Flagpole best local albums 2007

Ohoh, this time of the year again... Time of balances, best-ofs, worst-ofs, whatever. Our local institution, Flagpole magazine, just released the list of their 10 favorite local albums of 2007. By local, understand Athens, GA based, of course. And albums is to be understood in the wider sense of "release", as they also counted EPs.

I'm quite happy that two of my personal favorites made it: The Lolligags and Titans of Filth. Not only these bands are both excellent in their genre, the respective lead singers are also close, sibling-like friends.

The Lolligags were born in 2006 from the collaboration between high-school friends Leslie DS (Athens) and Ryan B. (based in Nashville, TN). They play what could be simply referred to as electro-pop: picture Siouxsie singing the Pet Shop Boys, and you would have a generic idea. Leslie comes with ideas of melodies and lyrics, she phones Ryan who comes up with something, he calls Leslie back, and after several back-and-worth, a song is born. Their first EP was released on HHBTM at the end of the spring, a second is in the pipes, with several songs written already but not yet properly recorded. You can find some of their new songs ("My Mascara", "A Spanner in the Works") on their myspace page. So far, the Lolligags played three gigs only, at Caledonia with CCBB on 11/02/2007 for Leslie's Bday, at the Star Bar and at Flicker with the Black Kids on 11/15 and 11/16. The shows were really good, with a lot of pre-recorded loops that gave Leslie the opportunity to harmonize with herself, and Ryan to play guitar. Oh, and you should check their scene set, with the huge lollipops. Spring 2008 should see a second EP, perhaps some remixes, and hopefully more shows. Get the Lolligag reflex.

I met Sam from the Titans of Filth for the first time in July 2006, during AthFest. He was distributing free copies of "Best Behavior", the first EP they had just finished recording a month before. I didn't pick up immediately, but waited a few weeks before catching them live at the Caledonia. I've been a huge fan since. If their music was to be described in one word, that would be twee, without a doubt. Simple yet catchy melodies, funny, smart and touching lyrics dealing with teenagehood in a Christian environment, depression, how to fit in the crowd, pretty much a Blue Ridge, GA hillbilly version of the early Belle and Sebastian. Note that Best Behavior was also re-distributed by HHBTM as part of their CDR club. "Feats of Strengths", their second EP, was recorded in June 2007, just in time for the NYC Popfest where they had a slot (and where they invited me as part buffer, part tour manager, part mascot). The production is more rounded than on the first EP, the sound is fuller, with even a dance-like tune ("Swinging Lovers", about the dating pool in a small collegetown of Georgia), and a very heart-felt ballad ("Fifth Year") written by their violonist Ann. All in all, I'm very, very proud of all of them... Let's hope that 2008 will see another release, the sooner, the better...

Oh, incidentally, the three EPs I mentioned were recorded by Jason "Casper and the Cookies" NeSmith at his BelAir Studio. Talk about a small world or an incestuous family, eh ?


(Respects to Hillary from Team Brown for the movies and Mike W. for the photo).

Things not to do on a Christmas Eve...

...but quite enjoyable nevertheless. Sort of. Depends.

• Let the Mouton-Cadet breathe for too long or not enough.
• Not put enough garlic in the gratin dauphinois. Three cloves are not enough. About gratin, it's amazing to see so many recipes with cheese, and even without garlic.
• Miss getting a beer at the Manhattan bar while listening to XTC and the church bells at midnight.
  
• Finish Craig Thompson's "Blankets".
• Realize that you bursted when you recognized the Cure reference, and your whole teenagehood in your face for 17 seconds.
  
• Remember about Chunky Rice and Italy.
• Remember about Wim Wender's "Wings of Paradise". (OK, yes, you just rented again three days ago after almost 15 years, but. More about that later).
  
• Remember about the fellow seekers who disappeared along the road.
• Catch a cold.

So I didn't see any reindeer, nor possums, but it was still a very nice evening. Now, plug the common greetings.

(Dang. Just started and late already...)
So, last Friday saw me attending a Casper and the Cookies show at Club TSI, in Jacksonville, FL. The Caspers were playing with initially local and now worldwide new stars Black Kids, and as it was on a week-end night close to the break, I offered to do merch' for them, which they gracefully accepted. Thanks again for welcoming me, guys.

I like doing merch'. It's the best to meet people, see some shows, have nice chats, push product you care for. The setup at TSI isn't the best however, as the merch' table is close to the entrance, and you can't really see the stage at the other side of the club. Ecco. They usually have penny PBRs at the beginning of the evening though, so after a few you don't really mind.

The show was great, the house was packed. Casper mixed some old favorites ("Sid from Central Park", "Barking in the Garden of Ill Repute", "Hey Mr Superstar", among others) with some of their new songs such as "Marcel Marsalis", "Little Lady Larva", the now standard "Kiss me beneath the Christmas Tree" (don't forget to check the X-rated version on Daytrotter), and a surprise. And what a surprise ! The very last song was a cover of Pixies' "Hey", with Jim on lead vocals. Very impressive cover, the guitars were maybe a bit too shy, but Kay and Joe really nailed the rhythmic session.
The Black Kids played a short show, barely eight songs, but their repertoire counts only 11 songs, so... They were tight, far tighter than I ever saw them so far, which is hardly a surprise with the intense several-hours-a-day practice regimen they've been following for their upcoming UK tour. OK, the transitions are not really up to it, but that's easy to fix.
I'm glad for the Black Kids. I was at their Athens Popfest show, this famous Saturday early afternoon at Little Kings, right during the heatwave, where they blew the audience's mind. Nobody was expecting them, and they delivered the most danceable, clap-your-hands-and-cheer pop songs. The rest is history: they got picked up by some reputable blogs, then the buzz got sent to the NME, and there they went. Let's touch wood that they keep the spirits high and the heads cold.

Links:
Casper and the Cookies
Black Kids

Pub notes - #1

So, I was about to fall asleep in front of the Satyricon, the bug that nagged me was fixed, I figured it'd be cool to go back downtown and check these bands at Caledonia. Running into a friend while getting some cash, I ended up for a little while at Flicker, where as a Xmas present Still small Voice were playing. Even if I wasn't technically in the audience, too busy with cigs outside, I attended the last part of their show, and man, was that great. The sound was quite right, they had fun and it showed, they did one of their Costello's covers, and that was just perfect. But too short for me, as I came late. Sempre cosi.
So I went back to my initial destination, to catch Misfortune 500. I really loved their Chameleons cover on their album, I came just at the time where they were doing another ("Paper Tigers"), and that was a nice surprise. The rest of the set was however not that much of a surprise. I don't wanna start bitching for my first official post, so I'll stick to positive comments.
- They are skilled musicians, 98% of the time.
- The girls in the audience were very cute, but unfortunately far too young (even for me). Nicely dressed, though, in this indie/darkwave way that I'm fond of.
- They can nail their Chameleons. Almost. Pretty close anyway.
- They gonna be schmeck on for the Brooklyn scene revival in 4 of 5 years.

Ah, dammit, the Chameleons (Note to self: Wow, I would never have thought to check whether the Chameleons were still active...). I discovered them afterwards, as usual, something like in 1987-1988. They were definitely part of my last-year-of-high-school soundtrack. They came through a tape made by a friend of a friend, penultimate-year-of-high-school. That was the time where we'd do mix-tapes for any occasion. Argh, time flies...

Anyway, DON'T FALL !!!

As an introduction

OK, let's face it, I'm living my last months as a self-proclaimed hipster. For roughly 20 years now, I've been listening to all kind of indie music, from punk to twee, from goth to yacht, from industrial to bossa, from house to hard-bop. I've been to countless shows, watched more movies than I read books, started heated discussions about music, and I've been quite happy with that. I subscribed to some famous (at least in my home country) magazines, I read the specialized press, (rather occasionally I must admit), and of course nowadays I regularly browse through some blogs. I used to be a member of the indie police (you know, those kids who'll stop listening to a band because it becomes too popular, a la Indie Pete), but grew out of that, came out of the Abba closet (even if some friends are still convinced that it's the cherry on the poseur cake), and I'm now genuinely happy when the bands I like make some money. Y'all read Barnes' blurb on stereogum, right ? And yes, I wear a hoodie, tight jeans and Converse (or Doc's in winter time). And a very long scarf.

Anyway, I have the very strong feeling that this won't last forever, and may actually stop sooner than I can think. My memory not being what it used to be any longer, I need to document what happened, whether yesterday or during an afternoon sometime in the nineties. I started keeping track of the shows I've been to, movies I watched or rented, books I read at the very beginning of 2006, but failed to update on a regular basis (likely fate of this blog). What I have in mind here would be more of a random collection of little moments, depending on what Life throws in the wheels of my scooter or whatever memories show up. Nothing too personal however, there's another blog for that (invites only for that one).

So be forgiving, bear my rantings (and my somehow approximate use of the english language), and let's get rolling.