This past Friday, Peter Murphy (Bauhaus, Dalis Car, solo) played a set at Los Angeles' Club Nokia to kick off comic legend Stan Lee's (creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men, The Avengers, Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and various other Marvel comics characters) Comikaze comic, sci-fi and fantasy fest. The highlight of the evening was Peter Murphy dueting with Stan Lee himself on the old Frank Sinatra hit, That Old Black Magic. Catch the video here.
Peter Murphy later played a set full of Bauhaus and solo stuff with a few surprises thrown in. Peter Murphy is a legend and this marks his 5th appearance in Los Angeles in the past 3 years with performances at the Mayan Theater, which I happily attended, a free show at Ameoba, which I attended as well, a performance at Club Nokia last December, and last month's appearance at the Sunset Strip Music Festival with Matt Skiba, Marilyn Manson, Bad Religion, The Offspring and many more. Here are some highlights from the show at Club Nokia from this past Friday.
Soundgarden is finally releasing new studio material after a 16 year hiatus which saw Chris Cornell joining the guys from Rage Against The Machine to form the band Audioslave, Matt Cameron drum for Pearl Jam, and Chris Cornell release an embarrasing album with Timbaland. It's good to finally hear new music from Chris, Kim and company. Their last studio album was 1996's multiplatinum Down On The Upside which had the hit singles, Dirty Noose, Blow Up the Outside World, Burden in My Hand, and Ty Cobb. Soundgarden did a few shows together in 2010 and have released two compilation albums since then (one is live, the other not). Buzz has been growing around a new Soundgarden album ever since they debuted their song Live To Rise from the Avengers soundtrack which was downloaded over 350,000 times in it's first week.
Their new album, entitled King Animal is set to be released on November 13th and it's newest single, appropriately titled Been Away Too Long hits digital retailers on September 27th. Chris Cornell tells Billboard that the album's sound would be diverse.
"I
don't really know how to describe it musically," he said, "because
typically with Soundgarden... every time we write a song we always
take it for what it is and try to make it the most it can be. It's
very diverse, I can tell you that."
Here is a trailer for the new album, and the tracklisting:
King Animal tracklist
1. Been Away Too Long
2. Non-State Actor
3. By Crooked Steps
4. A Thousand Days Before
5. Blood On The Valley Floor
6. Bones of Birds
7. Taree
8. Attrition
9. Black Saturday
10. Halfway There
11. Worse Dreams
12. Eyelid's Mouth
13. Rowing
To really hear an artist's work, you must look past the hit singles. The
entire album is worth hearing to truly get a glimpse of it all in one
body of work. Here are some of the albums I am listening to this week.
Blaqk Audio - Bright Black Heaven (2012)
On this, Blaqk Audio's 2nd studio album, following 2007's Cexcells, Davey Havok and Jade Puget (both of veteran Bay area band AFI), really have evolved. On their previous album, while being a strong, solid debut, the songs kinda bled into each other at times and it seemed awkward. This album is a huge step forward, incorporating more 80s influences, such as Depeche Mode, Erasure and even Cabaret Voltaire. Even though it has a strong 80s electronic vibe, it manages to stand out on it's own. Also, as a plus, no dubstep! Here are my favorite songs off this album:
Cold War:
Faith Healer:
Bliss:
Pet Shop Boys - Elysium (2012)
One of the most anticipated albums of 2012, Elysium was finally released to the public on September 11, (along with Blaqk Audio's Bright Black Heaven and NOFX's Selfentitled). I have already previewed a few of their tracks on previous blog entries, so I already had a feel of a few of their songs. If you have ever heard any of their previous albums, you know what you are getting. It's a formula but it works. The Pet Shop Boys will always be known for their sarcastic sense of humor and it is evident on the track Ego Music, where they seem to attack current pop stars. This album was recorded right here in Los Angeles, making it their first album where they did not record in England. An ambitious move and it shows. Many songs here deal with mortality (the title is of Greek origin) and it shows a growth in their style and music. Let's hope for more great things from Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Here are my favorites.
Invisible:
Your Early Stuff:
Leaving:
NOFX - Selfentitled (2012)
A band that needs no introduction, Los Angeles' NOFX has been creating biting, catchy punk rock for almost 30 years, have released 12 studio albums, a ton of EPs, 7" and singles and remain one of the most legendary punk rock bands today. This album clocks in at a whopping 29 minutes long and features 12 songs. A short record but there is no shortage of great music. Earlier this year, NOFX released a few singles previewing songs such as She Didn't Lose Her Baby and Ronnie and Mags. Ronnie and Mags is a great commentary on the 80s political landscape and a hint of things to come in reference to conservatism. This album does tackle more personal matters such as the song I Got One Jealous Again, Again which is a depressing sequel to 2003's I Got Two Jealous Agains about splitting his record collection with his exwife. In the song Down With The Ship, it seems like Fat Mike blames himself for the divorce, even going as far as calling himself cowardly, selfloathing and selfcentered. This is a solid album and NOFX is a band which shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Here are my favorite songs.
I Got One Jealous Again, Again:
Miles Copeland (yes, brother of Stewart Copeland of the Police) will bring IRS Records presents the Cutting Edge to DVD on October 16th. The Cutting Edge was a precursor to the famed 120 Minutes show which MTV would feature years later. The show featured up-and-coming alternative rock acts such as Robyn Hitchcock, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Squeeze and REM. I'm not sure if this is an entirely new collection or a compilation of the two Cutting Edge VHS tapes which were released in the 90s. The show was sponsored by IRS Records, (founded by Miles Copeland and featuring bands such as REM, Camper Van Beethoven, Oingo Boingo, The Fleshtones, The Go-Gos, The Cramps, and Concrete Blonde) and ran from 1983 until 1987. Peter Zarembra of the Fleshtones was the main host of the show, and it featured many bands on the IRS Records label.
According to a sheet provided to record stores, the DVD will feature the following artists:
REM
Tom Waits
Husker Du
The Blasters
X
Stan Ridgway
The Smithereens
Henry Rollins
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Squeeze
Hoodoo Gurus
Let's Active
The db's
Jonathan Richman
The Alarm
Robyn Hitchcock
The Fleshtones
As a video treat, here is The Best of The Cutting Edge Vol. 2 in it's entirety
Recently the band The Vaselines finished their tour, ending in Seattle. On this tour date, the Vaselines invited former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic on stage on the song Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam. As you might remember, Nirvana had previously covered songs from the Vaselines such as Molly's Lips, Son Of A Gun and of course the famed Unplugged performance where they covered Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam but they called it Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam. Here is the performance.
Former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne has just released his new album, Love The Giant with singer St. Vincent, out today. They both appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show to showcase some new songs, Who and The Forest Awakes. Enjoy the songs here:
1990 was a great year in music, and Ministry was a prime example of that. Their first few records (With Sympathy and Twitch) showed a strong synthpop vibe, which sadly they would never explore again. In 1990. Coming off their 1989 album, The Mind Is A Terrible Thing to Taste, Ministry was leading the genre in industrial rock, along with Nine Inch Nails,and KMFDM. Ministry was touring with KMFDM at the time this concert took place. Ministry would have people like Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Chris Connely and Jello Biafra appear with them. This was filmed on February 22, 1990 at the Holiday Star Theater in Merriville, Indiana. This is from an out of print VHS. This is a great concert and a real showcase of how great Ministry was.
Setlist:
1. “Breathe”
2. “The Missing”
3. “Deity”
4. “So What”
5. “Burning Inside”
6. “Thieves”
7. “Stigmata”
8. “The Pledge of Allegiance” w/Jello Biafra
9. “The Land Of Rape And Honey”
This is the 2nd set of upcoming singles which was scrapped from the I'm With You album released in 2011. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been a very prolific band, making music since 1984. As a nice treat, the band has been releasing a series of 7" singles, each containing two songs from the I'm With You sessions. This is the 2nd one featuring the songs Magpie's On Fire and Victorian Machinery. The previous single included the songs Strange Man and Long Progression. Magpie's On Fire starts off very mellow and picks up with nice harmonies and a slow tempo. It sounds like something off of 1999's Californication. The other song on this release is Victorian Machinery. Victorian Machinery is more of a rocking tune, but with great melodies and a nice rocking chorus. The next set of songs to be released will be Never is A Long Time and Love of Your Life which will come out on October 2. The band is currently working on their follow up to 2011's I'm With You album. Drummer Chad Smith spoke with Billboard and said ""We're just always trying to come up with new stuff; usually the latest
and greatest is what we use, but you never know," he said.
Magpie's On Fire:
Lyrics:
Magpies on fire making love like little worms out on the porch can leave the medicine oh well I’m game, for anything at all
Scarecrows a liar spends the year alone no one checked it out to see if it was real sold you the moon and now it’s time to fall
all in all it’s like the bird who’s trapped alone inside the cage love
what more do you want? how much more can you take? I love my mistakes I’ve been here before
all in all it’s just a call of something wise beyond your room there’s a changing of a major chord your minor threat will do, love
my gun misfired shot myself instead i guess i always knew id be the one to lose last scream dont slane time to make a move
what more do you want? how much more can you take? I love my mistakes I’ve been here before
all in all it’s like the bird trapped inside the cage love A bird bout half your age, girl a bird who’s never really here to say
what more do you want? how much more can you take? I love my mistakes I’ve been here before
least of all she’s like a bird who’s now been freed from someones cage
Victorian Machinery:
lyrics:
Jaded You’re my victorian machinery Leave yourself to lie Later Your tender shape is pinning like the scenery Ride you like a bike
You be the sailing baby, I’ll be the rudder We could make it all in ‘Till it turns into butter I saw your face A seminal pleasure, I will love you forever When I heeded your call in every heavy endeavour I’ll keep your place
Jaded Coming down the mouth, you’re like a buffalo in your eyes Crazy But then again, I’ll cook you like your you know Makes up for her size
You be the sailing baby, I’ll be the rudder We could make it all in ‘Till it turns into butter I saw your face A seminal pleasure, I will feel you forever When I heeded your call in every heavy endeavour I’ll keep your place Be yourself When I You be the shark (shack) and baby I’ll be the desert There is nothing to like when (or “and”) there is nothing to measure it’s all our space whoooooooooooooooh
You are my victorian machinery nah nah nah nah nah Jaded Make a fist and knock me on the mood again Leave yourself to lie Later Make me feel like I want more than you again Rock me like the vibe Crazy Sing along just like they do in Budapest on the rise
You be the shark (shack) and baby I’ll be the desert There is nothing to like when there is nothing to measure it’s all our space
