comp: Should Have Been Dead On A Sunday Morning

Arms Wide Open

OESB is back after a break stint of vacay with a new comp paying tribute to one of the greatest, most mind-bendingly peculiar acts in recent memory– Creed. The new six song comp features masterful reworkings, covers, reduxes from the likes of Autre Ne Veut, Alice Cohen, Pretty Lightning, Sleep Creep, Hurricane Ike and Green Gerry. The deliverable is a slice of post-modern classicism, with each artist focusing a morsel of a Stapp's catalog, breaking it down into pieces, and re-assessing it as fresh material in their own vein. Take Alice Cohen's cover of "Higher." I'm pretty sure Alice is not a Creed fan, but she breaks down the #1 Mod-Rock Worship track into an unsettling tweaker ballad– hairspray huffing vox and all. (At first I thought Jimmy Ferraro was spitting pitch vox, but I stand corrected.)

ANV does his thing all over "What's this Life For?"– squealing and shifting directions like vocal shuttle runs over blown out bass-snare hits and distorto guitar-synths(?) akin to his wavering vox. All sorts of alter boy sins cumming to in the confession room on this one. Meantime, Green Gerry turns "With Arms Wide Open" into a cathedral reverb, neck clapper. A fresh new beginning for OESB, who reportedly maybe turning this into an infinite mixtape.

Download Should Have Been Dead On A Sunday Morning (an OESB Tribute to Creed)

video: Linda Hagood "MaRsUpIaL sHeNaNiGaNs"

Smack Dab

When Alice Cohen showed me the video for Linda Hagood's "MaRsUpIaL sHeNaNiGaNs", i was instantly struck by its effortless and effervescent joy– both of the song, it's clip and their union. It's uncanny. So genuine and playful and far out (wayyy out). Hagood's vox swirl not to, but with Alice Cohen's hypnotizing paper collage animations, making for one helluva two-minute trip through a warped childhood tale. Ya know how everyone always remarks how tripp'd out kids shows are, well, Linda Hagood and Alice Cohen would make the most beautifully imaginative and wondrous children's show. Though, it'd solely exist in a conjured state...?

The video for "MaRsUpIaL sHeNaNiGaNs" is the first off Hagood's Pink Love Red Love, which was released on Chris Johanson's Awesome Vistas label, whose released are available at Fusetron. Hagood was also on 90s band Smack Dab, who were on Homestead Records, which is also pretty badass.

mix: Broken Deer Songs for Imbolc

"Rock-A-Bye Baby"

Crafted "to celebrate the halfway point between the dark and light season," Broken Deer's Songs for Imbolc crawls into ones consciousness like a mistaken memory tiptoeing ever-so-softly down a rickety hallway. "Shh," you tell yourself, thinking you heard something but wholely unaware of what's lurking in the midst. More intimate than being sung to sleep by your grandmother from the old country, Broken Deer's pitched falsetto runs the gamut from obliquey fascinating to borderline annoying before swaying back into utter fantasy, the sort of sure-hearted tonic that drowns all concerns in lust-lorn thunderstorms. She sings the songs you wish you had sung to yourself walking home through the rain in the middle of the night. Songs for Imbolc is perfect for a rainy morning like today, or basically any other solitary moment. Also, be sure to check out Alice Cohen's video for "White Woman", which will be released on Broken Deer's next record, POLARAURA, due out this June on Gandhara Recordings.

Broken Deer- Songs for Imbolc (direct download)

video: Fluffy Lumbers, Alice Cohen at CMJ

"Back to the Wall"


Lost in some blackhole-time warp, these two recently unearthed videos of Fluffy Lumbers and Alice Cohen live at the UP/OESB/BOBKA really bring me back to that hazy night at the now defunct Monkeytown during CMJ. To view is to be transported back in time to a realm that existed for a few hours on some odd day in October.

show: Twin Sister, Big Troubles, Pigeons, Alice Cohen....

"Nothing But Violent"
We're hosting another great event this week, this time with the inimitable Olde English Spelling Bee. Running the line between blissed out fantasy and fantastical reality, this show might be one of the best curations of talent in NYC right now. Not only does it feature both Twin Sister and Big Troubles, who have been slaying Brooklyn audiences for months, but also the fragile psych of Alice Cohen and Pigeons AND the warped scapes of Run DMT. Not trying to melt completely into utter Fantasia, all good, as DJ Raw Thrills, aka Zak Mering, will be pointing you in the uber-zone, where idiosyncratic twist & shouting is not only demanded, but required. Not really sure what that means, though I can guarantee Thursday night will be a good time.

The Studio at Webster Hall (aka Downstairs)
125 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003
Thursday, Feb. 4th
8 pm doors
9 pm show
$5 advance / $7 at door

Twin Sister- I Want a House
Big Troubles- Sick Days
Pigeons- Tendress

Raw Thrills- Why Can't I Say Let Go


Alice Cohen- Memories of Glaciers

CMJ: 10/20 Bobka, OESB & UP are Straight Chillin'

"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.

Chocolate Bobka, Olde English Spelling Bee & Underwater Peoples are Straight Chilling.
Fluffy Lumbers (rare solo set)
Family Portrait ("Western drone set")
Alice Cohen (solo)
Julian Lynch live via Satellite broadcast on 4 Walls
Ducktails
Africa Germany Germany ETC (Live NYC premiere)

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.

PS. Bring medical edibles.

Fluffy Lumbers- Cruisers
Ducktails- Parasailing

Family Portrait w/ Julian Lynch "Super Cool"

Alice Cohen "Black Pepper"

Julian Lynch "Garden 2" (Directed by Richard Law)

video: Alice Cohen "Black Pepper"

"Black Pepper"

Audio visual artist Alice Cohen, whom many of you may know as the director of the trypic video for Ducktails "Landrunner," recently released a video for "Black Pepper" from her 2008 record Sky Flowers on Crinoline Records. Not one to rest on her laurels, and believe me Alice has a CV the size of a thrice PHd'd brain surgeon, which includes a stint in the '80s gem-pop act The Vels, Cohen just released a new LP on Olde English Spelling Bee, home to Julian Lynch and the aforementioned Ducktails. Synthetic drum beats crackle over layers of cacophonous melodies, as Cohen channels a parallel universe much akin to Pee Wee's Playhouse on dark acid. Fans of Fever Ray, Grouper and Nite Jewel will all dig.