Single Of The Week: Come My Habibi by Habibi

Habibi is an Arabic word meaning “my beloved.” And, from the moment I first heard them listening to Pandora at work six years ago, I was immediately in love with their mix of garage punk, classic Arabic music, and Motown girl group. I also genuinely thought they had called it quits after their first, self-titled record. Then, late last year, an EP came out called Cardamom Garden, where they toned down the punk and turned up the psych. It only left me wanting MORE HABIBI! Well, you’re in luck! Er, I’M IN LUCK! This week’s Single Of The Week is the lead single from Habibi’s upcoming second full length, Anywhere But Here. It’s a track called “Come My Habibi,” and it’s a lofi, bilingual, psychedelic masterwork.

This record is destined to be one of the best reviewed albums of 2020. You can preorder the physical record here, or preorder a virtual copy here!

Also, don’t forget to see them at Bottom Of The Hill on February 29th as part of the Noise Pop Festival! (Tix on sale now!) And, Noise Pop also dropped a killer second wave of acts, including Spinning Platters’ favorites Best Coast, Destroy Boys, Clit Kat, Mannequin Pussy, and many more! Tix for those shows can be found here!

Single Of The Week: IUD by Lisa Prank

One year, I was working at the box office at a music festival in Florida. It was on the beach, and it was a pretty pleasant working experience. One little bit of inside knowledge- the “number” printed on the RFID wristband you get when going to a big festival? That’s called a “UID.” Whenever I’m stressed or tired, I find that I will reverse letters or words. This meant that I spent most of the weekend asking people for their “IUD” and not their “UID.” People kind of rolled with the mistake, although one colleague kept laughing hysterically. By the end of the fest, she told me what I was doing wrong, and what that word meant.

Lisa Prank’s latest record is called Perfect Love Song and features the single “IUD.” Now that I know what that is, I can safely make it our single of the week. You can listen to or buy the record in all the usual places!

Single Of The Week: Glorious by Sudan Archives

Sudan Archives have been floating around for a few years, and, well, I haven’t really given her any attention until now. Her latest single, “Glorious,” is a stunning blend of virtuoso violin work, African rhythms, and trip hop vocals and just enough hip hop. This is a slow burner that sticks with you.

Sudan Archives’ latest record, Athena dropped today, and is available from all of the usual stores and streaming services, or you can purchase the limited edition on Black & Cream vinyl with bonus 7″ and sheet music from Bandcamp!

Noise Pop 2020 also dropped their line up earlier this week, and it’s AMAZING! But, most importantly, Sudan Archives are playing Swedish American Hall on February 24th as part of the fest!

Show Review: Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, At The Gates, Grand Magus at The Hollywood Palladium 10/26/2019

“It’s a regular fucking Swedish invasion, huh?”

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Metal. Metal. Metal. I spent 8 hours refabricating metal at work, so why not end the day at The Hollywood Palladium for a night of epic metal, fantasy metal, and melodic death metal? Thank you Sweden. We don’t deserve you.

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Show Review: GWAR, Sacred Reich, Toxic Holocaust, Against The Grain at The Belasco Theater 10/24/2019

“GWAR LIVES!”

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I have a death wish. A metal death wish. So it was clear that I had to work 9 hours and high tail it straight to Downtown Los Angeles for a night of total fucking metal at The Belasco Theater. The occasion? GWAR. Need I say more?

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Show Review: Subhumans, Neighborhood Brats, SMUT, Fissure at Echoplex 10/22/2019

“This is not an advert!”

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Sometimes, you need to get the hell out of the house and go to a punk show. Especially in times as trying as these, perhaps because of times as trying as these, it just feels good to go somewhere where you can yell and get all that pent up anger at a seemingly unstoppable corrupt world with a bunch of like minded people. So, I hopped on the scooter and puttered off to Echo Park to the surprisingly dark-lit Echoplex for a night of punk rock fury.

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Single Of The Week: Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia

So, Sunday is my birthday. And it seems like Kesha knew that, because she gifted the world the most amazing music video and new single for my birthday, “Raising Hell.” Structurally, we have a great 70’s country song video and lyric, all coming together with the classic, dirty and energized Kesha sound. It’s like the classic Top 40 Ke$ha melded with the more introspective and experimental Rainbow-era Kesha, and brought us a party starter that’s supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Big Freedia’s deep and percussive voice comes through almost unexpectedly, coloring the track in a lovely way.

This track is the lead single to High Road, coming out January 10th, 2020. And, if you are still trying to decide on a Birthday present for me, you can just get me the album bundled with a bottle of Kesha’s Raising Hell Hot Sauce!  You can also preorder it in normal ways, too! 

 

Film Review: The Current War: Director’s Cut

Knockin’ me out with those American lights: AC/DC conflict energizes, despite few flaws

Rivals George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon, l.) and Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) run into each other at the Chicago World’s Fair.

I don’t blame you if you’re confused by the phrase “Director’s Cut” above. A director’s cut of a film usually implies that an earlier, theatrically released version preceded it. But, in the case of The Current War, no, you didn’t miss a first release of this picture. It was, however, shown at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, and picked up for distribution by Harvey Weinstein’s infamous Weinstein Company. When the company folded because of Weinstein’s sexual harassment allegations, many projects were tabled and sold off. When 101 Studios eventually took hold of this title, director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon was granted permission by Martin Scorsese, the film’s executive producer, to make some changes before the film’s theatrical release. So what is opening today is a revised version of what Toronto fans saw two years ago. This version is, thankfully, shorter than the Fest original (why are films this season so long!?), and contains some reshoots. With such a complicated history behind the picture’s theatrical release, the question of course becomes: after all that, is the film worth seeing? My answer is: well, sure, although a few minor flaws keep that “sure” from being a resounding, exclamatory “Yes!!”

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Show Review: Video Game Metal with DragonForce at August Hall, 10/10/2019

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

Since 2007, when their song “Through the Fire and Flames” appeared on Guitar Hero III, DragonForce has appealed to the video game masses, and it showed at August Hall tonight. They had two giant video game consoles on stage that were playing a loop of late 80’s / early 90’s era video games. They also have their own channel on Twitch.tv, a live streaming video website primarily focused on video gaming, and guitarist Herman Li was wearing a backpack with a mini video camera attached to it, to  live stream the entire show.

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Spinning Platters Picks Six: Albums That Were Pulled Before Release

In the year 2001, I was working at a Wherehouse Music in the Financial District of San Francisco, CA. During this time period, we received regular visits from representatives from major record labels who would drop off advance CD’s of the upcoming new releases. Mid-Summer, we got a record called In Search Of… by a band called N*E*R*D. This was a side project of popular producers The Neptunes, with Neptune Pharrell Williams handling all of the lead vocals. Yes, there was a time when people didn’t know who Pharrell Willams was! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Albums That Were Pulled Before Release”