Anyway, during my procrastination process, I managed to listen to the song Beverly Hills by Weezer, a song I haven't heard since I was 16. I always liked this song (partially because I love Weezer in general, partially because the beat is decent), but I don't think I realized the irony of the song until now.

I know, I know, it's so obvious. But to a 16 year old who is living in Mormon-ville, Utah surrounded by a lot of people who aren't, shall we say, musically inclined (or, rather, inclined towards anything at all...), I wasn't "on the ball." But this song is nothing short of hilarious!

I was talking to my friend the other day about the "hipsters" that go to my school. They literally are the epitomy of this song. Well, in a reverse way, I suppose. They grew up rich, had everything handed to them on a silver plate, and now want to pretend that they've worked really hard to get to where they are. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're working hard now, but they never had to before. They buy old, torn, beat up things. They claim this gives their wardrobe character. Character? Character is being able to tell me exactly where each tear came from, what caused the discolouration, and what the obscure writing scribbled on the back of the shirt means. Character is giving me all the stories behind how the shirt got that way. Their story? I thought it was "hip." Hip? HIP?!

This is why I get annoyed with the "hipsters." Real hipsters don't think they're hip. It's a way of life. It's the person next to you on the subway going down to Houston or Alphabet city. It's someone who lives in a loft with 3 other people and they all just sleep on mattresses on the floor. It's someone who wears jeans with holes and shirts with random bleach stains out of necessity, not as a fashion statement.

Beverly Hills talks about someone who wishes he were famous and hung out with celebrities, but the new "fad" is to be poor. What gives? Why can't everyone just BE? I don't think I'll ever understand people who want to be so different than who they are naturally. If someone wrote a version of Beverly Hills but changed the words to make it from the point of view of a wanna-be hipster, they would become my hero of the week, maybe even the month. Until that song is made, I will be subjected to rich brats walking around thinking they own the streets while wearing $100 shirts that look like they were bought off the back of a homeless bum.

After the widespread success of "1 2 3 4" it was only a matter of time before Feist showed up to count on Sesame Street (albeit, sans the actual Count for some bizarre reason). Tilly And The Wall didn't exude as clear an educational angle, but the cheery tap-dancing Nebraskans do possess something kid-friendly about their day-glo look and sound and smiles (and name, which came from the children's book, Tillie and the Wall). So it's not all that surprising that they traveled to Sesame Street to teach the kids about the alphabet. Unfortunately, they don't get to mingle with any puppets.

By Eric Mahollitz

Both of last nights bands hail from Brooklyn and share a keen interest in visual performance. Clare Muldaur Manchon and her band, The Reasons, this time consisting of husband Olivier Manchon, Marla Hansen and Maria Jeffers, took the stage adorned in their favorite red attire. The stage was bathed in a similar red light and the crowd sat awkwardly silent as the band fittingly started the set with the subtle strings and lulling vocals of “Open, Open.” With the initial “who are these people” sensation out of the way, the crowd left the seats, moving closer to the stage for a very intimate, dynamic and alluring performance. While the band’s standard fare is built from violin, viola, cello and electric guitar, they easily made use of everything from drum machines to tambourine, from kazoos to recorders. Olivier, the band’s multi-instrumentalist and lone Frenchman, was thoroughly endearing throughout the night, himself responsible for playing the recorder on set highlight, “Rodi,” as well as the saw on the space-age “Pluton,” an ode to the fickle status of the distant…object. More on him later. Admittedly, with all the different and unconventional instruments appearing onstage, it would be easy to paint the group as relying too much on gimmicks, but their playfulness and theatricality seem as much a part of their show as the music. That being said, the young band pulled off a fabulous though again, unconventional, indie rock/cabaret performance, topped off with a cover of Tears For Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

Clare & The Reasons Setlist:

Open, Open / Pluto / Alphabet City / Better Without You / Pluton / Rodi / Nowhere / Can Your Car Do That, I Don’t Think So / Everybody Wants to Rule the World

As both of the night’s acts use a multitude of different musicians for different situations, they were conveniently able to use the same musicians for both sets, simply switching Clare Manchon for My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden. This time around, the band was clad primarily in black, the costumes more elaborate than The Reasons. Worden immediately showed off her own non-traditional toys, playing finger piano on a lively rendition of “Apples” and pulling out all the stops on “To Pluto’s Moon” and “The Ice & The Storm.” Both tracks enlisted trip-hop influenced beats and tube shakers. MBDs performance was not without its storytelling either, incorporating spoken narratives before flushing out “From the Top of the World” and the Maurice Ravel inspired “Black & Costaud.” Perhaps most memorable from Worden’s set were the visuals. With musical accompaniment and much fanfare Olivier, dressed much like a magician, dangled a purple kerchief before the crowd moments before making it disappear into his clenched fist. The core of the set ended with a puppet show initially seen only as an abstract projection on a screen and then ultimately revealed. The puppet show involved the whole band and featured a female doll resembling Worden who endured shipwreck, romance, flights of fancy, and ultimately separation.

The puppet show over, the band left the stage only to come back moments later to provide some conclusion to the evening. That conclusion took the form of A Thousand Shark’s Teeth b-side “The Gentlest Gentleman,” a now popular live track featuring nothing but Worden on ukelele and the collective harmonizing of the entire band. The simple, spare and affecting track brought Worden to tears halfway through, forcing a brief pause but after reaching its natural conclusion, and with the flick of a tear, the show was over. It was the final night on the tour for viola player and Madison native Marla Hansen. However, both bands continue on, touring through mid-December. For those who haven’t seen an MBD show, Worden’s operatic voice and training in costuming and theatre are a treat to behold and never as predictable as most musical performances.

My Brightest Diamond Setlist:

Golden Star / If I Were Queen / Apples / To Pluto’s Moon / Disappear / Dragonfly / From the Top of the World / Black & Costaud / The Ice & The Storm / Inside A Boy
Encore: The Gentlest Gentleman

Previously: 5 Questions with My Brightest Diamond
Previously: 5 Questions with Marla Hansen

Myspace: My Brightest Diamond
Myspace: Clare & The Reasons
MP3: My Brightest Diamond - “Inside A Boy”
MP3: My Brightest Diamond - “The Diamond”
MP3: My Brightest Diamond - Golden Star (Remix by Alias)
MP3: My Brightest Diamond - Freak Out (Gold Chains Panique Mix)

Length of mix: 1:17:00
Available as 320 kbps MP3

AMON TOBIN: Foley Room Recorded Live In Brussels

“F*** visuals we’re sinking every last penny into the sound system!” - Amon Tobin

Back in early 2007 Amon Tobin released his latest full length album titled Foley Room and put together a tour focusing on the sound and the music, rather then thinking too much about lights, projections and stage antics. After all, this is music.

It’s about the sound and the shared experience of being immersed in waves of bass while dissonant collections of rhythm and melody move, confuse, annoy you a bit then move you again. a passionate affair this recording is an attempt to capture not just the music but the atmosphere of the show as a whole.

The long awaited, full-length, official recording of the legendary 2007 Foley Room tour is finally available at www.amontobin.com !  Recorded by Studio Brussels at the world famous AB theatre in Belgium - which arguably has the best sound system in Europe. After months of back and forth and despite everyone’s best efforts the mix was in danger of being edited into the ground to accommodate big labels and publishers. Rather than release a compromised version commercially, the decision was made to give it away for free instead. you can download the mix as it was intended to be heard along with the full digital booklet at www.amontobin.com

That’s right, we could have sold you half of it, but instead we are giving you all of it, for free!

Since June this year, Amon Tobin’s website and web store has consistently introduced new content to fans and enthusiasts. Amon’s corner of the internet has provided all kinds of stuff for the tobincurious. Everything from sound designed creatures to rare mixes and even a section for videos created by fans has been lovingly presented to casual visitors and avid completists alike. We hope alongside all the freebies you will continue to support the site and most importantly the music. An exclusive ‘monthly joint’ is available on the site alongside various other custom creations. These are previously unreleased tracks available legitimately only from amontobin.com

1 Amon Tobin - In the Dark (Intro)
2 Amon Tobin - Horsefish (Live Mix)
3 Cardiacs - The Alphabet Business Concern (Home of Fadeless Splendour)
4 Two Fingers - TBA
5 Spank Rock - Bump (Switch Remix)
6 Two Fingers - TBA
7 Amon Tobin - Esthers
8 Amon Tobin - Throwback (a.k.a. Intro to Solid Steel Live 1)
9 King Cannibal - Aragami Style
10 Kelis - Aww Shit
11 Two Fingers - TBA
12 Amon Tobin - Kitchen Sink (Live Mix)/Ms. Jade - Jade’s A Champ
13 Amon Tobin - Big Furry Head
14 Tech Itch - Know
15 Amon Tobin - Verbal (Acapella)
16 Two Fingers - TBA
17 Boxcutter - Grub
18 Autechre - Doctrine
19 Amon Tobin - Foley Room
20 Amon Tobin - Untitled
21 Dom & Roland - Ritual
22 Amon Tobin & Noisia - Untitled
23 Konflict - Messiah (Noisia Remix)
24 Spank Rock - Get On the Floor (Disco D Production)
25 Nice Nice - Uh Oh
26 Amon Tobin - Straight Psyche
27 Autechre - Second Bad Vilbel
28 Noisia - B.R.E.E.Z.E.
29 Noisia - Concussion
30 Kryptic Minds & Leon Switch - No Remorse
31 Amon Tobin - Keep Your Distance

Download (via) (170MB, 320kBit/s)

www.amontobin.com

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This weeks show is brought to you by Steve Parr. Please leave comments & votes & enjoy the show!

Playlist

The Allstars - “About The Music” (Guy Robin vs Allstars Mix)
Estelle ft Cee-Lo - “Pretty Please” (Booker T Remix) [CDR]
Louie Vega & Jay Sealee ft Julie Mcknight - “Diamond Life” (Danism) [Bargrooves]
Kathy Brown - “Never Again” [Defected]
Marcus Aurelius - “Trippin” [Alphabet Music]
Cooleys Hotbox vs Basement Jaxx - “We Don’t Have To Be Alone” (Droido TechEdit) [Sole]
Butch - “Earth” (823’s Crackpot’s in The Field Remix) [Trapez]
Carl Key ft Yasmin James - “Thats Your Destiny” (Original) [Map Dance]
Gianluca Pighi ft Robert Owens - “Black Man” (Haldo Club Mix) [Conya]
Saint ft MDP - “You Know Whats Up” - “Someday” (FR Remix) [White Label]
DJ Sneak - “Sticky Shiet” (OG Mix) [Magnetic]
Phlash & Friends - “Runnin” [Archive]
Agev Munsen - “Alien Conversations 1″ [Vega Records]
Peven Everett - “Feelin Who You Are” [Trippin]
Ray Paxton ft Sybille & Freda Gottlett - “Music Is My Shelter” (Panevino Remix) [Purple Music]
Joey Negro & The Sunburst Band - “Journey To The Sun” (Dennis Ferrer Remix) [Z Records]
Physics feat Daisy - “Holdin On” (Greg Stainer) [Seamless]
Marcus Aurelius - “Messy Business” [Alphabet Music]
DJ Gomi feat Louie Balo & Yasmeen - “Glad I Found You” (Trouble Men Remix) [Defected]
Mu Soul - “All I Have” [White Label]
Klement Bonelli - “Revival” (DJ Spens Soulectric Mix) [Code Red]
Elements of Life Feat. Lisa Fischer & Cindy Mizelle - “Into My Life” [Vega Records]
Lenny Fontana & Joi Cardwell - “Make It Alright 2008″ [Stalwart Records]

Download (right click, save as) (110MB, 128kBit/s)

mp3

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A Rose City collective composed of rapper Al-One (Sandpeople), producer Andy B. and two DJs (Sandpeople turntable maestro DJ Sparks and DJ Wels of Style Molesters), Alphabet Stew’s sound is infused with references, samples, and a distinctly East Coast feel; even tracks that name-drop local landmarks still carry the swagger of a scene over 3000 miles away. “Iocane” rides on a stuttering beat and warm organ, and it’s the just the type of backing track that allows Al-One to shine. His verses are simple yet utterly effective, with solid end rhymes and clever turns-of-phrase: “See these snakes try to weasle through/ they want to have all of the cake and eat it too/ and if we split it’ll break into an even two/ but what we got we they will try to take from me and you.”

Mostly, though, “Iocane” qualifies as a banger because it makes the local sound classic. When they sample one of the money quotes from The Princess Bride (Vizzini: “Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristole, Socrates?” Westley: “Yes.” Vizzini: “Morons!”), you can’t help but laugh. But sampling A Tribe Called Quest and mid-’90s Busta? Worth more than a few head nods.

Links:
Alphabet StewSpace

Photo courtesy of Alphabet Stew

[HUNGRY HIP-HOP] Just minutes into Mentil Soup, the debut record from Alphabet Stew (a group concocted, naturally, from a host of PDX hip-hop luminaries, including Sandpeople members Al-One and DJ Sparks, producer Andy B, and DJ Wels), you get your first local name-drop: gone but still revered Northeast bar Billy Reed’s. And while the record is undoubtedly a product of the scene (“The Fridge” also gives a shout-out to this very paper), musically, it’s rooted 10 years and 3,000 miles away.

Mentil Soup is an East Coast-sounding record filled with Pacific Northwest signifiers; while Al-One spends a considerable amount of time reppin’ for his home city, Andy B samples vintage A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan. The production is very key-heavy, with lots of warm Rhodes chords, jazzy drums, and the occasional smooth-soul chorus that sometimes works (Zelly Rock’s hook on “Price is Right”) or falls totally flat (the cringe-worthy “handprints on your booty/ feels good because it came from me” line on “Handprints.”)

Though they claim to be “one of Portland’s more rowdier crews,” the record’s biggest fault is its lack of fire—too much of the first half relies on lazy rhymes and drums that just don’t kick hard enough. It’s not till the end that a few songs shine. Best of all is “Iocane,” a dusty, classic-sounding track that sounds like Gang Starr collaborating with Prefuse 73. With its stuttering, half-step beat, it pushes boundaries that some of the clunky earlier tracks could only dream of.

Sleepyhead. No School (Dismal City)

[SLEPT-ON HIP-HOP] Sleepyhead’s Kevin Elder has remained low on the Portland hip-hop radar for reasons that are at best unclear and at worst downright confusing. The rail-thin Stumptown native has six years of spitting under his belt, with endorsements from the likes of Copy and Corban Lester to boot, and No School only further proves his ability to contend with the city’s finest rappers.

Most of No School’s production sticks close to Sleepyhead’s pre-established aesthetic, which favors synthesizers over instrumentation and shouted hooks over vanilla singsong. Though he functions best when rapping over something with a certain helping of grit, Sleepyhead drops consistently memorable rhymes on the album’s 14 tracks.

The LP’s centerpieces, “No Pussyfooting” and “Lost Gospel,” feature some of the finest examples of Sleepyhead’s comfortably aggressive flow, showcasing his ability to latch onto a beat and ride its momentum for all it’s worth. An unfortunate consequence of this strength is that No School tends to lag on its mid-tempo numbers, but when Sleepyhead is paired with an able backing track—such as on the Copy-produced “Move”—it’s hard to find fault with his performance.

SEE IT: Alphabet Stew plays a CD-release concert at Hawthorne Theatre on Friday, Oct. 31. Sleepyhead’s album is out now.

Last night's Sorta show was kinda something special. First off, the band sounded great--like really, really good. Seems the few rehearsals the band in recent weeks had paid off.

Best Sorta show I've ever seen, in fact. Which, I guess, isn't really saying that much, as this was the first time I'd seen them, but either way, I think you get the point.

What was kinda weird, though, was that Sorta didn't play last at the Pontiac Garage that night. Apparently, the band wanted to be able to hang at the bar with fans and friends after the show--or so I hear--and, as such, the final billing of the night fell the way of kinda-new country duo The O's (as in "The" and the fifteenth letter of the alphabet...not the Huxtable).

And here's the thing about The O's: Mixing a single bass drum, acoustic guitar, banjo and pedal steel guitar, the band pretty much wowed the people who stuck around. Regrettably, the band announced, they were without discs for sale last night--the EP discs that Merritt Martin praised in this week's paper, in fact. Still, it seemed everyone n the room already had Taylor Young and John Pedigo's disc. It was the talk of the room as the two played.

And it's not tough to hear why. Check out this free mp3 the group has provided DC9 and our fine readers...

Bonus mp3: The O's -- "California"

Catch The O's all over town this weekend: The duo plays the Club Dada tonight with Menkena, another promising new-ish band working on new material, and then again tomorrow on the Katy Trail (?) and at AllGood Cafe. They promise to have EPs for sale at those gigs. --Pete Freedman