Guerilla Toss

Here's a new track from New York's noisy psychedelic punk band Guerilla Toss.  "Psychosis Is Just a Number" was produced by Stephen Malkmus and mixed by Jorge Elbrecht, and it's a wild and frenetic trip.  Listen below and download it here from Sub Pop.

Daily Jam - In the Mouth a Desert

If I were forced to pick my absolute favorite personality from the early 90’s alt-rock boom, nine times out of ten, I would probably go with Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus. The sardonic front man certainly had a way with words throughout Pavement’s five-LP run and his own solo efforts, a sharp wit and an often bitingly sarcastic tone poking fun at just how ridiculous it all is. And anyone who could and continues to inspire that much ire from a ghoul like Billy Corgan with one throwaway line in a song that's three decades old now is deserving of adulation and applause.

But before all of that was his debut, Pavement’s 1992 album Slanted and Enchanted, and the wonderful song “In the Mouth a Desert.” The song has always felt like a kind of abstract testament to the music scenes of the time, a sneering, jabbing distaste for the mainstream, or maybe even towards some of his own underground peers. The de-tuned, yet dark and melodic tone of it casts long shadows over everything, a glaring critique from an artist who’s probably smarter than everybody else. Or it could be about abstaining from reconciliation after a quarrel with a lover. Or it could just be an ode to societal and cultural malaise in general. Or maybe it’s about how awful Billy Corgan is. It’s not that last one, but it sure would make me laugh if it were.

Pavement never really sold a lot of records or broke into the cultural lexicon the way some other bands of the era did, but their influence is inescapable. They were one of those groups that inspired other people to make music, myself included, every one of us striving to make something as good as “In the Mouth a Desert.”

But failing miserably.

“It’s what I want.”

Daily Jam - Grounded

It's Pavement time.  Here's "Grounded," our Daily Jam.

Lightning Dust

Lightning Dust is the duo of Amber Webber and Josh Wells, formerly of Black Mountain.  The pair create a kind of psych rock that pulls from folk, classic rock, and prog.  Check out "A Pretty Picture," featuring Stephen Malkmus on guitar, below and download the new "Spectre" album here from Western Vinyl.

Stephen Malkmus - Viktor Borgia

So, Stephen Malkmus has an electronic album coming out in March, a prospect i would swear was some kind of joke until hearing first single "Viktor Borgia."  The upcoming "Groove Denied" is not so much a boom-chigga-boom kind of thing as it is an homage to the early electronic music coming out of Germany in the 1970s.  Analog synthesizers, drum machines, and modulators make for a veritable motorik krautrock affair, and weirdly, it suits Malkmus, mixing that sound with his penchant for quirky hooks and sardonic wit.  Watch the video for "Viktor Borgia" below and get the LP from Matador in March.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

Unfortunately, i never got to see Pavement perform.  Like so many other groups i grew up listening to and being influenced by, they called it quits before i ever got to attend a concert.  And that sucks, BUT, i did get to see Stephen Malkmus perform with The Jicks way way back in 2001 when the artist released his first post-Pavement record.  And he was fantastic, as sardonic and insightful as he's always been...and continues to be.  Malkmus's latest record with The Jicks, "Sparkle Hard," came out a couple of days ago, and is another excellent addition to his ever expanding catalog.  Get it from Matador and watch the video of a stripped down, solo acoustic take of the record's first single "Middle America."