Nu Rave Brain Wave

Happy July 4th all my fellow Americans! I’m currently holed up in the dried up cornhusk that America came from, and I gotta say it’s kind of weird spending my first ever July 4th away from America. This year I will not be having any hot dogs (a tragedy of the highest order) nor will I watch any Cholo’s shooting fireworks out of like, cannons in the street in Culver City. But I decided to throw together this eclectic mixture of songs that remind me of the 4th of July, Summer and ridiculousness. Enjoy, over eat and set shit on fire. It’s what the forefathers wanted us to do.

01 Animal Collective – Fireworks
02 These New Puritans – Fire
03 Heavy Hawaii – Suicide Summer (Early Version)
04 King Tuff – She’s On Fire
05 Bo Diddley – Fireball
06 Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan – Ring of Fire
07 Mazes – Summer Hits Or J Plus J Don’t Like
08 Sauna Youth – Teenage Summer
09 Pavement – Summer Baby (7″ Version)
10 The Sundays – Summertime
11 Beach Boys – Kokomo
12 LFO – Summer Girls

mp3: NRBW x July 4th Mixtape

It’s finally that time, y’all and we’ll start rolling out all our end of year coverage and this year we’re starting with my top 10 gigs of the year. I saw a lot of great music this year, and practically no shitty music, which I think is a decided improvement upon 2009′s showing. 2010 brought me to shows in four states, two countries, seven cities and while my list features predominantly California bands, not one of my favorite shows of this year happened in Los Angeles. Here’s to the greatness of 2010 and the probability that 2011 will put it all to shame:

10 The Entrance Band @ Red 7, Austin, TX | March 18, 2010

Crazy acid rain haze Friday of SXSW ended with a smoky, incendiary set that did half justice to anything Jimi Hendrix started and that’s probably the best compliment I could give. Real psychy.

mp3 | The Entrance Band - Lookout!

09 The Jim Jones Revue @ Komedia Downstairs, Brighton, UK | October 6, 2010

A too-small-for-them, but, perfect-for-the-gig room echoing with real, dirty, sweaty, down home blues rock with spastic keys and the most magnetic front-man I’ve seen in, well, maybe ever. Older dudes showing us young kids how to fucking do it.

mp3 | The Jim Jones Revue - Hey Hey Hey Hey

08 Pavement @ The Fox Theatre, Pomona, CA | April 15, 2010

Pavement. Two hours. Three encores. Everything I wanted to hear except ‘Harness Your Hopes’. Does anything more need to be said?

mp3 | Pavement - Shady Layne (LIVE EUROPATURNÉN MCMXCVII)

07 The Soft Pack @ The Freebutt, Brighton, UK | February 14, 2010

Some of LA’s best garage rippers came to Brighton to brighten (pun intended) the most horrible day of the year and cemented in my mind the fact that they get tighter and catchier every time I see them.

mp3 | The Soft Pack - C\'Mon

06 Happy Birthday, Residual Echoes @ Tin Can Ale House, San Diego, CA | August 10, 2010

Tiny bar on a beautiful San Diego night, 30 people jumping madly for some of the best pop songs of the entire year. Best Happy Birthday show of the year. Subliminal Message!

mp3 | Happy Birthday - Subliminal Message

05 The Strange Boys @ Emo’s Jr., Austin, TX | March 17, 2010

Was a little nervous about hearing material from the 2nd album, which is definitely a grower — The Strange Boys wowed me as usual, converting me to a fan of Be Brave, and played the best material off their perfect first album. Also, this was one of the greatest dance parties I’ve ever had in my life to ‘Woe Is You And Me’.

mp3 | The Strange Boys - Woe Is You & Me

04 Happy Birthday, Fergus & Geronimo, Sex Beet, Thee Oh Sees @ Santos Party House, New York, NYC | September 20, 2010

Gig that wins the award for furthest traveled to see. Fergus & Geronimo were a bit meh, but still have at least two excellent songs; Happy Birthday ripped through some of the most underrated, gold pop songs. Sex Beet converted the sizable crowd of their first ever US show with their noisy and fuzzy as fuck jams that refuse to leave my head. And Thee Oh Sees. Hardest working, if not best live, garage band on the planet ruled the night playing fast and furious through tons of their best.

mp3 | Happy Birthday - 2 Shy
mp3 | Fergus & Geronimo - Girls With English Accents
mp3 | Sex Beet - Stay
mp3 | Thee Oh Sees - Mega-feast

03 The Black Lips @ Village Underground, London, UK | October 29, 2010

Typical crazy Black Lips show featuring a rowdy moshpit, tons of shoving and about a million stage invasions causing the PA to be turned off atleast once. London’s hipsters couldn’t even manage to be a blight upon the Black Lips though, as their countrified new material was the star of the show.

mp3 | Black Lips - Best Napkin I Ever Had

02 tUnE-yArDs @ The Freebutt, Brighton, UK | February 9, 2010

There’s not many gigs where I know nothing of the artist, and end up walking up the wrong stairwell, grinning because of the fantastic showing. tUnE-yArDs wowed Brighton with her simulatenously tender and incredibly powerful voice, altogether homegrown brilliance, and intense and utter modesty. It was moving stuff.

mp3 | tUnE-yArDs - News

01 The Growlers @ Kung Fu Saloon | March 19, 2010

Even on the coldest day of South By, the Growlers set the brick patio of Kung Fu Saloon on fire after a spectacular 5 other showings at SXSW. ‘Sea Lion Goth Blues’, ‘Underneath Our Palms Blues’, ‘Mean People Suck’, fistpumping party, ski ball and cheap ass rum and cokes made this the only 12/10 showing of the entire year, cementing the Growlers are my absolute favorite band in the world.

mp3 | The Growlers - Drinkin The Juice Blues

Photo Courtesy of | Matthew Nedbalsky

Um, so thanks to a good buddy of mine, Clara, I got to see Pavement last Thursday at the Summer Stage in Central Park as a part of those gigs they announced 1+ year ago. And let me just say. It was fucking amazing!!!! That’s all. More on my NYC concert adventures later.

mp3 | Pavement - Shady Layne (LIVE EUROPATURNÉN MCMXCVII)

Photo Courtesy of | Sam Millen

The 2nd of October is a special day every year. Ghandi and Nat Turner were born on this day. Peanuts was first published on this day. But most importantly, it was the day I was born. And this year, I’m going to be celebrating 22 full years on this earth. Honestly, I never thought I’d make it this far, but I did! This all said, I think October 2nd is going to be one of the best days for live music all year. Don’t believe me? Look whats on:

• Matador 21 will be taking over the Palms to present Pavement, Sonic Youth, Harlem,Kurt Vile and more over this surely Lost Weekend. Tickets are long sold out, but it’s sure to be one of the craziest weekends of music all year.
• Scion, Vice, and Garage bands all over the world are bringing some of the best up-and-comers and current buzzbands are bringing themselves out of the basement and into Laurence, KS for another Scion Garage Fest on October 2nd for a small, free, 21+ festival. The fest will bring Happy Birthday, Best Coast, King Khan & The Shrines, The Oh Sees, Cloud Nothings and Sex Beet to your grateful, waiting ears. And best of all, all you have to do is RSVP. Oh and get to Laurence.
• Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band will overtake the Greek Theatre in Los Feliz with uber special guests: RZA, tUnE-yArDs and Lady Gaga on October 2nd. Pick up tickets before they sell out ASAP.

Um, where will I be? Probably some dismal pub in cold, fucking England.

mp3 | Best Coast - Boyfriend
mp3 | Pavement - Shady Layne (LIVE EUROPATURNÉN MCMXCVII)
mp3 | Happy Birthday - 2 Shy

Matador has announced the initial lineup for their 21st birthday party. In addition to the reunited GBV (“the classic ’93 – ’96 lineup”), it also features Pavement, Sonic Youth, Belle & Sebastian, Spoon, Cat Power, Yo La Tengo, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the New Pornographers, Girls, Superchunk, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Guitar Wolf, Fucked Up, Shearwater, Harlem, Cold Cave, Kurt Vile, Jeffrey Joe Jenson, and more to be announced. The folks behind FYF Fest are producing the show. WHEW!

No tickets/pre-sale have been announced yet, but we’ll keep you updated and find a way to be at this show SINCE IT’S ON MY BIRTHDAY.

From our homies at Pitchfork, this is amazing news: The idea of Stephen Malkmus and Beck working on music in a studio together– trading jokes nobody else understands, reminiscing about the 1990s, emitting lethal doses of nonchalant cool– is the stuff of alt-rock dreams. Until now. Because that shit actually happened.

Originally mentioned in a Mojo article and confirmed by Matador, Malkmus and his band the Jicks recorded with Beck earlier this year. (Via Fluxblog.) But, thanks to Malkmus’s 2010 commitments with some other band, the fruits of the collaboration probably won’t be heard until next year, according to the label. So try to pace your excitement on this one.

DOWNLOAD -> Pavement - Shady Layne (LIVE EUROPATURNÉN MCMXCVII)

So the other day, I had the opportunity to see Pavement at the lovely Fox Theatre in beautiful Pomona… j/k guys, Pomona sucks and the Fox Theatre is worse than the Wiltern except with free parking. Who gives you shit about sealed beef jerkey? I was hungry damnit. Anyway, Pavement…

BRILLIANT!!!!!

According to the folks over at The L.A. Times, it looks like Pavement will be making a return to Los Angeles in the fall after their performance at Coachella this weekend. Pavement is set to take on the Hollywood Bowl on Thursday, September 30th. Tickets for Pavement are said to go on sale May 2nd through Ticketmaster. We will get you further info on the show as it’s revealed.

1. Gold Soundz
2. Frontwards
3. Mellow Jazz Docent
4. Stereo
5. In The Mouth A Desert
6. Two States
7. Cut Your Hair
8. Shady Lane / J vs. S
9. Here
10. Unfair
11. Grounded
12. Summer Babe (Winter Version)
13. Range Life
14. Date w/ IKEA
15. Debris Slide
16. Shoot The Singer (1 Sick Verse)
17. Spit On A Stranger
18. Heaven Is A Truck
19. Trigger Cut / Wounded-Kite At :17
20. Embassy Row
21. Box Elder
22. Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence
23. Fight This Generation

Pavement’s ‘Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement’ will be out on March 9th, 2010 through Matador/Domino…. Go get it!