March 2 Music

These past few days I've been listening to America, a soft rock/folky group from the early 70's known for their hit Horse With No Name, but i Like all of their stuff. For starters, check out the album History, which is a greatest hits one, but aor's don't worry, the band was never about that album feel, and some of the songs sound ahead of their time, Woman Tonight, sounds like a mix of Chicago and Steely Dan, and Ventura Highway could be a hit today. I've also been listening to the album Daughters by the band daughters, which is a math rock band that sounds like Modest Mouse vocals mixed with the sound of two mountains hate fucking. The singing is real cool, and the guitars are good, and then the drums and bass are in great harmony. Drums are fast and heavy, and post chorus when the drums kick in, it is an absolute sonic assault of the best kind. Check them out if you want, if not, don't. Also, two good movies for the week: we have Walk Hard: the Dewy Cox Story, which is a rip on the biopic genre, focusing the satire on music documentaries. It stars the guy from Stepbrothers who isn't will ferrel. It's mainly a joke on Johnny cash, but it spoofs groups like the Beatles and the beach boys, and bob Dylan and elvis. One the best lines, had Elvis talking to an aspiring young musician: "Only two people in this world know Karate, the Chinese and Elvis. and one of them is me." The description of the movie is as follows. He changed music forever, slept with 411 women, fathered 36 children, and was addicted to every drug known to man. Next, Apocalypse Now. Everyone knows this movie, and most of you have probably already seen it, but give it another watch if you've got the time. The cinematography is near perfect, and the acting is magisterial, other than the obvious Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando (of the Godfather and other Copolla films, Kilgore, the helicopter captain, and the chef on the boat, deliver convincing, masterful performances. For those with limited time, just check out the scene  where the boat comes to a US outpost in the jungle, thats bridging to spits of jungle. "we build it up every day, and every night charlie knocks it down." The boat comes in in the middle of the night, and the jungle is lit up with flares and tracer rounds, the soldiers have gone insane, and are cutting down the jungle with mounted guns. Soldiers are jumping in the river to try to get to the boat, Sheen and Lance the surfer, who just dropped acid, go into the trenches in the fort and try to find the CO, but all they found were soldiers gone crazy, blasting hard rock music, and lighting up the night with the guns The scene is an audio and sonic masterpiece, with light and sound coming together to build a perfect sense that there is no order. Last band, Blue Oyster Cult. Most will know the song Don't Fear the Reaper, and maybe Burnin' for You, but if you're interested, delve into the older stuff. Especially Secret Treaties, the album. A pioneering record in the rock genre, it is really a sort of photo-metal, if thats a term, but the riffs are killer, lyrics are sort of silly, but fun, drums are cool, and the overall aesthetic is just fun. Great for car listening. Key songs are, Dominance Submission, and Flaming Telepaths (with a face melting keyboard solo) Also, video lesson for Sample in a Jar, by Phish is coming. To familiarize yourself with the song, check out video from Phish Live in Brooklyn at around 20.00 for a great rendition. Adios

Sample in a Jar