I hope you enjoyed your week after the thanksgiving holiday. I took the week off llast week and perhaps you noticed there was no new episode for you to listen to last week. Perhaps, not. If you did look for something, I hope you went back and gave a listen to something you might have missed. I truly believe this has been a terrific year for new music. In what could have been a truly horrible year (keep reading) the music that is coming out now is pretty freakin’ awesome. Although it would appear that we do not have much to be thankful for this year, your perspective on what has happened this past year as we approach the end of 2020 is truly important. I am truly blessed and thankful I am still here, my family is safe and we are still earning a living. These are simple graces for a difficult year. I am saddened by the horrific loss of life that truly was preventable. There is plenty of blame to go around but that is not the point of this missive.
During Thanksgiving and this Christmas season, I think it is important to reflect upon, and be thankful for, the bounty we still have, individually and as a nation. We are still moving forward making progress on both COVID and the economy will rebound once we have progress against COVID and for those of us who are still battling COVID-19 and a former President of the U.S. I truly am hopeful that we are shortly going to emerge from the tunnel of chaos and death. I am also tremendously thankful to those who fought and are continuing to fight the COVID battle on the front lines including those retail workers, nurses, doctors, scientists, and all those who must risk contracting the virus each day as they perform a variety of tasks necessary for all of us to directly and indirectly survive. My thanks giving this year is truly for them.
I’m not sure where to begin with this weeks episode of Tales From the Drop Box. I was feeling somewhat contemplative as I selected tracks this week, so there is a more mellow vibe even though several of the tracks I think are absolute bangers. A few old favorites pop up this week with King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard making an appearance, along with Elvis Costello, Pale Honey, The Kooks and Seahaven.
Here is what you will find in Episode 187 (2020-35):
Doghouse Rose – “Try x 3” (The Harder They Fall)
Baio – “What Do You Say When I’m Not There? (Single – Digital)
Pale Honey – “Bad Thing” (Some Time Alone)
Bad Nerves – “Terminal Boy” (Bad Nerves)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz” (Live In San Francisco ’16)
The Bats – “Field Of Vision” (Foothills)
BRKN Love – “I Can’t Lie” (BRKN Love)
The Brummies – “Automatic World” (Automatic World)
Deeper – “This Heat” (Auto-Pain)
The Flat Five – “Girl Of Virginia” (Another World)
The Kooks – “In Love” (Too Much Is Not Enough)
Seahaven – “Lose” (Halo Of Hurt)
Jam City – “They Eat The Young” (Pillowland)
Elvis Costello – “Secret Service” (The Complete Armed Forces (Super Deluxe Edition))
Lydia – “Back Of Your Room” (I Was Someone Else)
Tales From The Drop Box Episode 187 (2020-35)
You came in hot and I could not believe you know I’m super sensitive and eager to please it’s true I’m such a misty-eyed fool . . . black cards so cold, out of control you like it the truth, it hurts, your blood it burns you like it …
Hopefully you enjoyed your long weekend. I am just getting back from 5 days in Las Vegas attending a legal convention where I had a chance to ponder why I still practice law when I would rather produce episodes of this podcast. I selected the songs for Tales From The Drop Box Episode 117 while listening to a seminar on harassment cases. The topic itself was compelling and a rather serious subject concerning the introduction of #MeToo evidence, i.e. the introduction of other similar incidents as evidence of a pattern or practice of sexual harassment. However, the speaker left me cold and consequently, I looked for a diversion, and you – my faithful listeners – are the beneficiary of that diversion.
Episode 117 is fifteen catchy tracks covering the gambit of the rock pantheon. Okay, not really. The episode is mostly a selection of catchy indie pop and rock, with some punk rock at the end. And it has a Pavement classic track. That is just how it all worked out by the end of the seminar. A good analogy is that you are getting the sweetness of desert at the beginning, and the meat and potatoes at the end. In short, the perfect way to eat a meal. I start with a few tracks that I have had kicking about (and playing repeatedly) from April and May of this year but add a couple of new tracks such as the latest from Interpol, Murder By Death, and Personality Cult. In short, your usual solid lineup of music from the fringe.
Here is what you’ll find in Episode #117:
Say Sue Me – “Old Town (Radio Edit)” (Where We Were Together)
Peace – “Power” (Kindness is the New Rock and Roll)
Belly – “Stars Align” (Dove)
The Lulu Raes – “Slow Ride” (Lulu)
Lady Legs – “Bottomless Pit” (Holy Heatwave)
X-Wife – “Monday Tuesday” (X-Wife)
Personality Cult – Brazen” (Personality Cult)
Murder By Death – “New Old City” (The Other Shore)
Interpol – “Complication” (Marauder)
Lydia – “Tourist” (Liquor)
Exit – “See You Around” (Too Little, Too Late)
Turnstile – “Generator” (Time & Space)
The Longest Hall – “Punch A Nazi In The Face” (Don’t Panic!)
And she’s eating her fingers like they’re just another meal and she waits there in the levee wash mixing cocktails with a plastic-tipped cigar . . . Hey, wake up and smell the lavender of my flower power, technicolor massacre just rolled into your ends dismembered all your friends…
Welcome to another year of Dropbox Notes ! This month’s offerings are the best of last year, i.e. my favorite records from 2013.
In the past, I have posted my best albums of [insert year] list with little regard to the order on that list. That is, I just posted my favorite records of the previous year in an approximation of what I liked the best. This year, I struggled to try to get through at least the first 30 albums in order of how good I thought they were; how much I enjoyed listening to them, and how likely I would go back and play them after not listening to them for a year.
That qualifier – whether you would go back and listen to a record after a year of not playing the album – appears (at least to me) to be the real test of a list like this. In the past, most of the other lists I have reviewed (you can find some at rocklist.net) from some of my favorite magazines have not contemplated the long term impact of the records they claim are the best and greatest of the year. Some magazines do a better job of this (and I am confident it is completely unintentional) than others.
For example, looking back just 5 years to 2008, compare these two top 20 lists from Q Magazine and Spin:
Q Magazine 2008 Top 20
1. Kings of Leon – Only By The Night
2. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
3. Coldplay – Viva la Vida
4. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
5. Glasvegas – Glasvegas
6. Duffy – Rockferry
7. TV On the Radio – Dear, Science
8. Elbow – Seldom Seen Kid
9. Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely
10. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
11. Sigur Rós – Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
12. Keane – Perfect Symmetry
13. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
14. Kaiser Chiefs – Off With Their Heads
15. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III
16. Hot Chip – Made In the Dark
17. Adele – 19
18. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
19. Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
20. Gaslight Anthem – ‘59 Sound
Spin 2008 Top 20
TV On the Radio – Dear Science
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III
Portishead – Third
Fucked Up – Chemistry of Common Life
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Santogold – Santogold
Deerhunter – Microcastle
Hot Chip – Made In the Dark
Coldplay – Viva la Vida
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
Elbow – Seldom Seen Kid
Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Pt 1: 4th World War
No Age – Nouns
Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Beck – Modern Guilt
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
Roots – Rising Down
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
Okkervil River – Stand Ins
Gnarls Barkley – Odd Couple
There is a little overlap on these two lists but on average from the Q Magazine list, I would listen to 5/20 (25%) and from the Spin list I would listen to 4/20 (20%). Can you guess which records I’d probably revisit?
With this personal observation i.e. that there are very few records that I would continue to play after a gap of a year, this list is prepared with that objective also in mind – looking forward 1 year from now.
And perhaps that is the goal of this “Best of 2013” list – to check back in a year and see how many of the 100 listed here you would go back and listen to in 2015.
With that said, here is my list of the BEST OF 2013 (all capitals because I am shouting):
Tales From The Dropbox Best Albums of 2013
Savages – Silence Yourself
FIDLAR – FIDLAR
Pacific Air – Stop Talking
Guards – In Guards We Trust
The Men – New Moon
Arctic Monkeys – A.M.
Kurt Vile – Wakin’ on a Pretty Daze
Paper Lions – My Friends
Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold
Palma Violets – 180
Fuzz – Fuzz
The National – Trouble Will Find Me
Paper Aeroplanes – Little Letters
Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe
Speedy Ortiz – Major Arcana
Pure Love – Anthems
California X – California X
Foals – Holy Fire
Future Of The Left – How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident
Arcade Fire – Reflektor
Mikal Cronin – MCII
Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of The City
Starflyer 59 – IAMACEO
Miles Kane – Don’t Forget Who You Are
Lydia – Devil
London Grammar – If You Wait
Royal Bangs – Brass
Upset – She’s Gone
Waaves – Afraid of Heights
Deerhunter – Monomania
The Julie Ruin – Run Fast
Jagwar Ma – Howlin’
Haim – Days are Gone
Bad Sports – Bras
Bastille – Bad Blood
My Bloody Valentine – m b v
Deap Valley – Sistrionics
So So Glos – Blowout
Wooden Shjips – Back To Land
Drenge – Drenge
Hookworms – Pearl Mystic
These New Puritans – Field Of Reeds
The Knife – Shaking The Habitual
Julia Holter – Loud City Song
Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt
Iceage – You’re Nothing
Yo La Tengo – Fade
Superchunk – I Hate Music
Volcano Choir – Repave
Phoenix – Bankrupt!
Purling Hiss – Water on Mars
Roshambo – Lonesome Men From The Woods
Pissed Jeans – Honeys
Queens of The Stoneage – Like Clockwork
Phosphorescent – Muchacho
Local Natives – Hummingbird
Factory Floor – Factory Floor
Foxygen – We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
Riots – Time For Truth
Wonder Years – The Greatest Generation
Fall Out Boy – Save Rock And Roll
Forest Swords – Engravings
James Blake – Overgrown
Thee Oh Sees – Floating Coffin
Mutual Benefit – Loves Crushing Diamond
Strypes – Snapshot
Acres of Lions – Home(s)
Daughter – If You Leave
Grouper – The Man Who Died in His Boat
Ballet – I Blame Society
Tegan and Sara – Hearthrob
Peace – In Love [Deluxe Edition
Taymir – Phosphene
Chastity Belt – Ne Regerts
Auto Defiance – Running on The Edge
Jimmy Eat World – Damage
Courtney Barnett – The Double EP – A Sea Of Split Peas
Dirtbombs – Consistency Is The Enemy
Fitz & The Tantrums – More Than Just A Dream
Hungary Kids of Hungary – You’re A Shadow
Imperial State Electric – Reptile Brain Music
Iron Chic – The Constant One
Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time
Matt Pond – The Lives Inside The Lines In Your Hand
Jake Bugg – Shangri La
Murder By Death – As You Wish Kickstarter Covers
Cage the Elephant – Melophobia
Teen Agers – I Hate It
Beware of Darkness – Orthodox
Super Happy Fun Club – All Funned Up
Middle Class Rut – Pick Up Your Head
Banquets – Banquets
Cults – Static
RVIVR – The Beauty Between
Exxonvaldes – Lights
Mama Kin – The Magician’s Daughter
Swearin’ – Surfing Strange
Dead Sons – The Hollers And The Hymns
Growlers – Not. Psych!
Guster – Live With The Redacted Symphony
I’ll add the covers if I get a chance, but otherwise enjoy the list. Part 1 of the list ( 1-50) dropped today. I’ll drop part 2 (51-100) around February 1, so a slightly shorter turnaround this month/
Let me know if you think I’ve missed something, or your thoughts on the list. If you have a list you’d like to share – post a comment or send me the list and I’ll post it.
Until later alligator! I wish you all a terrific and happy 2014. Peace out.
The Virginmarys are three-piece rock band from Macclesfield, England who formed in 2006 but 7 years later release their debut LP Kings of Conflict following the release of several EPs that were generally well received. This band is a good example of the new model for releases – most bands get to put out a couple of singles and EPs in order to test the waters before a record company commits to a full length release. This is not to say that Virginmarys are novices having played the Download Festival in 2010 as well as supporting a variety of UK based bands such as my favorites Ash and We Are Scientists as well as Slash, Eagles of Death Metal and Feeder. So, where do they fit in the musical genre mix? Probably more metal than alternative, the key to this band is really that they have updated the 70’s metal sound with catchy melodic songs that rock in the same way that Billy Talent and the aforementioned Ash do – they are anthems of teen angst that you don’t mind singing along with. Overall, a nice change of pace. Try: “Dead Man’s Shoes”, “Bang Bang Bang” and the stripped version of “Just A Ride.”
Bet you never thought you would find a country record in the drop box. Sure there were hints with alt-country offerings such as Old 97s and Wilco appearing with some regularity, but Austin Texas’ Wheeler Brothers is much closer in sound to country than alternative. However, unlike traditional country albums, Gold Boots Glitter is a breath of fresh air in a stale scene. I was genuinely surprised by the atmospheric quality to some of these songs, the grit on Nolan Wheeler’s vocals, and the great harmonies throughout the record. Don’t let the country label sway you from picking up this gem. There are plenty of tunes to peak your interest and the record is diverse. The three Wheeler siblings (Nolan, Tyler and Patrick) started playing music with guitarist Danny Matthews while attending Louisiana State University, joining up with high-school buddy A.J. Molyneaux when they returned to Austin. The product of these tight knit relationships is found in the spectacularly smooth back-up vocals and harmonies. Start with “Straight and Steady”, You Got A Lot of Love” and “You Like.” Truly a gem.
Bergen, Norway’s Young Dreams channel Brian Wilson through a modern electronic pop sound. Led by vocalist Mathias Tellez, Young Dreams on Between Places revisits the Beach Boys as filtered through early Yeasayer and Vampire Weekend. Once you hear the opener “Footprints” you’ll get where this record is heading. If you loved the Beach Boys “sound” then you will not be disappointed by Between Places. Try “Footprints” “Fog of War” and “The Girl Who Taught Me To Drink And Fight.”
Formed from the ashes of the once awesome Milburn, Sheffield England’s Dead Sons are part of the new-psychedelia movement along with Tame Impala but tend to fall somewhere between The Arctic Monkeys and Queens Of The Stone Age. It may be because vocalist Tom Rowley sings very much like the Monkey’s vocalist Alex Turner but in sound there is something swampier and dark going on more akin to 80’s band the Southern Death Cult better known as the Cult. Often described as desert rock, on The Hollers and the Hymns, which is the Dead Sons debut, the label is a little dubious, as this record rocks like a mother. Try “Junk Room”, “Quest For The Fire”, and “The Hollers and The Hymns.
If you thought dropping the Wheeler Brothers record was unusual, Aussie pop rock Because They Can is a first as well. Falling on the poppier side of the pop-punk equation and marketed in Australia as a “boy band”, there is something different about the songs appearing on the 8 track EP, Alive. Look, the suits the band wears are a little too obvious as is the band’s name which is a reference to Hanson’s second album Because They Can, but the catchiness of these songs is undeniable. Because They Can videos are almost unwatchable because of the manufactured appeal (for example see : “It’s Not About You” (http://youtu.be/jFNplCTmmqs ) but if you close your eyes and just listen, Alive is full of songs in the same vein as San Cisco from last year – good solid songs that belong on radio somewhere. Lots of bounce. Try” It’s Not About You”, Alive” and the acoustic “I Wish I Knew”.
The Nashville indie scene is heating up. I know – who knew that in the home of all things country, that there was an indie scene. Well, now you do, and it is sparking. On You Belong Here, the debut by Leagues, the band explores what dance rock would sound like filtered through americana. Vocalist Thad Cockerell has a very broad vocal range with a pleasant falsetto that drives this collection of electro-pop influenced songs that have distinctive and well written lyrics. You will be singing along from the first track “Spotlight” with its crisp guitar work and precision drumming. Perhaps that is what this trio distinct – these are well crafted songs that Thad Cockrell, guitarist Tyler Burkum , and drummer Jeremy Luito have taken great care to perfect. There is an Arcade Fire feel to his record, so if that is in your sweet spot, pick this up. Try” Spotlight”, “Magic” and “Haunted”.
One of my favorites from this month’s selections is Gilbert, Arizona’s Lydia and their latest record Devil. This is definitely a left turn for the band formed in 2003 who on previous releases explored the darker side of indie rock with substantially gloomier lyrics. The band, formed in 2003, has had some member shifts in the past couple of years, but on Devil, the band, primarily vocalist Leighton Antelman, seems to be at peace with the transitions having moved on from what was a fairly acrimonious split with founding member and guitarist Steve McGraw as well as with Mindy White who left the band in 2010 to form States with two former members of Copeland, Bryan and Stephen Laurenson. So what about the music? Well, like Copeland, this is melodic indie rock which is more guitar driven then past releases but still not that fast. Think of this as a down tempo All American Rejects with catchy choruses oft repeated without the up tempo numbers. See? I guess I am a sucker for songs that slow burn and then shift after a minute such as “Runaway” which starts acoustic and slow and then after the first chorus, picks up the pace, becoming joyous and uplifting as the song progresses. There is much to enjoy on this LP, so give it a chance to win you over. Try” Runaway”, “Knee Deep” and “From A Tire Swing.”
What started off as the solo side-project of Mike Polizze, then the guitarist of Philadelphia free-form heavy rock outfit, Birds of Maya, Purling Hiss has evolved into a power trio, with drummer Mike Sneeringer and bassist Kiel Everett, adding muscle to the project. Water on Mars is the band’s third release but unlike the other bedroom releases, this is a significant upgrade in sound. Like other Philadelphia cohorts, Kurt Vile and The War on Drugs, Purling Hiss’ sound falls somewhere along the continuum between Bleach era Nirvana and Bug era Dinosaur Jr. (who they sound very similar partly because Polizze sounds like J Mascias) and the guitar intonation is reflective of Dinosaur Jr.. It is difficult to deny the likeability of the riffage produced by Polizze who used to also played guitar for Grand Funk Railroad! I was caught off guard when I first heard “Mercury Retrograde” which has the same vibe as Kurt Vile, but unlike Kurt Vile, traverses the noisier side of the indie rock spectrum with a few jam band elements, but as Purling Hiss says, on “Rat Race” “everyone wants to have a good time” – I do and I did. Try “She Calms Me Down”, “Mercury Retrograde” and “The Harrowing Wind.”
The drop box also finds the release this month of Rival Schools “lost second album” found that was supposed to have been released 10 years ago, but finally sees the light of day. A little background may be helpful. Rival Schools formed in New York in 1999 and were originally signed to Photo Finish Records, featuring Walter Schreifels on vocals and guitar, Ian Love on guitar, Cache Tolman on bass guitar; and Sam Siegler on drums. Rival Schools were a hardcore ‘supergroup’ as all of the members were alumni of such ’80s and ’90s hardcore bands as Gorilla Biscuits (Schreifels), CIV (Siegler), Youth of Today (Schreifels and Siegler) and Iceburn (Tolman).The band’s name (and that of their first LP) comes from the Capcom fighting game, Rival Schools: United By Fate. So where does Found fit is the picture? The original band broke up in 2003, just prior to the release of this record when Ian Love left the band. As time has passed, the band briefly reunited with Love on guitar, but as of the release of the record, April 9, 2013, the band is touring as a three piece. For a band of hardcore legends, Found represents an interesting shift in sound, that nearly 10 years after the original planned release sounds fresh and relevant in the punk rock pantheon. To be clear, for those of you reading the notes, for me, punk rock is not hardcore (neither the hardcore punk nor the bastardized dance version either). Punk rock is characterized by short sharp songs with a definitive garage rooted sound, free of effeminate vocals and guitar solos, without the roaring vocals found in hardcore and with a verse chorus verse ( see Nirvana was correct) song structure. If we work with this simple definition, then you can see how various bands fit in this structure, and Rival Schools is a great example. I bought the debut and I would have bought this record the first time around if it had seen the light of day. So here you go, a fully realized punk rock record that captures a band in the middle of where it started and where it is today ( check out 2011’s Pedals). Try ”Missing Glider”, “Indisposable Heroes” and the cover of the Buzzcock’s “Why Can’t I Touch It”
I probably would have put Sweden’s Satan Takes A Holiday (“Satan”) in the drop box for the name alone. Satan Takes a Holiday is also the name of an album of evocative, “lost” songs by Anton Szandor LaVey, founder and former high priest of the Church of Satan. However, on Who Do You Voodoo, Satan, revisits the same territory as the Hives and like all Swedish bands does it with great style and energy. This is 60s garage, punk and rock’n’roll in the same vain as Danko Jones and the Hives making for a great live show. You will not be able to get enough of this. Try “Who Do You Voodoo” (http://youtu.be/1H3WcMAWTi8 ) ( Check out this live show at Mods vs. Rockers Stockholm: http://youtu.be/47XFPJmaVwM ), “Karma Babe” and “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”
Keeping with the garage rock and roll theme but more on the garage side than the rock side is Thee Oh Sees new record Floating Coffin. Thee Oh Sees are prolific. As I covered the San Francisco based band’s background last time with the release of Putifiers II, I’ll stick to this record, which picks up where Putrifier’s did – straight forward garage punk rock played at full speed with all the psychedelic fuzziness now polished and incorporated into what may be the finest of the 15 albums released by the band. John Dwyer is a master of the sonic shift and the band is a full examination of the lo-fi garage movement. This is best exemplified on the stellar “ Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster”. The lyrics which tend to the dark side and sometimes mumbled, make for a difficult exploration but patience is not only a virtue but is rewarded on tracks like “No Spell” and Strwaberries 1+2”. Try“I Come From The Mountain”, “Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster” and “Night Crawaler.”
