Up High in the Night(2001)
Stab the Unstoppable Hero(2002)
Must have gotten these two Arlo releases from a SubPop publicist. I’d have to go back and look at SubPop’s catalog releases during the early 2000s to see just how these fit into the stuff the label was putting out. Seems to me that it was between the mid-90s grunge/punk stuff and the later 2000s bearded folk stuff.
Continue reading “Justify Your Existence: Arlo”
New Jane’s Addiction coming in October. The last album, 2003’s Strays, didn’t exactly bring the band back to their glory days (it wasn’t that bad, just maybe a little too modern) but the second single off The Great Escape Artist, “Irresistible Force”, is both amazing and nostalgic sounding.
Here’s hoping this is a sign of things to come.
I’ve got one of those CD shelving units that holds 1,000 CDs and for years it’s been full. Every once in a while I go through a cleanse and trade-in, sell, or simply throw away CDs that I haven’t listened to in years and know that I’ll probably never listen to again. But for every CD that leaves the shelves, another one that has been housed in a cardboard box or in a pile next to the shelves, takes it place.
As a way to start listening to some of those CDs that haven’t been listened in years, I decided to start a new feature called Justify Your Existence. I’ll give a CD a listen, write a short review/thought/opinion about it, and then decide whether or not it’s earned the right to stay on the shelves or if it goes into a box to dispose of.
The CDs will be randomly chosen off the shelves and I’m hoping to get through a few every week. The first Justify Your Existence CDs have been chosen and listened to and their fate will be revealed this week.
Thanks to Metal Rob for the feature name.
This power trio from Columbus, Ohio sounds like my CD collection circa 1994 – it’s beer-soaked, guitar-driven, genre-escaping rock played with all dials set to 11. Oh yeah, it should be mentioned that the guys were able to cross at least one music-related item off the Speed Governor bucket list – the legendary Steve Albini recorded these tracks at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago.
Recommended for fans of: Archers of Loaf, Hum, Chavez, Jawbox
God bless ’90s nostalgia. Evan Dando’s decided to do a run of tour dates in October and play The Lemonheads seminal album, It’s a Shame About Ray, in it’s entirety. Evan’s done this in the past (like at SXSW 2008) but I don’t think he’s ever done any extended touring to play the ’92 album.
So many great Dando compositions on It’s a Shame About Ray but I think my favorite is “Rudderless” (the studio version featured Juliana Hatfield on backing vocals).
Here are the tour dates.
Sep 30 – Little Rock AR – Rev Room
Oct 1 – Chattanooga TN – Rhythm & Blues
Oct 2 – Carrboro NC – Cat’s Cradle
Oct 3 – Nashville TN – Mercy Lounge
Oct 4 – Charlotte NC – Neighbourhood Theatre
Oct 5 – Atlanta GA – The Earl
Oct 7 – Washington DC – Black Cat
Oct 8 – Philadelphia PA – North Star Bar
Oct 12 – Boston MA – The Paradise
Oct 13 – Milford CT – Daniel Street
Oct 14 – Pawtucket RI – The Met
Oct 15 – Northampton MA – Downstairs at Pearl Street
Oct 17 – Toronto ON – Lee’s Palace
Oct 18 – Detroit MI – Magic Stick
Oct 19 – Akron OH – Musica
Oct 21 – Chicago IL – Double Door
Oct 22 – Minneapolis MN – 7th Street Entry
Oct 24 – Denver CO – Marquis Theatre
Oct 25 – Salt Lake City UT – Urban Lounge
Oct 27 – Los Angeles CA – El Rey Theatre
Oct 28 – San Juan Capistrano CA – Coach House
Oct 29 – San Diego CA – Soda Bar
Oct 30 – San Francisco CA – The Independent
Oct 31 – Santa Clara CA – The Avalon
Nov 3 – Portland OR – Mississippi Studios
Nov 4 – Vancouver BC – Biltmore Cabaret
Nov 5 – Seattle WA – The Triple Door
Nov 6 – Bellingham WA – Wild Buffalo House of Music