j's indie/rock mayhem - 8th november 2006

[a fruitful night of mayhem. lots of great music and my interview with two of the members of oakley hall from a few weeks back. this will probably be the last interview for the year, unless i pull off a coup of dynamic proportions and land one with...well, i'll keep that a secret just in case.

this is not a political blog, so i won't wax political about yesterday's doings, but i'll share something that everyone (hopefully) can on some level appreciate, even if they don't feel it right at this moment. this is my first major election since i turned 18 (my first major election was the 2000 debacle) where things actually went the way i would have hoped. voting can often be a frustrating passtime, especially if you feel very powerfully about the candidates/issues you're voting for, but it's nice to have some good things happen from my perspective. even if here in NC my losing streak continues - i'm fairly sure the only politician i've voted for in NC who has won a major race is governor easley.

anyway, i'm done. let's get to the hot rock. onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast - 8th November 2006 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
>
the Evens - "Everybody Knows" [from their new album get evens. this is the second release from the partnership of ian mackaye (fugazi..minor threat..dischord records..that ian mackaye) and amy farina. i, admittedly, ignored the first album. i still haven't heard it, but reviews called my bluff on this new album and it's quite an interesting listen. populist politics, post-punk guitar with less distortion, more strum and some amazing drumming. there's not a lot sounding like them, so bully for them. click here to download.]
the Jam - "Modern World" [from their sophomore album this is the modern world. while only vaguely political, i was trying to keep a political theme running in this first set.]
the Perceptionists - "Memorial Day" [and i succeeded with this, from black dialogue, one of the j's indie/rock top 25 albums of 2005. this probably would've been my favorite hip-hop album from last year, had common's be not just, in my mind, obliterated everything in its path. but what'cha gonna do? this song was a li'l salute to the now departing secretary rumsfeld.]
the Minutemen - "Viet-nam" [i didn't even realize i opened with a block of 'the' bands. from double nickles on the dime. not one domino shall fall.]
>
the Decemberists - "When the War Came" [from their latest, the crane wife. i like this album a lot, but as far as obvious war commentary songs go, "16 military wives" this ain't. still, a good song from a really remarkable album.]
Cornershop - "Brimful of Asha" [from when i was born for the 7th time. in 1997 i feel like you couldn't get away from cornershop in indie rags/television shows. 120 minutes championed these guys. hell, i'm pretty sure spin selected this album as their best of 1997 - over both sleater-kinney's dig me out and radiohead's ok computer. nearly 10 years later, it's a gem in the growing wasteland of late 90s music. i heard this song a lot when it was big, but when it disappeared, baby, it disappeared. so here it is.]
Mclusky - "Dethink to Survive" [i'll let the title reflect itself on yesterday's events. from the still-the-post-punk-album-i-put-on-in-my-car-when-i-really-really-really-need-abrasive-music, mclusky do dallas. i miss these guys.]
Drive-by Truckers - "Carl Perkin's Cadillac" [from the dirty south. this album split #1 album honors with the streets' a grand don't come for free on my top 25 list in 2004. for the first time in quite awhile, i actually hadn't listened to this album in awhile. so while re-visiting it, the pure genius of this song came washing over me again. god bless you, mike cooley.]

[here we have my interview with oakley hall members rachel cox and pat sullivan. they were nice enough to stand with me in the gate city noise cd store at the flying anvil on october 27th and do an interview before their show. inbetween sections of the interview, i played a few songs from their latest releases second guessing and gypsum strings. listen to the podcast and enjoy.]

Oakley Hall - "Confidence Man" [the lead track from gypsum strings and easily one of my favorite oakley hall songs. the lead guitar intro is hypnotic, noisy, squelching and hypnotic. all hail.]
Oakley Hall - "If I Was in El Dorado" [a meandering rocker that wanders off into some interesting sonic territory in the bridge. also from gypsum strings.]
Oakley Hall - "Light of My Love" (live) [in the interview we talked about their experience recording songs for the fine folks over at daytrotter and this is one of the songs they recorded. this song is originally from this year's second guessing, but this live incarnation is a hoot and a half. head here to download it and the other songs they recorded for the session for free.]
>
Hank III - "Satan Is Real/Straight to Hell (medley)" [granted, initially i was a little disappointed. i thought for sure this was a medley of the louvin brothers' "satan is real" and the clash's "straight to hell" and i thought 'wow, what a great way to kick of an album.' i need little convincing when it comes to hank III. he's a guaranteed good time, even if the good time is pretty uniform all the way through. but "straight to hell" turns out to be just a hank III composition, granted one that rocks, but i'm publicly suggesting, hank, no charge, that you work a cover of the clash's "straight to hell" into this in your live show. i'd love it. isn't that all you need to know? from straight to hell. click here to download.]
Dizzee Rascal - "Jus a Rascal" [i revisited my copy of the mercury prize winning boy in da corner for the first time in awhile this week and was surprised by how much it's grown on me. i initially found this album almost incomprehensible, but time and repeated listenings (and two live shows) has helped a good bit. i also think the line "wonderin' if dizzee stay true to his grammar" from "fix up, look sharp" is friggin' brilliant. staying true to one's grammar is, indeed, hard at times.]
the Lemonheads - "Poughkeepsie" [from their self-titled album from earlier this year. not a bad record at all, but i don't see it sneaking onto my top 25. but if you're a lemonheads fan, it's easily worth your time.]
Prince - "When You Were Mine" [remember when prince spelled 'you' with all three letters? Yeah, me neither, but that's because when 1980's dirty mind was released, i wasn't born yet. quite a brilliant piece of minimalist, electro funk. i really love this album.]
Lucinda Williams - "Pineola" (live) [from the second disk of the recently remastered/reissued 1998 album car wheels on a gravel road. the second disk includes miss williams' entire performance from the world cafe back in july of 1998 with that (frankly awesome) live band she was carting around back then. i've always been incrediby fond of that version of her live band. if you saw her on hard rock live or austin city limits back in the late 90s, that's the version of the band i'm talking about. car wheels... is an album worth re-buying for this additional disc and the few bonus tracks on the remastered album.]
>
Willie Nelson - "Songbird" [yes, as in christine mcvie's "songbird," originally from fleetwood mac's rumours. i like this song a lot and willie really does it justice in a sweet way. ryan adams produces this new album and he and his band, the cardinals, act as willie's back up band as they craft honestly one of the most enjoyable nelson albums in years. click here to download.]
the Hold Steady - "Chips Ahoy!" [if you haven't heard boys and girls in america yet, wait 'til the end of the year, when it'll appear on no fewer than 2 of the onion av club's reviewer's top 10 albums list. mark my words. in the meantime, go see them at the cat's cradle in chapel hill on sunday, november 27th. i'll be there.]
Pavement - "Date with IKEA" [i felt stupid. i left my copy of the new wowee zowee: sordid sentinels edition re-issue in my car, so rather than sprinting down there, i went with something from brighten the corners. that should be the next pavement album that gets the swank re-issue treatment and i can't wait.]
the Smithereens - "Beauty and Sadness" [the title track from their 1982 debut EP. i was first introduced to the smithereens via the children of nuggets boxset (sorry, mad dog. i know i should've been paying attention) and i've been hooked ever since. this song is a true heir to the byrds and on par with every bit of the paisley underground scene going on at the same time. click here to download.]
>
Merle Haggard - "Mama Tried" [one of those quintessential hag songs. i do so love it.]
Eric B. and Rakim - "I Ain't No Joke" [i tried to close with something that would lead into southern hospitality a little better. i think it worked. maybe. from paid in full.]

That'll do it for this week. Don't forget that in addition to being here, the podcast is now available via ITunes, so you can set it up to automatically download to your computer when it goes up, or whatever else you people can do with that program and podcasts. I'm off to see the Twilight Singers this Friday night in Chapel Hill, so I'll see you there or else back here next week. Go Panthers and take care.