Marnie Stern

Here is the Marnie Stern:














Myspace

Kill Rock Stars

Here's the fan letter I wrote:

"Miss Stern

Hello there. I'm not prone to writing fan mail but I've been picking through your albums and just couldn't go another minute without saying thanks. I was in a bit of a musical funk and needed something new without even knowing it. I have this habit of listening to the same 4 or 5 bands for years at a time and things get a bit stale upstairs.

And then I saw the video for Transformer and I was like "Okay, this woman knows how to make some seriously steamrolling and epiphanic pop. Plus, she has Lita Ford's videographer. I can dig this." I actually have thoughts like that so you can pity me if you must. Newness is goodness and you have proved that to my habitual brain.

Well, aside from Transformer and a whole mess of other great songs, I want to mention two in particular that wreck me in the best way possible. First up is Roads? Where We're Going We Don't Need Roads. There is this vibe this song gives off. I don't know, it's like a neon apocalypse but a really, really happy one. The denouement "I had a dream I crawled all around on the high road" is phenomenal! Do you get this a lot? People quoting your lyrics back at you?

Next is Absorb Those Numbers. If you were trying to make people dance while they would normally be skulking around doing laundry, then you have succeeded immensely. While I have seen worse, the laundry room in my apartment complex is still really depressing. With this song, I need not worry about that fabric softener syndrome (which has been so prevalent in the news lately) with this track playing at a moderately loud volume.

So yeah, time to wrap this up. Thanks! Thank you for kicking my ears' asses. I look forward to more music from you in the near future and wish you all the best.

-Richard Glenn Schmidt"

FAUXRROR 2: LASERDEAD (cross-postin')

Two years ago, my friends and I started FAUXRROR (pronounced like Horror but with an F), a "band" that creates music for horror films that never existed. We even went so far as to give each track its own poster and plot synopsis. For FAUXRROR 2: LASERDEAD, we have created the music for just one made up film. In an alternate reality much like our own, director Ron L. Esteban set out to make his horror masterpiece but things got out of hand. This tale is told in more detail in the brief history of Laserdead included with the download.

Grab FAUXRROR 2 here.

And get the first FAUXRROR here.

-Slizwiz

1-4

The Haunted House of Rock

This will do nicely.

It's that time of year again...

The Cliks - "Dirty King"

So, lately I've been finding a butt load of new music and thoroughly enjoying it on my own without telling anyone about it. Haven't felt like I've had the time, but anyway, it's time to fix that now. In an effort to break up my morning music-video channel viewing I started DVRing New Now Next Music on the Logo Channel so I would have something to run to when VHI and MTV got too repetative. And there I saw The Cliks' "Dirty King." And I loved The Cliks' "Dirty King"--it's like cool bastard rock--something I've been collecting lately.

So I went to find more on their YouTube Channel and Myspace Page. But first "Dirty King:"



"Oh Yeah"--



cheers. -- LeE

The Joggers

I've been pretty gay about The Joggers for a while now and now I can get even gayer. The boys have put up all their songs for sale on bandcamp. Check it out! I first heard these dudes while working at a record store. The assistant manager had a bunch of promo stuff from Startime International Records which he was about to toss out. Not being able to resist free stuff, I grabbed The Joggers' first album Solid Guild. It took a couple of listens but then I realized I had a fucking stellar record from an amazing band.

That started the obsession and I've been stalking these dudes ever since. Their follow up album With a Cape and a Cane is even more amazing. That was years ago! Like the rest of the Jogg-Hedz (I don't think there is a fan club but if there was one, that is what we would call ourselves), I am impatiently waiting for a new record. So you good people need to go and buy all of their songs immediately. This will force them to record their new album.

I guess the best way to describe them is jangly sweet guitars, boisterous bass lines, a constantly twirling and sensitive drummer, and lots and lots of vocals. Wow I made them sound terrible. How about a kindly steamroller that crushes you with kindness? Eh, don't listen to me (like you ever would), just check out their songs, yo.

Here is an interview with them over at Funeral Pudding.

Pointer Sisters - "Automatic"

When I was a kid (around 8 years old), I borrowed my mom's tape of Break Out by the Pointer Sisters and never gave it back. This tape and the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop were vastly important to me and were always thundering from my stereo. For me, the Pointer Sisters were this amazing "new" group that had songs that made me want to dance until I collapsed.

However, one song in particular was immeasurably important: "Automatic". Aside from making the condition of being in love sound really creepy (though only if you're a computer), "Automatic" was my jam! One evening while my parents were out at a party or something, I cranked up the volume and danced to this song for what seemed like hours. Every time it would end, I would rewind the tape and start over. What was I doing? Well, I was working on a dance routine with mechanical motions like the ones I saw breakdancers* doing. This went on until I could dance no more (or my parents came home).

*Someday I'll tell you about the breakdancing classes I took at the local rec center.

Some Zach Hilliness

I have been on a Zach Hill kick lately. I've been looking into some of his projects other than Hella and liking what I'm hearing and seeing and liking what I'm liking.