playlist 31/5/05

1. thunderbirds are now! - do the splits and say neat [necks ep]
2. kings of leon - spiral staircase [youth and young manhood]
3. the velvet underground - waiting for my man [velvet underground & nico]
4. the 22-20s - shoot yr gun [22-20s]
5. devin davis - iron woman [lonely people of the world, unite!]
6. at the drive in - arcarsenal [relationship of command]
7. the ponys - i'm with you [celebration castle]
8. palace brothers - i tried to stay healthy for you [there is no one what will take care of you]
9. tarkio - caroline avenue [i guess i was hoping for something more]
10. oneida - august morning haze [the wedding]
11. sleater-kinney - modern girl [the woods]
12. cinematic - already gone [cinematic]
13. art brut - emily kane [bang bang rock and roll]
14. calexico - quatro [feast of wire]
15. the nein - foreign friendster [wrath of circuits]
16. jesse malin - arrested [the heat]
17. the boy leat likely too - paper cuts [the best party ever]
18. love as laugther - dirty lives [laughter's fifth]
19. do make say think - ontario plates [winter hymnn country hymnn secret hymnn]
20. mogwai - hunted by a freak [happy songs for happy people]
21. sonic youth - hey joni [daydream nation]
22. mice parade - waterslide [bem vinda vontade]
23. ticonderoga - locked in the back freezer [ticonderoga]
24. ryan adams & the cardinals - let it ride [cold roses]
25. pavement - shady lane [brighten the corners]
26. coachwhips - you gonna get it [bangers vs fuckers]

playlist 24/5/05

1. les savy fav - hold onto yr genre [inches]
2. lou reed - vicious [transformer]
3. lucinda williams - those 3 days [live at the fillmore]
4. the national - lit up [alligator]
5. bonnie prince billy - death to everyone [i see a darkness]
6. colin meloy - jack the ripper [colin meloy sings morrisey]
7. devendra banhart - the body breaks [rejoicing in the hands]
8. sufjan stevens - casimir pulaski day [illinois]
9. explosions in the sky - yasmin the light [live]
10. the arcade fire - wake up [funeral]
11. crooked fingers -twilight creeps [dignity and shame]
12. joy division - love will tear us apart [single/24 hr party people sdtk]
13. the organ - brother [grab that gun]
14. the fall - rebelious jukebox [live at the witch trials]
15. garageland - struck [come back special ep]
16. the smiths - how soon is now [meat is murder]
17. grant lee buffalo - fuzzy [fuzzy]
18. stephen malkmus - freeze the saints [face the truth]
19. you am i - the apple cross wing commander [live - download from www.youami.net]
20. the hold steady - the swish [the hold steady almost killed me]

they say write what you know but what do i know about right?

hey all. these days really blow my mind. the fog is eerie and i'm pretty sure that i hate winter about as much as i'm sure that winter hasn't really started yet.

i don;t have much to report on new musick as most of it doesn't really spin any wheels at the moment but i have to say if you were going to do the blind patriotism thing for nz music month then you should buy the phoenix foundation's new album. it is truly a work of startling beauty and accomplishment and a good example of the fact that we really shouldn't care about whether a band is from this country or not... in my opinion nearly all nz music is a waste of time. but then again, most international music is a waste of time. if you are after entertainment and advert soundtracks then, hey, you'll disagree - but if you can tell me what the difference is between bic runga and michelle branch i'd be keen on hearing it. talent is non-national specific methinks... and the phoenix foundation have it in oodles. if it is nz in any way it is in the same way we call sigur ros icelandic - there is a sense of completeness in isolation in what they do. i guess what i am trying to say is when you listen to the music it sounds like it was recorded in a bubble where we are lucky enough to hear a musical imagination so complete the album works as a whole to the point where it is almost transcendant. melody and atmosheric textures meld to form another world... definitely a long term keeper just like their debut.

ho hum. me and my rants... but since you read through that i've got a little something about the DL on the QT for my people...

i have found what promises to be one of the great music sites of this or any other year. archive.org as their name implies archive live music, all approved by the artist in mp3 and other formats for non commercial file sharing. it is truly about the music for music fans... i have already grabbed about 5 ryan adams shows, and it contains my morning jacket, mogwai, godspeed, explosions in the sky, robert randolph and more....

could it be any better?

you know you have to check it out and get that bandwith stretching!

http://www.archive.org/audio/etreelisting-browse.php?mode=mp3

that is the link to the mp3 formats, and don;t say we at guitar media never give you anything. we work hard for our downloads so you better treat us right....

love you all

timmy d

playlist 17/5/05

1. mestar - oveintar [porcupine]
2. teenage fanclub - fallen leaves [um...the new one]
3. wilco - i got you [being there]
4. yo la tengo - my hearts reflection [electro-pura]
5. the robot ate me - just one girl [carousel waltz]
6. the go betweens - boundary rider [oceans apart]
7. love as laughter - idol worship [laughter's fifth]
8. the ponys - she's broken [celebration castle]
9. maximo park - the coast is always changing [a certain trigger]
10. the radar brothers - breathing again [the fallen leaf pages]
11. the phoenix foundation - all in an afternoon [pegasus]
12. the animal collective - leaf house [sung tongs]
13. the phoenix foundation - the posh tiger [pegasus]
14. patti smith - land [horses]
15. fiery furnaces - i'm leaving [sunday nights - junior kimbrough tribute album]
16. lucinda williams - escence [live at the filmore]
17. the hold steady - yr little hoodrat friend [seperation sunday]
18. x - the worlds a mess, it's in my kiss [los angeles]
19. joy division - transmission [24 hr party people sdtk]
20. a frames - negative [black forest]
21. the jam - the modern world [snap]
22. ryan adams & the cardinals - sweet illusions [cold roses]

finally the punk rockers are taking acid

so the flaming lip's experimental album zaireeka is pretty much the coolest thing ever. we had a small zaireeka listening party at my flat on saturday night. four stereos, one in each corner of my lounge, each loaded with one of the four discs in the set. the idea is that you press play on each one at the closest possible time. we were mostly pretty accurate, but even if not, it always sounded interesting. each track is typically flaming lips-esque psychadelic pop, with some of them probably fitting more into the plain experimental category. anyway, it was fun. you should all get copies of it and do it.

in other richard news, i interviewed jason from nz band opshop on friday. it was actually pretty interesting, in the end, considering it's nz music month and all. read the christchurch press this thursday for the full article on opshop...yay...got some good cds to review too: maximo park - a certain trigger (very good), the eels - blinking lights and other revelations (yet to hear), ryan adams - cold roses (tim will be jealous) and also the new phoenix foundation - pegasus, which really is excellent. definitly the best new zealand band right now i'd say.

listening to sebadoh and dinosaur jr. a lot today. seems to suit the dull overcast skies outside.

oh yeah, new guitar media ad/promo is done and can be heard on rdu, sure beats the old one that didn't really make a whole lot of sense.

one more thing - the new xiu xiu album, la foret has leaked onto the net. plenty of people on soulseek have it. i am trying to get it all in time for the show tomorow night.

playlist 10/5/05

1. ryan adams - magnolia mountain [cold roses disc 1]
2. dinosaur jr - sludge [yr living all over me]
3. overdrive (nz) - end of days [cd-r]
4. iggy pop & the stooges - penetration [raw power]
5. les savy fav - the sweat descends [inches]
6. spoon - the infinite pet [gimme fiction]
7. the gordons (nz) - spik and span [the gordon's first album]
8. guitar wolf - midnite blood pump [loverock]
9. neutral milk hotel - two-headed boy [in the aeroplane over the sea]
10. robert johnson - hellhound on my trail [king of the delta blues singers]
11. jim white - done got old (cover) [sunday nights - the songs of junior kimbrough]
12. the new pornographers - jackie [mass romantic]
13. the white stripes - blue orchard [get behind me satan (fourthcoming)]
14. the hold steady - yr little hoodrat friend [seperation sunday]
15. loves ugly children (nz) - destroy the city [suck 7"]
16. sleater-kinney - the fox [the woods]
17. urge overkill - somebody elses body [exit the dragon]
18. the futureheads - remote control [b-side - decent days & nights single]
19. you am i - jewels & bullets [originally on Hi-Fi Way, this version live in woodonga (download from www.youami.net)]
20. single frame - i'll lose yr balance [body/end/basement]
21. the magick markers - i trust my guitar etc. [i trust my guitar etc.]
22. m. ward - i'll be yr bird [transistor radio]
23. sufjan stevens - jacksonville [illinois]
24. ryan adams - let it ride [cold roses disc 2]

live for one night only, mr please please please

i wont even start on the whole bloc party thing. probably one of the reasons guitarmedia works is in the dynamic between my cynicism of almost anything recorded in the last two decades and richards youthful enthusiasm for the new... but hey, i find the whole new new wave thing midly interesting but i wonder where the desperation comes from in a land of designer labels and ipod commercials...

i was actually thinking about ipods today because i got one as a wedding present (thanks deflux... www.deflux.co.nz) and, as you do, have been plugged into it quite a bit. as i caught a bus this morning - its always too hard to get up early enough to walk the night after the show as you just cannot go to sleep after ranting on the radio for a couple of hours - i was listening to david cross' new one. its a comedy album and he is one of the kind of comedians who still can, at times, offend me, which is kinda rare considering the thoughts that make it out of my mouth uncensored. and as i sat on the packed bus i couldnt help but start laughing as people stared at me. the whole headphone thing is a measure of isolation and exclusion by choice, like sunglasses at night, and me wonders if it will one day be a tool to keep us all docile in some orwellian dystopia... but even thoughts of armageddon cannot bring me down at the moment because im listening to live @ the apollo and gawddam james brown brings the soul like no other...

funny how we all become caricatures of ourselves as we age... just thinking about j b and the stones who announced another world tour today. now i love the stones more than the next man but i struggle to reconcile the fact that they dont need to with the fact that they constantly do. but then again what else are they going to do? hmm? rawknrawl will never die indeed.

i seem to be loving live albums at the moment. just picked up LUCINDA WILLIAMS' double album and it really really hurts to listen to. it is a fawking mindblower let me tell you. lucinda has elevated love to the level of drug dependency, its all about another hit and the comedown and the sickness and fatal desperation of needing more and more all the while knowing that more is never enough. which really is one of the lost highways that alt kountry speeds down frequently, but i never tire of the scenery along the way. check out the 7minute version of essence which is so raw a sashimi chef would put it under the grill. ho hum.

um. the whole playlist thing im trying to resolve as technology put a wee halt in things. but we should get it up over the next couple of days. will blog again soon, i want to share some of my thoughts on stand up albums - and particularly david cross - at some stage, and try and drop some reviews of whats out and about.

gawd bless the fawking lot of us
td

bloc party are good (seriously)

i wrote this article last week amidst the same batch of procrastination that spawned this very blog. it was published in canta magazine today (11/5/05) and i thought i may as well post it up here too for any non-uni students, or students that don't read canta.

still working on getting mp3s up for download. hopefully we can sort something out in the next few weeks, so keep checking here.

also, the playlist from last night's show should be up later today. the rdu internet was down last night so it couldn't be posted straight to the site.

one more thing - i'm really enjoying this new album by 13 & god. it's a self-titled collaboration between german laptop poppers the notwist (early 00's indie favs lauded for their album neon golden) and an act on anticon recording's called themselves, who produce the typical stuff that comes out on the label - white-geeky-guy computer hip hop stuff that although a little whiny, normally works out pretty well.

anyway, the article...

Why Bloc Party are good
A column in digression
by Richard MacFarlane

Bloc Party are good. They’re not the best new anything, though, as a lot of the hype surrounding their debut album Silent Alarm has suggested. Most people these days are pretty skeptical of bands that manage to receive the latest in a seemingly continuous dishing out of the “Best band ever!!!” label. Skeptical, is of course, precisely the right thing to be, especially when magazines like NME toss out this claim whenever any run-of-the-mill rock band does anything remotely out of the ordinary. Seriously, do record labels pay NME to say stuff like this? Because really, at the rate it seems to happen, it’s becoming a bit of a joke.

This article has origins that link back to last week at the movies, where my girlfriend, a friend of mine and I became engaged in what turned into a reasonably brutal argument, considering the hushed circumstances. I would quote the dialogue of the conversation if I could (it would be pretty amusing), but my memory fails me. It was basically a two-versus-one (the one being me) barrage of why Bloc Party do, in fact, suck. I happened to disagree. And for some reason, that compelled me to write a short essay on why exactly my girlfriend and certain friends are wrong.

So they’re from Britain, they’ve got a black guy that sings and plays guitar, and I’m pretty sure that NME has called them the best band ever on at least one occasion (not that I actually read that pile of pretentious and misinformed crap). Being British definitely isn’t new, neither is having a black guy in your band (TV on the Radio, anyone?). Nor is NME saying that you’re good. So what’s the big deal about four more well-groomed British lads?

a) Tension: I read a theory somewhere that suggested tension is what makes contemporary indie guitar bands popular, or that it’s the element of guitar music that is “in” right now. Or something. Anyway, Bloc Party have tension like a tight-rope walker. Their guitars harness this through spiraling verses with tight chord progressions, and dynamic vocal-instrument interplays push this tension even further.

b) Energy: Countless acts get described as energetic these days, more often pretty unwarrantedly. I’ve always found Franz Ferdinand’s supposed energy to be empty, and not really even particularly vigorous anyway. Bloc Party’s energy transcends the emptiness of fellow Top40 dwellers through a genuine intensity. Both vocals and instrumentation illustrate this.

c) Emotion: While there are many other decent bands recently that successfully craft danceable, angular and catchy guitar songs, they often fall somewhat short in terms of sincerity. Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads, The Ordinary Boys, etc. all suffer from lacking anything truly heartfelt or earnest. Bloc Party are probably closer to the passion of Interpol’s

d) Song structure/form: Loose song structures are another strong facet of the band. Far from anything resembling verse/chorus/verse, Silent Alarm’s tracks don’t often lead where expected (except maybe the single “Helicopter”, which has a more conventional form). Songs can go from the quietest guitar and near-whispered vocals to totally wild guitar spaz-solos (e.g. “Banquet” – the last thirty seconds here are just fucking crazy, especially compared to the quiet beginnings).

I need not mention the lead singers Batman shirt, or the bassist’s fringe – both enhance the band in obvious ways. Bloc Party aren’t an artificial, pre-packed product, though – they’re just good.

False: Bloc Party are original. They’re a product of their influences. They definitely listened to the right bands. Gang of Four, Joy Division, Sonic Youth, The Cure – basically all the older bands that have reached cult status within the indie masses. It’s not just that they’ve listened to the right bands, but they’ve figured out how to incorporate and embrace them in the best ways. Maybe they are original in the limited way that any band after Post Modernism could be – making the best amalgamation/appropriation of previous bands. Its funny the way the media celebrates 21st century bands originiality when clearly they’re not (The Strokes, for instance). While their sound may be very ready for the press and public, they discard nothing of their sound in favour of press ready convenience.

False: Bloc Party are “the new Franz Ferdinand”. This claim has been made by numerous publications. Aside from being fundamentally flawed (how can any band in the 21st century be the new anyone?), this idea is also misguided. Franz Ferdinand serve are far different purpose – fun is of high priority (over sentiment) and danceabilty takes precedent over intensity. While both acts are suited to the Top40, Franz Ferdinand are probably more at home in a club/bar situation (as much as a rock band can be).

It’s hard to tell how popular Bloc Party actually are. I only really get any indication from websites. I don’t listen to the radio or watch TV much, but there was a time where I saw Bloc Party on C4’s Amped. Normally seeing that jerk from The Rock introduce any band would be enough to give anyone a disdain for even their most beloved band, and I must say, it brought me very close to finally dismissing Bloc Party completely.

But then I listened to Silent Alarm again. The hype surrounding is easily surpassed with this stellar release. And where band’s like Franz Ferdinand’s second album’s are going to definitely disappoint (through being built up to be more than the actually are) Bloc Party’s will undoubtedly be filled with the same inventively retrospective sound that draws me to them. Right now, though, it’s probably pretty easy to hate on Bloc Party – maybe that’s why I like them.

back to (virtual) reality

Good Evening. Well, here I am, Mr Timothy Adrian Dodgers, Esq XIII, back from a small hiatus for marriage and a soujourn to Sydney in search of anonymity, mental sanity, and vinyl So my apologies for the last few weeks of absence, but I am more than certain that Richard MF took you listeners on a suitably fantastic audio journey.

Now that I'm back, and it's too cold to go outside, I will probably update this page quite frequently, just to vent my humble opinions on cult(sure) and the like... these pages really are too easy to get, and I suppose, thank goodness, as the sheer quantity probably stops people from exploring them and coming across the vain ramblings of another frustrated geek... but I digress.

The main point of this post is to encourage you all to open your wallets and ears to the new RYAN ADAMS album, Cold Roses. A double disc, and the first of three planned this year, old time fans will no doubt rejoice to find that Mr Adams has returned somewhat to the Whiskeytown era sound that made him famous. A sublime album that mixes Ryan's influences admirably (Neil Young, Gram Parsons, and classic West Coast singer songwriter - Jackson Browne et al), also does show his penchant for excess, but then again that's what ITunes is for and I find it amusing that critics are docking him points for releasing too much music... the fact is there are a couple of weak tracks but I'd take his shee-it over the best that most modern musick has to offer if modern means Rob Thomas and his leather pants. So if you, like me, were born two decades too late then pick it up and hit repeat... it's fawking brilliant. Lucinda William's released her live double album today too so it you get down with the honky skronk alt country no depression new country gangsterbilly shee-it then like Ry says "let it ride"...

Also got the new COMMON album on the down low today, and I swear it is going to be one of the year's best. Smoother than the frost on my driveway, Common drops the conscious - but not boring, told you so, drop the gats mofo, save the chid'ren - tip over commercially accessible Kanye and Jay Dilla beats. I would normally want Kanye to find himself in another car accident but you have to admit that for overground stuff he beats the tired West Coast James Brown sampling homophobic BS without turning up to the race, and Common, after finding most of his success on White Labels (ie. no cash) over the last few years finally finds focus in an album that really puts some soul back into hip hop... check The Food which has been around for a while (Chappelle Show, bitches) and feel the love everybody.

Ah, maybe I'm just on the worng planet. Brought back tons of vinyl from Sydney - if you are ever there check out Mojo Records, Red Eye Records, Birdland, and the JB HiFI in Victoria Galleries - cheap and nutritious. Picked up Marvin - What's Going ON, Aretha - I Never Loved A Man The Way That I Loved You, James Brown - Live At The Apollo (finally), Mingus Ah Um, Coltrane's Blue Train, Robert Johnson's King of the Delta Blues Singer, Iggy/Stooges - Raw Power, Wilco - Being There, At The Drive In - Relationship of Command, and an old, embarrasing fave Urge Overkill's Exit The Dragon for $10.

You'll hear a few tomorrow night so tune in... it's a celebration bitches.

Oh, and if you have a minute drop on by www.youami.net and download the Wodonga Concert to hear some good ol' fashined rawk'n'roll the way god intended, and totally FREE.

Timmy Dodgers
Guitar Media
Symphonic Violence For String Sympathetics

first post...

this is probably the biggest case of procrastination i've ever had. so i've got this 3000 word essay to write, as well as a couple of album reviews, so i decided to make a blog for guitar media. not sure whether it's a particulary productive thing to be doing but i do intend to update it weekly with playlists and other useful stuff. i haven't told my co-host timmy dodgers yet but i'm planning on dragging him into the updating as well. hopefully it works well - then the 3 people that listen to the show can come and post comments here about stuff as well.

by the way, rdu has a new website up. it looks real nice so go have a look.

here's the playlist from this week.

1. king loser (nz) - troubled land [troubled land 7"]
2. dinosaur jr. - little furry things [yr living all over me]
3. the the mint chicks (nz) - octagon octagon octagon (live) [octagon octagon
octagon 7"]
4. the a-frames - eva braun [black forest]
5. a.c. newman - on the table [the slow wonder]
6. mestar (nz) - distant star [self titled 10"]
7. pavement - sue me jack [slanted & enchanted - lux & redux]
8. the advantage - megaman 2, flashman [the advantage]
9. the thermals - no culture icons [self titled ep 7"]
10. les savy fav - the sweat descends [inches]
11. the liars - mr yr on fire mr [they threw us a ditch and stuck a monument
on top]
12. the rapture - the coming of spring [echoes]
13. architecture in helsinki - maybe you can owe me [in case we die]
14. sufjan stevens - casimir pulaski day [illinois]
15. the mobius band - city vs country [city vs country ep]
16. interpol - pda [turn on the bright lights]
17. the verlaines (nz) - baud to tears [10 o'clock in the afternoon ep 12"]
18. camera obscura - anti-western [biggest bluest hi-fi]
19. the lucksmiths - a hiccup in yr happiness [warmer corners]
20. okkervil river - black [black sheep boy]
21. the magik markers - i trust my guitar etc. [i trust my guitar etc.]
22. adult - hold yr breath [d.u.m.e. ep]
23. bloc party - banquet [silent alarm]
24. the kills - yr love is a deserter [no wow]
25. out hud - its for you [let us never speak of it again]
26. oneida - lavender [the wedding]
27. the national - secret meeting [alligator]
28. love as laughter - idol worship [laughter's fifth]
29. the boy least likely to - be gentle with me [the best party ever]
30. m. ward - hifi v2 [transistor radio]