Grant Manship

Fol Chen - In Ruins

MGMT - It's Working

Old Is The New New - No. 1

Not all the music listening that goes on around here pertains to new bands.  A new guest contributor, who shall remain anonymous for the time being, has decided to take a step back and write about great stuff from the past.  The first installment is about Gary McFarland & Gabor Szabo's Simpatico [Impulse! 1966].  So without further ado, here it is:

Gary McFarland was poisoned by methadone five years after the release of this record. The dysphoric jazz pop of 'Sympatico' washes over the room like a warm red tide. Vibes and Latin beats predominate. Dissonant vocal harmonies initiate the chilling session. Open your windows and let the spring breeze slowly rock your partially lowered blinds. Don't worry, this is going to be pleasant.

The dreamy tranquility spun out of this melancholy music is one of ambivalence...imagine playing Frisbee with Astrud Gilberto on a cloudy afternoon at the beach. You are both laughing and running around with your pants rolled up and wind breakers on. Now picture a fluffy tidal wave of methadone gently crashing on the shore pulling you and Astrud carefully out to sea and to a small island where you sweetly drift ashore. All the while 'Simpatico' plays as the soundtrack to your imaginations aimless wanderings.

There really aren't any weak songs on this album, though I think 'The Word','Norwegian Wood', 'Nature Boy', and 'Cool Water' are excellent additions to the artists own songs.

• Gary McFarland & Gabor Szabo - "Yamaha Mama" from Simpatico
• Gary McFarland & Gabor Szabo - "She's A Cruiser" from Simpatico

Trash Flow Radio Recap - June 5th, 2010

This past Saturday Trash Flow Radio played all kinds of music in the first hour, and then nothing nothing nothing but Boston MA super-rock (heavily but not exclusively from the 1980s) in the second hour. All the action can be downloaded ad-free (for a limited time) from the following links:

• Trash Flow Radio [06/05/10] - Part 1 Part 2 Playlist

Electric Black - Top Kill

The song "Top Kill" and the accompanying protest video against British Petroleum is a project by New York City musicians and film-makers (www.bpyourheartisblack.com). It is dedicated to humanity's endless struggle to overcome mass insanity, and to the global community victimized by the greatest act of theft in recorded history.

Planned as a performance art piece by New York's blues-rock band Electric Black, the Flash Protest at the BP station on Houston and Lafayette on May 28th turned out to be the largest of its kind. Earlier that week the band, joining forces with activist group CodePink, took the streets with 7000 flyers. With no time to procure a protest permit, a few mobilized many.

"We organized this protest with the intention of creating a multimedia performance piece aimed to fan the fires of outrage against BP, TransOcean, and Halliburton, and so spread consciousness about this abomination," says organizer and lead singer of Electric Black Johnny B. With the support of accomplished film-makers and artists such as Shoja Azari, Nariman Hamid, and Tommy Mokas, a powerful protest video was turned around in 48 hours.

The works vent our frustration and encourages others to do so as well. Though the feeling amongst most people seems to be of a helpless paralysis, such attitudes are counterproductive in the effort to punish the companies responsible, and attempt to prevent future acts of catastrophic negligence.

Trash Flow Radio Recap - May 15th, 2010

I was unable to attend (and might be a little late with this recap) but this past Saturday, Trash Flow Radio featured Anti-Tory Britpunk, the funniest Ramones interview ever recorded, the Velvet Underground's unreleased version of "Walk On The Wild Side"(!), UK Record Store Day releases by The Fall and Nick Cave, more rare Cleveland punk, a visit from former WPRB DJ Colin Dr. Love, and much much more! All the action can be downloaded below:

• Trash Flow Radio [05/15/10] - Part 1 Part 2 Playlist

Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Hombre Sencillo

Local Natives - World News

The Rolling Stones - Plundered My Soul

LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

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