Currently comprised of Adam Gross (guitar and vocals), former frontman of Indianapolis-based band Amo Joy; former Amo Joy bandmate, Ben Leslie (bass); former Raw McCartney member Rachel Enneking (keys); and Gross’ wife Melanie Rau (bass), […]
Category: punk rock
As a Queens native, The Ramones have a very special place in my heart — I’ve walked on the streets that young Joey, Tommy, Dee Dee and Johnny walked on as a teenagers and young men and in some way or another I’m intimately familiar with many of the places they’ve referenced in their songs. Hell, if you grew up in Queens, I’d bet that you probably spent some part of your summer on Rockaway Beach, and it gives “Rockaway Beach,” a deeply personal feel. In any case, more than enough ink has been spilled on how influential the band had been to both punk rock, rock and other genres throughout the band’s run and their lives — and more than enough ink has been spilled on what arguably may be one of their best known songs “I Wanna Be Sedated.”
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year or so, you may be familiar with New York-based singer/songwriter Sylvia Gordon, best known in the music world as Sylvia Black. (To avoid deeper confusion, I’ll refer to Gordon as her musical pseudonym, Sylvia Black from this point forward.) Black has received international attention for her time as the frontwoman of electro-pop outfit K.U.D.U., and for collaborations with The Black Eyed Peas, Moby, William Orbit, Kelis, Spank Rock, The Knocks and Telepopmusik, among others. Over the past year, Black has received attention both here and across the blogosphere performing and recording under the moniker and alter ego Betty Black. Interestingly with her alter ego, Sylvia Black’s sound is a decided departure from her previously recorded work as it generally draws from garage rock, Southern gothic blues, Spaghetti Western soundtracks and atmospheric electronics while thematically the material explores love, lust, longing and obsession — and in a fashion that’s darkly seductive.
As a special holiday treat, Black is gifting one of the most interesting and unique covers of The Ramones’ mega-hit “I Wanna Be Sedated” that I’ve ever heard. Featuring a gorgeous Burt Bacharach/pop standard-like arrangement of horns, strings, vibraphone and upright bass Black’s rendition is decadently opulent and sensual, while sounding as though it were recorded under the influence of Quaaludes and/or Xanax that makes it trippy — and evokes the dreamy sensation of being sedated. There are a couple things that make Black’s rendition so interesting to me: it manages to radically change the song’s tempo and tone without distorting or removing the song’s essence; but it also makes a long-forgotten connection between 50s and 60s pop that had been such a major influence on Joey Ramone and company.
Check out how Betty Black’s version radically differs from the original below.
Black has a series of upcoming live dates including a residency at Happy Ending every Wednesday in January as Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge, The project will continue what Happy Ending is best known for — putting a lounge lizard/exotica spin on rock and post-punk classics along with originals. Check out dates below.
Live Dates
12/21 NYC, NY @ Pinks (Betty Black & Cullers)
12/22 NYC, NY @ Leftfield ((Betty Black & Cullers)
12/28 NYC, NY @ Elvis Guesthouse (Betty Black DJ set)
1/6 NYC, NY @ Happy Ending (Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge)
1/13 NYC, NY @ Happy Ending (Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge)
1/20 NYC, NY @ Happy Ending (Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge)
1/27 NYC, NY @ Happy Ending (Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge)
2/7 Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint (Betty Black & Cullers)
2/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Resident (Betty Black & Cullers)
With the release of their first two albums, the Seaside, CA-based quartet Burnt Palms, comprised of Riley (guitar and vocals), Clara Nieto (drums and vocals), Brian Dela Cruz (bass) and Joshua Vasquez, have been compared favorably to the likes of Dum Dum Girls, All Girl Summer Fun Band and Heavenly as their sound paired garage rock guitar chords with Riley’s ethereal vocals. However, with the forthcoming release of the band’s third full-length effort, Back on My Way, the Seaside, CA-based quartet has gone through a decided change of sonic direction with the band pairing indie pop melodies with thrash punk-like rhythms as you’ll hear on “Fold,” the brash and and snotty new single off the band the album.
Listening to the song reminds me of catching punk bands at the old Acme Underground, the Continental, Coney Island High, Brownies and countless other small, dank rooms across the city — but interestingly enough, the song possesses a bittersweetness that gives the song a snarling bite.
New Video: Metz’s Furious Video for “Spit You Out”
Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years, you may be familiar with Toronto-based trio Metz. With the release of their 2012 self-titled debut through Sub Pop Records, the trio received both national […]
Featuring former and current members of Grotto, The Hidden Chord, Rolling Blackouts (they have to win a best band name of the year award, right?), Bombay Sweets, Zoo Animal and Ghostmouth, punk quartet Ripper comprised of Jeff Brown (drums), Sean Chaucer Levine (guitar), Danny Holden (vocals, guitar) and Noah Paster (bass, vocals) joined forces to write and play 2-3 minute punk rock songs influenced by Dead Kennedys, The Germs, Sonic Youth and The Beach Boys with a furious, breakneck abandon.
The quartet’s second EP A.D. is slated for a December 4 release through Land Ski Records and Lawn Chair Records, and the EP’s latest single. which I have the pleasure of premiering, “Chain Fight” clocks in at a furious and breakneck 65 seconds of blistering guitar chords, layers upon layers of feedback, thundering drums and shouted lyrics. Listening to the track should make you want to jump into a mosh pit and stomp out.
New Video: The Giraffes’ Behind-the-Scenes Video for “Blood Will Run”
Although they’ve gone through a number of lineup changes over the years, the NYC-based quartet The Giraffes have a long-held reputation for a brutally intense live show since their formation back in 1996. And as […]
Over the past year or so, Memphis, TN-based quartet Nots and their Stateside label home Goner Records have become JOVM mainstays as I’ve written quite a bit about both the band and their label; in fact, Goner Records have quickly established themselves as the label home to some of the country’s best hardcore punk and hard rock bands, as they have been the label home to the likes of Ex Cult, whose Midnight Passenger and Cigarette Machine EP have been two of the best (and angriest) punk albums I’ve heard in about 5 years, OBN IIIs who have released several albums of swaggering power chord party rock in the vein of early AC/DC, the late Jay Reatard and several others. And with the release of their debut effort, We Are Nots, the Memphis-based quartet comprised of Natalie Hoffman (guitar) and Charlotte Watson (drums), Madison Farmer (bass) and Alexandra Eastburn (synths) started to receive national attention for material that sounds as though it owes a debt to the 60s era garage rock, punk and new wave – but with a frenetic, unhinged and very visceral feel. Personally, I think the Memphis-based quartet’s debut effort should have received much more attention as their sound and aesthetic can be compared favorably to The Fall, Bikini Kill, Protomartyr, The B52s and others.
Renowned British indie label Heavenly Records licensed Nots’ We Are Nots and are releasing the effort across the UK on the 20th. The quartet will touring across the UK and the Ehe European Union to support the British/EU release of their debut effort — and to further celebrate the British/EU release of We Are Nots, the band in concert with Heavenly Records released a 7 inch of non-album material featuring “Shelf Life” as a B side to their latest single “Virgin Mary.”
“Shelf Life” is a messy, murky, lo-fi garage psych rock song comprised of relentless, chugging guitar chords, propulsive drumming, layers of distortion and feedback and shouted vocals that rushes in and out in a breakneck 1:43. And although the song kick ass, it manages to reveal a band that’s subtly and playfully expanding their sound while remaining familiar.
New Video: The Raw and Bluesy Sound of London’s The Boy From The Crowd
Comprised of Vinny Piana (guitar and vocals) and Vegas Ivy (drums and percussion), the London-based duo The Boy From The Crowd have developed a reputation across the UK for a sound that draws from a […]
Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past 6-8 weeks, you may have come across a post or two about the Austin, TX-based quartet VIDEO. The band which features members Bad Sports, Wiccans, Radioactivity and The Wax Museums have developed a local and national reputation for being pioneers of a genre that they’ve dubbed “Hate Wave,” which possesses elements of punk rock, hard rock and melodic dissonance. In other words, their sound is loud and absolutely furious.
The band’s latest full-length effort, The Entertainers is slated for an October 30 release through Jack White‘s Third Man Records, and the album’s first single “New Immortals,” was a scorching thrash punk song with a sneering, in-your-face because we don’t give a fuck about anything vibe. The album’s latest single “Shackles” sounds as though its drawing from The Sex Pistols “Pretty Vacant” and Public Image, Ltd. as the song consist of slashing, angular guitar chords, propulsive drumming and shouted call and response vocals paired with the same we don’t give a fuck about anything vibe of the album’s first single, complete with a bitter, snarling irony. And if it doesn’t inspire a sweaty mosh pit in a dark club, there’s something deeply wrong with the world we live in.
Featuring members of Bad Sports, Wiccans, Radioactivity and The Wax Museums among others, the Austin, TX-based quartet VIDEO have quickly developed a reputation for a sound that posses elements of punk rock, hard rock and melodic dissonance; in fact, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past few months, VIDEO may be familiar, as the members of the band consider themselves the pioneers of a new subgenre, which they’ve dubbed “Hate Wave.”
The band’s latest full-length effort, The Entertainers is slated for an October 30 release through Jack White‘s Third Man Records and as I’ve mentioned you might remember that I’ve written about the album’s first single “New Immortals,” a scorching, trash punk song with a sneering, in-your-face because we don’t give a fuck about anything vibe. The band initially released “New Immortals” as a 7 inch with the latest single, a live recording of “Nothing Lasts Forever.” Clocking in at a little under 90 seconds, the song is a furious, nasty and noisy bit of trash punk that kicks ass, takes names and sounds a though it would incite a furious mosh pit — or a riot.
New Video: Check Out the Dark, Unsettling and Psychedelic Video for Nots’ “Reactor”
Naturally, when most people think of Memphis, TN and of its vibrant music scene, they would probably name-check a number of that city’s soul, funk, hip-hop and country acts that have called Memphis home. However, over the […]
Live Footage: METZ on Seattle’s KEXP
With the release of their self-titled debut effort in 2012, the Toronto-based trio Metz received both national and international attention for a sound that may remind listeners to Bleach and In Utereo-era Nirvana, A Place to Bury Strangers and Japandroids as their material is […]