Pitchfork In Review - Friday

So I am incredibly behind in my blogging, but to make it up here's something on all the rad stuff I saw at this year's Pitchfork Fest.

The first set was Mission of Burma performing their seminal masterpiece "Vs." Of the three performances, this is the one I most anticipated and, coincidentally, the one that I felt was the best. "Vs" was an album that's been with me since sophomore year of high school and I still listen to it regularly almost 4 years later - I was not at all disappointed. Miller, Prescott, and Conley (Weston on the boards as well of course) straight raged through the set, playing some rad B-sides from the album (included on the right-before Matador reissue, which I have posted below) to warm up before launching headlong into the bounce and fury of "Secrets." And despite their power and astute tight professionalism, they really gave an attendee the feeling that they were humbled and honored that they had been elevated to Classic status. That, and the fact that they forgot the order of the album and joked about it, blaming the fans for not correcting them when they started, made theirs the set of the night for me.
Mission of Burma - Vs.
http://www.mediafire.com/?mcc4jswbetx


Next up, Sebadoh performed "Bubble and Scrape." I have been a Sebadoh fan for some time, but never really gave this album much of a listen until a few weeks before the festival to prepare. I must say, I feel that "III" is a better album and kind of wish that they had been asked to perform that one. At any rate, they offered a by-and-large solid show, and although the momentum was slowed by constant between-song retuning and banter, you got the feeling that the guys (at least Lou and Jason, Gaffney kind of came off as bored or annoyed, which isn't really surprising) were having a good time and very thankful for the honor of an ATP catering. Lou made the valuable point that he couldn't understand why they were performing after MoB, who they idolized (against pleas not to) to as kids, which I kind of agreed with, but getting to hear "Homemade" live was too cool to continue harping on about minor complaints.
Sebadoh - Bubble and Scrape
http://www.mediafire.com/?modxnzvwtc2

Last, but certainly not least, was the mighty Public Enemy and "It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back." Despite, what I felt, was relatively bad mixing at times, the album came through strong, and Chuck D and Flav straight killed their parts. They also played alot of PE classics at the end of the album set, which was great to hear, but honestly, by that time I was so exhausted from touring Chicago and moving at the earlier sets that I just lay on the ground and enjoyed them from afar. Added bonus: the Bomb Squad warming the crowd up with some dub-heavy beats. Certainly one of the strongest performances of the weekend, but what did you expect? I can't say much more, the material and personalities involved speak for themselves.
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
http://www.mediafire.com/?n30tzlt0tff

I'll give my Saturday report in a few days, be sure to check back in.

Moonwatching

The great advantage of living near Record and Tape Exchange in Fairfax is that I can walk in once a week and have a whole new set of decisions to make as to where my money will go. This past week, the great find was a copy of "Selenography" by Rachel's. Granted, I am a sucker for anything released on Touch and Go / Quarterstick, but "Selenography" is still a magnificent pull because it is unlike anything else I listen to.
This is my first Rachel's album, so a brief intro: Rachel's is a sort of musical collective (as I understand it) from the Louisville scene that have stretched the whole post-rock concept to the point where most of the time, you feel like you are listening to WETA after a night of heavy drinking. Most of these pieces (I'm not sure "songs" is appropriate) are structured around a basic acoustic guitar / piano / violin setup, ornamented by other strings, sounds, and percussion for swells of movement or texture. This setup, of course, is destined to be fragmented by the very premise of the group. "Kentucky Nocturne" resembles a vision of the Old South, starting out like a fingerpicked front-porch ditty and becoming the sort of thing that would move a Reconstruction plantation house party. This is followed by "Honeysuckle Suite," which begins with sweeping harpsichord and fleshes out into a full-blown Baroquesque beeswarm - followed by "Artemisia," a vibraphone'd trip-hop lucid dream complete with a Mogwai answering machine message playing over it.
Yeah, sure, the whole postmodern post-rock thing is played out and probably not all that missed outside the realm of true believers, but this is the perfect soundtrack to a sticky summer evening of sitting on a porch, having a smoke, and reading Flann O'Brien. So check it out if any of that sounds at all appealing to you.

Rachel's: Selenography
http://www.mediafire.com/?pa2jdnv5gzm

It's Always So Goddamn Hot...

The Northern Virginia summer is cruel and unrelenting. The humidity makes the air too thick to actually breathe, and with temperatures only increasing by the day, this problem will only get more severe through July and August. However, we Northern Virginia drivers who are too cheap to use air conditioning in our cars are not without resource and respite - we have Dre and Snoop. Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" and Snoop (Doggy) Dogg's "Doggystyle" are the way we have to cope with these inhospitable conditions as we plow through stop signs on our way to work or blast down the Fairfax County Parkway.
They've have already been praised and discussed to death, but I have tried to spend my summer reexamining these albums and their hazy brilliance. There really is nothing like G-Funk for making your shoulders drop back in your car seat and your hand to find its way to the 12 on your wheel, and "The Chronic" made all of this possible. What I've learned from my study this summer, though, is that I feel that "Doggystle" is the superior album.
Nothing against "The Chronic" of course, but when it comes down to it, I feel the beats are stronger on "Doggystle," as if Dre used "The Chronic" to introduce the style and "Doggystyle" to perfect it. Think of it like this, if it makes it any easier - Drive Like Jehu's self titled album introduced their brand of mathy noise hardcore, but "Yank Crime" hits more viscerally and drops your gut on the floor as it grinds through your skull more perfectly (possibly a future article of these masterpieces). "The Chronic" is the thesis statement of G-Funk, "Doggystyle" is the body of evidence.
The other advantage is that "Doggystyle" is Snoop's album. No one, absolutely no one, sounds better than Snoop on the G-Funk thickcreep, and while all over "The Chronic," the focus is on him on his technical solo debut. Dre and the Dogg Pound / Death Row cew are all good rappers, but Snoop is a timeless original, as everyone should know. Plus, "Doggystyle," is, in plain terms, just more fun. Try to listen to Snoop's ultra-smooth take "Lodi Dodi" and not smile or straight laugh over something.

So check the rhyme and make your own call:


Dr. Dre - The Chronic
http://www.mediafire.com/?fw3ljyj533m


Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
http://www.mediafire.com/?o2vmslvz9w5