Award - Favourite Blues Artist
2004 Canadian Maple Blues Award - Best New Artist
2004 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - Galaxie Rising Star Award
2004 DareArts - Children For Peace Leadership Award

Why he doesn't suck: Jimmy may only be 16 years old but in him dwells the soul of an old blues man. His initial break came when, at the age of eleven, he was invited to sit in with Jeff Healey. Since then Jimmy has surrounded himself with other talented blues musicians (Jerome Godboo and Jack DeKeyser for example), maintained a fairly rigorous touring schedule (especially true considering he's still in highschool) and shared the stage with the likes of Dicky Betts.

Upcoming Dates:

Friday, October 13, 2006 - Algonquin Theatre, Huntsville, ON
Saturday, October 14, 2006 - McKeck's Place, Haliburton, ON
Saturday, October 21, 2006 - Uxbridge Music Hall, Uxbridge, ON
Saturday, October 28, 2006 - The Orangeville Opera House, Orangeville, ON
Friday, November 10, 2006 - Aylmer Old Town Hall, Aylmer, ON
Saturday, November 11, 2006 - Victoria Jubilee Hall, Walkerton, ON
Friday, November 24, 2006 - Showplace Performing Arts Centre, Peterborough, ON
Saturday, November 25, 2006 - The Academy Theatre, Lindsay, ON

Protest The Hero - protestthehero.com
Location: Whitby, Ontario
Status: Signed to Underground Operations
Style: Heavy Metal
Releases:

Search for the truth EP (2002)
A Calculated Use of Sound EP (2003)
Kezia (2005)

Why they don't suck: I was immediately impressed when I listened to the songs featured on their MySpace page. Heretics and Killers is a hell of an introduction to this band. These kids can play. This is fast articulate metal with soaring vocals and flawless guitar work. Iron Maiden Evolved!

Upcoming Dates:

10.01.06 Lake Buena Vista, FL - House Of Blues (Orlando)
10.02.06 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
10.03.06 Day Off
10.04.06 Baltimore, MD - Recher Theatre
10.05.06 Norfolk, VA - Norva
10.06.06 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadeo
10.07.06 Worcester, MA - The Palladium
10.08.06 Montreal, QC - Le Medley
10.09.06 Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Hall
10.10.06 New York, NY - Nokia Theatre
10.11.06 Day Off
10.12.06 Buffalo, NY - Showplace Theatre
10.13.06 Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
10.14.06 Detroit, MI - Harpos

The Cat's Away

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:16:05 -0500

Since everyone but me is at Daytona, it's time to write about dance music.

Back in the 80s, in my wild youth, I loathed dance music. My friends and I called it "dance fascist music" and sneered at anyone we knew who danced to it, and rapturously adopted the Smiths' 1986 song "Panic" as our anthem:

Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life....
Hang the DJ, hang the DJ, hang the DJ

Of course, we went out dancing every night (I don't believe I got a full night's sleep until sometime in the early 90s), but not even by the wildest stretch of language could anyone contemplate calling what we danced to "dance music." I was researching Johnny Marr's session work for this article, and stumbled over a review of The The's album Infected (which Johnny Marr did NOT play on, in case anyone out there is keeping track), which said something to the effect that despite the "danceability" of the music, "no one could possibly dance to anything this incredibly depressing."

Hell, I used to dance to a song called "Armagh" by a British band called the Au Pairs, that contained the memorable lines, "We don't torture, we're a civilized nation." They were talking about Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but gosh, someone oughta cover that song for today, ya think? But back to dancing. Yes, I danced to "Infected" (still the greatest anti-romance song ever written), but I never, ever danced to actual 80s dance music.

So what happened to change all that?

My friend JD told me that it wasn't me that changed, it was the music. He said that 80s dance music really was just that bad, and dance music today is really better.

Another friend speculated also that the music changed, but his reason was that the drugs changed. He says that I only like "post-ecstasy" dance music, despite the fact that I gave up all my Wicked Ways at the age of 24 and have never done ecstasy on the dance floor, or off it.

My personal theory is that both those things are true, but probably the most important change in dance music had to do not with drugs but with technology. Modern dance music is very much about technology, both in its original conception and recording, and in the endless phenomenon of remixing that characterizes it as a genre. Dance music today, whether called by its rightful name or by its marketing alternative, "electronica," is simply more interesting, more layered, more complex, and more inventive than dance music of the 80s. It's also far more diverse. And at least in this country, incredibly unpopular. Which may also be part of why I like it now. I love an underdog.

I had to laugh at JeffB, who wrote in his post-SXSW music blogging frenzy that he did now and then like some dance music, naming the Chemical Brothers and Moby as examples. I didn't laugh because that's not dance music, but because it's dance music with street cred; hardly anyone is going to think you're disco trash because you like the Chemical Brothers or Moby - and I like them, too, but I also like honest-to-god-divas-of-the-dancefloor dance music, like Kristine W and Suzanne Palmer and Deborah Cox, who between them are responsible for three, count 'em THREE, of the most played songs on my iPod, Kristine W's "Fly Again," Suzanne Palmer's "Show Me," and the Hex Hector remix of Deborah Cox's anthem "Absolutely Not," which helps put the "fem" back in "feminism" and is thus a big hit with me.

There are some real problems with the way dance music is marketed, one of them being the fact that most dance CDs are six versions of the same song remixed six ways by six different producers and costing twelve bucks. The number of songs I like well enough to pay twelve dollars for six versions of is, let's be frank, very small. I have "In the End" and "Rapture" by Iio - two songs that are so good they make me dizzy, anything and everything Narcotic Thrust has ever done in any and every remix anyone ever made of their songs, and the remixes of "Stupid Girls" by P!nk, because as I think we've already more than established, I LOVE HER. That might be it, other than a bunch of 99 cent-dance-song-CDs I've picked up in the clearance bins.

Speaking of 99 cents, that brings us to the single thing that might well change all that: iTunes, where you can, for one penny less than a dollar, buy just one version of the song you like. At least half my purchases on iTunes are dance music, and they don't even have a very good dance music catalog (although for recent releases it's not too bad; it's just not very deep). Suddenly I can have almost every dance song I want for one-twelfth what it used to cost me. Sadly, this seems to mean I am spending ten times more overall on dance music; I have to think they had that in mind when they came up with their pricing strategy.

Budget aside, the days are over when I sneered at dance music. Now I'm a believer. And in the words of P!ink (did I mention that I love her?):

If God is a DJ life is a dance floor so
Get your ass on the dance floor now...

Before everyone comes back from Daytona and I'm in BIG TROUBLE.

Dawn Porter Joins Club Kingsnake

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 14:23:25 -0500

Joining our staff is the UK's Dawn Porter.

From Dawn:

I discovered the joys of metal whilst in the States, and bought the love back to the UK with me in 1999. Bad Religion, Life of Agony, Downset, Madball, Type O Negative, Agnostic Front, Biohazard and Sepultura were getting big here, but I was already two steps ahead.
Nowadays my purchases are mostly metal, or more specifically misery metal as my mate calls it. If I do an iPod shuffle you'll certainly get some Staind, Alterbridge, Tantric, Cold, Incubus and Puddle of Mudd. But hey, you can still get all of the stuff from my past mixed in with that too. Life is supposed to like a box of chocolates, mine is a bit like a box of rattlesnakes! Read on!

Metal Ink

nospam@example.com (Cindy Steinle) — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 16:41:54 -0500

As we were getting our anniversary tattoos, I got to thinking (while my husband was getting his) how many of our members have tattoos of something music related. I have plans to get the brick ST for Suicidal somewhere eventually. I will always be Suicidal for LIFE! My husband was getting Primus' Skeeter tattooed on his forearm.

Metal, I have always said, is more than just a genre of music, but also a lifestyle for most fans. When we really love a band, we show our love. We want the world to know as well.

Show us your band ink in the photo gallery. I know there are some of you with it! Be Proud and show it.

BTW for those interested, my tattoos were my dogs paw-prints to start my back piece. I may be a reptile lover, but I also love my Bullies. Nothing totally rock 'n roll, but something special to my heart. Which is the true value behind anyone's ink. Pete at Altered Evolution did a great job on our work and boy do I have plans for him.

Cover Me... Great Cover Songs

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 14:08:09 -0500

I'm kind of a sucker for cover songs. There are songs I hate in their original version, that I love as a cover song - and of course, there are approximately four hundred million examples of the reverse, because, you know, bar bands. Wedding bands. Bad tribute bands. Shit, GOOD tribute bands. I'm just saying.

But still, I'm a sucker, like I said. So here is a totally bizarre collection of some of my favorite cover songs, from the "Just Covers" playlist on my iPod. I mean, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and I haven't actually refined this into a top ten or anything. I did skip multiple tracks by the same artist, but otherwise this is the first ten I got when I shuffled the covers playlist.

Ten Random Cover Songs from my iPod:

1. Gloria by Patti Smith
She is as a god to me. This is why. Well, this and all her other music. But seriously... what she does with this song is almost impossible, and quite possibly illegal in South Dakota. "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine."

2. Where the Streets Have No Name/Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You by the Pet Shop Boys
OK, so.... the Pet Shop Boys' "You Were Always On My Mind" routinely makes it onto "Ten Best Covers of all Time" lists, and it's good, it's really good. But I like this one better, a strange electro-dance version of the U2 classic mixed up with the old 60s pop hit. I've heard Bono really liked this, and so do I.

3. Lola by The Raincoats
Genderfuck to the nth degree. You can take the girl out of punk but you can never really get the punk out of the girl.

4. Sisters of Mercy by Sting and the Chieftans
This is from a tribute to Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen called Tower of Song. This, and Peter Gabriel's cover of "Suzanne," are the standout tracks, but it's all good.

5. Helpless by kd lang
It was this or her cover of "What's New, Pussycat," but I went with this even though it was a big hit and you probably already heard it. But covers don't get any better than this, a great Neil Young original, a great cover, and one of the greatest voices ever. Her entire album of covers of songs by Canadian artists, Hymns of the 49th Parallel, is the only kd lang album I really like. Although if I weren't doing this randomly, but had been able to go in and pick and choose, Roxy Music's version of Young's "Like a Hurricane" would have been here instead.

6. Take Me to the River by Talking Heads
I've seen this once or twice on "Top Ten Cover Songs" lists and I don't know why it's not on all of them. It's scorching.

7. Hurt by Johnny Cash
I don't know, I was scarred for life by his cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," although I love the Marilyn Manson version, but this cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt" is devastating. In a good, someone please just leave me here in a darkened room in a fetal position sucking my thumb kind of way.

8. I Fought the Law and the Law Won by the Clash
Yeah, here's that 80s thing again. I can't help when I was born. I can't help loving the Clash. I can't help it that I ummmm kind of put this song on continuous replay while I clean the house sometimes.

9. Man in Black by Marc Almond
This is on a UK compilation for an AIDS organization called the Terrence Higgins Trust. It's a tribute album to Johnny Cash called 'Til Things Are Brighter, and it features a huge number of really good and really strange things, of which in my opinion, this is the best. If you can find it on Ebay or somewhere, you should get it. Other artists include Michelle Shocked singing "One Piece at a Time," Cathal Coughlan doing a kick-ass cover of "Ring of Fire," the Mekons' version of "Folsom Prison Blues," Tracey and Melissa Beehive's deadpan "Five Feet High and Risin'," and I don't know, it just gets better and weirder all the time.

10. Everytime We Say Goodbye by Annie Lennox
From the original Red, Hot, and Blue compilation, a tribute to the songs of Cole Porter and also an AIDS benefit album and video. (It was recently re-released on CD and DVD.) It's full of good stuff ... the video for Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop's version of "Well, Did You Evah!" is worth the price of admission alone ... but Annie Lennox's "Everytime We Say Goodbye" is particularly gripping. The video for this track was supposed to be directed by British filmmaker Derek Jarman, who was at the last minute unable to do it because he was dying of AIDS. Lennox chose to film it standing in front of a blank screen with home movies of Jarman's childhood being projected on her face. "Every time we say goodbye, I die a little."

Someone better post some thrashy hard assed cover songs now, because I am such a fucking girl sometimes.

Upload your music pix to our gallery...

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Thu, 11 May 2006 06:35:00 -0500

Want to be a music journalist but have no desire to wax poetic? How bout becoming a rock & roll photographer instead? With the flood of digital cameras in the hands of the general public, just about anyone with the desire and a free user account here can be a rock & roll photographer. If you want to publish your rock & roll photos and make your mark in music journalism, we have plenty of space available in our photo gallery for your pictures and it's free!

Concert pics, backstage pics, heck even pics of you holding your pet snake in your favorite rock & roll t-shirt are all suitable to be posted in our gallery. Check it out at http://clubpix.kingsnake.com

Alice Cooper: Godfather of Reptile Rock

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 03:35:00 -0500

Alice Cooper told me to start this webzine, telepathically. Some in the reptile industry, however, feel I need to adjust the reception on my aluminum foil hat.

Mention the name Alice Cooper to most people and they will tell you he was the world's first "shock" rocker, best known for a song hated by generations of teachers and parents everywhere, the infamous "School's Out," or for his extremely timely and incredibly vacant opus of wasted youth, "Eighteen," or for the infamous myth that he bit the head off a live chicken onstage in 1968. Ask somebody who owns a snake and they will probably tell you somewhere deep in their subconscious, Alice Cooper taught them that rock & roll & snakes were cool.

I know for me this imprint happened in Indianapolis in 1973 when I was 10 and saw a news story on TV about Alice. Politicians were trying to ban him from appearing because of stage antics where he appeared to behead himself with a guillotine. I remember watching the coverage of him onstage and he had this monster boa constrictor. To a ten year old the snake seemed huge. And Alice really seemed to piss the adults off.

I got three things out of this when I was 10: Rock 'n' roll was cool, Alice Cooper was really cool, and I wanted to own a really big snake. It was probably a good thing my mom turned off the TV just as Alice was sticking his head on the chopping block or lord knows what else I'd have gotten out of it or how I'd have turned out. No matter, what I did take away has kept me in fairly good stead so far.

Many, many songs, albums, tours, and years later, Alice Cooper is still the purveyor of cool to me, and he still takes snakes on tour with him. Last year he had one of Amazon Reptile Center's pythons on the road with him. His next tour starts in June and I'll be curious to see if the snakes go with him again. I don't think it swings through Austin, but if he makes it to Texas somewhere I'll try to catch up and give him a kingsnake.com T-shirt. ;)

Since then, many popular music stars have used snakes in their act or promotions, including Britney Spears and LaToya Jackson, or kept them in their personal lives, including Kerry King from Slayer. But certainly no other musician of record has influenced so many people to turn up the music, put on a black t-shirt and leather jacket, and take up the snakes like Alice.

Rock and roll has long been influenced by reptiles, whether it's the 1001 covers of the old blues standard "Crawling Kingsnake," a personal favorite, or Jim Morrison, the infamous "Lizard King," encouraging all to "Ride the snaaaaakkke." While most rock and roll has introduced reptiles subtly through lyrics, Alice's use of large constrictors onstage was essentially a cathartic progression that has resulted in a huge subculture of black-wearing, goth-influenced reptile owners wholisten to music with an alternative edge or message.

This webzine is basically for all the fans of rock & roll & reptiles. Thanks, Alice, for telling me to start it - whether you actually did or not.

Wanna Blog?

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 20:42:00 -0500

We can't promise you backstage passes, limousines, or groupies, in fact, we can't even pay you, but we can guarantee two things - someone will read what you've written, and someone will disagree with what you've written.

We are looking for a few good writers who want to blog about the alternative and indie music scenes from a variety of locations, perspectives, and genres. Applicants must enjoy music (of course) and be able to write ~~good~~ well.

If you're interested in blogging here, drop us a note and let us know where you're located, what kind of music you like, and what your background with music and writing is. Like we said, this is not a paying gig, you have to do it for the power and prestige alone.

The Velvet Underground

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 18:54:00 -0500

I believed Apple when they told me I have to take all my music with me everywhere I go, and thus have taken on a Herculean task: Putting all my CDs on my iPod. Daunting though this may seem, it does have its payoffs, one of which is now and then hearing music as if for the first time. And that happened to me last night when I decided it was time to load up all my Velvet Underground.

I originally discovered the Velvet Underground around 27 years ago, listening to a bootleg of Patti Smith singing "White Light, White Heat" live. My friend said, oh, that's a Velvet Underground song, and I said, the who? So she played the original of "White Light/White Heat," and I just lay on the floor and thought: This is unbelievable. Who knew? And then she played "Pale Blue Eyes" and I was lost, lost, lost.

The Velvet Underground got their start as proteges of Andy Warhol, who designed the cover of their first album, 1967's The Velvet Underground and Nico. The lineup was Lou Reed on vocals, guitar and songwriting duties, John Cale on crazy electric viola, Sterling Morrison on guitar, Maureen Tucker on drums (girl drummer in 1965, how cool is THAT?), and for their first album only, Nico singing on three tracks ("Femme Fatale," "All Tomorrow's Parties," "I'll Be Your Mirror") of the cool dark pop Reed was writing then - if you can write pop songs about heroin and sadomasochism, which he could. And did.

Nico didn't stay with the band, Warhol lost interest, and in 1968, with Reed handling all the vocals, they released their second album, White Light/White Heat. And this time, they unleashed something primal and hard and cacaphonuous, that got rough in a way that still sounds modern today, unlike the music of many of their contemporaries who were, at the time, better known. They used feedback and distorted sound, and "Sister Ray" clocked in at SEVENTEEN AND A HALF MINUTES LONG - not even the most Ecstasy-drenched, mindnumbing electrotrancedance song gets away with that. This stuff was just weird and out of step with the 60s and anything remotely acceptable or marketable back then; this is the song that gave birth to punk rock.

Cale left after a huge feud with Reed, and was replaced by Doug Yule. The group released their third album, The Velvet Underground, in 1969. This one was more muted and less "anti-beauty," with a couple of standout rock tracks and a handful of chiming pop songs ... "Pale Blue Eyes," "Candy Says," and "Jesus," three of the best songs Lou Reed ever wrote. And of course, "Sweet Jane," possibly one of the most covered songs ever.

It made me absolutely crazy to see Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" listed on a "One Hit Wonders" playlist on iTunes, although I suppose the real problem is that "hits" are a piss-poor way to define the impact of a musician or a group on the music world. Reed and the Velvet Underground could have never had a "hit," and they'd still be more important than groups that churned out top forty hit after hit during the 60s. They influenced Patti Smith, Brian Eno, David Bowie, and so many others it would be impossible to list them. (Eno is supposed to have said that almost no one bought their first album, but everyone who did went out and started a band.)

If you have never heard them, and you're a fan of punk, post-punk, indie, lo-fi, or any other possible genre or hyphenation of alternative music, go find their stuff and listen to it. Then see if you can believe this music is forty years old. I was in kindergarten when it came out. You might not have even been born. Then tell iTunes to choke on their "One Hit Wonders."

Music to Snake Hunt By

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 19:47:00 -0500

When I quit clubbing in my late 20s, I started snake hunting. Let me tell you that the one thing that kept me from driving off of numerous cliffs in the middle of the night in Davis County was loud screaming rock and roll. Joe Forks always used to say that the reason I rarely saw graybands was that the bass was shaking my eyeballs too much. Snake hunting and music go well together, the music often acting as a soundtrack or mood enhancer to what was usually a long monotonous drive.

I remember driving east on 90 between Sanderson and Langtry listening to the Doors' "Riders on the Storm" as I dashed from rain shower to rain shower, parking at 5:30am overlooking Lake Amistad watching a lightning storm over Mexico, the sun dawning to the east and "Dark Side of the Moon" providing an aural backdrop, or dodging 18 wheelers and weekend boaters zipping down 277 on a hot friday night with some Soundgarden to help keep the pace.

Music and snake hunting are a natural.

One From the Vaults: I Have an iPod - In My Mind

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:02:00 -0500

Via Dave at Line Out, a 2003 gem from the Onion (need I say more?):

(M)y mind has features your iPod will never have. Does your iPod have real-time remixing? No?! Well, if I don't like the original lyrics to Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son"â€”zip, zip, zingâ€”my mind can change them! Adding a cool bass line or a rocking keyboard flourish to any piece of music? No problem! Adding images of myself performing on stage with the band? Done!

How do you listen?

nospam@example.com (Cindy Steinle) — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 21:42:00 -0500

I recently rediscovered my love of music. It wasn't a new band or a concert that did it, though; it was our new radio. A year ago hubby and I made the switch to Sirius Satellite radio. I used to think it was a joke to pay to listen to music. So what if there are no commercials? Well, you know, commercials must make the difference.

Now, I have heard Motley Crue on the radio, but I have never ever heard C4, Deicide or Cannibal Corpse on the radio. Nothing wakes you up on a long drive home like "Hammer Smashed Face," let me tell ya. And I can honestly say I am really looking forward to Buckcherry's new release - and I can promise you won't hear many of their songs on terrestrial radio.

If you have a deep seated love of music no matter what style, I would seriously suggest satellite. Yeah it costs. Yeah you have to pay 12-15 bucks a month, but honestly, when you can choose from a selection like these companies are offering, I would never turn back. At this point I would rather sit in silence than be with out my new lover, My Sirius. Between the music and My Bubba the Love Sponge I am never alone.

Sirius
http://www.sirius.com/

XM
http://www.xmradio.com/

Johnny Marr and His Guitar

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 15:04:00 -0500

I liked the Smiths as much as anyone, in fact, I liked them to the point that I saw them 20 times in six different countries. I loved them, OK?

But that was a long, long time ago baby, and they ain't comin' back. Plus, you know, I grew up and everything. You can only be Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now for so long.

So I just don't get why people were so frigging disappointed when Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr released his snakily-named solo album Boomslang a few years ago. It's not like he hasn't done anything and everything since the Smiths broke up, from playing with the Pretenders and Bryan Ferry to the Pet Shop Boys (what that chiming guitar did to "Birthday Boy" could make a stone weep).

I also don't get the criticism of his voice. Does someone, somewhere, think MORRISSEY has a great voice? PSB's Neil Tennant? The The's Matt Johnson? Distinctive voices, yes, but great? Not so much. Marr's voice is fine, neither great nor bad, and fits the music well. Do we need more, when he plays guitar like that?

Boomslang came out to great expectations and decidedly mixed reviews. Rolling Stone hated it, Guitar Player loved it. And I'm damn glad I heard it before I read the forty-plus reviews on Amazon, because I probably would never have bought it if I'd read them first, and that would have been a shame. Because I really don't care if I'm in the minority, I think Boomslang is terrific. And I think the reason the legions of Smiths fans didn't like it is because it's a straight-up progressive rock album and it doesn't carry even the tiniest little tinge of angst or agony.

If you like your guitars to thrash and scream, you won't like Johnny Marr's guitar playing. It's subtle, layered, textured, and yes, can definitely be poppy. It's also technically astonishing, and a lot of musicians think so, too, given that he's played with the Pretenders, the Talking Heads, the Pet Shop Boys, The The, Kirsty MacColl, Bryan Ferry, Billy Bragg, Beck, and his group with Joy Division/New Order's Bernard Sumner, Electronic.

Electronic has produced some very good albums, but they're definitely not for your average rock fan .... which I suppose is fairly obvious from the name of the band. If you are allergic to dance/electronica but want to check them out, start with Twisted Tenderness, their third album, as Marr's guitar comes to the forefront (and it was criticized by many New Order fans as being "too rock").

But Boomslang isn't going to send rock fans into shock. There are no synthesizers, and Marr is backed by Zak Starkey (the most recent drummer to put his butt in Keith Moon's seat behind the Who, as well as current drummer for Oasis, which I try not to hold against him since he's a much better drummer than his father, Ringo Starr) on drums and Kula Shaker's Alonza Bevan on bass.

I'm not trying to mislead you; this is not a rock classic, and you won't die if you never hear it. His lyrics are kind of bland, and his voice is average at best.

But oh, that guitar.