Greg Kot - Scary Halloween Songs

Great blog post from the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot on his favorite Halloween songs:
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2009/10/scary-songs-to-put-a-shiver-in-your-halloween-party.html

I'll add a few more favorites:
Ryan Adams - "Halloweenhead" - it's got Halloween right there in the title.
Big Star - "Holocaust" - one of the great poppy bands ever with one of the great creepy songs ever.
Nick Cave - "Red Right Hand" - no surprise that this was used in "The X-Files" pilot.
Cranberries - "Zombie" - OK, it's a war song, not a zombie song, but it's still pretty haunting.
Howlin' Wolf - "Evil (Is Going On)" - even more sinister than it sounds thanks to Howlin's Wolf's gruff, passionate vocals.
Del McCoury Band - "It's Just the Night" - the definitive bluegrass Halloween song.
The Misfits - "Last Caress" - who knew rape and murder could be this fun?
Bill Monroe - "My Last Days on Earth" - this stark instrumental musing on death will stay with you.
Okkervil River - "For Real" - the modern masters of the murder ballad with their most potent take on it.
Outkast - "Dracula's Wedding" - what is a vampire scared of?
Portishead - "Sour Times" - should be in ever noir soundtrack.
Radiohead - "Climbing Up the Walls" - I used to nap in college listening to OK Computer and I'd wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of this song.
The Ramones - "Chain Saw" - because part of Halloween is silly, campy horror fun.
The Raveonettes - "Aly, Walk With Me" - the haunting opener to their 2008 offering Lust, Lust, Lust.
Tool - "Opiate" - no, it's not subtle, but it is frightening.
Wilco - "Bull Black Nova" - psychological nightmare of their latest LP.
Warren Zevon - "Werewolves of London" - cliched, but it's gotta be in there.

Mindwalk Blvd - Art Crime EP

Boston-area power trio Mindwalk Blvd takes some steps forward on their brief but satisfying EP Art Crime. The three songs - "Alone," a murky, heavy tune reminiscent of Bleach-era Nirvana, power ballad "What Do You Say," and title track "Art Crime," with its menacing chorus ("You can't escape from the only world you know") - show a group increasingly comfortable in their songwriting. The musical chops have been present for a while in the teenagers, and are evident again here in Tyler Hudson's fierce drumming, Mike Avakian's deft bass lines, and Jordan Ferreira's chunky rhythm and nimble solos on guitar.

This EP was produced by well-known metal producer Andrew Murdock, aka Mudrock, who has previously worked with Godsmack and Avenged Sevenfold. He mixes things pretty tight here, getting a good sound from the trio without too many bells and whistles. The few augmentations are hit (the walking keyboard sound on closer "Art Crime" adds a spookiness to the atmosphere) or miss (auto-tuned vocals on opener "Alone" - this track sounds better live). Still, he has definitely coaxed out the group's best songwriting to date. The future for this talented band is bright and it's exciting to see what it holds.

Buy it from the band's site
Mindwalk Blvd Site

Live Review - 10/16/2009 Art Brut at The Middle East

Most art comes from poor people or rich people, with little from the middle class. This makes sense for two reasons: 1) Middle class folks, unlike the poor, have higher-percentage career opportunities (it's a lot easier to become an investment banker than a rock star), but unlike the rich, actually do have to work, leaving little time for the thousands of hours it takes to and 2) the plight of the middle-class just isn't that exciting. Art Brut is decidedly middle class: singer Eddie Argos speaks of taking the bus in "Passenger," yet he has enough spending money for "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshakes."

So how does Art Brut make the middle-class struggle appealing? The answer has developed over their three studio albums until the dichotomy of their latest offering, Art Brut Vs. Satan, where they've literally set themselves in opposition to The Evil One. And who is Lucifer? Big-time record labels, big time rock stars, record stores that don't have records ("I hate DVDs and computer games" Argos screamed during "Bad Weekend"), and, according to song "Demons Out!," the record-buying public itself. The good guys: Art Brut and a like-minded group of bands, playing for fun with their friends, "Slap Dash For No Cash," making no money but making records, inspiriting music, and having a good time. This challenge is cast not as "You gotta fight for your right to party," but as the eternal struggle between Good and Evil.

So what kind of show does a band that sees the world like this put on? They blast out their songs, one after the other, volume on 11. They stop singing in the middle of a song to tell you that you must go home and start a band with people who aren't at the concert. They pay homage to their idols - leading off with the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner" and also inserting the Ramones and Morrissey into their songs - and tear down those on the side of evil - such as Kings of Leon. "My sex is on fire ... What the fuck does that mean?" Argos asked pointedly during "Slap Dash For No Cash," an homage to sloppy garage rock. Art Brut themselves are not quite as sloppy as they were the last time they were in town, with lead guitarists Ian Catskilkin actually busting out a few guitar solos this time, though Argos' half-talking / half-singing remains delightfully un-hip.

All of which is to say, if they come to your town, go see them. Go see them. Your ears will ring. You will wonder if what Argos does is actually singing. You you will try to decide if they are completely un-punk or the most punk band imaginable. You will see Argos stage dive and climb into the stand. You will shout "Art! Brut! Top of the Pops!" And you will dance and have a great friggin' time. And maybe when you come home, call up a couple friends and start a band. Or at least drag them to the next Art Brut show.

Mos Def - Ecstatic

Rating: B-

OK, so I've listened to this album through seven or eight teams, seen Mos Def live, and I don't know what "The Ecstatic" is. The term is sprinkled liberally throughout the album, usually as an interjection, with no context clues. References to "The Ecstatic" (henceforth I will dropping the quotes in referring to it) in the album include:

• Leadoff track "Supermagic" features the ecstatic, bookended by a Malcolm X plea to "change this miserable condition that exists on this earth" and Mos Def referring to "classic flow" and "super magic black origin freshly out of dopeness."
• In "Twilight Speedball," a song about drugs, Ecstatic is mentioned in the chorus.
• "We know, y'all know / Ecstatic, there it is," appears in the chorus to "Auditorium." Thanks, Mos Def: that really helps. Actually, there may be clues in here; the track is about the mindlessness of modern life ("They going through the motion, they dimming down the focus") and the power of hip-hop to transcend ("I feel it in my bones, black, I'm so wide awake"). Slick Rick reinforces this theme, telling a story of a soldier in Iraq met with hostility by the locals until he lays down some smooth flow.
• "Life in Marvelous Times" features the couplet "watching asphalt and observing the Sabbath / creates an Ecstatic and there you have it." So there's that.
• In closer "Casa Bey," Mos Def himself is described as "M-Def the black, fantastic raw / Dynamic, true Ecstatic, ghetto outstanding."

The theme seems to be this: life is messed up, life has always been messed up, but there is a magic to life as well. This magic inspires Mos Def, and seems to inspire all great hip-hop.

No song conveys the fullness of this better than "Life In Marvelous Times." Mos Def relays the squalor of his childhood abode ("This is Bed-Stuy 82' / Ninth floor, three tiny rooms, one view"). And it seems things haven't changed: "Crash-landings routinely happen / some survive, others never rise from the ashes." Yet, despite it all, "this raw cold life is a beautiful thing." Finally, fatalistically, "we can't be alive in no time but now." The Ecstatic, it seems, is a force of transcendent joy and hope in a world gone wrong.

So how's the album? Oh yeah, it's good. Mos Def gets a lot of credit for being literate and talented - and it's deserved. But that praise ignores the confidence and relentlessness of his flow. He launches into "Priority" with short, fierce lines that have you invested before the track has barely begun: "Peace before everything / God before anything / Love before anything / Real before everything" - lyrics, that, in lesser hands, might come off as sissy or trite. There's a very real toughness to Mos Def, something that is easy to forget when he's off doing Michel Gondry film. The beats, particularly the sizzling guitar line in opener "Supermagic" provide a diverse, interesting style for Mos Def to spit over.

The album's not flawless - you have to admire the chutzpah to sing / rap in Spanish, but I'm probably going to skip "No Hay Nada Mas" the next five times it comes up on shuffle. "Roses" is a little sleepy. And "Workman's Comp" - what's going on with the accent there? Still, this is a solid album - very listenable, and with some meat as well. May The Ecstatic be with you.

Buy it from Amazon (MP3 Format)
Mos Def Site

Live Review - 10/13/09 Le Loup at T.T. the Bear's

The Wailing Wall - the product of Jesse Rifkin and whomever he can round up to play, they sounded like they'd been playing together for a while. The poetic lyrics and nasally voice make Rifkin at first sound like a Bob Dylan / Jeff Mangum wanna-be, but the jazz-influenced saxophone and feel for bringing out the meaning in songs made them a tasty appetizer. Sadly, the turnout for the early show was poor: Rifkin joked early on, "How are you doing? I mean you, personally, how are you doing?"

The Nurses - let the comparisons to Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, etc. begin. The Portland, OR trio employs a lot of the layered harmonies that the other new alt-folk bands do, but they get really amazing density out of just two vocalists. Lead singer / primary guitarist Aaron Chapman and keyboardist / backup vocalist John Bowers would often sing a harmony line, then loop it while singing other material. The result was such a dense layering of sound that I kept looking for a fourth band member; by the end of the song there would be a dizzying ocean of noise. An engaging opening act.

Le Loup - I saw them when they came around two years ago, and boy has the band changed - three of the former members are gone, with May Tabol, Nicole Keenan, and Dan Ryan departing and long-time studio collaborator Christian Ervin joining the touring band. The sound has morphed too - lead singer Sam Simkoff had no banjo in sight, preferring the keyboards, though his wild dancing was still in evidence. Axemen Ervin, Michael Ferguson, and Jim Thomson between two guitar / bass and three guitar / no bass arrangements, but the playing was tasteful - songs were allowed to breathe, but no six-minute guitar solos here.

The set was heavy on tracks from the just-released Family; I only counted two songs from their debut album (The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly). Even those had a different spin on them - "We Are Gods! We Are Wolves!" turned into an all-out percussion slugfest, with no fewer than three members of the band bashing on something. The drums were the order of the day, as a couple others songs were similarly augmented. Even when there was just drummer Robby Sahm going, he provided key rhythmic counterpoints to Simkoff's vocals. The music might get ethereal and dreamy, but there was the snare drum bringing it back to earth.

Le Loup played just over an hour but the set was tight and solid, without any dragging moments despite the late hour (they came on after 11 PM on a Tuesday). I'm looking forward to sitting down with my copy of Family and taking a deeper dive.

The Wailing Wall Site
The Nurses Site
Le Loup Site

Austin City Limits - Day Three

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - wow, he's got some pipes. Otis Redding is the most common comparison, but Joe Lewis' voice reminds me of The Hardest-Working Man in Showbusiness, James Brown, if Brown decided to make crunchy, raunchy blues rock. Lewis' energy, passionate voice, and never-a-clean-note guitar playing overshadow the sometimes immature lyrics, and he had the crowd bopping along despite the early hour.

The B-52s - amazingly still at it, still turning out the same infectious pop they ever did. The crowd obviously roared for hits "Roam" and "Love Shack," but the rest of the material kept the audience engaged as well.

Arctic Monkeys - whether the infectious punk pop of "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" or the murkier stuff from their new album, they were electrifying. It's easy to get lost in how precocious they are and how clever the lyrics are, but the Arctic Monkeys can play. Blazing guitar solos and rapid drum riffs kept the pulses pounding. A major highlight of the whole festival was an extended version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds classic "Red Right Hand." The Monkeys were faithful to the dark feel of the original but with a punk energy that was all their own. I liked the Arctic Monkeys before but I'm a believer now.

Passion Pit - the Boston-based band kept the audience dancing through their boisterous set. Between them and Girl Talk, a little later, the X-BOX360 stage was party central for Sunday.

The Dead Weather - I missed half the set, unfortunately, but caught a major highlight that was definitely the sexiest moment of ACL - Jack White stepping out from behind the drums to duet with Allison Mosshart on closer "Will There Be Enough Water." The two, just inches away around the same microphone, injectic a bluesy sleaziness only hinted at on the album cut, and White's blistering guitar solos took the song to the next level.

Girl Talk - what a great jam party atmosphere. From 100 yards deep, just a see of hands and people bouncing to Greg Gillis' odd mix of hip-hop, classic rock, and various and assorted other music. The stage was full of people dancing about, while Gillis would periodically climb aboard his table and sometimes just stand there at his laptop to do his magic. Not the headiest stuff in the world, but loads of fun.

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears Site
B-52s Site
Arctic Monkeys Site
Passion Pit Site
The Dead Weather Site
Girl Talk Site

Austin City Limits - Day Two

Deer Tick - "It's 11:45, so if you think my voice sounds bad normally ..." began lead singer / guitarist John Joseph McCauley III, looking more than a little like Thomas Jane's character from Boogie Nights. Any raggedness in his voice was welcome edge, complimenting their blues, country, and surf-rock-tinged rock. They betrayed their influences by covering Lightin' Hopkins and Townes Van Zandt, but it's hard to imagine either of them closing with Richie Valens' "La Bamba," as the Providence quintet did before being cut-off mid-song for going over their 40 minutes. Even their quiet songs turned loud and anthemic, as exemplified by opener "Easy," with it's snarling chorus "You don't know how easy it is." A great wake-up to the festival's second day.


!!! - the Sacramento group was also struck by the early hour. "We do, like, moody nightclub music - and it's 2:30 in the afternooon," lead singer Nic Offer noted halfway through the set. "Normally we haven't even had our coffee by now." If he was sleepy, it didn't show - he stalked around the stage like a modern-day Mick Jagger, gesticulating rudely with a microphone stand and repeatedly climbing over equipment and jumping into the stands. Between (and sometimes during) songs, the band kept things light by repeatedly shouting "God dammit!" to crack up drummer Paul Quattrone. !!! is a terrific live act; if you're not dancing, there's something wrong with you.

Bon Iver - the first real dud of the festival. I loved For Emma, Forever Ago, their 2008 album, and enjoyed the performance of Justin Vernon and company in Boston last year. In the open festival setting, their spare acoustic music came off as sleepy rather than moody. Two exceptions: anthemic crowd favorite "Skinny Love," amplified from the studio version with extra percussion, and the closer "The Wolves (Act I and II)."


Mos Def - the Brooklyn MC was nearly a half-hour late for his scheduled show, but delivered a solid set of literate hip-hop. He showed a range of talents, drumming, rapping, and singing, freestyling a song ("You feel like you should know this / But I just made it up"), and even breakdancing a little with the dance troupe he brought out for the finale. The set was heavy on this year's strong Ecstatic, and went over well with the fans despite his tardy arrival.



The Decemberists - as has been their modus operandi on this tour, the group played The Hazards of Love front-to-back. If you love this album and you love the Decemberists (as I do), this is exactly as expected - wild and awesome, with band members switching instruments, goofball theatrics, and some of the most awesome and gorgeous songs of the year - "The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid" and "The Hazards of Love 4 - The Drowned" to name two. If you find the Decemberists dorky and annoying, nothing about their live act is going to change your mind. The crowd was apparently in the first camp, eating up the set even in its more subdued moments.

Deer Tick Site
!!! Site
Bon Iver Site
Mos Def Site
The Decemberists Site

Austin City Limits - Day One

The Low Anthem - the instrumental versatility of the Rhode Island trio kept the energy high, even as their sometimes quiet tunes threatened to be drowned out by surrounding stages. Lead singer and nominal guitarist Ben Knox Miller started the day behind the drum kit and grabbed an alto horn, harmonicas, and even two cell phones to make ethereal distortions at the end of the mournful "This Goddamn House." Jocie Adams provided harmony vocals and played as much clarinet as bass or guitar, while Jeff Prystowsky wore a huge smile the whole time as he switched between drums and upright bass. The music stayed mostly acoustic, but ranged from the very quiet to barnburner standard "Cigareets and Whuskey," which the trio closed with.

Blitzen Trapper - the Portland, Oregon group plays a loose rootsy rock, and was at its best when tightening up a little - they held the crowd in thrall in the gentle, beautiful "Furr," and in the anthemic harmonies of the chorus to "Big Black Bird." They went the other direction in "Love U," letting the sloppiness all hang out in a fun, passionate raunchy romp. A solid set, but not transcendent.

The Avett Brothers - I just caught the end of this set, but was impressed by the harmonies, alternating between sweet rootsy singing and primal yelling. The music largely veered toward the "rock" side of "roots rock," but they hit some gentler notes, as on "January wedding." I'm intrigued enough to check out a more extended performance later.

The Walkmen - I just heard part of their set before heading off to grab food. It seemed pretty generic New York-style indie rock, though the brass section on some songs was a nice touch.

Phoenix - one of the highlights of Friday. They kicked off their set with "Lisztomania," off latest album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and kept the crowd bouncing along with their dancy pop. "This is the biggest crowd we've ever played for," lead singer Thomas Mars announced before just taking a few moments to scan the audience. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, merci beaucoup," he exulted later, as the audience, equally grateful, showered the French band with applause.

K'Naan - the Somalian hip-hop star was really intent on communicating his message from the smaller Wildflower Center Stage - he performed an a cappella version of "Somalia" "so [you] can hear the words." After his quieter numbers, he thanked the audience for listening. It wasn't all low-key material; his boisterous "T.IA." had the audience pumping their fists. His first song, a reggae-tinged number, he wrote less than an hour before going on stage. K'Naan said he felt he had to do it to communicate how far he had come. The audience definitely picked up on his vibe, and I was sorry to have to leave before the end of his set.

Them Crooked Vultures - the much-awaited power trio of Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) was just as rocking as you might imagine. Homme's casual vocal delivery served as strong counterpoint to his harsh guitar lines, Jones' snaky bass, and Grohl's fierce drumming. "Muscular" is the word that springs to mind; there wasn't a sissy note in the set. After a while it was difficult to tell the difference between the songs, but no doubt that was partially unfamiliarity with the material - this was only the group's second U.S. performance.


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - for all the theatrics - lead singer Karen O came out for the encore covered in a full body suit and the group played with a giant eye behind them - the set was a flat. They rescued things a little towards the end, when Karen O jumped into the stands during "Cheated Hearts" and then followed it with a passionate rendition of "Maps" over Nick Zinner's quiet acoustic guitar, but a bit of a letdown from a band with a strong live reputation.

Low Anthem Site
Blitzen Trapper Site
The Avett Brothers Site
The Walkmen Site
Phoenix Site
K'Naan Site
Them Crooked Vultures Site
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Site