Athens Ear Buds (09-17-09)

Athens Ear Buds No. 3 for the 2009-'10 school year is here, and I'm hoping you enjoy it.

The good news is that we've got plenty of blurbs. The bad news is that nearly every one was delayed from last week, or else came from my cache of pre-supplied write-ups from three or four diligent Ear Budsters.

This means there won't be mich left for next week unless folks come through with a pile of them when I send out my usual reminder over the weekend. We only received one after last week's solicitation.

If anyone wants to join the AEB roster, it's easy. Just send me an email at news@athensnews.com, and I'll put you on the mailing list. You just need to explain briefly what you have to offer in the way of musical knowledge or background. Once you're on the roster, there's no obligation to submit anything on a regular basis. Just whenever you feel like it, or more accurately, whenever I succeed in guilting you out about it.

If the submissions continue to fall off, we'll have to retire AEB, cutting it off at the knees in only its second year. Yes, that would be a horrific tragedy but somehow civilization will find a way to survive.

As usual, Haffa's on West Union Street in Athens is a sweet place to order or buy records that you see here or elsewhere. - Terry Smith, Athens Ear Buds' intensive care physician

Terry Smith, Athens NEWS edior: This band was a highlight of my SXSW '09 experience, The Right Ons from Spain (alas, without a Myspace link that works for me). I stood and danced right up front, my hand-me-down-from-my-daugher Canon Powershot weighted down by the official SXSW badge when I wasn't snapping pictures, and got bulled over by their live show. This video sounds a lot like The Guess Who:

Greg Bikowski, bassist for The Bob Stewart Band and the Bikowski Jazz Trio, paramedic for SEOEMS: One of the movies I took in this summer was "The Brothers Bloom." A good, clever movie with a great soundtrack. Composed by Nathan Johnson and performed by Cinematic Underground, In "The Brothers Bloom" (Cut Narrative, 2009), Johnson weaves intricate melodies with harmonies and styles that are somewhere between Montenegro and Mexico. Each tune moves along with the script and ranges from the raucous to the subtle. It's definitely a soundtrack that's in sync with the movie, and not some isolated set of songs as seems common with many soundtracks. And Cinematic Underground... these guys are good. They are a indie/experimental/alternative mix of instruments and vocal talents that can absolutely lite it up! This music is intelligently composed and well played. Checked out the film soon to be released on DVD and hear it yourself.

Josh Antonuccio, owner/producer of 3 Elliott Studio in Athens: Leonard Cohen, "The Future" (SBME Special Mkts., 2008; originally released in 1992). A followup to Cohen's "comeback" album, "I'm Your Man," in this strange adventure Cohen continues into glossier production ripe with synthesizers and drum machines. Released in the early '90s, songs such as "Waiting for the Miracle" and "Closing Time" provide a desolate and altogether Biblical perspective into the travails of humanity. Though largely known for the amount of films and TV shows that have picked up songs from this album, it's ultimately the brilliant prose of Cohen's cryptic vision that captures the imagination (and nightmares) of the listener. As Cohen predicts in the title track with devastating subtlety: "I've seen the future baby: it's murder." The album suffers a bit from outdated production, but the songs stand up as some of the best of his career.

Pencil, old punk, celebrity judge, shipping/receiving guy and demo-goblin (aka Josh Ryan): My last two Earbuds deviated from my self-imposed policy of reviewing mostly regional demos and self-released records. This week is a return to form with a demo from W.Va's Landmine (now called Enzuigiri, www.myspace.com/enzuigiriman). Landmine is a young three-piece who play lots of post hardcore/post-punk riffs with lyrics about the end of the world, interstellar destruction, giant worms and wrestling. Musically I can hear bits of Helmet, '90s hardcore, and something else I can't quite put my finger on. It's mostly upbeat and distorted without really breaching what I'd called "grind speed," although things get pretty fast at times. Intersperse this with some prettier, janglier bits and the result is almost as enjoyable as their live show, which I've seen half a dozen times, and just keeps getting better. They play around here quite a bit so keep your ear to the rail, and rumor has it they have a 7-inch record in the works as well (demo released as a CDR and cassette by their own damn selves).

John McVicker teaches English as a Second Language at Ohio U.; he likes music a whole lot: Masada String Trio, "50th Birthday Celebration, Vol. 1" (Tzadk). Saxophonist, composer, indy record mogul and certified genius (MacArthur grant in 2006), John Zorn celebrated his 50th birthday a few years ago by organizing a month of shows with all sorts of bands playing his music at Tonic, a New York City club. Of those shows, 12 have been released as CDs; I'm the happy owner of the first of the series, which features Mark Feldman (violin), Eric Friedlander (cello) and Greg Cohen (bass) playing 11 selections from JZ's Masada Songbooks, a set of about 500 tunes that sound to me sort of like klezmer meets Ornette Coleman. The Masada songs have been done by all sorts of small bands, ranging from a piano-free jazz quartet to hard rock. The Masada String Trio is one of my favorite ways to hear the music, and Feldman, Friedlander and Cohen can make the music swing like the dickens, even when proceedings get very weird in spots. As usual, check out the Web video archives under the key words: masada string trio.

Barry "Growlin" Wolfe, Athens ex-pat, Farmacy founder, ex- DJj/producer KALX, Berkeley, Calif., occasional music reviewer for Blurt online mag: Drug Rug, "Paint The Fence Invisible" (Black and Greene/TuneCore, 2009). Drug Rug's self-titled debut last year really caught fire in a word-of-mouth frenzy among new music lovers. Their song "Day I Die" was nominated Best Song of the Year in the Boston Music Awards. The music is the love child of Tommy Allen and Sarah Cronin, who infuse a child-like wonderment, joyfulness and simplicity into it. Their acid-folk rock takes some cues from the Mamas & Papas on "Coffee In The Morning" and "Blue Moon." Others opt for hillbilly harmonies. "Noah Rules" and the title song infuse a dreamy-pop feel. "Hannah Please," with its Farfisa riff right out of The Standell's "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White," rides along with a pure Beach Boys' melody. Guitar parts that burst out here and there are infectious things of beauty swirling in a psychedelic, multi-track production that makes your head spin. "PTIF,", in some ways superior to their freshman album in its maturity, lacks the wacky, chaotic and anarchistic quality that listeners embraced. I say acquire them both and savor the difference!

Christopher Pyle, owner of Donkey Coffee and 3 Elliott Studio, plays in the local band The Jarts: "69 Love Songs" by The Magnetic Fields (Merge Records, 1999). "69 Songs" spread out over three discs with a wonderful color booklet and all the lyrics provided. This is low-fi indie rock at its very best. Very "homey" sounding, this record draws you in right away and doesn't let go. Of course, the subject matter is about love, but these are nowhere near your typical love song. It's a very funny and playful record but also insightful and well-thought-out lyrically. It's hard to believe, but even at 69 songs, not even one song should have been left off this modern-day masterpiece.

Dan Dreifort plays lead broom in Vellumn. Their next show is Nov. 6 at Jackie O's. Beck [Record Club], "The Velvet Underground & Nico" (beck.com/record_club 2009). Beck and pals (including Giovanni Ribisi amongst others,) practiced the classic VU album's tunes for a day or so and then recorded the whole lot the next day. It's free and only available online. Give this audio-visual treat a whirl even if you're amongst the ranks who thought Scientology was sucking the edge from Beck. This homage is rough as hell, and that's a good thing. Note the detuned instruments in "Waiting for My Man" and the apropos teenage garage angst captured for their rendition of "Heroin."