The Bob Dylan Song Meanings Post

For whatever reason, I've recently become focused on "Black Diamond Bay" from Bob Dylan's 1976 album Desire.



Black Diamond Bay - Bob Dylan on Vimeo.

Which has eventually lead me back to the comment section of its SongMeanings.com page. I wanted to highlight just a few of them.

The kind of meaningful commentary that isn't the norm:

Basically, this song is about irony. The Greek hangs himself even though everyone is about to die anyway, the loser wins in gambling right before he is about to die, the big "tough" soldier wants to have "forbidden love" with a tiny man, and the woman does find love but it's too late because they are about to die so she "sheds a tear and begins to pray." And finally, the ultimate irony is that the speaker saw all this on the 7 o'clock news and just shuts it off. It doesn't even matter to him... -StallionintheRift12

I think this is where I'm coming from:

Forget the symbolism. Dylan paints images and characters. This story feels like Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle." We watch the wild characters, laugh, and ultimately feel detached enough to switch it all off, while other peoples' lives go down. -manumoka

Hmmmmm, okay.

The "Bay" is the "Bay of Pigs", She is Jackie Kennedy and " the greek" is that Onassis guy! As watched in a delirium, Old Cronkite on the seven o'clock news. -MGAlpha

Oooooookay then...

Black Diamond Bay has long been my favorite Bob Dylan song. It is a song of the detachment that mankind feels for his fellow man and a warning for the consequences of that detachment and the consequences of simple sins of ommission and self-indulgence.
The woman in the song represents the individual who will ascend to heaven. Thus she is on the white veranda while everyone else in the song is consumed by the boiler in the basement, i.e hell
The lava from the mountain high above is symbolic of God's hand in the end of the world. [... more] -gkhd11a

One more cup of coffee, I think we could tie this into Apocalypse Now (1979) and the ill-fated 1987 Dylan & The Dead tour!

The specific reference of Black Diamond Bay is to the Conrad novel called "Victory". In the novel, Black Diamond Bay is a disused coal port/depot on an island in the far east (Indonesia/Borneo area). There are elements in the novel that reappear in the song (a hotel, a volcano, gambling, a somewhat enigmatic woman, BDB itself of course) but the song is not a 'song of the book' by any means. In some ways its a bit like a dream version of the book with everything mixed up and in the wrong places. -jtg76

Which are all much better than the most common interpretation by far: "I think this song is about being on drugs." But it's still just a popularity contest. What Bob Dylan song you think has the most (not necessarily best) user comments?



Like a rolling stone - Bob Dylan on Vimeo.

Yep, that one. Currently with 211, vs. 17 for "Black Diamond Bay." Did you see the recent interactive video for it? Pretty cool.

I wish the search function was more robust. Like, is there a thriving commentary community for Killdozer songs? Unfortunately not, but they do have the lyrics. You can access a most popular artists list, which I think is purely aggregate post-count.

As of now (artist / most commented on YouTube)...

1. Radiohead ("Creep"?! 665 comments)
2. Brand New ("Seventy Times 7", 651)
3. Bright Eyes ("Lua", 331)
4. Modest Mouse ("Float On", 540)
5. Coldplay ("Viva la Vida", 916?!?!)
6. Bon Iver ("Skinny Love", 249)
7. Death Cab for Cutie ("I Will Follow You into the Dark", 369)
8. Kings of Leon ("Sex on Fire", 214)
9. Mumford & Sons ("Little Lion Man", 224)
10. The Beatles ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds",
459 comments: "This song is about being on drugs.")

Maybe not 100% ranked by total posts - The Beatles looks like a hefty chunk.

A lot to untangle here, but the first point is that I had literally never heard of Brand New (#2!) before now. Just based on overall popularity & visibility, I won't re-hash Radiohead, Mumford & Sons, and The Beatles... maybe Coldplay too? But the rest of those point to a specific audience being very active on the site.

Yeah, it would be weird if late-'80s Touch & Go fans were more active on a lyric site than the early-'00s indie-pop of Bright Eyes-Modest Mouse-Death Cab. There's 128 comments for Butthole Surfers' "Pepper," but not too much else. I was trying to find anything somewhat comparable, but ridiculous - best I could do was Pearl Jam's "Black" (with 503).

Okay, that was weird - I'm done now.

It Still Moves - My Morning Jacket (#5, 2003)

I'm sure I've told or mentioned this story a couple of times here, but this is probably my last opportunity. Other than going way way back in the past, it's been a long long time since I've looked to rock 'n' roll for my record-buying needs. And I'm talking beyond 2003, so even by then... Around that time, I read a review of this album somewhere - mostly likely a British music mag with the free comp CD, I'd guess Uncut over Mojo for MMJ. But I read both, so probably something like that.



"One Big Holiday" from It Still Moves (2003)

Soon after, I found myself in Corporate_Record_Store_005 either looking for something specific or just killing time. This was in Shepherd Plaza (pre-Cactus), so either a Sound Warehouse, a Wherehouse, or whatever struggling chain came in after that. (Music Whorehouse??) Then either I remembered the review, or I just happened to notice the album cover. But it was already half-price! Which was like $8 at the time, so I bought it.



"Mahgeeta" from It Still Moves (2003)

So yeah, they were traditional. My Morning Jacket at this point was still kinda-rootsy, American, southern rock 'n' roll. I'd probably peg their latest obvious, direct influence at maybe 1973. They would start to modernize gradually on their next album, Z (#5, 2005). But I still think this ol' timey stuff is what they did best.

Can't find it now, but someone else (not me) pointed out the similarities between MMJ's song "Dancefloors" and The Band's version of "Don't Do It." So maybe that's part of it.



"Golden" from It Still Moves (2003)

I mean, it's kinda difficult to discuss any post-1969 Americana artist without reference to The Band, right? (co-#12, 1969) But I think a couple of points are still valid & necessary... This style of music requires that you hold back occasionally - a lot of these songs are mid-tempo at best. The other point is that you've got to be able to both rock, and to mellow it down without completely laming out. The back part of the album settles into a cozy vibe, especially through the real nice trio of "Rollin' Back," "Just One Thing," and "Steam Engine."



"Run Thru (live)" from Okonokos (2006)

That one was particularly well-done when I caught them at Austin City Limits Festival, I'm thinking after Z. [Checking...] Nope, looks like it was the final song from 2004's ACL. And then, the last time I saw MMJ live (#14 Live, 2011), they only played the gnarly synth-breakdown jam, but not the whole song. Seemed kinda odd to me. Here's also the studio version, if you want.

So as a post-script: I figured people I knew who preferred more 'normal' (non-weirdo) rock music might really get into this great band/album that I'd discovered. At least more than Halve Maen, right? Nah, not really... Took another few years & different albums for some friends to dig them, but it wasn't really this one. And they never took over quite like Ween did, just one year later.

Genre - Rock 'n' Roll
Official - mymorningjacket.com/
Myspace - myspace.com/mymorningjacket
Location - Louisville, KY

Review - Pop Matters
Download - Amazon, iTunes
Purchase - Amazon

VII - Maserati (#7, 2012)

Another quality record from Maserati, after a few all-timers.

Top Ten!



"The Eliminator" from VII (2012)

Pseudo-single, or whatever you call an internet-released preview track to hype your upcoming album. In the old days, it was a single... and it came on a vinyl disc!



"Abracadabracab" from VII (2012)

As catchy & all-out as that one was, I suggest exploring the elektro-deluxe landscapes of this epic mid-album centerpiece. The whole record's real nice - another one with the textured LP cover as well...

Hey, who is that on "Synthesizer [Assisted By]"?? Why, if it isn't Steve Moore of Zombi (co-#5, 2012)!



"Solar Exodus/Lunar Drift" from VII (2012)

Just because, I made this video of a coupla atypical Maserati tracks. Vocoder & synths & something different. I like it.

Here are two recent, officially-sanctioned live bootlegs from Georgia: Athens, 10/26/2013 & Atlanta, 07/18/2013.



"Saw Her" by Vincas, from Blood Bleeds (2012)

Garage-rockist side project of Maserati's bassist. Pretty good stuff, I'd definitely go see 'em live.

Nevertheless, uncool that they got major gear ripped off in Chicago recently. If you can spare any help, check this out.

And here's a recent, officially-sanctioned Vincas bootleg from Athens: 08/03/2013!

Genre - Motorik Delay-Action Post-Rock
Official - ihaveadagger.net/
Myspace - myspace.com/maseratirocks
Location - Athens, GA

Review - American:Aftermath
Download - Amazon, iTunes
Purchase - Temporary Residence Ltd.

Black Mountain Psych

Yeah, I don't shoot video at shows because I'm too busy watching the band. But I do appreciate those people who do! And one of those people has come through big time.

Goat's set was definitely the highlight of my Austin Psych Fest, being that they were my #1 of 2012 & I'd never seen them before. But Black Mountain (#6 Live, 2010) was a real close second, and someone shot most of their set!

O yeah, and Roky was real good too. And Boris. And...



"Mary Lou" live at Austin Psych Fest, 4/27/2013

Pretty epic set-opener from their most recent soundtrack album. Might as well go ahead and mention that I've run into Stephen McBean at all 3 Austin Psych Fests that I've attended so far: 3/3.



"Wucan" live at Austin Psych Fest, 4/27/2013

One of my faves there - since whenever I first discovered that album. Which is In the Future (#10, 2008), which is great. Here, have an official video, while yer at it.



"Tyrants" live at Austin Psych Fest, 4/27/2013

Super-prog, that at times comes on like bombastic Mollusk-style Ween. (That is good.) The next video has the coda, along with a full "Buried by the Blues." Nice.



[other sweet photos here]
The rain started falling during "Phosphorescent Waves," so the camera went into hiding [full studio]. I wasn't altogether with it, but I'm thinking there was another Wilderness Heart (#17, 2010) rocker played in there - maybe the title track. But not "Let Spirits Ride," which I initially mistook it for.



"No Hits" live at Austin Psych Fest, 4/27/2013

You wanna talk about epic? Check out that John Carpenter worship intro, check out that jamming. Yup, that's from the 2005 self-titled debut.

No "Druganaut" from that one, but I'm fairly sure they did perform "Queens Will Play" somewhere in there towards the end.

Thanks, Black Mountain!! Come back to Texas before another 3 years...

The Circassian Coast

Not actually from actual Circassia - that's just kinda the band name: Circassian... from Athens (Greece this time).

Man... now I wanna learn more about Acid Barrets!



"Sally" ***NSFW*** CGI video - by Circassian, from the Procrastinational EP (2012)

Recent EP free / name-your-price at Bandcamp, along with a previous self-titled EP too.

There's streaming and a couple of downloads over on their Soundcloud page, and a couple of different tunes at MySpace.

Wait, where did I hear about these guys? Okay, found it - on Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy's A Guide to Psychedelic Music of 2012. Where they said:

Spinalonga Records helped this EP come to fruition, but what really needs to happen, is for these Athenian rockers to get signed for real and get an album's worth of material to the ears of the masses. The 3 songs on "Procrastinational" (as well as the stuff from last year's Self-Titled) are each smashing in their own right, and show the immense potential for the band's future pursuits. They call their music torture and their influences "psuedocultured" - but spending any amount of time with them suggests that they are the real deal.

Interesting guide/list/post on the blog... check it out!

Surf's Down!

Time to do some blog Spring Cleaning, cleaning house, house-cleaning... on the old leftovers.



According to Facebook, "Ryan of Taifas and JT of The Escatones decided to start a label." Behind this link to Fayetteville's Taifas Bandcamp is some ***NSFW*** cover art, but on a free album download!

Southern Surf Punk and Roll Vol. 1 (2012) is a Free Download from the label Bandcamp. Description & tags would indicate "Texas (Houston), Arkansas, Oklahoma (Tulsa), Nebraska, and Kansas" - which is pretty wide-ranging!



"Open Up Your Mind" from Bad Things Don't EP (2012)

Ft. Smith, Arkansas' Pagiins do the third track, and they have Bandcamp, with a couple of free 2012 EP's.



"All of my friends are Wolfmen" on Chic-A-Go-Go (11/20/2012)

Omaha, Nebraska's Snake Island! seems like a fun band, and I'll rarely pass up an opportunity to feature the Public Access legend Chic-A-Go-Go.



"Politician" at 3rd Squirrel Records (Georgetown, TX)

Video description calls them "Houston based punk/rock/comedy-core/Carlin-core." Art Institutes official media profile is pretty hilarious:

In 1976, Art Institute were getting regular work playing clubs on Houston's Sunset Strip. It was here that they came to the attention of KISS frontman Gene Simmons, who was so impressed with the band that he paid for their first demo tape. In 1978, their self-titled debut album was released, becoming one of the most successful debut albums ever and bringing hard rock into the musical mainstream.

I think I heard they'd recently broken up. Drag...

I think I'll just push this one out now - grab the free comp & see what you like!

Oldsters Return Again

I've touched on the acclaimed ladies and rockers of 2012, based on what I saw other people listifying. Now we're going to dig deep into the musico-historical psyche of Canadia, and I guess some USA too.

Might as well get America out of the way first... and that doesn't mean NY.



"Duquesne Whistle" by Bob Dylan, from Tempest (2012)

I liked Together Through Life (2009) pretty well, but this new one by Bob Dylan (#3, 1966) is getting even more love. I never got the Christmas album... Hard to judge from one video from one song, but I'll probably pick this one up eventually. I like Bob.



"Show Me The Place" by Leonard Cohen, from Old Ideas (2012)

Never have known too much of Cohen's music, but I have respect. Apparently these recent live tours have been completely epic, but I don't remember him coming around here. (Well, Austin it would seem...) The album also received a lotta love.



"Psychedelic Pill" by Neil Young, from Psychedelic Pill (2012)

Like Cohen, ol' Neil Young in secretly Canadian - but it's kinda one of those "open secrets." Back together with Crazy Horse for this one... Did I ever tell you about the time I saw Sonic Youth open for Neil Young & Crazy Horse at the Summit? In 1991, that was! They opened with "Tom Violence" as we were finding our seats. Thurston wore a Pain Teens Born in Blood t-shirt. The Neil Young crowd was not impressed - after the set, many seemed on the verge of rioting. That was not a pleasant trip to the restroom, in my Butthole Surfers acid-sheet-artwork t-shirt! I read special emphasis in my neighbor's menacing insistence about "Cortez the Killer" ... Wait, what was I talking about? O yeah, Sonick Youth! Their stadium opening set was a lot like this (3 weeks earlier).

Nah, I just really don't have that much to say about the 2012 Neil Young. Might be great, but I haven't been drawn to his new output in a long while. Maybe I should read up on this one. There's quite a few official videos from this album on Neil Young's YouTube. I did see a Psychedelic Pill Blu-Ray at Cactus, which might explain that.

Whassup, Rockers?

I'm just posting a few things from 2012 that I've picked up from the Year-End community and other people's lists.

This time, it's for rock.



"No Future / No Past" by Cloud Nothings, from Attack on Memory (2012)

I kept hearing about some of these bands over the past year - or before - but y'know... This album title was supposed to mean something given the retro-alt stylings going into it. So, are we already through with '80s nostalgia and into the '90s?

"Stay Useless?" Okay.



"The Nights of Wine and Roses" by Japandroids, from Celebration Rock (2012)

I guess people are starved for anything rock-ish? Or maybe I'm too old - or old enough to have live through the first go 'round? I can absolutely accept that. Here's another seemingly popular song from Japandroids.

Not that it's the ultimate in critical faculties, but that was SPIN's #3 album of 2012. Okay, moving on...



"Open Your Heart" [live] by The Men, from Open Your Heart (2012)

Those first two were the obvious (to me) rock darlings of the year, but the final act wasn't as easy to pick. So I just went with the less-obvious option that sounded the best to me on first listen. I guess that goes to the blown-up rock-outs from The Men. Here's the studio version of that title track, and a rollicking unofficial video.

This slot could have just as easily been filled by: Divine Fits (too much ringer?), Ty Segall Band (not acclaimed enough?), or even Death Grips (maybe not really rock?). Whatever...

The Giving of Thanks

This was so fun when we did it for Hallowe'en, let's do it again...

Happy (U.S.) Thanksgiving!



"Turkeey" by Ed Hall, from Love Poke Here (1990)

I never quite figured out why there are cat noises on a song called "Turkeey" [sic]... Ed Hall reuniting this weekend in Austin - so maybe I'll ask them. I expect to be talkin' about this album soon enough.



"Milking the Turkey Jam" by Grateful Dead, live at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA (live rehearsal, 3/21/1975)

Or "Stronger Than Dirt," per the Blues for Allah album (1975). Jazzy, jammy holidays. David Crosby in session apparently.

No, not "Cold Turkey"... Can't find "Turkey Shoot"... No Sandler, nor that recent click-bait crap... Wow, what else is there?



"Ağlarsa Anam Ağlar" by Üç Hür-El, from 7" single (1973)

Yeah, because Anatolian garage-prog psych comes from Turkey! As usual, I'm thankful to Beyond the Wizards Sleeve for this one.

That was harder than expected...

Too late, I realized my mistake: I was focusing too much on the main dish. Where were the songs by The Cranberries? ... using green-bean casserole as a metaphor? ... on the Cornucopia [image above]?



"Thank You, Friends" by Big Star, from Third (1978)

Who needs a jazzy, jammy, Grateful holiday when you could have a sneering, sarcastic Thanksgiving? In the spirit of the season!



"Run to the Hills" by Iron Maiden, from The Number of the Beast (1982)

And/or??

Not sure if advertisements and Vevo are going to make or break YouTube - not cool...

Breathless / Alphaville - Jean-Luc Godard (1960/1965)

Did you hear all about the recent results of BFI's decadennial Sight & Sound poll? Vertigo is finally better than Citizen Kane!! So I'll be watching 1+ film per day throughout September - and blogging it...

Not the first film from the Nouvelle Vague, but the directorial debut of Jean-Luc Godard - the new waviest of the French New Wave.



Breathless (À bout de souffle)
dir. Jean-Luc Godard. 1960, France.
Sight & Sound 2012: Critics' #13 / Directors' #11
Roger Ebert's Great Movies ... Criterion essay
DVD/Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection
Watch via Hulu-Plus / Amazon Instant / iTunes



Breathless trailer (1960)

I've only seen a handful of Godard films, as few as three total. Wait, I'm counting Jules and Jim (1962), which was Truffaut - so I think it was just two. Breathless being the first for me, and it's probably been around 20 years since. Again, kinda why we're here...



JAZZCRIMEYOUTHWAVEJUMPCUT

Michel Poiccard: Informers inform, burglars burgle, murderers murder, lovers love.

Regardez, what a difference a couple of decades can make. Back in my early-20s, I think I found these characters pretty cool. Don't get me wrong - the film is extra cool, Paris 1960 is definitely cool, Jean-Luc Godard was the king of cool. But in the flush of youth, I must have seen another young rebel romancing the city, living fast, burning bright. Jean-Paul Belmondo plays a Parisian car thief. Jean Seburg plays his American sociopathic pixie dreamgirl. They each have several screws loose.

Michel fancies himself a tough guy, boasting a false identity (László Kovács!), chain-smoking ill-rolled cigarettes. Cracking wise in some rhyming slang, like "Maintenant je fonce, Alphonse!" ("Gotta make tracks, Max!") Although right upfront, he admits he's just an asshole. Really he's just naïve and juvenile, accidentally getting deeper & deeper in trouble than he ever intends. Patricia carries the unearned superiority of Americans abroad, or else she wears that mask to hide her mental and ethical hollowness. Or is she just a pathological liar? Her interactions with other people are odd, to say the least.



Lots of great little moments of cool occur throughout. "Not much of a looker, but I'm quite a boxer" is perfect self-deprecation. Everyone constantly throwing lit matches and cigarettes on the floor. "That scooter just passed you!" made me laugh out loud. Maybe the first ever high-five in movie history? And also lots of weird uneasiness, like Michel's desperate anti-suave begging for sex, or Patricia's boss telling the story about forgetting to sleep with the girl he'd meant to.

But I think this is a loveletter to art - mostly the movies. Godard was a film critic for Cahiers du Cinema, and right near the beginning a young girl tries to sell Michel an issue on the street. The credits are a Who's Who of French/New Wave: story by François Truffaut, supervised by Claude Chabrol, Parvulesco by Jean-Pierre Melville (we'll get to him later this month), and Godard as the informer (the one in the quote above). There are movie posters everywhere: Ten Seconds to Hell ("Live dangerously until the end!"), The Harder They Fall (I finally figured out that Michel dresses like a '40s Bogie character), Westbound (the French Western film?)... I liked how during the American film noir, Patricia hides in the DAMES restroom. Oh, and the film is dedicated to Monogram Pictures. There's talk of the great artist Renoir, Maurice Chevalier, and Romeo & Juliet - which certainly foreshadows the unintended consequences of young love oustside the bounds.



Yesterday being a Saturday, I went for a double-feature. Picking the 2nd film was quite difficult - given the critical reverence for a wide range of Godard films, plus any of the other French/New Wave auteurs: Truffaut, Rohmer, Resnais, even Roger Vadim or Jean-Pierre Melville. But in the end, it was always Godard's only experimental film noir sci-fi headtrip...



Alphaville (une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution)
dir. Jean-Luc Godard. 1965, France.
Sight & Sound 2012: Critics' #894 (1 vote) / Directors' #132
New York Times movie review
OOP Criterion DVD from Amazon
Watch via Amazon Instant / iTunes / YouTube



Alphaville trailer (1965)

Turned out to be the perfect complement to Breathless. Stylistically could not be more different... and the French-American slots are reversed for the lead actors. Maybe not as good a film, but I think I actually enjoyed it more.

"I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it."

The noir-style score is relentless & ridiculous. Everyone's always walking around through various doorways, repeating the same lines of dialogue. Mathematics Park. Lemmy Caution always taking photos with his Retro camera. Dick Tracy and Flash Gordon have gone missing. Natacha von Braun has "the voice of a pretty sphinx." Mr. Nosferatu is α-#1? Seems like maybe we're heading for a black-and-white Oz reveal, but the film changes track. Computer monologues, flashing of negative print images... The triumph of poetry over logic? Maybe.

Ringo Deathstarr Jukebox

Also from Austin comes Ringo Deathstarr. I was thinkin' punk rock, but notsomuch...



"Kaleidoscope" from Colour Trip (2011)

I do applaud Ringo's efforts in "just killin' time at work, editin' a li'l video together, to be better than those weird ass slideshow videos or ones with just a picture of our album."



"Imagine Hearts" from Colour Trip (2011)

Sorry, I don't really know anything. There's a Shadow EP (2011) up for streaming over on SoundCloud. And another official video?



They've got a website and a label. What? One more? Okay...



"Some Kind of Sad" from Ringo Deathstarr EP (2007)

That's from their debut, with the album cover shown immediately above the video.

UFO Club Surveillance Camera

The UFO Club... probably named after some psychedelic club, in the '60s, maybe London? I dunno, the place Syd Barrett & The Pink Floyd jammed it up. Yeah.



"Chapel in my Mind" from the Night Beats split-10" (2011)

The band includes key members of both The Black Angels and Night Beats, so no doubt they're playing Austin Psych Fest.



"Hex" from the Night Beats split-10" (2011)

The Night Beats split-10" comes to you from The Reverberation Appreciation Society label - also Black Angels and Austin Psych-related. Family style!



"The Wolfman" from the Night Beats split-10" (2011)

I was a teenage wooly-bully freak-out. Hey, they even do a Ronettes cover!



You know I gotta keep linking to Revolt of the Apes, right?

Austin Power Plant

The Golden Dawn were 1960s International Artists labelmates and fellow Austinites with The 13th Floor Elevators - in the original Psychedelic Era.



"My Time" from Power Plant (1968)

The lead singer came by his 13th-reverberating vocals as honestly as you can. He was apparently high school friends with Roky.



"Every Day" from Power Plant (1968)

They will be playing their 1968 record at Austin Psych Fest at the end of this month. Here's a British I.A. revival website's album page.



"Evolution" from Power Plant (1968)

Whoa... Those chimes!!



"This Way Please" from Power Plant (1968)

George Kinney and the New Riders of The Golden Dawn have a follow-up album over on Bandcamp: Texas Medicine (2006).

You can also stream Power Plant, which obviously features one of the most fried-out album covers in an era particularly known for them...



Yup!!



"Starvation" from Power Plant (1968)

I'm pretty sure that was their main regional hit - to such an extent that any of them were.

Baby Jesus... Acid Baby Jesus.

Greece... Athens, Greece.



"It’s on Me" from Hospitals EP (2011)

You can check out the 7" EP on Bandcamp. The title track was featured as a free download on Altered Zones, from a 2010 self-titled cassette.



"I’m A Baby" from LP (2011)

Both of those tracks are featured on the 10/18/2011 ABJ set from Live At Shea Stadium (BK).



"Tomboy" from LP (2011)

That LP is also available for stream or purchase from the Slovenly Bandcamp.



Here's a Revolt of the Apes post. Recently, I realized that all these Austin Psych Fest bands had been featured over there - it was eerie. So I checked the "About" section at the site:

This site was originally created to spread the word of Austin Psych Fest 2010. It has since continued with content directly related to the bands and artists involved, content tangentially related to the bands and artists involved, and content not at all related to the bands and artists involved...

Our relationship with Austin Psych Fest is strictly unofficial and largely platonic. Our headquarters are not in Austin, or even Texas, but a small town in central Virginia.

It's all so clear now!!

Radio Control Mind Spiders

The Mind Spiders, surf-garage-punk from Ft. Worth, TX... I'm not sure why they got the second-round advance announcement along with Meat Puppets. But they do seem like a fun act to check out.



"Don't Let Her Go" from Mind Spiders LP (2011)

From the stuff I've found around, sounds like mostly high-energy no-nonsense old-school - if that rings any bells.



"Wait for Us" from Meltdown (2012)

That's some Thriller-esque video-intro there! Overall, like a mash-up of The Twilight Zone's "The Lonely" (11/13/1959) and The Flaming Lips' Christmas on Mars (2008).



"Time Sucker" from Mind Spiders 7" EP (2010)

The EP sounds promising - also with another good one, "Worlds Destroyed." Unfortunately, the vinyl's sold out at the label. I think everything so far has come out on Dirtnap Records.



Here's a recent local-ish write-up... from next-door in Dallas.

La-La-La d'Allah-Las

I don't know much about the Allah-Las. '60s garage stylings from Los Angeles, California.

Catamaran from Allah Las on Vimeo.

That's the A-side of the only physical release to my knowledge: a 7" single from last year (2011). Available via Bandcamp or from the label.



"Long Journey" - b-side of 7" (2011)

That's the B-side. The band's official website is just running a Tumblr nowadays. But some pretty killer songs (Love, Popol Vuh) posted there.



"Don’t Wanna Hear No More" by The Allah-Las

There's a demo on MySpace, but I don't really know... Uhhh, here's a recent interview. Sorry, but I'm outta info and gotta run.



There's apparently going to be an upcoming video for "Tell Me What’s On Your Mind" - so be on the lookout!

Night Beats Jukebox

The Night Beats, Texans in Seattle playing in the classic Texas garage-psych style.



"H-Bomb" from H-Bomb EP (2010)

So good they named their debut EP after it!



"They Came In Through the Window" from H-Bomb EP (2010)

Ceci n'est pas une Austinist interview (before APF3)...



"A Night with Nefertiti" from split-10" (2011)

That one's from Night Beats' split with UFO Club out on the Reverberation Appreciation Society (Psych Fest-related label).



"Ain't Dumbo" from Night Beats (2011)

I also found this psych comp, which looks pretty sweet! You can download some of the tracks, including The Night Beats', from SoundCloud.



Self-titled and H-Bomb EP both available from Trouble in Mind records.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Meat Puppets!

On Friday, new Austin Psych Fest info was released. (Blogging news delayed due to being in Las Vegas...) Full line-up announcement is coming on March 27th.



"Orange" from Lollipop (2011)

Some leakage occurred, though - and it looks like The Meat Puppets will be playing too. That's some badass news!! They opened up the #2 Live Shows of 2010, and were really really great.



"Up on the Sun" from Up on the Sun (1985)

Of course they are legends and underground royalty, still going strong. Visit them at their website. And consider picking up some kind of Up on the Sun re-issues. A great one from their ultimate classic period.



And here's another Puppets website to peep.

Jukebox Disappears

I'd heard good (rock) things about Disappears, and now Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley is their drummer. Weird. They're from Chicago...



"Replicate" from Pre Language (2012)

There was some Best of 2011 buzz around Guider. And now they have a new one on Kranky (another great label).

NYCtaper have a July 26 2011 show available. Check 'em out.



"New Fast" from Guider (2011)

I'm still catching up on them, so all you gets the music! Seems like they take a lot of different approaches, even really long songs.



And a picture.

Black Surf Mountain Movie

With Pink Mountaintops (co-#8, 2006) at the upcoming Austin Psych Fest, I'm kinda hoping for a March announcement of Black Mountain (#10, 2008) too. Any news? Not yet...

0000 from Globe Surf on Vimeo.

But in the meantime, they'll have a new soundtrack album out soon, Year Zero (2012). And it's a 16mm post-apocalypse surf movie!



"Mary Lou" by Black Mountain, from Year Zero OST (2012)

About half the soundtrack consists of older tunes - like "Wilderness Heart", "Tyrants", and "Modern Music." First new track is up at Pitchfork and immediately above. Epic!



"Breathe" by Black Mountain, from Year Zero OST (2012)

Since the intriguing-sounding opener "Phosphorescent Waves" isn't around yet, there's the final cut. You can read more, download the MP3, and pre-order LP (eventually) at Jagjaguwar Records.

Globe's Year Zero (0000) Final Trailer from Globe Surf on Vimeo.

You might also check out the film's website - looks fairly trippy. And it appears the DVD is already available too.



Surf's up!