SOUNDTRACK: BATTLES-Live from Chicago (2007).
This is the very rare online soundtrack that I am actually listening to as I type this. My friend Lar sent me a link to the concert, and since I’m at home with a computer with speakers instead of my silent “work world” I can actually enjoy the tunes. I’d never heard of this band, and upon reading up, I see that the drummer is from Helmet, and one of the other guys is from Don Caballero. Its very noisy and math rock-y. Very, very cool and unorthodox. Thank you, Lar. I’ll definitely be checking these guys out some more!
[ACTION: Today] I went to BEA today. It was simultaneously over- and underwhelming. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Greatest Hits (1987) & ROGUES GALLERY (2006).
RHEOSTATICS-Greatest Hits: I first found out about the Rheostatics many many years ago on a driving trip to Niagara Falls & Toronto. I bought Introducing Happiness and really liked their weird sensibilities. They don’t really sound like anyone else (except perhaps one or two of Neil Young’s phases); whether it’s Martin Tielli’s alto voice, the meandering guitar work, or the harmonies of Bidini and Vesely, the Rheostatics are uniquely them.
SOUNDTRACK: TOM WAITS-Orphans (Bastards) (2006).
This is the piece de resistance of the Orphans set. All of the really, really weird songs by Waits get thrown together on this disc. Weird and wonderful, including a crazy cover of “Heigh Ho” from Snow White. 
SOUNDTRACK: CHAVEZ-Better Days Will Haunt You (2006).
I first fell in love with Chavez when I saw a video for their song “Break Up Your Band.” I loved the video, and loved the music. And, I basically became of fan of them because of this video, which I think I must have seen on 120 Minutes, way back when. Turns out that my memory of this video is the equivalent of my memory of Good Omens (cf. Good Omens). The video is on the DVD that comes with this collection, and wow, I don’t recall the video looking like that at all! Huh, clearly I am an unreliable narrator.
I Just Read About That... 