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Yeah, we know you love L.A.

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Local H – California Songs

Local H lead singer Scott Lucas cuts a solitary figure as he carries two guitars on to The Call’s elevated stage and nestles each into its respective stand. Task completed, he disappears behind a curtain that divides what passes for the green room from the rest of the now defunct Providence, Rhode Island club. Moments later, he returns to tune his instruments, alone again.

It’s the summer of 2004. Lucas and drummer Brian St. Clair, who replaced original kitman Joe Daniels in 1999, are playing out the string on a career that appears bound for the floor. (The Chicago Tribune will name them 2008 Chicago Band of the Year after the release of Twelve Angry Monkeys, but critical acclaim doesn’t translate to sales.)

The duo tour in support of Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles, an enjoyable if forgettable album that includes the non-hit single, “California Girls.” The days of roadies, prompted by the success of 1996’s As Good As Dead are gone. On a stage in a venue that soon will be converted to luxury condos, Lucas twists his own tuning pegs, fading away before your eyes.

He disappears once more, returning with St. Clair in tow. Local H begin playing. Loudly. Incredibly so. Ten or 15 men jump up and down with the band. They do so for the entire set. Lucas is no longer alone.

After playing his last chord, the singer lays down his guitar, supermans headfirst into the crowd where he is suspended horizontally at eye level, held by a dozen pairs of sweaty hands. He points to the front of The Call. Local H’s fans, quite literally supporting the lead singer, carry him 30 feet to the bar where he rips shot after shot in true rock star fashion.

Clark Kent didn’t forget how to fly, but sometimes he needs a push.

[Purchase Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles?]

Posted on September 28, 2010 - Tunes - No Comments » Share

ABRA CADAVER

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The Hives – Abra Cadaver

On “Abra Cadaver,” The Hives lead singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist makes his point in 93 seconds. Not much time, especially considering his first lyric comes 11 seconds into the track and the last few perfectly formed English words explode from his Swedish mouth at 1:07. Fifty-six ticks, less than a full revolution of the second hand.

(An aside, a luxury for which there isn’t time on “Abra Cadaver”: The Hives wanted to replicate American punk rock and ’50s soul music. The teenage members of the group grew up in Fagersta, Sweden, population 13,000. Record stores lacked… records. The Hives had images of its heroes but not their music. Nicholaus – the band’s senior Almqvist – offered Time’s Josh Tyrangiel a quote to explain the dilemma: “Sometimes, we had only seen bands in pictures or seen them on a record cover. So we had to try and figure out, ‘What does that haircut sound like?'”) [Acquire.]

(photo taken, on an iPhone, by Jesse Wright)

Posted on September 25, 2010 - Tunes - No Comments » Share

PLAY

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Moby – Honey

Frenchmen David Belle, son of “an acrobat and a hero fireman” according to The New Yorker, developed parkour in the 1990s after moving to a commune in Lisses. A practitioner of L’art du déplacement (the art of movement) known as traceur (traceuse for females) seeks to get from point A to point B in the most economical way possible. This requirement puts the discipline at odds with freerunning, a sport made famous by former Lisses resident and parkour original Sebastian Foucan. This spinoff of Belle’s brainchild allows, nay encourages, aesthetically pleasing actions, which sometime come at the expense of reaching a destination. Moving backwards is anathema to any traceur. And flips, while pretty, are not frequently inefficient.

The Internet transformed parkour from a fringe pursuit into a worldwide phenomenon. Belle appeared on BBC One in the promotional film, “Rush Hour.” In the short advert, he ran, jumped, and flipped – with purpose – through London before arriving home on his couch in time to watch television. The discipline spread from Britain to the rest of Europe and, inevitably, America. Belle, Foucan, and other traceurs played parts TV and in movies. (Daniel Craig chases the freerunning founder through a construction scene at the beginning of Casino Royale. Foucan, ironically, used a stunt double named Curtis during some of the shots.) Mark Toorock, founder of American Parkour and the country’s most visible proponent of the discipline, runs The Tribe (“Certified Masters of Astonishment”), a group that has appeared for Nike, ESPN, HBO, Mountain Dew, and other brands. If you vault it, the money will come.

Parkour’s rapid rise didn’t come without risks. Videos spread faster than the instructional manuals that didn’t exist, leading to injuries around the globe and even the death of two French boys. As it grew, however, the community focus of the practitioners ensured that new recruits received proper guidance. There have been accredited courses designed to teach the fundamentals. American Parkour’s website includes a series of articles detailing practice drills and exercises.

Despite the increased safety efforts, danger – of course – remains part of the appeal. In one of the most watched clips on YouTube, Belle falls while attempting what should be a simple, at least for him, vault over a concrete walkway. After discerning that the cameraman he nearly crushed is okay, Belle laughs off the ten-foot plummet and walks up the ramp, eager to try again. [Purchase.]

Posted on September 14, 2010 - Tunes - No Comments » Share

START OF SOMETHING

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Voxtrot – The Start Of Something

The exact locations of the minute and hour hand aren’t important. Suffice it to say that you’re somewhere between drink three and six; that time of night when these things begin.

She’s been in the bar since your second IPA, the one your boy picked up as payback for getting his dinner. Red hair, chopped and dyed at a Hayes Valley saloon in exchange for too many of the tips she earned pouring unending cups of coffee and recommending the spinach, chorizo, and feta omelet. The layers of the cut complement the layers of clothes she’s wearing, that they are all wearing this fall.

Half an hour ago, there was a smile directed, almost certainly, at you. You looked at her, then past her, then back to your drink, knowing it was only a matter of time. There was an expectant possibility in her blue eyes and oval face. You try, and fail, from letting it show up in your posture.

You get off your stool and walk over. The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Then again, so does the journey of a single step.

[Buy Raised By Wolves.]

(Noah asked if we might have him around once a week. We were happy to.)

Posted on September 7, 2010 - Tunes - No Comments » Share

Let’s talk about spaceships.

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Say Hi To Your Mom – Let’s Talk About Spaceships

If you were going to converse about spaceships, what would you say?

…that, certain childhood fantasies aside, humanity’s progress in creating flying machines is really rather disappointing?

…that Serenity weighed 282,500 pounds, could carry 18 passengers, and deserved another season?

…that, without any specific scientific knowledge, you’re reasonably sure NASA’s rockets get much worse gas mileage than the average Hummer — at least until you reach the Mesophere; then it’s up for some debate?

…that Will Smith makes a solid pilot but you’d trade him to have Jeff Goldblum as your navigator?

…that we’ll be lucky to last a week when the aliens show up?

…that Bono isn’t the only one staring at the sun; he’s just the one with the most pairs of sunglasses?

…that it would be fun to piss in zero gravity, no matter the results?

…that Luke Skywalker got at least a little lucky?

Ultimately, I think, you’d end up changing the subject.

[Buy Numbers & Mumbles.]

(Noah guests for tune the proletariat today. Zac tells me he lives in San Fran, and used to be the editor of a beer magazine.)

Posted on August 30, 2010 - Tunes - 1 Comment » Share

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