Yesterday I started looking into a bit of the early Laguna Beach, California rock scene, deciding about 9 hours later that this was a huge mistake. I first stumbled on to a band named Wildfire. This band was made up of musicians Randy Love (cousin to Beach Boy Mike Love), Donny Martin, and Denny Jamison. […]
Author: Architorture
Paul McCartney: Kisses On The Bottom
McCartney hits a home run with his new album, Kisses On The Bottom, the sound is lightyears ahead of the garbage-rock work he did on 1971’s Ram. I’m not sure why I compare the two albums… I guess I just enjoy complaining about Ram any chance I can get. The McCartney-as-lounge-singer motif is perfect: a […]
Atlantis: Self Titled
The Germans gave us many things in the early 1970s, the BMW 2002 (still a very cool car, although terrible on Forza 4), the miniature plastic toy boats that I used to play with growing up (manufactured in West Germany), Gerd Müller (the leading goal scorer during the 1970 Mexico City World Cup), and – […]
Hot Chocolate: Cicero Park
Stabbarific and I have been watching FX’s Louie on Netflix lately. If you haven’t heard of it, Louie is Louis C.K.’s Seinfeldian vignette based comedy show about himself… and it’s hilarious. The show opens with an extended clip of Louis C.K. walking through a New York City neighborhood, eating pizza, and eventually arriving at the Comedy Cellar while being […]
Camera Obscura: Let’s Get Out Of This Country
I admit it, I’m a little obsessed with Camera Obscura even though I cannot give a single specific reason why. Their music is subdued, the lyrics should appeal more to a teenage girl than a typical grown man, Tracyanne Campell’s slight accent is nearly unplaceable (though I know they’re from Scotland), and sometimes it seems […]
If You’re Going to California….
If you’re going to California… don’t forget to swing by The Society of California Pioneers Museum in San Francisco where you can see their Singing the Golden State exhibit. The Public Opening is Thursday, February 23rd. Curated by James M. Keller, the Program Annotator for the San Francisco Symphony and New York Philharmonic, “the exhibit features […]
King Charles: Mississippi Isabel EP
It’s really rare that I find a musician who I find utterly fascinating. King Charles is the embodiment of an alternate reality Tom Hulce, an actor who wanted to be a musician. King Charles may be the combination of Hulce’s greatest performances; A melding of the comedic Pinto from Animal House, the diabolically brilliant Mozart […]
Lana Del Rey: Born To Die
With all the recent hubbabalu surrounding Lana Del Rey, formerly known as Sparkle Rope Jump Queen, formerly known as Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena, formerly known as Elizabeth Grant – Daughter of Robert Grant, millionaire owner of bullshit websites such as tropicalfish.com, catholicschools.com, and woodenboats.com and staunch proponent of his daughters singing career, it turns […]
Mose Allison: I Don’t Worry About A Thing
On a lighter note, Mose Allison is a jazz genius. He has released over 40 albums in the past 55 years and he’s still going strong. His style pre-dates VanMo and his chill singing projects a relaxing, instant jazz club vibe. Don’t let the easy sound distract you from his phenomenal piano chops. Listen to […]
Phil Ochs: Tape From California
Half the World is crazy and the other half is scared, Madonnas do the minuet for the naked millionaires. The anarchists are rising while we’re racing for the moon, it doesn’t take a seer to see that the scene is coming soon… To the victor go the ashes of the spoils, seeds in the soil. Sorry, […]
Tinariwen: Tassili
Time to visit a desert oasis deep in the Malian Sahara. This group was founded by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, a man who, as a child, witnessed the murder of his father in a Mali uprising and built his first guitar from local garbage. He was trained to fight in wars and revolutions in the 1980s, first […]
The Torn ACLs: Make A Break, Make A Move
I must say, The Torn ACLs are impressing me. I have been listening to their new album, Make A Break, Make A Move, online while waiting for it to arrive in the mail and I really enjoy it. As mentioned before, their freshman album, Cedar-By-The-Sea, contains a few catchy melodies and, one of my current favorites, […]