Spinning Platters Picks Six: An Early Educated Guess At Bridge School

bridgeschool
Photo From Last Year's Big Event

So, Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit is October 24th-25th. For those that aren’t already aware, Neil and Pegi Young have a school for the developmentally disabled. Every year, they put together an acoustic show with a few friends in the business.  In the past, these friends have included Tom Waits, Paul McCartney, Green Day, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Ministry, and, well, the list can go on for miles.  Today, I am going to try to predict six of the bands playing.  They usually announce the bill about six weeks in advance, so we have a bit more time, and as some acts get confirmed, I will revise the bill. Well, on with the show: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: An Early Educated Guess At Bridge School”

Album Review: Jay Reatard – Watch Me Fall

Can anyone explain why he wants to look so evil?
Can anyone explain why he wants to look so evil?

Listening to the new Jay Reatard album, Watch Me Fall, has presented me with a puzzle I’ve never had to solve before.  What if you like an album too much to do a proper review of it?  How would you approach it?  You’d do it by relying on the biggest security blanket a modern writer has.  You’d make lists.  So read on to see just how many lists I managed to make out of Jay Reatard’s masterpiece of an album. Continue reading “Album Review: Jay Reatard — Watch Me Fall”

Album Review: Madness – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate

MadnessThe Nutty boys are back with a vengeance but can you really be as nutty almost 35 years after you started out and when you approach 50?  I think I bought every Madness single for around five years but, interestingly, I don’t think I ever bought an album. Now here they are, 20+ years later with all seven original members intact, with an album that has a theme if not a full-on concept, all in celebration of London. Read on for the skinny on Madness’ The Liberty Of Norton Folgate. Continue reading “Album Review: Madness — The Liberty Of Norton Folgate”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: August 11th-17th

arnocorps
THIS IS ARNOCORPS!!!!

More live music in your region… And you thought there was nothing to do…

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: August 11th-17th”

Show Review: Underworld at The Fox Oakland 8/7/09

thanks to ario_j for providing this photo from Flickr.
thanks to ario_j for providing this photo from Flickr.

Underworld formed in 1986, yet are often considered part of the mid-90’s electronica craze that also included acts like Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers, and Crystal Method, among others.  I’ve always felt  that this was a bit of an unfair distinction, only because they are a bit different from the rest. (No disrespect to any of the aforementioned acts, they are all respectable within their own genres.) I feel that they are a pop group that incorporates elements of house, trance and industrial music.  They also pay much closer regard to lyrics, oftentimes telling complete stories within their songs. Continue reading “Show Review: Underworld at The Fox Oakland 8/7/09”

Album Review: Choir of Young Believers – This Is For The White In Your Eyes

ChoirChoir of Young Believers is led by 26-year-old Danish singer Jannis Noya Makrigiannis, who works with a rotating cast of supporting players. This Is For The White In Your Eyes is their debut album.  It’s rare these days to get to listen to something new without any preconceptions, hype or other factory distorting your viewpoint.  So lets see how it worked out. Continue reading “Album Review: Choir of Young Believers — This Is For The White In Your Eyes”

Show Review: Phish at the Shoreline Amphitheater, 8/5/09

Staring down at their instruments, as they often do
Staring down at their instruments, as they often do

People ask me all the time, “which band have you seen the most?”  To this question, I answer Moxy Fruvous.  If they ask me who’s in second place, I can answer that it’s Phish.  Last night was the 22nd time I’ve seen Phish in concert, but for the first time in a dozen years.  It’s hard to “review” a Phish show; it is what it is.  Consider this a personal exploration into an evening of Phish. Continue reading “Show Review: Phish at the Shoreline Amphitheater, 8/5/09”

Spinning Platters Picks Six: Classic Moments from John Hughes Movies

John Hughes 01

The tweet came a little while ago.

Breaking:  John Hughes Has Died

Next thing I knew, I was on Youtube watching a video that was a compilation of great John Hughes movie moments.  In that spirit, this is my tribute to the great musical moments (and a couple of others) from John Hughes movies.  I don’t have a lot to say here; just watching the clips is enough.  Pretty much everyone in my generation got a lot of personality shaping from his movies, so this is just my way of paying tribute.

John Hughes 1950-2009

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Classic Moments from John Hughes Movies”

Spinning Platters Picks Six: Bands I Forgot From The 80’s

Pull out those analog synths it's 1983 again.
Pull out those analog synths it's 1983 again.

Lets be clear up front – this is a personal list.  I came across the Associates the other day and it got me thinking about bands that I was REALLY into in the 80’s that I had forgotten about.  I dug into some old records and websites and came up with this six.  Some bands from the 80’s that you may have forgotten and loved will not make the list because I have not forgotten them.  This is not a best bands from the 80’s.  Purely a personal list of bands that touched me in some way that I had forgotten about.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Bands I Forgot From The 80’s”

Album Review: Brendan Benson – My Old, Familiar Friend

Who knows what this cover represents
Who knows what this cover represents

I’m a big Brendan Benson fan. I was a fan before The Raconteurs. Lapalco being one of my all time favorite albums but I was not overly happy with his last album, The Alternative To Love, which had its moments but was, overall, somewhat inconsistent.  So how does his new one My Old, Familiar Friend stack up.  Keep in mind that this review is all based on a first listen and of course songs may grow or otherwise on me given time.  So what has spending his time with Jack White done for Brendan? Continue reading “Album Review: Brendan Benson — My Old, Familiar Friend”