Tag: the Like

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Two Songs from: Z Berg

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zbytennessee

Photo by Tennessee Thomas

Z Berg (JJAMZ, The Like) has kicked off her solo career with some acoustic tunes. There are four altogether, all quite good. The acoustic format showcases both her voice – sunny with a touch of smoke, delicate, sweet but not cloyingly so – and the glimmering sharpness of the lyrics.

These two are the ones I particularly like.

First up: Charades, which I have a feeling is the one I will be humming while walking barefoot in summer rainstorms from now on:
 

 
And second: I Fall For the Same Face, which is for anyone who has ever, like me, looked at the rogue’s gallery of their objets d’affection and muttered I have a type and a problem with rueful amusement.
 

 
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Bits: The Flaming Lips, The Due Diligence, A Place to Bury Strangers, Liars, The Like, Gin Blossoms

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  • Pitchfork is featuring a doc on the making of the Flaming Lips’ Embryonic, and since the week is almost over, you’d better get over there.

  • Hooray for the Due Diligence! Isaac Gillespie and company surpassed their Kickstarter goal, so I Will Wreck Your Life will get a vinyl pressing, and the album is streaming at their Bandcamp site.

  • “But what I really want to do is direct…” A Place to Bury Strangers are holding a contest for aspiring music video directors. Create a video for APtBS’ song “Deadbeat” and upload it to the Deadbeat contest YouTube channel for a chance to win a signed boxset, 4 tickets to an APtBS show of your choice and have your video posted to all APtBS websites with credit as the official video.

  • Additionally, do yourself a favor and see A Place to Bury Strangers live:

    9/30 – Nashville, TN – Next Big Nashville Festival at Exit In with Yeasayer, Waaves, & Javelin

    10/1 – Durham, NC – Duke Coffeehouse

    10/2 – Richmond, VA – Strange Matter with Ceremony & Soundpool (Killer Pimp Night)

    10/3 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge with Chapterhouse, Soundpool & Ulrich Schnauss

    10/15 – Minneapolis, MN – Whole Music Club at University of Minnesota

    10/26 – Brooklyn, NY – Death By Audio with Japandroids

    10/30 – West Palm Beach, FL – Respectable Street

    11/3 – New York, NY – Billboard Showcase at Gramercy

    11/11 – Monterrey, Mexico – Escenica

    11/13 – Mexico City, Mexico – Festival Sonorama

    Leave your pansy earplugs at home.

  • This could be worth wading into the murky depths of iTunes: Liars have released a live EP of their May 27 Shepherd’s Bush gig, cleverly entitled Live at Shepherds Bush Empire, exclusively through iTunes.

    Tracklisting:

    1. Scissor

    2. Proud Evolution

    3. The Overachievers

    4. Clear Island

    5. A Visit from Drum

  • I finally watched We Jam Econo: the Story of the Minutemen last night! This is not news. It’s just an excuse to post this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79D1ifOhGb4?fs=1]

Jennifer adds:

  • The Like are on a U.S. west coast tour now-right-now.

  • The Gin Blossoms’ new album No Chocolate Cake is streaming on AOL Music.

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Photog: The Like

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If Jennifer’s profile below of the Like intrigues you, you can listen to their new album at Spinner.

Reasons why I love The Like:

1. Snappy songwriting. I was initially hooked by Release Me, a subtle twist on a familiar trope, in which it is the girl begging the boy to let her go before she breaks his heart. I was further intrigued by Wishing He Was Dead, a song for women wronged everywhere, and, the other side of the same coin, He’s Not A Boy, simultaneously an appreciation of bad boys and a reminder that you can never, ever change them. (All of those songs are on their new record, also called Release Me, which came out yesterday.)

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Z Berg, at Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ

2. They do interesting things with percussion, from the drum intro to Fair Game — a dramatic, fast beat that expands (but doesn’t slow down) to meet the guitars and the organ – to the combination drums/handclaps that kick off Release Me. The drums are also strong in their early work; one of my favorite songs from their Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking? (2005) is June Gloom, mainly for the steady, rolling beat.

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Annie Monroe (far left) and Z Berg, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

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Laena Geronimo, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ

3. In addition to the interesting drums, there are beautiful harmonies, with Z Berg periodically soaring over the rest of the band. Also, basically, all of their songs make me want to dance around the kitchen and sing along. I particularly enjoy the subtle modern bite of the lyrics next to the retro-sweetness of the music.

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Laena Geronimo, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

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Tennessee Thomas, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ

4. Their whole-hearted commitment to ’60s style and glamour. Like their sound, their look is distinctive, different, and refreshing.

— Jennifer