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Posts Tagged “the vault”

the vault

A Beach Boy Goes Disco


Bruce Johnston is the perennial "Sixth Beach Boy," so to speak, even though he's been in the Beach Boys since 1965, when he replaced Glen Campbell (!) as the stand-in for Brian Wilson. Heckfire, he's allegedly the guy who played Pet Sounds for the Beatles, and he sang on "California Girls," so he's a Beach Boy in my book. My favorite solo work of Johnston's is his version of the Chantays' surf-rock hit "Pipeline," which was recently unearthed by a thrifting friend of mine. It's pretty much ruled my year. It's long, but hardly repetitive, carried forward by an insistent beat that was probably a tad fast by the standards of the day, but feels just right now and held together by dippy background vocals, bongos, surf guitar, and absolutely monstrous drumming (check it out at 2:39 for proof). More »

2:30 PM on Thu Oct 9 2008
By Lucas Jensen
279 views, 9 comments

Latest by Lucas Jensen: @stottle: Glad we could help! more »

the vault

Wire Did Not Get A Complimentary Thighmaster After Meeting Suzanne Somers


Make sure you watch the interview following this 1987 performance of "Drill" on The Late Show, in which the erstwhile Chrissy Snow called the British art-rock outfit "sort of a far-out kinda group." And that's the least awkward part. (Really, I feel like describing it in any more detail would utterly spoil it.) [YouTube; HT Ned Raggett]

10:30 AM on Wed Sep 17 2008
By Maura Johnston
2,508 views, 8 comments

the vault

The Monkees Go Analog


At around 3 a.m. I found myself going on one of those YouTube binges that are necessitated by not being able to sleep and not wanting to drop $30-plus at the iTunes Store, and it was through lots of "related link" clicking that I happened upon "Daily Nightly" by the Monkees, a song that I had "dug" a lot as a terminally unhip 11-year-old and, I learned after some Googling, one that actually had something of an historic import, what with it being one of the first pop songs to employ the Moog synthesizer. According to Eric Lefcowitz's Monkees Tale, the Monkees' Micky Dolenz actually bought the third Moog to ever come off the assembly line—he was right behind Buck Owens and Wendy Carlos on the waiting list—and his full-on "hey, let's twist this knob and see what happens" experimentation with the synthesizer resulted in the Michael Nesmith-penned song breaking through its psychedelia-by-the-numbers melody. More »

5:00 PM on Mon Sep 15 2008
By Maura Johnston
2,954 views, 7 comments

Latest by revmatty: Moog Cookbook. Check it out. more »

the vault

Peter Wolf Turns On The Radio Of Love


The Allmusic Blog made my day by posting about Peter Wolf's Lights Out, the 1983 solo debut by the former lead singer of the J. Geils band that is now out of print. I never bought the album back in the day—times were tight, thanks to my $5-a-week allowance—but Tim Sendra's description of it as "soul music for a soulless time" and comparisons between Wolf's attempts to rap and Debbie Harry's run at MCing on "Rapture" are more than a little intriguing. Plus, the dorkily muscular title track soundtracked one of my favorite videos on after-school MTV, probably in part because Wolf's dancing was just as spaztastic as my own attempts. [YouTube / Allmusic]

3:30 PM on Thu Aug 28 2008
By Maura Johnston
143 views, 4 comments

Latest by T'Challa: I cherish my 1998 J. Geils Band tour shirt from a Detroit show (of course). And if you haven't rocked out to their amazing double-live album "Blow Your Face Out" from the '70s needs to remedy that situation--stat! And I'll give Kid more »

the vault

Tiger Trap Warm Up A Chilly Day


I never got to see the Sacramento indiepop act Tiger Trap live, thanks to the confluence of my stunted age during the height of their popularity, the oppressive 21-and-over door policies of Chicago's finer rock clubs, and the fact that their collaboration sputtered to a halt after only one full-length, an EP, and a handful of one-off tracks for seven-inches and compilations. This clip of them performing the lovely, lilting "Words And Smiles" from their LP was uploaded to YouTube a month ago, and it's making me even more sad that I never chalked my license back in the day. So many regrets! [YouTube / MySpace]

2:35 PM on Thu Jan 17 2008
By Maura Johnston
153 views, 8 comments

Latest by MattS: Always wanted to see a drum-off between Heather Dunn and the drummer from Jale. They were both totally spazzy, smiley, awesome Animal-style drummers. more »

the vault

Mouse On Mars Get A Little Froggy

German electronic duo Mouse On Mars got a much-needed aesthetic reboot last year thanks to their rougher backing tracks for their Von Sudenfed project, twisting disco, glitch, and rock into hiccuping grooves that allowed their new collaborator, Fall vocalist Mark E. Smith, to free his spleen. But my favorite MoM tune might still be one of the first they ever recorded, the croaking, vocal-free techno track "Frosch" from 1994's Vulvaland. Despite the album title, the tune's very much safe for work. Cuddly, even. More »

10:30 AM on Thu Jan 17 2008
By Jess Harvell
237 views, 5 comments

Latest by dentist: I recently found Instrumentals used on vinyl. I'd forgotten how much I love it (it's probably my favorite of theirs). more »

the vault

Before They Were Famous, The Arcade Fire Were Just These Guys Who Opened For Chromeo

While cleaning out his archives, Gawker's Jim Lehnhoff unearthed some video that he shot of the Arcade Fire all the way back on April 11, 2004, at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. (They were third on the bill, playing behind the Unicorns and freakin' Chromeo, and in front of The Ponys.) Anyway, he donated it to us for "research" purposes; while Win Butler does engage in some flopping around the (teeny!) stage during this performance of "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," this clip is notable for the fact that the band doesn't really need Christmas lights, mariachi bands, or Web 2.0 trickery in order to put on a pretty damn compelling show. Ah, 2004—were we all that much more innocent then?

5:35 PM on Tue Oct 30 2007
By mjohnston
7,429 views, 22 comments

Latest by CxHtdui: Are there anymore videos of this show? This concert was absolutely amazing, and I'm glad someone got at least one song on tape. After this, I remember the Unicorns doing an easter egg hunt on stage during their set and more »

the vault

Squeeze Get A Big, Two-Dimensional Thumbs-Up


Because I am, somehow, still completely shell-shocked by the Video Music Awards—I blame the 12-frame split screens during the fleeting moments that were devoted to enumerating nominees, which made up for their brevity by being completely fucking overstimulating—I am going to indulge myself (and, I suspect, delight a reader or two) by posting this clip of pop titans Squeeze lipsyncing their fantastic song "Up The Junction" in the midst of a Top Of The Pops set that's made up of what looks at first glance to be a forest of thumbs in the "I approve" position. Come on, this set is so much cooler than the Sky Villa! More »

4:30 PM on Thu Sep 13 2007
By mjohnston
424 views, 11 comments

Latest by angshu: Bless. more »

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The Vault: The Dynamics (Yes, Another Lost Soul Classic)

Managed by Aretha Franklin's husband, the Detroit band the Dynamics featured four singers, each able to take the lead with a different vocal style. Following in Franklin's footsteps, the band headed to Memphis to mix their sound with Stax-flavored soul. Produced by Tommy Cogbill and Chips Moman, responsible for hits like Elvis' "Suspicious Minds" and the Box Tops' "Cry Like A Baby," 1969's First Landing never fully caught on with R&B fans, with only a minor hit in "Ice Cream Song." But the album's last track, "Murder in the First Degree," is a funky number comparing a woman packing her bags to premeditated homicide, and the narrator's misery is to your listening benefit:

The Dynamics - Murder in the First Degree [MP3]
The Dynamics - First Landing [Amazon]

9:45 AM on Mon Jul 9 2007
By dangibs
238 views, 1 comment

Latest by the earl grey: Felix played a genius Marvellettes lost classic 45 on saturday: "Destination Anywhere" more »

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The Vault: Finally, We Get To Avail

This is the week for one of your Idolators to burn through every remaining standout MP3 in his collection, which brings us to Richmond, Va.'s Avail. From 1992 to 1998, the group put out a must-own album practically every year, with a hardcore-punk style that was aggressive enough for pissed-off teens, yet just melodic enough to land the band on Lookout! Records (1994's Dixie was no doubt the source of many road-trip sing-alongs). Three tracks are below, all taken from Jade Tree's 2006 reissue series; take a listen, as the songs are much more compelling than any of the rushed rock-crit hackery in the paragraph you just endured: More »

1:16 PM on Wed Jun 27 2007
By Brian Raftery
449 views, 10 comments

Latest by countshockula: I still have to put "southbound 95" on every time i near Richmond. And I'm from Massachusetts! more »

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The Vault, Part II: Picking Up The Pieces

There's very little to say about "Croque Pop," this 2003 track from Indianapolis trio the Pieces: The group and its label seemingly disintegrated years ago, and information is scant (though if this Amazon listing is correct, they at least got far enough to open for Evan Dando). But "Pop" is a quick-and-easy pop-rock number that's survived numerous iPod-lineup reconfigurations, and it deserves a few more fans More »

2:44 PM on Mon Jun 25 2007
By Brian Raftery
228 views, 2 comments

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The Vault: Diving In With The Chills

Could it be true that the Chills' 1990 classic Submarine Bells is out of print in the United States? These used-copy prices on Amazon seem to imply as much, which is a shame: Bells is probably the Kiwi group's most captivating album, one that glosses up the Chills' jangle-pop sound without overwhelming it. You could even call it "sumptuous," if only that word didn't make you sound like part of a cat-food commercial: More »

2:53 PM on Fri Jun 22 2007
By Brian Raftery
752 views, 6 comments

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The Vault, Part II: Getting Silly with Some Hot Chips

As you may have surmised from reading this site, we're big fans of nonsense. So we thought we'd share a classic '50s R&B song that's almost nothing but nonsense, from the title on down. According to Ace's wonderful collection of gibberish-laden doo-wop and R&B, Great Googa Mooga, the Chips were students at Brooklyn's Warwick School of Delinquent Teenagers who made one record, 1956's "Rubber Biscuit," before vanishing into obscurity. But what a record: In between exhortations like "Gow gow oh-ho!" and "Here ride in a himma-limma humma-lumma," we're informed, "The other day I ate a ricochet biscuit. Well, it's the kind of biscuit that's supposed to bounce off the wall, back in your mouth. If it don't bounce back—whuh-whuh-whuh—you go hungry." Well, duh. More »

5:00 PM on Mon Jun 18 2007
By mmatos
345 views, 3 comments

Latest by The Riffage: Didn't the Supersuckers do a cover on their "Devil's Food" odds n' sods collection? more »

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The Vault: Don't Stop 'Til You Get the Other "Enough"

As we all know, every American R&B song ever recorded has at some point been covered by a Jamaican artist. But few have claim-jumped their source material as energetically as Derrick Laro and Trinity did in 1980, when they cut a smoking version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," with Laro's clear falsetto comparing favorably with Jackson's (the track surfaced a few years ago on Soul Jazz's Hustle! Reggae Disco compilation). And hey, did MJ have a deejay like Trinity to toast over the groove? We think not. More »

2:22 PM on Mon Jun 18 2007
By mmatos
702 views, Comment

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The Vault: The Atomic Numbers' Lack Of Success Doesn't Add Up

There are some big changes coming to the site, and we promise that after they take place, you will not have to read anywhere near as many MP3 posts that contain the following elements: More »

2:10 PM on Fri Jun 15 2007
By Brian Raftery
412 views, 8 comments

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The Vault: Bright Spots From The Fall Line-Up

Statistically speaking, it's impossible to believe that we haven't posted more songs from the Fall: After all, Mark E. Smith drops a new album around lunchtime seemingly every day around lunchtime (just this morning, he dusted off a collection of sea shanties and British bird warbles, which the NME has already declared "his bestest, boldest yet"). Released shortly thereafter the death of John Peel—the band's biggest champion—The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004 encapsulates what the band does best: Cranky rants, ninnyhammer guitars, and lyrics that would make for some truly bewildering yearbook quotes: More »

1:08 PM on Wed Jun 13 2007
By Brian Raftery
518 views, 5 comments

Latest by Dick Laurent is dead.: The Fall are my go-to litmus test band, play "The Classical"...or I suppose anything off "Levitate" and if the listener is still around they're worth keeping as a friend. more »

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The Vault: A Check-Up From The Dentists

You would think that, by now, we'd long run out of '80s British indie-pop bands to write about. But you'd be wrong! In fact, if it were to all go down tomorrow, and we had to live in the mountains to stave off toxic fallout, the sounds of jangling guitars would be bouncing off the walls for months (our emergency preparedness kit consists solely of portable Bose speakers, two iPods, and some Capri Sun packets). Today's entry is from the Dentists, a quartet from the Medway towns that wrote many songs about dreams, and knocked out at least one great Tori Amos cover: More »

12:00 PM on Tue Jun 12 2007
By Brian Raftery
465 views, 7 comments

Latest by soundbitesnyc: Well done, Idolator, though Giant is clearly the Woodentops' best work. As for the Dentists, I always loved that song "Just Like Oliver Reed." Thanks for making me think of them again. more »

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The Vault: The Living Things Get Thrown To The Lions

Living Things lead singer Lillian Berlin has a reputation for irking would-be fans, whether it's because of his on-stage political diatribes, or just for excessive fashion-magazine preening. Such factors may be part of the reason why Ahead Of The Lions, the band's politically minded 2005 album, didn't exactly start a revolution, but it's a better-than-you'd expect metal-punk-garage collection: The Iggy-aping "I Owe" is better than anything off that last Stooges album, and "New Year" is plenty menacing: More »

11:10 AM on Mon Jun 11 2007
By Brian Raftery
294 views, 2 comments

Latest by Bob Loblaw: T-Retch. more »