"Best Kept Secret in Music"

I feel fairly confident in saying that most of the bands out there that are unsigned or relegated to a teeny tiny indie label are there for a reason - they pretty much appeal to no one (including the band members themselves).

Then there are scads of groups out there selling millions with about as much musical savvy as a lip syncing act at a middle school talent show (Look at me when I'm talking to you Maroon 5!).

Lastly, there are those few musicians who genuinely deserve a far bigger audience then they currently have.

With that in mind, here's a new feature I want to try out: "Best Kept Secrets in Music".

Today's entry is Baltimore's J-Roddy Walston and The Business (thanks Dorie for tipping me off to these guys). Sounding like a cross between a "Shake Your Money Maker"-era Black Crowes (when they knew how to smile), a butcher version of Queen and Ben Folds with a full backing band and a fistful of Lexapro, this band plays straight ahead rock that would make Elvis fall to his knees and weep tears of joy.

Anyone have a band to suggest?

On that note, hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.

CD Reviews

Here's a few more CD reviews. If you've heard any of these albums, let me know what you think... or don't. Life will still go on regardless.

In Theory
This is it (Shelter From the Storm Records)

Punk rock has thrived for decades in the underground thanks, for the most part, because it was largely ignored as a genre. Photocopied zines, basement shows and word of mouth was enough to turn the small, but loyal crowds onto better bands. Now that the spotlight from major labels and mainstream glossy magazines has been shined on the scene, every kid that steps into Hot Topic is now trying to throw together a punk band.

Group’s like LA’s In Theory, though certainly not the main cause of the problem, are defiantly one of the symptoms, threatening to ruin the genre. Their debut This Is It, is so formulaic it could easily have been created on a laptop. Taking cues and liberal amounts of inspiration from every flash in the pan band from the last two years (Panic at the Disco: check, Fall Out Boy: check, Cartel: check), polish off anything remotely resembling an edge, create a MySpace page and rush the single to radio station before their sound is deemed passé.

It’s not that In Theory are offensively bad musicians, it’s just that their debut lacks any semblance of an original musical thought. Here’s hoping the record-buying public will collectively decide to move onto the next big thing and allow punk rock to go back to rebelling against whatever that sound happens to be.

Todd Snider – Peace, Love and Anarchy (Oh Boy Records) and Live at Grimey’s (New Door Records)

In a perfect world, Todd Snider would be headlining arenas, his songs would be popping up in car commercials and his house would be staked out by paparazzi. But this is reality, so Fall Out Boy and Gwen Stefani get all the glory, while Snider quietly packs tiny clubs, perches on a bar stool and strums out some of the best songs never to be heard by the masses.

In the midst of promoting his latest release, The Devil You Know, Snider is back with two quickie releases: a collection of B-sides and rarities from his old label and a seven song live record.

A decent number of the 14 tracks on Peace, Love and Anarchy have been heard in one form or another on other records and at live shows. The demos and alternative takes are interesting, but pretty much prove Snider was right to record the versions that made it on the proper albums. But even Snider’s cutting room floor tracks are stronger than many songs currently charting.

The EP, Live at Grimey’s, offers a stronger look into just why Snider has managed to build up such a loyal, cultish following. The song intros and audience banter are all captured from the October show recorded in Nashville. Focusing mainly on songs from his latest record (which include some of his best, like “You Got Away With It” and “Happy New Year”), the only strike against the album is that it is far too short.

Prince: What's That Purple Freak Up to Now?

I honestly never thought Prince was crazy, just a tad bit weird.

But ticking items off the list it's starting to add up to a big pile o' crazy: Wearing nothing but skimpy purple undies throughout the 80's, the ass-less chaps, the unpronounceable symbol, going door to door in Minneapolis as a Jehovah's Witness, and now threatening to sue fans.


Prince = Not all there.


It's been reported recently that Prince has had his lawyers reach out to his fansites and order them to immediately take down all lyrics, pictures, album covers, etc. (please note the unauthorized use of a Prince pic in this posting.)

As if that's not bad enough, a letter from his purple lawyers asks those running the fansites to provide "substantive details of the means by which you propose to compensate our clients [Paisley Park Entertainment Group, NPG Records and AEG] for damages".

Suing your fans. Why didn't Metallica think of that!

Prince is dead. He is now The Artist Currently Known as Jackass.

Let's Go Crazy!

My Ethics for a T-Shirt

I feel close to you people, so it's confession time: I'm a whore for t-shirts (that's size XL if you're wondering).


It started in college, while writing for my school paper. I was sent a package from some PR firm hired by MTV to promote the winner of a Battle of the Bands-type contest. Along with a press release and cassette (yup, I'm that old), there was a black t-shirt. I think they got to play at the MTV Beach House all summer (remember the MTV Beach House?). I was still in J-school at the time, and had already taken my ethics courses, so naturally filled to the brim with smugness. I wasn't going to be swayed by a T-shirt... But, man this was a cool shirt. It was for the winning band (if you consider playing at the MTV Beach House winning); a crappy alt/grunge group from Maryland: Bovox Clown (still remember 'em, that's how cool their logo was. It was this creepy grinning clown face on a black background).


A week later, I was wearing the shirt, so after much internally struggle, I felt compelled to write about this sub-par, paint-by-numbers grunge band... and I did. You never forget your first time. For the record, it was a very matter-of-fact article free of any superlatives or gushing accolades.

Flash forward about a decade and I now have two dresser drawers jammed so tightly with short-sleeved band T's that they don't quite shut all the way.

I get a slew of CDs send to my door each week and try to listen to every single one, at least once, but sometimes it takes a month or so to get through the rotation. And sadly, I still manage to get swayed by a band t-shirt. I'm pathetic. I can admit it. 100% cotton is pretty much all it takes for your record to move to the top of the pile - no matter how lame I think it's going to sound. Trust me, I'm not proud of it, but it's true... Don't judge me! I get paid on average 0 dollars and 0 cents for my reviews and articles, so let me keep my spoils.

Have I ever given a band a shitty review despite receiving graft? Sure. Ever given a shitty band a good review because of a shirt? Nah (it's a shirt, people, not bars of gold).

But, I've also gotten swag from some very cool bands (for those keeping track, I'm wearing a Mental Records T right now, home to some killer bands like Automatic 7 and Chesterfield), so I think it all evens out in the end.

Imagine what I'd write for a hoodie...

Unprepared for Interview

I like to think that I do a pretty good job of prep work before interviewing a band. I dig around on their Web site, read over bios and press releases, listen to the record a few times and occasionally troll message boards looking for recent rumors about, and online feuds with the band.

If the group is willing to give up 20-30 minutes of their time I can at least make sure I've done my homework. However, I do have a full time job that has nothing to do with interviewing bands, and a 3 month old and wife at home, so every now and then I forget that I have an interview lined until the phone rings and a 212 or 310 area code pops up on caller id.

Over the years I have learned to stall for a few minutes while I get online and frantically pull up the band's MySpace page, bio or Wikipedia entry.

Here's a quick list of good stalling questions I have started to collect (please feel free to toss out more in the comments section if you can think of them, because I probably have an interview tonight that I've already forgotten about):

• Tell me about the new album - is there a theme tying together the songs? Classic stall. Unless it's The Who's Tommy or Green Day's American Idiot, who gives a shit? Certainly not the person reading these interviews, but it never fails to illicit at least a three minute response. Plenty of time to Google the band and come up with a couple of questions.

• Any good road stories from the current tour? This one buys you about five minutes, easily. The answer, though certainly interesting to the person telling it, is almost always incoherent, rambling and never quite as funny as he/she thinks it is. Kind of like listening to someone describe a dream they just had.

• How did the band first get together? ... Or the reason why I always skip the first paragraph of any band bio. The answer is either: We all went to school together, but weren't really friends at the time; We played in different bands around the scene for years; or I placed an ad in [insert local alternative weekly]. Unless you found your bass player because your mom brought him home from a bar one night, the story is never really that interesting.

• What inspired the album cover? I have NEVER once printed this response in an interview, but it also never fails to bring about an extremely detailed answer filled with vague descriptions of symbolism and other weird shit that only makes sense if you're stoned.

Any others I should add to the repertoire?

A Few CD Reviews

Here's some recent CD reviews, by category.

Punk:

Boys Like Girls – Boys Like Girls (Columbia)

Like the third tier grunge bands that were thrown on the band wagon just miles before it officially ran out of gas in the mid 90’s (I’m looking at you Candlebox), Boston’s Boys Like Girls is proof that the music industry is casting one last wide net trying to grab the last remaining emo/pop-punk bands that were somehow overlooked over the past couple of years.

Churning out heart-on-their-sleeve pop songs with as much creativity as they put into choosing their moniker, Boys Like Girls deliver less than a dozen quickly forgettable teenage crush tracks on their debut. It’s hard not to pass a cynical eye over the band that seems like they were put together in the back room of a Hot Topic. They fit the mold perfectly, complete with asymmetrical hair cuts and go-to producer Matt Squire (Panic! At the Disco).

Indie:

Imperial Teen – The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band (Merge)
If you haven’t heard of Imperial Teen by this point, you likely never will… and that’s your loss. Fronted by former Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum, Imperial Teen plays power pop like few others. It’s no coincidence that almost every mention of the band is followed by a few lines about Fountains of Wayne, who formed around the same time, clear across the country; both groups play smart, catchy power pop unlike any other bands. The only big difference is Imperial Teen’s boy/girls vocals.

The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band is a reference to the other jobs held by members of the group (hair stylist, TV music writer and mother). This, their fourth record, shows Imperial Teen still writing brilliant pop nuggets as catchy as anything on their first three outings. It’s hard to find a stand out track on the album, as each are nearly flawless, but “Everyone Wants to Know,” which sounds like the last great song The Breeders never wrote, is destined to be a band classic. It’s been five years since they last put out a studio album. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another five more years for the next one.

A Bit Appropriate

So I know I'm not the first to point this out, but how foretelling is this Bad Religion song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43rgB93AvSM