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Posts Tagged ‘Chevelle’

cordova bay
Its been cold but perfect on Vancouver Island the last couple days.  Now they’re saying snow by Monday?  I could use a snow day.

I was reading the Lefsetz Letter today, and he was tlaking about London Grammer. He’s a fan… but I clicked the link on an article that he reads… New Music for Old People.  That’s a thing?  Yup… and the playlist the old codger puts together was a pretty interesting set.

The song I dug was a cover of the Hall & Oates hit “Maneater.”  (or was that a Nelly Furtado hit?)

The artist is a young girl (14 or 15?) from Oregon named Grace Mitchell.  her cover showed up on the soundtrack to the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Also… Coral used to LOVE that Nelly Furtado song when I first met her.  True story.

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Another pick from New Music For Old PeopleCapital Cities on the list… disco-NEAT!

I like the idea and the chorus of the song… but it isn’t turning my crank with the energy or vibe.

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Coral was in the tub last night, Maddy was playing her room… so me and Jack had the turntable to ourselves.  He wanted to hear FIDLAR… then I put up The Rural Alberta Advantage.   Pretty straight forward jangly indie rock sound you’d expect from a Canadian band circa 2008.  Still love their album Hometowns.

This is my jam… Edmonton is just a four night ride into town!

And here is Jack’s pick… but don’t mind him, he’s only one-month-old.

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take out the gunman
I like you Chevelle. Over the years of mainstream radio rock DJery…I’ve always had a spot in my heart for Chevelle.   New record is La Gargola and its out on April 1st.  APRIL FOOLS! BWAHAHAHA, but no seriously, new record.

Go with yourself.

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Don’t really hear too much rock & roll from Mainland Europe.  I can think of one Belgian band you will super occasionally hear on the Zone.  K’s Choice!  Nice.

France has a couple… Phoenix being the most famous to modern rock listeners in Victoria recently.

Bossman John pulled me into the office to share this band with me… its another garage rock duo (garage rock duos are so hot right now).

The band from Belgium is called The Black Box Revelation.  Wonky name, but maybe it sounds better in Flemish?

I can’t remember the song John played in his office for me now… but I did track down their most recent single for you, from their album that comes out… today actually… My Revelation.

The Black Box Revelation – “My Perception”

Download MP3 >> BBR – My Perception

Groovy… sounds like The Black Keys… but Belgian.

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Also…

New Chevelle.  Their new record comes out in December.  First single is called “Face to the Floor.”

Chevelle – “Face to the Floor”

Download MP3 >> Chevelle – Face to the Floor

Right, its “hard rock.”  Lush production, crunchy guitar hook, wealthy white English-speaking males whining about stuff… hits all the receptors in the brain you’d expect.

I’ve always liked Chevelle… they never re-write the book on a rock & roll songs, but it all sounds like pretty, organized, distortion… processed to the tit.  Easy on the head.

Go with yourself.

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Middle Class Rut… something maybe you’re experiencing right now; also a band from Sacramento.

I’ve blogged before about my love of Vancouver fuzz duo Japandroids.  MCR (whoa, some shorthand as My Chemical Romance) are an alt-rock duo too… but their style is more reflective of a band growing up in the sunny excess of California and not the down-and-out hipster rain forest of Vancouver.

David Eleanor first brought up Middle Class Rut at our music meeting last Friday.  he noticed some radio traction in the US.  First listen, and I loved it.  The style of their single “New Low” immediately screamed Fu Manchu (another California desert fuzz band). in fact, the Fu Manchu comparison was so strong, I jammed out all California Crossing all weekend.

Finally on Sunday night I broke down and downloaded No Name No Color. NNNC is a collection of their earlier EPs and demos. A gritty, genuine, fuzzed out rock sound. I mentioned comparisons to Japandroids and Fu Manchu earlier, but you’ll also pull out threads of Black Keys and Queens of the Stone Age.

The style says desert and suburbs to me. Lyrically, they tackle themes of our modern consumer culture.  I haven’t owned the record for longer than 24 hours yet, and adore it.

The gentlemen of MCR recorded most of the songs in their studio located in one end of the drummer’s Mom’s house.   The record for the most part was recorded in the capital (or capitol in Americanese) of California and much of it was mixed in Van Nuys.

Middle Class Rut has had the opportunity to support Social Distortion, Alice in Chains, Them Crooked Vultures and Chevelle in concert.  They are off right now opening for Filter.

Have a listen to “New Low.”

Go with yourself.

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crc1

The march to 1,000 weekly downloads of Capital Rock City continues with… uh, you downloading my podcast?  But it really kicks into gear when you unleash the social media revolution and share my work with your friends and ex-boyfriends.

Be groovy, download: Capital Rock City #69 TODAY!

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DJ Notes:

01) Saul – “Wasteland Anthem”
02) The Paper Cranes – “The Cavalier
03) Lizzie and Simon – “Mermaids and Kings”
04) Cage The Elephant – “Back Against The Wall (live)”

The more I listen to Saul’s latest work, the more I am impressed by the chunky fullness of the sounds.  I do have a soft spot in my heart for riff-rock (I grew up in the suburbs of Vancouver jamming out CFOX) and this music kinda reminds me of Chevelle.  I don’t know what will propel Saul to an opening slot of a Hinder concert, being a “rock” band can be a hard row to sow with a song about cheating on your girlfriend or drugs (of hopefully both).  I am not sure if I’ve heard that break-out single from Saul yet… but maybe after a couple more listens.  A few weeks back I jammed out a track called “Never Enough” and that song had a nice hook, so maybe I’ll need to revisit that cut or maybe a couple cuts for CRC #70.  If you have some thoughts, I’d always love to hear them, in the comment section of my blog (or http://www.thezone.fm/jeremy readers can email me jeremy@thezone.fm).

I have a minor obsession with the CBC show The Tudors.  I just discovered the program recently, and outside of the news and hockey, its the only reason I visit the Ceeb these days.  The King in The Tudors is such a dick, but all the lady’s of the court are smoking hot, so I can see why the dude was always fucking anything in a dress and not managing his realm very effectively.

This attitude would eventually… well a century later, boil over to the First English Civil War. Supporters of the then King Charles would be called cavaliers.  A cavalier is either, depending on which end of the pike you were standing, bold, dashing, religious, loyal, Calvary men of the King or… godless, drinking, frivolous men. I’ll need to have another listen to the Paper Cranes cut to hear who Ryan is singing about.  I did like the prayer of one Cavalier before battle: “O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget Thee, do not forget me.”

Liz Beattie sent me a track to feature on my podcast this week, “Mermaids and Kings.”  its alright, I like “Wherever You Go” from last week’s show so much better.

jeremyandCTE
*photo courtesy of Two

The show ends with a clip from chit-chat/live performance with Cage The Elephant.  The song they played is called “Back Against The Wall.”

That’s all I got, thank you for downloading my podcast and please take a moment to find it in iTunes music store.  You could rate it (highly I hope) leave a comment, subscribe to it… sure.  And if you liked the show, maybe you’ll tell a friend about it.

Go with yourself.

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Where is my red baseball cap?  The playlist I am listening to right now makes me want to punch a clarinet player.

The Mega D-Bagger (some choice cuts)

Rise Against – “Savior”
Shinedown – “Devour”
Three Days Grace – “Time of Dying”
Hollywood Undead – “No. 5”
(yeah that just happened, MySpace music circa 2005)
“Lets take some shawtz!”
Rev Theory – “Hell Ya”
Hinder – “Get Stoned”
Hell Yeah – “Alcohaulin Ass”
Asher Roth – “I Love College”
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – “Damn Regret”
Sum 41 – “Some Say”
Apocalyptica – “I’m Not Jesus”
Chevelle – “I Get It”

*special bonus D-Bagger tune: Hinder – “Lips of an Angel”

Damn, I hate myself after rocking this set out, but you know what?  Even I break down and want to hear some base drinking tunes.

iTunes REALLY wanted me to download some Puddle of Mudd to you know, make it complete… but I gots none and I’m not sure if its worth the .99 cents.

Rise Against is an old favourite, that I got bored of once they started getting their due on the radio… but “Savior” is bringing me back into the fold.  When that track pops up on the rotation on the Zone, I stop stalking you on Facebook and crank it in the studio.  I thought RA would be a good jumping off point and low and behold, my listening took me into jock rock territory.  I figure if I played lacrosse for the junior Shamrocks, this is the sorta music I’d be listening to before challenging the skinniest kid in the room to a fight… who’d normally be me! ah, but this time I got the letter jacket.

Shinedown’s “Devour” is a song that my man James Sutton turned me on to.  I came into the Zone one day just before he took off to The Peak and he said, “don’t hate me, but I sorta like a Shinedown song.”  I don’t hate you James, just disappointed.  Fuck the song is catchy.

Three Days Grace… spooky, “I will not die! I’ll wait here for you…”  hmmm, future cut showing up on Edward Cullen’s mixtape for Bella?

Hollywood Undead, um… I have no excuse.  Kill me now.  WTF is up with these guys, seriously?  Its like the Mayfair Mall had too many ‘shawtz’ and puked out a band.

Rev Theory is the music I would fire up just before I broke into a drug dealers house to steal his stash.  This might be what dude cheerleader music sounds like?  “Give me a HELL!  Give me a Yeaaaaaaaaah!”  Oh boy, this will end poorly.  “I am a junkie 4 lyfe!”

Rev Theory had some iTunes recommendations for Hinder, but not “Get Stoned.”  You mean the band has any other song?

Oh right, “Lips of an Angel.”  Holy shit, I remember when this song was changing lives and we never played it on the Zone.  But oh man it was requested. all.the.time.  The odd guy… sure I get it, its a fantasy song about being a rock star and having a couple girls on the go… but the ladies that request it…for shame, have some respect for yourselves.  I asked Coral about it once, “Coral, what is up with girls requesting ‘Lips of an Angel?’  First off, ‘Get Stoned’ is the only song by Hinder anyone should care about ever, for the rest of time, on their tombstones, it should say… the guys that got stoned, lest we forget… and second, the song is about Johnny D-Bag lusting after some chick that has ‘lips of an angel’ while his boring ass girlfriend is sleeping in the other room?!?”

Coral said, “no girl is thinking they are the one sleeping in the other room.”

sure…

Hell Yeah… get it, “Alcohaulin Ass.”  cute.

Asher Roth had a brief, very brief, time on the Zone… then banished.  Too bad, hit my LastFM page and it is one of my most played songs!  ha.  I fucking loved college, I loved it so much, I did it twice and I’m trying to go back for a third round.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is that type of “punk” band that ends up on Top 40 radio… so is that punk?  Is Good Charlotte punk?  Is anything really punk?  I think the second your song goes something like… verse chorus verse and you have a branded band name, you left “punk” behind.

Sum 41, the band I love to hate.  I first met these dudes when I did security for Blink 182.  I was trolling around back stage at some huge “punk” concert at Thunderbird Stadium and I happened by the boys.  I had noticed in one of their music videos a reference to the classic film Howard the Duck and thought I’d share it with Sum 41, finally finding my soul mate band that appreciates Lea Thompson and a puppet alien duck as much as I.  They weren’t too impressed and ignored me.  sadness.  The search continues.

(so you know what I’m talking about… 8:02 into this clip of the movie and then Stevo’s jacket of this video.  See! me and Stevo should be besties, not frenimies.)

Years later I had the chance to interview them outside the arena here in Victoria.  Still dinks.  Well Stevo is and the spikey haired one,  but Cone, Cone is cool.

Apacolyptica maybe shouldn’t be on my list.  But I don’t have any Slipknot on my playlist.  Do me a favour… never tell me you’re really into metal then tell me your favourite band is Slipknot… a little part of me dies when you do that.

Chevelle… a perennially guilty pleasure of mine.  They can do no wrong by me… fire your own brother from the band?  Hey as long as you keep making your super dreamy hard rock you can fire Obama!

At the end of my list, if you find yourself asking, “Where’s the Nickelback?” well friendo, you’re a bigger D-bag than me!

Go with yourself.

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