Author: April

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Songs About… Fornicating

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It’s springtime in America.

Well, for a given value of spring in some parts of the country.

Anyway, springtime means spring fever, and the link between music and sex is well-documented, multi-faceted and enjoys a long and robust history. There are songs to woo, songs about The Act, songs about the morning after… every aspect of the coupling dance that goes on between humans has had a song written about it at some point. Hell, if you took away all of the songs related to getting someone into bed, you might have two albums left in your whole music collection.

Some of NTSIB’s Twitter friends helped us put together a list of favorite songs about the dirty, ugly, funny, horrifying, ecstatic, beautiful act of sex, and we present the list here with some accompanying video highlights. (No, not those kinds of video highlights.)

Submitted by @austinlucasIND:
Songs About Fucking, Big Black

Submitted by April (@nowthissound):
“Call of the Playground”, Shudder to Think
Gentlemen, The Afghan Whigs

Submitted by @amanjo:
“Full Grown”, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Submitted Jennifer (@rufus_):
“First of May”, Jonathan Coulton
“Closer”, Nine Inch Nails
“The Man That I Am with My Man”, The Hidden Cameras
“Cheat On Your New Lover With Me”, Jail Weddings
“Pink Cadillac”, Bruce Springsteen
“Cream” and “Little Red Corvette”, Prince
“Supernova”‘ Liz Phair
“Striptease”, Hawksley Workman
“I Want Your Sex”, George Michael
“I Touch Myself”, The Divinyls

Submitted by @Truersound:
“Who Were You Thinking Of?”, Texas Tornados

Submitted by @cowbelle78:
“One For The Cutters”, The Hold Steady (for the line “getting nailed against dumpsters behind townie bars”)

Submitted by @davepolak:
“Why Me, God? (Everybody’s Fucking but Me)”, Durwood Douche

Submitted by @lilykerson:
“Fucking in Rhythm and Sorrow”, The Sugarcubes
“I Like Fucking”‘ Bikini Kill
“Orgasm Addict”, The Buzzcocks
“Pony”, Ginuwine

Submitted by @leighbee:
“Sex (I’m a…)”, Berlin
“Let’s Get it On”, Marvin Gaye

Submitted by @simon2307:
“Squeeze Box”, The Who

Submitted by @andiamkate:
“Angel”, Massive Attack

Submitted by @popa2unes:
“She Makes Me Feel Big”, The Fools

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Sat, Apr 30| 8 PM (7:30 PM door)
    The Volcanos
    The Madeira
    DC 3
    $8 adv / $10 dos
    Tavern | All Ages
  • Sun, May 1| 5:30 PM (5 PM door)
    “Rebels With a Cause” PetFix Benefit
    Exhibit A
    Hillbilly Idol
    State Road
    $12 adv / $15 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Wed, May 4| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
    .357 String Band
    Hiram Rapids Stumblers
    Blue Ribbon Bluegrass Band
    $8
    Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

  • Sat, Apr 30| 10 PM
    Southeast Engine
    The Modern Electric
    Extra Medium Pony
    $7
  • Mon, May 2| 8 PM
    Devin The Dude
    Coughee Brothaz
    $14 adv / $16 dos
  • Tue, May 3| 8 PM
    Beats Antique
    Beard-O-Bees
    Glacial 23
    $12 adv / $14 dos
  • Wed, May 4| 7 PM
    Ted Leo
    Max Stern
    @ B Side Liquor Lounge
    $10 adv / $12 dos
  • Wed, May 4| 8 PM
    Dax Riggs
    Not So Good Ol Boys
    The Unclean
    $10 adv / $12 dos
  • Thu, May 5| 8 PM
    Revolution Brass Band
    Johnny & the Apple Stompers
    FREE
  • Fri, May 6| 8 PM
    The Death Set
    Win Win
    The Very Knees
    MisterBradleyP
    $10

Now That’s Class

  • Mon, May 2| 9 PM
    Tyler Jon Tyler
    Basement Hahas
    X of V’s
    FREE
  • Thu, May 5| 9 PM
    Filmstrip
    Field Trip
    Fucking Cops
    All Dinosaurs
    $3

    • Happy Dog

  • Fri, Apr 29| 9 PM
    New Lou Reeds
    Tadpoles
    The Very Knees

Wilbert’s

  • Tue, May 3| 8 PM
    Kinky Friedman

Musica

  • Sat, Apr 30| 8 PM
    Buffalo Killers
    Rachel’s Secret Stache
    The Suede Brothers
    The Heights Band
    $8
  • Thu, May 5| 7 PM
    Koo Koo Kanga Roo
    Nite -N- Day
    Valley Fall
    Official Seals
    $8
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Pete David & the Payroll Union: Ghosts Came By and They Told Us to Go

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Recently, while listening to a band whose genre was listed as “Americana” but who were not from any of the Americas, let alone the United States, I likened Americana music in the ’10s to Irish music in the ’90s – a genre named for a country, rapidly filling with non-native practitioners.

But that phenomenon is not necessarily a bad thing. Take Exhibit A: Pete David & the Payroll Union. Based in Sheffield, England, the group was formed by a couple of young Brits (vocalist/guitarist/harmonica player David and banjo player Joseph Field) who held an acute interest in the traditional music of the U.S. This makes a sort of sense since lines drawn from early American music (string bands, drum and fife bands) often lead back to the British Isles.

The lyrics of Pete David & the Payroll Union’s debut EP Underfed and Underpaid make this even more of a musical Möbius strip as David and company sing stories set during the French and Indian War, the Civil War, the Salem Witch Trials, etc. They even have the visage of America’s 7th president Andrew Jackson gracing their website. Not for the first time, the Brits have beat us at our own game.

Whatever, it’s probably just prolonged jealousy over that whole Revolutionary War thing. You’ll forgive them once you hear the music. The album begins with the attention-grabbing “St. Lawrence River”, in which a company of soldiers opine, in earthy harmony, that they will “die on a muddy river bed” while Field picks beautifully on his banjo and drummer Ben President urges your feet to stomp along. Later on, in “Abigail”, David croons over a slowly-strummed guitar before the song opens up with the full band into a romantic cry of longing. The album ends with “There’s a Light”, probably the most traditional-sounding song on the album with Paul Heath’s freight train bassline and Field’s banjo strumming.

Two of my favorite tracks are “The Sacrifice” with its Nick Cave-like bravado and the appropriately-haunting “Ghosts”.

 

[Tracks removed by request.]

 

Pete David & the Payroll Union have a string of gigs at home in Sheffield, later branching out to Glossop, Wales and York (check their website for details). They’re looking to work up a U.S. tour in the future, but until then, check out their lovely website and download or order Underfed and Underpaid from their Bandcamp site.

 

Pete David & the Payroll Union Official Website

Pete David & the Payroll Union @ Bandcamp

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Bits: Gerard Smith, Poly Styrene, Beastie Boys, Cure for Pain, WMC Fest, No Depression Festival

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  • TV on the Radio announced the passing of bass player Gerard Smith on the morning of April 20 after his fight with lung cancer.
  • Punk chanteuse Poly Styrene died of breast cancer on April 25 at the age of 53.
  • Beastie Boys are streaming their forthcoming album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two with this note: “Good people, unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, the “clean” version of our new album, The Hot Sauce Committee pt 2 has leaked. So as a hostile and retaliatory measure with great hubris we are making the full explicit aka filthy dirty nasty version available for streaming on our site. We hope this brings much happiness, hugs, and harmony. Enjoy Kikoos for life!”
  • Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story could use your help. Gatling Pictures has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help pay for publishing and master/synch rights so the film can be commercially distributed.
  • Tickets for the Weapons of Mass Creation Fest are now available. The arts festival features 20 designers, 20 speakers and 20 bands, including our friends Shivering Timbers.
  • Our friends at No Depression have announced that they won’t be presenting the No Depression Festival this year, but they will be working with KEXP to present a free show at the Seattle Center Mural Amphitheater on August 26. More information at No Depression.
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James Leg at the Northside Tavern, Cincinnati, OH, 4.23.11

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Trucked on down to Cincinnati Saturday to see James Leg and drummer Andrew Jody put on a rattle-the-rafters show for the Solitary Pleasure record release show. After a European tour and a rough week of re-entry back to the States, Leg and Jody were ready to have a good time back at home with friends.

 

 

The show served triple duty as a birthday party for a number of locals and a memorial show for local musician David “Bones” Hebert who was killed April 18 under questionable circumstances. Despite what could have been an angry or somber occasion, spirits were high, and the crowd was encouraged to shake their asses, which they did. And Leg did, too, at one point getting up to dance around his stool.

Leg is currently shoring up some U.S. tour dates, and, if you hadn’t guessed, I highly recommend you catch him if you can.

4/30: Chattanooga, TN @ JJ’s w/ Bohannons (record release)
5/20: Rock Island, IL @ RIBCO
5/21: Dubuque, IA (dubuquefest.org)
5/22 and 23: Bayport, WI @Bayport BBQ
5/24: St. Cloud, MN (To Be Confirmed)
5/25: Appleton, WI (TBC)
5/26: Minneapolis, MN (TBC)
5/27: Ft Wayne, IN @ Brass Rail
5/29: Chicago @ Morseland

(Word is they may be coming back through the Cleveland area in late May/early June.)

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Fri, Apr 22| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Joe Pug
    Strand of Oaks
    Dolfish
    $10
    Tavern | All Ages
  • Sat, Apr 23| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
    Freedy Johnston
    Joey Beltram
    Beachland Presents at the Cafe at Arts Collinwood
    15601 Waterloo Rd.
    $12 adv / $15 dos
    Arts Collinwood | All Ages
  • Wed, Apr 27| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
    Martin Bisi
    Herzog
    Mr. California
    DJ 9-Volt Haunted House
    $5 adv / $7 dos
    Tavern | All Ages
  • Thu, Apr 28| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
    Femi Kuti
    & The Positive Force
    DJs Jake Fader & Charleston Okafor
    $20 adv / $22 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Thu, Apr 28| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    The Schwartz Brothers
    $6
    Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

  • Fri, Apr 22| 8 PM
    Neutral Uke Hotel
    Shivering Timbers
    Golden Bloom
    Michael J Epsein Memorial
    $8
  • Sun, Apr 24| 8 PM
    Stalley
    ESQ
    LB
    Taj Torrence
    Rashad
    $12 adv / $15 dos
  • Wed, Apr 27| 8 PM
    Pinback
    Judgement Day
    $15
  • Thu, Apr 28| 8 PM
    Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers
    Madame & The Moist Towelettes
    Corissa Bragg
    $8 adv / $10 dos

Happy Dog

  • Wed, Apr 27| 9 PM
    The Modern Electric
    Pale Hollow
    Alan Madej
  • Fri, Apr 29| 9 PM
    New Lou Reeds
    Tadpoles
    The Very Knees

Peabody’s

  • Thu, Apr 28| 7 PM
    My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
    16 Volt
    Twitch the Ripper
    $14 adv / $17 dos

House of Blues

  • Sat, Apr 23| 9 PM (8 PM doors)
    The New Pornographers
    The Walkmen
    $22.50 adv / $25 dos

Musica

  • Tue, Apr 26| 7 PM
    Cameron McGill & What Army
    Humble Home
    Adam Arcuragi
    Luke Zvada
    Aiden Bailey Williams Band
    $8
  • Wed, Apr 27| 7:30 PM
    Mucca Pazza
    The Hobs
    Kristoffer Carter
    $10

The Tangier

  • Fri, Apr 29| 8:30 PM
    The Smithereens
    The Big Sweet
    $35, $40
    CANCELLED

*
The Tri-C JazzFest begins Wednesday, April 27, with a free preview at Karamu House. See the JazzFest website for details and the entire schedule of events.

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Daniel Knox: I Make Enemies Everywhere I Go

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You climb the metal fire escape on this frigid, Chicago night, a little uneasy. The steps sway and clang under your feet while layers of paint and rusted metal disintegrate under your hand. You are halfway up when you make the mistake of looking down to check your progress. A pause as you close your eyes, grip the railing with both hands and whisper, “Oh please oh please oh please…” A deep breath, and you continue on.

You reach the door and sniff back some rogue snot before turning the handle. You step in to find the inside just as dark and cold as the outside. Darker. Except for a soft spotlight trained on a man and a baby grand piano. The bear of a man is dressed all in black, and his hands play across the ivories more delicately than you’d have expected. He watches you, grinning. His face is pleasant enough, but something about the grin is slightly unsettling, as if it will spread into a giant Mr. Sardonicus rictus at any moment.

“Watch your step,” the man warns casually, just before you feel age-old wooden slats begin to give way under your foot.

You cautiously navigate your way across the room to the piano, thinking, however illogically, that if you can just grip this huge, heavy piece of furniture in the middle of the rotting floor, you’ll be safe. The man continues to grin as you listen to him play. He begins to sing. A full, sonorous voice that seems to come up from another time. It makes you think of thin, foreign men with severely pomaded hair and angular women with Louise Brooks haircuts. The man plays a beautiful song, and you begin to relax under the lilting melody. Until your mind begins to process the words…

When I come back to life, I’ll find you,
Push my thumbs into your eyes and blind you.
When you hear your name called out across a crowded street,
you’ll think of me and swear the ground was stolen from your feet.

He punctuates the verse with a high, ghostly, wordless howl-hum.

Your shoulders freeze. You glance back across the room and wonder how quickly you could make it back out the door and down the fire escape. You turn back as the man stands, still grinning, and motions you to follow him. You don’t know why you follow, but you go. Out a window you climb, onto a snowy stone balcony overlooking the city. Chicago is laid out for you in a jeweled grid, the snow making everything pristine. Clean. Wonderful. You try to remain on your guard, but the site dazzles you and your eyes widen and sweep the landscape like an excited child’s.

Beside you, the man begins to chuckle. Maybe he’s not so bad, you think. He’s shown you something beautiful you might never have seen had you let fear turn you back down that fire escape.

Then you feel a strong tug on the back of your jacket. As the snow-laden streets fly up to meet you, the man’s booming laughter echoing behind you, you realize he really was as bad as you thought.

Ghostsong by Daniel Knox

Daniel Knox’s album Evryman For Himself, the second in a trilogy, releases May 10, 2011. The first album of the trilogy, Disaster, is available to stream, download and order on CD on Bandcamp. And, if you’re brave enough, he’s on tour.

Daniel Knox Official Website

photos: John Atwood

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Bits: Strand of Oaks, Murder by Death/The Builders and the Butchers, Rome, The Due Diligence, Hell and Half of Georgia

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  • Strand of Oaks has made the demos to Pope Killdragon available as a free download on Bandcamp.
  • Murder by Death and the Builders and the Butchers are releasing a split 7″ on which MBD will cover TBATB and vice versa (and Ray Rude will cover both with his Mission Operation project). Murder by Death is having a contest wherein two artists can win all 5 MBD albums on vinyl, all 3 TBATB albums on vinyl, and 5 copies of the split 7″ for producing cover art for the split 7″. Details at Murder by Death’s website.
  • Tracks from Rome, the project by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi – which also features Jack White and Norah Jones – have been made available. You can hear “Two Against One” at Pitchfork, and “The Rose with the Broken Neck” is streaming at NPR.
  • The Due Diligence have made the mp3 version of their album I Will Wreck Your Life available if you just can’t wait for the record release on May 29.
  • If you’re in Long Beach, California, this Thursday, April 21, check out NTSIB friends Hell and Half of Georgia at Alex’s Bar.
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Record Store Day 2011: Ashley Brooke Toussant and Shivering Timbers

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Record Store Day was not the buy-a-palooza for me this year that it was last year. The one album I was really interested in this year – the reissue of Vanguard’s Skip James Today! – was unlikely to be available at any of my record stores, and having just lost my day job Friday, spending money on a piece of vinyl I can’t play right now anyway (I have four turntables, and none of them are working properly) didn’t feel like a priority.

What was a priority was getting down to Square Records in Akron to catch in-store performances from Ashley Brooke Toussant and Shivering Timbers.

(Don’t feel bad for me. While I didn’t get the Skip James vinyl, I did pick up the Godfathers’ Birth, School, Work, Death on vinyl for a song. And I met Square Records’ resident cat, Kali. Record store cats are aces. So much less haughty than book store cats.)

Ashley Brooke Toussant

It’s difficult to think of a description of Toussant that does not include the word “adorable”. But while she is a wee thing with a cherubic face and big, blue peepers (two people remarked that she looks like she’s 12 years old – she’s actually in her mid-20s), her sweet voice is strong and her songwriting is beautifully sophisticated.

Accompanied by Chris Wise on electric bass and Joe Linstrum on acoustic guitar, Toussant played a set that mixed songs from her EP All Songs in English with songs from her upcoming full-length album Sweetheart. While she appeared quiet and shy between songs, Toussant was perfectly at ease within her music, singing out loud and clear. Much of her repertoire is of the ethereally folky variety, recalling the mason-jars-and-sepia-toned-photographs sound of some of Over the Rhine’s early catalogue, but Toussant’s sound is touched with influences from around the world and throughout time. Linstrum’s accompaniment often added a Spanish flavor with Wise’s bass providing modern-day weight.

Toussant’s talent is instantly winning, and she was encouraged by enthusiastic listeners to play just one more song at the end of her set, which she did with a characteristically charming smile.

There are five days left in the IndieGoGo fundraising campaign for Sweetheart where you can contribute and help the album release be a great one. Toussant’s whimsical official website is also a recommended visit.

Shivering Timbers

After a taking a break for a snack and a drink and doing some record browsing, I found myself too far removed by Shivering Timbers’ supporters to take any good photos, but I can assure you that they are still just as attractive as they were in January.

Having seen Shivering Timbers just twice now, I feel confident in saying that every show of theirs feels like a celebration with friends. Though the post-song applause started out light as the band warmed us up slowly, favorites like “Noble Duke of York” and “Crooked Old Man” quickly brought out the clapping and whooping from the crowd packed into the now-steamy record store. The biggest reaction came in appreciation of the band’s usual show closer, the bring-the-house-down “Evening Prayer”. But they had a surprise left for us with a new closing song, a calming lullaby to see us out.

Shivering Timbers are adding more and more shows to their schedule all the time, including a gig with Neutral Uke Hotel at the Grog Shop in Cleveland this Friday. This is definitely a band to catch live.

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Sat, Apr 16| 9 PM (8 PM door)
    The Budos Band
    Charles Bradley
    $15.00
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Sat, Apr 16| 4:30 PM (4:30 PM door)
    Music Saves Presents
    In The Beachland Parking Lot
    Shoreway – 6:30 PM
    Herzog – 5:30 PM
    Swindella – 4:30 PM
    FREE SHOW!!!
    Beachland Parking Lot | All Ages
  • Sat, Apr 16| 9 PM (8 PM door)
    Cloud Nothings
    Parts & Labor
    Child Bite
    $10.00
    Tavern | All Ages
  • Fri, Apr 22| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Joe Pug
    Strand of Oaks
    Dolfish
    $10.00
    Tavern | All Ages

Blue Arrow Records

  • Record Store Day show
    3pm-5pm: DJs Jason P. and Jeff J.
    6pm-8pm: Katherine K. (Maximum Consumption on WRUW)
    5pm: Library Time
    6pm: Terminal Lovers
    7pm: Tinko

Grog Shop

  • Fri, Apr 15| 8 PM
    The Black Angels
    Suuns
    Terminal Lovers
    $13 adv / $15 dos
    SOLD OUT
  • Thu, Apr 21| 8 PM
    Junip
    The Acrylics
    Brian Straw
    $15
  • Fri, Apr 22| 8 PM
    Neutral Uke Hotel
    Shivering Timbers
    Golden Bloom
    Michael J Epsein Memorial
    $8

Now That’s Class

  • Sat, Apr 16| 9 PM
    Daikaju
    Dockers
    Lords of the Highway
    Wolf Boy Slim
    $5
  • Mon, Apr 18| 9 PM
    Eula
    Barren Thieves
    FREE
  • Thu Apr 21| 9 PM
    Joyce Manor
    Crappy Dracula
    Trusty Knife
    $5

Happy Dog

  • Fri, Apr 15| 9 PM
    Bridge Avenue School Write-Off Benefit featuring:
    Volcano Fortress
    Lowly, The Tree Ghost
    Village Bicycle
    Carjack
    Ben Gmetro
    Black Puddle Noise
  • Sat, Apr 16| 9 PM
    Buffalo Killers
    Relaxer
    The Exploding Lies

The Agora

  • Sun, Apr 17| 8 PM
    Illogic
    J.Rawls
    Ill Poetic
    Muamin Collective
    L.E. for the Uncool
    SoulKlap
    $10

Wonder Bar

  • Fri, Apr 15| 9 PM
    The Hounds

Nighttown

  • Wed, Apr 20| 7 PM
    Hey Mavis
    Don Dixon
    $10

Quicken Arena

  • Fri, Apr 15| 7:30 PM
    Rush
    $46.50, $69.00, $93.50

Square Records

  • Record Store Day show
    5PM: Ashley Brooke Toussant
    6PM: The May Company
    7PM: Shivering Timbers
    8PM: Duunes

Musica

  • Fri, Apr 15| 8 PM
    Local H
    The Dig
    User Sets Mode
    $12