Couple days ago I talked about 8-Bit the band and 8-bit the genre, and I feel I could have gone on for quite a damn while about the genre. I mean, there’s a lot to say about it, a lot to like. You’ve got that nostalgic feel, for one, and to make it sound good at all you need tons of layers, so that aesthetic property is built right in. Plus the old electronic beeps just have such a bright, clean tone to them. You can’t not smile when you hear it. Unless it’s bad. Then it’s really, really bad. But we’re not talking about the bad stuff. I’ve got a million of this shit* and you’re only going to hear the good stuff.

The Adventure is about the best example of pure 8-bit pop composition I can think of off the top of my head at midnight-thirty. Math The Band is an 8-bit pop-punk outfit (I know, I know) that reminds me VERY strongly of Atom and His Package. That can mean many things to you or no things at all; I mean it as a compliment. And just to show you that this isn’t as out there as you might think, even Beck did an EP worth of 8-bit remixes of Guero. Admittedly not his best album, but everything’s better when you add a Gameboy or two.

Personally, I’m not quite as impressed by folks just ganking classic video game music and laying down raps over it, though that can be fun. I’m more impressed when folks use the tools of the time to make new material. You know, how at Renaissance fairs the blacksmiths will make suits of armor without using a welding torch, which would make everything a hell of a lot easier. So, maybe you like this stuff, maybe you don’t. If you do, you’re welcome. If you don’t, well you can just scroll on down the page, cowboy, pick yourself out something nice. Or you know what, maybe go listen to ‘All Songs Considered‘ on NPR and get your fix that way. You’re too good for 8-bit? Homeboy, 8-bit’s too good for you.

The Adventure – “Loredo”
Math the Band – “Why Didn’t You Get a Haircut”
Beck – “Bit Rate Variations in B-Flat”

* You read that right. A million. Of this shit.

Dear Hollywood,

To whom it may concern behind the much ballyhooed and bedeviled Janis Joplin biopic:

You need stand up and take notice of a one, Miss Deanna Brown. A starlet and a star. She possesses the vocal range not usually bestowed upon such a pretty white girl… That’s not racist, it’s just true.

She would fit the bill and then some. Yes, she’s a friend of mine… but, no, that’s not why she’s good (although, I do tend to reserve my friendship for only those so talented).

Deanna Brown’s new/freshman album, “Traveler,” along with some early exclusive tracks you only wish you had access to, prove her worth among the rising stars of tomorrow. The Kentucky native, and my sometime neighbor, appeared on American Idol season 8 and immediately garnered notice from the judges and the press alike.

Even if the Janis Joplin thing fell through b/c of studio bs, she could play Carole King. Or maybe Bonnie Raitt (after dying her hair and getting some extensions).

This album was recorded in in the Virgin Islands, and I dare say there’s some reggae/country fusion (”Can’t Find You”), Latin flavor (”Burned Out”), and more traditional (”Traveler”) to be found. The album builds like a concert, easing into a hard hitting second half, where you can find the two tracks below. I’ll post a third from an early EP that’s older than my LA Life (4 years, 1 month, and twelve days) but totally timeless for a beautiful, soulful soul such as Deanna.

Sincerely,
Me

Deanna Brown – “Diseased”
Deanna Brown – “What If”
Deanna Brown – “Save Me From Myself” (from unreleased EP)

Rich people are so dumb*. They buy the dumbest things. I imagine they buy stuff they think is going to make their life more awesome. I get it. Fast cars are cool. I love them myself. Accelerating really has to be one of lifes greatest pleasures…especially when ripping around a corner to impress some really hot chick. God those stick shifts are conveniently located.

And you know what. There is nothing short of a fuck ton of rich people in America. And when I say a lot I mean a lot. You do realize this is the first year ever that the top 400 richest people (according to that shiny magazine Forbes) all have more than a billion dollars. A billion. What are they spending that stuff on? I can’t figure it out. You want to know who one of the guys on the list is? Yes, yes you do. Little Caesar’s founder Michael Ilitch. Yeah. The founder of Little Ceasers. Quick: Think of the two closes Little Ceasers you know right now. Not as easy as you might think? Yeah that’s because there are like 18 of them left. But he has 1.5 billion dollars. God I fucking love America.

Listen I’m pretty fucking rich. But I’m not Forbes rich. Yet. But if I was? I’ll tell you the first thing I’d buy. Au Revoir Simone. Don’t worry – I’d let them tour and stuff. But I’d pay them about 30 million a year to sing me to sleep most nights. Come to think of it – I think I’d have them wake me up with singing too. See now that would be something that would be bad ass to buy. I don’t think anyone’s rich enough yet to buy Jay-Z** but I totally would if I could. He’d sit shotgun and freestyle while we dropped through the city causing trouble on the dirty. I’d build them both the sickest studio money could buy. Anything to get them to do more recording. And listen – if someone from Au Revoir Simone wanted to get married I’m not going to say I wouldn’t consider it.***

If there was a soundtrack to my dreams – this would be it. The vocals that will hit your ears might as well be rays of sunlight. They will make your insides will glow. Listen to it. And go buy their album that dropped earlier this year.

Au Revoire Simone – “Another Likely Story”
Au Revoire Simone – “Another Likely Story (Neon Indian)”
Au Revoire Simone – “Shadows”

* I’m obviously not talking about myself. Me be not that dumb. It doesn’t matter how many commas I have.
** Zing
*** I would say yes to who ever asks first. No questions asked.

Photo credit: Sarah Wilmer

There’s a couple of angles I can go with here. I should probably start by saying I played a lot of video games as a child. Not bragging or anything. I can beat Mega Man 2 in an hour and a half. No big deal. I could finish Double Dragon without using the jump kick. Look, I didn’t have a lot of friends. I didn’t need them; I had Dragon Warrior III. So old-school video games have a special place in my heart. That’s why I like the genre of 8-bit music: making music using the sound equipment from the old control decks — or, at least, making it sound like you did. You have to appreciate what some composers could do with such limited tools. You’ve got a cheapo, lo-tech sound card and you’ve got to make a song with that that sounds good on a 30-second loop. It can be done, though: the theme from Solstice sounds like NES Dream Theater.

Interestingly, this kind of music lends itself really well to rap. Enter 8-Bit. They’re a band. 8-Bit is a couple of robots from Highland Park who do coke and eat from taco trucks and don’t give two fucks. I love these guys robots and don’t know why. I like a lot of weird shit. The music is like…it’s kind of like Ween got fucked-up drunk and dared the Beastie Boys to rob Daft Punk’s apartment. I don’t really know what else to say about them other than they’re crude and juvenile and ridiculous and fucking fun as hell to play at parties. In my mind I lump them together with Gil Mantera’s Party Dream, Atom and His Package, Grand Buffet, and all the other goofy shit I like just because I like it. I’d compare them to Lil’ Pocketknife, except they put out one EP five years ago and promptly disappeared without a trace. It just rubs me the right way, that’s all. And they adhere to some pretty legit internal logic: robots can’t get driver’s licenses, so they need fake IDs to buy beer. Makes total sense. Look, they’re drunk robots, what else can I say?

Plus they’re super chill people and have great packaging skills. Have a look at this CD. Just look at it. Look at this ninja star.

This is a CD case. There’s a CD inside this thing. I’ll prove it. Buy it, why don’t you? Just look at this. I can’t believe it.

Here’s the thing though: I’m not 100% sure they’re still an active band. I’m basing that solely off this enigmatic Youtube video. Are they really gone? If so, goddammit, this is just like the time I got really into Texas Is the Reason in 2004, like YEARS after they broke up. Still though, if you’re in L.A. you need to check the listings and if they’re playing, go see them. I better see all 3,833,995 of you at the next show. You’ve got no damn excuse whatsoever. And get yourself a ninja star while you’re at it.

8-Bit – “I-Deez”
8-Bit – “HLP”
8-Bit – “Drunk”

You know how you know you’ve got a good friend? If you call them at 3am because you’re in jail…they come and bail you out. You know how you can tell you’ve got a great friend? When you’re in jail at 3am they’re sitting right there with you.

Dan is that kind of guy. And today is his fucking birthday. Plus Dan is Irish so everything is cause for celebration. Best – not dying for 365 consecutive days. For people like Dan and I – this is a serious accomplishment.* We live life pretty close to the edge. Kind of like that Aerosmith song but way crazier. That being said the only thing I could think to get Dan for his birthday was this song by Grouper. It’s called Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping. Picture him coming back hammered from a night of bashing about the the Hollywood alphabet listers…sitting down…obviously checking to see what I got him…then listening to this song. Just think about that.

Now Listen to the song. Try to guess the name of the album. Oh did you guess “Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill”? Yeah I know, it was my third guess too. My first two were “Sliding Live Narwhals Down the Highway” and “Heaving Woodchucks over a Dam on a River”. Damn. So close.

The magician behind this magic – Grouper…is really just the solo name of a girl from Portland, Oregon. You can look up your name yourself if you want.*** She writes music that can be described as nothing short of haunting. I would be perfectly content if you told me you were shipping me off to an island and this was the only song I got to listen to for the next ten years.** She’s touring in Europe right now. You should go there and see her. I’m serious. Also check out her album on Amazon here. Don’t buy from iTunes. They are silly.

And to Dan. A Happy Birthday. And may you be buried in a casket built from a hundred year old oak tree… that I plant today.

Grouper – Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping

* One of us could be dead by the time you read this.
** Not forever. Fuck that. Rest of my life? I don’t even think I’d bring music. I’d go nuts on that shit. Just kidding I’d bring the Fur Elise song the older gentleman wrote if it was forever.
*** I don’t even know why we bother with names as a society anymore. We should all just go by hey. So many fewer screw-ups. No more names to remember. Problem solved. Name tag sales would be down. Okay we’ll file that under one con.

Quick name Britney Spears’ best song. Do it in under two seconds. Okay I hope you brought a pen and paper and wrote that down. Look down at your paper and read out what you wrote. Obviously you are currently staring at the word Toxic because every one knows that’s her best song. Ever. Fuck even she knew she’d never do better than that. Her only recourse was to shave her head, climb the nearest diving board, and get as far off the deep end as possible.

You might be wondering where Britney Spears unearthed that perfect little pop gem from. Because (spoiler alert) Britney, Ms.Knowles, Madonna…they don’t always write their own stuff. Crazy I know. They seem so smart don’t they?

A production duo called Avant & Bloodshy decided that they’d rip out one of the most perfect pop songs anyone has ever seen that just so happens to blend in and out of Little Mermaids “Kiss the Girl” (remixers be warned). They wrote some other stuff too but I’m way too lazy to type any of it out. Seriously what the fuck do I look like a professional typerist? Jesus.

The two decided they needed a third dude who was drinking the swedish music steroid water and formed Miike Snow. I’m obsessed with this Animal song. Probably because it’s perfect. And probably because both Mark Ronson and Peter Bjorn & John fucked around with it and now I can’t decide which version I like more. It’s like picking between back to back to back bowIs of ice cream. I don’t know they are allllll so good. Don’t get me started on Mark Ronson. Talk about dudes I’m never bringing to a party with hot chicks. Plus he’s wicked cool because I bet he’s met that Lohan chick. She seems nice. I liked Parent Trap.

I put these three on my digital music player this Sunday and listened to them really loudly while pumping my hips on a street corner. I did this for five hours. Not a single lady asked for my phone number. Dear ladies, I don’t know what you want any more.

Miike Snow – “Animal”
Miike Snow – “Animal (Mark Ronson Remix)”
Miike Snow – “Animal (Peter Bjorn & John Remix)”

Get their new album here. It’s pretty freaking rad. I bought it. I don’t normally buy albums.

I’ve seen Tom Waits perform live before. He came through Louisville during the Real Gone tour – he said he came through to pick up fireworks and because “somebody here still owes me money.” It’s a god-damned miracle that I got tickets (which cost five million dollars,) and I sat behind two drunk scalpers. It was awesome. I drank bourbon and smoked Viceroys and tried my best to act like a Tom Waits cosplay. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I don’t mean that in as hyperbole. I mean dude doesn’t tour very often, and when he tours he tends to stay away from the big cities. I missed his last tour, Glitter and Doom, only because it didn’t come within 300 miles of where I was. There’s no LA or DC in PEHDTSCKJMBA.

Tom was gracious enough to record all these live performances and put them on a CD. I advise you to jump on it like you’re saving your baby from a hand grenade. First of all he’s amazing live. You cannot, of course, see him jabber and jangle like a leather scarecrow when you’re at home listening to it on your iPod. It’s small consolation for not having been there. But he gets even more delightfully Waits-y when he’s performing live; he turns up the snarl and growl. Normal Tom Waits sounds like a cross between Louis Armstrong and the Cookie Monster; when he gets fired-up onstage he sounds more like a rusted-out diesel engine.

Secondly, disc two is exclusively snippets of in-between-song banter, edited together into a continuous routine. That is to say, it’s basically a Tom Waits standup comedy album. Or, rather, sit-at-a-piano comedy, which is pretty fashionable these days. He’s got a taste for terrible puns, protips about the animal kingdom, and self-parody. Just like you’d expect. It’s pretty funny, and I’m not going to lie, it’s a little weird to listen to it all the way through, on account of his being a musical legend and all. Bob Dylan doesn’t tell knock-knock jokes. David Bowie doesn’t juggle. But then again, Tom has this whole Devil’s-Carnival thing going, so it works; the ringmaster’s got to have a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

And thing is, dude is the Devil. He’s playing the devil in Dr. Parnassus, of course, but I’m pretty sure he’s also the regular capital-D Devil. It hasn’t happened yet, but I fully expect him to appear out of the shadows some gin-soaked evening, convince me to climb in his rusty Pontiac, and drive me away to meet my doom. I’d get in the car; I wouldn’t think twice. And you know what, I know this isn’t popular to say, and the article doesn’t need it, but I would give him road-head. There, I said it, I’m not ashamed. I’d do it in a hot second.

Kay, this went to a weird place all of a sudden. I recognize that. I clearly have some complex feelings about Mr. Waits that maybe I need to work through.

Tom Waits – “Such a Scream”
Tom Waits – “Make It Rain”
Tom Waits – “Story”

I’m not going to lie to anyone here. Mostly because the internet is a horrible place to lie about stuff – but also just because I’m super lazy. All right – I’m pretty fucking wasted right now. And if I had one wish? It would be to dream about doing things at night with Shakira. Preferably while this song played in the background. And when it got to the point where she’d do that climax type thing I read about in Womens magazines – she’d lean over and do that awooo thing into my ear and it’s at this point in my fantasy that I think I might just decide to die because my life would be downhill from here on out. So depressing.
If you’re a dude who likes women that are pretty sexy and this chorus doesn’t make you want Shakira to work her inner she wolf out on you for nights on end…you should get that checked out.

Shakira – “She Wolf”

The shows were a week ago. A secret show at Teddy’s on Thursday. A bigger and more sold-out engagement the next night at the Troubadour. Adam and I both chose to hit up the show that got us as close as possible to the gorgeous 23 year old. It took me this long to write about it, because every time I got a free moment to write, I decided to listen to the album instead. It’s only now that I feel like I can multitask while ALSO listening to the album.

Now, the venue wasn’t the best for a concert. Sure, the acoustics are great in the corner club at The Hotel Roosevelt, but if more than about thirty-four people show up, then you’re going to be craning you head in awkward ways to get a glimpse of what some people might refer to as “the stage.” And that’s exactly what everyone was doing: twisting our necks into uncomfortable positions, jaws appropriately dropped, to stare at the red-headed powerhouse that is the “Florence” part of “Florence + the Machine”.

Between songs, forget about it hearing or understanding her. She’s a soft-spoken pixie of a woman. If not for the shock and flame of her hair, you might just miss her in a room full of people. But, shit, when she’s singing, it’s nothing short of otherworldly. Her voice, the lyrics, the meaning of life… they all come into focus in an instant.

I stood there in the small throng of people, crowding each other in the totally uncrowded space, to witness a movement. She was the siren and we were all crashing our ships against the rocks. It was, dare I say, spiritual?

Those blokes across the pond have been keeping her secret. At least from me. Maybe not for you. If not for you… Good for you. As for me, at least I am now enlightened. “Lungs” is freakin amazing, though it’s missing the amazing acoustic version of Rabbit Heart. Let’s all get together and petition Florence Welch for the next album to include a second disc of all live acoustic versions of this album, and then to continue releasing albums like that till we’re all cold in our graves.

As always, I’m having a hell of a time picking what to post. “Cosmic Love” might have gotten on here if I was writing this yesterday. “Blinding” will punch you in the face around 1:10… Girl knows how to crescendo, if you know what I mean.

Seriously, just listen to these songs and then go straight to buy it. Don’t waste time going anywhere else to hear the other songs and just trust us on this one, for once. I’ll personally guarantee your money back.*

Florence and The Machine – “Blinding”
Florence and The Machine – “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)”
Florence and The Machine – “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) [Acoustic]“

*Rebate may take up to five years.

Tuesday was like christmas in ‘95 when I got: a banana seat bike, a brand new laser disc player, dos Klipsch speakers and three fucking wicked sweet fur coats. That is to say: It was the tops. If Norman Rockwell had spent his time painting vapid hot chicks from Santa Barbara like he should have, instead of that sassy frass north-east postcard picturesque garbage he seemed to like so much, Tuesday night would have been just like a classic Rockwell painting. Seriously.
Long legs. Accents. Gorgeous hair. Dance moves that will make you hold your breath for 45 seconds at a time. Possibly moist underwear. I’m not going to name names. But it’s this kind of shit that made me feel I’m like that kid in the backseat wondering if this shit was real life. And don’t get me started on the music.

OK go ahead. They came out swinging. They didn’t stop. I think at one point I levitated. Standing in the first row was not the worst idea we’ve come up with. Every song they dropped stirred an echo of “oh my g this is my favorite” through the audience. And to be fair it is hard to pick a favorite. It reminds of the time I was trying to settle on which “Victoria Secret” model I was going to ask out.* You can really convince yourself that any of them are favorites. It’s hard to commit. That’s kind of how I feel about most of Little Dragons catalog. Although I obviously would have thrown a little kid into a pond full of kid eating piranhas to get them to play “My Step”. Unfortunately sacrificing a kid wasn’t necessary. They played it. They rocked it. I lost my mind. And after tearing up our ears with an almost perfect set – they obliged us with an encore. I’m not talking about any weak encore. Anything but.

Apparently the dictionary Little Dragon used to look up what an encore was described it as “Coming back on stage and rocking the crowd harder than a richter scale 8 for 18 fucking minutes – while the smoke-city chicks in the audience just get not dry.”** Because that’s what they did. The best song (note:not my favorite but the best) off their debut was Wink. Fuck man, it’s about a hot chick winking at you. What more sexiness do you want? I hope none – because then they left us for real. I don’t think the crowd would have been able to handle another encore anyways. People probably would have died from some sort of serotonin haze overdose.

Instead of a double encore I settled for kicking it with the band post-show style and asking them questions like “Did you write that bass line in My Step? Yeah? It’s amazing.” to “Do you have any concept of how fucking good your music is?” Listen I don’t want to brag or anything but I am pretty sure I have a future in interviewing people about music they make.

After getting a copy of the attached remix on vinyl – three Rockwell paintings took me back their casa. And well – we’ll let the rest of this story be like one of those M. Night films. People love those I hear.***

Little Dragon – “Wink”
Little Dragon – “Recommendation (Todla T remix)”

* In the event I ever get within shouting distance of them
** You cannot convince m

Maybe you guys have heard of Gentle Giant, and maybe you haven’t. If you’ve heard of them, though, you’re probably a huge fan; they’re that kind of band. And, if you haven’t heard of them, guess what, as per the above premises you are now a huge fan. And since you’re a huge fan, you’ll be thrilled to know I scored an interview with frontman Derek Shulman. How exciting is that? I found out about them in high school and have been a pretty rabid fan since then, the kind of fan who buys the import editions of the stuff he can’t find in U.S. stores. You might not have to go to such extreme lengths if you’re just now getting into them: EMI is doing reissues of seven of their albums, everything between In a Glass House and Giant for a Day. The reissues come out today, by the way; I’d definitely snap them up if I were you.

I’ve got prog in my veins (first concert I ever went to was Yes, with Alan Parsons opening, no foolin’,) so I tried to prog it up with Derek. What did I learn? Well, for one thing he’s sick and tired of people calling Gentle Giant a prog band. Which makes sense, I think: it’s like the similarly-meaningless label ‘hipster‘: part of being ‘hipster’ is that you have to deny it. But c’mon: Gentle Giant wrote madrigals about R.D. Laing and wickedly complex rock songs about Rabelesian literature, and they all play like thirty instruments. This is why you probably haven’t heard of them, and, also, why you’re a GG fanatic if you know the least bit about them. Nobody did what these guys did. And hey, it was a long time coming, but it’s reissues time.

The musical selections are from Derek’s favorite GG albums. I was happy when he mentioned Civilian; I like that one a lot and it’s an underdog. “Way of Life” is off of In a Glass House, which is one of the reissues and my favorite; never a dull moment on that record. The interview itself is longish, so it’s after the proverbial jump.

Gentle Giant – “Way of Life”
Gentle Giant – “The Boys in the Band”
Gentle Giant – “Underground”

TMH: In the notes for Acquiring the Taste you explicitly acknowledged that your style of music wasn’t likely to become popular. Do you think you could have made it as a pop group, and did you ever sincerely try to, or want to?  Did your perspective change over your career? Were your later albums like Giant for a Day and Civilian genuine attempts to appeal to the pop market, or was the group’s music developing organically in that direction?

Derek Shulman: There is absolutely no question that the band could never have made it as pop group. Myself and my brother were in a fairly successful rock/pop group (Simon Dupree & The Big Sound) before we started Gentle Giant. We wanted to get as far away from the millstone of the top 40 chart success as possible. To answer the second part of the question I have to say that yes, there was a benign attempt to mainstream the sound of the band. We tried to keep our ‘integrity’ as musicians intact and I think we did. Obviously we didn’t come up with the big hit single so the question you ask is rhetoric. Gentle Giant could never have been ‘pop’.

TMH: I’ve always found GG’s bipolar prog/pop sensibilities to be really interesting. For example, following a song like “Giant” with “Funny Ways,” or “Alucard” with “Isn’t It Quiet And Cold.” Certainly, there were albums where one sensibility dominated: In A Glass House was pure prog, and at the other end of the spectrum, Giant for a Day was pretty much pure pop. Were there particular GG members that pulled the group one way or the other?

Derek Shulman: My remembrances were that the group always acted as a singular entity. Obviously the composers, Shulman, Minnear, Shulman would generally influence what the band would ultimately play, however the perspective of where the group as whole was going was never contentious.

TMH: How do you see the relationship between pop and prog? Bands like Yes and ELP achieved popular success with complex music, but the conventional wisdom is that music must be simple to be popular. Yet you made music rich with complex ideas and techniques that is still perfectly catchy and easy on the ears. Is is that pop audiences and prog audiences listen for different things, specifically, that prog audiences seek out and enjoy complexity for its own sake?

Derek Shulman: I am not sure what the term “prog” really means. We attempted to put together a group of musicians from various backgrounds who pushed each other musically to excel as best we could for our own indulgence in our compositions and ideas. The fact that we garnered a fan base was icing on the cake. Bands like ELP and Yes leaned heavily on ‘classical’ keyboard oriented material. Gentle Giant’s music was a little more ‘orchestrated’ and hence a little more ‘complex’.

TMH: Where did you enjoy touring the most? Where did you have the most enthusiastic fans?

Derek Shulman: I always enjoyed playing to where the band was most popular of course. Italy, Germany, Benelux,  Canada and some parts of USA (NYC/Chicago/LA).

TMH: Gentle Giant is full of talented multi-instrumentalists. If a band’s bass player only plays bass and the guitarist only plays guitar, songwriting sessions are probably pretty straightforward compared to situations where every member can play half a dozen instruments, and probably will over the course of a given song. How did songwriting work? Would a single member have an overall idea of the flow of a song, or would everybody contribute their ideas to crafting different sections? To me, your music sounds too intricate to have come together though jamming, but if you tell me that’s how it went down, I’ll believe it.

Derek Shulman: The music was always structured. There was never a song created when we would jam as such. In essence Kerry and Ray and occasionally myself would come up with a theme, a piece of music and occasionally a complete piece. Occasionally we would work together at this. We would then record it and bring it to the band to divvy out the parts and work out the kinks. I would generally contribute the lyrical content.

TMH: I’ve always been struck by the sharp, radical transitions that show up in your songs. Sometimes it seems like you would write a passage, figure out what the exact opposite of that passage would be, and immediately launch into that antipode. I’m thinking in particular of “The House, The Street, The Room,” in which you switched back and forth between tinkly xylophones and heavy guitars. How did you write these pieces? Was it a matter of purposefully doing the opposite of what was expected, or, on the other hand, did you have all these elements in mind at the beginning of the songwriting process?

Derek Shulman: I think we loved the element of surprise in our compositions. Complacency was never GG’s signature. Although the instrumentation and time patterns would change there would always be an underlying theme in the composition that held all of this together. In that respect the music was was quite orchestral in its structure.

TMH: Did you ever have any interest in working with electronic music? In the 70s, musicians were starting to work with these new instruments; Kraftwerk started the same year you did. Gentle Giant seemed to go the other direction, using instruments I would consider less modern, like mandolins and recorders. Was this a reaction to the electronic trend, or did you just prefer the more traditional instruments?

Derek Shulman: I believe that the band would utilize anything that made a musical note. There was no snobbery as far as electronic instruments and devices. However, I don’t think at the time any of us were very adept at them so we stuck with instruments that we could actually play.

TMH: What do you think of other bands lumped together under the ‘prog’ label? Were there contemporary bands you particularly admired or felt a kinship with? Where there other bands of which you thought poorly?

Derek Shulman: Again, the lumping of Gentle Giant as a “PROG” group confused me. I admired many types of musicians and artists. Frank Zappa obviously for his amazing music as well as his humor. He never took himself too seriously, a trait the I believe Gentle Giant had/has. We were never ‘holier than thou’ with airs of ‘pomposity’. That irked me in some of the groups that were are associated with in the ‘prog genre’.

TMH:I’m sure you’re asked this all the time, but what are some of your favorite albums and songs, from both your own discography and by your peers?

Derek Shulman: Gentle Giant LP’s, Free Hand, Octopus and Civilian! Others. . .way too many to say here. The Beatles, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Four Tops, Otis Redding, Everly Brothers,John Lee Hooker, Frank Zappa, The Move, Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Jethro Tull, Pantera, Doctor Dre, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and on and on.

When I found out Little Dragon was playing on Halloween it was like telling me that I was going to get a happy ending from Ms.Refaeli after my steak dinner. I was flying 7/8 mast just thinking it.

Then I found out tickets were $75.

So I bought $50 worth of drugs and pretended that I was at the concert instead. The solos were amazing.

Then last night I find out Little Dragon is playing tomorrow night (11/3) in Santa Barbara for $14. 14. I repeat 14. Considering the fact that Santa Barbara has more vapid hot chicks then any self-respecting reality tv show – and will also be housing my new favorite band for the evening…I think a trip up the one is in order. Destination SB. If you’re trying to find me I’ll be the one trying to tell the lead singer she’d look great wet at the end of the show.* Have I mentioned I’m like Marty McFly and the word Chicken with vapid hot chicks. I just can’t control myself. It’s illogical really.****

Little Dragon just dropped their new album Machine Dreams. It’s good timing too because I just got out of rehab for abusing their last album. The whole album is stacked start to finish and bottom to top. But My Step kills the rest. It just flat out turns me on. Are you kidding me? If she leaned over in my ear and said hmmm like in that hook – NASA would research me I’d have such a fucking blastoff.

If the lead singer sounds familiar at all it might be because she sings harmonies on some of Jose Gonzalez’s stuff. I normally don’t like to compare bands / music because it seems like a dumb thing to do. But…listen to theses three songs and then get me drunk and try to convince me they don’t sound a little bit a like…just a little bit.

Little Dragon – “Forever”
Little Dragon – “My Step”
Little Dragon – “Come Home”

* It’s a killer pick up line.
** Obviously chick ones.
**** Eh. Maybe fairly logical.

Watching clips from the Video Music Awards reminded me of two things.

1) I fucking love Kanye West. Seriously. People forget he gave away his own award to Outkast back in the day. For some reason he cares a lot about this show that only people under the age of 20 watch. I wouldn’t even be surprised if MTV payed him to jack Taylor Swift. Far fetched? The Sex Pistols paid the BBC to ban their album and then they went to number one. I wouldn’t even have known the fucking VMAs were on unless Kanye pulled some crazy shit and 200 million people wrote “Kanye Sucks” on twitter. So dear Kanye – keep doing you. It’s the VMAs. People shouldn’t have feelings about them.

And Dear Taylor Swift,
Stop. Your music blows. You were not the chick on the bleachers. You get paid to sing because you’re hot. I don’t drink your milkshake. At least Kanye is fucking real. He doesn’t sing songs about how much he sucks – he tells it how it is. He’s the fucking man and he’ll be the first one to tell you.

2) Why the fuck isn’t this dude Benoit Pioulard winning any music awards? And when will people start remixing his stuff? It’s hot. I’d gut a donkey and sleep inside of it for three days to have music this good. Fuck. Plus he’s good at photography. So don’t introduce him to your girlfriend if she’s hot and you’re kind of a d-bag. You’re likely to lose.

Keep him away from your girl. Buy his album “Temper”.

Benoit Pioulard – “Brown Bess”
Benoit Pioulard – “Idyll”

Dan and I are rolling to Hotel Roosevelt tonight to check Florence + the Machine for a private show. I might get to chat her up and ask her some questions. I need to loosen up so I’m going to practice here. On myself. These are real questions and really excited.

Q:Are you excited about tonight?
A:Yes
Q:Is Halloween coming up?
A:Yes
Q:Is there a helicopter circling above right now?
A:Yes
Q:If you had the power to clone yourself so that you could have a fight to the death would you do it?***
A:Yes definitely.
Q:Would you make out with Florence?
A:Yes
Q:Is she playing a show at the Troubadour tomorrow night that you should get tickets too if it’s not sold out.
A:Also yes
Q:Is her website http://florenceandthemachine.net
A:Yes
Q:Who the fuck is Florence + The Machine?
A:This hot chick named Florence Welch who plays with other people. According to some interweb spots she likes to get drunk and sing Etta James* in the bathroom to people.**
Q:Who are you going with?
A:Dan

Okay enough questions. I feel pretty fucking limber. According to my statistics I hit to this Florence + the Machine cover 13 times. Which is cool because it’s like 5 minutes long. Party. Down.

The XX – “You’ve Got the Love” (Florence + Machine cover)

* This isn’t wikipedia. I don’t cite things like sources. Google it yourself.
** That’s so fucking hot.
*** I didn’t actually ask this one. That was my roommate @heyitsjesse. He’s fucking hilarious. And single.

Grizzly Bear and Beach House played a show at the Palladium last Wednesday. It was epic. In a related story: it was the best concert I have ever seen. I will now be purchasing Grizzly Bear tickets anytime they come anywhere near Los Angeles.

In other news Twilight seems like one of the most retarded things ever, but whatever. I spend my nights looking at pictures of Megan Fox and your Mom, so I’m not exactly shouting down from my moral high horse perched upon the mountain of awesomeness. I’m going to refrain from any literary criticisms but I will say I don’t care what kind of crap is behind the movies as long as they keep pumping out soundtrack songs like this one. Jesus it’s like someone in charge of the music for a Hollywood movie with a budget is under the age of a billionty. Even Garden State had Simon and fucking Garfunkel. Jesus Christ I’m going to go pass out.

Grizzly Bear – “Slow Life ft. Victoria Legrand”

Couple things. Number one: y’all know Gentle Giant? It’s okay if you don’t; they’re a prog rock outfit from the 70s who made some amazing, complex, and (frankly) inaccessible music back in the day. I’ve been big fans since middle school, and wouldn’t you know it, I’m going to have the opportunity to interview them in the next week or two. I’ll post the results of the interview here when it happens. I feel like I’m blogging from the top of a mountain over here.

Second, I did a piece at the William and Mary American Constitutional Society Blog (phew – mouthful) on copyright law with respect to the music biz. If that’s your kind of thing, you should check it out. It goes up tomorrow morning, and I’ll link it when it comes out. (Mental note: link this in the morning! Edits! Edits!) If the link isn’t here when you’re reading this, check back, I implore you, tomorrow morning.

Thirdly, I took me a little roadtrip this weekend to beg for jobs in internet law, and the whole way up and the whole way back I was jamming to dancehall. Caspa is a dubstep machine who makes scary-ass beats fronted by scary-ass MCs. Thunderheist is a nasty-ass electroclash act that moves and grooves like Peaches but without the sexually transmitted infections. Like Peaches with a rubber on. And Kid606 is the same nutso as he was before, but he’s less glitchy these days. I got into him back when he was king of the downright disrespectful glitched-out mashups, but his new album is more subdued. Not that that’s saying much, it’s still fucked-up house music, but it’s the difference between dead bodies on the floor and cut-up dead bodies.

Good stuff. Good stuff all the way on down. But folks, I wouldn’t be telling you about it if it wasn’t good stuff.

Caspa – “Rat-a-tat Tat”
Thunderheist – “Jerk It”
Kid606 – “Be Monophobic With Me”

I shudder when I think about how many kids have never listened to Mac Dre. I heard a kid ask what “hyphy” was the other night and if I had been drinking milk at the time let’s just say it would have come out of my nose. I proceeded to beat the kid to death.*

It was fucking hilarious.

If Mac Dre was still alive and was running for president with the lyrics for this song as his platform there is no way in hell I wouldn’t vote for him. I’m all about smoking weed, thongs that are too tight and don’t fit, getting rid of co-defendants, hos in g-strings, stunnah shades and just being mad fly in general. These are things I can get behind.

God I love rap.

Mac Dre – “Grown Shit

* Not all the way. Almost though. About two inches away.

It’s 2am, there are cops yelling instructions to someone presumably about to get shot outside in my neighborhood somewhere, and helicopters have been circling overhead for a solid 45 minutes.
I figured now would be a good time to bring up the fact that -Zach Hurd just dropped a new album called “Changing Landscapes.”
The cliffnotes: it’s really fucking good and you should buy it. Or steal it and go see him in concert.
Either way you should be listening to him. Broken World is my new jam.

Take two of these tracks and call me in the morning.

Snag the album here

Zach Hurd – “Til The Morning (Sides A & B)”
Zach Hurd – “Broken World”

Free Chicken and Beer did a great piece on the funkiest jams of all time. Great article, and I don’t think I can dispute any of it, but I was struck that with the sole exception of Handsome Boy Modeling School the songs were all…old. Like, dozens of years old. Makes perfect sense, since the golden age of funk was the 70s, but it made me sad to think that funk as a style has passed on. Defunkt, if you will. When did that happen? I can’t think of any good, solid funk bands that have done recent work. Oh sure, there’s acts like Jamiroquai and Kenna, and yeah, I like them okay. But I don’t like them enough to go out of my way to defend them. I’m well aware they’re pretty uncool, and that’s the problem. We all love classic funk, and nobody’s ever going to top P-Funk or James Brown. All the imitators fall short, and they sound retro in a bad way. You could say the same for grunge.

Oh, you’ll find funk elements all over the place. And I love that shit. I’ve always responded the most to bass in my music, and to me a funky, driving bass makes the song. You also need a funky drummer to keep the beat going, and while your dancin’ shoes fall on the two and four you’ve got to hit it hard on the one-beat. And the funk is all about dancing, so give the people what they want with long, repetitive passages: if you’re doing it right nobody’s gonna get bored. Add some horns as a garnish and you’ve got yourself a full funk package. The grandmasters cooked with all these ingredients all the time, and the death of funk means that, mysteriously, you’re not going to find all four together very often in modern music. These are, though, the seeds of funk, and you’ll know them when you hear them.

You’ll find pieces of funk everywhere, even if funk per se is no more. There’s plenty of examples of The Funk in indie rock (meaning: white boys.) I’ve already talked about King Khan, who has the horns, the beats, and the balls, but not necessarily the groooove. For groove, I’d point out Fujiya & Miyagi, who flirt with The Funk all the time but seem a little reluctant to jump into it. Tiga’s got the beat down solid and if he laid down some horns he’d be a legit contender, but he’s a little techno and I know that doesn’t jive with traditional funk. The best white boy soul I’ve heard in awhile, though, comes from Mayer Hawthorne. I’m keeping my eye on this one, hoping that pretty soon he’ll take off his shirt and lay some stank on it.

The word count’s adding up so I’ll stop myself here. I’ll do a piece on funk in hip-hop pretty soon; there’s more to say about it than you’d think. Keep the funk alive.
Fujiya & Miyagi – “Collarbone”
Tiga – “Shoes”
Mayer Hawthorne – “The Ills”

Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”