Earth Day 2013

"Only when the last tree has died 

and the last river been poisoned 

and the last fish been caught 

will we realize we cannot eat money" 

- Cree Indian Maxim

Happy Earth Day! From #EDAS

Thin Lizzy - Mama Nature Said

#EDAS Album Review: White Fence, Cyclops Reap

by Justin (@justasstrazdin)

Label: Castle Face - April 9, 2013

Artist-Fair Shopping: Vinyl/ DL Code

Style: New Traditional Garage Psych or Something, 4-Track Punishment, Neat-o Fuzz Licks

Audience: Easily Tricked White-Bearded Psych Collectors, Smelly Dudes Who Get Chicks, Roll One on the Album Jacket Types, Apparently These Chicks

Better Tracks: Chairs in the Dark, Pink Gorilla, To The Boy I Jumped In The Hemlock Alley

Cyclops Reap opens with the calculated nugget "Chairs in the Dark," greeting you with fuzz squeal and organ stabs, then phaser-laden clean picking -- Okay, there's nothing new here, déjà vu, man, if it wasn't such damn cool noise-making. People are listening to Tim Presley. That guy, like, made an album with Ty Segall, and tours a lot, and can't stop making albums that in brief moments remind me why I love The Kinks so much. I only mention them because White Fence's sleepy psych country numbers echo some of The Kinks' tamer moments, but in a respectable, imposter-like way, like on Is GrowingFaith's "StrangerThings Have Happened (To You)," but never as much like when The Turtles did "Dance This Dance" on Turtle Soup.

The fuzz greeting and hard panning antics on "Pink Gorilla" establish the grandchildren of Nuggets cool that Presley is so good at dialing in, but that's a minor problem, unless you pine for that stuff after 45 years of incrementally stronger weed and vinyl coming back. The feeling that a previous album may largely be the same to less discerning ears, but captured the moment better, even if that moment is a close copy of another era, shit, you can probably say whatever you want about it at that point. While Is Growing Faith may be that "moment record," perhaps Cyclops Reap needs time and spins to sink in. It's fractured, louder, and pushes 4-Track bedroom production to it's limited limits. FamilyPerfume, Vol. 2 was too scattered and this release reigns most of its problems in. But you wonder what else is out there in Tim Presley's unfinished and future work.

Verdict: Neither Rewrites Book Nor Rocks Boat, but Lock Your Smoked-Out Friends in a Room with It and See What Happens

White Fence - Chairs In The Dark

#EDAS Album Review: Kurt Vile, Wakin on a Pretty Daze

by Justin (@justasstrazdin)

Label: Matador - April 9 2013

Artist-Fair Shopping: MP3 or Vinyl/ DL Code

Style: Textbook Long-Form Rock, Space on Earth, 70's Rock Renovation, Summer Drug Days

Audience: Windows-Down Trucker Tanning Types, Flannel and Cold Pizza Types, Guys with Crappy Long Hair, Maybe Lester Bangs' Ghost

Better Tracks: Wakin on a Pretty Day, Never Run Away, Shame Chamber

It's an amazing mix of murk, haze, clarity, and time-stretching. A 9 minute, 31 second single may confuse the industry, but "Wakin on a Pretty Day" on Wakin on a Pretty Daze manages to be the vessel of a Vile that manages to merge the welcome meanderings of his earlier work with the acoustic immediacy of Smoke Ring for my Halo. The psych-cum-stoner guitar layers are well-woven in a surprisingly clear track that drifts along until the end. The album follows suit, and although there seems like there's so much that could go wrong with this kind of production, it's refreshing and flows upon its constructed layers and strong songwriting.

Vile's lyrics continue to approach weird honesty and cool detachment in equal measure, he stands high among his grimy peers with lyrics like, "I'm living all the time thanks 'cause you're mine/ You turn my dying days away/ Each day we carry on like believers and lovers/ Even though there are others who would rather run away." What's most remarkable is that someone put out an album in 2013 that runs 69:03 and isn't a soundscape of pipes clattering in an empty warehouse. If you have to clean your apartment or drive along a historic highway, Vile released your soundtrack.

Verdict: Future Top 10 of 2013 Contender

Kurt Vile - Wakin on a Pretty Day

Eternal Summers & Pow Wow! play Irving Plaza with 90's Alt-Weirdos Presidents of the United States of America on April 15th

You already know Spring has Sprung, but next Monday Eternal Summers hit NYC with some heat of their own. Nicole Yun and Daniel Cundiff started off in Roanoke, Virginny as a guitar and drums duo before adding bassist Jonathan Woods to the fold. Now their jangly, penetrating rhythms are complete and Nicole's dazey, nonchalant vocals have a strength reminiscent of Ana da Silva from The Raincoats or a more minimal, dreamier Jenny Lewis.

Eternal Summers

Their sophomore album, Correct Behavior, off Kanine Records garnered rave reviews from all over, especially on Pitchfork. This has lead to them being hand picked by Martin Van Buren, Rutherford B. Hayes and Gerald Ford The Presidents of the United States of America to accompany them on the east coast swing of their latest tour. Stops include Philly, Boston, Asbury NJ and of course, Monday night at NYC's Irving Plaza (tickets still available, somehow!).

Also on the card are local sweetiepies pow wow!. I have been a big fan of theirs since their album "Don't Stop to Look" warmed me up during the dead of winter. I challenge you to listen to their spritely melodies without bursting into a full earbud-to-earbud smile. I have not seen them live yet but I have heard such great things I'm really excited to check them out!

Wild Thing: Charles Fréger's Wilder Mann at Chelsea's Yossi Milo Gallery, April 11 - May 18

May I have the attention of Western civilization for just a moment? Kay, thanks.

Much to the chagrin of our communal elitism, and despite the automatic New York Times updates beamed directly to our iShits, we are not actually civilized. Well, not if Charles Fréger has anything to say about it. Wilder Mann, an exhibit of Fréger’s photography is set to open at New York’s Yossi Milo Gallery, April 11 and will run through May 18.

The show, which is comprised of photos of people looking “wild”—wearing anything from ceremonial garb to throwbacks to ancient folktales—essentializes the idea that no matter how many mobile, wi-fi-enabled devices we carry, or how “civilized” we consider ourselves, humankind is still much wilder than any of us would comfortably admit.

“Wilder Mann,” which translates to “Wild Man” from German, is a photographic series that explores the ancient celebrations and mythology of the primeval “wild men” that lived across Europe. The exhibit explores, among other things, totemic figures and the way they can help us understand humanity’s ancient nature—and how it may—or may not—teach us about the present.

According to the people that study this kind of stuff, the exhibit explores “Neolithic Shamanism.” That’s fancy talk to describe the people who celebrate ancient rites and celebrations of equinoxes, fertility, life, and death, symbolizing the complicated relationship between mankind and nature. It’s pre-religion; it’s part of being a human, the genetic fingerprint that, some argue, predisposes us to tend toward spirituality in its many forms.

Is this our history? It’s still happening…

Charles Fréger From the series Wilder Mann
Wilder Mann 77,  2010-2011 Inkjet Print
© Charles Fréger, Courtesy www.charlesfreger.com

…And this is our fashion sense.

Charles Fréger From the series Wilder Mann Boes, Ottana,
Sardinia, Italy, 2010-2011 Inkjet Print
© Charles Fréger, Courtesy www.charlesfreger.com

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals - Only Love: The Anti-Love Song

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’ “Only Love” is not a starry-eyed love song, but with its refrain, “It’s only love, it’s only love,” it sure does sound like one. It’s a ballsy mix: one-half funk-strut hump, one-half I-just-can’t-quit-you-but-I-have-to anti-love song.

“I need to loosen my grip just a little bit/ I feel this love like a stranglehold/ But there's something stopping me from losing it/ There's nothing harder than letting go.”

I’m not going to demean Grace Potter by drawing a line between male and female singer/songwriters—especially the non-weenies that work in rock ‘n’ roll—because your sex organs have nothing to do with your level of bad-assery. Check your misogynist “Chick Rock” labels at the door.

'100 Days of Chaka Khan' begins, offers peak at forthcoming record

Always be yourself. Unless U can be @chakakhan. Then always be @chakakhan

— RuPaul (@RuPaul) March 23, 2013

OK, OK, I know that beginning an entry by quoting the Twitter account of a drag queen might be a little obtuse, but I figured the majesty of Chaka Khan required something larger-than-life to frame it accurately—especially considering that we’re now living “100 Days of Chaka.”

It’s not a national holiday—yet—but I’m lobbying my congressman to make it happen.

In case you’re wondering what 100 Days of Chaka is, well, it’s pretty simple. The premise is similar to what we do at EDAS: Every day, Chaka posts a song/video on her website. Along with the video, she adds a note about why she chose the song, how it fits into the context of her life/career/creative process, etc. It's a pretty sexy PR maneuver to promote her new record, The IKahn Project: Alive, due out July 2.

Sprung

Jon Theiss

Just as Spring brings new life into this world,

This spring brings new  writers to the EDAS team.

Please welcome our newest contributor, Jon Theiss.

Today marks the first day of spring, and it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood (at least here in New York), so here’s one of my favorite anthems that celebrates, among other things, ungluing your face from the Internet. (The irony that I’m writing this ON THE INTERNET isn't lost on me, promise.)

This ditty showcases one of Stephanie Nilles’s biggest strengths (that she can count among the many)—the slap-and-tickle “Fuck You” anthem—crystallized here in the sweet-as-candy but deceptively fanged first-track, “Fuck Off Grizzly Bear,” from the album by the same name.

Nilles, the just-over-five-foot New-Orleans-via-Kent, Ohio jazz/blues player, has a voice—literally and figuratively—that’s far beyond her years. Everybody loves a slow-burn vocal, sure, but it’s the spoonful-of-sugar-helps-the-arsenic-go-down attitude that is the cornerstone of Nilles's craft that keeps my pants tight.

“Myspace is a place where disaffected folks go to make themselves seem happy/ and Facebook is just the gateway drug to stalking/ Twitter is a port through which the self-absorbed to make bullshit references to pop culture/ The news is not the news, it’s food for the vultures.”

As a former news writer, Twitterati-obsessed Instagram-heavy Pinterester, I’m completely on board, as masochistic as that sounds. What can I say? I like a lady that can put me in my place.

So, today, this first day of Spring, “If you’re feeling like a useless piece of shit, chances are, your instincts are right/ So employ the restrictions forced upon you as a kid—unplug it and go outside.”

Check out Nilles if you like smart, well-written pop/jazz. Or maybe it's jazz/pop. Whatever, as Stephanie says, Go Outside!

Stephanie Nilles - Fuck Off Grizzly Bear

J Dilla: Still Chasing Rainbows

By Andrew Blum

When you mention the “revolutionary hip-hop pioneer from Detroit,” you can garner a lot about the person from their response. There are two most likely responses:

1) Oh, do you mean Eminem?

2) Oh! you MUST mean J.D!

The latter being J-Dilla, and the correct answer, The former being a worthy artist, who in his own right owes quite a bit to the momentous producer J Dilla. If the person considers themselves fans of pop, and watches the Grammy’s for instance, they will likely say Eminem. As a guy from Brooklyn, even writing about MC/Producers from Detroit almost feels silly, since Brooklyn alone has more notable MCs than the entire Midwest. Not to knock the Midwest, as it gave us lush talents, as well as Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, but one in particular who I’d like to further explore. J Dilla is the stage moniker for James Dewitt Yancey, original member of Slum Village, and many other associated acts.

J-Dilla

The fact is that in his relatively short career, Dilla-dog has reached milestones which make any other producer straight salivate. Early in the 1990's, after releasing the debut album Fan-Tas-Tic, he garnered attention from Q-Tip, and began making beats for A Tribe Called Quest, the equivalent of the hip-hop gold standard. Fast forward 20 years, and think about why you’ve probably never rocked out to Jay Dee, or J Dilla, or one of his many other monikers. If you have and I’ve offended you, well get off your high horse and help bring this genius his due respect. Here is one of his most beautiful contributions to ATCQ.

A Tribe Called Quest - 1nce Again (Prod. by J-Dilla)

Most DJs will have at least a vague knowledge of this man by now, whose death struck at the very heart of hip hop in 2006, amidst planned projects which were mostly finished posthumously. Yes, this incredibly talented man is dead. He sadly died three days after his 32nd birthday, and is survived by his two daughters and his mother, affectionally called Ma Dukes. His legacy is now being formed, crystallized really, as his talent as a producer and artist cannot be properly explained without listening to one of his especially melodious beats.

Of particular attention, I direct you to the easy to listen to album “Champion Sound” made in 2003 alongside fellow producer Madlib, and packaged adorably as “Jaylib.” Every track on that album deserves a good listen. i.e. Buy that shit yo! (Link) Or wait for the planned 2013 posthumous album which has also been announced (link).

Jaylib - Starz (Produced by J Dilla)

“ Are you interested in a career that involves money fame cars jewelry and all sort s of ghetto fabulous items? Well come to Dilla’s School of Performing Arts! Dilla’s School of Performing Arts has a lot to offer you. Call today at 1 888 GET-DEEZ-NUTZ”

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!

OutKast - Happy Valentine's Day

One Less Wild Thing

The Troggs were part of the British Bumrush that has took the US by storm in the mid-60's. In fact, their grungy style helped pioneer the course of Punk Rock and more-so the Garage Sound in general. Today word has come from abroad that lead singer, Reg Presley has passed away. 

Originally called the Troglodytes, these "Wild Things" brought their heavily fuzzed, concisely worded songs to America where they immediately shot up the charts. Within months, more kids were singing "Louie, Louie" than you could shake a stick at (Why am I an 80-year old man all of a sudden). If you enjoy the Zombies, or especially the early Kinks, I definitely insist that you give The Troggs a more complete try. When considering the success of their two biggest hits, the aforementioned ubiquitous stadium jams of "Wild Thing" and "Louie Louie", it makes today's song seem like a very deep track, but it was a big hit in its day as well. Take this day to remember and enjoy the romantic splendor of The Troggs.

The Troggs - With a Girl Like You

Happy Birthday to Steve Marriott

Steve Marriott went from a child star with the lead role in the musical Oliver, to serenading the British 'Mod' Cultural Movement. The original front-man for the Small Faces (pre Rod Stewart) who went on to further success with Humble Pie would have turned 66 today, had he not tragically died in a fire in 1991. A severely underrated musician who was up there with Zeppelin, The Stones and The Who at the forefront of the Euro-Blues explosion of the mid-1960's.

Stephen Peter "Steve" Marriott

His time with the Small Faces encapsulates one of my favorite musical groups of all time. I'm not certain why they were less successful on this side of the pond but they were held in extremely high regard in their own UK. You can't listen to one of their live albums due to the incessant screaming of young British girls. After teaming up with a young Peter Frampton to form Humble Pie, it wouldn't get much quieter. They hit the states with this time with much more force, finding their place among the hard hitting rockers of the 1970's. Before I had even heard a song by them, I recall them winning a few "Band-Aids" in the movie Almost Famous. Probably an accurate portrayal considering both groups were known for their partying lifestyle. Lesser known was his amazing skill as a wordsmith and storyteller, as well as a guitarist. Here to represent his two musical phases is a strikingly clear video  from his time with the Small Faces  and after that, an all out smokeshow from his time in Humble Pie.  

Small Faces - All or Nothing

Humble Pie - Sweet Peace and Time

Happy 2013!

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy, Music-Filled New Year,

From Every Day, Another Song.

There's already a ton of amazing stuff in the pipeline so come back often... I can just tell that 2013 is going to be a great one. 

Here is a New Beat for a New Year. 

Toro Y Moi - New Beat

18

On my 18th Birthday, my amazing mom assembled a package of many things "18." Among the gifts was Moby's album called, you guessed it, 18. A High School Senior and budding music snob I barely took the time to listen to it. That was 10 years ago. 

Then the other day I decide to listen to it out of nowhere and discover this incredibly appropriate song, considering tomorrow is my birthday. What are the odds? 

Probably 1 in 18.

Moby - Sunday (The Day Before My Birthday)