Too much awesome for One Blog Post. This might get long.

Alright. Hello.
It's been a while. Get over it.

I'd like to write about some random events I went to over the past couple of months which had a profound effect on how much Animal Collective vs. Japandroids I listened to on my free time. Also, I have yet again found a Shoegazing monstrosity worth listening to further, and my favorite local Dirty-Dirty coast band, Caddywhompus, has some great news that I will forward onto you.

First of all, Mates of State, Wow. Saw them about 2 weeks ago with my Editor, the beautiful Blake Lee Stephens, and they blew us both away. They pretty much played a 25 song set at Spanish Moon that made me re-think of the definition of Pop-music, and also scared the shit out of me with the potential for synths. Aside from their ecclectic back-up instrumentalists, their set was complete in every way imaginable. And really the only thing I didn't like about the back up musicians was the clothes they were dressed in. Pointless, I know, but visuals matter sometimes.

[Side-note, on the topic of Back-up musicians. I just don't like them. Unless you're Trent Reznor and you want to go on tour and you need 5 people to back you up because the music you created in the studio is too complex to play by yourself. Furthermore, back-up musicians are cool in a lot of ways, but the fact is they weren't part of the original development of the music. So it's hard to believe their heart is in the ebb and flow of those particular rhythms which they did not write.]

Endurance, the Mates have it, and it was impressive. Talent, they raised the bar on how their recordings should sound. I would say I had heard about half of the set they played before on recordings from Crushes and the Re-Arrange Us. And I was left with a thirsty craving for more of their earlier music, especially the track "HAHA." Good stuff all around.

Blake & I talked about their music afterwards, and we both admitted that they play simple progressions of melodies and chords on top of lyrics and harmonies that are essentially very catchy. That +that +that usually =pop. But it wasn't. The drumming coming from their set was harshly solid. You could feel its importance in every song and it drew its own line for its differences between mainstream and substream. I just made that term up, substream, I think it works.

I think I've said enough about the show and them, please check em out, http://www.matesofstate.com/splash/. They love to tour, and they're pretty adorable on stage. Go Kansas.

In Summary: Catchy Lyrics fused comfortably with drumming that separates the end product from Mainstream styles which would never venture to use soooo many Keyboards.

Next up, Zorch. They're awesome. More synths, more drums. I saw them at Banks st. Bar with the stunning Leslie Cunningham about 2 months ago, and they have a relentless and neverending ability to experiment. Shmu, the drummer, is pretty much one of my favorite beat machines. He's a cool guy to talk to, and during his performances he always tries to step out of the bounds for percussion. Wearing a head-microphone that makes him look like a backstreet-boy at times, but obviously relaying the ridiculous innovation of Lightning Bolt's vocals. Also, he plays an omnichord. Please google that shit, it's nice. On top of that, he's an excellent drummer. Rolling around his drum set like a madman and really building a strong structure that his band-mate Zac sits proudly on top of with, yet again, a stack of synthesizers.

Wow, see, I wasn't kidding. Stacks of synths. Zorch appears to treat vocals like an additional instrument and not a medium for transmitting lyrics. So I really think their band is more of an instrumental concoction. Both of these guys are hardworking musicians and well-educated in this art from what I've researched, and they can really push the bar on what 2 people can do with enough time and practice. I would say I truly enjoy their intense layering of sounds and the build-up into the climax of them. Some of their tracks like 'Moris The Loris' throw a lot of Drum and Bass styles without the DJ equipment, and that is delicious.

Summary: Crisp drum beats that allow for a monstrosity of organized tiers of well articulated sounds and keys to take you to places of great imagination and vocal accompaniment. http://www.myspace.com/zzoorrcchh

They're playing at The Saint on Monday August 2nd in New Orleans. Should be very awesome.

Caddywhompus is back in town. They played last night at The All Ways Lounge, and I will review their latest album Remainder soooon.

Thanks for reading,

Bike-Knifer

Thanks Thom.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Thom-Yorke-Predicts-Record-Industry-Will-Crumble-in-Months-Really-3928

That is an article stemming from Thom Yorke's comment about how Record Labels will collapse and the music industry is going to die soon. like in months soon.

Thanks, brah. I really needed to hear you say it so that I can begin preparing for this event. I wonder if Thom believes in events like the apocalypse.

So let's discuss this event. The record industry collapses, there are no longer any of those fancy networks of labels which sell masses of cd's to wal-mart superstores, and pension funds/401ks for select white people implode on themselves. I think I can live with this situation.

What's the outcome?

Well, I think that we are no longer on the brink of this transition for musicians. They have understood what to do in this situation for a long time coming. In fact, I believe that a lot of musicians have been embracing the collapse of this industry for a very long time. Anyone who can read probably understands that musicians hate the business side of making their music. If they could stay away from the road and make millions jamming in the studio, then they would capitalize on this lifestyle. It just doesn't work that way though. The cool thing about musicians is that they never stopped the essential component of their survival in this game. They never stopped playing music. In fact, the awesome part of the divorce between musicians and their record labels is that music got better, more experimental, and more diverse. It also became harder to categorize.

What kind of band is Radiohead now anyways? Nobody knows, you couldn't describe their last cd with anything less than citing 4 genres which barely exist in the collaborative minds of pop music fans.

So back to the discussion with myself. Musicians play music, and they aren't restricted by Record Labels anymore. They're only restricted by their own abilities and networks of venues. Indie bands for example can't sell out crowds, it's the hypocrisy of indie music. You can't become rich doing it, you can only make the music you always wanted to make. As soon as indie bands break into the business of selling to the mainstream, they have broken the unwritten deal with their true fans to not do that. It's called selling out. I don't even know if fans really consider selling out to be a crime anymore, because the payout for bands is so shitty anyways that it's almost a crime for them not to do it.

Here' s a breakdown of my own understanding of the music industry

musician-->producer-->label-->cds to the masses-->sell out concerts

-now we take out the middlemen essential to this process

musician-->musician/producers-->cds to the masses for free-->mediocre concerts

My advice to the modern day musician which Thom Yorke did not provide: Have a back-up plan for money. Base your music career on your ability to play music, construct a strong fan base built around people who have social power, and try your best to make good deals with your venues.

It's never too early to start investing in that 401k either.

Japandroids

I did something this past Sunday that I have not done in a while.

I bought a cd.

Crazy? I know, right.

Then something even crazier happened, I went to another store, and bought another cd. I went online to see how much just the digital version was without all the hassles of owning a physical copy, and it was $5 cheaper. wtf?

However, I really want to go back and own a couple more of these obnoxiously large filetypes. This makes me wonder how much actual physical space a digital recording occupies on my ipod.

The result of all these occurrences is my new ownership of a copy of the Japandroids album, Post-Nothing. My review will come soon.

-Bike Knifer

Flying Lotus

I'm on an adventure through the experimentation of DJ's and electronica capabilities.

Flying Lotus keeps it real. I've read a lot of his interviews and apparently me and his music go way back to when Adult Swim had great transition music (which the show adopted from him way back when).

Here's his myspace. All his music is straight beats he concocted and it's considered Hip/Hop. Oh genres. I think if you've read me before, then you understand my reluctance to use genres, but I'm over it. Genres help me compare the sound to previous and more understood styles of music. So he's "hip-hop." Flying Lotus is also experimental/psychadelic, go figure. Most of the live sets are supposedly free-form. Meaning he creates an idea of what he wants to do before-hand and play his tracks and beats to cater to his liking as the set progresses. This results in a completely original live set every time he steps onto a new stage.

Performance Art? Why yes, that fits the definition.

So check out the track "Pickled" if you have stayed up into the night watching Adult Swim, and keep an eye out for Flying Lotus. Psychadelic hip-hop is hard to come by.

fuck blogs

http://www.ippio.com/video/5358/Criticism-II-Music-Is-Math

Cafe Prytania show: Clash of the Clouds

Drunkenly talking to bands can lead to interesting stories for people who know who Vampire Weekend is. I would have to say that Friday night at Cafe Prytania ended up being an adventure all in its own. From a traditional folk band with expensive equipment and lame skills to follow suit, to a band (Hurray for the Riff Raff) that the NOIR Collective has embraced with open arms; this venue is gaining my respect very quickly. I think the highlight of the night though was watching a band I'd never heard of before, Sam Buck Rosen Band, play very well to a crowd that had no idea who they were (myself included). It seems that the lead guy behind them, Sam, is indeed buddy buddy with Vampire Weekend, which is indeed cool among many realms.

Their rhythm guitarist was innappropriately expected to give us rhythm to follow. Because, in my mind, he played free-form guitar along side the tracks while the drummer and lead dude ,Sam Buck Rosen, played melodies and beats. The crazy part was that it worked. It worked really well for me. I totally understood the sound they were making. At first, it seemed like a noisy clash of ideas, but it began to meld together once I got used to the sound each musician was able to produce. Each part of the whole would have sounded like a mess of noise by itself, but fused together like they did, it really came out well. Noise+Strong Beats+Dissonance=Great Music?

Weird

I think their drummer was just really great at complimenting the unorganized vocals and harmonies from sam & the free-form rhythm of Zeke. He definitely gained my respect in his ability to tie it all together.

Now for some crazy talk

I'm not sure anymore. I've been listening to so much experimental music lately that I am starting to think/believe that all other styles are just wasting our time. Country, Rap, Jazz, Folk, Rock, Indie, just to name a few. They're all building up where someone else ended using the same musical concepts and vision with new catchy lyrics and different rhythms/progressions. I'm not saying that these styles suck, or that doing this process is wrong/bad. I just want to address the fact that it all just seems like the same goods processed differently. Like the difference between ...........I'm going to shut up now, that whole thought process sucked.

What are we paying for? That's all I'm asking. Entertain me for an hour, give me something to listen to while I get drunk tonight, don't annoy me, don't challenge the genre. Is this what people want to listen to? It's like a political candidate walking into office with the goal to try his hardest not to fuck up his predecessor's accomplishments. I am of the opinion that this guy is not utilizing his potential and not doing his job. Tisk tisk, challenge the genre, annoy the shit out of me, make me regret not being sober for this kind of musical display, blow my expectations out of the water and make me rethink the music I've chosen to idolize. I would gladly pay money for that.

Saturday Night Music.

After seeing all this great music Friday night, I had to go and spend Saturday night on Bourbon St to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday. I hate Bourbon St. with a passion these days, but I find myself going because it's what you do when a friend turns 21. I will inevitable return 2 more times before June for the same reason I went to Bourbon St. the last two times. Will I enjoy myself? Yes. Will I want to come back. No.

I hate Bourbon St. because the bars will inevitably have a cover band that plays what people from other cities have grown to not hate. Keith Urban, Journey, and 90s Alternative Rock. This whole adventure through Bourbon was what sparked my anger towards non-experimental music to begin with.

Why would a musician spend a good amount of time learning an instrument in order to play a slice of music they did not write?

Why do we have a business model for live music which embraces this concept?

Why do all cover bands play the same covers?

Why are there only 24 hours in a day?

Please humor my frustration and talk to me about this,

Loving unorganized writer of music whose head still throbs from Saturday night on Bourbon

What What? Caddywho?

I spent Friday night in a tired haze trying to win pool games against friends and listening to the likes of Smiley With A Knife, Baby Boy, and Caddywhompus.

The math-rock style and awesome drum beats from Smiley With A Knife kept me satisfied for most of the night, but then a weird rustling came from the bushes outside. From outside of the Spanish Moon came a four-man band that proceeded to take the stage and do a quick sound check. When they started playing their instruments, I finally remembered who the fuck Baby Boy was. I immediately began to drag my friends away from the area and patiently wait for the next set. Baby Boy is terrible. However, their screamo sessions and mediocre displays of musicianship made me smile happily inside. I was happy because of the irony of having their set stuck between an instrumental band that knows what they're doing and a progressively awesome dual band, Caddywhompus, that could pump out more pleasing sound even with a broken overdrive pedal. Don't try and find Baby Boy on the internet. They suck. And even if you do try, the only music you will find is a decent rap group from New Orleans.

Caddywhompus came on after Baby Boy; they rocked. Some minor technical difficulties stopped their set at various points, and I believe the problem ended up being a dead 9-volt in one of the pedals. No big, it's Caddywhompus, they can call a song "This Bitch was Golden," and no one gives a shit. All they have to do is bring the Nuggz or take us to Whiskey Bay and everyone is happy.

But me? I'm excited about Caddywhompus's new recordings coming out in March and April, and if you want something to hold you off til then, check out Chris's solo stuff at http://chrisrehm.bandcamp.com/. You can download his six track album Radiohead-style. I'm really looking forward to the recordings in March & April though. They've been playing a lot of their new tracks at live shows and I can imagine that the recordings will be well worth anyone's time.

As far as NoiseFromTheBack goes, some computer issues have been holding me back from posting about new music as much as I would like to. I've had to move operations to a different computer and for now all I can say is that I don't have storage space. I'm gonna try buying another charger for my non-work related computer and test Ubuntu out for a little while on that machine. If all goes well I should be up and running again.

Thanks for reading and come Saturday Jan 30th to see Della, The Acadias, and Prom Date at North Gate Tavern @ 10pm. This show will be great!