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Forklift
I just got one step closer to digital nirvana, stumbling accross an album that I still only had on cassette, but which has now been uploaded to Band Camp by creator Mark Nassau.
Good buddy Ducati Sven taped a Forklift 7" for me in the early 90s, which he picked up while visiting Connecticut. My copy moved from tape to tape before settling in the remaining space on Side B of my Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge cassette. Mudhoney made the upgrade to CD quite some time ago, but Forklift had always eluded me. Until now.
"Bathroom Song" stills rocks.

29th Nov 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Song of the day: for Chimp11
a big hello to the newest member of the team: Chimp11. Welcome! Feel free to file your first reviews any time soon
#Chimpomatic
#Chimpsetc
#SongoftheDay
23rd Nov 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
'Mardi Gras' is definitely CCR's equivalent of Pearl Jam's 'Backspacer', with @John_Fogerty allowing open season on the song writing.
7th Nov 2011
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Wilco
The Roundhouse, London
Wilco albums come and go, but the live act remains strong and steady - well aware which songs have stood the test of time and which have dropped off into back catalogue. New album and show opener "Art of Almost" immediately scored itself a position as today's song of the year, setting the scene for a heavy set that wasn't afraid to bring a couple of extra guitars off the bench when neccessary.
Possibly slightly more truncated in length than previous shows and light on Tweedy-stand-up, it was still plenty for my ageing body support system - and with another show tomorrow probably drawing back many of the beard-heavy crowd no-one is likely to be complaining.
Never, ever disappointing. Set list over at Wilco World.
29th Oct 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4.5 star reviewsFive Years. RT @DylanJonesGQ: What Bowie song would work best as a kids book? Space Oddity as a children's book http://t.co/cLl3EsP
31st Aug 2011
Read on TwitterPromo Promo: Behind the scenes with Wilco
New Wilco song Dawned on Me got an airing during this photo shoot for St. Louis Magazine.
23rd Aug 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Out of the ashes of the band Pela came @WeAreAugustines and they have a new song available. Download it free here http://bit.ly/gADZLa
8th Jul 2011
Read on TwitterRT @DylanJonesGQ: Song Of The Day: "Love Street" by the Doors. Jim Morrison died today, forty years ago......
4th Jul 2011
Read on TwitterWorks on Saturday too RT @thecoldvein: Song for a Friday. RHCP - Make You Feel Better....
2nd Jul 2011
Read on TwitterWouldn't that be nice RT @DylanJonesGQ: Song Of The Day: "Anyone For Tennis" by Cream. An atypical piece of nonsense ...more like Traffic.
1st Jul 2011
Read on TwitterNew song = snooze. RT @robynpierce71: @chimpomatic @lucypope Roger that. With Commander Pope on the sofa. \#beyonce's gone a bit shit.
26th Jun 2011
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Iron Man 2
Stupid, lazy, rushed, shapeless, underdeveloped sequel - sacrificing style for pure volume.
26th May 2011
Read more 1.5 star reviewsOver-looked @radiohead song of the day: 'Blow Out' from Pablo Honey. http://t.co/F2wUtrs
24th Mar 2011
Read on TwitterPromo Promo: The Death Set - Slap Slap Slap Pound Up Down Snap
a song about secret handshakes. stick around for the burning chimp at the end
#chimp71
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#Music
#PromoPromo
3rd Mar 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Love: Finishing a tough week with a blissed out, full volume Late Night, Maudlin Street by Morrissey. That's how to do it. Peace and I'm out
17th Dec 2010
Read on TwitterLove: If There Is Something by Roxy Music, this is a perfect song. End of...
12th Nov 2010
Read on TwitterPromo Promo: Everyday Is Like Sunday
Morrissey's classic single Everyday Is Like Sunday is back on the digital record shelves today, in support of the upcoming Bona Drag re-issue. So, here's the classic video that accompanies the track - featuring a literal depiction of nearly every line in the song, with added walkman-sporting-moody-teenager and freeze frame ending. Love it.
27th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Song Of The Day: Love Is In The ICA
A special Team Chimpomatic shout-out to Mr & Mrs CSF...
24th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet

Black Mountain
Wilderness Heart
With album number three, Vancouver's Black Mountain may be threatening to hit the mainstream ...and with an output history this solid and thrilling, they deserve nothing less.
While 2008's In The Future was a decade highlight for me, Wilderness Heart proves to be something of a departure from it's predecessor - eschewing that early 70's monolithic rock sound for something a little more modern. Circa 1978. Synths and keyboards litter the sound with hidden flourishes, while Amber Webber gets more time in the lime light on these concise, deceptively simple tracks.
Opener The Hair Song exudes a swaggering confidence, while Old Fangs is built around a riff worthy of AC/DC themselves. Empires are smashed, tempos are shifted and War of the Worlds-style synths rule in one of many mini epics on the album - where no tracks head far north of 5 minutes.
Rollercoaster dips before Webber's vocals soar. Let Spirits Ride takes the band on a freight train of their most thundering thrash to date, complete with electrifying guitar and keyboard solos. A calmness decends with the orchestral overtones of Buried by the Blues - but throughout the album Josh Wells' drumming is again a magnificent highlight, running in and out of the layered and intricate guitars and keyboards and providing a muscular and spine tingling backbone.
Title track Wilderness Heart is the highlight, cramming a ten minute epic into just under four minutes as all the elements magically come together perfectly: thunderous intro, duelling vocals, pneumatic waves of drumming and a soaring coda all weaving in and out of each other into a towering, all-conquering masterpiece. Thrilling.
13th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviewsPromo Promo: The Hair Song
Black Mountain may be edging towards the mainstream with their release of new album Wilderness Heart, with their recent Jimmy Fallon appearance heading the charge.
They are now filming promos with actors and everything.... though the 'boy meets girl and watches Black Mountain in ruins vibe' is still keeping it real. Or was it all in his mind?
7th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet

Various Artists
Dogs In Space OST
As a big fan of this cult Australian movie, I've been looking out for a copy of the Dogs in Space soundtrack since the early 90's - and only now, thanks to the magic of file-sharing I finally get my hands on it. And it's fan-expanded edition at that.
The film and therefore the soundtrack are set in Melbourne's 'Little Band' scene of the late 70's, with some of the acts from that era reforming briefly to play on the soundtrack - such as The Primitive Calculators and Whirlywirld. Michael Hutchence stars in the film and leads the band of the title, but also provides a couple of more punky solo tracks here, of which Golf Course is pretty fun. Hutchence was inspired by the film and his work with veteran Melboune producer Ollie Olsen and the two of them worked together in the late 80's on Max Q.
Of course the ongoing success of some of the acts highlights their contributions here. Iggy's Endless Sea (from New Values) is a highlight of the movie and the soundtrack, while Nick Cave's Boys Next Door provide a classic in Shivers. Another highlight is the Thrush & The Cunts cover of the same song. Charming name.
18th Aug 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviews
Young Neil
More Neil Young Archives are on the way, but maybe don't get your hopes up just yet as Volume 1 took years to materialise. Volume 2 promises three lost studio albums from the 70's: Homegrown and Chrome Dreams, plus Oceanside-Countryside - which I've never even heard of.
No mention of uber-classic Time Fades Away, which would certainly be covered in this period - although Wikipedia mentions Time Fades Away II, from the same period.
Details on Neilyoung.com, via Soundr.
16th Aug 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet

Jerk With A Bomb
Death To False Metal
Last week's Black Mountain gig sent me into a completist spin of Black-Mountain-Army-MP3-domination and as a result I dug up this previously overlooked, very early Jerk With A Bomb album. Before Pink Mountaintops and before Black Mountain it was just One Easy Skag and the Silo - AKA Stephen McBean and Joshua Wells.
While later JWAB efforts - 2001's The Old Noise and 2003's Pyrokenesis - have their moments (Pyrokenisis in particular with stellar stand-outs Fine Health Is At Home and the sublime To The Graves), both could be considered relatively patchy affairs. Death To False Metal on the other hand aims a little lower but maintains a solid, consistent level of entertainment - as well as a healthy live feel. You could imagine these two turning up at your BBQ and wowing the camp fire crowd with this whole album.
That's not to say it's all at one note - and This Broken Heart, New Wave Is Dead and particularly Half Mast provide some momentous highlights. Sure, it's still a lo-fi affair, but the passion and fury unleashed on some of the tracks is astounding and the record serves as a welcome early warning of Stephen McBean's deep reservoir of song-writing talent, not to mention Joshua Wells' epic drumming.
Listen in full over at CBC Radio 3 (Track 5 onwards is this album, the first 4 are from the 2 later albums).
23rd Jul 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviewsBlack Mountain
The Lexington, London
With a new album on the way and a slew of festival dates lined up, Canada's 2007/8 chimprock staple Black Mountain were back in town for an intimate gig at the perfectly-sized Lexington in preparation for this weekend's Latitude festival.
Pastiche-heavy new song Radiant Hearts opened the show, before new album highlight Wilderness Heart moved the band quickly into a higher gear, storming though In The Future classics Evil Ways, Tyrants, plus Old Fangs, Rollercoaster and Let Spirits Rise from the new record.
Sadly, sound problems slowly encroached into the show -with McBean's increasingly problematic amp hampering the real growth of the performance. While the rest of the band made valient efforts to paste over the cracks - with an extended jam allowing some roadie tech action, before McBean stepped back in with a blistering riff, only to be denied again. Lightning Dust star Amber Webber's wailing vocals provide a much more pronounced appearance when seeing the band live and she provided a real focus for tonights show, holding the stage like a modern day Grace Slick. The keyboard-heavy sounds of the new album also got plenty of time in the spotlight via Jeremy Schmidt, while Joshua Wells' incredible drumming stole the show on several occasions - with the robotic licks of Tyrants never failing to deliver a spine-tingling thrill.
Ultimately, the sound issues were too much to overcome, and like a (muscle) car without gas, Steve McBean sloped off unfulfilled. However, some quick tweaks from a roadie and the band were back for a super-charged encore. The newer big hitters were nearly done, but the super-sub of Stormy High saw the band roar back into action, before chunky live versions of Druganaut and Don't Run Our Hearts Around brought the band's self-titled debut album back into the favourites list.
It would take a lot more than bad electrics to keep these guys down ...and I suspect their the following night may have been unbelievable. Tonight we just had to be satisfied with awesome.
15th Jul 2010 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviewsRadiohead Secret Glastonbury Show
Thom and Johnny G showed up for an acoustic(ish) set at this year's Glastonbury - great run of Weird Fishes / Pyramid Song / Karma Police etc - and Vampire Weekend's Rostam filmed some of it from his stage view. Like the McEnroe headband
(via Pitchfork)
29th Jun 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
More Mountain Wilderness
More album and tour info from Black Mountain...
Wilderness Heart will be released by Jagjaguwar on September 13th. Tracklist for the 10 track album will consist of:
1. The Hair Song
2. Old Fangs (download it here)
3. Radiant Hearts
4. Rollercoaster
5. Let Spirits Ride
6. Buried By The Blues
7. The Way To Gone
8. Wilderness Heart
9. The Space Of Your Mind
10. Sadie
The band are playing two low-key shows at The Lexington in July, followed by some festivals and now another London show at Shepherd's Bush in October.
JULY
11th - Kinross - T in the Park Festival
13th - London - Lexington - SOLD OUT
14th - London - Lexington - SOLD OUT
16th - Southwold - Latitude Festiva
SEPTEMBER
4th - Oxford - Academy
5th - Birmingham - Hare & Hounds
8th - Brighton - Concorde
10th - Isle of Wight - Bestival
11th - Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset - End Of The Road Festival
12th - Leeds - TJs Woodhouse Club
14th - Glasgow - Oran Mor
15th - Manchester - Academy 3
16th - Nottingham |Rescue Rooms
OCTOBER
7th - London - Shepherds Bush Empire
Support will come from the mighty Ladyhawk for the Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and Nottingham shows. Tickets for the headline shows are a very reasonable £11, except for a still reasonable £14 in London. Tickets available here.
15th Jun 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Drums
The Drums
Island
Emerging bleary eyed from the Christmas/New Year haze I was confronted with nothing but talk of immanent financial hardship and the merits of a New York band called The Drums. I laughed off both as mere hype but lo and behold they've both come true and after hearing this debut album the latter certainly certainly makes the former rumor more easy to bear. If you have the Summertime Ep released last year then you'll be familiar with a lot of this but that shouldn't dampen your enjoyment in the least. Swamped in British eighties warmth but infused with a charm and freshness that seems to only emanate from the States at the moment The Drums continue in part what bands like Vampire Weekend started. These are simple songs heavily recalling bands like The Cure or New Order but laced with a rolling surf-rock sensibility. It's a fine mix and one that benefits form a full length format. They've bravely left off two of their most popular songs from Summertime, I Felt Stupid and Submarine, but left their flagship Let's Go Surfing, a song that won them their considerable acclaim on the blogs.
In these dark times I continuously look across the pond for indie-pop alleviation and with The Drums I look no further. It's not reinventing the wheel but who needs reinvention with a record as joyous as this. Highlights include Forever And Ever Amen and I'll Never Drop My Sword.
11th Jun 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviews
The Cure
Disintegration (Deluxe Issue)
Polydor
On it's impending release I remember thinking of Disintegration as something of a sell out. A mainstream album on a major record label, which was getting the kind of promotion a new Kings of Leon record would get today. In hindsight, it is perhaps The Cure's darkest and most complete album - focussing their attention in a way that the singles-orientated band had not managed before, into what might as well be one, long brooding composition.
Which begs the immediate question of whether this 12 track masterpiece really needs an expanded, 44 song edition? The answer isn't exactly yes, but if taken as 'extras', this is a fantastic release, which honours the original beautifully. The first disc features a newly remastered version of the original album, making it easy to switch off when that finishes. If you're on a mission, disc two should perhaps be listened to first - as the variety of demos from different periods in the production really show the evolution of the album, without the dull repetition that so many deluxe issue succumb too. Songs evolve from Robert Smith's home demos, through band rehearsals, band demos and studio outtakes.
Delirious Night, Pirate Ships and Babble offer notable non-album tracks on this disc, perfect for mix-tapes - but the more up-beat nature and tempo of each makes it easy to see why they didn't make the cut for the sombre/uplifting final record.
Disc three features the entire album, live (from Wembley Arena! Sell out). Stick this one on last and the evolution of the record is complete, transporting you back to a packed concert as the alum is majestically and triumphantly performed.
11th Jun 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviewsDarwin Deez
Darwin Deez
Lucky Number
The problem with this record is evident from the opening bars of the second song. You'll find it's a slowed down version of the first. And this feeling of familiarity runs from song to song and ultimately masks their merit. And they do indeed display their fair share of merit. Running very much in the Strokes / Albert Hammond Jnr school of indie pop this debut is comprised of very simple songs built around the guitar/ drum machine structure. Standout tracks are Constellations and Radar Detector and the reason being that they and a few others are the rare times when the song structure varies. This debut shows promise but does it over and over in the same way.
4th Jun 2010 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 2 star reviewsJames Murphy & Various Artists
Greenberg Soundtrack
Parlophone
Arranged and composed by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy this soundtrack to Noah Baumbach's film is a fantastic mix of genres, tempos and moods. Kicking off with The Steve Miller Band's Jet Airliner this features many heavyhitters, the highlights being Galaxie 500 and Duran Duran surprisingly. But the real delights, unsurprisingly, come from Murphy himself. This is obviously the perfect vehicle for him to flex muscles not permitted in his day job. And these muscles conjure up a more thoughtful and etherial sound comprised of minimal song structures and reflective, fragile vocals. The whole collection is perfectly conceived and further illustrates Murphy's dominance of everything creative in the whole world ever.
4th Jun 2010 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviews
Holy Fuck
Latin
Young Turks
This is the third album from the beautifully named Holy Fuck and it's an altogether tighter affair than its predecessors and dwarfs them all in terms of size. As the the ambient 4 minutes of 1MD opens the album it looms into view like an advancing apocalyptic, 7 storey doomsday machine. As its debris clears Red Lights booms with colossal rhythm and the pace and magnitude rarely lets up until the dying textures of the brutal closer P.I.G.S. Their combination of synth melodies, crunching rhythm and booming guitars seem to gel more concisely here and as each song serves to build this machine higher and stronger and the even more threatening Latin will leave you wasted and spent in its wake.
4th Jun 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviews
LCD Soundsystem
This Is Happening
DFA
From the solid dance record that was their self-titled debut, LCD Soundsystem have managed to successfully evolve into one of the most essential acts around today. As solid as the debut was, you'd be forgiven for pegging them as a one trick pony. 2007's Sound Of Silver put paid to any of that by topping all the 'best of' lists that year, including All My Friends gaining the top spot on my "best tracks of the decade" list. With that record they stepped out of their dance shoes and became so well-rounded it's almost annoying. James Murphy's got his shit locked down. He hooks the chicks with his onstage antics and charisma, and appeals to the guys by looking like a record company executive that's trying his hand on the shop floor - and aceing it every time.
So what next then for Murphy and crew? Well there's only one thing for it. You follow all that up with an equally tough record and meet the throbbing expectation head on. I say "equally tough" but This Is Happening isn't quite as satisfying as Sound Of Silver although it's close enough. Opener Dance Yrself Clean is a hell of a way to kick off a record; starting slow then punching in with the most pleasing beats since Daft Punk last played in his house. All I Want is the other power-track here and one that really displays the multi-string bow with which this band wield their charm. Centered around a looping guitar chord, it stretches out over six minutes with very little in the way of chorus, it just goes on and on with trance-like sensibilities which are interjected with bleeps and synths that swirl and dive around this structure. Pow Pow is reminiscent of I'm Losing My Edge and also Talking Heads' use of spoken word. Closer Home wraps everything up so perfectly with a near eight minute swirler of unbridled joy. It's another one that's gloriously reminiscent of Talking Heads and one that displays Murphy's trick of "all verse" delivery. The length of these songs coupled with the "all meat and no fat" structure gives an album like this some considerable might.
Everything James Murphy creates under this banner will ultimately be classed as dance music but this has an intelligence rarely seen in the genre. It's fiercely contemporary with songs like All I Want but then gloriously retro with Change and You Wanted A Hit. It's got its weak points however. Somebody's Calling Me is a bit tedious and lead single Drunk Girls (which just sounds like a lazy attempt to prick up the ears of radio listeners) is a touch thin. Having said that, along with I Can Change it's really the only conceivable choice they've got in terms of releases, when every other song here averages out at seven minutes. But when you're surrounded by such quality it seems darn-right picky to pinpoint these as weaknesses. It's a pretty rare thing when you get an album that I clearly haven't enjoyed as much as the predecessor that's so good there's really no reason to mark it any lower. (Having said that Sound Of Silver should really have been 4.5)
17th May 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviews
The National
High Violet
4AD
Stumbling across Alligator in Fopp on a non-descript weekday afternoon in 2005 worked out to be one of the sweetest and unexpected musical highlights of the past ten years. Since then, this Brooklyn band has consistently honored that experience by confidently building on Alligator's success. 2007's Boxer raised the bar to heights that even Alligator rarely hinted at - and so, expectation was swollen and bloated beyond the humble proportions that this band cultivate. Since Boxer the Dessner brothers have proved themselves to be quite a creative force in today's industry putting out the Dark Was The Night and Long Count projects, so with all that added experience High Violet was set to be stellar.
I have to admit though to feelings of disappointment throughout many of the initial listens here. Boxer's rich soundscapes and widescreen ambition seemed to have been compromised in favor of a much more low key sound. Matt Berninger's dichotomous writing can lift you up on "A wingspan unbelievable" with confessions of inadequacy and insecurity but here seemed to fall short of those heights and feel more content to leave you wallowing. The pace also hints at this redirection of vision. Boxer was a drummers album and High Violet rarely exploits this aspect to the same extent.
But to cut a long story short, now I bloody love it. I must have had it on repeat constantly for the last week and this new direction has seeped into my soul and to this day refuses to release me. I guess a good way to describe High Violet is in depth rather than height. While Boxer could often soar, these songs bury deep and take you to much darker places and all with the same tools. The same rich pallet is employed here as it swirls and builds with intricate subtlety around Berninger's baritone hum. Having their own studio and the gift of time afforded them space to obsess over every minute of this record, but instead of suffocating under these conditions it thrives - and it takes a skilled group of musicians with enough self awareness to achieve such a result. Speaking about their approach to High Violet, Aaron Dessner says "Matt expressed a desire to hear things that "sounded like hot tar. Or loose wool." This goes some way to describe the finished product that is High Violet. Songs like Sorrow and A Little Faith drip out with such thickness that given a decent pair of headphones it's quite easy to lose yourself in their density. Anyone's Ghost and Afraid Of Everyone are hollow depictions of loneliness and isolation, while Bloodbuzz Ohio continues where the Boxer heights left us.
Seeing them on their tour of Boxer I was quite worried to witness the bloated endings that seemed to have been tacked on to most of the songs. At the tail and of the vocals the Dessners' would step forth tho the front of the stage and elevate each song to a Wilco like frenzy of feverish guitars, and it really didn't suit their style. High Violet opener Terrible Love does this too but I am very pleased to see the restraint that this album shows and it never does it again. Given their astonishing rise this band would be forgiven for letting some of it go to their heads but this record shows this not to be the case. It is a work of admirable restraint yet progressive enough to honor the memory of what's gone before.
13th May 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviewsPromo Promo: Spike Jonze vs LCD
Promo up for the new LCD Soundsystem single Drunk Girls, co-directed by Spike Jonze and James Murphy. Fun video, but sadly the song falls into the annoying 'Beats. On. Repeat.' category of the band's catalogue.
19th Apr 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Band of Horses vs The National
The highly-anticipated new albums from favourites The National and Band of Horses seem to be in something of a space race. BoH followed The National's free Bloodbuzz Ohio download with an mp3 of their own - Compliments. Now both bands have loaded up a second preview - Laredo from Band of Horses and Afraid of Everyone from The National.
The National definitely have their man in space first, but let's hope Band of Horses are holding something back for the moon landing. So far it sounds somewhat predictably like a low-key-down-home-jamming-round-the-campfire album... An up-to-$99 campfire album, judging by their new self-selling website.
14th Apr 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet

#Against
I did a quick search for the word 'Against' today in iTunes - looking for a song that I'd rather not explain. Strictly research, I can assure you.
It seems that with the exception of U2 and Phil Collins, it's a word exclusively used by the disaffected bands youth. Grrr.
26th Feb 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet

Re-activated
The Minutemen's first incarnation is getting a dust-off, with Water Under The Bridge records releasing a 12" of tracks from an early session by The Reactionaries - the first band for D. Boon, Mike Watt and Geogre Hurley - with Martin Tamburovich on vocals.
From Joe Carducci:
The Minutemen Were Reactionaries
For most of the music world – or rather the much smaller rock world – of the early 1980s, the Minutemen seemed to arrive fully formed, as if from some other planet. Questions must have immediately crossed minds: Where are these guys from? What drugs are they on? Are they carbon-based life forms?
Those reactions were understandable, as it was the 45-song, double 33 rpm Double Nickels On The Dime (SST 028) that introduced the band to most folks outside of Los Angeles. If I remember right, the initial sales jumped from the five thousand range for Buzz Or Howl Under The Influence Of Heat (SST 016), to fifteen thousand for Double Nickels. (Of course all those releases sold far more after the day.)
D. Boon, Mike Watt and George Hurley were always deflecting the effusiveness of fans in clubs, or in interviews – it was part of their charm. But think about it, the Minutemen were telling kids that they could pick up instruments and do the same! Nobody who saw them live believed that for a second.
I was at Systematic Record Distribution and got their first record, Paranoid Time (SST 002), from the label and ordered it for distribution to shops around the country. It was hard enough for me to discern how great they were from that and their early follow-up records and compilation tracks. To my ear, I don’t think I really heard what they were capable of until they were playing the Anti-Club regularly in 1983-84. There was just so much music packed into their short, fast tunes. And at each gig a few older, simpler tunes were replaced by new, even more masterful tunes. At their first San Francisco gig at the Mabuhay, Dirk Dirksen (who ran and MC’ed the club), strolled out on stage to introduce them and the first thing he saw was a four-foot long set-list taped to D.’s mic-stand and Dirk said, “What is this, the history of music?!” It was! When we recorded the long tail of the song “More Spiel” for Project: Mersh (SST 034) I joked to D. that he had just laid down a six-minute history of the guitar solo. At SST, hearing guitarists Greg Ginn, Joe Baiza and Curt Kirkwood all the time, it was easy to underestimate how great a guitar player D. was. That radical reformation the Reactionaries performed on themselves to become the Minutemen encouraged that, because it elevated Mike and George to co-lead players.
But their world-historical, musical summation had a history as well. And that was their late-seventies band, the Reactionaries. Mike and D. had known each other since junior high. They met Martin Tamburovich and George Hurley at San Pedro high, although they wouldn’t claim they knew George because in Watt’s words, “he was a happening cat,” whereas D., Mike, and Martin were on the not-so-happening end of the high school social spectrum. As George tells it: “For a long time Mike would ask me to play music with him. He wanted to jam out, but I really wasn’t into it ‘cause I was a Surfer then and he was sort of a geek. I don’t know, we were kids. Finally, I agreed to it.” This kind of transgression of school social hierarchy is common when music brings young kids together in their first band. It’s an under-appreciated aspect of the power of music.
Thankfully the Reactionaries recorded a practice in their attempt to get gigs so we have these 10 songs to contemplate. What you can hear are the rudiments of the Minutemen’s sound, only unlike most bands, they only got rid of stuff as they improved. D. is already a good guitar player with his trebly sound in place. Mike and George play more standard-rock bass and drums parts, and Martin sounds like he belongs on the mic, though the quality of the lyrics varies widely. Chuck Dukowski saw them and reports, “Martin was a cool singer and I liked his style.” They were just out of high school and though they already had their obsessive interests, the lyrics (by Mike, Martin, and friends outside the band) show an awkward adaptation to the punk style as they understood it. Like a lot of lyrics by seventies punk bands, television is of particular concern – punks who were determined to create a music scene thought watching TV was a fate co-equal to Death.
In February of 1979, Chuck and Greg Ginn were flyering a Clash, Bo Diddley, Dils show at the Santa Monica Civic when they met D. and Mike. The flyer was for what would be the second Black Flag gig and it was going to be in San Pedro. D. and Mike were amazed to learn of a gig in Pedro and Chuck hadn’t known there was a punk band there, so he put the Reactionaries on the bill. It was their first gig; they played with Black Flag, the Descendents (their debut too), the Alley Cats, the Plugz and an impromptu mini-set by the Last. A world-historical night, however many paid at the door.
The Reactionaries played only two more gigs, opening for the Suburban Lawns at their practice pad in Long Beach. They made a pass at getting a gig at the Other Masque up in Hollywood, but the band was falling apart. Mike’s description of D.’s loss of interest in the Reactionaries is interesting. Apparently D. didn’t offer his songs to the Reactionaries and then found them another guitarist (Todd Apperson) so he could quit. They broke up around mid-1979. George found a band in Hollywood called Hey Taxi! and is on their 45. Though soon enough, D. and Mike regroup and eventually pull George back into their new, improved mess after their new drummer (Frank Tonche) walked offstage and quit during their second gig. At the Minutemen’s first gig (May 1980), Greg asked them to do a record for SST.
24th Feb 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Some more Best of the 00s
Locochimpo
In no particular order:
Animal Collective – Feels or Strawberry Jam
I remember getting very scared, when I was a kid, that, mathematically, there was only a limited number of songs possible - limited number of notes and limited number of combinations. When would they run out? ARRGGH!!!! Then I heard Animal Collective and I realised it was all going to be alright. Feels probably gets the nod from me. Saw them live – bit disappointed. But YOU won’t be if you pipe them in through your headphones.
The Strokes – Is This It
Neither before nor since have I experienced such excitement about a new band and a new album. Debut single “Last Nite” blew my socks off. Seeing them live twice – in Barcelona (buying tickets from an old woman the afternoon of the gig – unimaginable in the UK) and Brixton confirmed their greatness. Shame they’ve got bloated and tired since.
My Morning Jacket – Z
Shit. Seriously. Don’t mess about. This album is fuqing brilliant. From the “burrm burrm” opening through to the long rock out bit of Lay Low and right through to the end, this album is a vortex of mind blowing ness. (Ok - apart from “Into The Woods”, but I read the lyrics for that the other day, realised it was about crackin on off in the shower and changed my mind). I saw these dudes on the Okonokos tour at the Astoria – One of the best gigs I’ve been to.
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
I’d heard of them before I heard them, and this was a most unexpected treat of an album. This surprising sub pop fare is up there as my most played album ever ever and is still on rotation now. Beautiful. And good live too (saw them at the roundhouse)
Lamchop – Nixon
Having never heard of them before, I have no idea what compelled me to by this album (ok it was £3 in the Virgin Megastore sales). Very pleased I did mind. Ok, so I skip a few of the later songs, but this is a special album. It still holds a special place in my heart. I saw them at the Barbican (mwah) when they performed a soundtrack to a silent Russian film... or something. Yawn.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – CYHSY
Apart from the first weird track (sign of things to come with their 2nd album), every song on this record is super. Easy to play on the guitar, but hard to sound as good. I drunkenly saw them at ULU with Chimpovich and his sensei bro. They were alright, but the support act - Hockey Night - were better.
M.Ward – Post-War
Ok – I’m not sure which is my favourite M. Ward album of the last 10 years, so this one’ll do. Cripes - this chap can write and sing a song. Not seen him live yet.
Yo La Tengo – Prisoners of Love (Compilation)
Not an album album, but rather a low price gem of a comp. This 25 odd track bad boy introduced me to Yo La Tengo and I’ve never looked back. These elder statesmen can seemingly do the lot – short pop numbers to 16 minute thought pieces and everything in between. Magic. Seen them about 4 times since (USA / Spain / UK) and they never disappoint.
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
KA-BOOOOOM! – this album is nothing short of mega. It came along just as I was getting into Jim O’Rourkes solo stuff and his production really elevates this album above all others ever. Some beautiful and funny lyrics blended with amazing riffs and loops – the soundtrack to many a long walk. I saw them at the Hammersmith Apollo, but I was too far away up in the gods to really dig it.
Flaming Lips – Soft Bulletin
Yeah Yeah. I know. It was released in 1999, but tough tits. It’s on my list. Seen these chaps live lots of times (highlight was seeing your man Wayne in a big zorb in Royal Albert hall). So influential, I even model my hair / beard combo on him.
Track worth a notable mention:
The Truth – Handsome Boy Modelling School
Oh my me. This song is so sweet. Staple song on nearly every mixrtape I made in the (early part of the) noughties. Before Minidiscs came along and ruined everything!
Best Soundtrack
Royal Tenenbaums
Awesome film. Brilliant Font. Cracking soundtrack. Wes Anderson is preternaturally gifted. I bet he stands up in meetings.
If you care to, you can listen to a selected track from each album (where available) on this Spotify playlist: - Locochimpo: 2000-2009
26th Jan 2010 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviewsBaby Marmot
Congratulations going out to Chimp stalwart marmot this morning, who just welcomed baby marmot into the world.
Unofficial Song of the Day: After The Goldrush.
20th Jan 2010 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Yoni Wolf on Daytrotter
Yoni Wolf of Why? has done a 4 song session on Daytrotter, download it here.
12th Jan 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet

Best of the 00s
Various
The 00s have certainly been a turbulent decade for the music industry, from the rise and fall of Napster, through the MP3 and iPod revolution and on to the reality TV dominated close of the decade.
Drum and bass infiltrated pop music so throughly that it's now just part of the furniture, while Hip Hop blew up to dominate the US charts, nabbing a guest spot on dozens of chart toppers.
Filtering through the hundreds of albums released in the decade is no mean feat, so we've kept our list strictly democratic, with the top 10 derived from those albums most nominated by our reviewers.
Read a lazy, sprawling list of 82 others that come very highly recommended, here.
And in ascending order, here are the most nominated chimp favourites....
10. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Beard rock really came back into it's own at the end of the decade, with this debut from the Seattle harmony combo channelling their inner CSNY - while managing to retain some kind of contemporary edge. Bon Iver, Midlake, Grizzly Bear(d) and others supplemented the genre to great effect.
9. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
Add some heavy rocking to those beards and Band of Horses stepped away from the MMJ-soundalike shadow to really prove themselves with two killer albums. The Funeral probably ranks up their as a song of the decade, while third album Night Rainbows should usher in the '10s nicely.
8. Black Mountain - In The Future
While not sounding that much like their debut, Black Mountain's second album still seemed to sound exactly as hoped for, turned up to 11. By side-stepping the cheesy homage of Wolfmother, the Canadian band delivered a classic rock album that never, ever fails to deliver.
7. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
While it's been a little tarnished by the band's self-conscious later moves, the CYHSY debut was a much needed jolt to the system, reviving Talking Heads and heading out into a twisted genre of it's own. Special nod for track 1 as the most skipped track in iTunes.
6. The Strokes - Is This It?
From dancing like twats in the bedroom to Last Night over and over again, to seeing them four times in a year - it's safe to say that The Strokes' shadow loomed large over the decade. Second album Room On Fire disappointed - and the media frenzy had passed by the time overlooked stellar album First Impressions Of Earth arrived.
5. My Morning Jacket - Z
For a couple of years My Morning Jacket were THE band of the decade. While It Still Moves bridged the gap between the low-key At Dawn and it's polished follow up, Z was where the potential all fell into place. Cutting back on the sprawl and honing the results, every track was a winner - with mind blowing concerts supporting the band until it all went to their heads with Evil Urges. A return to form is demanded.
4. The National - Boxer
Sleeper hit Alligator was a favourite for a long time, until follow up Boxer completely over-shadowed it. Took quite a long time to get into, but once there, it stuck. Slow Show was one of many, many stand-outs.
3. LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
A perhaps surprising highlight - considering the mere novelty value of Daft Punk Is Playing At My House - Sound of Silver took an unconventional left turn, channelling David Byrne (again), plus a myriad of other styles and influences to form a beautiful whole.
2. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
Another record relatively over-looked by the critics, with the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot faithful often dissapointed by this way-out follow up, which found Jeff Tweedy enlisting Jim O'Rourke's radical production to pound home the alt-country message with bombastic flair. Any album that starts with a sprawling guitar jam is always going to get chimp votes. Never disappointing.
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
As the major labels slowly started to embrace the digital model, it took their former golden egg to shake things up again. While the decade opened with the trickling out of the Kid A / Amnesiac double bill, it was the surprise release of the label-free, pay-what-you-like album-with-no-cover In Rainbows that possibly defined music and the music business in the 00s. One day Radiohead haven't been heard from in a while, the next you're listing to the album of the decade over and over again. While other records were good, this one was immediately great - reminding everyone what was so great about Radiohead to begin with, while still forging on with new sounds and new directions. Play it tonight.
31st Dec 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviewsBest Of 2009
CSF
As a quick precursor to the Best of the 00s list I'm currently editing, here's my Top 5 albums of 2009.
Not a stellar year compared to 2007 or 2008, but there's certainly been a few stand outs.
John Frusciante - The Empyrean
He didn't tell us he'd left the Chili Peppers, but Frusciante's latest solo album certainly upped the anti on 2004's marathon of low-key releases, blending epic guitars, a stellar guest list and a near-perfect cover of Tim Buckley's Song To The Siren.
Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love
The Black Mountain side-project took it's own place in the spot light, with a solid album - made twice as good by the outstanding supporting tour.
Lightning Dust - Infinite Light
Amber Webber was missed on the aforementioned Pink Mountaintops tour, but luckily that's because she was polishing up her own project. Taking the promise of their debut, Lightning Dust moved forward with grand strides on this haunting ethereal masterpiece.
Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
The old favourites pulled virtually no surprises out with this one, just another handful of great rock songs with mind-blowing musicianship - and again backed it all up with one of the gigs of the year.
Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky
One great album seemed like a fluke, but the soundtrack to season two expanded the comedy duos surprising knack for blending piss-take and homage in an accomplished way, laced with fits and giggles. I'm in love with a sexy lady, with an eye that's lazy.
30th Dec 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
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