Family Fodder / More Greatest Hits

Artist - Family Fodder
Title - More Greatest Hits
Hometown - UK
Label - Jungle Records
Street Date - Out Now

RIYL - quality 80's girl post punk, This Heat, The Envelopes, electro-dub-psych pop with silly lyrics, Blondie tributes, early B-52s, song titles The Vaselines would covet, Siouxsie with a sense of humor, The Sparks, Talking Heads
The Hits - 2 discs and very little to complain about in the bunch but disc 1 is the best.
Richter Magnitude Rating Scale - Major

I hate when this happens. Family Fodder is yet another group I should have certainly heard about before this decade. I heard a few clips via a recent Other Music email and now I am obsessed and in love. The CD arrived at my doorstep today and I am 100% baffled as to how this band didn't make it to the hipster status that bands like Liliput and Young Marble Giants are enjoying in present day.

This collection is a complete anthology of the band and don't let the TERRIBLE cover art scare you away. I don't know what they were thinking there.

Lastly when you put disc 2 into your computer or what have you, the track listing is is correct up until track 12 but then the order is wrong for 13 -15. Use the back of the CD case for the proper list of songs. It looks like it is wrong in iTunes so consider yourself warned. The correct list for the second disc is:

13) Chocolate
14) My Baby Takes Valium
15) Banana

I am short on time and energy to do a full review of this 2xCD today so here is what allmusic has to say - even better, it was written by my friend Daphne who I didn't know wrote for the site, YAY!


Biography
by Daphne Carr

"Family Fodder was less a band than a never-ending collective of musicians messing with tapes in the basement of a London flat. Begun in 1979 by Alig Pearce, a label called Small Wonder released their first 7" when they still went by the name Te Deum. (Interestingly, the other two singles released concurrently by the label were the first Cure single and Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead.") The band was led by odd splices of tape, dub effects, and Dominique Levillain's chanteuse vocals. Influenced by Syd Barrett, the Kinks, and This Heat, Pearce moved his compositions from psychedelics to drones to proto-electronic music full of cut-up location recordings. The band thought themselves to be very serious musicians but the music takes on a light air due to the splicing and humor throughout. The group toured three times between 1981 and 1982. In 1983, Pearce borrowed some of the band's record advance money from their new label, Fresh, to fund another project's tour. The resulting album, All Styles, came out of these diminished funds and was scratchy, ill planned, and home-recorded. It sold only about 100 copies when released. Pearce went on to be a professional accordionist and in 1989 reformed Family Fodder with Levillain, Hobbs, and Wilson. He also tours under the name Johnny Human. With the 1999 reissue by Dark Beloved Cloud, Family Fodder has found a new audience with avant and new wave enthusiasts."

There is also a great deal of info about the band here.

These aren't real videos of the band but at least you can hear a few songs:

The Dirtbombs

Live at Other Music. Mick Collins from the Gories ...now in the Dirtbombs is a rock God...an absolute legend.

See Bjork + Sigur Ros

From jambase.com


NAT GEO MUSIC TO WEBCAST BJÖRK AND SIGUR RÓS CONCERTLIVE FROM ICELAND ON SATURDAY, JUNE 28Fans can see concert only at worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com

Nat Geo Music, the music division of National Geographic Entertainment, will Webcast an open-air Náttúra concert live from Iceland on Saturday, June 28, 2008. Two of the world's most important and visionary musical entities, Björk and Sigur Rós, will headline the free concert.

The event will be available exclusively at worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET (begins at 8 p.m. BST/London or 7 p.m. GMT/Reykjavik).

To be held in a large park near the centre of Reykjavik, all of the performances will be during daylight, with Iceland's capital city and dramatic rolling scenery providing a perfect backdrop to what is expected to be one of the biggest concerts the country has seen. The Náttúra concert looks to raise awareness of the impact of the growing aluminum smelting activity on Iceland's natural landscape.

One of Nat Geo Music's main goals is to offer artists and experts who care about global culture and the environment an outlet to create awareness for important issues. Spotlighting these amazing artists performing live in a spectacular backdrop allows our worldwide audience to enjoy great music and become aware of Iceland's environmental concerns and join the conversation," said David Beal, president of National Geographic Entertainment.

Commenting on the gig, Björk said: "Too often battles being fought for nature turn into something negative and into mudslinging. We will not go that way, we are not saying that this and that is forbidden, we are rather asking 'what about all these other possibilities?' The 21st century is not going to be another oil century but rather a century where we need to recycle, think green and design both power plants and our surroundings in harmony with nature."

Sigur Rós, who released their fifth album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, this week, believes the issue of aluminum smelting in Iceland is one that can no longer be ignored. "We are not a political band and don't think musicians should set themselves as spokespeople on anything at all, but sometimes you see things going on in your own back yard and find that just as a human being you cannot stand by and do nothing. The changes that are going on in Iceland need to be the subject of debate and not snuck through the back door because no one lives in the wilderness and there is urban apathy or a general lack of awareness," said Sigur Rós vocalist Jón Thor Birgisson.

http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com

French Kicks / Swimming

Artist - French Kicks

Title - Swimming
Hometown - NYC
Label - Vagrant
Street Date - Out Now

RIYL - Mark Robinson fanning you with Creation Records LPs
The Hits - Abandon, Over the World, Carried Away, New Man, Love In Ruins, Sex Tourists, This Could Go Wrong
Richter Magnitude Rating Scale - Strong

This is the best record Teenbeat never released. This is what I wish Vampire Weekend actually sounded like. This is my soothing happy place when the rest of my world (AKA Richmond) is a gross sticky humid oven-like mess. Try to imagine The Doves splashing in puddles.

Many reviews blame Swimming for being too subtle, too "pastel" in its beauty, but I love the fact that there is nothing obvious screaming out at you between the verse and chorus. I am of the mindset that you don't have to be beaten upside the head with a melody or a hook to make a record work. Rather than following the all too common trend of a band pooping out a few obvious hits and then wasting every one's time with some filler spread out over the the rest of the release, French Kicks have opted for consistency rather than a punch and get out.

Long time fans of the group will not be dishing out smarmy elitist frowns because they feel the band was once poised to be the next IT band and somehow they blew it. (the press however seem to feel otherwise) The French Kicks may not have reached the ultimate point of hipsterdom but not every band needs to hit that sweet spot according to the media's eye. The spotlight doesn't make a band good. Most of the time it means one great band had better luck than another great band..or they had a bigger label, or a better publicist hyping the media up. Just ask Tapes 'n Tapes how that early media worship worked out for them in the long run. (imagine the sound of a candle's flame being snuffed out here)

To coin an unoriginal phrase, fame is fleeting. Why not just let a band (French Kicks) be good and remove the expectation that they should have been something bigger and something other. Just enjoy.

Friday Flashcard - Name that Metal Band

This group has become a favorite among some of us here at Lightning's Girl. The logo is fairly easy to read so this isn't exactly the usual concept of guess who the band is but this logo is the ultimate all encompassing perfect stamp of evil. It is the one stop shopping of devil worshipping symbols. Animal heads, multiple 6s, upside down crosses, devil tails, pointy sharp looking spikes, bat wings, a pentagram, a flame, a pitchfork and webbing. I mean really what doesn't this logo have? And if their emblem isnt' enough for you, the band is decent too.

Horna - black metal from Finland.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds / Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

Artist: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Title: Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

Hometown: Australia / UK

Label: Mute

Street Date: Out Now

RIYL: Nick Cave in all his artistic endeavors, David Byrne covering Lou Reed, American literary heavy weights, sex, Iggy Pop in his Sunday best, those with a fear of God and the Good Book

The Hits: Night of the Lotus Eaters, More News from Nowhere

Richter Magnitude Rating Scale - If you are me Moderate if you are everyone else Strong

God I love me some NME. Only they would have a headline like "Nick Cave: I was traumatised by the Bible."

I however would like to add to this headline "and Nick Cave states the obvious."

The man has been dropping Bible bombs in his music from day one. The only difference this time around is that Nick has ditched the piano and revisited the guitar. If you care for Nick Cave and all his Leonard Cohen ways, you will accept this new record with open arms. If you are like 99.5% of the press you will probably also give it a 9 out of 10 stars rating. If you are like me and sit on a fence about the skinny man in black, then on the fence you will remain. It sounds like the Nick Cave of the past decade to me but you can expect that kind of indifference from a barely fan. (AKA me)

Nick Cave preaches from the pulpit located somewhere on the dark side but this time the seedy under belly (Bad Seeds pun intended) calls NYC its home. Here is what Nick says about the concept behind this record:

"Ever since I can remember hearing the Lazarus story, when I was a kid, you know, back in church, I was disturbed and worried by it,” explained Cave or the record’s inspiration. “Traumatised, actually. We are all, of course, in awe of the greatest of Christ's miracles - raising a man from the dead - but I couldn't help but wonder how Lazarus felt about it. As a child it gave me the creeps, to be honest.”

The new album updates the resurrected man’s story.

Cave explained: “I've taken Lazarus and stuck him in New York City, in order to give the song, a hip, contemporary feel. I was also thinking about Harry Houdini, who spent a lot of his life trying to debunk the spiritualists who were cashing in on the bereaved. He believed there was nothing going on beyond the grave. He was the second greatest escapologist, Harry was, Lazarus, of course, being the greatest. I wanted to create a kind of vehicle, a medium, for Houdini to speak to us if he so desires, you know, from beyond the grave.” He added: “Sometimes, late at night, if you listen to the song hard enough, you can hear his voice and the sad clanking of his chains. ‘I don't know what it is but there is definitely something going on upstairs’, he seems to be saying. It is, most of all, an elegy to the New York City of the 70's."

It is only a matter of time before some city slicker takes this record and turns it into a hip musical that I would never care to see but everyone else will think is the best thing since Cats. It could happen but I pray that it doesn't.

PS: The UK pressed a limited version that comes with a 60 page book.

Islands / Arm's Way

Artist - Islands

Title - Arm's Way

Hometown - Montreal, Canaduh

Label - Anti

Street Date - Out Now

RIYL - Mars Volta on a playground

The Hits: Creeper- in a Patrick Wolf sorta way

Richter Magnitude Rating Scale- Light

Tilt-a-whirl orchestration with a falsetto crooner congo-ing towards progville - my ears are actually gagging. I didn't know it was physically possible until now but I swear it to be true. I appreciate any group who wants to get creative and go for a larger than life theatrical production but there is a fine line between complexity that works and a big bloody mess.

I hate to say it but I can't wait to take this CD out of my stereo. The cover art of a gaping wound leading into a brown acid bad fantasy world should have been a warning enough to stay clear. Next time the front of a record or CD beckons me into the anus of Roger Dean , I will remember that is not an adventure for me.

Cafeneon - S/T

Artist - Cafeneon
Title - S/T
Hometown - Belgium
Label - Station 55
Street Date - Out now
RIYL - Post-punk, Blonde Redhead, stuff in French, Peter Hook bass lines, nu-dub, beginner's shoegaze, lyrics extracted from Serge Gainsbourg material, Sonic Youth in training
The Hits - Yssandon, Snoopy, Orange
Richter Magnitude Scale - Moderate

Christian Vogel is a busy man. He is known for releasing experimental electronic music, being one half of Super_Collider with Jamie Lidell, singing / playing guitar in a new band called Night of the Brain, mixing a diverse group of artists such as Radiohead and Maximo Park, participating in sound installations, being involved in four different record labels, acting as main producer at the studio Station 55 in Barcelona... and now he has a new thing to add to resume: producing, mixing, and releasing the debut record for Cafeneon, a Belgium group .

On a surface level you have a a lot going for this band. They have Vogel as a loyalist and a bevy of sexy boy/girl vocals getting it on with a wall of noise broken down into post punk shards. As the record plays out more and more layers of the band are exposed and first enters bass driven electronic pop-dub. It is at this point that I recommend you put on your seat belt.

I initially considered the songs to be filled with exciting mercurial temperament but early on I changed my mind. This isn't whimsy at work; the songs are scattered and directionless. Half way through the record I began to wonder if perhaps my iTunes had gone into shuffle mode and hijacked my shoegaze folder but by the next track I was lost again. Is that a Joy Division riff? Did Blonde Redhead merge with the Shout Out Louds and record in Kingston, Jamaica? By the final track you are off again but this time to a helicopter based beat with Serge Gainsbourg's ghost in the drivers seat as a laser battle ensues in the distance.

It makes me car sick just thinking about all of Cafeneon's musical lane changes.

You can hear some great potential with this band (the music review equivalent of "I love you but I am not IN LOVE with you") and while some groups can't seem to surpass the energy and quality of their debut release, I think Cafeneon will find their way in a record or two. For now they are falling into the traps of a green band, hiding behind lots of pedals and their influences rather than carving out their own sound in the process. You can't disguise a band still feeling their way around... but I have faith, I really do. We just need to give them a little more time.

No Way Records Fest - Richmond, VA

Sunday, June 22 - Alley Katz - Day 2

* Guitar of choice (both days) Gibson

* Too weird - 4 different people wearing Die Kreuzen shirts - a band nobody seemed to care about back in the day
* Most referenced band of the weekend - Poison Idea

* Number of girls in bands both days- zero

* Somethings never change in hardcore -boy on boy action AKA the hug and shove, the ass tap, nipple tweak, and the cupping of the balls. Homoerotic? Maybe.

* Scariest drink - Joose Premium Malt Beverage 9.9% ALC

* Worst accessory - the bullet belt

* Highlight - Brian Walsby bringing rock and roll fantasy to life with crayola markers. For $10 he would quickly sketch you with with just about any pop culture or music legend. Want to see what you look like holding hands with E.T. and Buzz from the Melvins? This man can bring that dream to life.

* Favorite bands of the fest: Brain Handle, Warkrime, Wasted Time

*Crowd favorite: Government Warning but personally I am not into frontmen who are super play to the crowd theatrical.

Bands I remember watching:

THE LADIES (VA)

DARK AGES (MO)

REPROBATES (CANADA)

MADD MENN (CANADA/VA) - Member of Fucked Up

WASTED TIME (VA)

DOUBLE NEGATIVE (NC)
The drummer of Double Negative is no other than R&R comic artist Brian Walsby.

GOVERNMENT WARNING (VA)

More Goverment Warning...

One last Government Warning picture. Yeah, I was thinking I was too old for this too but then I again I said that when I saw Converge on my 34th birthday a few years ago.

This Ones For You Dave