Detour Launch Party: Night 1 Thoughts

If you haven't clicked through to Detour link on the right yet, you totally should because they fill this interesting void intranets between the often mind numbing ADD optimism of Stereogum and the often mind numbing aspergers (pronounced assburgers) pessimism of Pitchfork.

Anyway, they're having a 3-day party to celebrate their emergence from journalistic gestation and unlike most of us, they got to choose their birth canal. Bursting forth at the Magic Stick last night oozing Sparks and High Life like so much amniotic fluid.... okay this metaphor is just getting gross... here's the bands I saw last night described in the lineage metaphor invented by Tenacious D. E.G. Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Molly Hatchet couldn't be here tonight, but they all had sex and would like to present their two headed love child Tenacious D.

Child Bite -- In the late '60s and early '70s it wasn't unusual to see an Ann Arbor or Detroit bill featuring the Stooges and Parliament. That pairing could almost describe Child Bite, because they definitely jam out with some funked out spaciness but never leave that grinding proto-punk grit. But the fact is these guys are just way too white and have that NYC art student vibe. Dad's the Stooges, but Mom is Talking Heads perhaps the true lords of albino soul.

The Sights -- I'm pretty the sure the Sights were born from the Small Faces having sex with the Faces. While the cynical asshole might view this as an implied Ronny Lane wank, you can't get too down on a band that hauls a Hammond AND a Leslie up the front stairs of the Magic Stick just to keep the rockin' authentic like.

Deastro -- It's hard for me not to identify one branch of the tree as The Postal Service. There's certainly others doing the basement electronica thing (tree town's Dykehouse comes to mind) but Gibbard's ultimately a pop-song writer and so's Deastro. In fact, I'm pretty sure Brendan Benson's the dad, even if he skipped town and might hope the beat boxes are just a phase.

Juiceboxxx -- First off... what the hell's going on in Milwaukee? Young skinny white rapper tempts you to say Marshall Mathers -- but it's more like an ill fated Eminem bio-pic staring DJ Quals featuring a soundtrack of artists who weren't quite good enough to make that Run the Road compilation. I should also point out he's a complete spaz and frickin' awesome.

Bonde Do Role -- I'm not sure they are actually real, or really Brazilian... if they do in fact exist they might be a couple of kids from Indiana who take their retarded brother on a cross country journey Little Miss Sunshine stizz making money by screaming nonsense into microphones over a mixtape of 80's hard rock hits that warped from being left out in the sun. The beats are straight Delicious Vinyl, hard rock hooks and old school beats. I've also been told that their Portuguese lyrics are Rod Allen filthy. So I guess they're Os Mutantes getting busy with 2 Live Crew to a Young MC album.... also better than it looks on paper.

See you tonight for round 2 and I'll be skipping Saturday (try not to be disappointed) for the Nummer/GP Jen nuptials... BOSS!!

This is the part right before the part with Fonzie on water skis



Play that Toto Fattie, play it goooood!

September 18 Notable Releases

A few of the 1,598 new and re-released records coming out this week.

Eddie Vedder -- Music for the Motion Picture Into the Wild. The Pearl Jam-mer's soundtrack featuring a cover of Canadian rocker's Indio's "Hard Sun".

Ben Lee -- Ripe. For me this Aussie singer-songwriter has always worked better as a collaborator, sideman and boyfriend to chicks far more famous. How often do you find yourself yelling at musicians to quit their day job?

Various Artists -- Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970. Another set in the much loved series pioneered by Lenny Kaye and championed by Rhino records.

Summer's Almost Over...Wonder why I haven't been posting much?

Now that we're in the release season, we'll try to do better.

September 11 Notable Releases

A few of the 1,958 new and re-released records coming out this week.

50 Cent -- Curtis. Curtis, tell 50 he has no original ideas and the flow of marbles in molasses.

Kanye West -- Graduation. Is this your Puffy album where you just rap over lazily sampled hits ("Stronger") or your Justin Timberlake album where you're still under the impression that Coldplay is cool ("Homecoming")?

Iced Earth -- Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Pt. 1. Will the Setians, the direct descendants of the Grand Architect of the Universe survive the invasion of earth by mankind?

Yeah dude... MANKIND FUCKIN' INVADED EARTH!!!

Pick up the the pieces of your blown mind and listen to this album, part 1 of the full the story outline in Iced Earth's epic three part song cycle, "Something Wicked this Way Comes" or you may never find out. Did I mention that former Judas Priest frontman/Judas Priest coverband frontman Tim "THE RIPPER" Owens is on this album? Yeah dude, the same guy Marky Marky played in Rockstar...

What's that?

What do you mean it's no The Dark Saga?

Fuck you, ya' fuckin' naysayer, you try and write an epic song cycle cum two part rock opera, ya fucker, ya fucking BITCH!

Animal Collective -- Strawberry Jam. Purported to be the most accessible collection of the the Collective to date. Which is good news if you thought Feels kind of sucked and bad news if you liked telling people who thought Feels kind of sucked that they weren't cool enough to get it.

September 4 Notable Releases

A few of the 1,458 new and re-released records coming out this week.

Patti Scialfa -- Play It as It Lays. Mrs. Ba-RUCE once again proves she can do more than sing harmony and age better than Clarence and Little Stevie.

Manu Chao -- La Radiolina. Cosmopolitan party music from the festival junkie/global citizen.

Ted Nugent -- Love Grenade. Another exercise in subtlety from the Motor-City Madman... of course he hasn't lived near Motown in decades. He even pulled a Jack White recently and abandoned Michigan altogether for Waco, TX -- unfortch for him, the title of Waco Madman was already taken.