"Look Out For My Love" Late last year a good friend told me about a good friend's fell into a dark alley after misjudging a step on a roof in San Francisco. As the story goes, J.M.W., noted board freak, chief and axe shredder, sustained major injuries (fractured skull, internal bleeding, shattered wrist), but it could have been much worse. While the state of California helped gratefully in J.M.W's recovery, mending on a no-frills budget isn't the easiest thing in the world. That's where his friends came together. One night, while sitting besides their narco'd frien, they knew there must be a way to help. While none could afford to contribute what pocket change laid around, they each had a song. Soon after that, a collection was born. In the spirit of J.M.W., each of those tunes happens to be a Neil Young cover. Produced for the A Fundamental Experiment compilation, a limited edition (300), silk-screened LP, from which all proceeds will benefit J.M.W.. Purchase the LP here and contribute to J.M.W's recovery. The phenomeal set includes tracks by Sun Araw, Stag Hare, Sam Goldberg (of Emeralds), as well as Matt Mondanile and Julian Lynch, whose versions of "Look Out for My Love" and "Sedan Delivery" are below.
SIDE A 1) Julian Lynch - Sedan Delivery 2) Metal Rouge - Helpless 3) Sam Goldberg - Transformer Man 4) Swanox - Thrasher 5) Sun Araw - Barstool Blues
SIDE B 1) Stag Hare - Cortez the Killer 2) Laurentide Ice Sheet - Southern Man 3) Trevor Healy - Round and Round 4) Avocet - Expecting to Fly 5) Matt Mondanile - Look Out For My Love
Harnessing the rays of a bright sun left stranded over weary plains, this house jam by Julian Lynch, featuring old homies Family Portrait, is the sort of dimly light magic you'd expect to exist only in a place far removed from the grid. The grass is a little longer and the sky is cluttered with massive schools of clouds trotting to their next destination. Subtle and refreshing, the wind blows, shaking everything in its path; hair, weeds, trees, birds. By the time the sun heads over the horizon, the landscape is frozen, serene. Only to be lifted up again in the morning, when the sun rises once again and begins nourishing the seeds its helped grow for thousands of years.
This video was shot at Ben's house in Madison, Wisconsin by Spencer Wells. Wish we could've been there for this one. Thx Spencer.
"In The City Tonight" Waking up to a generous heaping of flakes outside your window is the ultimate joy for most kids. For adults, the ultimate pain. Slushy ice roads, congested tunnels, travel delays, detours, black ice, and arctic winds can make the morning/evening commute feel like waging a war against the elements. Yet, inside, peering out a steamy window, all is calm. A bit of this quiet introspection could do the commuter well, transporting him/her from the chaos of a congested underground tunnel to a mystical igloo they once dreamed of living in as a child. This mix was designed early this morning as an agent to take you to that special frozen place.
It's not easy to talk about politics. Ever. It's even harder to discuss politics inside of music, an art form that, for better or worse, means something different to everyone who listens. There are a few major bones I'd like to pick with Ben Beaumont-Thomas's article in the Guardian. His use of the term "blog rock" immediately deems this piece unworthy of being taken seriously, but any editor worth his weight in hit-count/comments, knows this is a good way to get a rise out of readers. Either way, this piece seems void of any real focus, as if its sole purpose was to call out American musicians for being politically lazy, whatever that means.
BBT, as I'll refer to him, claims that American "indie-rock" musicians' "fascination with the pastoral and apolitical is augmented by the other major strain in the US underground: nostalgia." Having probably downloaded the Underwater Peoples comp and a few Ducktails bootlegs from MediaFire, it's easy to see why one would come to this conclusion. Childhood; summer; fond memories many of us have of life before, well, LIFE. On the surface it's all nice and well and good; and nostalgic. But its much more than that. Living in a world fraught with corruption, scandal, seemingly endless wars, a universal health-care initiative that political red tape is holding up, states that are bankrupt and mounting unemployment, it's ignorant to claim that these young musicians are not only apathetic, but completely misguided. If anything, the sound BBT criticizes is completely reactionary, providing an outlet for those who don't want anything to do with bourgeois economic and political value system. BBT seems to think that all these musicians are living comfortably off-the-land, and hence-forth, feel no need to "rage against the machine." To be honest, having heard a lifetimes worth of Joan Baez records, Bono pedestal sermons and anti-whatever songs by Arcade Fire, why would anyone want to make the same sort of redundant, cliche protest/politico music? It's boring and often, I believe, comes from an even greater place of privilege (aka liberal guilt), rather than the heart. (Bob Dylan knew this. It was why he stopped writing "finger pointing songs.")
In response to BBT's claim that "blog rock lacks a political edge," I'd like to think about the sociology of how all this music was created. Julian Lynch, an acquaintance, dare I say friend, who was mentioned in the article, may be one of the best examples of a young artist "attacking the system" through the backdoor, without a foundation (slush fund) or a "Fuck You Bush" sticker on the back of his Prius. The fact is it's been over a year since the Bush-era ended, and not much has changed. If anything, there is even more reason to be disillusioned at the current state of the United States government, as many of the political promises Barack Obama made have not, and seemingly will not be fulfilled. Any young voter who found hope in his message is probably scratching his/her head, wondering why our fractured Congress can't get it together for the good of the people.
Point is, Julian Lynch has been making music since he was a child. His music is often homespun, recorded in his parents basement when he lived with them, and now his bedroom in Wisconsin. It is homemade. BBT claims analog recording "is now often merely retro, or used to signify reality." He's wrong. It's much deeper than that. For years the forces that be have been championing digital life as a positive way to take us into the future. First it was the CD player. Then the Internet. Etc. And while digital devices have created a lot of good, they've never solved any problems, rather created an entirely new series of problems on top of those already established. In Field Notes, a piece in the first edition of The Report, Emilie Friedlander tackles the idea of technology leading to a utopian future, which, she notes "the advent of the analog synthesizer once promised, but somehow never delivered." Much of the same can be said about digital culture, limitless technology that was "supposed" to solve our problems, but, in the end, those promises were left unfulfilled. (The same could go for political promises as well. But that's an entirely different piece.)
The use of lo-fi technologies, be it recording straight to a 4-track or 8-track cassette recorder, or simply recording directly to GarageBand through a computer microphone, is simply the easiest and cheapest way to record. If an artist, any artist, wants to make a statement, be it political, or just to start a dance party, the democratization of the tools needed to create allows them to do just that. It's a means to an end. Even further, they can send their works off into the world for others to enjoy without having to deal with the corporate foundations that control the media. No, Julian is not Ian MacKaye, but I'm pretty darn sure as a former-DC resident some of MacKaye's anti-corporate, anti-political, pro-Human/artist ideals have crept into Lynch's foundations. If there is a nostalgic trip in Lynch's songs, which there surely is, it's due to the genuine nature of his work, music that is unapologetically pure. Unlike many of his peers (post-collegiate 25 year olds, such as BBT himself), rather than continue to stabilize the status quo, Lynch's work stays uncorrupted, unphased by political scandal and hopeful for the future. For some it may seen childlike, but I think that's a superficial criticism. Unlike many, his work is simply not hardened by the corporate overtones and political unrest of the time. He is not pissed off. He is not commenting on Huffington Post about the latest Sarah Palin scandal outrage, or firing some cheap blows at tea-baggers. In a complete reaction to all the political bullshit, Lynch simply creates hopeful transportive, and often transformative music that crosses cultural boundaries, and does what is arguably the most important thing any musician could do: it makes us think.
Why rage against the machine, when you can organically build a "new world" within America outside the status quo? A social revolution unconcerned with Abbie Hoffman/Black Panther antics and more concerned with treating people well would be incredibly more effective than barging the New York Stock Exchange or Congress, or a bunch of privileged NYU students taking over the library. It's cliche, but the treat your neighbor like you'd want to be treated analogy is apt. And in this day and age, treating people with respect and dignity is about the most political thing you can do.
PS- Listen to Woods cover of Graham Nash's "Military Madness" on Songs of Shame.
Unlike many of his compadres, Julian Lynch shows in the tri-state area are anything but a dime a dozen. They don't come that often, but when they do, the masses congregate, filling backyards, bars, living rooms to the brim with excited and mystified energies. That was the case last night at the PopJew curated show at Bruar Falls, which served as both a warming shelter and venue for Julian to hold court. Backed by Martin Courtney (bass), Alex Bleeker (guitar), Evan Brody (keys) and Matt Mondanile (drums), the set, which ran through the Lynch canon, could be described as a family affair. Most likely the quintet have been working the kinks out of Julian's songs in a basement in Ridgewood over the past week, that is, of course, assuming that they didn't already know each of his songs by heart. Someday (soon) I suspect many more will know all these songs by heart. They belong in the heart.
Breaking down the walls of retransmission, it was a must to beam Julian Lynch into Monkeytown during CMJ. Fortunately, the needed technologies are embedded in laptop machines we carry in over-the-shoulder bags and so, presenting Julian Lynch live from the his bedroom floor in Madison, Wisconsin wasn't that big a deal, technically speaking. It was, if anything, essential, a must, and even more so in retrospect, as Julian's cosmic raga pixelated the air in the room until all we could see were molecules and molecules made up of molecules. This is what I imagine lucid dreaming to be.
"Hold The Presses, Stop the Show" Eleven days before it hits shelves, we feel like a proud mama in getting to introduce to you the cover of Alex Bleeker & the Freaks self-titled debut. Since Sawyer introduced the band via YouTube Vid Chat/Bald Eagles soaring over the vast American landscape, I've fallen head over heels for the Freaks, so much so that I may or may not have held up a lighter while swaying during "Common Sense" the last time I saw them. The first long player in the Underwater Peoples catalog, the Freaks record contains some of the most unabashedly blessed rock n roll I've heard in a long time, recalling a time when meandering solo's were as wistful as a strong wind blowing hard as you speed across I-80 towards the unknown. It's unwavering in its timelessness, and yes, will, at times, remind you of the archival Neil Young releases. While much of the record is based around Alex Bleeker's solemn, road weary songwriting, a welcomed move away from all the idiosyncratic indie stuff, it wouldn't be the Freaks without Julian Lynch's surreal shredding, which will drive even the most apathetic of listeners into an absurdly O-faced air guitar solo. Example, "Dead On," which, yes, hits its stride just as GD did in '77. This 1:06 selection is probably an excerpt from a "Fire on the Mountain" jam, and, well, that's alright with us.
Contest: First person to name all of the Freaks on the cover will gain free entrance to the Mountain Man, Alex Bleeker, Liam the Younger, No Demons Here show at the Church of the Messiah on December 11th. Do so in the comment section.
Seeds are the essence of life. Without them, both literally and figuratively, growth would be impossible. Seeds are sown. Seeds grow, sprout, blossom and bloom. Before long, they roam. They settle. Plant themselves in the fine Earth, and begin the cycle once again. It is infinite. Without it, Earth would look like a more desolate Moon. Julian Lynch knows this. As does visual artist Amy Ruhl, who produced the metamorphic clip (above) for "Seed," a trip back in time that is way more akin to the Earth sprouting Garden of Eden/Dinosaurs visual than the Run-DMT jam I described as such the other day. Either way, if this is what Earth looked like when it was developing, than I'm definitely hoping for an apocalypse (I've got fall out shelter booked), if and only if for the chance to see the world bloom again.
"I Don't Believe" A wash in synthesized movements, "New Untitled Jam," which Julian Lynch sent over last night, is deeply rooted in seasonal transition. It's the October sky running across the prairie, fields of corn and wheat swaying in the wind as trucks fly past on solemn grey highways. Surely the Wisconsin air is a bit crisper than here in Brooklyn, and you can feel it in the new jam, which is reminiscent of Orange You Glad standout "The Flood." While Julian's hypnotic synthesizers are at the forefront, lurking in the background, subtly providing the foundation for metamorphosis, are the slightly muted, yet incredibly warm drums. Not sure how he mic'd them, but something about them, possibly how unassuming and unobtrussive they are, really makes the droning synthesizers seep even deeper into your psyche.
"House of Mirrors" (Big ups to Mimoun of Family Portrait/UP for Poster Art) The first time I went to Monkeytown I knew I'd have to throw an event there. And now the time has come. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my extreme pleasure to unveil the first of a few Chocolate Bobka CMJ shows. If you've ever been to Monkeytown (peep rad pic here), you know one thing is up; straight chilling. Therefore, it felt pretty logical to call up my favorite super chillerz and see if they would come down to cool out, play some tunes and trip out to some tweaker visuals. And that's exactly what we'll do on Tuesday October 20th 2009. I'll be honest in noting that I basically curated this lineup for myself. Just bands that I want to see while 'laxing out on some of the most comfortable couches in New York, while visual masterminds Richard Law, Alice Cohen and Todd Ledford space my face on the four massive, wall sized projection screens. A little run down of the evening.
Stoked? Me too! If you've ever been to Monkeytown, then you probably know the drill. Besides the inevitable straight chilling, the venue also offers some of the choicest food in NYC, just take a peep at their Fall Menu. (Different types of Sliders: Elk curry chimichurri, Ostrich bbq’d garlic relish, Venison juniper shallot jam & Wild Board Apple Chutney--are you freaking serious?!) The show will cost a measly $7, and as with all Monkeytown shows, there is a $10 minimum, which means you have to have at least 2 beers. If you don't plan on having at least two drinks, well, this probably isn't your type of show. In order to gain access to the show, which is unofficial CMJ (aka no badges), one will have to make reservations with Monkeytown. (Do so here.) This event will sell out fast, so I encourage you to get on this asap. Peep below for some choice media from participating artists.
"Some People Chew Gum for Fun" (hand drawn cover art by cuti ballve) The humidity is fading like a bad tattoo. The days don't seem to drag all that long. And all of the sudden I keep finding myself reaching for a cardigan. That's right kids, summer is slowly sinking into fall. Fortunately for all you sun seekers, summer ain't going away overnight. Instead, its a prolonged transition, with nights hitting wooly lows and days scorching Umbro highs. It's a bit bi-polar, but in the end it makes sense. One season gives way to another and so on, and so forth. This mix is meant for those days that run the gamut; chilly morning breezes sweep through apartments until giving way to swampy lunch breaks that melt your PB&J making the whole wheat a bit too soggy for premium enjoyment. By nightfall things have calmed down. The wind picks up a little and all of the sudden your reaching for the wool blanket, the one your grandma knit you when you were born. It's a good feeling, ya know, seasons, change, evolving, etc. Of course, if ya don't like it, you can always move to San Diego. They say it's lovely there, but I don't buy it.
I should also note that this is the first Bobkast that will be available in a very limited quantity on cassette tape. Yep, cassette tape, that obsolete medium that the kids can't seem to get enough of. The tape, of which only one will be produced for each Bobkast, comes with handmade art and will be produced and packaged with loving hands at home. To acquire said tape, pictured here, email me your favorite wild flower at mcgregor{AT}me{DOT}com. Contest will be open for one week starting....now.
Bobkast #29: A Sunflower Earth 1. Takeshi Terauchi & the Bunnys- Tsukuba-San 2. Paralyze Humanity Sequence- Hammock 3. Pill Wonder- What We Know 4. Henry Pedro- Midnight Sun 5. Sunnybrook- Big Waving Hands (demo) 6. jj- Are You Still in Vallda? 7. Pure Ecstasy- You're In It Now 8. Alex Bleeker & the Freaks- Prisoner 9. Mountain Man- Animal Tracks 10. The Fresh & Onlys- Arm's Advice 11. Jana Wenderen- Drifts 12. Atlas Sound- Walk the Thin Line (Fleetwood Mac Cover) [over "Drifts"] 13. Taken By Trees- Watch the Waves (Memory Cassette remix) 14. Nancy Sinatra- Sundown Sundown 15. The Olivia Tremor Control- "Various bits " (McG's OTC sound collage) 16. Grateful Dead- New Potato Caboose 17. Julian Lynch- Waiting Music 18. Desolation Wilderness- Boardwalk Theme 19. Galaxie 500- Here She Comes Now 20. Woods- Rain On Radio 21. Liam the Younger- Beneath the Weeping Willow Tree 22. Ganglians- To June 23. White Antelope- Silver Dagger (traditional) 24. Marissa Nadler- Cortez the Killer (Neil Young cover) 25. Kurt Vile- Nicotine Blues (Live on WFMU)
The last video from our Backyard Show series features the unofficial Underwater People's house band Family Portrait spacing through "Super Cool," a tune named for the drug the kids can't get enough of in season 2 of the Upright Citizens Brigade. True to form, the only real way to get the feeling of "Super Cool" across was to double expose the backyard performance with footage Axel shot years ago in Southeast Asia. If you weren't already planning on heading to the Underwater People's Showcase today/tonight at the Market Hotel, and this video doesn't convince you, well, sorry, I've done my best to try to get you there. You'll find me spacing out in the corner starring at my shoes and tugging at my hair. It's gonna be freaky good, in an R. Kelly way.
"I've Tried, I've Tried, I've Tried" Pillow Talk's cover of "What Does It Take?" swoops in like an ocean breeze, the whispering organ setting the pace for a refreshing slice of island groove. The tune, which is like lovers rock cut by two white boys from Jersey, features boy wonder Julian Lynch, aided and abetted by Evan Brody, lead vocal provocateur of Family Portrait. The coconut Coppertone aroma is deeply ingrained in the tune, which, despite a slower tempo, is fairly loyal to Alton Ellis's rocksteady version, which, in itself, is a version of a song Junior Walker had a top five hit with in 1969. One of Lynch's contemporaries, or should I say forefathers, in the circular breathing world, Mr. Kenny G, has also covered "What Does It Take?" Compare and contrast all four versions below.
"The Wind Blows" Our man Sawyer from Underwater Peoples, who could play Francis Ford Coppola in a live theatrical reenactment of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, peeped me to the Wild Animal Kingdom this morning, noting that "before The Chiller's Mansion, and before even the existence of Underwater Peoples, existed the Wild Animal Kingdom. These guys are our inspiration, our father figures.... We stole their artists." It's true. Real Estate, Desolation Wilderness, Pill Wonder, Fluffy Lumbers and Julian Lynch, amongst others, all appeared on Wild Animal Kingdom cassette compilations. Anyway, while I haven't physically gotten my hands on either of these tapes, I did snag a copy of WAK Vol.2, and while I'm fairly familiar with much of it (Liam The Younger, Real Estate, Fluffy Lumbers), the mix also contains a phenomenal Julian Lynch track that I hadn't heard until this morning. "Nen Vole," which also appears on the Born2Run cassette Lynch released earlier this year, finds Lynch channeling an adolescent Neil Young stuck in a cabin with a few guitars, weeping the night away while a sole candle dances with a draft from the floorboards. It sways and shutters its eyes and dreams of places far far away. It's soft as wool in the dead of winter and warmer than bourbon on the hearth, or can cooked beans on an open flame. It's a feeling we associate with the good, sad times. Blanket time.
"Why? Why?"Julian Lynch, whose loopy excursions graced the Underwater Peoples comp, recently did a few covers for the forthcoming UP/BxF Michael Jackson covers compilation. Lynch, who is also about to release Orange You Glad, his first full-length LP on Olde English Spelling Bee, was kind enough to send up a preview of his Casio-incased soft rock take on the MJ classic "Human Nature." Sort of makes me forget that the dude who rests high above our couch with his baby tiger isn't actually here anymore. Look for the final comp soon on BxF. Julian Lynch- Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover)
"Baby Doo" Friendship Bracelet has been killing it lately with lots of hazy, washed out bong jams perfect for summer camp. Not only has Jeff been crushing it on the blog, but his radio show, Auditory Audio, on WMUA, has featured hot jams from the likes of Julian Lynch, Universal Studios Florida and Sun Araw. Not exactly sure what his connection with the Underwater People's crew is but he's definitely getting a boat load of exclusives from peeps like Family Portrait, Sad City and the aforementioned Julian Lynch, whose "Waiting Music" is the acoustic cure all for hangovers, jetlag, broken hearts, broken ribs and terminal boredom. (Lynch is really developing his Mothersbaugh-esque craft and it's mega-exciting, at least to me.) This Friendship Bracelet Club Drop starts and ends with woozy head trips by Dem Hunger, and also features Bobka-favorite Norse Horse up in the middle of this ish. Trying to have fun this weekend? Between this and this, you should have enough motivation.
In addition to this mix, Friendship Bracelet also has a few stanking new Pill Wonder jawns for download here. One of the freshest blogs out there, get on it kids.
Friendship Bracelet Club Drop 1. Dem Hunger - Bathtub Birth 2. Julian Lynch - Waiting Music 3. Big Troubles - Drastic and Difficult 4. Shahs - Ben Brockway 5. Sad City - Pulsars [Bottom Layer] 6. Norse Horse - Needle Beach 7. Paralyze Humanity Sequence - Hammock 8. Family Portrait - Babyskins 9. Fluffy Lumbers - Live Ones 10. Phil and the Osophers - We Have All Summer 11. Wonder Wheel - Boston 12. Bad Autopsy - Formal Invite 13. LA - Melodie's In Her Room 14. Jeans Wilder - Something In The Way (Nirvana cover) 15. Kitchen's Floor - Kitchen's Floor 16. Dem Hunger - Holly Shit
"Parasailing" As I sit at my kitchen table in my boxers eating a burnt egg sandwich, recovering from a brutal night of ingesting Maryland style crabs and Sailor Jerry, I could not be more relieved that Sawyer from Underwater Peoples sent over the new Julian Lynch/Ducktails split 7". No surprise here, just like bubble hash, it's all the gooey hydroponic joy you'd expect from the UP crew, who've put out some of the best releases of the year so far. The new 7", which features Ducktails "Parasailing" along with Julian Lynch's "Garden 2" and "Topi", goes on sale Monday, but you can pre-order over at UP. Go ahead and do that so that the rest of your Summer hangovers aren't as bad as the one I'm working off.
all songs are posted because we love them and think they make the world a better place. they are for sampling purposes only (duh). if you like what you hear, buy the record or see the concert!!! if you own the copyright to anything that appears on this site, contact us.
