Athens Ear Buds (10-29-09)

It's been an excessively crazy week around here; it always is during the pre-election/pre-Halloween run-up, but hey, we always find time for Athens Ear Buds, right?.

As usually, you can order or buy most of this music at Haffa's on West Union Street in Athens.
I requested Halloween-themed submissions this time, though it doesn't look like my contrary, chronically distracted AEB contributors paid much attention. Oh well.

You can find me Halloween night dressed up as the faceless Athens Ear Buds editor, compiler and all-round slave to the rhythm and the beat. Whatever the meaningless hell of abstracted stream of consciousness that means. - Terry Smith

Terry Smith, Athens NEWS editor and dude with the immense power of knowing how to slip his own favorites onto the Web site. The following is a video of the great '40s era jazz-pop singer Ella Mae Morse diving into rockabilly in 1951, with a steel-guitar backup that would make my steel-lovin' pal Tom Miller stand up on his hind legs and howl.

Andy Vogel is a freelance writer for ACRN and a student at OU: Canadian pop group Our Lady Peace returns with another light rock record. I have always felt lukewarm about these guys and their guilty-pleasure tracks, the songs that kind of make you feel motionless. Their recent album, "Burn Burn," breaks away from their normal sound, much more mellowed out from the days of grungy guitars and pointless feedback. The single, "All I Did Was Save Your Life," doesn't really showcase much of the band's effort. Other tracks like "Money Brains" are more raw, yet everything is still pretty dry. I do have to say the biggest improvement in the band is that they don't have the weird '90s moan anymore. Now, they rock like the Frey but just a tad bit nastier. Yet, what could you expect after the triumphant return of Creed? Our Lady of Peace are playing tonight at Columbus' Newport Music Hall.

Christopher Pyle, owner of Donkey Coffee and 3 Elliott Studio, plays in the local band The Jarts: "Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1" by Brian Eno, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. (Island, 1995). Essentially, this is a really weird, mostly ambient record by U2 with Brian Eno as a fifth member. If you are a Brian Eno fan but always thought U2 was too pop or grand for your tastes, this is your record. Also, Bono is much more toned down here and only sings on about half the record. Very quirky and different from anything they have ever done.

Colleen Carow, lead singer of Broken Ring and director of external relations for Ohio University's Russ College of Engineering and Technology: Elvis Costello, "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane" (Hear Music, 2009). Just when you think life can't get any better, you realize that the new album from Elvis Costello you've been meaning to look up isn't just totally rooted in Americana - it also includes two songs meant for Johnny Cash, one co-written with Loretta Lynn, and yes, another on which Emmylou Harris harmonizes while fiddles duel and duet. Not to mention that other tunes were co-written with producer T-Bone Burnett, who last worked with Elvis on "Spike (WB, 1989) and produced Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' upcoming release (as well as the Plant/Krauss collaboration "Raising Sand" "“ but you knew that). Recorded over three days in Nashville, "Secret" is a fine reminder that deep down, this British boy loves our heartland; in fact, it's his 28th country album (and 93rd album to date). A good track to start with and the thing that first caught my ear: "Sulfur to Sugarcane." P.S. The vinyl includes two bonus tracks, "What Lewis Did Last," and a zydeco spin on Lou Reed's "Femme Fatale." Look for the latter on iTunes' bonus track version. (Editor's note: I looked for a recent EC vid but stumbled on this late '70s classic. Editor's prerogative and all that.)

Pencil, old punk, celebrity judge, shipping/receiving guy and demo-goblin (aka Josh Ryan): Scott "Wino" Weinrich, Al Cisneros, Scott Kelly, Dale Crover. If these names or their bands (Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Sleep, OM Neurosis, Melvins, to name a few) have any significance to you, you probably have been eagerly waiting for the doom/sludge super group's debut album, the self-titled "Shrinebuilder," as have I. With a total of about a million years in combined experience, these leaders and shapers of every genre having to do with heaviness, hardcore, doom metal, sludge and stoner-rock, live up to the promise that a cavalcade of cacophony such as this should. Five tracks clock in at about 40 minutes and treat the listener with heavy riffage, psychedelic synths and a most noggin' noddin' rhythm section in Al Cisneros and Dale Crover. It sounds as though all members share vocal duties, with both Scotts delivering their signature styles. Lyrically it's a bit of a mulligan stew, though the themes seem to be maintained by a mutual air of mystic abstraction. Released by Neurosis guys' label, Neurot Recordings, this team-up delivers THE album of the year... Too soon? Not a chance, head bobbers, don't sleep. Check out Scott Kelly's blog, WeBurnThroughTheNight.blogspot.com for updates.

Dave Alexander, Athens' resident trainspotter and Dave Rave promoter: La Roux, "La Roux" (released June 29, 2009 on Polydor). I first heard of La Roux from the single "Quicksand," which was followed by a second single, "In for the Kill," that reached top five in the UK charts. Skream's remix of "In for the Kill" took the song to new heights, and is probably the best thing to come out of the dubstep scene. This set the bar high for La Roux's debut album, and it doesn't disappoint. The sound is pure synth pop, and while lead singer Eleanor Jackson's voice can be a shrill at times, her album has produced a few more hits including "Tigerlilly" and "I'm Not Your Toy."

John McVicker teaches English as a Second Language at Ohio University; he likes music a whole lot: Little Axe, "Stone Cold Ohio" (Realworld, 2007). Little Axe is Skip McDonald, a native of Dayton whose musical path has taken him around the world. After growing up in a family whose musical interests included blues, gospel and jazz, McDonald eventually made his way to New York, eventually playing guitar with bassist Doug Wimbish and percussionist Keith Leblanc to form the instrumental core of hip-hop pioneers Sugarhill Gang. After a few years at Sugarhill, with rockers Living Colour, and later at Tommy Boy Records, McDonald, Wimbish and Leblanc teamed with dance-dub producer Adrian Sherwood and moved to London, where he and other musicians from Sugarhill formed the industrial/hip hop/electronica band Tackhead. Since the mid-90s, McDonald has been fronting Little Axe, creating a spacy and swampy mix of country blues, gospel, dub, African, zydeco, trance, and just about any other music McDonald (and Wimbish & Leblanc) can get their ears around. Stone Cold Ohio is the fifth and most recent Little Axe album, and it hasn't got a bad track. McDonald has described his music as, "deep blues channeled through time, dubbed, tweaked, sampled, processed, explored, refreshed - surfing the present, from the past, into the future." It is indeed deep. Check out "Little Axe" on the usual Web video archives

Greg Bikowski, bassist for The Bob Stewart Band and the Bikowski Jazz Trio; paramedic for SEOEMS: The Cinematic Orchestra is a band that is in many ways (just what the name implies) sounds like a movie soundtrack. TCO's latest studio release, Ma Fleur (Domino, 2007), is no exception. The music is dramatic and moving in a way that progresses like a movie might. TCO's music has been described as techno jazz, acid jazz, new jazz and experimental jazz. Whatever the label, they are good. Their music can be thought of as a soundscape with open spaces, sparse melodies and rich textures. This album is a bit more laid back and melancholy than their previous efforts, but it is truly moving. Check out "To Build a Home." This track was featured in a few TV drama shows including "Criminal Minds" and "Without a Trace." TCO has also been featured on the show "Rescue Me." Check out Ma Fleur with headphones and create your own mind movie.