Welcome to Under the Dog. This is a musical webzine with a focus on the more abrasive styles of music(read:metal/punk/hardcore), along with some interesting videos and links that generally fall in the WTF category. We post full bootleg concerts every Wednesday and have new mp3s on the weekdays. Click here to goto the main page.
My oh my, the year is almost over and I have no top lists, mainly because I just don’t understand the hype associated with a top list. But I digress, I’m just here to show some blog love and maybe point out a few top lists…
BIRDS OF PREY is a southern metal super group featuring Erik Larson (ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY, Ex-AVAIL), Bo Leslie (THE LAST VAN ZANT, Ex-THROTTLEROD), Summer Welch (BARONESS), Ben Hogg (BEATEN BACK TO PURE) and Dave Witte (MUNICIPAL WASTE, BURNT BY THE SUN, DISCORDANCE AXIS).
Last years album was pretty good, the one before it was was a little better, and now another in the spring? What have we done to deserve this awesomeness? No telling but Birds of Prey must be the most prolific side project ever.
Oh, how did I wake up on a Saturday at 6 a.m.? Probably when I ate a bunch of pizza and fell asleep early last night. Even though I woke up early on a Saturday, it does have a single solitary advantage, NPR Weekend Edition. It’s just a news magazine style show with little commentary on politics and some very interesting profiles on film and music and general oddities.
So this particular morning I’m checking my feed reader for some good deals because I got a Christmas bonus from my employer and I hear this interview with a little boy named Ethan Bortnick who can play over 200 songs from memory. He seemed so full of life and super talented that I had to share this with my readers.
In the NPR interview, states that while sleepwalking he will play the piano. I predict that in 10 or so years, this kid will be the future of mathrock as he already said he hates Aerosmith.
Really, I’m posting this for my colleague and friend, Carson Hughes, who is in love with Zooey Deschanel, who happens to be doing most of the singing in this video along with some cocaine-electro band. The song, while not something I’m too into is actually pretty good, but don’t tell my metal friends.
Is it just me, or could the singer on the right possibly be a boy in drag? IF you are that person in the video who found this via google groups, please don’t be offended if I am wrong, myspace video is really low quality and I watched it full screen.
Here I am again, apologizing for the lack of postings, but seriously, I am one busy guy. I own a business with a friend and while it’s kind of sort of part time, it usually ends up taking more and more of my time. So while the blog is suffering, I can actually say I finished something. More on to come, for now I have for you…
Rest in Peace Bettie Page
Bettie Page passed away at the age of 85. I personally have no comments except that I am sure she is in a better place.
Anybody know where DMX is?
Does this look like the face of an identity theif, drug posesser and person who is cruel to animals?
If so you could win 5 thousand dollars! Win? Of course it’s a win, why else would they call it a reward. Let’s pretend I’m a comedian and I’m on Best Week Ever for a second. When they relate this news story, I’m just going to yell “WHAT!” and “COME ON!”. It’ll go something like this… “Jesse, did you hear there is a reward for anyone who snitches on DMX?” and then I’ll say “WHAAAAT!” and then they will say something about all his charges and I’ll say “COME ONE!” and then make barking noises.
Team Love Library
The record label is going to start giving away music! My personal favorite is David Dondero
Finally, the republican reign of terror is over. 77 days until Obama paints he white house black and renames Washington D.C. “Chocolate City“. Sorry for the Parliment references, but it was the first thing I thought of today.
So now that it’s finally over, everything is going to be peachy keen. Right? Probably not. The credit crisis is still in full bore, the war in Iraq cannot be ended overnight and Obama can’t end predatory globalization policies. We won’t instantly have the health care he’s talking about and the taxes will probably not go up over night.
But still, I can’t deny that I and perhaps American and the rest of the world breathed a collective sigh of relief upon the news of Obama winning Virginia and solidifying
With that said I have made a bonus mixtape. Here are 11 appropriate songs expressing struggle & triumph. Hardcore to Hip Hop and beyond.
Hey guys, sorry bout the silence as usual, but my excuse is that I am experiencing some health issues lately to the tune of massive headaches and lost of productive filming. Filming which I have not taken advantage of enough. I should be interviewing every band I film and making promos for them.
But I digress, between now and all the time since I last posted I have scrapped a few things off the bottom of the internet for your approval.
Stella is going on tour!
Yes, you can count me as one of the umpteen million people who just don’t get it when it comes to Stella, but I am super duper way into everything else these 3 guys do. In comedy I place them in my top 3 of all time. Bob and and David, and Larry David and anyone he works with being the other 2.
So when I was perusing Michael Ian Black’s Blog, and I was quite excited to see the headline about the Stella Winter Tour 2008. But sadly, no Portland show.
Maybe your city s on the list? Anyway, here is an old clip.
Kid Dynamite Tribute Album
These guys shoulda been bigger but broke up right before hardcore was peaking in mainstream popularity. I haven’t been to into them till recently and I am still getting acquainted with their melodic stylings.
One thing to be said about them is they have really short songs. Anyways, it’s gonna be on Copperlung Records and you can get way more info than I can give by going to Exclaim.
Yep, it’s quite alright. Unfortunately they are RIAA material so that’s all I’m gonna say cept there are some tunes on their myspace. Oh the video on their website has Robert Smith looking a lot like Heath Ledger’s Joker.
My heart really goes out to them. That type of thing sucks. All there merch was in that van too. All you Canada lovers out there take note, Canada sucks just as much as all the other not third world nations. No offense Allan.
Allan’s World Contest
I once called Allan the John Chow of mp3 blogging and he didn’t like it. I’ve felt like a major kick in the pants ever since.
Anywhoo, Allan’s having a contest. All it takes is to comment with a valid email. There are 2 1 gig flash drives at stake.
I went out with a girl who was into some really terrible stuff. I’d make fun of her for her music styling and her reply would always be, “but it’s European” as if all euros had one up on talent. We didn’t last very long.
In fact, the majority of my music is American. So I thought I should write about some of the brits today.
First off, The Damned have a new album slated for release on December 12 in the states called “So Whose Paranoid” and you can purchase a download right now.
I haven’t listened to the thing the whole way through but Dave is sounding as haunting as ever. In fact, what I have heard so far is about as close to machine gun etiquette as you are going to get. The tags on what cd said ska but I don’t hear anything remotely ska related on the whole album save an ever present organ on most tracks. I’d post tracks but I want to wait till it’s on the shelves of record stores.
So I was bored and I watched a documentary on Crass and had a few thoughts I wanted to share.
1. Crass are a bunch of hippies. Well, really, they aren’t actually flower children, but their ideas are right along side of the hippies. Sustainability, peace and anarchism, squatting and protesting were all things hippies “were” into.
2. Total freedom is what they say they have by living on a commune. Living far away from everyone and not being bothered sounds more like a luxury than a right to me. I wonder when they are on their deathbed, if they’ll have any regrets.
3. I’d love to watch Penn and Teller visit that house…
I honestly don’t know I found this band. I have a crapload of music that I love to check out. I get tons of stuff and I take lots of chances. More often than not I get burned. Especially with most Euro stuff.
These guys were affiliated with Crass somehow, but these guys sound less punk and more post ala gang of four. Apparently very political, but sometimes I wonder if they just make political songs so they won’t ever run out of anyhing to write about.
You guys can rock harder than you do on your new album. Or should I say EP? Considering most of the songs on your new album are from previous EPs. What’s up with that? The one you re-recorded, “expectations“, you should have left it how it was. It’s no big deal, you have a bunch of new songs that have to be just as good as the EP stuff? Right? “Turn Cold” is definitely the highlight of the new material as it’s the only song that holds up to the old sound.
Which brings me to your new sound. It’s already been done. By heroin junkies from the U.K. 2 or 3 decades ago. You are better than this. Have you started using the junk too? I’m not mad, just disappointed.
I only know of 3 bands from New Zealand. One of them is fictional. The other wears masks. Please give me someone from New Zealand to look up to once again.
I’m back like a deadbeat dad who just lost his job and wants to play house rather than live on the streets to let you know about a few happenings on the web and in the real world.
First off, can we just have the darn election already?
And enough with the gosh dang economy. One person will win, but they have the same economic interests backing them.
Senator McCain:
Senator McCain:
Merrill Lynch $349,170
Citigroup Inc $287,801
Morgan Stanley $249,377
Goldman Sachs $220,045
JPMorgan Chase & Co $206,392
AT&T Inc $183,663
Credit Suisse Group $175,503
PricewaterhouseCoopers $163,670
Blank Rome LLP $153,426
US Government $152,118
US Army $150,470
Wachovia Corp $147,456
Greenberg Traurig LLP $145,737
UBS AG $141,365
Bank of America $133,975
FedEx Corp $121,904
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher $120,246
US Dept of Defense $118,125
Lehman Brothers $115,707
Bear Stearns $108,000
Barack Obama:
Goldman Sachs $739,521
University of California $697,506
Harvard University $501,489
Citigroup Inc $492,548
Google Inc $487,355
JPMorgan Chase & Co $475,112
National Amusements Inc $432,169
Microsoft Corp $429,656
UBS AG $419,550
Lehman Brothers $391,774
Wilmerhale Llp $383,024
Time Warner $375,063
Sidley Austin LLP $370,916
Skadden, Arps et al $360,409
Stanford University $341,399
Morgan Stanley $341,380
Latham & Watkins $328,879
Jones Day $309,960
University of Chicago $294,237
General Electric $290,584
This data came from Open Secrets. Notice how many names overlap? Notice how many are financial institutions? Notice a few that failed this year? The ones that didn’t fail, are ones that bought institutions that did fail. Maybe it’s a coincidence…
Great website, but really, they say it best themselves:
In punk rock, stating that you’ve been around for a decade is essentially admitting that you’re an ancient vessel amidst a sea of doe-eyed, baby-faced, sometimes-talented (but often not) newbies who have barely tested the chilly DIY waters before sailing for warmer shores.
My sister thinks it’s fun to put headphones on and run. While I personally wouldn’t run for anything short of immediate personal danger or the thought of missing a bus or plane, I can still kind of respect that she think’s it’s fun to make yourself sweaty, tired and out of breathe.
She’s been asking me for a week or so to make her a running mix and I finally decided to make the time to make her a mix for running. I tried to think of what it would be like to run for a strait hour and and it made me thirsty and wanting to take a nap. But seriously folks, I tried to start it out mid-tempo, and have the pace pick up and slow down wih a gentle victory trot at the very end.
This mix has it all from Built to Spill to Skinny Puppy to Battles to Aesop Rock and everything in between. 18 songs. Play them in order for maximum effect.
Ahoy mateys! I’m quite sorry for abandoning you all in the frozen food section of the internets but I have been busy busy busy!
Busy doing what you may ask? Well I’ll tell you…
I just been filming some of Portland’s finest artists and watching all kinds of movies. Here are some quick reviews of the movies I have watched lately.
Lakeview Terrace: A great effort from the guy who made “The Shape of Things”. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite as good. Samuel L Jackson for once in his life does not over act. Everyone else does.
Choke: Rent it.
Burn After Reading: Watch it now. What are you waiting for??????????????
I know there is more but I just can’t remember.
Anyways, check out my friends the Don Hellions who will be on the upcoming DVD I am filming with my good buddy Carson Hughes…
I have been filming bands for awhile now for an upcoming DVD project. It’s centered around live music performances in Portland Oregon and it’s taking up most of my free time. That’s why this site hasn’t been a daily thing lately. I’m going crazy just trying to handle this site and now an even larger project that I could not pass up. So I thought I would share a few things about my weekend at Music Fest Northwest.
1. Promoters are all different.
Whoa, shock there… But seriously, at some shows, by just having a camera, people wave you through and let you in anywhere. At others you’ll be hard pressed to get past the front door if your name isn’t on the list.
2. 99% of musicians are alot nicer when you are providing a service.
I’ve met a ton of musicians under a ton of different circumstances. If you just approach people without knowing them they tend to be standoffish, but once you set something up they tend to act quite different.
3. Sponsorship isn’t all that bad.
Free Vitamin Waters and Smart Water everywhere I went was pretty cool. There was free Heinekens at one of the shows but I didn’t drink any.
3. Pot Festivals probably aren’t the best place to get your promotional video shot at.
Unless you want giant banners in the background for the whole video advertising the marijuana movement, you might want to choose a different gig than a pot festival.
4. Hip-Hop people are more standoffish than socially awkward hipsters.
The exception goes to Cool Nutz. But it seems like Hip-Hoppers are not very social with people who want to film them so they can get more exposure.
5. Tell the rest of your band that you are going to be filmed.
I filmed a band where only one member of the band even knew we were coming. The other members of the band were pissed and we wasted half of 2 tapes on the show.
6. Make note of where you park the car.
My filming partner and I looked for about an hour for a car that was parked about a block away from where we were filming.
7. The more DIY a venue, the more accommodating the staff is.
The more bourgeois a club or bar or coffee shop, the less people are willing to help you. I guess it’s just a mutual DIY respect.
8. Shows rarely start on time and time slots often get pushed back.
This doubly applies to one off shows in random places. Like pot fests.
9. A Weather is REALLY GOOD.
And they are really nice to boot.
10. Mirah was actually fun to watch.
Being a hardcore and metal guy, I have had a lot of fun filming indie bands and even a newgrass group.
No not the nerd styles of rappers like Ytcracker or Optimus Rhyme, but raps about science. Rappers always say they are droppin science, but here are some raps you can actually learn from…
A late pass review is a review of media that has been out for a significant amount of time. While your hipster friends may have already sampled the media, blogged about it and already started in on their backlash and even further have already made it ironic to be into it, I’m just now writing about and I don’t care what they think. What used to take decades now only takes weeks in the world of the internet.
Shai Hulud - Misanthropy Pure
Shai Hulud invokes visions of the glory days of Portlands hardcore scene, all but gone now. While Shai Hulud wasn’t a Portland band, 5 years ago the hardcore scene was thriving with several venues dedicated to the extreme music scene. Now there is Satyricon. What happened is beyond me but I have a feeling that most of the people in the scene grew out heavy music and became something else entirely. Now they a blessed with those awkward moments where they have to explain their strait edge tattoos while sipping whiskey sours @ the tube.
But I digress, everywhere but Portland has thriving scenes. Of course the east coast is the haven for all things heavy. Enter Shai Hulud, named after giant sandworms in sci-fi series Dune, I always imagine giant sandworms as slow moving and uninteresting which is quite the contrast from this band.
Shai Hulud is owed a lot more respect then they are given. Coalesce and Botch as very similar bands though Shai Hulud tend to play a little bit faster. I can’t really describe this cept for the usual points, the lyrics are understandable and they play a notey noodly version of hardcore unlike any other bands out there presently…
Compared to other albums, this album seems to be a mix of previous records and should work well for fans of both records.
Who is this band? If you aren’t from the Pacific Northwest chances are pretty slim that you haven’t caught word of these talented ladies quite yet unless you read WFMU’s Beware of the Blog. WFMU called it “hypnotic freak funk” and “gritty dance-punk tracks that sound like the late-night love child of Fela Kuti and ESG” but I personally think it’s very unclassifiable. To call it dance punk would lump them in with some bands that wear their sisters jeans and these ladies don’t have to borrow anyones pants…
I first heard them in someone’s basement in north Portland on a Sunday afternoon. I didn’t really feel like going to a house show but they came with the highest recommendation possible in my book, a recommendation from a fellow musician and my old roommate Chris from Don Hellions. When I got to the house I was slightly worries as everyone was sitting on the floor upstairs and silent as early films while someone was playing an acoustic guitar and singing feverishly. While I don’t want to be a hater, it’s not what I went there for and I have little patience for singer songwriter music. I’m glad I stayed as I was able to see EIC for the first time.
I was floored by the pure uniqueness to say the least. While I often look at odd instrumentation in a “rock” setup as a gimmick, a breath of fresh air comes forth from these 3 ladies that goes beyond the typical adding horns or strings as there is no guitar or bass, instead Claudia plays a baritone guitar. A melodica and percussionist as well as a full trap kit completes the setup to make a full but minimal sound that will make even the most uptight nerd who wears their cellphone on their belt shake their ass.
I recently had the chance to ask to chat up Claudia and pick her brain as she “channeled” the other members properly…
Do you have a demo yet?
We don’t have a demo yet. But we will be recording one with our good friend Robert in September. We recently tried recording with the phenomenal Christina Files in her basement but it didn’t turn out well, too humid, it made my baritone very temperamental. We hope to record with her again under better circumstances.
Where can you get one?
When we have it ready, you will be able to get one from our myspace site and from us at our shows.
I’m pretty sure someone in the band does art in some way shape or form, where can I see examples of said art on the internet?
We all do art in some way shape or form. We most currently all worked on curating a multi-media art show called Tag Team! with Senegalese artist Modou Dieng. It’s happening 9/3/08 at Holocene in Portland: http://www. holocene. org/calendar/
For our part of the show we are collaborating with an amazing dancer, Janet Pants (http://www. janetpants. com), and Los Moustachios, a rad video art collective. It should be an interesting set.
I make graphics and videos for pay, freelance style, my online portfolio is in the works. I also compose more academic musical pieces. Currently I’m working on a piece for cellist, Derek M. Johnson for Aphonia Recordings.
Heather has some serious drawing skills and is an awesome dancer. She is dancing with Janet Pant Dans Theatre on the sly.
We are also all brainstorming another art show where we show more of our visual art. When we started EIC, we wanted it to be an art project that could be a creative vehicle for all our interests rather than just a band. We definitely love playing music though.
Or is it clothing design?
Heather Treadway is the fashion designer. She is actually out of town doing work for her line. Check it! heathertreadway. com
Is playing a baritone guitar more like playing a guitar or a bass?
Playing a baritone is totally like playing both guitar and bass simultaneously. The strings are thinner than a bass but thicker than a guitar. You still have plenty of low end and a fuller sound but also enough room to play clear melodies in a higher register. It also has six strings just like a regular guitar. I bought my Danelectro baritone when I was 17 and knew i was going to put it to good use one day. I love it when people ask me questions about my baritone, her name is Nico.
What bands do you like playing with?
We love playing with friends’ bands a bunch because then it’s like having a birthday party for yourself. Everyone is super happy and stoked to be there and then after hanging you get to play for each other. And then everyone tells everyone else how awesome their band is…too much fun.
The New Kids on the Block have recently reformed and just released a new single, do you feel threatened musically by them in anyway shape or form?
Only if Joey grew out his hair again and started wearing that crazy hat with no top that makes his luscious curls spill over to the brim. No amount of musical talent can ever really compete with luscious man curls.
In one song you have the chant “bombs over baghdad”, is that an anti-war statement, an homage to outkast or something else entirely?
Both. We love Outkast and hate war.
Do you have any feelings on music sharing/piracy?
We love music, sharing, and only like piracy if it doesn’t involve scurvy or walking the plank, especially when there are sharks involved.
RECORDING!, more art shows, mores songs, tours, awesome shirts, possibly a play, most probably a sandwich.
Anything else you would like to add?
Oh, and we are also collaborating this winter with the amazing Portland Sprockettes (http://sprockettes. org/) We will be providing some music for their routines. It’s like we won the lottery of rad. I’m really super excited about this one.
Take Care,
Claudia and the rest of EIC
Winning the lottery of rad you say? Lotteries are won by chance and this band does not need chance when they have tunes likes the ones posted below…
Many people would argue that Don Caballero does not deserve to have their name beings as there is only one original member and they had broken up. To add insult to injury the original member is the drummer.
But I personally beg to differ. There a couple of thing to consider before making that argument. Damon Che, the only original member asked the other two members if they want to have a go at it again and they declined. So Damon took it upon himself to get new musicians and put out records on Relapse.
A lot of reviews are drinking up large amounts of haterade and saying that The Don are not breaking any new ground and at times that may be, but Don Cab has always been what they are and that is instantly recognizable. To start “breaking new ground” would be something that wasn’t Don Cab.
I think what has happened is that the music blogs and indie press are too into Battles to really get into the new Don Cab record. Regardless it seems that some reviews didn’t listen to the album in it’s entirety because none of the reviews seem to mention that there is vocals on some of the songs which is a MAJOR DEPARTURE from standard Don Caballero faire.
This record does break new ground though with it’s addition of vocals and even a track with blast beats called “Slaughbaughs’ Ought Not Own Dog Data”. The album has heavy moments as well as noodly moments and everything in between.
If you are into drummers you will be in for a treat as Damon Che is one ofthe best underground drummers alive today. He can play any time signature without batting an eye while not sounding like he’s showing off at all.
Fans of the older albums will feel right at home on this release and this would be a decent starting point for new fans curious about mathrock. I give this album an 8 out of 10.
A late pass review is a review of media that has been out for a significant amount of time. While your hipster friends may have already sampled the media, blogged about it and already started in on their backlash and even further have already made it ironic to be into it, I’m just now writing about and I don’t care what they think. What used to take decades now only takes weeks in the world of the internet.
So as I thought about what I wanted to write for this review I started drawing blanks. A song would start and I’d think of other songs using the same elements and then the track would go and switch styles. Then I began thinking about bands that play metal and how the dominant style maybe be one thing, but there are a lot of change ups into other subgenres. Then I thought about punk bands and hardcore bands and the only difference between some of the bands is political views and style of clothing. All of a sudden I can’t just pin anything down to one single thing. I’m sure I could if I pick the right bands. But today I start to think of the Ramones as a 50’s retro band with edgy lyrics.
So about Massacra. Fans of Slayer will eat this up. This is pretty much the best underground stuff of it’s time as it was released in 1991. French band I guess. They do the scary death growl so who knows what language they sing in but all the song titles are english. If you see a good deal for this album, snatch it up cause it’s super expensive on amazon.
Blasphemy! Amy Winehouse on the pages of Under the Dog? Something is not right… Or so it would seem as I’m pretty sure while being to lazy to look it up that she is RIAA material(but I’m 99% sure she is) not to mention all those embarrassing videos of her doing trashy stuff. So why would I write about her?
Well, I am a pretty big fan of the ska/rocksteady/reggae/toasting styles of the yesteryear but I am consistently disappointed with most modern release starting with the mid to late 1990’s save bands like the Slackers and Heptcat. Around that time the ska market was completely flooded to the point that there were christian ska bands. I’ve got nothing against christians or them making music, but before the internet, christian music seemed to stay a decade behind the rest of the world with of course some exceptions.
I personally prefer the rocksteady sounds and the R&B influenced stuff way more than the fast and goofy third wave stuff but I also have a few bands from those days that still get played like Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake not to mention more serious stuff like Operation Ivy and The Subhumans.
With that said when I saw the ep making the rounds in the top 10 lists I had to check it knowing that it would more than likely suck. Boy was I wrong. This gal can belt it out. It’s hard to believe that this voice can come out of her. Every track is spot on and sounds just like it could have come out 20-30 years ago. The tracks are all covers but 3 of them were played by the Specials even though they have different songwriting credits. Ska was a kind of folk music with traditional songs and all of that.
But don’t take my word for it. I have a video of a live performance of the Specials Little Rich Girl and a blog post from the Phil Spector blog containing the EP in it’s entirety. Apparently this 7in record is going for REALLY high amounts. It’s also a bootleg and none of the songwriters are getting paid. Or at least that is the word on the streets.
For the uninitiated:
First off, 
Linky Links for 12-21-08
Welcome to Under the Dog. This is a musical webzine with a focus on the more abrasive styles of music(read:metal/punk/hardcore), along with some interesting videos and links that generally fall in the WTF category. We post full bootleg concerts every Wednesday and have new mp3s on the weekdays. Click here to goto the main page.
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Thanks for visiting!
My oh my, the year is almost over and I have no top lists, mainly because I just don’t understand the hype associated with a top list. But I digress, I’m just here to show some blog love and maybe point out a few top lists…
BUDDYHEAD’s Meathead writes an open letter to Marilyn Manson
Pitchforks top 50, metal is overlooked :::tear:::
Deathkiller, A Love Story
Is it really a good idea to keep a shark tank next to a waterslide????
NO, Really, Headbanging is bad for you… Not Kidding at all…
Ridiculously huge list of top ten lists
Word Association and our soon to be former president[obvious]
R.I.P. Majel Barrett Roddenberry, to bad you will never see J.J. Abrams Version of Start Trek
Liberals elect their dream president and then whine about his choice of pastor.
via: Neatorama
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