February 11, 2008
20 YOU MISSED IN 2007
High Places @ Cake Shop in NYC (photo)
2007 is almost over. Has anyone been keeping track of all the best of lists like me? (Um, this guy has.. enabling me to.) While there were of course a number of “big name” indie albums that came out this year, I tried to focus my attention on the horizon, to the emerging and underground bands. Needless to say, there was a lot more going on this year than Battles, Feist, and The Arcade Fire. The underground is thriving in almost every genre and producing some extremely interesting and rewarding music.
With “20 You Missed in 2007,” I’m trying to highlight tracks by smaller bands who I feel are making valuable contributions to independent music. Not every band is “new,” per se, and of course there’s a few you may be familiar with already. But I hope to give you the highlights of my year listening to music.
I would love to hear some feedback, either in the comments or in email (htshell@gmail.com)!
20 YOU MISSED IN 2007
1. Blank Dogs – “Blaring Speeches”
2. Chromatics – “Night Drive”
3. Eddy Current Suppression Ring – “Precious Rose”
4. Flaspar – “Doom Pendulum”
5 . Gang Gang Dance – “Nicoman”
6. The Harlem Shakes – “Sickos”
7. High Places – “Sandy Feat”
8. Lewis and Clarke – “Blasts of Holy Birth”
9. Lucky Soul – “Struck Dumb”
10. Marnie Stern – “Put All Your Eggs in One Basket”
11. Mika Miko – “Don’t Shake it Off”
12. Nedelle – “Spell the Night Right”
13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “This Love is Fucking Right!”
14. Pants Yell! – “Two French Sisters”
15. The Private Sea – “Lucifer”
16. Reports – “Radio”
17. Shocking Pinks – “Second Hand Girl”
18. TYVEK – “Needles Drop”
19. White Shoes & the Couples Company – “Nothing to Fear”
20. Yeasayer – “2080”
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A LATE POST, BUT DEFINITELY WORTH CHECKING OUT
January 28, 2008
Save the Thunderdome!
This show is supporting local Philadelphia artists and a place for local musicians to be heard. The Thunderdome. A venue completely contrived through the hospitality of the people that live there. They’re kind enough to open their home to traveling bands, friends, and fans of new or unrecognized music. These generous people had $250 stolen from their home so now a couple of local musicians are doing what they can to give back.
DJ John Prisk
I know Cat Power is the same night at the Starlight Ballroom, but you have to weigh out the pro’s and con’s. Cat Power’s show is $22, supposedly her cheapest show while on this tour. The starlight ballroom has terrible sound quality, and the place is set up so you can only really enjoy the show up close with the pushy assholes or far back where you might as well be at home listening to the album. Otherwise, you find yourself looking at the back of someone’s head and maybe getting a glimpse of the band or maybe just a couple of faint glimmers of stage light.
Stop jumping on the band wagon and come support Philadelphia musicians and this local venue/house.
UPDATE: THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHOIR AND DJ JOHN PRISK WILL NO LONGER BE PLAYING THE SHOW!
THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHOIR IS PLAYING AT THE NORTH STAR BAR (27TH AND POPLAR) WITH THE MAJOR LEAGUES HEADLINING.
January 9, 2008
Stealing for a Cause
Starting today, there will be 50 iconic painted fists dispersed throughout our city. Your job is to go out, find one, and
then steal it.
These fists will be illegally mounted throughout the city, and the fun part is that you get to go out and illegally steal them.
Really, we’re encouraging it, and so are the artists that made them.
A group of underground artists have worked hard so you can help them liberate art from the gallery and bring it back to the people in its truest form. They’re from a project called LIBER 8 ME by artists in the ME INTERNATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (MiLF). This group of artists, which also stems from West Chester’s RENEGADE ART COALITION, is comprised of people that call themselves “pedestrian art idealists”, and their main purpose is to eliminate the middle-men of galleries and the gallery/buyer status quo apparatus. They’re working to bring art directly from the artists to the people, meaning you.
Today embarks the beginning of their second LIBER 8 ME project, their first had 25 fists which were released in the same fashion in August of 2007. The last of the fists was seen on 9th and Washington, but it finally disappeared sometime in early December. The fist was chosen as MiLF’s icon in these projects, because throughout history the fist has always represented “demand to be heard” in revolutionary idealism. The revolution these artists are asking for is change and beautification in our city. It’s that whole idea, if you have something nice you’ll take care better care of it. It kind of makes me think of Disneyland. Have you ever seen trash on the ground there? They scoop it up right away, and it makes you feel like an ass if you’re the one person that actually decides to litter, because hey, it’s really obvious!
The fists are released today, they’re not giving much detail on when and where, but Center City, Old City, Fishtown, and along E Passeyunk have been mentioned. So go out, enjoy the global warming induced weather, and steal one of these large Masonite fists. You can help make a difference, or just find a really awesome piece of art to decorate your home with.
I just hope this doesn’t turn out like the guerilla marketing promotion for Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s movie in Boston. At least these plywood fists can’t stupidly be mistaken for bombs, but then again I still don’t understand how the Brite Lite looking Moonanite was thought to be behind terrorists.
December 20, 2007
6 Things You Should Know About Brown Recluse Sings
Landphil was at Penn’s Pi Lam, breathing in the stale smell of beer and cigarettes and enjoying the sights and sounds the show had to offer. The night started off with Ravens and Vultures, then Brown Recluse Sings, and then DJ RMT (the SuperTodd Brothers of Brown Recluse) and the Broadzilla Dj’s topped us off for an infinite night of dancing.
1. The band started as a collaboration between Tim Meskers and his good friend Mark Saddlemire. [Tim Meskers] “It was originally intended to be mostly a studio only project and we invited some friends to play on the songs, but then we found that the chemistry and the repore was so good that we might want to start playing live shows. We had a legendarily shambolic first show at the Kensington South forum, and it just kind went on from there.” Mark left the band around the end of the summer of 2007, [Alexander Tyson] “He went on tour with us, and it was a really nice farewell. I think it was an amicable sort of separation because he just wanted to focus more time on his studio efforts.”
2. The 6 guys in Brown Recluse all met at school, Tim and Alex have played together since Middle/high School and they met Herbie and the Todd brothers (Ryan, Jesse, and Patrick) at Temple University. The Todd Brothers have obviously known one another all of their lives, but Patrick, the youngest Todd brother at the age of 21, just joined the band as Mark decided to leave. It was a smooth transition, as they expected Mark to leave and Patrick to move from Connecticut (hometown of the Todd brothers) to Philadelphia. The brothers report that they’ve always gotten along well, and aren’t like normal brothers that usually struggle with sibling rivalries.
3. Brown Recluse Sings has a clean track record. They’ve never really fought amongst themselves, except Herbie has always been somewhat of a troublemaker. He was once moved to yelling and breaking furniture, something very out of character for him, but according to Tim, it was “something about needing more delay, he needed more delay. There was a bunch of blood everywhere, and he broke Alex’s chair”. The band actually almost broke up once because they couldn’t cross the Canadian border together, because of Herbie’s criminal record. They had to leave Herbie there for some time until things blew over, and when I dug deeper, he and Alex quickly changed the subject. Herbie seems to be the rebel of the group, but it’s a subject they like to keep quiet.
4. The band shares a wide spectrum of music, ranging from psychedelic late 60’s/early 70’s to black metal to early electronic. These all have their own preferences that they’re constantly sharing with one another on tour. However, they do share a love for Brazilian psych, and apparently Alex does for Brazilian women, as they shared that his girlfriend is Brazilian (He blushingly changed the subject back to music). [Herbie] “We had a song listening event on tour, where we all picked our favorite songs and we would all play them for each other. And we voted on how much we liked them, and we narrowed it down to the best songs.”
5. The band not only shares a wide variety of music, they also have some pretty diverse jobs. Jesse Todd (the middle Todd brother) is actually a Spanish teacher at Philadelphia public high school, and he also coaches a mock trial team at the school at which he helps encourage students that are interested in becoming lawyers. He has no interest in practicing law himself, but he works with attorneys and has some experience studying law. The band itself has become a full-time occupation for all of the guys, as Herbie explains, “We try to remain a self-sufficient group, as far as recording goes, as far as artwork goes, promotions, show booking, etc… We like to think that we’re a diverse enough group that we can sort of in-house like handle anything that comes at us.” It’s quite a task/feat for any band to maintain a DIY mentality, but Recluse Sings attempts to keep their original intentions in sight.
6. All of the members of BRS are already DJing, Ryan and Jesse (DJ RMT, supertodd brothers), Herbie (HTShell), and Tim is soon to begin spinning a bit of his own. When asked how their spinning could come to influence the band’s music, Herbie responded, “Well, even with what we DJ, there’s a wide variety. From like hip-hop to indie music, to like what Ryan’s playing now (Ryan wasn’t in during the interview, he was spinning just outside the door), Krautrock and pretty drawn out simple stuff. I can definitely see us incorporating that into our music, we’ve definitely fooled around with it before. We don’t really have anything definitely worked on. So in short, probably? Ha. ”
The band was supposed to release an EP “The Soft Skin” under Tequila Sunrise Records, last month in November, but due to various circumstances it’s been delayed. They’re playing this Friday, December 21, at Johnny Brenda’s. I’m really excited for this show, because it’s giving a lot of local artists a chance to get som well-deserved recognition.
DJ Kyle Intensified
December 17, 2007
WHAT’S UP NEW YEARS?!
Not like Dave P and the Making Time crew need any more PR work, but when it says “an all night party that includes all you can drink domestic and well drinks for six and half hours! Includes free champagne at midnight and lots of sparks, confetti, balloons, fake snow, lasers, fog, and general craziness” – I can’t help but vouch. Last year’s party was off the hook. Don’t be pysched out by the $30-40 cover – it’s totally worth it, socially and economically. Get yr posse together and make this the best new year’s yet!
@ Transit
6th and Spring Garden
Philadelphia, PA
21+/ $30 cover – $40 week of (includes open bar)
Pick up advanced tickets at The Last Drop Cafe on 13th and Pine or Relapse Records on 4th and South Streets.
December 10, 2007
The Rogerio Extravaganza
Chic and Buzz Rogerio are two Italian stallions who wear their South Philly pride on their sleeves. The brothers rose from sleeping on a fold out couch in a one bedroom apartment on Broad and ‘Shunk as children, to become Philly’s most ingenious comic duo. The Rogerio’s will melt the ice and pretense off of any cynic’s heart.
In between drags of a Marlboro Red Buzz explains “As we got older we got hooked up playing ball retriever at botchi ball games, went from there started doing bingo nights.”
Chic sits on the hood of a Honda civic he doesn’t own. “We got jobs at the Dolphin a while back, a topless club on Broad and Tasker. Jenna [from Uncut Productions] seen us on our myspace and asked to host.” Moving from their work at the Dolphin, the Rogerio brothers were recruited by the Philly-based sketch comedy group Shabadelphia Productions (www.shabadelphia.com), branching into online television with the South Philly Extravaganza show.
The boys said it best on their myspace: “its no coincidence we were born in the rizzo years. we like crackin heads and liftin beers right out of the philadeli refrigerators. so maybe those beers then find their way into the hands of kids who still wear uniforms to school…we ain’t nobody’s parents, officially. we’re the rogerio brothers, chicky and buzzy. we get our teeth fixed at broad and shunk. you might find us at the dolphin club rubbin elbows with the most sensational hookers this side of sinatras dressing room. we like murals on broad street, free things, keepin the italian market italian, and pretzels. we egged the ritas on passyunk as a warning…this is john’s country. next time, who knows, someone might end up with pee pee in their misto. chickie gets nuts. we host the drunken spelling bee all over the city, but mostly bob and barbaras at 15th and south. come by, drink, spell, or don’t. whatever.we get hookers either way, and we ain’t payin.”
As hosts of the drunken spelling bee, the Rogerios are quite the language lovers. “I was reading the Romana Series by Beverly Cleary” Buzz eagerly exclaims. “I moved on from there you know to the one about Ralph and the motor cycles, that dude’s the shit. I think the orange county chopper fellas should make a mouse sized bike.”
Chick prefers films. “I’m a movie guy. The last movie I saw I’ve seen many times. Raging Bull. I’m a big fan of that flick.”
Buzz is quick to interject and steal Chick’s thunder at every chance he can get. “The last movie I saw was the Paris Hilton sex dvd. I watched it last night and this morning.”
As a staple of their Italian-American pride, the brothers adore Frank Rizzo, Philly’s most controversial mayor.
“Frank Rizzo was the Tupac of Philadelphia. He’s just bidin’ his time. He’s still Vito and shit. 2012 he’s comin’ back and I know it. Michael Nutter don’t get too comfortable! You ever see ghost busters when that dude jumped outta that statue? thats what Rizzo’s gonna do! He’s gonna bust some heads with a night stick!”
Post round three of the Drunken Spelling Bee, after several minutes of basking in the gleeful debauchery of raining cup cake icing and city-wide specials, I turn to see a girl on the dance floor with an ear-to-ear smile as Pabst Blue Ribbon flows down her exposed breasts like a Milwaukee waterfall. My roommate and our female friend all look at each other with the same stupid-ass involuntary grin. There comes a time when you gotta’ stop taking things so seriously.
The Drunken Spelling Bee at Bob and Barbara’s is one of the funnest things to do in a Philly bar, let alone on a Monday night when jobs and school tells us we should be worrying about other crap. As if trying to retain the glory of their childhood with same competitive zeal they sported under the spotlight at a rival middle school before the buzzer rang in the fourth quarter, this nostalgia burns more intensely as the words and alcohol flow between rounds. Whether you were a starting quarter back, a mathlete, or just played in soccer games to eat the oranges and fruit snacks at half-time, there’s a place for you at the Drunken Spelling Bee.
Check out at the Rogerio Brothers and Uncut Productions myspace for more information regarding upcoming Spelling Bees. Below is an episode of the Rogerio Extravaganza Show produced by Shabedelphia.
November 30, 2007
Brown Recluse Sings FREE SHOW at UPenn’s Pi Lam
Brown Recluse Sings
http://www.myspace.com/brownreclusesings
Ravens and Vultures
http://www.ravensandvultures.org/
November 29, 2007
A Step in the Right Direction, Recycling in Philadelphia
So now that Michael Nutter is set up to become Philadelphia’s next mayor (though he’s been called the mayor since he won the primaries) I pose the question, what does he plan to do about cleaning up our city? Literally?
Back in April, the Recycling Alliance of Philadelphia compiled a 5 Point Agenda for all of the Philadelphia mayoral candidates. These five points are as follows:
- As Mayor, be the official voice and champion for Philadelphia’s Recycling program. Declare the full implementation of a successful recycling program as a priority of your administration.
- Appoint within the first four months of your administration accomplished individuals to the positions of Streets Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner for Sanitation and Recycling Coordinator.
- Reorganize and re-task within the first four months the Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC), the Recycling Advisory Committee (RAC) and the Interagency Task Force as oversight groups to the Streets Department on behalf of the Mayor as outline in the law.
- Direct the Streets Commissioner, working witht eh SWAC and RAC, to retain expertise to produce a comprehensive integrated solid waste management plan and offer recommendations to the Mayor within the first six months of the administration.
- Provide for the financing and implement the plan before the end of the first Mayoral term in office.
The Recycling Alliance of Philadelphia doesn’t mean to treat the mayoral candidates (or now just Michael Nutter) like an idiot, but history of the city/mayor’s inability to get their shit together causes them to spell things out. It’s too soon to say whether Nutter plans on adhering to the 5 Point Agenda that the Recycling Alliance has posed, but there have been rumors of Nutter administering a recycling program through Recycle Bank, a Philadelphia based company.
Recycle Bank is a great recycling program that makes it easy for partakers and beneficial to everyone. Participants of Recycle Bank receive barcoded trash receptacles in which people dispose of their recyclable items. They keep track of how much you recycle through the barcode, and the more you recycle the more benefits you receive. The program gains sponsors that give away coupons/discounts/maybe even free stuff to frequent recyclers. For example, you could gain a 10% coupon to Whole Foods for reaching a recycling quota.
The program is beneficial to the city for the top following reasons:
- it’s good for the environment
- the city’s government wouldn’t have to devote as much of its budget to landfills (not LandPhil, ha) with more recycling
- local businesses (recyclebank sponsors) would benefit, so you’d also be putting more money into the city
- RecycleBank uses Single Stream Recycling, which makes it much easier for participants. There’s no need to separate the different types of recyclables, they do it for you.
Please, don’t just wait for Nutter to administer RecycleBank’s program. You can go to their website and sign up without the government implementing it.
The only successful recycling that I’ve witnessed in this city is when I find bums rummaging through my garbage… snaggin whatever they can find to reuse. Let’s try to change that.
This video actually has nothing to do with Recycle Bank or Philadelphia, it’s in London, but it gets the recycling message across pretty well. The ultra poppy electronic song will be stuck in your head all day. Enjoy:
More details/Direct Quotes from Nutter Administration/Recycling Bank to come
November 28, 2007
Cancer Benefit for Josh Hutto!
“Cancer Party” is usually an oxymoron. But, in this case our good friend and fellow Temple student Josh Hutto will be having one to help him fight cancer. If you don’t know Josh, at least you know cancer, and you know we don’t want none uh that!
I also believe The Neighborhood Choir will be playing, so it may start a bit earlier.
And yes, all of the money is going to help pay for hospital and treatment bills.
You can listen to the bands playing here, if it will further motivate you to attend:
Toy Soldiers
Holly Billaday
Shapes
The Neighborhood Choir
1994
Be Thurrrrrrrrr!
LandPhil 