Category: Miscellaneous

Random sh*t we don’t know where else to put

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Concert Preview Miscellaneous

LOLLA-land: the immaculate birth and rebirth of Lollapalooza as told by MTV

Paramount+ and MTV Poster for "LOLLA: The Story of Lollapalooza"

I am a firm believer that 95% of festivals are no longer cool.

The market is oversaturated, the bar for small bands is too low and the commodification and democratization of stardom has made big bands seem blasé.

Plainly stated, music doesn’t feel important any more.

I’m not seeing many, if any, baby bands that feel like they’re going to set the world on fire – and I am certainly not seeing many big artists that will go down in the annals of history.

And festivals feel the same.

Coachella is a ‘wannabe influencer’ petri dish, Reading & Leeds have pop acts gracing their stages and Glastonbury is now Coachella with more mud.

And worst of all, there’s Lollapalooza…

What was once a haven for everything alternative has become yet another destination, Coachella-lite festival.

But it wasn’t always that way – once, it was a bright, shining beacon of transgression in a sea of country-club, khaki approved pop.

MTV Time Machine

Streaming on Paramount+, “LOLLA: The story of Lollapalooza” charts the rise, fall, and rebirth of Lollapalooza from Perry Farrell’s Glastonbury inspired dream to the multi-million dollar Chicago festival.

It’s a long and bumpy ride that stretches from equipment frying heatwaves that enraged a baby-faced Trent Reznor to stuffed shirt meetings to introduce collaboration with the Austin City Limits team.

But narratively aside, the footage of yesterday’s Lolla was what I fell in love with.

From Body Count to Ben Folds Five, the early days and death knells of Lollapalooza were diligently captured by MTV camera crews and Fans alike.

I grew up hearing my dad’s Lolla-land adventures from the 90s, a former festival devotee, and I so badly wanted to step foot in that sea.

And while time travel certainly isn’t an option, it was an option to sit down and watch this with him – courtesy commentary provided.

We’ve all seen the videos of Eddie Vedder monkey bar-ing it across the stage, but it’s different to see that video with live feedback from your old man who was there.

So, not only did I get my trip in the way back machine, I got to know a little bit more about my dad during his 20-something-ne’er-do-well heyday.

Speaking of Dads…

Jane’s Addiction comes to Red Hat:

2024 Tour Poster for Jane’s Addiction supported by Love and Rockets, from Live Nation

Do you have a reformed alternative parent?

Does said parent need a kick in the ass to remember they’re still alive?

Do you have the music taste of a middle-aged man?

If so, I have wonderful news for you:

In what I can only describe as an alt-rock wet dream, Jane’s Addiction’s original line up of Perry Ferrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins are returning to the stage supported by Love and Rockets.

So, if you’re looking to kill time on a Tuesday Night with your Ma and/or Pops, watching them revert back to whatever college delinquents they were, this is the show for you.

Besides, what’s more rock-n-roll than ignoring the looming 9-5 Wednesday morning wake-up call to go to a show?

Live a little, Live loud – Bodhi.

Categories
Concert Review Festival Coverage Miscellaneous Music News and Interviews

Outlaw Music Festival 2024: Cheers to the Old Gods and the New.

We’re witnessing the musical changing of the guard and it could not be a more excitingly bittersweet time to love music.

The 2024 line-up for the Outlaw Music Festival was nothing short of legendary rolling into Raleigh’s Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek; Celisse, Alisson Krause & Robert Plant, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson all taking the stage.

But as best laid plans are apt to do, the line up fell through.

The danger, you see, is in relying on octo- and nonagenarians for your entertainment is the general precarity of old age.

Friday, June 21st Willie Nelson’s team released a statement announcing the country singer’s departure from four of the ensuing tour dates due to medical concerns.

In his place, son Lukas Nelson and the Nelson Family Band stepped in with an abridged tribute set.

But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to let the younger Nelson take the stage in his father’s wake.

If anything, it reaffirmed what we already knew about Willie’s songs — they’re timeless country-western staples for a reason.

And more importantly, Lukas Nelson is far too talented to stay in his father’s shadow.

Freed from the albatross of an elderly father, Nelson’s voice quite literally soared through the shortened tribute set – simply put, he sounded like his father for a new age.

Waffling between original compositions and Willie-standards, Nelson was able to effortlessly bridge the divide between new fans and old, bouncing between the soulful growl present on Promise of The Real track “Find Yourself” to his father’s signature warble on songs like “Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain.”

Speaking of soul, I would be remiss not to mention one of the freshest faces amongst the lineup: Celisse.

The Oakland born singer and guitarist easily won over unsure and unfamiliar audiences with more than just sweet talk and charm, she won them over with her sound.

Bombastic in every sense of the word, her belt and her shred equally silenced the normally rowdy “lawnies” of Coastal Credit Union – her cover of Bill Withers’ “Use Me” met with earthshaking applause and shouts.

For a woman who has been making music for well over a decade, touring as supporting acts for some of the biggest acts in folk and easy listening rock both old and new – Brandi Carlisle and Joni Mitchell, to name a few – I have a sneaking suspicion that Outlaw Music Festival is only the beginning of her just desserts.

So yes, Bob Dylan and Robert Plant were once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list artists to see, but perhaps more importantly, I walked away with not just hope, but a feverish excitement to see what the next wave of Americana, Soul and whatever-the-hell-else-you-want-to-call-it will be.

Long story short, it is sad to see the old god’s fade away, but my god, I cannot wait to see the nebulous eruptions of the new.

– Bodhi

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Band/Artist Profile Concert Review Miscellaneous Music News and Interviews

Justin Timberlake and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

Photo by Saad Chaudhry on Unsplash

Oh, Justin Timberlake.

It’s been a rough year or so hasn’t it, bud?

From Brittany’s slightly dubious tell all to an ill-fated romp in the Hamptons, he’s has had a tough go of it as of late.

And my, what a sight to see.

Celebrity implosions, especially of such long standing figures, are always a spectacle – but I’ve yet to see one that reeks of desperation quite like Timberlake’s.

From the hallowed halls of the Mickey Mouse Club to Gen X thirst trap World Tours, Timberlake has a knack for keeping himself in the spotlight.

For better or worse, the common man has a half-baked notion of what — or rather, who — he is.

But there’s something that feels different about this latest scandal.

Perhaps it’s because I had the pleasure of seeing him at PNC Arena a week before his DUI.

Or maybe it’s the comical coverage of the incident — considering the pouty celebrity mugshot, perp walk and the beautifully oblivious cop making the arrest.

Either way you spin it, there’s something distinctly and pitifully funny about Timberlake’s snafu.

Rockstars and rappers go through their own legal issues and brushes with the law, but when it happens to a pop star, people pay attention.

Even more so to someone of Timberlake’s caliber.

For people 35 and over, he’s been a tried and true standard for a large part of American pop-culture.

From childhood to adulthood, he’s been a prominent spotlight feature, and he’s desperately grasping at the edge of the stage as he’s being played out.

As far as the soundscape of popular culture goes, he’s by and far left behind.

His stage show proves it to, sadly: asses really only left seats for old standards like “Sexy Back,” “Suit and Tie” and “Cry Me A River” — even more so for the throwback reliant DJ opener.

Not to besmirch the opening band, but there’s something wrong with your act if more people are amped for a DJ playing the dancehall classics of yesterday than your set.

Consistently, he’s released albums every four to five years since 2002. Yet, his sound hardly changes.

Since he’s left NSYNC, the only evolution I can truly see is a semi-annual media scandal of either infidelity or inebriation.

When your entire career is based upon the affection of young girls, what happens when those girls grow up?

What happens when you grow up?

Somewhere within the pandering, paltry pastiche of the “Forget Tomorrow” world tour and the relatively tame release “Everything I Thought I Was,” you’ll find the answer.

It was a good show, don’t get me wrong.

Justin Timberlake is an entertainer first and foremost, to which he most certainly delivered.

But as the times catch up with the now 43-year old, fading pop star, the whirling dervish of past and present controversy seems to loom large over him.

From Britney to Janet, inebriation, infidelity and unknown world tours, perhaps Timberlake should take to the mirror himself and truly reckon with his next steps.

Because let’s be fair, humoring an aging audience in flights of fantasy feels like a desperate cash-grab preying on the hardwired need of women past a certain age to feel relevant — to feel important.

In a world where artists are more accessible than ever, feeling more real than ever, the thin line between artifice and artistry has never been more apparent.

And artists who are unwilling to step beyond their predestined imagery are not only doing their audiences a disservice, they are doing one to themselves.

The official “Mirrors” music video from Justin Timberlake’s official YouTube Vevo page.

-Bodhi

Categories
Miscellaneous Music Education

“Burning Down the Haus:” Punk Rock, Revolution and the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Oppression is a funny thing, but then again so are humans – the more your press and restrain a spirit, the stronger it grows.

East Berlin was no different.

Pirate Radio blossoms across the airwaves, ringing throughout the darkened corners of tenements and squats – The Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, The Clash, Buzzcocks, and Ian Drury burst through the wall with a blast of pure, unadulterated adrenaline.

It was a shockwave to the restricted, highly controlled world of the DDR, a select group of kids saw their break in the clouds to build a new reality from the ground – or rather, boots up.

Beyond adopting the leather, studs and ‘can-do’ d.i.y. spirit of the movement, these kids began to form bands – circulating outside contraband and inside underground paraphernalia within a loosely organized, but painfully tightknit community across the DDR far beyond East Berlin.

Tim Mohr chronicles the burgeoning punk movement within the DDR from the first girl to spike her hair to the fall of the wall and the birth of Krautrock through “Burning Down the Haus.”

More than glimpse behind the Iron Curtain, Mohr paints a moving portrait of rebellion and reinvention in life or death situations, a revelation spurred on by chains and spikes.

When I first read this post, I wasn’t in a really good place; I was struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to find the drive to keep pushing forward in a world that feels exceedingly futile. In many ways, this book helped me see beauty in the human experience again.

These kids were angry, and rightfully so, but they found hope for a better world within their anger.

They turned that anger into action, they turned life itself into an act of defiance.

These young punks weren’t just surviving the impossible, they made an active choice to live in the face of inscrutable danger.

Beyond the music, beyond the fashion, beyond the shows and squats that’s what stuck with me long after reading – and I hope it will stick with you too.

For those of you looking for an auditory companion to the listening experience, the “Too Much Future” compilation album of DDR punk from 1980-1989 is what I found most aligned with the reading.

Be forewarned, the material is explicit…but if you’re expecting kisses from grandma on a punk album, I can’t help you.

– Bodhi

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Miscellaneous Playlists

Reel-to-Reel Presents: “Club Paradise”

Official Music Video for “Ape Man” by The Kinks from YouTube.

Because it looms large over this movie, we’re getting it out of the way right now: I miss Robin Williams, too.

Released in 1986, “Club Paradise” is an incredibly fun and equally incredibly cynical film, despite what critical reception may suggest.

Trailer for “Club Paradise” from YouTube.

Directed by Harold Ramis and written alongside Brian Doyle-Murray, “Club Paradise” follows retired Chicago fire fighter Jack Moniker in his attempts to turn a seedy club in a troubled former banana republic into a destination resort.

Supporting William’s wayward fireman is Jimmy Cliff as Ernest Reed, the reggae-singing bandleader of the club, and Peter O’Toole as the former colonial governor of the island.

With Cliff and O’Toole acting as relative “straight men” against the unfettered energy of Williams, the three are released upon an equally chaotic supporting cast of vacationers including the likes of Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Andrea Martin and Twiggy.

“Club Paradise” by Jimmy Cliff from YouTube

With the film being so openly on “Island Time,” the soundtrack revels in reggae and reggae-inspired rock, especially leaning on the talents of the under-appreciated Jimmy Cliff.

With songs written for the film, namely the titular “Club Paradise,” Cliff’s crooning is written into the film as musical numbers within the club.

Beyond the delectably ’80s reggae, the film also pulls from a variety of Caribbean acts like The Mighty Sparrow from Grenada but also more colonial influences from England with Elvis Costello and The Kinks.

“Seven Day Weekend” by Elvis Costello & The Attractions and Jimmy Cliff from YouTube

While there is most certainly a deeper socio-economic analysis you could do of the film’s politics around rejuvenating a downtrodden island, and the smell of neocolonialism lingers around every corner, that’s really not the point of the film — it’s a fun movie set in a pretty location.

We all know the real motive behind the film — a paid vacation on a tropical island and a tax write off — but that’s alright with me.

So turn off your brain and take a mental vacation to Club Paradise — you won’t regret it.

Reel-to-Reel airs every Friday starting at 8 a.m. only on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1, Raleigh, NC.

No man is an island – Bodhi

Categories
Miscellaneous Music Education Non-Music News

Shaken Nerves and Rattled Brains – “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind”

Jerry Lee Lewis sitting at his piano at a tilted back angle with a foot propped against the keys.
Poster for "Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind" directed by Ethan Coen

Every rockstar has their peccadillos and predilections, but very few have eclipsed the trouble conjured by Jerry Lee Lewis.

From drunken rages, pill-induced furies, mysterious deaths and all around rambunctious activity — Jerry Lee Lewis was a man possessed — in every sense of the word.

Released in 2022, “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind” presents Ethan Coen’s attempt at reconciling the man’s frankly tricky legacy with his indelible, foundational rock and roll.

A scant 73-minutes long, the documentary is entirely comprised of archival material: television footage, photographs and recordings all championing the wild man of rock. In other words, it’s one hell of a highlight reel.

Beyond the obligatory 70s Johnny Carson appearances, Coen keeps the private and intimate life of the Lewis house just that — private.

There’s no mass-reckoning with the man behind the piano and there’s no unmasking of “Killer” — it’s a portrait of Jerry Lee Lewis as the piano shaking, party making pioneer — no more and no less.

Honestly, I expected more from Coen on his solo debut, a tricky story told by a filmmaker who seems to revel in the trick.

The juxtaposition between the sane and insane — or rather, the insane and mundane — that makes the Coen Brothers’ films so enticing is noticeably absent in this first-person portrayal of Lewis’ meteoric rise, fall and unlikely return from the ashes time and time again.

If anything, Coen seems to pull his punches towards Lewis, falling back on the routine excuse: “It was a different time.”

In conversation surrounding the scandalous marriage to 13-year-old cousin Myra Brown, Coen and his team seemingly absolve Lewis of fault.

By the age of 22, Lewis had already been married twice, the first of which happening just after his sixteenth birthday.

While there’s no blanket statement absolving Lewis of his sins, the inclusion of the factoid is eyebrow-raising in comparison to his child bride.

Similarly, his notorious temper is treated with similar grace; a violent feud with Elvis boils down to nothing more than career misgivings and undo praise no different than Little Richard and James Brown with no mention of Lewis’ drunken threat to shoot Presley while on a visit to Graceland.

Similarly, one of the many incidents of gun violence against his band members is only mentioned in a brief talk show appearance and largely written off as just another legendary quirk.

For a man of such scandalous, tabloid-type character, Coen seems to skirt much of it for reason’s I’m not quite sure of.

It’s a good film and a highly entertaining watch, but that’s where the buck stops with “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind.”

Coen isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel or run a mass expose on Lewis; he’s simply spotlighting the tour-de-force of the pioneering rocker.

For fans willing to brush aside their personal quibbles and those who are new to the spectacle of Jerry Lee Lewis, Coen’s documentary is a wonderful, cursory glance at the life of a legend.

– Bodhi

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Miscellaneous New Album Review

Two Incredibly Creative Rock EPs Made for Summer

Photo by Ibrahim Rifath on Unsplash

As summer’s warm and enthralling climate draws people outside, so does their willingness to switch up our habits. One thing I like to switch up is my music, saying goodbye to The Moon & Antarctica and hello to Sunbather.

Today, I present to you two of my favorite lighting-in-a-bottle rock projects released over the past months that I will definitely be having in my rotation this summer. Both of these projects expand out rock genre in ways I would have never imagined, and they do it with ease.

“Connla’s Well” by Maruja

Over the past year, Manchester post-punk band Maruja have made themselves ever present in the underground music scene with their debut EP, “Knocknarea”. With their tight, abrasive and poetic sound, the band has taken over Brixton’s rock scene at the Windmill. “Connla’s Well” is a second out-of-the-park home run for the group.

“Connla’s Well” feels like an extremely intense massage. Each aggressive drum hit or intense saxophone lick feels like a hot stone, gaining satisfaction through the pain. The soaring vocals cut through the mix, beating muscles and cartilage into a pulp. By the end, it might be the most relaxed you could ever feel.

One thing that I absolutely love about “Connla’s Well” and Maruja as a band is how much they play with momentum in a song. Through carefully layering their vibrating guitar and saxophone like they do on “The Invisible Man”, they can seamlessly make their riffs grow into a flaming asteroid hurling across the galaxy at breakneck speeds.

Maruja’s Alto Saxophonist, Joe Carroll, stated an interview by God Is In The TV, that their sound is influenced a lot by the freedom of funk, reggae, and jazz. And even through the thick and tortured sound, you can definitely make out a lot of that beauty. This is wildly apparent in the closer “Resisting Resistance”.

Overall, “Connla’s Well” is a heavy, brutal, yet gorgeous work of art that you will not regret checking out.

“Twice Around the Sun” by Ugly (UK)

Six-piece Cambridge band Ugly create an incredibly unique experience on their latest project, “Twice Around the Sun.” The project combines styles of choral singing, modern post-rock and 60s and 70s folk, creating a real rural, barnyard feel to the entire project. One of the really standout parts of this project is that all of the songs start really innocent, but grow to monstrous proportions throughout.

The first song, “The Wheel”, is a great example of their amazing progression. The song starts with some cute group singing, with light percussion and strings in the background. This may be a strange comparison, but this part feels like I am having a picnic with all the drawings I made in kindergarten. But then there’s an abrupt and loud halt in the momentum and the beat completely switches up. Now, it sounds like TOOL got a hold of these twangy instruments and are summoning a portal to the underworld with this psychedelic groove. It all feels so natural too, which makes it even more impressive.

This EP has some of the best synergy I have heard between members in quite a long time. All of the choral sections, guitar, and percussion all feel like one driving unit in this music. It really ends up making creating such a powerful noise after it all.

One of my favorite songs off of this EP though has to be “I’m Happy You’re Here”. It really takes its time and grows to such giant and beautiful heights. The harmonies are incredible, the end hook feels like you are waltzing on air into the clouds. It is definitely a strong contender of my song of they year.

Ugly’s “Twice Around the Sun” is one of the most interesting little pieces of music you could get your hands on this year, with a perfect vibe to enjoy throughout this pleasant, hot summer.

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Miscellaneous

All The Things She Said: the Aftermath of t.A.T.u

Julia Volkova and Lena Katina of t.A.T.u. "Tatu" by User:NatureBoyMD is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Julia Volkova and Lena Katina of t.A.T.u. "Tatu" by User:NatureBoyMD is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

My discovery of this strange story begins with Morrissey. 

One day, scrolling through twitter, I came across a screenshot of an interview with the prolific frontman of The Smiths.

Continue reading “All The Things She Said: the Aftermath of t.A.T.u”
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Miscellaneous

Yeule Breathes Life Into Their “Anthems” Cover

Yeule’s album cover for their cover of “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl,”
Yeule’s album cover for their cover of “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl,”

It seems strange that a twenty-two year old song could suddenly feel new again.  

In 2002, the Canadian band Broken Social Scene released their album “Anthems.” One of their most persisting and remembered tracks is “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl.”

The whole song is like high school condensed into a sweet four minute and thirty-one seconds, a sort of hazy, harmonizer-pitched dream, backed by beautiful, transcendent violins.

And, of course, that impossibly catchy riff: Park that car. Drop that phone. Sleep on the floor. Dream about me. 

Continue reading “Yeule Breathes Life Into Their “Anthems” Cover”
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Miscellaneous Playlists

Reel-to-Reel Presents: “Bull Durham”

Spring has sprung.

The sun is shining, the grass is green, and that, good people of WKNC only means one thing; Bodhi needs to go to a baseball game.

It’s a chronic condition at this point, the moment I get a whiff of 70 degree weather, I need a cold beer in hand and my butt in a stadium seat.

Lucky for me, we’ve got hometown (adjacent) heroes just a stones throw away from campus that made it into silver screen history.

What Do You Believe In? The Church of Baseball

Written and directed by Ron Shelton, “Bull Durham” brings a fictionalized version of real life minor league darlings, the Durham Bulls, to the big screen with Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.

Released in 1988, the film predominantly follows baseball-groupie Annie Savoy and her tug of war between green gilled, neophyte pitcher, Ebby Calvin ‘Nuke’ LaBoosh and 12-year minor league veteran Crash Davis.

Every season, the aptly named Annie – an “Annie” is shorthand for a baseball groupie – picks an upstart from the team who needs a little extra loving and coaches them up in the bedroom and the ballpark.

And say what you will, Costner’s brand of rough-n-tumble, all-American everyman makes a home run every time.

“Bull Durham” 1988 trailer from MGM YouTube.

To match Costner’s homegrown, heartland charm, the film pulls from straight to the heart Americana-boogie rock like The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Los Lobos and John Fogerty.

As such, Reel-to-Reel is headed to the ballpark with our very own, 80s smalltown juke joint set.

Bodhi’s Best:

Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Dr. John.

In the old American sport, if there’s one song you best play at the ballpark, it’s this one; one short ditty to get the crowd rollicking as the bats crack.

More so, John’s cover comes from a Ken Burns docu-series chronicling the rise of the sport from gentleman’s hobby to national past time, giving a pedigree to the film’s basis.

Because beyond dugouts, curveballs and garter-belts, “Bull Durham” is about one woman’s love of the sport and how she reignites that in two very different men; the jaded Crash and the naive Nuke.

Sure, she uses her feminine wiles to coach Nuke up to his true potential as a pitcher and reignites Crash’s passion for the sport that washed him out…but beyond the sex and romance, she loves the game.

So why not start with the song we all know and all sing from the cheap seats? For the love of the game.

“Take Me out to the Ballgame” by Dr. John from YouTube.

I Drove All Night by Cyndi Lauper

I am not ashamed to say, the first time I saw “Bull Durham,” far too young I might add, I thought it was set in the fifties.

Now obviously that was a massive misjudgment on my part -Annie Savoy uses a speed-gun to hunt prospects for Christ’s sake – because the film is contemporarily set in the year before it’s release, 1987.

That being said, I love a good trend cycle and “eighties goes fifties” is one of my favorites; big skirts, curled hair, petticoats and pegged jeans all jumped from Mom’s photo album to your closet.

As such, the quasi-rockabilly reminiscence colored my interaction with the film and how I approached this set.

With the film being Annie’s story (fight me on it), I wanted to have a commanding female presence in the romantic sense present within my playlist.

Originally written for Roy Orbison in the 70s, recorded in the 80s, and posthumously released in the 90s, “I Drove All Night” is a perfectly saccharine teeny-bopper pop hit in the late-50s/early-60s tradition.

But, with Lauper at the helm it takes on a whole new level by putting female agency at center stage; no longer the pursued girl waiting in her bedroom, she’s the one at the wheel taking off into the night for her lover.

For a film like “Bull Durham,” where an older woman controls the dynamics of every scene she’s in, I can’t help but feel this would’ve made it’s way into Annie’s tape deck at some point in time.

Cyndi Lauper’s “I Drove All Night” music video from YouTube.

But that my friends is just a tease of what I cooked up for your listening pleasure; an hour-and-a-half of good old jukebox rock to bring you centerfield with Crash, Nuke and Annie.

Reel-to-Reel airs every Friday starting at 8 a.m. only on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1, Raleigh, NC.

Avoid the Clap…wait, wrong baseball movie – Bodhi