The agressively jazzy feel of Soul Coughing? The vocal dexterity of Sublime? The funkiness of really old Chili Peppers? I’m not sure what I’m digging so much about the sound from the British trio Big Strides, or even if my fascination will last past the first snowfall here in Michigan. For now though, these boys have the bump I’m looking for. Check out “Strangely Inclined” to see if you are as the title suggests.
The Hard Lessons
Bay City, Michigan, like other famous bay cities — San Francisco especially comes to mind — can be a rocking fun town, as I found out this weekend at my wife’s BC Central High Class of 1990 15-year reunion weekend. From the Bell Bar (and its lack of a ventilation system) to the tiki lounge-inspired bar where the reunion was held (I forget what it was called), the class of ’90 rejoiced in each other’s company, for the most part, and the spouses of some of the grads did the same (at our own tables, set apart from the natives). Rick and I talked a lot of music, particularly about our fondness for local acts — hence, The Hard Lessons. Recent winners of a ‘Best Band in Detroit’ contest, these guys and girl rip through tracks like “Milk and Sugar” with a nice big gas-guzzling D-town sound. Hope you like ’em, Rick, and nice meeting you.
Les Hommes Sauvages
Les Hommes Sauvages sing in German, English and French, so you polyglots out there can have fun with that aspect of this German band. You noir fans will likely enjoy the sound of these three tracks; no matter the language in which they’re sung, a cool, dark, moody vibe is ubiquitous (plus, they use vibes — a vibraphone, that is). And if you’re just a Europhile, you’ll dig this line straight off the band’s website: “Being European sons and daughters they named their album Playtime after the movie of the same title by the French director genius Jacques Tati.” Yeah, I, uh, made that same connection. Thanks to Dr. Neal for dropping this one into the suggestion box.
MC Frontalot
Emmett’s been on my back to post MC Frontalot, the self-proclaimed “world’s 579th greatest rapper.” I’ve been putting off Frontalot for two reasons: 1) he’s got A LOT of songs to choose from, all available for free download, and 2) I can’t tell if he’s for real, or if this is all just a way for some Cal Tech computer science Ph.D. candidate to let off some steam. Regarding the latter, the obvious next question is, “Does it even matter if he’s legit?” At least I’ve come to a decisive “Hell no” answer to that one. So here’s the nerdcore hip hop, ten songs worth. When you’re done laughing at the silliness you get here, go ahead and download the other 52 songs available at www.frontalot.com. Or, you could buy his record, I suppose.
Brokeback
Brokeback — a.k.a. Douglas McCombs from Tortoise and Eleventh Day Dream, and a few friends — offers dreamy release in this lovely track. Let’s see, how many soft and cushy adjectives can be piled up on “Name’s Winston…”? Ethereal, soothing, idyllic, pensive. There’s four, at least.
Song of the Lakes
Beware! Song of the Lakes is devoid of cynicism, coolness or hipness; the musicians probably don’t wear much black and they likely have a collective age of 200+ yrs. (for the four of them); the flute plays a prominent role in this song. Now that that’s taken care of, if you’re still interested, check out what this near-legendary live act from Up North (northern Michigan / the upper Great Lakes) has to offer. Besides the north woods and lakes, summer cottages and fall-apart piers, maritime traditions and the 19th century, you can hear influences from the British Isles and Scandinavia. More downloads with even more flute are available at the Song of the Lakes website.
Brendan Benson
If Brendan Benson’s indie cred translated into cash money, he could probably find what he’s looking for, instead of still looking for it. All the hip Detroit bands link to his website; he runs a ghetto recording studio and hangs out with Jack White; he got screwed by Virgin Records in a ’90s album deal but is back with V2 anyway — what more could you ask for? Benson’s got a little twang, some ’60s sensibilities, and a whole lot of talent. If he could only get Jack to punch him out in front of some photographers…
TV on the Radio MP3
Truckstop Honeymoon
It seems like an appropriate time to post some New Orleans levee-billy — courtesy of Mike West and Katie Euliss of Arabi, LA — with sincere hopes that Truckstop Honeymoon will still be making these wonderful sounds. Bluegrass, southern rock, country, Anglo-folk all contribute the background to the wonderful narratives presented by this husband and wife crew. Check out “Capitol Hill” and “Walk of Shame” to get a sense of the political and cultural landscape, then hit their website to buy the two Truckstop Honeymoon albums.