Part 2

Here's some more albums I liked this year:

This Is My Fist! - A History of Rats
I really liked This Is My Fist's older EPs but hadn't been keeping up with them for quite a while. When some friends came into town in June, a TIMF show happened to coincide with their visit, so we all went, and after seeing them play I remembered how much I liked them. Overall, it's pretty much the same sincerity and passion we've come to expect from your archetypical East Bay/Drunk Midwest/No Idea-type band. Timely lyrics about the country's current paranoid political climate, and of course the same sort of stuff we've heard before about friendships, religion, life and such. Basically, the same type of stuff that all these sorts of bands write about. The thing is, TIMF pulls it off a lot better than most, putting them up there with bands like Crimpshrine, Jawbreaker and early Alkaline Trio.


Toys That Kill - Shanked!
I wrote an e-mail to Todd from Toys That Kill once telling him that I loved his band because they were totally obnoxious. I don't know if he took that as a compliment, but I think it's one of the nicest things you could say about them. Toys That Kill is THE band that I think embodies punk rock to the core: they're obnoxious, they're snotty, their songs are simple, BUT, their songs are well thought out, witty, intelligent, incisive, AND, I say this considering the fact that Shanked! was a bit of a disappointment to me after the genius of their last album Control The Sun. But, really, who am I to complain? That'd be like having to settle for copying off of Stephen Hawking's homework because Albert Einstein was absent from class.

Keyboard
I will admit to some bias in counting Keyboard's record as one of my favorites from 2006. Having been able to tour with him gave me the opportunity to see him perform day after day, busting out, improvising, and creating new hits nonstop, I came to truly understand the genius mind of Keyboard. His songs are total heartbreakers and total heart-propper-uppers cleverly disguised as innocuous, yet brilliantly composed, pop music. To compare him to Wesley Willis just because he's a dude with a keyboard doesn't do him justice. The way he manipulates the keyboard live, and the killer pop hooks he milks from it are more than Wesley Willis ever came close to. Having written all this, I'd actually have to say that Keyboard's album actually pales in comparison to the live experience, so I'm really not biased, am I? There's so many hit jams missing from the album, and so much energy and charisma that can only be witnessed from him in concert. Having said this, Keyboard's album is still undeniably sweet, inspirational, funny and touching, so you suckers best get it!!!

Best of 2006 pt. 1

I've been slowly coming to the realization that I'm extremely out of touch with the music scene, despite the fact that I love music so much and it's practically my life. It's a weird feeling. So, if this here opinion still matters to you at all, here's the first part of my best of 2006 list!


Rx Bandits - ... And the Battle Begun

I fell in love with Progress right around the time that the ska scene was really dying. The Rx Bandits seemed like they were developing alongside my tastes. When ska was really popular and I listened to quite a few sub-par ska bands, Rx Bandits were one of the worst! When ska kids started to move on to harder punk and emo, Rx Bandits introduced more passionate and technical elements to their repertoire, and they suddenly seemed like the only good ska band left. A few years later, around the time of The Resignation's release, emo and punk were having their lifeblood drained from them by soulless emo-metal mascarading as progressive and genuine music. The Resignation was soulful, honest, and desperate, and the lyrics touched on the truly menacing nature of George Bush's regime, personal convictions, and all sorts of good stuff. Everytime I saw some moron at an Rx Bandits show wearing a Finch shirt, or something along those lines, I had to wonder if they found the same redeeming qualities in RxB's music as I did, or if they just liked them because the Drive-Thru hype machine had gotten to them.

By the time ...And the Battle Begun was finally released, I had probably seen Rx Bandits in concert a dozen times, and my love for them had inexplicably waned through no fault of their own. Boy, was I stupid. I listened to the album twice and felt unimpressed. 4 months went by, bringing me up to 2 weeks ago, when I gave it another shot and suddenly realized that RxB had just made their best album. More soulful, more honest, still desperate, and also more mature too. The music remains very technical without flirting with metal as much as The Resignation's detractors would say, and incredible pop hooks can be found in every song, between the improvisation and noodling.


Nikaido Kazumi - Nikaido Kazumi no Album
I saw her perform in San Francisco about 3 years ago and wasn't too into her music. It was just her and a guitar, and her singing was off the wall, and her songs dissonant and meandering. The highlight of her set was when she sang and scatted as if her voice was a trumpet.


Fast-forward to August, 2006, and I'm in Tokyo at the Kakubarhythm office. My friend Tezuka had her new record in his hands, freshly released by Kakubarhythm, but I didn't pay any mind to it because I remembered how little I liked her live show. Fast-forward again to November, 2006, and I stumble upon some information online that Sakerock performed as her backing band on the record!!! I LOVE SAKEROCK!!! I checked out the 2 song single and the title track, "Lover's Rock", was graceful and sweet. The B-side, "Ittemo Tattemo Irarenai wa", was catchy as heck, AND it turned out to be a version of a song I'd previously heard performed by Illreme on the "Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy" soundtrack. I don't know the exact relation between the versions, but it's definitely the same song.


Her full-length is quite a bit more ambient and less organic than the single, but Nikaido Kazumi's Bjork-like warble of a voice is very melodic and aptly accompanied by the slow-building accompaniments of her music. I wonder what I'd think of her were I to see her again...

You can watch her video for "Lover's Rock" here!!!!

More to come in the weeks/days/nanoseconds that follow. Hardy har har!!!

The Truth Burns Bright

As my legacy of uninspired journalism continues I would just like to say that Jawbreaker is a wonderful band. I've been a huge fan of 24 Hour Revenge Therapy for years, but it took me a while to genuinely give Bivouac and Dear You a good listen. Bivouac's opener "Shield Your Eyes" has quickly become a favorite of mine, and I'm amazed by the fact that it predates most of the band's earliest material, including pretty much everything on Unfun. Neither Bivouac nor Dear You is as instantly likable as 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, the former for it's slower and more brooding songwriting, and the latter for it's over-polished veneer, but both are still outstanding. Whenever I'm making mixtapes to accompany me in the car, it's always hard to choose a Jawbreaker song because very few are even close to being the happy songs I like to have as my daily soundtrack. I guess that's just me, but dang, what a tight band.

Hey Mike, how's your girl?

Everyone loves Adrock. He's charismatic, he's got a weird voice, he's relatively good looking.

MCA's got the gruff flow and buddhist perspective. The cool guy for those too cool for Adrock.

Does anyone like Mike D, once rumored to be related to Dustin Diamond of Saved by the Bell fame? Where's the love for Mike D? His voice does sound a little like the lite version of Adrock's and his gaunt face is kinda scary to look at these days. But really, is there any cooler member of the Beastie Boys?

When the Beastie Boys first started, Mike D was the man behind the microphone on all those mediocre, yet youthfully energetic, punk rock tunes. He reprised the role for one of Check Your Head's highlights, "Time For Livin'" and Ill Communication's "Tough Guy". Let us not forget the whole Aglio E Olio EP.


Arguably (SERIOUSLY, arguably) the Beastie Boys' best video is "Netty's Girl", Mike D's homage to his unrequited love at a local restaurant. What a freakin' stroke of genius!!! Mike D rows his boat slowly across the lake, the keyboard skips along sweetly, and the listener smiles every time a word is stumbled or sung out of tune. HIP-HOP-POW!

And now for several more rhetorical questions, how about the rarely heard of Country Mike's Greatest Hits? Why did I buy this? Why is Mike D so weird? Does membership in one of hip-hop and rock's most important bands give you enough clout to release a traditional country record?

Mike D is obviously the coolest member of the Beastie Boys.

I'm like Phil Collins, I don't wanna dance

I've read a lot of comics recently. Comics are good. I am so smrt.

I suppose the most topical of all the comics I read was "Palestine" by Joe Sacco. Though it was written in the early 90's, the book illustrates the tension between the Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the tension between the different Palestinian factions that is still ongoing today. Only a week after finishing the book, Hamas took control of the Palestinian government over a oft criticized Fatah party. One of the folks that Sacco meets in the course of his travels even gets dirty leers from passersby when he reluctantly starts sporting the signature Fatah scarf.

Since Sacco spent the majority of his time in Palestinian towns and relocation camps, the book is very sympathetic to them. Chapter after chapter are filled stories of people going to jail, trying to find work, being harassed by Israeli troops, and lots more depressing stuff. It was especially hard for me to stomach one story where a man was held for weeks on end with no evidence against him. He would be taken to court periodically, where his lawyer would contend that the Israelis had no evidence against him, and the Israelis would counter by saying that they just needed more time to find it. In the meantime, instead of actually looking for evidence, they cruelly tried to torture it out of him. The sheer volume of horror stories that Sacco is bombarded with during his time in Palestine almost starts to become comical as the comic goes on.

It's said that history is written by the winners. America's revolution against Britain was successful, therefore it was a noble war that helped establish a wonderful nation, instead of an illegal secession from a sovereign nation. Unfortunately, Palestine's struggle hasn't resulted in anything resembling independence, so the occasional act of patriotic resistance is instead called terrorism. I feel very sympathetic for the Palestinians plight after reading "Palestine", but I'm incredibly wary of Hamas at the same time. However, Israel has done tons of horrible things to provoke Hamas. I think that I'd end up hating everyone involved, on all sides, were I to read up on the issue more in depth.

Sacco's narrative reads a lot like a Cometbus story, if you were to replace a back alley in Berkeley with a muddy Palestinian street. Pages filled with winding text are parsed side by side with Sacco's realistic yet exaggerated artwork. His drawings capture wonderfully the emotions and individuality of the people he has encountered. Were he to take a more grotesque approach to his artwork, it would look something like R. Crumb's stuff.

Sacco has also written several books about his time spent in the land formerly known as Yugoslavia near the end and after said country's time of upheaval. That was a weird sentence. Regardless, I wanna read more of his stuff. Boy oh boy, there are lots of comics out there to read.

Best of 2005!

In no particular order, here's some releases I enjoyed this year. I'm absolutely sure that there's tons of great stuff I haven't heard yet, but here's the best of what I did hear.

Bruce Lee Band - Beautiful World
I drove to LA just to see the one stateside Bruce Lee Band show and bought the CD slightly before its official release. It's a bit on the short side with a few less than stellar tracks, but there are a few outstanding 2-tone ska numbers on this disc. "Go Feet Go" is reminiscent of Madness' classic take on "One Step Beyond," and "North of Montague" is another driving track of the same ilk.

Satori - Savor Every Moment
Fronted by Steve Borth, saxaphonist for the Rx Bandits, Satori's first full length is a really enjoyable ska record with soul and reggae elements. The lead vocals aren't terribly strong, but they got heart, and they're backed up by some sweet harmonies. My friend Jason told me that this album sounded like Sublime, and that scared me away from listening to it, but he was wrong!!!

Calling All Monsters - The Traps That Work Best
My band opened up for a show that CAM was playing which ended up spawning a beautiful friendship. There are 2 bands in the San Francisco Bay Area that I recommend, and CAM is one. Heartfelt music that puts the rock back into indie rock.

Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives
Aesop Rock could crap out a record every day and I'd listen. The inclusion of a booklet with lyrics to EVERY one of his songs was a wonderful bonus.

Sage Francis - A Healthy Distrust
I think that if I met Sage Francis I'd probably hate him. But, the fact is, he's a great rapper and he's got the cojones to speak his mind. A Healthy Distrust, unlike Sage's previous album, Personal Journals, carries on the righteous anger about today's social and political climate that he expressed in his classic song "Makeshift Patriot." The world needs people like him to rabblerouse, whether or not they're likable folks!

Ging Nang Boyz - Door
The best punk rock record I've heard in forever, maybe ever. At the risk of hyperbolizing, the Ging Nang Boyz are the most awesome band ever.

Ging Nang Boyz - Kimi to Boku no Daisanji Sekai Taisenteki Renai Kakumei
Released at the same time as Door this album rules along with it, the Queen to Door's King.

Sambomaster - Sambomaster ha Kimi ni Katari Kakeru
Great soul-punk from this dorky Japanese trio. I've talked about them enough in this blog, but they're tight.

Toddle - I dedicate D chord
You can read what I said about them in the review mentioned in my previous post. Probably the most pleasant surprise of 2005.

BREAKfAST - 3rd & Army
BREAKfAST is one of the few hardcore bands of any note left these days. Their concert in Ebisu, Tokyo was one of the best shows I caught this year. The singer carried a skateboard on stage (his trademark), and he spent the entirety of 2 songs singing from the middle of a moshing crowd.

Here I am with singer Morimoto. NIIICE!

Ugly Duckling - Bang for the Buck
Ugly Duckling serves up their most party-ready record yet. Tracks like "Yudee!," "The Breakdown," and "Let It Out" are absolutely bangin'. Another one of the best shows of 2005 was Ugly Duckling at Britannia Arms in Cupertino. MC's Dizzy and Andy play off of each other so well, and DJ Einstein is in command of the turntables.

Danger Doom - The Mouse and the Mask
Another enjoyable album from MF Doom. The collaboration with Cee-Lo, "Benzie Box," has one of the best hooks of the year.

November Trials - Cover Your Tracks
November Trials is the other best band from the Bay Area. The production on Cover Your Tracks shouldn't scare you away from listening to the great songs on this EP. Fans of Jawbreaker, Fugazi, and Minus the Bear will love this.


A few of the best singles from this year were...
Sparta Locals - Yume Station
Sambomaster - Sekai ha Sore wo Ai to Yobun da ze
Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
Geto Boys - Dirty Bitch
Ted Leo - Since You Been Gone + Maps


And, worth mentioning are the re-releases of...
Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me / Bug


And finally, I feel like I've dug myself into a pit by making this a strictly music-related journal. I don't really have that much to say about music after all. So, you can expect more weird stuff to show up here from now on. N!!!