As you might know, I love it when the classics are reworked in innovative ways. Like when people play the Super Mario Brothers theme in a kazoo orchestra. Anyway, here’s a sweet rendition of that old Metallica classic, “Battery”:
One of my recent inspirations for new music has been from my friend Duke’s blog about the L.A. music scene. Now I’m not sure if the music scene was quite as strong when I lived there back in the late ’90s or maybe I just wasn’t quite as tuned into the local stuff going on at that time. Anyway, there is a bunch of good rock and pop music coming from there. In particular, I’m really high on the first album from Everest.
The band has been involved in the L.A. scene for quite some time and they just released their debut album on Neil Young’s record label. “Ghost Notes” is an early pick for one of my top albums for 2008. They are going to be on Late Night with Conan later this week and will be playing in the Twin Cities at the Cedar on June 1st. This album is pretty terrific, so help spread the word.
As I mentioned last week, I went to check out Wild Sweet Orange at the Fine Line earlier this week. When WSO took the stage, they fit the bill for roots influenced southern hipster band. (Shaggy doo and facial hair - check. Gibson acoustic w/ capo - check. Band members with mix of scenester clothes and southern formalwear - check.) They sounded pretty tight; my only complaint was that the acoustic guitar was relatively absent from the mix - not the band’s fault. The set consisted of tunes that had some southern influences, but then they also had a strong British feel to their tunes. At times I heard a strong infusion of The Church, Cure and Coldplay in their songwriting. I felt the strongest part of the set was when the first opener act David Ford joined the band on stage for a tune and manned the harmonica.
Considering that, the band wasn’t quite in the southern vein that I was hoping for. Not that that’s a bad thing – they just weren’t my cup of tea. WSO seems aimed at the Cities 97 crowd, and judging by their opening slot for Augustana and the concert-goers at the Fine Line, they’re hitting the right crowd.
I’ve been in the mood to listen to a bunch of country tinged stuff lately. It probably has to do with growing up to KC or attending KU, but whenever I get a little tired of the indie rock thing, I often turn back to familiar turf. Luckily for me there has been a bunch of quality music in this vein as of late that’s kept me more than happy.
I’m looking forward to Wild Sweet Orange’s gig Monday (5/12/08) night at the Fine Line.
Their southern tinged rock has the potential to be in my wheelhouse. My better half thinks they have a hint of the Violent Femmes in them as well. So far they’ve only put out the self-released “Whale EP.” I’ll be interested to see what other material they showcase live when opening up for Augustana. Download their track “Wrestle with God.”
Dark Meat – I checked these guys out at the Nomad last week after Riemenschneider’s recommendation on Vita.mn.
A 17-person commune/psychedelic group from Athens, as he described it. Considering that description, I couldn’t resist seeing them in person. They totally brought a droner version of the Wall of Sound to the West Bank. From where I was sitting, I don’t even think they were able to fit everyone up on that small stage. Unfortunately, due to their late start time on a school night I wasn’t able to catch the entire show. At the least, their album “Universal Indians” has terrific liner notes and some classic song titles.
Speaking of droner music, I’m very excited about the Black Angels coming back to town to the Turf Club in June. They’ve got a new album coming out soon, so more on that later as the release date approaches. I also can’t wait to see the Drive-By Truckers when they return to the First Avenue in early July. I was a bit skeptical about their latest release (“Brighter Than Creation’s Dark”) with the departure of Jason Isbell, but they knocked this one out of the park. And as anyone who has seen DBT live in concert, there’s no setting finer that a hot summer night in the Main Room with plenty of Grain Belt Premium and southern infused rock from Athens’ finest.
Please check out Victoria Vox’s “Peeping Tomette” on her mySpace page. It is catchy and charming with the pop sensibilities of Ben Folds mixed with the playful spirit of a wild rabbit. The song, which comes off her new album, Chameleon, features Vox’s signature ukulele sound and supports it with a nice accordion arrangement. What’s not to like about that?!
I requested a copy of Chameleon, so I’ll have more information for y’all after I listen to it!
And while we are showing off cool renditions of cover songs, why not take a look at this fabulous rendition of the Simpsons theme song on guitar?
Ummm… Do we really need a fraternity-themed version of Bohemian Rhapsody? Probably not. But Brohemian Rhapsody is actually quite well-done and pretty funny to boot! 
