“Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes?”
Actually the future seems even darker now than back in ’92 while “Bone Machine” and it’s hypnotic textures, noisy percussion and experimental glows are still sounds fresh and its rich lyrics are still very actual.
“What does it matter, a dream of love / Or a dream of lies / We’re all gonna be the same place / When we die”…
What Tom Waits, Keith Richards, Les Claypool and David Hidalgo have in common? The bone machine. Several songs from the album were covered by several artists: “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” was covered by The Ramones for their last album, “Adios Amigos”, but also by Petra Haden and Bill Frisell on their album collaboration “Petra Haden & Bill Frisell” (2003), by Hayes Carll on “Trouble In Mind” (2008), and by Scarlett Johansson on her debut album, “Anywhere I Lay My Head” (2008). “Goin’ Out West” has been covered by Queens of the Stone Age, Gomez, Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule, the Blacks and Australian blues guitarist Ash Grunwald. This song also is featured in the 1999 film “Fight Club”, while “Earth Died Screaming” is featured in the 1995 film “Twelve Monkeys”, and “Jesus Gonna Be Here” is featured in the 2005 film “Domino”, in which Waits appears. Read more Tom Waits – Bone Machine (1992)
avant-garde
Dead Can Dance – Spleen and Ideal (1986)
There are bands and there are myths, legends. There are bands playing music and bands creating music, inventing new approaches, discovering new dimensions, tear down walls and open brand new highways. There are bands with one or two best records and bands with all their records being best ones. Some says, in the existence of the band the second album is the most important and it proves if the band have or haven’t potential. “Spleen and Ideal”, released on 1st September 1986 (in Australia), was Dead Can Dance’s second album and the band consist of Gerrard and Perry decided to abandon guitars in favor of classic symphonic instruments such as cello, trombones and timpani. A serious decision and one which probably change the course of the band’s history, but not only. Read more Dead Can Dance – Spleen and Ideal (1986)
Killing Joke – Killing Joke (1980)
A real underground pearl, still not enough appreciated, but an undisputed underground classic, the self-titled studio debut album by the British Killing Joke was self-produced and released in August, 1980 worldwide under E’G Records. The song “The Wait” was covered by Metallica in 1987 and released on “The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited” and “Requiem” was covered by Foo Fighters in 1997 as a b-side to the “Everlong” single. Finding modest commercial success, Killing Joke have influenced many later bands, such as Nirvana, Ministry, Amen, Lamb of God, Nine Inch Nails, Porcupine Tree, Napalm Death, Behemoth, Amebix, Big Black, Opeth, Murderdolls, Godflesh, Dead by April, Tool, Prong, Metallica, Franz Ferdinand, Primus, Jane’s Addiction, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Faith No More, Blacklist, Shihad, Pitchshifter, Das Oath, Rammstein and Korn, and gained a cult status with their industrial metal among critics and both fans of post punk and heavy metal. Read more Killing Joke – Killing Joke (1980)
Buckethead – Empty Space, Underground Chamber, Look Up There (2011)
Buckethead’s 32nd studio album, as well the second edition in the Buckethead Pikes series following “It’s Alive” . More experimental, much heavier, contorted, but beautiful, “Empty Space” with a total length of 32 minutes (ten songs) bring to the surface some intense riffs, noisy textures and wild, hurricane-like solos, but also funky basses, avant-garde experiments, industrial soundscapes, in few words, Buckethead shot all his big guns at our ears and once again he spare no energy to create music. Can’t stick labels to this, can’t force it into some boxes, his music have no genre, but style and class. Probably both, genius and madman, Buckethead is by excellence the most fascinating guitar wizard. Read more Buckethead – Empty Space, Underground Chamber, Look Up There (2011)
Infectious Grooves – Mas Borracho (2000)
This is a “not so old oldies”, released 11 years ago on 29 August, 2000, it’s the fourth – and up to date last – album released by the maniacs of Infectious Grooves. Maybe this is not same “classy” as the more notorious “Sarsippius’ Ark”, but as any Mike Muir project and product, it still kicking ass. Not to mention, we’ve got on the bass guitar the murderous Robert Trujillo (ex-Suicidal Tendencies, now Metallica), guitarists Dean Pleasants (also played with Ugly Kid Joe, George Clinton, etc), and Adam Siegel (Excel, Suicidal Tendencies, The Blondes, Eels, etc), and drummer Brooks Wackerman (Vandals, current drummer of Bad Religion).
The title of the album, as written on the album, means “but drunk” in Spanish. However, it most likely is a misspell of “más borracho”, meaning “more drunk” or “drunker”. Be prepared to funk off your ass and punk it up! Read more Infectious Grooves – Mas Borracho (2000)
Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet – Smells Like Tape Spirit (2011)
This is just great, feels so good to listen it. I won’t sell you lollipops, I actually don’t have a clue what “nu jazz” means, generally speaking, I don’t know what’s modern and what not in jazz, and digging further, in music. Sometimes – nowadays – modern becomes synonym of stupid, or at least trendy and patterned, and I really don’t wanna swallow it. This is different. “Smells Like Tape Spirit” have some gentle, warm, retro and kind of classy perfume, but on the other hand it’s extremely fresh, sparkling and breathing alive, it’s – God, I hate this world! – modern, a blending of standards and improvisations, structures and free licks, a rebellion build upon the solid ground of tradition.
Read more Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet – Smells Like Tape Spirit (2011)
Cosmonauts Day – Live Demos, EP (2011)
I’m gonna handle this one backwards: “The Last Watchman”, the closing track of this EP, it’s a beautiful, shining, Progressive Rock song with a friendly, warm vibe. Somehow it sticks in your head and can’t get rid of it.
Now I’m gonna get back to the beginning and I tell ya a secret: you can download for free this EP from the band’s Bandcamp page.
From Moscow, Russia, Cosmonauts Day delivered a quite unique mixture of post-rock, stoner/sludge metal and space/progressive rock with some exotic aromas, original structures and harmonies. Read more Cosmonauts Day – Live Demos, EP (2011)
The Dead Kenny G’s – Operation Long Leash (2011)
If this isn’t a great band name – obviously quoting Biafra’s band name, I don’t know what it is! Eventually The Dead Kenny G Spots… 😆 😆 😆 Songs such as “Melvin Jones” merged explosive Noise-Metal with exotic aromas and Ethno-Jazz blowing, but one thing is absolutely sure: they are loud. Imagine a Rock-like noisy and loud Jazz band with suspicious taste for Klezmer and Metal and Hardcore, eventually like Primus. Not accidentally I mentioned Les Claypool’s “insane brigade”, they toured together last year.
Eric Walton aka Skerik (saxophones, keyboards, loops, samples, effects and guitar), Brad Houser (bass, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet and electronics) and Mike Dillon (vibraphone and percussion) – aka Critters Buggin -, are The Dead Kenny G’s! This is the highest level of musical subversion, stay tune or stay away, injuries are unavoidable! Read more The Dead Kenny G’s – Operation Long Leash (2011)
Aram Bajakian’s Kef – Aram Bajakian’s Kef (2011)
Listening to the almost raging, furious and noisy guitar hurricanes of “Sepastia” it’s obvious why Lou Reed ask guitarist Aram Bajakian to perform guitar on his summer tour. And Aram Bajakian’s Kef is electrifying. “Sumlinian” is blowing like a chainsaw from one ear to the other and will leave you breathless. Aram Bajakian – Electric And Acoustic Guitars, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz – Acoustic Bass and Tom Swafford – Violin delivered an unique and extremely groovy mixture of traditional Klezmer music with Garage Rock resonances, merged electric explosions with sensitive acoustic braiding, combined the energy of the free Jazz improvisation with the clearness and smoothness of classic and traditional music, Aram Bajakian’s Kef puts on the same level the bursting electric guitar shredding and the joyful violin plays.
I was at the middle of the 5th track, “Wroclaw”, when I noticed there’s no drums or percussion in this… Holy Moses! Read more Aram Bajakian’s Kef – Aram Bajakian’s Kef (2011)
Primus – Green Naugahyde (2011)
12 years are more than a lifetime in nowadays music industry. Bass player Les Claypool was considered by many a weirdo even back in the 80s, beginning of the 90s, nowadays with the more uniformed, pattern-driven music, with all those self-proclaimed “whatever-core” stuffs pretending to be “alternatives” and post-everything we might think or dream of, the Primus project seems much more off-beat. I’m quite curious what the media will write about this and how the ex-emo kids, now sport-ware and iPhone fan teenagers will receive it. Things that don’t fit in the boxes, labels don’t stick to them and aren’t easy to chew and swallow are not so welcome nowadays. If you want to be appreciated, you must stay in line. Odd… isn’t it? While everybody struggling to sound the same, Primus comes back and sounds just like they did two decades ago. Like nothing else and like… Primus. Bloody bastards! Read more Primus – Green Naugahyde (2011)
