Real Estate/The Babies/Herzog Live Review

The following is a slightly modified version of my live review for Cleveland Scene.

Real Estate/The Babies/Herzog at Beachland Ballroom on January 21, 2012:

Three separate shows in 2010 – supporting the likes of Woods, Kurt Vile, and Deerhunter – did nothing to deter Clevelanders from wanting more out of New Jersey band Real Estate. On Saturday night, the band headlined a sold-out Beachland Ballroom.

Since we last checked in, Real Estate added a keyboardist, replaced their drummer, and singer/guitarist Martin Courtney refined his former long-haired look, possibly as a gag during a dramatic reading of The Rape of the Lock. But they’ve also refined their sound on their sophomore album Days, the 4th best album of 2011 by my count.

During an hour-long set, the band put their monochromatic tunes to the test, proving different shades of a single color can still be exciting. “Green Aisles” eased along effortlessly before the set escalated later on with “It’s Real,” which fronts a joyous crowd sing-along chorus.

Bassist Alex Bleeker got his big moment on “Wonder Years,” taking over chief songwriting and vocal duties, which both Bleeker and members of the crowd were giddy about. Meanwhile, as with his Ducktails project, Matt Mondanile colored slightly outside the lines with a squiggly guitar solo.

Real Estate peppered the set with a B-side, “Exactly Nothing,” from their next 7-inch single release, and with a new song, "In My Car," that unsurprisingly wasn’t a departure for the band. And, of course, they also dipped back into their 2009 self-titled debut, most notably on “Suburban Beverage” for the encore.

Real Estate’s tourmates, the Babies, were an obvious choice; the band features fellow Brooklyn-by-way-of-Jersey musician Cassie Ramone (Vivian Girls) and former labelmate Kevin Morby (Woods). One of their best guitar riffs merely rides the waves of Wire’s “Strange,” and overall, they come off something like the punk band X reimagined for the lo-fi indie set.

Cleveland band Herzog were tapped as the opening act, and are often pegged as ‘90s-style indie rock a la Guided by Voices and Built to Spill, but they know a little about at least two other years in musical history: They performed a cover of the Three O’Clock’s “I Go Wild” from 1982, an obscure power-pop tune, and injected a lyrical/bassline nod to “Walk on the Wild Side” within an original song. Unlike the hazy nostalgia of Real Estate, Herzog’s influences ring loud and clear, likely winning them over some new fans.

Revisiting 2011: The Best Albums, EPs & Other Awards

Previously on the Planet Pluto: 2011's Best Videos & Best Tracks.

Over a full year ago, 2010's Best Albums list also awarded Destroyer's Kaputt as the best album of 2011 thus far. Since then, my ears have endured over 300 albums and EPs, yet Kaputt is still #1 with an Aja-slung sax rocket. I've tallied on last.fm, and Dan Bejar's latest blew everything else out of the water at 23 total listens; next closest are currently sitting at 13.

There were a few letdowns in 2011, but the following list will demonstrate it was a much stronger year than some are giving it credit for. Yes, the '90s alternative angle on the new Pains of Being Pure at Heart album resembled a Shania Twain lyric: "So you've got your guitars and you can make 'em crunch / that don't impress me much!" Not to mention a seeming bankruptcy on available band names. In fact, A.V. Club has an entire feature dedicated to bad band names; and while I Break Horses' Hearts is a fair album, reciting the band name and album title together borders on bestiality. Then again, bonus points for the Smog reference.

On to 2011's Best Albums, EPs and other awards!

1.       Destroyer - Kaputt (live review + Bill O'Reilly conspiracy / best closing tracks)

2.       PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

3.       Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

4.       Real Estate - Days (live review)

5.       St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

6.       tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L (live review + blurb below)

7.       Chad VanGaalen - Diaper Island (album review)

8.       The Weeknd - House of Balloons

9.       Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

10.   Bill Callahan - Apocalypse (live review/video links)

Getting Down to Bizness: 2011's Best Tracks

Yesterday, I presented my favorite videos of 2011, complete with the late discovery, Gellers' "Guatemala" -- the running joke is that the Japanese pronunciation of "Guatemala" sounds more like "not the mama." Today, I will present my favorite tracks of the year after the jump, along with two blurbs originally written for OneThirtyBPM.

My usual routine: ranking songs is even more trivial than albums, and although this list reflects my tastes to the best of my ability, I'd like to share some notes on it first. In an effort to condense the proceedings, artists are limited to one track on this list. While this does represent my favorite tracks over the year, many selections serve to accentuate acts that otherwise failed to produce high-ranking albums on that list. To prove these artists did at least ONE thing right this year, you will find them here. Before I delve into the actual list, I will provide a list of artists that fell short of the track list below and my forthcoming top 50 albums list.

Close-calls:

The Men, IceAge, L.W.H., Dirty Beaches, Wolves in the Throne Room, The Roots,

The Field, Andy Stott, Robag Wruhme, ARMS, High Highs, Ólafur Arnalds

Revisiting 2011: The Best Music Videos

Greetings reader. My blurbs were written weeks ago for OneThirtyBPM's year-end lists, and I shall delay no further in posting my own personal best of the year. We'll begin with the best (and worst) music videos of the year.

Late to the Party Entry: Gellers - "Guatemala"

Shugo Tokumaru has long been my favorite Japanese musician (sorry Joe Hisaishi and Boredoms!); in fact, 2004's Night Piece landed at #20 on my top 100 albums of the past decade list. Gellers, a band comprised of Tokumaru and his childhood friends, have received very little recognition in the States. After their uneven self-titled debut in 2007, the band went on hiatus while Tokumaru further pursued his solo career (via The Japan Times). The title track from their 2011 EP is their strongest effort yet, heavily informed by 2010's Port Entropy. Its accompanying video, complete with a papier-mâché creeper, is one of the year's most intriguing. Check it out, because if you're reading this from anywhere but Japan, I can almost guarantee none of your friends have seen it.

The Best Music Videos of 2011:

1. Destroyer - “Kaputt”
2. Chad VanGaalen - “Peace on the Rise”
3. Bill Callahan - “America!”
4. Wye Oak - “Fish”
   Not even the best song on Baltimore duo Wye Oak’s excellent Civilian, “Fish” is given one of the year’s finest video treatments. Recruiting fellow hometown artists Michael O'Leary, whose photograph makes a splash on Civilian’s cover, and Katherine Fahey, who painted the album art for their 2008 debut, the aftermath is a gorgeous bout of shadow puppetry, which takes a bizarre turn into Moby Dick meets Darwin territory. And if Wye Oak keep evolving at this rate, who knows what they will be capable of next time.
5. The Mountain Goats - “Estate Sale Sign”
6. Real Estate - “It’s Real”
7. Tune-Yards - “Bizness”
8. Tom Waits - “Satisfied”
9. St. Vincent - “Cruel”
10. The Clientele - “Come and Play Jingle” (Yo Gabba Gabba!)
11. The New Pornographers – “Moves”
12. Third Class - "12 and 9" 

 The Cleveland Music Video That Managed to Be Comically Worse Than Rebecca Black:

Ahhh-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Destined to dethrone "Free Bird" as the go-to song request at concerts, "The King That Never Was" is given the music video that should never have been, according to some people. But those of us that have seen it are glad it exists. This is what I call rock & roll, dude. None of that glammed-up, funkified shiz. Real chords, devil horns; a kingdom of metal, and mighty swords.

And the award for Best Concert Performance of 2011 goes to...

Presenting the slightly edited, full-length version of my live review for Cleveland Scene.

Randy Newman and the Cleveland Orchestra - Severance Hall - December 3, 2011

In the spirit of year-end list-making, the best concert performance of 2011 is a two-way tie between Jimmy Buffett and Glee Live! In Concert!

No, no, redact that. Such high accolades belong to Randy Newman and the Cleveland Orchestra. On the way to the majestic Severance Hall this past Saturday evening, I was singing “Oh, it’s lonely in the front” to myself, excited to politely take my orchestra level seating only a few rows from the stage. The concert hall proved humbling, however, as there really didn’t seem to be a single bad seat in the Depression-era’s “temple to music.”

Newman, for the uninitiated, has at least three talents to speak of as a singer-songwriter capable of songs both sincere and satirical, an award-winning film composer, and an able pianist (later that night, he tipped his hat to the orchestra’s pianists that are “better than [him]”). All three talents were on display at Severance Hall along with his hilarious banter between songs.

Local Band in Focus: Third Class

The following band bio is from Cleveland Scene's Local Band in Focus.

Third Class

Meet the Band: Lee Boyle (vocals, keyboard, guitar), Jack Boyle (drums, bass), and Pepe Parish (bass, drums).

A Rough Start: Originally forming as a rap duo in 1996, Lee and Pepe let Lee’s little brother Jack join “on the condition that he didn't try to hang out with us all the time.” Their musical tastes eventually turned to indie rock, and Jack ended up hanging out all the time.

The Joke’s on You: Recent mock hip-hop music video for “12 and 9” spotlights the Youngstown group’s funny side, though it’s far from the first time. They’re all involved with Bull Skit, which has uploaded more than 400 “off-the-wall sketch comedy” skits to YouTube. A tad too many? Check out “Sex Education.”

We’re All Poets Here: Third Class’ second studio album, The Red Wheelbarrow, is a reference to the poet William Carlos Williams. Lyric-writing duties are split between the band, Jack works at Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center, and both Boyles are published poets.

Why They’ll Never Grow Up: The band’s newly released free EP features songs like “Kitty-Cat Eyes” and “Heaven and Ice Cream.” “The album's overall theme is childhood,” says Lee. “Much like the band’s other efforts.”

Where You Can Hear Them: http://www.thirdclass.net/

Where You Can See Them: At Caribou Coffee (1 North Hawkins Ave. in Akron) on November 19.

Free Download of 12 and 9 EP

Bonus: Third Class owes much of their indie pop sound and childish subject matter to Beat Happening. Check out their contribution to the [also free] Calvin Johnson tribute album, Hot Chocolate Nation; "Look Around" stands as one of my favorite tracks in 2011.

Mister Heavenly Live Review

This live review can also be found over at Cleveland Scene. 

Mister Heavenly at the Grog Shop on November 15, 2011: 

Last night at the Grog Shop, Mister Heavenly headlined a mister-heavy lineup, which also included punk upstarts Mr. Dream and Cleveland DJ Mister Bradley P.

Mister Heavenly is fronted by Nick Thorburn of Islands and Ryan Kattner (aka Honus Honus) of Man Man, with Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse. Early west coast dates added actor Michael Cera on bass, a real-life extension of his Scott Pilgrim role. Last night's performance didn't suffer for lack of a bassist, but Cera's presence would have surely boosted ticket sales.

The members' respective main gigs have lost some of their early spark, most notably, Islands' prog-pop has largely stagnated, modern-day Modest Mouse has nothing on when they used to "talk shit about a pretty sunset," and even Man Man's trashcan carnival barkers aren't quite what they once were.

But there's a lot of promise in this new project, which dips back to an early rock & roll aesthetic, offering an approach they've dubbed "doom-wop." The lyrics of these love songs would be well-suited for the '50s and '60s, while the cohesion of these unique artists into a unified whole is impressive.

The band's chemistry and professionalism elevated them far above a one-off project used to kill time, and their sound was far more precise onstage than it is on their uneven debut album, Out of Love. Thorburn's high-flying guitar bounded around Kattner's keyboard theatrics, as Plummer kept pace perfectly.

A lean 45-minute set meant every song from their debut, including fan-favorite "Bronx Sniper," as well as a cover of Cody Chesnutt's neo-soul "Look Good in Leather," which meshed well with their sound. The encore was introduced by Thorburn as a Mr. Dream cover despite being the Misfits' "Hybrid Moments," where Kattner took to spitting his way through the crowd.

It was a fitting remark anyway, as Mr. Dream, at best, channeled early Fugazi and post-hardcore, coupled with the crunch of '90s alt-rock. One track presented the staccato start/stop thrust of Shellac's "Prayer to God," yet lacked the same impact. Look for this band to fully-form in the future. Until then, at least one of the Misters really delivered.

On Autumn & the Eighties

For archiving purposes, may I present blurbs previously written for 130BPM.

Below, you'll find my addition to the fall soundtrack feature. After the jump, the rest were originally part of BPM's top albums / tracks of the '80s feature.

Previously on Planet Pluto: the complete numbered best-of list.

Siouxsie and the Banshees – Juju (1981)

Some albums are autumnal based on their ability to elegantly decay before our ears, stripping away the layers of overdubs and swabbing the waxy excess; this is why folk albums often fall comfortably into this sphere. Or, albums might gain this seasonal distinction purely by association with their original release date or personal memories. (Elliott Smith is an important also-ran to note, as we commemorate his untimely passing on October 21, 2003, even though his themes aren’t inherently tied to the season.)

Then, there are those albums that hang prominently in the night sky at least one month of the year: October. Siouxsie and the Banshees leapt out of the cemetery gates in 1981 to provide us with an excellent Halloween soundtrack for years to come. And no, this isn’t the half-assed result of searching for the word “Halloween” on iTunes. It’s the sinister undertone of lines like “I heard a rumor / what have you done to her?” (“Arabian Knights”), each delivered with that witchy sensibility. Budgie’s percussive impact boils beneath every spellbinding guitar line, reining in Juju from becoming little more than a showcase for John McGeoch’s guitar. All the elements are there and bigger than ever before. 

It also helps that the band is held as one of gothic rock’s chief forebears, and if you’re looking to create a Halloween playlist for parties or late-night drives, any track from “Spellbound” to “Voodoo Dolly” will work nicely next to, say, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” But if your playlist selections are as obvious as my spooky-time adjectives, you’ll opt for “Halloween” alongside “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” and the Ghostbusters theme.

Closing Time

(photo via Patrishka)

Album closing tracks are of a highly specialized class: there are variations to the rule, but as a whole the underlying principle states they should either present themselves as either a short coda -- reflecting back upon the album themes, often presented as a quiet, acoustic piece -- or they raise the stakes into high-flown territory, stretching their musical arms into the expanses, touching upon an area the rest of the album dared not traverse.

Hip-hop, in particular, is not very conducive to this theory; many have a superfluous remix tacked on at the end, offer a sampled outro to show us the door, or proceed like it's business as usual. That's not a knock on the genre as a whole by any means, only a personal frustration over the lack of hip-hop reflected in this stew I've cooked up rather quickly. It can be argued that Kanye West's "Who Will Survive in America" or OutKast's "Chonkyfire" serve as excellent closing tracks that support my theory, and they do, but their respective albums didn't hinge on them to become classics; basically, they are outshined by other tracks. Or, more tellingly, I should simply say I'm not fit to be the spokesperson for the history of hip-hop.

It should also be very apparent that this is an unorganized, non-comprehensive list of pop and rock music (jazz/ambient/classical and other genres outside of the usual song spectrum would be much harder). I'm also aware some of the tracks represented are cover versions. You can decide which fall into what class of song: short coda or theme-expanding red giant?

Closing Time (full list):

• Bob Dylan - "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" 
• Radiohead - "Life in a Glass House" (honorable mention: any closing track by them not found on Pablo Honey, In Rainbows, or The King of Limbs)
• Prince - “Purple Rain”
• Randy Newman - "God's Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind)" // (Shearwater's terrific cover)
• David Bowie - "Subterraneans" & "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"
• The Beatles - "Tomorrow Never Knows" & “Her Majesty”
  
• Destroyer - "Bay of Pigs"
• The Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations" & "Whistle In"
• Rufus Wainwright - "Imaginary Love"
• Scott Walker - "A Lover Loves" & "If You Go Away"
• Spiritualized - "Cop Shoot Cop..."
• Spoon - "Chicago at Night"
• Clipse - "Nightmares"
• Tom Waits -"Anywhere I Lay My Head" & "Rains on Me"
• The Velvet Underground - "Sister Ray"
• Sebadoh - "As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger

Solipsism Isn't Everything, But I Am

Despite my absence, yes, I have been writing. I prefer speaking in monthly tangents, in coded fragments, at a poetic distance. Before I move any further, here are a few such instances.

Here's an adage for you to alleviate our worries: I was once a child (I know!). My friend and I took our scooters (I know!) to the Greenway Bike Trail in Ohio. The weather shifted drastically into an outright downpour. We were stranded miles from any foreseeable escape route as my friend's mother had dropped us off there. Luckily, my friend had a cell phone (I didn't have one until college), but we were still push-kicking our soaked, adolescent bodies through the monsoon-lite for maybe a half hour, maybe more. 

During this experience, I composed a little ditty that remains uplifting to date: 

"Such a nice day! / Such a nice day! / If it gets any better, I'll be killing myself / 

What a great day! / What a great day! / If it gets any better, I'll be killing myself..."

In essence, this encapsulates our woes. Mine continue to be nothing more than resenting being stranded on a scooter during inclement weather. And they have never been truly worse, even when there's no one around to hear my consolatory song. 

"Silent Film Star" 

She steamrolled her body, becoming a beauty that immediately set about felling string-cheese men: an heir to a vast railroad fortune, a wizard salesman in possession of a potion shop, and a magician with a penchant for disappearing up his own asshole, always reappearing to golden applause. The public loves a good trick.

"Coney Island Cats"

Cats crying out their perceptive cat eyes (the slit pupils make for perfect night spies), fretting over whether their human mother has died.

But the cats' momma wasn't slaughtered by a train or lost and pegged for dead in the same city she was bred; she was visiting her own mother, the mom's mom to the furry brothers.

Snuggled safely in Ohio on the second floor, the brothers are cared for by the first floor roommates. Safe, safe.

Only the cat brothers' balls are in danger; it's getting on into their seventh month dropping, which the vet, Dr. Snips, will see to stopping.

Until then, purring in contentment, the two are like twin volcanoes competing to be the superior sibling, presenting their cat assholes to thank you for the petting.