Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual (2008 We Are Free)

Ponytail may not come across as a band with a completely unique approach or sound, but that really isn't an issue, given the quality and overall sonic bite of their second release, "Ice Cream Spiritual" and while it may be easy or even tempting to lump them in the categories of "math rock" or "post rock" (and in some cases, this may not be far off) that would be an easy way to dilute the cerebral explosion of the music as it doesn't so much pulsate, but more or less spasms uncontrollably throughout the album, weaving, colliding, melting down, cooling off, constructing and deconstructing only to reconstruct again. With bands like these, it's easy to draw comparisons to similar minded peers, in this case, Deerhoof comes to mind, which really isn't a bad comparison at all, and granted as rock has flourished rapidly over the past 50 years, making it increasingly harder to innovate, bands like these are quickly learning a valuable lesson: take what's going on around you, and reshape it into something of your own, and this is something this band does well.

The very foundation of this record shakes and sways with the potency of a massive California earthquake, careening along with the velocity of a late night joy ride in a stolen sports car along a busy downtown intersection, on the verge of collapsing and crashing at any given moment, the twin guitar attacks buzzing and cutting the air with jagged washes of feed back and strumming, leaving the sound battered and torn at times, the calmer moments evoking a drone-like state of hypnosis with the drums at times wandering with the chaotic precision of a fully automatic assault weapon, while lying dormant when necessary, only to strike without warning and with wild abandon. The sonic structure lends a sense chaos on the surface, but is tightly constructed and controlled, never giving away to wild abandon for the sake of, which there again, isn't necessarily a fresh approach, but here it comes off as both refreshing and driving. Molly Siegel's vocals take center stage of course (and are both equally praised and derided) The biggest fuss I've read about so far is the fact she doesn't follow standard protocol for both vocalists and songwriters, instead, she tosses out the rule book and in lieu of carefully constructed meaningful phrases or word play, she dispenses with overly fluffy lyrical gymnastics and instead mashes phrases (both sensical and nonsensical) together in screeching and often unbearable tones, elsewhere she simply makes serious of noises (many of which I cant even describe) all in different tones ranging from semi harmonious to ear bleeding madness, her vocals serving more as fourth "instrument" blending and clashing wildly with the sheets of noise around her, rather than being elevated to some imaginary soapbox to either tickle the fancy of an English major, or titillate a self referenced Starbucks political junky, self righteous social commentators may want to bypass this one. I have no qualms with the vocal stylings, they both follow the music, bruise it, foil the more beautiful parts and serve as a reminder music was meant to be fun and not always serve as a vehicle for self important poetry or word play. I find it amusing that a woman takes a mic and does nothing more than make a series of noises and what words she spews out make zero since, and there again, why should it make sense? Sometimes the most baffling of pieces of music are the ones that lend an air of utter confusion to them, angering the listener in search of cohesion or the obligatory "statement" The only real statement here is one of fun, gleeful abandon and precise destruction of composition, while coming across as a tightly wound sonic tourniquet, making this a solid listen and i imagine an equally impressive act to catch live, let's hope they keep the sugar rush flowing for a few more good ones.

Find out more about the band here, and be sure to drop them a line:

http://www.jeremyhyman.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ponytailtunes

til next time, thanks!

Lady Sovereign - Jigsaw (2009 Midget, EMI)

It's easy to tag this one with the "sophomore slump" label, after all, this album lacks the high energy party feel of "Public Warning" its singles lacking the "throw your hands in the air" sentiment of the former's best singles and even the wittiest of rhymes this time around come up feeling hollow and uninspired, granted Lady Sovereign has had a not so fun couple of years: facing heart break, being dropped by Def Jam (probably for the best in the long run) and emotional break downs related to coping with fame and the demands that come with it, it comes as little surprise that "Jigsaw" touches on those personal set backs, and the given stereotype is disaster often creates art..well, not always, while even the best artists sometimes collapse under the weight of their own setbacks, we're dealing with a female hip hop artist that more or less is confined to make chart singles (regardless of her outsider status) and uphold an image, and the mass majority that bought her first record probably aren't ready to hear her own stab at introspection, loss, regret, pressures and well..not so fun times..granted not every track is a tear jerking trainwreck, "let's be mates" with its generic techno/club backing and tongue in cheek stab and the mundane aspects of connections with others is good for a few laughs and "So Human" with its playful take on The Cure classic "close to me" and bouncy back beat, finds Lady Sovereign taking a more fun stab at personal lyrics and hitting the mark closer than anything else on the record. "Bang Bang" with its intoxicating riff-like synths, reverberating bass and cocky fun lyrics comes across as another ass shaking club hit that's fun and meant to be nothing more, and I'm okay with this, not ever dance floor junkie wants introspection while sucking back cheap beer and spewing cheap pick up lines."Guitar" opens with rather wicked string arrangements and tightly wound production, beats so thick and consistent it's hard not to nod one's head, and though the lyrics hint at a more "personal angle" the hard back beat balances them out nicely, on the other hand, it's the title track that proves problematic. Though I have nothing against personal introspection, especially in hip hop or anywhere else for that matter, it's the approach that counts. This is clearly new territory for Lady Sovereign and it shows in the less than colorful lyrics; granted not every personal piece is going to be whimsical or creative, and some of the best are confessionals, it's the fact the lyrics come across as a bit pedestrian, yet at the same time can still be tugging.That's not to say that "Jigsaw" is a complete mess and lacking in fun; the end result is just a bit too uneven and awkward in places to make it live up to the potential it could have had.

Make way for the SOV: http://www.ladysovereign.com/

Zero Boys - Vicious Circle (1982 - Nimrod Records/Reissue-2000 - Lookout! records)

Mention old school punk/hardcore punk bands and or records that are pretty much deemed classics and you'll get the usual suspects: Black Flag (LA), Naked Ray Gun (Chicago) Bad Brains (NY) Minor Threat and the entire Dischord/DC scene, but mention The Zero Boys and I guarantee getting a funny look, or the expected. "Who"? Until recently that would have been my response as well, and the only reason I ran across this band and their brilliant album was in doing some research on the kick ass hard rock, "protopunk" band Death from Detroit. Punk at the height of its out of control brush fire intensity in the early to mid 80s (especially the early 80s) was a regional monster. Every town had a band which seemed to have its own slightly different take on the music, their own style and approach, and I'm talking two towns next to one another could have a totally different faction and act worlds apart (i get this info from endless hours of useless research, i was too young for the first wave admittedly) and the top regions from this early scene were Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and DC (though Husker du was quickly giving the midwest a name) however, mention Indianapolis and more than few people are bound to scratch heads. Nevertheless, this is where The Zero Boys called home, and back in the early 1st they turned more than a few heads in punks elite circle for not only not coming from one of the few large Mecca cities of punk, but almost passing off as a west coast monster and on record giving some of California's best a run for their money.

The mere idea of any given band wanting to sound like another band has never set well with me, even less so when they openly admit to it; it's one thing to want to use another artist's sound or ideas as a template for your own interpretation, but to want merely to use their sound can leave a band coming across as a cheap imitation and as copyists. Nevertheless, when the zero boys headed into the studio it was made clear they wanted the production of the album to sound similar to that of The Germ's GI album and the decision has paid some heavy dividends, resulting in an album that doesn't sound anything like a cheap GI knock off, but rather a two headed monster cut from the same cloth. with riffs and chords ripping through the mix with the intensity of a buzzsaw left on high, jack hammer bass riffs and drums pounding with the force of a sledge hammer, vicious circle rips through 16 cuts in barely over 26 minutes. "Vicious Circle" blasts off and burns out in barely over a half minute, with lyrical references to the ups and downs of social politics, getting its point across with razor sharp precision, "New Generation" blasts off as equally as powerful, played with both crude and tightly wound accuracy, traces of Stiv Bator's snotty Dead Boys persona seeping through with Paul Mahern's proud proclamation that he's part of the new generation, with "Civilization's Dying, the band shows off their more pop side (as pop as punk can ever get) with catchy hooks, a sing along chorus pointing out those who make more money and have no desire to be in the crossfire of the common mans violence, class war commentary has never been so snappy. "Hightime" strays very close into Ramones territory with the opening "hey! hey" hyperspeed playing and even a "hey ho" thrown in for good measure. It's a hilarious tongue in cheek take on the wasted youth generation, looking for the next cheap high and doing what you have to so you stay that way, the true lost gem of these sessions is "She Said Goodbye" which was left off the album at the advice of Jello Biafra (feeling it was too poppy to fit...what?) the song recalling the BOMP! records pop of Stiv Bators if he would have been backed by his old band The Dead Boys, in other words; "tough pop".

Punk was never meant to be a lasting musical expression but rather as disposable as the times that spawned it, both musicians and fans never expected it to truly make a lasting impact, but rather felt it was just another form of expression, a fad, something to do out of boredom and hardcore to a lesser extent was never meant to go beyond its limitations. Regardless, both punk and it's ugly step cousin hardcore have proven to be both durable (the latter much less than the former) and to have left a lasting impression, enough so that we find ourselves digging up old classics, finding new ones and continuing to praise a small window in time when rock was stripped down to its bare essentials, reclaimed by those who never fit, weren't meant to be stars and wanted nothing more than to play the music on their terms, express how they felt, and return the concept of humor to an otherwise overly serious and boring art form. The reissue of this lost classic is a prime example and worth picking up and giving repeated spins.

For More Info:http://www.zeroboys.net/

The album can be found on the internets and probably in most record shop. thanks

Death - ...For The Whole World To See (2009 Drag City)

The biggest problem facing anything labeled as a "reissue" or "lost classic" is the fact it can not only be bloated with loads of extra material that save for a few die hard fans, isn't entirely relevent or the hype surrounding some long forgotten obscure rock record can instantly be elevated to god-like status. That's great for the band memebers whom could finally reap the rewards for their work long ignored decades ago, but at the same time such hype and overblown promotion can also become window dressing for otherwise subpar and even boring material. Since the birth of the internet and file sharing, the net has since been overly saturated with loads of "lost classics" which sometimes amount to nothing more than some obscure punk/protopunk/new wave/ or power pop record recorded by a band that vanished as quick as their rolayties, however; every now and then really good records are given a new light, or light for the first time and "for the world to see" is no exception. Make no mistake, the danger is still here; labeling this as a lost classic would maybe be only slightly off base, but never the less this is a truly mind blowing and kick ass record, and is more than qualified to bear the title of "missing link" the music serving as a bridge between the hard rock exploding out of the intestines of Detroit in the late 60s and early 70s on up to the birth of it's ugly step child twice removed, "Punk" Blasting through a mere seven tracks and peaking around a half hours worth of a street race on a busy saturday night, this record has only few faults and the only real complaint i can think of is the fact that this is sadly the only recorded document we have of the band once known as Death.

Hailing from the mighty Detroit (where else?!), Death originally consisted of the Hackney brothers;David (guitar, song writing), Bobby (bass, vocals) and Dannis (drums). Starting in the early 70's the teen aged brothers began playing R&B and funk, until reportedly witnessing an Alice Cooper gig in '73 which prompted them (David especially) to switch to hard rock, rehearsing in earnest in their parents house three hours a night every night, transforming into a blistering hot and tightly wound rock unit. This is where the story takes its climatic turn and where the mythic status of both band and record begins. In 1974 the brothers set out to record, literally picked a studio by pinning a page from the phone book on teh all and throwing a dart on it, landed at Groovesville Productions, got signed and set out to record a demo, which thanks to legendary stax producer don davis, wound up in the hands of clive davis, whom offered to finance a recording provideded the band changed their name, which of course they said hell no, and the end result being no deal and no record (seperating fact from fiction after this long has proven tricky, i am only writing based upon what i have read.) The brothers parted ways with Groovesville by '76, pressed 500 copies of a single, "Politicians in my eyes b/w "Keep on knockin"


Various circumstances lead to the rediscovery of the long forgotten demos that were shelved some thirty years ago; mainly word of mouth hype over the lone single being played at parties over the years, added to various underground compilations and an enthusiastic record collector with ties to a small independent Chicago label and the Hackney's kids (who have their own band which plays both originals and Death's few known songs) all of which lead to Drag City giving the recordings a much overdue proper treatment. As to who sequenced this album is beyond me, but they couldn't have picked a more solid opener, pulling the b-side from the single."Keep On Knockin," which opens with what has to be one of the most memorable and emotive two chord riffs, easily dominates this album as the best track laid down. crashing cymbals, thumping drums packing a lean punch and snaking bass lines all mixing to create a potent, less than three minute picture of what made Detroit rock so hard through out the sixties and seventies; Bobby's vocals a thick mix of distant Phil Lynott and Hendrix, coming across with a pleading but cocky tone, set to lyrics sneering at a former lover; the time honored story of turning heartbreak into triumph and rubbing it in the face of the one that did you wrong, sounds perfect to me. Elsewhere the album remains just as solid and potent, only slipping marginally but offering solid tracks nevertheless; "Rock-N-Roll Victim" offers blistering hi hat abuse, a wisely added hand clap track over the snare, and a break neck pace with solos fit for cutting through cinder blocks. the lyrics a mix of tongue in cheek sarcasm and open admission to being rock and roll victims and victims of the obligatory cliches (poster covered walls, rolling sticks of grass, living by the stereo etc) while "Let The World Turn" is the obvious stand out track, kicking off with echoing vocals, ringing guitars and an almost dream-like feel, only to shift time signatures into a break neck punk pace, it comes across as an interesting idea but falls slightly short in actuality, sounding almost awkward and menacing at times, but tracks like "You're a Prisoner" and "Freakin Out" both blast along at swift paces, with crisp drumming assaults, the ever present razor sharp riffs (the late David hackney wasn't the best of players but was solid as hell) and lyrical content dealing with social anxieties and street level observations (check the latter song for some vocals similar to that of HR long before the man picked up a mic) the manic pace after the album's standout track is blistering, setting the listener up for the final assault, "Politicians In My Eyes" starting off with a drum roll that sounds similar to a machine gun blast and an equally chaotic bass line, this song pulls no punches and has nothing new to offer, and that is ok by me, some social commentaries never get old and never go out of style, and David's urban view on the corruption of politicians and their ill treatment of the common man is no less potent over thirty years later."they're responsible for sending young men off to die" with lines like that, it's a wonder more songs this potent and nakedly honest haven't been composed as of late, newer bands are opting for rock operas and grand statements instead, whereas Death simply shot from the gut and made no apologize, and if that isn't punk, I don't know what is.

All you've ever wanted to know about Death!:

http://www.myspace.com/deathprotopunk
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/arts/music/15rubi.html?_r=2
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/feb/09/detroit-band-death

Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009)

this was to be my second attempt at writing about various pieces of music both old and new. I scrapped my previous attempt and hoped to launch this second attempt sometime after the new year with some articles documenting some of our better bands from the past. while i still plan to post those articles upon completion, i regret i have to kick this page off with some bad news. On January 6th, the body of Ron Asheton, the incendiary and driving guitarist of the legendary band The Stooges, was found dead of what is being speculated as a heart attack at age 60. As you can imagine, this is a pretty hard blow dealt to those of us who pretty much worshiped the ground this band walked on and absorbed every ear bleeding note they committed to tape in their brief and chaotic lifetime. I suppose Ron could be regarded as a pioneer in a sense, though I generally dislike that term and prefer to remember him as an innovator, he broke a lot of new ground for guitar sounds and techniques which helped to shape an entire movement within rock and still prove influential to this day.Though he had a few noteworthy influences in his life such as Hendrix, The Beatles, and Brian Jones, what came out of his amps and what came from his fingers sounded like none of the above or anyone else that may have had an impact on him at the time. Ron wasn't the classical trained, blues influenced guitarist, he forged his own visceral and brutal style, often consisting of little more than a two chord progression played repetitively to the point of becoming something of a crude sonic mantra, drilling into the head of anyone within ear shot and capable of holding them entranced. I could easily name check a half dozen stooges songs that Ron turned into epic assaults: "i wanna be your dog, 1969, 1970, loose, funhouse, tv eye" but i think in the end it's easier and more appropriate to list simply the two albums he manned the six string gun on: "the stooges," and "funhouse" two of the most intensely brutal, crude, and brilliantly dumb rock records you will ever hear in your lifetime. This was the velvet underground stripped to their most basic, the stones at their most hungry, and the sonics and seeds at their most dangerous. This was the most in your face out of control yet carefully planned sonic assaults ever unleashed on the world of rock and roll and leaving the most mayhem and influence in its path.

These can be difficult pieces to write, there's always a balancing act between the fine line of expressing gratitude and admiration for an inspirational figure that has passed and avoiding the pitfalls of sentimental and emotional overload. The bottom line is: Ron was one of the most explosive and driving guitarists i have heard coming out of rock music in the past few decades and in my mind, no one could ever really touch The Stooges. It was bands like The Stooges that really did it for me, they struck a nerve i haven't felt many bands or performers strike since then and in the way they did. From the onset their music was glorious, dumb yet colored with flourishes of intellect beneath the surface, brutal and confrontational. This was truly rock music in all its glory and what I i believe it was meant to be, stripped of its frilly bullshit to the bottom line and shooting from the hip. No other band really spoke to me as their records did. They glorified, even celebrated their weirdness and perceived stupidity and even rubbed it in the faces of those looking down on them. This was where the roots of punk really began to hold ground and shape itself but what separated the stooges from that movement was the simple fact that this wasn't a self conscious movement or stylistic approach: these guys played rock and roll the way they felt it was meant to be played, hands down. This was my salvation throughout high school and my antidote to overly testosterone driven metal records, commercial rock and the bland "alternative" being touted by the tasteless suits pulling the strings of KROQ and other like minded money machines. This is what kept me apart from those choosing to play it safe and what got me through countless restless nights staring into the black around me and wondering what next?

Over the past few days, i have read a few articles pertaining to Ron, some were comments from Iggy and Watt, others were from some of the same players that came up in the Detroit scene with him as well as others that knew him in some form or another and in every case i read basically the same thing worded differently: Ron was a great human being, big hearted and kind, hiding beneath a wall of wit and cool, always a gentleman and far more intelligent than most would give the man credit for. All heavy wording aside: we pretty much lost one of the few truly great players from the early days of hard rock and a player that was innovative and brilliant in the most simplistic and crude senses. The Stooges, like many of their contemporaries were ahead of their time and suffered for it, not really getting the credit they deserved till well after the band fell apart at the seams, countless bands and performers have gone on record over the past three decades to sing their praises. Reuniting in 2003 with the mighty Mike Watt on board to man the bass. The band gave another incredible six years and finally were able to enjoy the credit they and Ron were long overdue for. With that said, we lost a truly kick ass player, another fallen hero for those of us that didn't follow the norm, those that knew him lost a great friend and he will be sorely missed. Goodbye Ron and thanks for everything.