If you’re into any kind of weird music and you live in the state of Florida then you probably knew this already, but the annual International Noise Conference event kicks off tonight at Churchill’s in Miami. I will be there and will try to post up some news, photos, and videos in a timely manner. I’ll also be twittering real-time INC news from the No-Core twitter profile http://www.twitter.com/xnocorex
As a special present for you, I’ve put up a widget on the No-Core front page (http://www.no-core.net) that will run recent posts with the #INC2011 hashtag on a loop. In fact, I’ll stick it at the end of this post too. I’d also recommend following @unicornhardon (Val Martino) and @noisebloid (Leslie Keffer) to get all the latest dirt.
Early buzz revolves around this “apology” video from regular INC star Loop Retard.
Is Loop Retard really not going to make it to INC, or is this just poking fun at all the acts who have been billed and then dropped out?
That’s right, no longer must you type in all eleven characters of “no-core.net” or be able to understand what an RSS feed is. You can now have No-Core podcasts and blog posts beamed directly to your favorite social feeding tube – as long as that’s Facebook and/or Twitter.
Sorry about the provocative title there. Here are the facts. First, the old news: Arab on Radar have reunited! Now, the brand-new news: Arab on Radar have cancelled their planned tour! No one is actually saying that they have re-broken up, but that seems to be what everyone is fearing…
The Skin Graft Records news page allays fears of the worst possible scenario, thank goodness, by saying that “everyone in the band is in good health (no life-threatening accidents or anything like that)”
The official announcement from the band states simply that “Arab on Radar regrets to inform everybody that they are canceling their West Coast Tour and their show in Jamaica Plain, MA due to personal reasons. They apologize to their fans for the inconvenience that this might cause. Thanks to everybody for all of their support.” So despite my incendiary bait-and-switch title, let’s not rush to judgment. We all have lives outside of music, so any number of reasons could cause one or more of 4 people to find themselves unable to make a lengthy journey around the country.
Though I did get excited by the idea of some more Arab on Radar music and would be sad if I missed my chance to see them one more time, I do hope this means we’ll be hearing more from these guys’ other bands. I really liked Made in Mexico’s “Guerillaton” and just the other day I heard the Chinese Stars’ “Heaven on Speed Dial” and though I haven’t been super-stoked on them before, that record really nails some grooves and kinda kicks some ass.
Below is a video of the reunited band playing the Cake-Shop, a show I missed by being out of the country! Shoot.
June 23, 2010By: M*P* Lockwood Category: albums, news
DEVO tour poster
I had seen and participated in DEVO’s “vote-for-the-songs-you-want-on-the-new-album” thing, but somehow the actual release slipped by me. Well, after a 20-year break, DEVO’s new album: “Something For Everybody” is out. In DEVO fashion, this comes along with a new look (nice. powder blue is the new red apparently.) and an extension of the De-evolutionary philosophy.
As part of the pitch and concept for the album, there’s a “reality series” of videos – which are most likely completely fake, but brilliant nonetheless. This is DEVO for 2010 all right. (videos at the bottom of this post)
All that’s well and good, but I know what you’re wondering: Is the album terrible? Answer: No. Is it as amazing as “Hardcore DEVO” or “Are We Not Men?” or “Duty Now”? Answer: Also No. This album falls squarely in with the mid-period DEVO stuff: “New Traditionalists” and the “Whip It” era. I think it’s way better than those last couple of DEVO albums. The songs are snappy and clever, loaded with trademark DEVO sounds and beats. In fact, I’d swear several songs sample old DEVO songs. Things take a bit of a turn for the lame at the end of the album with a kinda-ballad and a last track that sounds more like something a DEVO knock-off band would write. Still, it’s not enough to ruin things for me.
DEVO "Something for Everybody"
So this is “Something For Everybody,” the “88% focus-group approved” album that is designed – at least within the semi-fictional DEVO-world – to bring DEVO into mainstream America. I am totally enjoying the concept and really nice art direction (check out the perfect album cover) which is 100% in keeping with the DEVO we know and love, although I have no doubt the stated intention will fail miserably. But they may have succeeded at doing something that seemed even less likely: making a totally decent new DEVO record.
I recommend checking out their official website, http://www.clubdevo.com for lots of fun stuff.
Another one of those “can’t miss events” is upon us. Today and tomorrow at the new Knitting Factory location in Brooklyn (conveniently near the Lorimer L train stop) Pendu.org’s NY Eye and Ear fest is going on.
This is cool enough to finally convince me to break my silence and start posting up to the No-Core blog again. And yes, it’s happening TODAY, but hey, all the other music blogs announce shows the day-of, so why can’t I? (and besides, it’s tomorrow too)
This is a big music event, but also a big record fair with lots of cool experimental and weirdo labels setting up tables. There was even a No-Core table last year. The line-up consists of a wide variety of avant/out/noisy/experimental music. It naturally skews to organizer Todd Pendu (not the same person as Todd P!) ‘s tastes, which seem to be for the dark, moody, and abstract. But there’s a big line-up of wildly varying styles so anyone interested in anything interesting… should find something to… interest them?
I’ll duplicate the list of performers and links below. I’ll be heading over there later today! Check it out!
February 24, 2010By: M*P* Lockwood Category: downloads, news
I’m sure this has already been posted all over the internet, but I still can’t resist putting up this video. Brian “Narwhalz (of sound)” and Jonathan “Shams” (also a member of infant-core band Adult Moan) face off against some Baltimore scene kids, including Kate Levitt of Teeth Mountain, on TV’s JUDGE JUDY. (By the way, looks like Shams plays this Saturday in Brooklyn at Death by Audio!)
No need to feel bad watching this, I have a strong feeling that no cats were actually killed in the making of this case. (I can believe that some TVs were smashed) And check out those nice, new leather jackets that Narwhalz & Shams are sporting! The actual show sequence is a little slow, Her Honor Judy doesn’t allow for much improv (Narwhalz tries) but the closing interviews are great.
You’ll want to check out the comments too, some of which are also hard to judge as real or fake. Highlights include:
“They are a tribe of sickos and should not be allowed to have a cat, and definitely not televisions.”
“Quit trying to promote your stupid band, and find a new acting coach”
and of course: “DEWD SHES HAWT. UR GAY LIEK THOSE DUDES LOL”
Captain Ahab: the Captain Ahab of, um, music?
Since this falls vaguely in the same category (weirdo musicians appearing on TV shows) I thought I’d throw it into the same post. Except that this news item, cool as it is, is completely appropriate and UN-strange, considering how uber-PRO-fessional Captain Ahab are in their approach to music. Captain Ahab, who are on the Deathbomb Arc label and are like some kind of Ween of electronic music, have a new song of theirs prominently featured in the latest episode of the SciFi (I refuse to call it “SyFy”) show Caprica. I’m embedding the clip below, but if it gets taken down, you can watch the full episode HERE.
You can also hear the track and download it free from Captain Ahab’s Bandcamp page. (Haven’t I heard that beedley-deep-beep sample in another Ahab song?) A little browsing on Youtube also reveals plenty of examples of Ahab tracks appearing in other shows.
Alright, I may as well close things out with a classic, which the above Judge Judy unavoidably brought to mind. Joe, (ex- of The Fugue)’s closing comments on the People’s Court. Enjoy.
* Okay, okay, I know neither Narwhalz nor Shams are really “noise” but I enjoy bugging serious harsh-noise dudes by polluting “their” genre with goofballs.
It was a bit of a chore, but I’d been meaning to get this done for a long time. The No-Core podcast has officially been moved from the podomatic.com free hosting site, here to no-core.net – The new address is:
It now matches the blog and everything, and maybe the best thing about this is that there are no longer space restrictions, so all episodes are now available for download! (except for number 9, I couldn’t find the file) There is also a brand new podcast up right now. It’s a half-length one, but I wanted to get it done and out there.
I’ve been saying this everywhere, but: If you’re subscribed to the podcast and you think it might be the podomatic version, un-subscribe and go here to get it fixed-> http://feeds.feedburner.com/no-corepodcast
The site is starting to shape up here, and more features will be added over time.
How can you “visit” a blog and podcast in the real world?
Glad you asked. This Saturday, July 11th, I will be at the NY Eye and Ear Fest record fair! I will be selling some real records (and tapes and CDs) in person, of the type that might appeal to No-Core listeners and readers. Plus I will just be hanging out and chatting with anyone who is willing to do so. Maybe even handing out business cards.
This goes down at 92YTribeca in NYC (200 Hudson at the corner of Canal) and the record fair starts at 4PM and is FREE. There are also bands and films which cost money and the whole event goes until midnight. There are also shows Friday and Sunday (you already missed Thursday). Details here:
Since my last post regarding Six Finger Satellite and their new album asked so many questions, I thought someone out there might be interested to know that there are now answers. This other excellent music blog, Thee Outernet, posted up an interview with 6FS main man J.Ryan, who explains some of the mysteries I had been pondering. Here is the article.
I’m also excited to discover that they have some brand-brand-new songs (newer than the old-new “Half Control” album) up on their MySpace page, right here. The new songs sound maybe a little, “lighter?” Not in terms of psychological weight, they’re still just as dark and heavy in that regard, but giving the instruments a little more room to breathe.
The band also reports that their South By Southwest shows went well, so we can safely conclude that their fans in Massachusetts and Rhode Island can expect great shows there this Friday and Saturday. (Feeling a little bad for expressing so much skepticism before.) Alright, and there’s your annual dose of No-Core’s “timely music news.”
NEW PODCAST! Lots of noise-rock, noise, jams, freak-outs, no waves. FEATURING MUZIK FROM: Gropetown, Mutwawa, Divorce Party, Divorce, Yatagarasu, James White and the Blacks, My Nation Underground, Pink and Brown, I’d M Thfft Able, Blue Sabbath Black Fiji, Quintron, Tumbleweave, Boogie Monster, Katzenmallets, Cock Robot, Radio Shock, AIDS Wolf, Sharlyn Everts […]
