eastowners

Jools Holland again on this installment of Adventures in DVR. This time around, Athlete, Robert Plant, The Go Team, The Fall, Mose Alison, and Lhasa.

Athlete is a British Eels. They aren’t terrible if you like electric, rambling pop music. I’d definitely listen to them. The second track is a little too Coldplay and I find myself fast forwarding. Their third outing is pretty groovy. I like it. Again with the Eels feel progressing into a more straight-ahead poppy thing. Like the second track, there’s strings, but they add some depth to the tune, rather than carry it like the second tune.

Robert Plant is seriously impressive and groovin’. He could actually be considered “not washed up”, unlike many of his contemporaries. I might actually consider purchasing his latest. The interview with him is pretty cool… he basically says that his stuff before wasn’t as good because he felt he didn’t have anything to say until this record. Has some young blood in his band and the dude that looks like the drummer from Blue Oyster Cult. Second track is Delta Blues Rock-n-Roll ala good old fashioned Zep. He’s not gone all Vegas-slow-down. The band’s name is Strange Sensation and they are at the top of their game.

The Go Team : Any song that starts out with yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah needs a little work. They are a cheap funk/pop rip-off that is trying to hard to re-create that Salt-n-Pepa 70’s groove rip-off feeling; except without the “deep lyrics”. They take themselves far too seriously considering the music is basically throw-away junk with almost no soul; a cheap plastic knock-off. The chick needs vocal lessons, badly. I say skip this one. Their second outing does not change my mind. It makes me sad to think that these people are getting exposure when I’ve literally heard hundreds of better bands in college towns playing small clubs in the middle of the week.

The Fall : not sure what’s going on here. Drunk on the mic is my guess. Two chords. If it’s supposed to be beat poetry, I’d like to know so I know how to listen to it. There’s some talent here, you can tell, but what they are getting at needs a little cohesion (and maybe they need to ditch the drunk on the mic). From a little more research, apparently these guys are/were big with the crowd of folks who believe that if you don’t like obtuse outsider music, you just aren’t a true music fan. It’s kind of a joke, really, but I guess people without an ounce of talent need to make money too. Kudos to them!

Mose Allison : dude kind of needs to hang it up, but that’s always kind of been true. Folky playing the torch/jazz anti-war blues anthem is a little jarring. Everything seems a little out of place, but the guy -can- play piano. He needs the long hippy beard and floppy felt hat. He just doesn’t look crazy enough…

Lhasa : some pseudo-french gypsy music sung in Spanish. There are lots better examples of this style of music from Europe. Check out Vaya Con Dios for the real deal. This is ok, but lacks a certain heart and edge. I’ll bet these folks have played more art gallery openings than real gigs (not that I’ve ever done that…).

I love Jools for the opportunity to see a lot of great live music. Occasionally I see something new that I really really like. Tonight was no exception. If someone would have told me I’d dig Robert Plant, I’d have called them crazy, but there it is. He was good; very good.

Current Mood: Happy

As many of you know, I’m not much of a TV person.  We recently changed TV providers due to the purchase of an LCD HD set for the livingroom.  I wanted some HD content to play on my HD TV.  This has created something in me that I never thought would happen; there are things on TV I like.

We’ve taken to watching Later… with Jools Holland, a music show from the Beeb that is syndicated to a channel called Rave in our HD package.  He typically has five or six artists that are showcased on each show and they are all powerhouses of their own right.  Tonight it is a re-run with The Automatic, Dixie Chicks, Dresden Dolls, Gogol Bordello, Paulo Nutini and Fraterellis.

The Dixie Chicks are a band I could take or leave, but they are at least generally pleasant on the ears.  Their new stuff seems pretty good.  A lot less country than they used to be. Perhaps they need a little more of a listen.  And they railed the looser currently running our country into the ground.  You can’t fault them for that (or maybe you can, but I can’t).

The Automatic was quite excellent.  It’s always really cool to hear bands perform live that you’ve only heard recorded.  Some bands (I’m pointing at you “Muse”) are so much better live that you have a hard time bringing yourself to buy the album.

Gogol Bordello, who play “gypsy punk”, which by the way is completely accurate, are quite possibly the most entertaining band I’ve seen in years.  Not only are they talented composers and musicians, their act is completely over the top (and include ACCORDIONS and  distorted guitar).  Their performance was nearly flawless and a whole lot of fun.  GB has a new album out, by the way, which comes highly recommended if you’re into bands like Dropkick Murphy and Flogging Molly (though Gogol Bordello is a lot less serious than those guys).

Fraterellis are up next.  They aren’t bad, but represent the Britpop/rubbishbinpunk style that will be irrelevant in a couple of years.  If you’re looking for garage rock that’ll send shivers down your spine skip these guys and buy Black Keys or Raconteurs.  Even the dreaded White Stripes latest outing is something more to write home about.

Up next is one of my absolute favourite bands in existence.  The Dresden Dolls are quite possibly the best thing you’ll ever hear that are simply piano/drums/vocals.  It’s punk/torch, but so good that what would otherwise seem cliche makes you stop dead in your tracks and listen.  I can’t imagine how anyone really interested in music can’t at least appreciate the artistry of these two.

Now it’s back to ignoring the Dixie Chicks.  I have no problem with them personally, but rock-crossover country chick bands just aren’t my cup of tea.  Maybe under the right substances…

I think if I don’t already own The Automatic, it may go on my list.  They require more listening.  It’s bordering on throw-away heavy pop/punk/neonew-wave, but it seems interesting nonetheless.   And besides, I’m always down with what the youth are listening to (even if it does seem meth-fueled), except dirty south (or ATL as they call it nowdays) hip-hop that is as vapid as it is misogynistic.

Next on the Jools docket is a dude that has one of the prettier voices in pop right now; Paulo Nutini.  This dude is young.  I mean REALLY young. He looks like he just got a driver’s license last year, but he’s a skinny white dude that can probably cover Bob Marley note-for-note.  Hopefully his pipes don’t age badly.  This is a guy everyone should watch.  He could easily become one of the great male pop vocalists of all time if he keeps it up.

The rest of the show will now repeat the bands one by one, as is the Formulae Jools.

Thanks for tuning in and see ya next time.   Hopefully, this will become a semi-regular thing, perhaps with discussions on other items found randomly in our DVR.