I’m always stunned…

…at how talented this guy was. It’s been awhile since I hit you guys with a “Jeff Buckley rules” post. Just so you don’t forget how great he was and how great he could have been if he hadn’t died young, here is a live clip of “Grace” followed by an lesser known tune called “Forget Her”:

Grant Lee Buffalo

I had forgotten about this song until a conversation with my friend KC yesterday. What a great song and a great band (“Mockingbird” from 1994′s album Mighty Joe Moon):

New Death Cab for Cutie single: I Will Possess Your Heart

You guys know what a huge DCFC fan I am. I’m eagerly awaiting the new album Narrow Stairs due on May 13. Here’s the first single I Will Possess Your Heart.

A little pick me up

After my last post, admittedly a downer, here’s something to make you feel better. Always works for me!

Mike’s music makes me feel good. He sounds like spring time on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro – it’s the mid 90′s – I’m a little hungover, but still prepared for the big test. After class we’ll kick a soccer ball on the quad and then hit the bars. Ah, to be young again.

Happy Valentines Day

A year ago today I gave you “Lover You Should have Come Over” by the late great Jeff Buckley as a Valentines Day gift. This year I give you “No One’s Gonna Love You” by Band of Horses.

Love ya, K.

Finally!

Mrs. Figurehead and I have been waiting a long time to pick up the new Jack Johnson album. There are few artists whose album I will rush to the store the day it’s released to pick up. Jack is among them. In fact, we both bought the album seperately on Tuesday (we’ll be taking one copy back).

Enjoy “If I had Eyes”

I’m certain track #4 “Angel” is about my little Izzy:

I’ve got an angel
She doesn’t wear any wings
She wears a heart that could melt my own
She wears a smile that could make me want to sing
She gives me presents
With her presence alone
She gives me everything I could wish for
She gives me kisses on the lips just for coming home

She can make angels
I’ve seen it with my own eyes
You got to be careful when you you’ve got good love
Cause them angels will just keep on multiplying

You’re so busy changing the world
Just one smile can change all of mine
We share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh ohhh
We Share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh ohhh
We Share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh ohhh
Oh oh oh oh ohhh
mm mm mm mmmm

Workout tunes

I’m training folks again. I have a group of guys that are killing it three mornings a week boxing, wrestling, lifting, and doing some extreme conditioning. Beyond the fun of training them I’m also enjoying making new workout mixes for each workout.

Here are a few of highlights from today’s mix (Enjoy Scoali and Hooligan):

Dropkick Murphys

Steet Dogs

Pennywise

Cold Grey Skies and Bruises

The weather outside and the fresh bruises on my face remind me of how it felt to be a teenager. Here’s the soundtrack to match the feeling. The first two concert films I ever saw:

The Cure – In Orange performing a sped up version of “Charlotte Sometimes”.

U2 – Live at Red Rocks performing “October” and “New Years Day”.

A dream concert

I’m not sure where or when this photograph was taken, but man, I wish I had been there. Jimmy and Jack – together!

Pedro the Lion and Italian Cyclists

It’s been over week now since my last post, so I thought I’d just put SOMETHING up for you today. I’ve been listening to all of the Pedro the Lion albums of late. I’m also still reading The Death of Marco Pantani. What do those two things have in common you wonder? Not much…but here’s a live version of “Options” by Pedro the Lion performed ….in Italy (home of Marco Pantani). Enjoy the mope-fest.

The Best Albums of 2007

Now it’s time to make it official. We few weeks ago The Figurehead released it’s “best of, so far” list. Here’s the real deal:

20.  Thurston Moore – Trees Outside the Academy

19.  Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara

18. Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

17. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga

16. The Frames – The Cost

15. The Innocence Mission – We Walked in Song

14. Film School – Hideout

13. Stars – In Our Bedroom After the War

12. Arcade Fire -Neon Bible

11. Iron and Wine – The Shepards Dog

10. Interpol – Our Love to Admire

9. Feist – The Reminder

8. The Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills

7. The National – Boxer

6. Roddy Woomble – My Secret is My Silence

5. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

4. Radiohead – In Rainbows

3. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away

2. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

1.  Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals – Lifeline

  

The Innocence Mission

I recently got my hands on the new one from The Innocence Mission – We Walked in Song. I’m totally obsessed. I always loved The Sundays and the angelic voice of Harriet Wheeler. Karen Peris of the Innocence Mission nearly equals Harriets lovely voice.

Here’s a vid from 1995′s album Glow – “Bright As Yellow”

One man’s Ipod: It’s back! Volume 5

That’s right, after a several month hiatus, The Figurehead’s recurring “one man’s ipod” feature is back. I put the ipod on shuffle during my run….you get to see what played…for better or worse.  Today’s shuffle was one of the all time best.

1.  Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana

2. Creep – Stone Temple Pilots

3. Crumble – Dinosaur Jr.

4. Baby Girl – Wil Hoge

5. Can’t Stop – Red Hot Chili Peppers

6. Put the Message in the Box – World Party

7. O Valencia – The Decemberists

8. The Funeral – Band of Horses

Top 10 Albums of 2007 so far (with 11-20 thrown in for good measure)

The list below is a month or so old. For the official Best of 2007 list posted on November 16th, click HERE. 

With Two months to go – the top 10 with 11-20 thrown in for fun: (These are in order) 

1. Ben Harper – Lifeline
2. Modest Mouse -  We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
3. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
4. Shins – Wincing The Night Away
5. Roddy Woomble – My Secret Is My Silence
6. The Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills
7. Feist – The Reminder
8. Interpol – Our Love To Admire
9. Iron and Wine – The Shepards Dog
10. Stars – In Our Bedroom After the War

Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

Film School – Hideout

Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond

The Frames – the Cost

Bright Eyes – Cassadaga

Black Francis – Blue Finger

Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara

Ted Leo R/X – Living with the Living

Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City

Shout Out Louds: Tonight I have to Leave It

Love it!

Film School: Hideout

Film School (the band) released their latest album, Hideout, last week. I’m still going through it to establish an opinion. I’m pretty certain I like it. It sounds an awful lot like The Cure, but that’s a good thing. Seems everyone wants to sound like The Cure these days. Hooray!

There aren’t any new videos from Hideout yet. Here’s 11:11 from last years self titled release:

Pretty blatant Cure rip off sound. Hooray again!!!!

New from Black Francis (Frank Black, whatever…): Bluefinger

 The dude is a legend no matter what he’s calling himself. I loved “Teenager of the Year” and “Frank Black”. “Bluefinger” is a return to the quirkiness that made The Pixies and Frank Black’s early solo albums so much fun.

“Bluefinger” is a rockin’ good time.

Roddy Woomble

Roddy Woomble, of Idlewild fame, released a solo album earlier this year entitled My Secret Is My Silence. It’s a real contender for The Figurehead’s top album of the year right now – it’s that good.

Here’s a video of Roddy and friends performing a laid back version of the title track:

It’s SCOTTISH!!!!!!

Ships passing in the night: The Figurehead vs. Modest Mouse and Band of Horses

The Figurehead and an entourage of indie rock lovin’ pals are seeing Monsieur Isaac Brock, Johnny Marr, and the rest of Modest Mouse along with Band of Horses tonight at the Ryman in Nashville. The Figurhead promises to behave (insert eye roll here).

 LETTERMAN APPEARANCES:

and Band of Horses….

 

Stars

I’ve become obsessed with this little Canadian indie band lately. I wanted to post a vid from the new album In Our Bedroom After the War, but I can’t find one online. So we’ll just go with a classic instead. Enjoy Your Ex-Lover is Dead from their previous release Set Yourself On Fire (don’t let the titles scare you away – also, don’t let the weird beginning of the vid scare you away either):

Best of 2007 (so far)

Half way through the year seems like a logical time to release our “Best of 2007 (so far)” list. I polled a group of five music lovers (including myself) – used a super secret scientific process to crunch the numbers to come up with our top 5 albums of 2007 (so far).

1. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

2. Interpol – Our Love to Admire

3. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger

4. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

5. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

New Ben Harper single – In the Colors

“In the Colors” from the forthcoming album Lifeline by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals.

Mrs. Figurhead and I will be seeing this live in Nashville on Sept. 12. Can’t wait.

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova at Sundance

This is one of several songs that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova contributed to the soundtrack of the film “Once”. I love this vid, because it’s so raw…Glen and Marketa standing in the snow with one guitar and their voices. I like to imagine myself standing there with them, hands tucked into my pockets, my nose red from the cold, just hanging out listening to two old friends.

You might remember Glen as the guitartist in the film “The Commitments”. Oh yeah, he’s also the lead singer of The Frames.

Flight of the Conchords

Thanks to BT for pointing out this hysterical new HBO show to me. These parts could have been played by the boys from WEEN.

Hysterical!

Dolores has hair

Remember this girl? Did you ever say “Hey, she looks pretty good – for a girl with a boy haircut. Wonder what she’d look like with long hair?”

Here ya go: (She’s back with a new solo effort that’s pretty darn good)

My Own Two Hands – Ben Harper

Also affectionantly know as “The Hands Song” by Izzy Figurehead. It’s her current favorite. Visit the new site at Triathletes For Africa.

Teaching her early

Izzy Figurehead, who is 3 years old, has always loved “silly songs” while we’re riding in the car or just bumming around the house. Her silly songs are normally Jimmy Buffett or Jack Johnson tunes. Lately though she’s been asking for what she calls “sweet songs”.

 In the last couple of weeks I’ve discovered that Izzy can sing every word of Bob Marley’s “One Love” and Ben Harpers “Better Way”. I’m a proud papa. She’ll know the cultural importance of what those songs mean before you know it. Hearing her singing “One Love” actually brought tears to my eyes.

Bob Marley – One Love

One Love!
One Heart!
Let’s get together and feel all right.
Hear the children cryin’
(One Love!);
Hear the children cryin’
(One Heart!),
Sayin’: give thanks and praise
to the Lord and I will feel all right;
Sayin’: let’s get together
and feel all right.
Wo wo-wo wo-wo!

Let them all pass all their dirty
remarks (One Love!);
There is one question
I’d really love to ask (One Heart!):
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner,
Who has hurt all mankind just
to save his own beliefs?

One Love! What about the one heart?
One Heart!
What about?
Let’s get together and feel all right
As it was in the beginning
(One Love!);
So shall it be in the end
(One Heart!),
All right!
Give thanks and praise to the Lord
and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together
and feel all right.
One more thing!

Let’s get together to fight
this Holy Armagiddyon (One Love!),
So when the Man comes there will be no,
no doom (One Song!).
Have pity on those whose
chances grows t’inner;
There ain’t no hiding place
from the Father of Creation.

Sayin’: One Love!
What about the One Heart?
(One Heart!)
What about the?
Let’s get together and feel all right.
I’m pleadin’ to mankind!
(One Love!);
Oh, Lord!
(One Heart)
Wo-ooh!

Give thanks and praise to the Lord
and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.
Give thanks and praise to the Lord
and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.

Arcade Fire + Once Upon a Time in the West

 Check out this fan video that blends Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage” with key scenes from the old western Once Upon a Time in the West. Sweet revenge!

Old guys rock: Dinosaur Jr.

Wow, do they ever look old? J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph still rock harder than most of these young pups today though. Here’s a vid from the new album Beyond.

I first saw Dinosaur Jr. back in 1991 (or ’92) touring in support of their Green Mind album. After a long hot day in the Lollapalooza Sun I thought my ears were bleeding as J. shredded that guitar into the night. Great memories! Great band.

A Quiet Weekend

I haven’t felt well lately, so Mrs. Figurehead and I sent Izzy Figurehead to my parents for the weekend. We spent a relatively quiet weekend at home and remembered how lonely it is not having a child in the house. The peace and quiet was welcomed, but being without your child is tough – even for a short period of time.

We actually watched a movie! That’s huge for us, because we never manage to find the time when Izzy is home. I spent hours with my nose in a book. We listened to some of the greatest music ever recorded. It was a quiet weekend.

The Movie: Blood Diamond

I’ve had war children on my heart for some time now, so I’ve been wanting to see this film. Blood Diamond takes you to 1999 Sierra Leone where a mercenary is looking for an enourmously valuable conflict diamond and a father desperately searchs for his son who has been abducted by the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) as a child soldier.

Mrs. Figurhead and I aren’t big jewelry people anyway, but this movie, combined with some research will likely keep us from purchasing diamonds. Although the G8 passed legislation in 2003 against the sale of conflict diamonds, there are still underground sources fueling bloody civil wars in Africa via the sale of these blood diamonds. Americans account for 2/3 of the worlds diamond consumption. There are still more than 300,000 children fighting wars. Are your diamonds worth it?

The book: Waking The Dead – The glory of a heart fully alive by John Eldredge

The Music: The Joshua Tree by U2 and Harvest Moon by Neil Young

The Rumble Strips

Thanks to my super talented artist/writer/musician friend Nathan for turning me onto this band. He’s always ahead of the curve….so far ahead in this instance that I can’t even find any Rumble Strips on itunes or emusic. Here are a couple of vids to enjoy:

Hate Me You Do

Alarm Clock

Faith and U2

 

A couple of weeks ago my mom called me on Sunday afternoon wanting to know if I had ever heard of a guy named “Beau-no…Bono…Boe-no…Bono?” I laughed a little and said “Yes, mom, I’ve heard of Bono.” I explained that I had been listening to U2 and Mr. Bono for nearly 20 years. I didn’t go into detail with her about it, but U2 played a huge role in my teenage years. The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and The Unforgettable Fire in particular comforted me and kept me company during those hard times that every unsure of himself teenager goes through.

I wrote about those albums on a previous blog of mine. Click HERE if interested.

Apparently, my parent’s church watched a 30 minute video about Bono that Sunday in church. It sounded like the usual stuff…Bono talking about the One campaign and about social responsibility in general. I think it’s great that a man spent so many years building a platform and is now using his fame and resources to make a difference in a culture  dominated by a “me-first” and “the rich get richer” mentality. Bono is using his voice to fight global poverty and AIDS. He’s bringing Africa to the attention of the rich with idle wealth. This is a poor kid from Ireland trying to change the world.

It’s not just my parents non denominational church that has taken notice of Bono and the music of U2. Episcopal churchs in particular are using the music of U2 to bring young people into the church. Is that a bad thing? Traditionalists might say yes. I believe its a good thing. However you can bring people to Jesus, short of bombing them into religious submission, you should do it.  U2′s music has been overtly religious in a secular industry for decades. It’s nice that people are starting to take notice.

Read this interview with Bono for more on his view of Jesus Christ and religion.

Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara

 

You guys know I’m a sucker for quiet folky introspective artists and albums. So, this glowing review of the Great Lake Swimmers new album Ongiara should come as no surprise.

Ongiara is my second GLS album. I bought Bodies and Minds a few months ago. Along with a couple of The Mountain Goats albums, Bodies and Minds has been my regular Saturday and Sunday morning fixing breakfast, making coffee, starring out the window, sketching pictures album. The things that make Bodies and Minds a perfect quiet time album are also present on Ongiara. That is to say, that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree on the new one. Tony Dekker’s voice still reverberates with hollowness that takes you to open landscapes where no one is in sight. There’s a bit more midtempo on Ongiara than on previous GLS releases, but don’t take that to mean this is a bright album by any means. There’s still bleakness afoot.

Great Lake Swimmers have always made habit of recording their albums in different settings – the first two albums recorded in an abandoned grain silo and a small lakeside church respectively. Oniagra carries on that tradition. The album title comes from the name of the boat the band took to Toronto Island for the recording of Ongiara.

April’s emusic bounty

Low – Things We Lost in the Fire

Watch: Whitetail

Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara

Watch: Backstage With The Modern Dancers

Question to Ponder

So, let’s say I have this friend. Okay? This guy has always had the same favorite band…as long as he can remember liking music (not counting when he loved Bon Jovi in elementary school). This guy, my friend, is wondering at what point does it become okay to have feelings for another band. Maybe even “those kind of feelings”; you know what I’m saying. If a guy has liked one band for nearly 20 years as his sole favorite how does he reconcile himself to the fact that another band might be just as good as his long time favorite? Should he categorize them as such: 1. my favorite band until age 30 2. My favorite band since? Which becomes the proverbial “all time favorite”?  

Help. My friend is really struggling with this question.

ps. You know what? I’ve already answered this question for myself. Just hang for a minute and listen to the crowd sing along on the first imbedded link. Wow. It’s still an interesting question though.

Great Lyrics #1: Mariner’s Revenge Song by The Decemberists

I’ll start this new feature with a Decemberists song since in some way I’m still paying my penance for having basically ignored the show last Thursday night.

This song is a perfect example of why I love the Decemberists. Colin Meloy writes songs that sweep you up into a story.

Mariners Revenge Song

We are two mariners
Our ships’ sole survivors
In this belly of a whale

Its ribs our ceiling beams
Its guts our carpeting
I guess we have some time to kill

You may not remember me
I was a child of three
And you, a lad of eighteen

But I remember you
And I will relate to you
How our histories interweave

At the time you were
A rake and a roustabout
Spending all your money
On the whores and hounds
Oh Ohhhhh

You had a charming air
All cheap and debonair
My widowed mother found so sweet

And so she took you in
Her sheets still warm with him
Now filled with filth and foul disease

As time wore on you proved
A debt-ridden drunken mess
Leaving my mother
A poor consumptive wretch
Oh Ohhhhh

And then you disappeared
Your gambling arrears
The only thing you left behind

And then the magistrate
Reclaimed our small estate
And my poor mother lost her mind

Then one day in spring
My dear sweet mother died
But before she did
I took her hand as she, dying, cried:
Oh Ohhhhh

“Find him, bind him
Tie him to a pole and break
His fingers to splinters
Drag him to a hole until he
Wakes up naked
Clawing at the ceiling
Of his grave
*sigh*”

It took me fifteen years
To swallow all my tears
Among the urchins in the street

Until a priory
Took pity and hired me
To keep their vestry nice and neat

But never once in the employ
Of these holy men
Did I ever once turn my mind
From the thought of revenge
Oh Ohhhhh

One night I overheard
The Prior exchanging words
With a penitent whaler from the sea

The captain of his ship
Who matched you toe to tip
Was known for wanton cruelty

The following day
I shipped to sea
With a privateer

And in the whistle
Of the wind
I could almost hear…
Oh Ohhhhh

“Find him, bind him
Tie him to a pole and break
His fingers to splinters
Drag him to a hole until he
Wakes up naked
Clawing at the ceiling
Of his grave“There is one thing I must say to you
As you sail across the sea
Always, your mother will watch over you
As you avenge this wicked deed”

[haunting, sailor-esque musical interlude lead by mandolin, accordion and tuba]

And then that fateful night
We had you in eye sight
After twenty months at sea

Your starboard flank abeam
I was getting my muskets clean
When came this rumbling from beneath

The ocean shook
The sky went black
And the captain quailed

And before us grew
The angry jaws
Of a giant whale

[instrumental noise]
Oh Ohhhhhhhhhh
[screaming]
Ohhhhh
[screaming]

Don’t know how I survived
The crew all was chewed alive
I must have slipped between his teeth

But, O! What providence!
What divine intelligence!
That you should survive
As well as me

It gives my heart
Great joy
To see your eyes fill with fear

So lean in close
And I will whisper
The last words you’ll hear
Ohh Ohhhhh
 

performing the song last Thursday here in Nashville. Somewhere in that crowd lurked the Figurehead.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Living With The Living

 

Those of you who have been reading the Figurehead for awhile know how I came to appreciate Mr. Leo’s band. For those who don’t know here’s a brief synopsis: went to ATL to see Death Cab for Cutie, hung out too long before the show and missed the opener comletely – Ted Leo + R/X, got home from the show and bought Shake the Sheets to find out what I missed, issued an open letter to Ted in apology on the Figurehead. Since then I’ve worn Shake The Sheets out. I love it. It’s pure Irish sounding punky pop. My wife says it sounds like 80′s soundtrack rock – that’s a good thing. So it was with much anticipation that I awaited Living With the Living.
I expected it to be one of my favorites of 2007. Sometimes in life though, there are disappointments – some minor some huge. Living With the Living qualifies as a minor disappointment. It’s good. I expected great. It has it’s moments as Ted is highly politically charged on this album. Son’s of Cain is Shake The Sheets material along with a few other tracks. The real difference between this and the previous release is that LWTL has a few real duds on it: Bomb.Repeat.Bomb is horrible. Memo to Ted: You guys aren’t Rage Against the Machine.

The final verdict:Living With the Living is better than the garbage you’ll hear on the radio. Hampton, get this album today and throw that Fall Out Boy rubbish out with the trash. Ted Leo is musical genius (of sorts). Don’t go into this album expected to be blown away though (unless you’ve been listening to Fall Out Boy). Remember this: GOOD NOT GREAT and in spots BAD (compared to previous work).

More Figurehead album reviews

Late Nights, Concerts, and Old Friends

I saw the Decemberists thursday night at City Hall in Nashville. I love the Decemberists. Theirs is a style of music that not everyone gets. That’s part of the reason why I like them so much. It feels like indie rock made by English majors for English majors. Each of their albums is like reading a old Dickens novel.

I met up with a group of buddies at 6:00 pm at Judge Beans for dinner. If you’ve never been to JB’s you’re missing out. It’s the best Texas style brisket this side of Texas itself. The concert doors opened at 7:00. Our plan was to get to the show by 9:00; assuming the Decemberists wouldn’t hit the stage until about 10:00. We hung out and spent most of the night recalling old high school and college stories. By 8:00 we were at 12th and Porter smoking cigars, still laughing about the old days. By this point I’m sure all of us would have just as soon stayed where we were and hung out. The show was losing it’s priority. We did make it though by about 9:15. The opening act was still on stage, so we made our way to the bar area. Surprisingly this was the only area of the room where there was any standing room. It was a young crowd.

Eventually the silence from the stage was broken (after the opener stopped), by the old Soviet National Athem. The entire room snapped to attention. “Is that the Soviet anthem?” someone said.
My buddy Tyler called my cell.

“Hey, you wanna know the set list?” he asked. Tyler is a talented photographer and was bellied up to the stage. Check out Tyler’s picks from the show by clicking the link above.

“Heck yes!,” I said. Tyler yelled through the cell phone. All I could make out was the opener: California One. Great song.

A couple of songs in one of my buddies spotted a familar face at the bar. It was a guy we lived with in the dorms – Shawn. We all went berserk. We hadn’t seen each other since 1995. Shawn apparently works for a beverage distributor. Bad/Good news. I’m pretty sure I didn’t hear another Decemberists song – other than as background noise the rest of the night. We spent the entire night reliving the past through more stories. After the show we went to a few more night spots before finally giving it up. I was home by 1:30am. That’s not that late, right? It’s all relative I suppose. I used to stay out until 3:30am when venues would turn all the lights on and force people to leave. These days 1:30am felt like 4:30am.

A night that was originally about seeing one of the few bands of this generation that matters, turned into a night more about old friends. The whole group were old MTSU guys from the early 90′s. I went to high school with a few of them too. The lessons: friends are important. Duh! Staying out late is for kids. Becoming more evident every day. The Decemberists are great – I think.

The Set List: California One, Crane Wife 3, The Island, Los Angeles I’m Yours, Legionnaires Lament, Crane Wife 1 & 2, As I Rise, O’Valencia, The Perfect Crime #2, Eli The Barrow Boy, The Mariners Revenge Song.

Why Robert Smith? and My Intervention

You guys know how shattered I was to hear that the mastermind of my favorite band of all time, The Cure, will be collaborating with Ashlee Simpson. Thanks to a few good friends I’ve been talked down from the “proverbial ledge”. Here’s how the email intervention went:

Figurehead:

WHY?????!!!!!!! WHY????!!!!!!!!!!

Colbey, we need a PUNK night!

Jim Bob (yes that’s his real name):

What the CRAP??!!

The Figurehead:

Seriously!!!!! I’m done with them. First they play with KORN and now Ashlee Simpson. I knew the writing was on the wall with “Friday I’m in Love” years ago.

I should have put Joshua Tree as my #1 album of all time! At least Bono isn’t performing with Ashlee Simpson.

Jim Bob:

Done with them??? You need to check it fo’ you wreck it. Bono might as well bring a pulpit on stage with him these days..lest we also forget that he (not in collaboration) came up with Discotechque and other lovely tunes. So, pee on your “should have put Joshua Tree..blah blah blah.” Sometimes in a marriage,
Figurehead, your spouse will do something out of character and crazy. Consider this Robert’s midlife crisis. Also consider the punk fundamentalist soapbox you have been on the last couple of weeks and at least admit that you could be overreacting a bit.

Figurehead: Bobby, c’mon dude…ASHLEE SIMPSON!!!!!!!!!!! Just think about that for a minute: ASHLEE SIMPSON. I’ll remember the good times with Robert and with Bono too for that matter. Let’s just hope that someday Ben Gibbard (Death Cab) and Colin Meloy (Decemberists) don’t go that direction with their music. You know what scares the crap out of me? What would Kurt be doing musically these days if he were alive??? Would he suck? Who knows. Is Michael Stipe still cool?

The Cure needs to release a “Disentegration”-esque album to redeem themselves in my mind.

BT:

I felt the same way when Michael Stipe (and REM) teamed up with KRS -1 to do “Radio Song” and to open up one of the greatest albums of all time (Out of Time) with it none the least!

Plus…Michael teamed up with Mandy Moore a few years back for the Brian Wilson classic “God Only Knows”.

Jim Bob:

Finally a voice of reason coming from the vicinity of
Nashville. Why don’t we wait and judge the merits of the collaboration before we start proclaiming that certain artist aren’t our favorites anymore. Yes, I get it. It’s Ashlee Simpson. That sucks big ones, but how do you know that Ashlee didn’t promise to get Jason Cooper a date with Jessica if they do it? Slow your roll before it’s too late

Figurehead:

True. I panic when it comes to The Cure.

Colbey R (the Zombie):

At least we have this:

Danzig Digs Into Archives for “Lost Tracks”

(actual text witheld by the Figurehead)

This might make you feel better (streaming video and audio):

THE CURE FESTIVAL 2005: fascination street, just like heaven, never enough, etc

If you see me…please kill me.

It’s true. It’s true. I’ve seen this coming since “Friday I’m in Love”. I can’t even express how embarrassed I feel for my former favorite band of all time. Why Robert? WHY???

WHY????

What happened to bands that mean something?

I promise I’m almost done with my recent binge of punk/hardcore/straight-edge posts, but I have to share (at least) one more. I found this vid today for the first time.

Fugazi in 1991, the same year I saw them in Nashville, playing at what appears to be a rally ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE WHITE HOUSE. Love it. Where are the bands that matter today? There’s something more powerful about an underground band challenging the government than when pop bands do it (see Green Day, Dixie Chicks, etc.)

I went to see Fugazi wearing a tshirt, ripped blue jeans, and combat boots. I left with one leg of those blue jeans completely missing from the thigh down, no shirt, and the boots. I got to see my buddy Nathan go swinging into a crowd of skinheads. He took a beating (left with a boot print on his chest), but it was darn funny.

This vid looks more like the show I was at. I actually thought it WAS my show at first – very similar set up. I’m remember thinking how cool it was to be onstage beside Ian MacKaye, even if it was just for a few seconds before diving head first into the melee again. It’s a great memory! I felt like I was a part of something serious and real. The kind of stuff the regular kids had no idea about. No worries mom and dad, I made home alright that night.

Hardcore Punk Documentary: “American Hardcore”

BT hooked me up with this dvd yesterday, so I immediately took it home and watched it. I’ve been in this hardcore mode lately, so seeing the old school bands again fueled my fire. I was enthralled while watching the old performances by Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SSD, DRI, etc. Hearing the guys who lived it talk about was great too. 

Favorite segments includes: Rollins fighting with a guy in the audience while on stage, Ian MacKaye talking about the “Straight Edge” movement.

These were hard times. The scene wasn’t nice; in fact, it was the polar opposite of the hippie movement of the 60′s. It was violent, angry, and disenfranchised. Alot of these kids were runaways, homeless, or from broken homes. They fought each other. The individual scenes were likened to today’s street gangs. They fought the police. They fought Ronald Reagan. Something as intense as the american hardcore scene couldn’t last though, so by 1986 it was dead.

It’s a good documentary if you just want a taste of the era. There were too many omissions though. I kept waiting for segments on the Dead Kennedy’s and the Misfits, but they were never even mentioned.

Gimme Gimme Gimme MORE (footage, official site)

Buy it

Songs that shaped your world view

There are some people, like The Figurehead, who have been music fanatics throughout their lives. For people like me, music has played a vital role in shaping my world view. Sounds rediculous, right? In some cases that’s true.  I personally don’t give a darn about what the Dixie Chicks or Dave Matthews think about domestic and world affairs. I’m not talking about getting my politics from an out of touch musician here. I’m talking about songs that have stuck in your conscience through the years. Those songs that have shaped your opinion about something – something you’ve considered closely, and only then decided that you did agree with what that particular song said to you. I also lump songs into this category that didn’t necessarily shape an opinion in you, but carry some weight in your pantheon of moving songs anyway.

Here’s a quick list of songs that I recall having an effect upon me a teenager and young adult.

Suburban Home by The Descendents: To this very day, when our society’s “keeping up the Jones” epidemic starts to sicken me I go back to this song. “I want to be stereotyped. I want to be classified. I want to be a clone. I want a Suburban home.”

Merchandise by Fugazi: 10 years or more before I knew anything about Dave Ramsey, Ian MacKaye taught me about debt’s strangle hold on society: “Merchandise, it keeps us in line. Common sense say’s its by design. You are not what you own.”

New Years Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2: I could list a dozen or more U2 songs that mean something to me. This is the first one that gripped me though. It taught me that bands that weren’t overtly punk could have a social conscience as well.

Only the Young – Journey, Change – John Waite, Lunatic Fringe – Red Rider: All of these songs appeared on the Vision Quest soundtrack. To this day, I break out into a sweat when I hear Only the Young, tears fill my eyes when I hear Change, and I go into a trance when I hear Lunatic Fringe. I’d rather not explain all the reasons, but if you know me you already know why.

This list could go on forever. I’m more interested in hearing about the songs that made a dent in your lives, my Figureheads.

A few  more of the Figureheads for good measure: Come as you Are by Nirvana, Rise Above by Black Flag, One Love by Bob Marley, The Captain and the Kid by Jimmy Buffett.

Today and The Formative Years

Something’s been eating away at me for a few weeks. There has been an angst stirring within me that I haven’t felt in long time. Every woman driving an SUV yakking on a cell phone, every slob stuffing a Big Mac in his face while sneering at me while I’m on my bike/running, every 30 something yuppie faking it…it’s made me angry. I feel myself becoming like them – well, I’m not becoming a woman in an suv, but you get the point. I swore as a kid I’d never be what I hated. I didn’t know what that meant. I suppose I don’t know now either.

I’m not the sort of soft English/Art/Philosophy degree holder (although I do hold the English degree and for a single semester I was an Art major) that believes that anger is evil and best suppressed. How we act upon that anger is what defines us, because ultimately we can’t avoid it altogether. In my life I’ve found two refuges: writing and physically draining sports (wrestling/hockey/triathlon). I’ve been coping with my angst lately by writing again. I’m always running or hitting a heavy bag.

I haven’t posted in a few days, because I knew this post was coming. Over the weekend I bought new tires for Mrs. Figurehead’s car and today I found out that I’ll be buying a new central air unit. I wanted to smash something. Instead, I took a dose of reality; I went home a little early, skipped my workout, and hugged my wife and daughter. Two sides to being an adult – the harsh realities of struggling to get ahead while life constantly tugs you towards the bottom of the lake and the beauty of having a family who loves you even on your bad days.

So Henry, I’m with ya buddy. But Figurehead, we dont’ know what you’re talking about man. Some days are meant for understanding where you came from, the proverbial “formative years”. Some days I still wanna be Henry in this Black Flag vid:

One Man’s Ipod: Volume 4

 

Today’s shuffle:

Sons and Daughters - The Decemberists

The Unforgettable Fire - U2

Survive – Jimmy Buffett

Mr. Jones - Counting Crows

All The Passengers - Elf Power

Ticket to Immortality - The Dears

Can You Feel It - Apples in Stereo

Shadows – Yo La Tengo

Bubble Toes - Jack Johnson

Snail – Smashing Pumpkins

Volumes 1, 2, and 3

Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

 

I’ve been waiting on this one for some time and I’m not disappointed.  Isaac Brock’s quirky yelps and mid lyric freak outs still take center stage here. There are a few more melody’s than the old school Modest Mouse fan base is used to, but that isn’t a bad thing. It’s called evolution friends. Granted, I’ve only been on the Modest Mouse bus since The Moon and Antarctica (which was genius), but I don’t see this band sliding backwards since they signed with a major label for that record.  Good News for People Who Love Bad News was solid – ah what the heck…it was great too.

 We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank is rollicking seafaring adventure with a madman. Call it a trip with Captain Ahab across a modern rock sea.

More.

March’s emusic bounty

Here’s what The Figurehead downloaded this month from emusic. So far so good on all accounts.

The Frames – The Cost - Sounds like: an irish Widespread Panic meets U2/Coldplay

Youth Group – Casino Twilight Dogs – Sounds like: The Shins (exactly like The Shins)

Elf Power – A Dream in Sound - Sounds like: Yo La Tengo and Modest Mouse meet The Flaming Lips

The Dears – Gang of Losers - Sounds like: The Smiths on a sunny day

Arcade Fire: Neon Bible

It’s been a solid week now since I got my hands on Arcade Fire’s 2nd album and highly anticipated release “Neon Bible”. Sure, we all thought “Funeral” was about as close to perfection as an indie band could come. It was a masterpiece of brooding-thumping-melancholy floating on images of loss and regret like the ghost of your insane great uncle. “Neon Bible” is better. That’s right…you heard me….”Neon Bible” is better, darker, more mysterious, more dangerous.

Understand this, The Figurehead believes that Jesus Christ died for my sins. My family is Christ centered. Now, with that said, since adolescence I’ve always kept my distance from “religion”. While in certain places and circumstances organized religion is sincere and meaningful, there are other places and circumstances in which it is not. It’s the distance seperating those that keeps me at arms length and those who need God’s peace from seeking it. When non believers look at our lives do they see our God or our religion? “Neon Bible” explores these ideas and delivers a slap in the face for those who need it. I love wake up calls for those who are sleep walking through their belief systems.

If you don’t have this album get it today!

Neon Bible

Buy It

One Man’s Ipod: Volume 3

Today’s shuffle results (our 3rd installment):

The Well and the Lighthouse – Arcade Fire

Hunting For Witches – Bloc Party

Omaha – Counting Crows

Shanty For The Arethusa – Decemberists

Why’d You Want to Live Here – Death Cab For Cutie

Ballad of Spider John – Jimmy Buffett

Volume 1, Volume 2

Adam Arcuragi: Yes, The Figurehead always needs more music to relax to.

I’m checking out this guys latest eponymous release these days. Thanks to the always wise and knowledgeable Senor Borquez for the recommendation. He’s reminding me alot of The Great Lakes Swimmers (a Figurehead favorite!).

“As many of this era’s best singer/songwriters to take cover behind band name aliases (i.e. Palace, Songs: Ohia, Iron & Wine, Bright Eyes), it’s become more of statement when a songwriter sets out with his real name. For Adam Arcuragi, hiding behind an alias would contradict the nature of his songs – distinct epics that are simultaneously personal, sensitive, intense, and subtle. Arcuragi’s debut full-lengthis an introduction to a bright new lyricist who combines the icy-melancholy of Red House Painters or Mark Lanegan, with the classic Americanism of Tom Petty or Bob Dylan, the sincerity of Elliott Smith or Damien Jurado, and the sophisticated use of words typical of the Mountain Goats or Neutral Milk Hotel. His unique form of free-flowing, introspective lyrics and compelling harmonies are certain to win fans from appreciators of bands like My Morning Jacket and the Shins.”

Sample the Goods