just got back from a cd release party for the stunnng and signal to trust. this was their fourth lunch show at first avenue's seventh street entry. and yes kids, the rumors were true.
Shellac put in a surprise appearance.
it's daylight outside, but we're standing in a dark, windowless building. black walls, black ceiling, a few blue stage lights, and they start playing this:
THE END OF RADIO
steve albini confessed to not having picked up his guitar since September, but that didn't keep the show from being amazing. And the food! the bands prepared a feast that covered bars and tables. a few things: vegetarian chili, BBQ tofu, jerked pork, homemade ice cream, cute, yummy cakes.
but enough about the fantastic food.
buy this album. that's what i'm here to say.
i honestly think it's the best music to come out of the twin cities in several years. the CD is close to perfection on many levels beginning with the unbelievable skill of every single band member all the way through to the recording, mixing, and mastering. the music is unique and impossible to define, with some layers of inspiration drawn from comic books. the end result is a deeply compelling view through a new and amazing window.
the band: SIGNAL TO TRUST
the CD: GOLDEN ARMOUR
listen
purchase
read more about the band: SIGNAL TO TRUST
rather than comparing cds to other cds, i thought it would be interesting to compare them to books and movies that evoke similar emotions in the viewer or reader. i haven't yet come up with a good comparison for GOLDEN ARMOUR. here are the first things that immediately streamed into my consciousness:
bladerunner and 2001. both too dark.
as far as a book...
radio planet. i read this book when i was about nine. Then i read it about 20 more times over a period of a couple of years.
again not a good comparison choice, but it was the first thing that popped into my head.
maybe the comparison to radio planet was because i recalled the feeling of finding something completely new and exciting that introduced me to another world. something that evoked an unnamed, undefined emotion i'd never before experienced. i had to read the book again and again in order to revisit that strange, new emotion. hmmm. i guess radio planet is the perfect comparison.
19 comments:
Every time I visit your blog I add stuff to my to-do list. So, with a lugubrious sigh (glad I got to say that) I add "Read Radio Planet (per AF)" and "Listen to Golden Armour (per AF)" to my already extensive list. Of course I will attend to these items much sooner that "Clean house" and "Get shit together," me being me.
I just realized I was quietly gloating about being the first one to post a comment on this, an alarmingly popular blog. I need to get out more.
hulles -- LOL!!!!
that's funny as hell.
definitely listen to golden armour, but i don't think you should look for a copy of radio planet. i WAS about nine when i read that, and outgrew it after a few years. i'm not sure, but it might be like picking up a copy of green eggs and ham. another good book, but probably not what you're shopping for right now. :D
Y'know, there's something about the drums in that song. There's other stuff reminiscent of a lot of other musicians I like, but the drums really got me...
Oh, and a weird thing. There's a woman in Prescott who is originally from Minneapolis. She runs a local art mag & wants to set up a Zombie Pub Crawl here in Prescott. Like I said, a weird thing - veddy, veddy cool, but weird.
angie, you are so right about the drums. i know you'll get that the room itself is important, plus the way the drums are miced and recorded. but the drummer himself -- wow. he's absolutely AMAZING.
that's funny about the zombie pub crawl. i think it's suddenly getting national attention. i know some people in savannah who want to do it next year too.
"Of course I will attend to these items much sooner that "Clean house" and "Get shit together," me being me."
Daddy?
Honey? Is that you? I thought you had been killed in a terrible accident involving a beer truck. That's why I quit sending child support, really! Are you a wealthy attorney now, or a neurosurgeon? Jeez, I hope so. Here's my account number....
Actually, I'm homeless. And I need a kidney...
And Anne, about outgrowing books, I enjoy reading those things sometimes. I recently reread "Starship Trooper," by Heinlein, a book I enjoyed very much when I was about nine. It was dated, but it turned out to be better than I feared it might. Pretty militaristic, though. So thanks for the heads up, but I'm still going to try and find "Radio Planet." Besides, I like the name. It sounds like some NPR show.
Heather, you sure don't want one of my kidneys. Plug that sucker in and you'll always be over the limit when you're pulled over, regardless of how much you had to drink. It remembers the Hulles early years a little too well. And as far as homeless, sorry but my cat is allergic to white girls. Otherwise I'd let you stay with me as long as you wanted. (God, I do sound like some dads I've known.)
heeeh!!!
you guys are hilarious! and you've given me an idea for the mug shot stories stephen blackmoore is running through the end of this month.
L.A. Noir -- link on the side under gun room.
heather was a southern baptist, yes she was
spoke in tongues
didn't drink and didn't smoke
got a kidney transplant from her long-lost dad
now she closes up the bars
keeps a bottle of whiskey by her bed
just to get her head going in the morning
chorus??
tylenol can fuck up your kidneys, yes it can
tylenol can fuck up your kidneys, yet it can
i think i need to submit that baby.
but first i have to find the perfect mug shot.
anne, just got back from buying the stuff for my oyster stuffing. Is it ok to bring something along to Bobby and Steve's Garage or do they discourage bringing in "outside food"?
hulles: sounds like you might be an NPR junkie too. I like that in a person. And, you liked my mouse story. I swear every word of it was true!
Oh, yes can't mix Tylenol and beer. Bad things can happen. And I hear kidneys are hard to come by!
dee, i love oyster dressing!! bring it along!! we'll put it in our pockets.
and we can alway do another one of those kidney harvests if we need to. now that we've gotten all the kinks worked out.
Speaking of not cleaning houses...
I'm not cleaning mine. I'm going to keep it dirty. I'm tired of going ape sh** every Thanksgiving and Christmas. And for what? Just because my mom is coming. It's amazing. All she has to do is step through the door and I'm a little kid again, and just the thought of not having a squeaky clean house when she visits sends terror rippling through my body. LOL! But guess what? I'm rebelling. This year, I'm not cleaning a damned thing.
Viva la revolution and all that jazz.
I think I read Radio Planet when I was a kid. I've been looking for it for years... I've been trying to find a description of the plot, but I think that that might be it...
Small world...
viva la dust bunnies, tanya!
or in my case, dust elephants. i think i might have to tackle some of those monsters.
it's hard to shed those old roles, isn't it?
emeraldcite, when i googled the image i found the book for 50 cents. don't remember the site, but it wasn't deep. one of the top five i think.
this will sound like a second grade book report, but here goes. this is what i remember:
the hero's name was miles standish cabot. ship crashed on an alien planet and he spends a large part of the book trying to make a radio from scratch. he meets up with a couple of aliens. one a giant ant -- my favorite character as i recall. they end up getting captured by some ruler who puts on a friendly face while he's really lobotomizing his captors. this is done by surgery -- a moth inplanted in the brain. any of that ring a bell?
I think so. It may indeed be a long lost book...
I might have to snag me a copy and relive those glory days of pulp.
Post a Comment