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Washington Social Club - Not A Rockstar.

One of the funny things about being a music blogger is that everyone assumes you're a complete and utter music snob--that your tastes are refined and lean towards the obscure, esoteric, perhaps even inaccessible. In our case, nothing could be further from the truth. Sure we write about a lot of new bands, but our tastes definitely run the gamut and are certainly not relegated to anything even close to a narrow musical genre.

Which brings me to why I dig Washington Social Club, who are releasing their new CD this weekend at their first-ever headlining gig at the 9:30 Club. Music writers outside DC still often try to peg DC bands into a music history that is now severely out-of-date--DC has pop now people, and that's a fine thing.

Washington Social Club is a rock and roll band, they put on a rock and roll show, sing rock songs, rock out, exhort the crowd to dance, clap their hands over their heads. They sing pop melodies over guitar chords. And guess what? That's awesome. It's so great to have a home grown rock show to go to in DC. Miraculously, Washington Social Club have been able to remain a fun band who draw a fun crowd--hip enough, but not too hip to be prententious.

And so then they had me cracking up because they nailed it when they sent me this song from their upcoming record--Not A Rockstar, where they sing "If Indie Rock's gonna save us all, then what the fuck is it waiting for?"

Exactly, and the point is, it's not going to save us. Neither is French Touch, garage, or hot jazz for that matter. Good music is good music, just go out and have a good time

Aqua Nebula Oscillator - Ready To Fly

Bart: Telegram for Lisa Simpson. [mimes opening an envelope]
Homer: [to Lisa] Don't listen! It's a trick.
Bart: Dear Lisa: Psych! Psych, psych, psych. Signed, Super-psych.
Homer: [to Lisa] I think he's trying to psych you out.
Marge: Look, we're all trying to have dinner. So why don't we just... psych, psych, psych!
- The Simpsons, episode CABF07

That was a cheap setup for this, but psych-rock is one of those genres of music that always seems to be bubbling just below the surface of pop music. Apparently over in France, there's quite a lot of good bands making psychedelic rock right now.

This track of psychedelic insanity (esp around halfway in!) comes from a Parisian four-piece, Aqua Nebula Oscillator, who are fully schooled in the history of psych rock, and who know how to make some songs that simply burn! The song comes from a compilation called Voyage - Facing the History of French Modern Psychedelic Music put together by the amazing band Turzi (who you will be hearing more about here pretty soon btw). The album includes tracks by fifteen bands, including One Switch to Collision, Lisa Li Lund, Service, Juan Trip, Etienne Jaumet, Rob, and Turzi themselves. It is a really excellent compilation that gives the listener a great look into the psych scene over in Paris (and beyond), covering a number of styles, from really heavy, feedback-laden acid rock, to Stooges-style acid-punk, and from droning Velvet Underground (or Suicide) style pieces, to psychedelic string section-lead songs. Wild.

Voyage is being released over here in the US by our friends at Kemado and you'll get it for free when you buy Turzi's album, A, which comes out later this summer. Highly recommended.

As is tonight's People Don't Dance No More (ha!)

So, perhaps you've heard of this show. I saw the first few episodes and I liked it. They understand the uphill battle they have being another folk comedy duo on HBO, which I appreciate. If you don't believe me, you can watch the whole first episode online. So there.

In Celebration of the show's premier on Sunday, these two dudes from New Zealand wanted me to give you Zunes. It's HBO though, so their budget is light, and instead of the thousands of Zunes required to give you each one, they only had enough kiwis to buy one. Therefore, you're going to have to fight over it. So if you want one, email me. I'll pick a random winner over the weekend. Then whoever wins it can illegally download copies of the show and watch them on it.

Update: the contest is now officially closed. Congrats to Randy in LA. And for the rest of you, better luck next time!

David and I are super excited about this month's party, as Andrew "Hercules & Love Affair" Butler will be throwing down tunes with us in the basement. Details below - be there kids, its gonna be a DISCO riot!

People Don't Dance No More - Friday June 15th

Featuring special guest DJ
Andy Butler (Hercules & Love Affair, DFA)

w/ resident DJs:
Robot Blair (Music.for-Robots) & David Bruno (Slap You in Public)

$5 advance via Ticketweb / $10 at the door
(Limited $5 RSVP to peopledontdancenomore@gmail.com)
Doors at 10pm, 21+

VAULT at element
225 East Houston Street
@ Essex St / Avenue A (Entrance on Essex Street)
Directions: F and V Trains to Second Avenue

Fridge - Eyelids

So you would think when six years pass after a band's last album that they might be done, over, called it quits, etc. When people talk about Kieren Hebden as Fourtet, they got used to saying "he used to be in that sick band, Fridge" you know?

Well, with the release of The Sun next week, that six-year-long wait is officially over. Fridge - Hebden, Adem Ilhan (who records on his own as well as Adem) and Sam Jeffers - is still making amazing music, as you will hear with "Eyelids". They are still a force to be reckoned with, seriously. The Sun is a great record. I've been listening to it on and off for a couple of months now, and can say without hesitation that it is excellent. Wild instrumental rock, funk, sick drums and percussion, sweet melodies, and all over the map sonically. The Sun is immediately satisfying, but has layer after layer of goodness to discover on repeat listens.

The Sun is out next Tuesday on Brooklyn's own Temporary Residence, a label that has been straight killing it lately (see Explosions In The Sky, Grails and Rob Crow, oh and Fridge's Happiness re-issued on deluxe vinyl!). You can order the CD or LP right here. Also, hit the Fridge Myspace to hear another track from the album ("Lost Time"), find out when they're playing shows, and view their beards.

Highly recommended.

If you had told me a few months ago that Spoon's new album would feature horns and attempts at honest-to-goodness jangle, I would have likely either a) not believed you or b) punched you in the face for making me sad. (I take Spoon very seriously.) But damn if they haven't pulled it off.

Spoon - The Underdog.

This is from their new record Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, due out July 10 on Merge. Spoon recorded it with Jon Brion, a pair that basically guarantees success, if you ask me. And I absolutely adore this song; I think it's not only a good (if exaggerated) example of the album as a whole, but a nice mixture of Girls Can Tell soul and Gimme Fiction funk. It's really impressive that Spoon was able to expand their sound without losing that bare-bones feel.

I might even venture to say this is a perfect summer song, one for rolling the windows down on the way to Dairy Queen. But it might take a few more listens to determine whether it fits this important distinction, something I don't mind investigating.

Why not pre-order Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga from an internet retailer of your choice?

Saturday, June 16th Check Yo’ Ponytail features Dan Deacon, The Juan MacLean, Juiceboxxx and Video Hippos. As usual, a pretty damn good line up and a little something for everyone. Resident DJs Franki Chan and Paparazzi… of course.

We have a few tickets to give away — so email contests@bigstereo.net to get yourself entered. Usual rules: play fair, no cheating, one entry per person, 18 plus. Stuff like that. If you’re not feeling so lucky you can pre-buy your tickets here.

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So this was supposed to be a live post from the sold-out National show in Minneapolis, but as you can tell from the above timestamp, it's not. Robot David had some, uh, technical difficulties. Instead, I offer you this blurry cellphone photo of Matt Berninger.

I don't usually have anything good to say about 400 Bar, but it turned out to be a kind of nice venue for this band. Here's what I hate about this venue: terrible visibility, creepy lighting, zero ambience. But somehow the room enveloped the band perfectly last night, and the band's amazing performance made you feel lucky you happened to be in your best friend's basement at the right time. (Seriously, I think there's even fake wood paneling on the walls, though that may just be my extrapolation.)

They started the night with "Mistaken For Strangers," and the highlights were many: "Apartment Story," "Mr. November," "Abel." Berninger screamed when he needed to scream, crooned when he needed to croon, and randomly fell down when he got lost his balance. He also started the show by apologizing to the shoeless woman whose feet he accidentally stepped on (don't forget to wear shoes at rock shows, kids!), and apologized to the guy at the last Minneapolis show he attacked. That guy, he said, was not the guy who yelled "free bird!" forty times during the show, and he regretted the error.

I realized during "Mr. November" why I like The National so much: they're like U2, but they actually earn their grandeur, you know? I've contrasted U2 and Arcade Fire before by claiming (in a grammatically poor way, yikes) that "while Arcade Fire is selling emotion, U2 sound like they are selling shoes." Same goes for The National, I think. There's something incredible about a cinematic, epic song about hiding in your apartment and watching TV that just doesn't sound as good as, say, Bono still not finding what he's looking for.

My only complaint about the show was that they didn't play "Lit Up," but I suppose they're pretty sick of that one. Well done, The National.

Photo by Grace Pattison

One track that definitely caught my attention off the I Can Count Volume 2 compilation is Sportsday Megaphone’s “Less and Less.” Sportsday Megaphone is the one man band of Hugh Frost. and creates some the finest indie-DIY-punk-pop — “Less and Less” sounds a bit like Matt & Kim or Muscles or maybe even The Blow. Apparently he performs with only a laptop and a guitar… eh, what else does a band really need?

Sportsday Megaphone - “Less and Less” (mp3)

This track is available on both I Can Count Vol. 2 and Sportsday Megaphone’s ep. I recommend both… but you can pick your poison.

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Been playing around with the creepy cool Google Maps Street View feature? Much fun to putz around on, and while we were definitely not looking up the ex's front door to see if it was still that rosy shade of "go away," Rock Daily put the stalker aid to an enviable use: Google Rock Tour! Amongst the locations on their list is one we know well: Paul's Boutique at the corner of Ludlow and Rivington in the LES (it's a diner; great brunch, but beware -- no home fries)...

And, one we've visited but once...