October 2008
OctoberOct 30 Thursday 08
Beer and Mayhem and More Beer and More Mayhem from Red Fang
Joe Six-Pack has nothing on Red Fang. Joe Six-Pack is a hard working man, in one of those patriotic, hard working areas of "Real America," who after waking up at the ass-crack of down, putting in a full days shift at the local factory and helping his kids with their …
Where in the World is Rock 'N' Roll Jesus
I just finished watching the new www.chriscornell.com/">Chris Cornell video for "Ground Zero," the Timbaland produced song featured in the new ABC show Life on Mars and I have to ask...
What the f*ck happened to Rock 'N' Roll Jesus?
From the IRCWHQ Newsdesk: Christmas on Mars Comes to the Beachland Ballroom
My friends at Music Saves have just informed me that the Beachland Ballroom will be hosting a free showing of the new Flaming Lips film, Christmas on Mars, on Tuesday, November 11th at 8:30 PM. I'm assured there will be food, fun, and lots of Lips related swag.
If …
OctoberOct 28 Tuesday 08
"Vampire Blues (Live at ATPNY)" by Wooden Shjips
"Vampire Blues" provides a rare glimpse of what San Fran psych rockers, Wooden Shjips would sound like if their songs were more, well, song-like. Much of their early work has revolved around the one groove principle, that is take one trippy, spacey groove and work it …
C'mon Get Heavy with Blood Ceremony
How do you like your heavy music? With thick, heavy Sabbath like riffs, all powerful magicians, evil, hideous witches, fair virgins, and all the pomp of a medieval re-enactment? And with flute? Lots and lots of flute? Wait, don't answer that question, wait until you …
"Come to New York" by Paramount Styles
A gutter brother to the Mark Lanegan/Greg Dulli band, The Gutter Twins, Girls Against Boys' Scott McCloud has recently emerged from some time in the musical wilderness with his new project, Paramount Styles. Girls Against Boys, as you may remember, made some noise in …
"The Rocket Builder" by Johann Johannsson
Johann Johannsson's, forthcoming album, Fordlandia, a concept album based on Henry Ford's failed utopian worker community, is the second in a trilogy dealing with technology and man's relationship with technology. Undoubtedly, there's a temptation to dismiss this work …
OctoberOct 25 Saturday 08
Cobra Verde's Rock 'N' Roll Circus Takes Over the Beachland Tavern Tonight
To celebrate the release of Haven't Slept All Year, Cobra Verde's first disc of new material since 2003's Easy Listening, the band will be throwing the mother of all CD release parties tonight at the Beachland Tavern. Starting at 9 PM, there will be belly dancers, …
Parts and Labor, National Suicide Day Live @ Grog Shop Cleveland Heights. 10.23.08
Receivers, the latest release by the Brooklyn based band Parts and Labor, showcases a new, kinder and gentler band. Of course, those words, kinder and gentler are relative. Their previous release, Mapmaker, contained an explosive mix of haywire electronics, abrasive …
OctoberOct 24 Friday 08
I Rock Cleveland's 31 Days of Rocktober Continues with a Classic Cut From Party of Helicopters
The history of Northeast, Ohio Rock 'N' Roll is littered with bands like Kent's Party of Helicopters. Bands who could have, band who should have, but never quite did break through. Maybe their timing wasn't quite right: Choosing to break up right about the time a …
OctoberOct 22 Wednesday 08
"Offend Maggie" by Deerhoof
Similar to TV on the Radio, I've always considered Deerhoof a band with limitless talent, but also a band who doesn't always use that talent with the listener's best interest in mind. Try as I might, I could never get into Deerhoof's last album, 2007's Friend …
A Rocktober Surprise: M'F'n "Chinese Democracy"
Call me a cynic, but even with a preorder link on Best Buy, I had a hard time believing that Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy was really, honestly and truly, being released on November 23rd. How many times in the past 15 years have we been led to believe Chinese …
"Black/White" by The Raveonettes
There comes a time in every band's life when a decision must be made: Continue along the same creative path and risk limiting your future endeavors, or believe in yourself and your fans, and break free of your self-imposed shackles, then pray your fans and your band are …
OctoberOct 21 Tuesday 08
"Refined" and "Bearfight" by Ten Kens
Many of the songs on Ten Kens debut disc follow the same pattern, that is they follow no set pattern at all. You're never quite sure if they want to be Radiohead, Blur, Boris, Black Mountain, or My Bloody Valentine, and where a song begins is no indication of where it …
Celebrate Rocktober with Some Hot Guitar Action From That Other Stone Roses Album
Before there was Chinese Democracy, there was The Stone Roses' Second Coming, an oft delayed album by a highly influential band, weighed down by its own expectations long before it even hit the shelves. Books have been written about the Stone Roses' debut. Critics …
"Saints" by Army Navy
You'll be hard pressed to find a more accurate approximation of '90s power pop than Army Navy's "Saints." It would fit in rather nicely next to tracks by Matthew Sweet, Jellyfish, The Gigolo Aunts, The Posies, Redd Kross, Zumpano, and the other artists who contributed …
Culture Bully's 60 Hour Blog for Charity
Chris DeLine and Culture Bully is taking on an enormous task for a good cause. They will be blogging 60 hours straight, over the next three days, in an effort to raise money for music programs and education efforts in the Twin Cities. I know it's tough to give in …
OctoberOct 19 Sunday 08
Obama: A Live Video from This Moment in Black History and a Message from the Editor
I do my best to stay out of the political fray on I Rock Cleveland, but some days its hard. Really hard, especially when you consider the news of the past week, where John McCain and the RNC recent campaign tactics consisted of spreading terrorist fear via robocalls,
OctoberOct 18 Saturday 08
I Rock Cleveland's Rocktober Celebration Continues With a Live Performance of Mclusky Shredding for an Audience of Teen Girls
The description for this clip of Mclusky's "Too Hell With Good Intentions" is almost too good to be true: "Mclusky record a blistering live performance in 2001 for the Pop Factory TV music show. See them blow the minds of an audience consisting entirely of pre-pubescent …
OctoberOct 17 Friday 08
The Very Best (Free) Mixtape by (Who Else) The Very Best
When Vampire Weekend's debut album dropped earlier this year it gave critics the opportunity to talk once again about the often strained relationship between American rock and world music. What was striking about the discussion, was that whenever the topic of influence …