above: “Impeach the President” by The Honey Drippers.
“Impeach the President” was a 1973 song written by Roy C. Hammond Read more…
New York City is often seen as ground zero for New Year’s Eve celebrations; as such, it is never too early to plan your New Year’s Eve. In fact, it might even already be too late. Never fear! We’ve got you covered with enough quality concert options listed below that you’re bound to find something to happily blow your eardrums to as the clock strikes midnight and the calendar shifts to 2009. “Should old acquaintance be forgot…”
Patti Smith is playing Bowery Ballroom - buy tickets HERE
My Morning Jacket is playing Madison Square Garden - buy tickets HERE
Yo La Tengo and The Feelies are playing Wellmont Theatre - buy tickets HERE
A Place to Bury Strangers and The Vandelles are playing Mercury Lounge - buy tickets HERE
The Damned is playing Blender Theater at Gramercy - buy tickets HERE
Chuck Berry is playing B.B. King Blues Club - buy tickets HERE
Gov’t Mule is playing Hammerstein Ballroom - buy tickets HERE
Mike Doughty is playing Maxwell’s - buy tickets HERE
Last week we crash-bang-boomed our way through a mixtape that focused on songs that feature percussive/drum intros (listen HERE). In memory of one of rock’s great underrated drummers who passed away this week, Mitch Mitchell (pictured above), we’re back with Volume TWO. Crank up the volume, prep your air drum kits, and grab an umbrella… ‘cos these beats gonna bring the rain. BRING THE PAIN. Hear the drummer get wicked! Read more…
“Roundabout” by Yes which clocks in at 8:32.
We few, are we not drawn onward to new era? On a clover, if alive, erupts a vast, pure evil, a fire volcano. Was it Eliot’s toilet I saw? Was it a car or a cat I saw? Was it a rat I saw? Was it a bar or a bat I saw? Do nine men interpret?
“Nine men,” I nod.
“Name now one man!”
“Neil? An alien… UFO tofu.”
“Madam, I’m Adam: no lemons, no melon.”
“Rise, sir lapdog. Revolt! Lover… God… pal… rise, sir.”
“Naomi,” I moan. “I madam, I made radio! So I dared. Am I mad? Am I? Reviled did I live,” said I, as evil I did deliver… “go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog.”
Too bad, I hid a boot. Wontons? Not now.
“Wontons… not now?! Too bad, I hid a boot??”
Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog!
“Reviled did I live,” said I, as evil I did deliver. “I madam, I made radio. So I dared. Am I mad? Am I?!”
“Naomi,” I moan. “Rise, sir lapdog. Revolt!” (Lover, God, pal…) “Rise, sir!” (No lemons, no melon.)
“Madam, I’m Adam.” (UFO tofu? Neil? An alien?)
“Name now one man! Do nine men interpret?”
“Nine men,” I nod.
Was it a bar or a bat I saw? Was it a rat I saw? Was it a car or a cat I saw? Was it Eliot’s toilet I saw? On a clover, if alive, erupts a vast, pure evil: a fire volcano. Are we not drawn onward to new era?
We few…
Buy The Ultimate Yes - 35th Anniversary Collection HERE.
*images from HERE; palindromes from HERE.
EAR FARM’s 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. Click HERE to see the songs recently featured in EF’s 8+.
Traditional thought holds Black Friday – that wretchedly busy shopping day following Thanksgiving – as the de facto kickoff to the holiday shopping season. That’s all fine and well, but it doesn’t mean you can’t get a jump on your gift lists before then. And lest you think the stagnant economy gives you license to unload shoddy gifts on your beloved, the lifestyle police at Consumer Reports have just released their annual “Top 100 Products” to re-emphasize that nothing conveys affection like remortgaging your home for a nice present.
We took a look at many of the top electronics and home and personal accessories on the list and have decided - based on those having busy years in 2008 - which musicians and bands we feel would be most deserving of such niceties. Naughty or nice, coal or cookies, tis’ almost the season… Read more…
EAR FARM’s Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted whenever the mood strikes us. Today’s songs come to us from….the EF inbox! Click on the band name to visit their site, click on the song name to listen to the song. Happy Monday… Read more…
To celebrate tomorrow’s DVD release of Wayne Coyne’s visionary Christmas On Mars (on the mystical date of 11/11 nonetheless), we’ve got a freshly-pressed DVD/CD copy just sitting here waiting to be given away to that special someone.
But first, let’s back up a step…for those still unsure what the hell Christmas On Mars really is, we invite you to check out EF’s primer on the whole spectacle HERE. Excited? You should be, even if you don’t have the means to hook up your own Zeta Bootis Mega Supersonic Super-Sound Surround System. The proof’s all here:
Right, so what do you have to do to win? Just send an email (mail@earfarm.com) telling us what your favorite Flaming Lips song is and why (no need to be verbose, a sentence or two will do) and we’ll pick our favorite response this Friday. Unlike the film, we’re keeping it pretty simple and direct….
Good luck!
Visit The Flaming Lips on MySpace.
It’s been brought to our attention that at times the Countdown selections here at EF perhaps veer a bit too much towards the….unconventional? Arbitrary? Irreverent? Well so be it, that’s just how we roll, and you know what? There are a hell of a lot of other lists gumming up the internet that are just as arbitrary as our attempts at quantifying misguided marketing attempts at co-opting hip-hop culture, using Palintological reasoning to our own advantage, and making some sense of Aerosmith’s eternal relevance.
We consider these other irreverent lists as kindred spirits to our own weekly Countdowns, and to do them proper EF justice we figured we’d do a roundup of the most arbitrary ones from the past month. Yes that’s right, it’s a countdown of a countdown, so let your postmodern freak fly as we bring you our top 8 arbitrary music countdown lists found online (because 10 is too logical and you know, 8 is a special number for us). Look out, it’s about to get meta up in here. Read more…
There’s really nothing like a stand-alone solid beat to get a song off on the right foot. It’s a clean slap across the face to get your attention. Here I am, I am drums! As a deliberate affront to building dynamics and creating a mood, drum intros favor hitting you over the head with what you know you really want. It’s like having your dessert before your veggies, and we’re all in favor of that….so much so that we’ve created a mix with songs that all start with an isolated call to arms in the form of cymbal-bashing, skin-pounding, floor-tom-pummeling, snare-snapping goodness (with a few obvious omissions like “Heavy Metal Drummer”). Yes, this is only the tip of the iceberg; we probably could have come up with an entire mix of songs using the same intro as the first three tunes, so consider this a down payment on future drum goodness, and enjoy. Read more…
For whatever reason (okay, for lots of reasons), the word “gypsy” seems to carry a considerable load of negative connotations. But whatever happened to the romanticized ideal once promised by the gypsy lifestyle? The freedom and ability to invent and reinvent oneself through every passing town and with every fleeting acquaintance? The implicit superiority that comes from stealing away little fragments of each experience in stretching a broader self-portrait in the process?
In turning to such an obvious example as music, I would argue such sentiments still exist….in benevolent musical gypsies if you will. No, I’m not talking about Eugene Hutz or god forbid Jewel and her thoroughly exhausted tale of living and playing music in a van in Alaska, but instead a more thoughtful and gracious example.
Ivana XL is a Brooklyn-based (at least for now) singer-songwriter who weaves tales and melodies from her own, dare we say gypsy, lifestyle. You see, Brooklyn is her home base now, but according to her bio she apparently grew up on the road with her mother, ingesting classical, rock, blues and country all in equal measures while teaching herself to strum a guitar and find her voice. The results speak for themselves, a collection of assured and lilting standards that ruminate on love, modern life, and the sum of her experiences thus far in an incisive and engaging way. Listen for yourself below or visit her MySpace page for further proof. Better yet, check her out this Monday at the next Rooftop Films show. You’ll be glad she touched down here in Brooklyn.
Listen:
“Room With A View”
“The King”
See Ivana XL Live:
10 Nov - New York, NY @ The Rooftop Films IFC Show at Chelsea Market
29 Dec - New York, NY @ Cake Shop
Visit Ivana XL on MySpace.
“Sour Smoke” by Comets On Fire which clocks in at 8:47.
Or, an alternate history of the widespread phenomenon known as “guitar face” (based on pure speculation and gross oversimplification).
We all know it….that contorted exaggeration of facial features suggesting anguish, pain, catharsis, existential grief, or - alternately - such devilish bliss some might mistake it for a sign of carnal satisfaction (link pretty much NSFW).
Guitar Face. And isn’t such ambiguity of meaning its entire purpose? The squinted eyes and pursed lips, sweaty recoiling and faux-obliviousness of it all makes us wonder whether it’s a pose struck in pain, pleasure or some twisted combo of the two. Read more…
Bumper music is “a term used in the radio broadcasting industry to refer to short clips of music Read more…
Yesterday US Senator Barack Obama was elected to serve as the 44th President of the United States of America. Here are reactions to his election day victory from a few celebrity musician supporters, and an old Woody Guthrie song reworked by Billy Bragg and Wilco that’s been included as a way to poke a bit of fun at the notion of Obama as “Lord and Savior”.
“This will go down in history, in black history, for all of the sacrifices that the great Joseph Lowery and Martin Luther King made, this actually pays off for their sacrifice. … I’m speechless. I don’t even know what to say.”
“I felt like my vote was the vote that put him into office. … And that may not be true but that’s how much power it felt like I had.”
“My parents met working for [Obama's running mate on one of his early campaigns]. If it weren’t for Joe Biden, I would not exist as a human being. … I am proud to be a part of history in the making.”
“I’m so fucking happy right now”
“HI MOM, OBAMA WON!”
“This is a hugely significant day. I spoke to a friend who recalled that her grandfather was able to vote with great difficulty in his lifetime - he died only recently. There’s been discrimination and all kinds of obstacles placed in the way of African-Americans and to now see an African-American president is momentous. My friend was crying saying we are experiencing this moment in our lifetime.”
Listen: “Christ for President” by Billy Bragg & Wilco
Visit Barack Obama on MySpace.
BONUS: Prefix Mag election week special An Obama mixtape to celebrate
Like you really needed a reminder, but still, we had to say it: GO VOTE!
If you don’t want to listen to us, we’ve got friends (sort of, we’re on their email lists) in high places with convincing arguments. For example, David Byrne circulated this letter earlier this morning:
Pardon the bulk mailing. I Can’t Vote. I am an immigrant with a Green Card and, therefore, I am not eligible to vote in a federal election. FYI - I can get drafted (luckily, Daniel Berrigan burned my draft board’s records) and I pay taxes, yet I cannot vote for President. On Election Day, I see my neighbors heading to the nearby elementary school to cast their ballots. The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood - rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky - they all turn out in one day.
But most of you can vote. What can I say? The Republicans have made us less safe than before 9/11, bankrupted this economy, started an illegal war they can’t - and don’t intend to - finish, removed what sympathy (after 9/11) and respect the world had for the US, and have robbed US citizens of many of their basic rights. Global warming? What’s that? Science and education? Investment in our future? No, thanks - we’ll stick with a good ‘ole hockey mom. Ignorant, and fucking proud of it, as is always the case.
Although it looks like a shoo-in, it ain’t over ’til Florida. And there are plenty of racists in this country who will vote against their own best interests. So please, get to your local elementary school, post office, town hall, or whatever, and cast your vote and make this a country we can all be proud of. We can get out of this mess, and life can be better than it is.
David Byrne
NYC
And Trent Reznor sent out his own call to arms this Sunday:
Next Tuesday we will elect the next President of the United States. The result will have great consequences for the nation.
This election offers a choice is between two men with dramatically different visions of the future. We have strong feelings about this choice. But we feel even more strongly that all Americans, regardless of political preference, have a stake in the outcome and should vote in this critical election.
This is likely to be a close election. Your vote matters. Please use it and make a difference.
Sincerely,
Trent Reznor
Factor in Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, and Ben & Jerry’s all hooking you up with free treats for your efforts and suddenly the long lines don’t seem so daunting….whatever your inclination or situation, just get out and vote.
Topical song alert….
Listen:
Sunset Rubdown - “They Took a Vote and Said No”
above photo found HERE
When we first heard that The Beatles, MTV Games, and Harmonix are officially teaming up to create an all-new videogame based on the music of the Beatles, well Read more…
