Please forgive me, for though I did see a modern dance performance last night—putting me in the running for "Most Cultured Knuckledragger" on this here internet (Though, sadly, not on that other internet.)—I've otherwise been a lazy and a boring person. However, I'm pleased to report two upcoming shows that are probably gonna rock like that ancient Yucutan metor that killed everything. Go to them.
Tonight, June 17
Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow St.
8:00 pm
$7
Animal — Do they write that? Is that improv? Are you...you're dancing again. Well I'll be...
Upsilon Acrux — groovin' spastic LA robotparty rock'n'roll
Multitudes — I don't know anything about these guys, but I'm intrigued.
(i think that's the correct order, with Animal headlining.)
Tomorrow, June 18
Death By Audio, 49 S.2nd St Williamsburg (btw Kent & Wythe)
8:00 pm
$ ?cheap, though
STATS — one of my personal favorites, they've got a new ep out.
Upsilon Acrux — see above. go see them twice, it'll be worth it.
Clan of the Cave Bear — i wish this would have been the soundtrack to that awful old movie
(again, pretty sure STATS is headlining this one)
So now you have no excuse to stay indoors; even I am going outside. And then back inside for rad music. Oooh, this is exciting! You know what else is exciting? Good modern dance. Yeah, and I'm not just saying that because I have a vested personal interest in the matter. I'm actually looking forward to going to another one. I'll leave it at that lest some fanatic assail me for shattering his/her illusions of my crapulent twit-dom.
Showing posts with label math. Show all posts
Showing posts with label math. Show all posts
17 June 2009
30 May 2009
STATS - Marooned
Lately I've been waiting for that awesome big something to come along, smack the last of the awful sickness I've had out of my face (I was down for the count with who-knows-what for a week) and, by extension, give me something actually sick to write about. Thursday comes along and in my emailbox appears a note from the STATS dudes offering up their latest e.p., Marooned.
Not so many weekends ago, while hanging out with bassist Tony Gedrich (who also plays in Extra Life, worth checking out), Tony busted out the unmastered recordings. A bunch of us rocked out to them and probably drooled a little more than Tony was expecting, so I had baseline expectation of what I was gonna hear. Also, STATS has been playing this stuff for their past few live shows, but one can never quite be sure how it's all going to transition from the live set to the recorded tapes.
Well I can now unequivocally state that this three-song, 19 minute e.p. is bloody-nose inducing. They really cranked the low-end here for maximum womp. There's no way to say this without sounding like a total tool, but STATS is fucking groovy. Groovy math. You wanna get a bunch of epileptics with Tourettes to boogie? This is the perfect band for that. Give them earplugs, too, because it's necessary.
Big dumb smiling, mouth-breathing, gut-evisceratin' jazz tunes. These guys are friends of mine and perhaps the nicest guys around and always a hoot to play shows with; I've called them the most underrated band in Brooklyn and I stand by that. STATS creates the most thouroughly thought out goofball music that's not actually goofy or stupid, but just what awesome rock 'n' roll music should be. For thinkin' folks. Mischievously dark and, yet, positive. It's gonna give your kids their first cigarette, show 'em dirty magazines and help with homework just to keep on your good side. Because they look like good kids and yours shouldn't be hanging around with those dirty long hairs down the street with the illegal firecrackers.
Not murderers or rapists!
So now that I've said all this crap, how do you get your hands on Marooned? At the moment they have it available for free download, all you have to do is email them at [statsbrooklyn at gmail.com] and they'll send you the link. Then go donate some money to them for their efforts (paypal info will be in the email) because they put way too much effort into making these awesome songs extra awesome. To get a feel for what this is all about visit their myspace where they've posted the track "Yo King". I dare you to try and get it out of your head. I also dare you to figure out how they piece their songs together because, frankly, I find the prospect of an actual answer too daunting and frigtening to ask them.
Not so many weekends ago, while hanging out with bassist Tony Gedrich (who also plays in Extra Life, worth checking out), Tony busted out the unmastered recordings. A bunch of us rocked out to them and probably drooled a little more than Tony was expecting, so I had baseline expectation of what I was gonna hear. Also, STATS has been playing this stuff for their past few live shows, but one can never quite be sure how it's all going to transition from the live set to the recorded tapes.
Well I can now unequivocally state that this three-song, 19 minute e.p. is bloody-nose inducing. They really cranked the low-end here for maximum womp. There's no way to say this without sounding like a total tool, but STATS is fucking groovy. Groovy math. You wanna get a bunch of epileptics with Tourettes to boogie? This is the perfect band for that. Give them earplugs, too, because it's necessary.
Big dumb smiling, mouth-breathing, gut-evisceratin' jazz tunes. These guys are friends of mine and perhaps the nicest guys around and always a hoot to play shows with; I've called them the most underrated band in Brooklyn and I stand by that. STATS creates the most thouroughly thought out goofball music that's not actually goofy or stupid, but just what awesome rock 'n' roll music should be. For thinkin' folks. Mischievously dark and, yet, positive. It's gonna give your kids their first cigarette, show 'em dirty magazines and help with homework just to keep on your good side. Because they look like good kids and yours shouldn't be hanging around with those dirty long hairs down the street with the illegal firecrackers.
Not murderers or rapists!
So now that I've said all this crap, how do you get your hands on Marooned? At the moment they have it available for free download, all you have to do is email them at [statsbrooklyn at gmail.com] and they'll send you the link. Then go donate some money to them for their efforts (paypal info will be in the email) because they put way too much effort into making these awesome songs extra awesome. To get a feel for what this is all about visit their myspace where they've posted the track "Yo King". I dare you to try and get it out of your head. I also dare you to figure out how they piece their songs together because, frankly, I find the prospect of an actual answer too daunting and frigtening to ask them.
12 May 2009
I'm An INTRONAUT Fanboy!
This weekend I became calendrically older and, thus, had to drink excessively, which I'm using as my excuse for not posting. But the real reason for my lack of anything lately has mostly been because I've been listening to the same 20 songs over and over again. (I also read Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake which was incredible, but as I have the galley of her fall release, Year of the Flood on the way, a future post will be dedicated exclusively to that...).
For some folk listening to the same fists-full of songs is commonplace. Not for yours truly, as I, to keep from "overdoing it", am chronically compulsed to listen to something different (not necessarily new) every couple days. The last two months have been completely different, however, as I have listened to at least 1 Intronaut song per day. I've never done this before, as far as I can recall, even when I had my first musical crush on Dinosaur Jr when I was 13.
I first saw Intronaut in 2006 when they played Rocky's (or Rockstar or "the mermaid bar" or whatever name of the week it had at the time) here in Brooklyn with Mouth of the Architect and a few other bands. For whatever reason I kinda forgot about them until late last summer, just about the time Prehistoricisms came out. Of course, I was unaware and didn't hear that album until January, but by that time had completely digested the Null and Void eps and chewed the cud several times over.
This past weekend, for my birthday, they came through NYC opening for Mastodon alongside Kylesa, though I wasn't there because Mastodon's new album is garbage and a few of us stubbornly refused to get tickets until it was too late. So I missed out on seeing them. Anyway, hopefully they'll be back around this way and I can fully appreciate their extraordinary aurallingus skills live. Maybe someone will make a new music video for one of their songs, say..."The Cavernous Den of Shame". That song is awesome. Here's one for "Australopithecus" done by Sera Timms. It would appear she took filmmaking lessons from Adam Jones (of Tool, not "Pacman" Jones).
For some folk listening to the same fists-full of songs is commonplace. Not for yours truly, as I, to keep from "overdoing it", am chronically compulsed to listen to something different (not necessarily new) every couple days. The last two months have been completely different, however, as I have listened to at least 1 Intronaut song per day. I've never done this before, as far as I can recall, even when I had my first musical crush on Dinosaur Jr when I was 13.
I first saw Intronaut in 2006 when they played Rocky's (or Rockstar or "the mermaid bar" or whatever name of the week it had at the time) here in Brooklyn with Mouth of the Architect and a few other bands. For whatever reason I kinda forgot about them until late last summer, just about the time Prehistoricisms came out. Of course, I was unaware and didn't hear that album until January, but by that time had completely digested the Null and Void eps and chewed the cud several times over.
This past weekend, for my birthday, they came through NYC opening for Mastodon alongside Kylesa, though I wasn't there because Mastodon's new album is garbage and a few of us stubbornly refused to get tickets until it was too late. So I missed out on seeing them. Anyway, hopefully they'll be back around this way and I can fully appreciate their extraordinary aurallingus skills live. Maybe someone will make a new music video for one of their songs, say..."The Cavernous Den of Shame". That song is awesome. Here's one for "Australopithecus" done by Sera Timms. It would appear she took filmmaking lessons from Adam Jones (of Tool, not "Pacman" Jones).
22 January 2009
Brooklyn, Friday, Jan 23
I probably won't be writing anything for a couple days because I'm prepping for this. It's gonna be awesome. Come join us if you can. It's free.
16 November 2008
John D. Barrow—New Theories of Everything
Back in early June, I had made note of some thoughts I had (yeah, it happens) about the search for a "Theory of Everything". I try to keep abreast of current work in cosmology and high-energy physics, particularly if new work appears that's crafted for the education of the layman, "because that's who I am, and that's who I care about." Anyhow, I made the notes regarding the nature of what a theory of everything actually is. Fundamentally, it's a religious pursuit undertaken by ostensibly secular physicists and mathematicians. Why do I call it a religious pursuit? Mainly because in order to reduce the workings of the universe to a comprehensible, elegant mathematical function one must know far more than I think we're capable of understanding (i.e.; initial conditions for the grand event that birthed our universe).
Now there are reasons why I don't think we can know these, and that's where Cambridge mathematician/cosmologist John D. Barrow comes in. New Theories of Everything is an update of a book he wrote in 1991 and provides incredibly clear explanations for a vast array of mathematical and cosmological concepts. (As in frightening, geniusesque clarity.) It's exactly the high-end pop-science book I've needed to read for a while, because while Barrow's grasp of physical phenomena is tight, his deep knowledge allows him to be critical of certain directions many of his peers are taking.
The main premise of the book revolves around the idea that there is no reason to think that the physical properties of our universe can be distilled into one mathematical function. While our universe may have a mathematical skeleton, there are many aspects of its existence that are chaotic and non-linear and other aspects (think closer to home à la the arts) that don't seem to have mathematical explanations at all. Without knowledge of the exact states of initial conditions of these chaotic phenomena we have no way of predicting how future states will turn out (thus negating the ability to confirm the accuracy of an equation or experiment). Symmetry breaking also gives theorists headaches for similar reasons, but I just mangled that last explanation so I'll leave this one for the expert (read the book) to flesh out.
Lastly, I must mention—and I'm cutting this review off because I'm obviously not a physicist and I've also been enjoying some scotch—this book left me a bit baffled. Not by the content per se, as it was expertly explained and I highly recommend reading it, but by the author himself. You see John D. Barrow is a religious man, of a specific christian denomination. Now it may be obnoxious of me to go down this path, but after reading such an obviously brilliant explanation of some of the most conceptually difficult material for humans to comprehend, I cannot help but wonder how its author holds such traditional christian beliefs (i.e.; that jesus our savior, the viability of the trinity, etc.) and is able to reconcile them with all he knows of our universe—not to mention the possibility of an infinite multiverse of which our universe is only one small bubble. I find this realization more troubling and difficult to comprehend than the ideas of infinity or nothingness. But maybe I'm the weird guy.
Anyway, regardless of my ever-dyspeptic responses to the continuing presence of nonsensical religious beliefs in today's world, read this book if you have any interest whatsoever in quantum phenomena, chaotic systems, universal origins, multiverse theory, string theory and any aspects of mathematics. The latter almost always forms a stumbling block for laypersons and Barrow's ability to explain various mathematical concepts made me want to strangle all the terrible math teachers I had growing up who never explained a single fucking thing.
fin.
27 July 2008
Melvins - Nude With Boots
I'm almost a month behind the ball (John Kruk testicle draperies?) on getting my act together regarding the latest installment of Melvins-Are-The-Greatest-Band-On-Earth, so please pardon my tardiness. My first listen to Nude With Boots just wrapped up and the sun started poking through the clouds and I have a bit of psylocybin that awaits: my mood is rather dandy. Now because it took me so long to get my hands on the record (hell, I got my tickets to see them over a week ago), there's not really any point in me "reviewing" the album. Plenty of other folks have done that already so you can go read what they wrote. I'm just here to tell you two things:
1) Buy Nude With Boots
2) Get your tickets to see them immediately
Now a bunch of folks have given this record less than stellar reviews—to Buzz's dismay as well as mine—but no matter, any person with a modicum of good taste in aural delights is sure to realize what a knockout we have here. It was pointed out by the band themselves that if some upstart young band came out with this album we wouldn't need to worry about global warming floods because the amount of saliva gushing from the mouths of music writers would inundate major coastal cities. Alas what we have is another amazing Melvins record in a long line of amazing Melvins records. (A) Senile Animal was awesome, particularly because of the added Big Business section, but now that they've toured together nearly non-stop for two years they've learned how to read each other as practitioners of the true ancient sorcery. Folks who have already got to see them on their current tour have responded more than favorably which is why, if they haven't come through your area already, you need to seriously take my advice from advice-point #2 above and buy your ticket.
In related news, thanks to Hank over at Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches, I was turned on to the Paper Thin Walls site. If you head over there you can stream the whole album and read about some of the songwriting quirks behind this album. Go check that out.
Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your sunday, and have a great week (I'll probably be working 6 days, which will be kinda boring, probably). Also, Red Sox, for the love o' Pete, please beat the fucking Yankees today.
26 April 2008
I'm Still Deaf
I can't hear anything right now for, I think, two reasons: a) my allergies have corrupted all my internal functions, and b) I didn't have my earplugs in last night for one of the best shows I've seen in recent memory. Most of the shows I've been to lately have been larger venue affairs for Converge/Baroness and Neurosis/Mastodon. Not last night. Last night I finally got back out to a house show at the Silent Barn, hosted by the ubiquitous Todd P. To save my ailing, sinus-troubled brain from overwork, here's the rundown (in set order):
Maw: These three fellas are good friends of ours and play some sort of chunky, thrashy math rock. It's super fun and they played what may have been their tightest set ever. Keep your eye out for these guys, I think they're gonna be recording with Colin Marston soon.
Animal: Another local instrumental group, this duo is in a similar vein to Hella or Lightning Bolt, but far more listenable than the latter. This is a band that anybody can get into and they still rock. Girls and guys were dancing (in a good way, too, not some cheap ironic shit) and rocking out and it ruled.
Dead Child: Surprise guests of the night featuring members of Slint and Lords, they played throwback thrash from the 80s. I was wasted at this point and thought it was pretty good. The smoke added flair, too. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything they did worthy of actually purchasing their album. So...um, maybe next try?
Krallice: Having missed their last show (which may have been their first? dunno), I had no idea what to expect from a 'black metal' project featuring Mick Barr and Colin Marston. Well, there was little to be found in the shred/noodling department, but man, this was fucking relentless, bleak, tortured, melodic black metal. I don't know what it is (besides the Colt 45 I was enjoying), but great black metal puts a huge, goofy grin on my face. I don't know how long they played, but time pretty much stopped. Enjoyed every second of it.
Behold...The Arctopus: I've been seeing these guys since I was introduced in 2003(ish) and my unprintable galaxy they are possibly the most talented and most underappreciated band on the planet. If there was any fairness in this universe these guys would be billionaires and have just over 6 billion adoring fans. Unfortunately, the world is full of idiots with no taste, so these guys press on making obscenely complex, jaw-dropping metal fury for those of us who care way too much. For pete's sake buy their new album and get yr brain melted.
Maw: These three fellas are good friends of ours and play some sort of chunky, thrashy math rock. It's super fun and they played what may have been their tightest set ever. Keep your eye out for these guys, I think they're gonna be recording with Colin Marston soon.
Animal: Another local instrumental group, this duo is in a similar vein to Hella or Lightning Bolt, but far more listenable than the latter. This is a band that anybody can get into and they still rock. Girls and guys were dancing (in a good way, too, not some cheap ironic shit) and rocking out and it ruled.
Dead Child: Surprise guests of the night featuring members of Slint and Lords, they played throwback thrash from the 80s. I was wasted at this point and thought it was pretty good. The smoke added flair, too. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything they did worthy of actually purchasing their album. So...um, maybe next try?
Krallice: Having missed their last show (which may have been their first? dunno), I had no idea what to expect from a 'black metal' project featuring Mick Barr and Colin Marston. Well, there was little to be found in the shred/noodling department, but man, this was fucking relentless, bleak, tortured, melodic black metal. I don't know what it is (besides the Colt 45 I was enjoying), but great black metal puts a huge, goofy grin on my face. I don't know how long they played, but time pretty much stopped. Enjoyed every second of it.
Behold...The Arctopus: I've been seeing these guys since I was introduced in 2003(ish) and my unprintable galaxy they are possibly the most talented and most underappreciated band on the planet. If there was any fairness in this universe these guys would be billionaires and have just over 6 billion adoring fans. Unfortunately, the world is full of idiots with no taste, so these guys press on making obscenely complex, jaw-dropping metal fury for those of us who care way too much. For pete's sake buy their new album and get yr brain melted.
07 January 2008
Hey Look, It's a Music Post!
There's a great show coming up on Thursday featuring my friends Stay Fucked. All the info via (stellar) drummer, Hank Shteamer:
here is info on our belated end-of-tour show! CDs and new hand-screened t-shirts will be on hand. all the other bands rule. hope to see you!
this Thursday, 1/10
@ Cake Shop
152 Ludlow between Rivington and Stanton
(bands listed from latest to earliest)
*Dysrhythmia
*Stay Fucked
*We Be the Echo
*The Future Has a Silver Lining
8pm, $6
myspace.com/stayfucked
here is info on our belated end-of-tour show! CDs and new hand-screened t-shirts will be on hand. all the other bands rule. hope to see you!
this Thursday, 1/10
@ Cake Shop
152 Ludlow between Rivington and Stanton
(bands listed from latest to earliest)
*Dysrhythmia
*Stay Fucked
*We Be the Echo
*The Future Has a Silver Lining
8pm, $6
myspace.com/stayfucked
30 May 2006
Hot Hot Hot Goddam
When these guys came to town on April 28th I was totally blown away. I'll let my review words speak for themselves, instead of writing a dumb preface.
You Will Die - s/t
Hawthorne Street Records
5 stars
"No, we don't want a vocalist." And they don't need one either. You Will Die is an instrumental trio that hails from Indianapolis, not exactly a bastion of heavy music as far as I'm aware (Racebannon being the only other notable Indiana band I can think of at the moment. Sorry, Indiana). Here on their debut these guys have produced a whirlwind of face-smashing rock'n'sludge with plenty of grind-esque shrapnel thrown in to keep you on your toes. While they shouldn't be considered a "tech" band, they do keep their shredding slightly unorthodox and the songs never get stale.
You Will Die reminds me of a more pissed-off Keelhaul--who I love--so this album is a total winner. In their own words they describe their sound as, "The soundtrack to someone's last minute on earth before they headbutt a tablesaw." It works for me. Scoth's (yeah, Scoth) guitar and Jason's bass lines aren't exactly straightforward, but they come at you in a no-bones-about-it-I'm-gonna-kick-your-fool-ass kind of way, which rules. Here you'll find some super-crunchy hardcore riffage over bass that actually moves you as it adds dimension. The drumming on the album is nitro-fueled, gargantuan and downright impeccable. Whereas many great drummers can be boring to watch, (Brann Dailor comes to mind, though no offence intended) Errol is not. These guys have fun while they're playing and what they're playing is fucking fun. Despite the fact that this album is way too short even for my "leave me wanting more" standards, I haven't stopped playing it for the past month. Guys, seriously, give us more.
You Will Die - s/t
Hawthorne Street Records
5 stars
"No, we don't want a vocalist." And they don't need one either. You Will Die is an instrumental trio that hails from Indianapolis, not exactly a bastion of heavy music as far as I'm aware (Racebannon being the only other notable Indiana band I can think of at the moment. Sorry, Indiana). Here on their debut these guys have produced a whirlwind of face-smashing rock'n'sludge with plenty of grind-esque shrapnel thrown in to keep you on your toes. While they shouldn't be considered a "tech" band, they do keep their shredding slightly unorthodox and the songs never get stale.
You Will Die reminds me of a more pissed-off Keelhaul--who I love--so this album is a total winner. In their own words they describe their sound as, "The soundtrack to someone's last minute on earth before they headbutt a tablesaw." It works for me. Scoth's (yeah, Scoth) guitar and Jason's bass lines aren't exactly straightforward, but they come at you in a no-bones-about-it-I'm-gonna-kick-your-fool-ass kind of way, which rules. Here you'll find some super-crunchy hardcore riffage over bass that actually moves you as it adds dimension. The drumming on the album is nitro-fueled, gargantuan and downright impeccable. Whereas many great drummers can be boring to watch, (Brann Dailor comes to mind, though no offence intended) Errol is not. These guys have fun while they're playing and what they're playing is fucking fun. Despite the fact that this album is way too short even for my "leave me wanting more" standards, I haven't stopped playing it for the past month. Guys, seriously, give us more.
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