A Sign of the End Times - Holly Dolly, Pretty Donkey Girl

The world is a weird and wonderful place. But sometimes it's just weird. If you've had any doubts that we're living in the end times, here's a sign equivalent to a skeletal rider on a dark horse. Holly Dolly is an animated anthropomorphic "Donkey Girl" who sings in a childlike, euro-disco style. She (it?) appears to be getting notice in the E.U. and also worldwide via the internet. Out of curiosity, I checked out her site. Well, it scared me right off the bat. Those of you from the States and of a certain age may think, as I do, that she looks like a slimmed-down, sexy-ied up version of Henrietta Hippo from the New Zoo Revue. I thought, "Ok, it's just another one of those talking animal, costume characters (you know, like Barney) that little kids are strangely attracted to." And, to a point, she is. BUT THEN, I watched the video. Oh brothers and sisters, lo the 4 riders of the apocalypse came thundering down -- in the form of a close up of BOUNCING ANIMATED DONKEY BOOBS! And, gyrating, mini-skirt clad Donkey Butt! Lord a'mighty, what kind of message are we sending to our children with this kind of stuff. Can't donkey's just be donkeys (or motor-mouth sidekicks to green ogres) and not subjected to sexual objectification? Poor Holly, according to her bio, she was just a simple country donkey girl who had dreams of making it big as a singer. Instead of the angels who found her to grant her 4 wishes, I think it was opportunists who found her and just wanted to run her through the star-making machinery and spit her out when they're done with her. She may not fare any better than Brittney. But, of course I'm being fooling in thinking Holly Dolly is innocent in all this, aren't I?

More insinuous and evil yet is her "Hit" -- Dolly Song. It's based on an actual Finnish polska, but sped up, given the electronic dance treatment and sung in a kind of wordless nonsense language, so it can leap the language barrier and spread itself (like a virus) all over the world. If we shaved Holly's donkey head would we find the numbers 666? Is she, like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, the form of the destroyer that WE'VE chosen? Perhaps. But, better the monster you know than the monster you don't know. So, if you are brave of heart, watch her video and prepare yourself for the end of the world as we know it.

Hadouken: NOT that Final Fantasy Character...

These guys are (as far as I know) an unsigned band out of the UK. I've been intrigued with them ever since I heard "That Boy, That Girl" via some promo email links I got a month or so back. Their video is great, fun, low buck but perfect for the music.

I caught up with their official blog and they seem to be stirring a debate about whether they fit in the "Grime" category. James, the lead singer, doesn't consider himself a rapper, grime or otherwise. Just honoring it as influence. [check his comments here.]

I love their energy. They're mixing several different genres and styles to get - what? Indie-industrial-dance-punk-grimey-rap? Hard to say. Feels fresh to me, and hooked the teen kids in my vicinity right away. Especially the "Bono Must Die" t-shirt the guitarist is wearing. :-)



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What we did while everyone else was at SXSW...

While everyone else in the world (it seemed) was at the SXSW music festival, what did the rest of us do? Well, we: 1) Washed our hair;

2) Filed our nails;

3) Read everyone's blogs about what they were seeing, doing and drinking.
And then we made lists.

After slogging through blog upon blog, here's a list of bands that were mentioned with more enthusiasm or more frequencies than other bands (that were just casually mentioned). In Alphabetical order for fairness, and with those not-always-accurate-but-kind-of-handy genres listed in brackets:

31 Knots [rock]
Affair [rock]
Alarm Clocks [rock]
American Princes [rock]
Army of Me [rock]
Beach House [pop]
Clockcleaner [punk]
Datarock [rock]
Dirty Projectors [avant/experimental]
Earl Greyhound [rock]
Flosstradamus [DJ]
Future Clouds and Radar [rock]
Gallows [punk]
Green Milk from the Orange Planet [rock]
Halestorm [rock]
Jesu [avant/experimental]
Kate Havenik [pop]
Mink [rock]
Oxbow [rock]
Page France [pop]
Pelican [rock]
Photo Atlas [rock]
Prototypes [rock]
Shearwater [rock]
Shout Out Out Out [electronic]
Thomas Dybdahl [pop]
Tiny Masters of Today [punk]
Weatherbox [rock]
White Denim [rock]
Young Knives [rock]
Zincs [rock]

I can't vouch for any of these bands cuz, HEY! I didn't see them. I'm just collecting up the opinions of those who did. The genres and links come from the SXSW Bands page on their site. Check them out for yourselves. Lots of downloads and streams.

I want to thank everyone who went to SXSW and wrote about it during and after, so that my broke-ass could experience it vicariously. Next year, I gots ta find me a Sugar Daddy or company expense account. Unfortunately, being your own boss also means always picking up the tab!

Why I Stopped Listening To Lyrics – And Why I Might Start Again

A very shallow answer to “why I stopped listening to lyrics” is – I grew up. Or maybe I should say: I got older. That’s not really the full answer, but it is a big part of it. In order to get at the core of this, I was trying to reflect on the times in my life when lyrics held great importance, when they didn’t just float by as an extension of the rhythm and melody. Having teenagers in my life, I’ve been fascinated to observe 1) how they have scads of lyrics memorized and can sing them at the drop of mental trigger, and 2) how they FEEL these lyrics. I can TELL they mean something to them. It causes a physical, emotional and psychic radiance from them. When seeing this I think, “Sh*t! What happened? Where did I lose that?”

Well, of course teendom and twentydom is when we are all most emotionally charged and open. We’re on the verge of falling in love, out of love, falling into the pit of despair or having the most amazing experience in our lives. Words and music can plug right into us, like a prong in socket. We’re ready-made to connect to what musicians and poets are saying. The “That’s exactly what I’m feeling!” or “That’s my life, man!” reaction comes more readily.

Then, like molten magma cooling into rock, our emotional high revving begins to cool. Some people would call it real life setting in. We have less time for our emotions, our psyches; we have less time to actually listen. Is this an intentional numbing on our part or just a subconscious progression? Does this cooling occur because of an onslaught of boring repetition and tedious tasks in our lives? Or does it occur because we need to protect ourselves from the constant slings of fear, panic, bafflement and frustration that “grown up” life heaps upon us? If we open ourselves up to listening to lyrics or poetry, it just might break that protective armor we’ve forged to keep us from realizing how far away we’ve gotten from our Selves. Of course, it’s a bit both.

So, that’s where I’m at. Just on the verge of actually letting myself listen to the words again. What started this? Actually it thunked me brainpan when I was reading an article on Damon Albarn’s latest incarnation in Under the Radar magazine. Damon and Paul Simonon were talking about the lyrics of their album being firmly rooted in Britain. “'It’s the blessed routine of the good, the bad and the Queen.’ Albarn says, quoting himself.” “It’s like saying grace, isn’t it? The album’s about England and what lies beyond.” The interviewer asks "Beyond where? Geographically? Philosophically? Spiritually?” “Yeah, everything, absolutely.” Albarn responds. After reading that, I wrote down “Why I might start listening to lyrics again.” And here I am.

After that inspiration, I’ve been allowing whatever music grabs my attention to suck me in. Of Montreal’s “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” pulled my ears to its lips by Kevin Barnes twistingly clever and flatly sublime honest lyrics. In “A Sentence of Sorts In Kongsinger,” which is a bouncy and psyche-disco peon to watching one’s sanity degrade, several lines jumped out and slapped me upside the head. It feels like a journal entry of someone pushed beyond their limits into being a Zen, impartial observer of their own life, and that things are so weird you just have to laugh or look at how ridiculous they are.

Here are two stanzas that stood out when I listened to “Kongsinger.”

“I spent the winter on the verge of a total breakdown while living in Norway. I felt the darkness of the black metal bands.”

“I spent the winter with my nose buried in a book, while trying to restructure my character. Because it had become vile to its creator."

They’re brutally honest, but also quite funny.

Ok, let the armor drop a bit and break out the soul-sonic q-tips. I’ll be listening.

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Stick It To the Man -- DigiDownload Site That's More YOURSpace than Myspace

From 7Digital out the UK comes a DIY digital download site for indie bands that's actually usable. Indiestore.com allows bands and artists to create their own download store. According to the site, the "Starter" level includes:

Starter:

indiestore Starter is the free service level for artists just getting into the digital music revolution. The Starter features will warm you up to creating your artist presence online. Features include:

• 70% revenue share
• Up to 4 Track uploads
• Multi-format downloads - No DRM
• Free tracks
• Pre Orders/Release Date
• indiestore.com/yourchoice URL
• Blog, Gallery, Events
• User ratings and comments
• Real-time reporting
• Monthly Accounting
• PayPal and Click & Buy payments
• indiestore flashplayer
• Last.fm - your music played & sold on Last.fm

The layout is clean and easy, and none of that Myspace mucking about with friends and too many stupid graphics. I'll rant about this later, but this dovetails right into my theories on extending the concept of a "band" to include people who have nothing to do with performing. To really do an end run around of the "MAN," the more people you have to take care of stuff like this, selling your music, updating your tour information, photos, blogs, etc., the more you can leave the flailing and confused old music industry in the dust.

I know, I know, there are many of these type of sites out there. I was just impressed with how this site looks and works. It "feels" very accessible. Bands and artists need to spend their time creating, not navigating the complexities of setting up an online store. Easy is as easy does.

If you're looking to sell your music online, you might also want to check out these:
http://www.digstation.com/
http://www.musicane.com/Home.aspx
http://www.snocap.com/

That's So Glay!

So, I bet you're thinking to yourself, "Who's the number one selling band in Japan right now?" You are, aren't you? Well, that would have to be Glay. Yes, Glay. They're top of the J-Pops right now with their song "Love is Beautiful." Perfect for all those valentine's celebraters out there. And not only is Love beautiful, Glay themselves are beautiful. Look at these pretty guys. I would hope they would send me a valentine, or sing me one of their emotionally intense power pop songs. They've been a hard-working band for 10 years and have attained quite a bit of popularity in Asia -- as well as with J-Pop fans around the globe. The description of their name is wonderful: GLAY's name (pronounced 'gurei' in Japanese) is a deliberate misspelling of Gray/Grey and was chosen to mean 'that which is neither white or black' to illustrate the type of music they wish to play, i.e. rather than limiting themselves to pop or hard rock and roll/rock.

From the samples I've listened to [from the official Glay Site], they seem comparable to a more emo/R&B version of Fall Out Boy or Taking Back Sunday. Though they definately do have something in common with their Shibuya-Kei genre comrades, Puffy Ami Yumi. I could picture some of their music backing up a cartoon of some sort.

It's good to get out of your own backyard and take a listen to what other parts of the planet are digging. We can see a reflection of our own culture and maybe have a new appreciation for what we gloss over, yet others revere.

Session and The Bear - UK grime and Such

I surf and check hundreds of sites during the day, always looking at, listening to, whatever bands or artists catch my brain. Today I was at indiestore.com and was tempted by their "Random Indie Store" button. "Sure, ok. I'll press the button." It took a few presses of the button until I found something that didn't make me cringe (i.e., bad Swedish disco, 13 year old girl singers, earnest singer songwriters, etc.) . I finally stopped the button when I landed on Session and the Bear. This UK producer/rapper duo just felt like "yeah, they've got something." They're still in their larval beginnings, but have that glowing kernel of talent. I've been watching the UK grime scene for a while and find it fascinating -- Dizzee Rascal, The Streets, Lady Sovereign and the like. I don't know if grime is ever going to translate largely in the US -- -- or just continue to appeal to a the group of us that can't resist a "Norf' " London accent. But, in a way, I wonder since, [as Nas says] "hip hop is dead," is the US going to experience the Brits reintroducing us to "our" music again? The UK grime-sters are coming to hip hop and rap via a similar road as the originators of American rap and hip hop -- poverty, housing projects, bleak urban environment-- and writing about how they get through their everyday experiences. Or is Grime just the Punk for this generation of Brit Kids as their reaction against Tony Blair inspired cynicism and hopelessness? Will grime ever win over the US "backpack" hip hop crowd? It's definitely made inroads.

Session and The Bear - check out their Fade to Black track, as it seems to be the best of the bunch. No cheesy samples; just some nice, spare and appealing production behind "The Bear's" flow. I hope these blokes keep at it.

Gettin' Freaky in the Disco

Greenskeepers
Polo Club
(om records)

Want to hear every synth band from the 80s? Well then, buy or download this album. Sure they seem kind of jokey, but what heck! It's meant to dance to. Dance Punk? No, not really. The opening cut is, kinda, with opening slutty cheerleader shouts of "Hey motherf**ker!", but then its all dancing from there on out. "NY Lady" is a dancefloor fav and "I Want A New Drug" (yep, cover of the Huey Lewis tune) comes across well as a fuzzy electro-dirge. And, man! They does gots them some fancy clothes. Check out their video on You Tube.
And, how can you NOT like breakdancing?
Shut up and dance!

Oct 26, 2006 - Jim Noir & Dean & Britta

So, it took me more than a week to get to this, but it's worth it. Two lovely, lovely suggestions for your listening pleasure.

Dean & Britta - Words You Used To Say (EP) (Zoe Records)
http://www.myspace.com/deanandbritta
http://www.deanandbritta.com/
Former members of the band Luna (and Dean formerly formerly of Galaxie 500), create some very comfortable, sub-cutaneous sound. His not too deep, not too rumbley voice instantly fits in your head; hers layers it like silk scarf, delicate, but worn, torn and loved. If you've liked Ballad of the Broken Seas from Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, you need to listen to this. It's a nice night flight.

Jim Noir - Tower of Love (Barsuk Records)
http://www.barsuk.com/bands/jimnoir/discography
http://www.jimnoir.com/
I became totally won over by this artist, simply by listening to his music via his website. So incredible sweet and captivating. All the essences of 60s pops harmony and cords, and a beautifully innocent feeling, touched with nice little electronic frills. Whether a soft love pean, or a plea to keep away from his football (soccer ball), or to keep off his 'patch' (of turf, I imagine). Give in. Give in.

More soon.

Alright, it's time for post. I've been putting this off, but it's time to just do it. Like an intimidating blank sheet of paper waiting for you to draw on it, once the first pencil line is down, it's not so intimidating.

Despite the overtly anti-baby boomer paragraph at the top, this blog is actually about music. Music, I TELL YOU! Never doubt the power of a song (or a live performance) to change your life.

Even though a great number of people are shaking in their boots about the direction the music industry is going, I believe an even greater number of people are truly excited about the future of music -- how and where we hear it; how we acquire it to listen to it later; how and with what we make it; how we find it and share it with others.

We're in one of those larval, developmental space/times in the world of music. The old is not quite dead; the new is not quite developed enough for us to tell what kind of butterfly it is. Reminds me, strangely enough, of all the places where really interesting artists and other cultural creatives appeared and started shaping what would become the future. Music-wise, just think of David Bowie creation, springing forth in the gap between hippie rock and arena rock.

The future of music is under your fingertips right now. But, it's also down the block from you. What most people need is someone to "curate" the vast amounts of potential music out there. Radio doesn't do it anymore (except a select few independent stations, and internet radio), so it's virtual word of mouth. Check back later to see my semi-weekly posts of links to new bands, new music, new radio that I've been trolling. I'll show you my links if you show me yours. ;-)

Lady Miss