Liars BBC Session

Liars are a scary band. Their lyrics are always vaguely menacing, sometimes overtly so. The band is always threatening the listener or issuing such bold declaratives as being "the army you see through the red haze of blood." However, it's the production that cuts through their (sometimes silly) lyrics and really instills a sense of terror and unease. Drums are regularly run through effects processors, and the guitars do their best to emulate the creaky doors and humming pipes of a haunted house. Last year's Drum's Not Dead was a nightmarescape, a soundtrack of majestic and Byronic proportions.

Today's post focuses on their BBC appearance on December 5, 2004, where they played three songs from that year's They Were Wrong, So We Drowned and an unreleased track. That record earned them a single-star rating in Rolling Stone, who said "making a record about fear is one thing; making a record you fear listening to is quite another." I think they got it exactly right, but not in the desultory way in which it was intended.

Liars -- There's Always Room on the Broom (BBC)
Liars -- If You're A Wizard Then Why Do You Wear Glasses (BBC)
Liars -- We Fence Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own (BBC)
Liars -- Bugman Needs a Hugman (BBC)

DVD Releases: April 24, 2007

In 1958 Louis Malle made French noir classic Elevator to the Gallows and soon steamrolled his way to Hollywood after conquering French cinema. Some of his most loved films include the Brooke Shields classic Pretty Baby, My Diner with Andre, and the under appreciated, but heavily awarded, Atlantic City.
Louis Malle got his start working as a cameraman on documentaries, and now The Criterion Collection gives you a chance to own 5 of his best documentaries including Phantom India, a film that Malle called one of his most personal films ever. The best part? All 5 films are about $55 dollars.

One word: Bigfoot.
The truck?
No, the sasquatch.
I love it. Can we get John Lithgow?
John Lithgow? Yeah I think so.
Let’s make a movie!

That’s how I imagine the pitch for Harry and the Hendersons went about 20 years ago. Now it’s back with a special edition. Perhaps a DVD release of the TV show isn’t far behind? Is that asking to much?

Moral Orel is one of those shows that are funny, but it sort of hits a note and stays there. I’m just suggesting that you buy it so Adult Swim will think they should release Squidbillies on DVD for some reason. Squidbillies is easily the best 15 minutes on TV.

Alejandro Jodorowsky is a director whose films deserve to be seen. El Topo is one of the best “Westerns” ever made, yet it’s success is mired in its arthouse exhibition past, but now we not only get El Topo but The Holy Mountain and Fando y Lis. These movies are amazing. I can’t say enough about them. They are simply three of the most ground breaking films ever made.

Person Pitched

Panda Bear's recent record Person Pitch has earned rave reviews around the country. In an interview (which I can't find), he talked about approaching the record in the way that a DJ would approach a live set. When he moved to Lisbon he left most of his Animal Collective instruments in the states, taking only two BOSS Dr. Sample 303s, and thus all of Person Pitch is sample-based. The AC message board has been trying to determine what samples were used.

Many of the songs are based on loops from Joe Meek-produced Tornados songs. Two are listed below: "Red Roses and a Sky of Blue" contains the main riff from "Bros," and the opening of "Popeye Twist" is the basis for the second half of "Take Pills." "Red Roses and a Sky of Blue"'s opening riff was also used in the song "What I Do" from Animal Collective's 2005 BBC appearance. The loop from "Red Roses" is a personal favorite. All in all, the Tornados were a pretty average band, but Noah found these two strange transitional measures where the guitars chimed and intonated. It's a small bit of awesome in a pretty okay song. The first half of the aforementioned "Take Pills" comes from Scott Walker's "Always Coming Back to You". Elsewhere, a portion from a Cat Stevens song serves as the main driving guitar part in the second half of "Bros." There has been debate over whether the main theme of "Comfy in Nautica" was taken from the Akira soundtrack, though the choral hits used in the film don't match up entirely.

Finally, the ending of "Carrots" is taken from Kraftwerk's "Ananas Symphony" from their 1973 album Ralf und Florian, which is notable in their ouvre for being the first appearance of a vocoder. The sample begins at :29 and continues for fifteen or so seconds. Obviously, there are a number of unidentified samples.

Much props to the folks at rerz.net for their tireless research.

Tornados -- Red Roses and a Sky of Blue
Animal Collective -- What I Do (BBC)
Scott Walker -- Always Coming Back to You
Cat Stevens -- I Found A Love
Tornados -- Popeye Twist
Kraftwerk -- Ananas Symphony

Grand Ulena

My girlfriend and I are driving to St. Louis later this afternoon. It'll be the first time I've visited in close to a year. The days before a trip always get me sentimental, and I started to think about the musical influence that living in St. Louis had on me.

It seems like an odd location to serve as a hub for Midwestern experimental music, but it is. Skin Graft Records started in St. Louis, moved to Chicago, and has since returned. Their early catalog is expansive and impressive: The Flying Luttenbachers, Dazzling Killmen, U.S. Maple, You Fantastic!, etc. and is largely responsible for people not wanting to ride in my car with the stereo on from 2001 - 2004. Many of the bands have roots in St. Louis but took residence in Chicago. This is typical of many St. Louis bands, who move to Chi-town and erase the Lou from their bios (90 Day Men, I'm looking at you).

However, there is one band that has not only steadfastly planted its roots in St. Louis, but celebrates the city in its songs and titles: Grand Ulena. The trio, made up of Darin Gray (ex-Killman, and often the bass player Jim O'Rourke calls for album work), guitarist Chris Trull and drummer Danny McClain, have released one album, an ep, and a split 7" with Sicbay. They played their first show with Wilco (!) at the Pageant in St. Louis in October of 2001. The crowd, many of whom have been Wilco fans since AM, were very gracious toward Grand Ulena for a good ten or fifteen minutes. This was due in part to Jeff Tweedy introducing them as "the best band you'll ever, ever see." When it became clear that, yes, this was their set, and they weren't just dicking around before starting a more traditional rock song, the crowd began to turn. First came the restlessness, then shouting and catcalls. The band remained unfazed. I was sold.

Below are three songs, two from their debut album Gateway to Dignity and the title-track from their EP. As is typical of the band, one of the album tracks is named after a St. Louis street, the other a reference to a town on the Kansas/Missouri border, and the EP is named after a town south of Kansas City near Joplin, Missouri. Their songs are polyphonic, polyrhythmic, polyeverything.

Grand Ulena -- Gravois Means Rubble
Grand Ulena -- Total Joplin
Grand Ulena -- Neosho

DVD Releases: April 3rd. 2007

Davis Lynch is either a genius or completely insane, but you can't blame him for season 2 of Twin Peaks. While staying true to the tone of the first season, ABC thought it would be a good idea to blow it's wad and reveal who kille Laura Palmer against Lynch's wishes. So as Lynch drifts away to begin work on Wild At Heart the show begins to lose much of its focus. But Twin Peaks is still one of the best produced American shows of all time and it's about time we got a proper release. Rumors are now swirling that we will see a re-release of season one and a directors cut of Fire Walk With me. Good, it's about time.

Tom Goes To The Mayor is one of those shows where you either think it's the funniest thing ever or one of the worst shows ever made. I happen to think it's pretty damn funny, but it should be given that it's produced by Bob Odenkirk and features many of the most talented comedians working today, do I even need to say anything else? Sure it's not Mr. Show, but what is these days?