It’s another week of greatness for your week… Enjoy!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: August 18th-24th”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: August 18th-24th
Rock the Bells: A Journey Through Time and Memory
It starts at the gate on a wooden table, security searching bags, removing water bottle caps. It’s not a line, but a mass of people, compressed into a singlularity, squeezed through metal detectors like orange juice through a strainer–the pulp left behind: water bottle caps, drugs, Diet Dr. Pepper cans piled in neat towers around the parking lot (each layer an epoch) and something else…something less tangible. Metal detectors root out invisible men with sirens: a novel assimilation process to remove their weapons and expose their water. An invasive beep accompanies me through the plastic archway, where a woman– African American, in a yellow staff polo– asks me if I’m wearing a belt. I pull up my sweater and t-shirt, the small metal belt buckle is proof enough of my identity; a gentle pat down proves that I am indeed visible and physical. No, I am not an invisible man, merely an inappropriately dressed white male with a balding pattern and an open bottle of water, covering a culture I know only through books, Boondocks episodes and BET. Continue reading “Rock the Bells: A Journey Through Time and Memory”
Spinning Platters Picks Six: Reasons Why Music Games Are Important
Yes, I admit it, I like to play Rock Band on the Xbox 360. Some people seem to think that’s not a cool thing for a “real” music fan and musician to do, but as the latest versions of Rock Band (Rock Band: Beatles) and Guitar Hero (Guitar Hero 5) hit stores over the next couple of weeks, let’s stop to ask ourselves if and why these games matter. I’m going to argue that they do. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Reasons Why Music Games Are Important”
Les Paul, 1915-2009
Word coming across the Twitter-wire is that Les Paul has passed away.
A friend and I went to see him play about a dozen years ago at a bar in New York. We figured we only had a little time left to see this living legend (I think he was about 80 at the time). I half expected that he would already be frail and unable to tear shit up on the guitar, but he was absolutely amazing. He also stayed behind afterward to chat and sign autographs with everyone. It was a great night.
Next time you hear or play an electric guitar, be sure to think of Les.
Spinning Platters Picks Six: An Early Educated Guess At Bridge School
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
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
The 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
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
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
Choir 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”