Swissted: Vintage Rock Posters Remixed and Reimagined

Gig poster art has been adored by some for years. DIY album art and concert announcements have been collected by some smarty-pants hoarders since punk exploded. But Swissted: Vintage Rock Posters Remixed and Reimagined by Mike Joyce is the first book I have seen that lovingly remakes posters of punk, indie and alternative artist concert posters and turns them into something entirely different. Like covering a song and transforming it so that it is unrecognizable, Joyce turns gig posters into wholly new works of art. Instead of freaky or bizarre art designed to shock, confuse, or generally stop a viewer in his/her tracks, Joyce revisits posters using a Swiss modernist design. No black and white photocopies here, we're talkin' bright, primary colours, clean, lower-case band names, and clarity over colour. No artist pics, no album covers, no extraneous exhortations or slogans, just 200 perforated ready-to-frame posters featuring everyone from Alice in Chains to Bad Brains to Nirvana to Yo La Tengo to The Zeros. Wow.


Buy the book here.

Alice in Chains

 

Bad Religion

 

Breeders

 

Dickies

 

Dinosaur Jr

 

Gang of Four

 

Guided by Voices

 

Helmet

 

Husker Du

 

Lemonheads

 

Mudhoney

 

Rancid

 

Sonic Youth

 

Superchunk

 

Swans

Check out Mik Joyce's Swissted site here, buy the book here. Buy the book here.

Hüsker Dü : the story of the noise-pop pioneers who launched modern rock by Andrew Earles

Today I woke up and listened to Husker Du's Celebrated Summer. Just finished reading Hüsker Dü : the Story of the Noise-pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock by Andrew Earles. It's a pretty straightforward account from a writer who spoke to Grant Hart and Greg Norton but never interviewed Bob Mould, probably because he was writing his own book. As you might guess from the title of the book, the author spends a lot of his words making the argument that Husker Du was indirectly and indirectly responsible for shaping modern rock/college rock/alternative rock as we know it. I think he makes his point pretty clearly. It's not a gossipy, scandalous, rumour-mongering account, Earles has worked hard to try to stay away from sensationalism and focus on reality. For a guy who was too young to see the band live, Earle has created an edifying, entertaining piece of quality rock journalism.

Husker Du - Celebrated Summer by Draconian Age Music

Hüsker Dü - Never Talking To You Again by Nadir Hassan

Every Everything - Husker Du - Flip Your Wig by bluepumpkin aka antennica

Husker du diane by ybstatusquo

Chartered Trips - Hüsker Dü by chrisleoni

Hüsker Dü - Somewhere by user7714452

Husker Du's influence is clear from the countless covers newer artists have recorded. Here's a few.

13 - Nitrominds - Husker Du - Something I learned Today by nitrominds

Never Talking to You Again (Husker Du cover) by stRts

The Better Half of Husker Dü EP - "Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" + Alternate Version by thespacebetweenthings

Celebrated Summer (Orig. Hüsker Dü) by disasteradio

Upset Noise - It's Not Funny Anymore husker du cover by theinflated

Bob Mould Covers Sugar, Decemberists Also Cover Sugar, and Bob Mould's Autobiography Sheds a Little Light

I just finished racing through Bob Mould's autobiography, See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody. I was not surprised to find it was well-written, but I was happily surprised to find that Mould put the auto in autobiography; not that it was done on auto-pilot, but it was an intensely personal account. Mould isn't your typical rock star, so we aren't treated to numerous accounts of groupies and hotel-room destruction, but we are given peeks into going through punk rock as a gay man, working in the pro wrestling business, and struggling through a myriad of problems most of us never encounter. I wish he would have expanded on accounts of certain aspects of his life (such as the break-up of Husker Du), but overall, a quality read.


Bob Mould "covers" Sugar


The Decemberists cover Sugar


Sugar - If I Can't Change Your Mind by misterwilson

Ben Gibbard & Bob Mould - "If I Can't Change Your Mind" by TwentyFourBit.com

SUGAR Explode And Make Up by pterkrogh

Bob Mould guest stars on this Foo Fighters tune:

Dear Rosemary by Foo Fighters

Bob Mould-New #1 by janet weiss

Bob Mould - Trade by djmike81

Bob Mould - Circles (Kill The DJ Mix) by Kill_The_DJ

Husker Du-Something I Learned Today by superfrauz

New Day Rising - Hüsker Dü by Robert Bell

Husker Du - Real World by martin.carlos

Husker Du - Divide and conquer by nicesunset

Husker Du - Don't Want To Know If You Are Lon by BigFootAtWork

I believe the following live version of eight miles High was recorded at the Royal Albert Arms in Winnipeg. Sorry for the spotty sound.

Husker du 8 miles high by ybstatusquo

Buy See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody here. Buy Bob Mould music and merch here.

It's Record Store Day Tomorrow!

Record Store Day, the day we give thanks that there are still places to buy music, learn about music, talk about music - all with real live people. This year, there is an amazing amount of special releases you can try to find tomorrow - I say try because different stores will have different items, and some will go lickety-split. You can check out the full list here, something for just about everyone. 9 stores in Winnipeg are participating. Yes, I am nostalgic about record stores, not so nostalgic about working in one. The Winnipeg Folk Fest Music Store will have bands like The Wind-Ups, Telepathic Butterflies, and Rambling Dan Frechette, while Into the Music will have Scott Nolan. Four stupendous local acts, you can catch 'em all if you're smart.



Crowded House, Green Day/Husker Du, Television, R.E.M., Ryan Adams, Steve Earle, The Cars, The dBs (brand new!), The Decemberists, Urge Overkill, a Guided by Voices tribute, Nada Surf - there's a lot of tunes I'd like to snag. Below are some pics of the items on sale, the tunes may not be the exact ones you'll find as part of the special sale, but I gotta give ya something to listen to, don't I?



01 The Decemberists - Down By The Water (Live 6 Music Session) by drakeygirl



Television - Marquee Moon [live] by PYITE



Effigy by Urge Overkill by scruffy the yak



Crowded House_Live in Manchester_26th May by the_hbomb



Cars - Sad Song by MMMusic

The Cars - Blue Tip by KWSS On Demand

Leave a comment below. Is there anything you'd like to get tomorrow?

Guitar Heroes of the Non-Video Game Kind Pt .1

photo by stev.ie

Pop Dose recently threw up their list of the top 50 guitar players of all time. I was surprised by some of the omissions and decided to create a post or two to respond, then I noticed that Pop Dose's list was actually created in response to the LA Times magazine's top 50. Okay, so a number of the players missing on one list can be found somewhere on the other. One list skips the Edge, Robert Fripp, Angus Young and Randy Rhoads, but then we see Eddie Hazel, John Mayer, Charlie Hunter, Neal Schon and John Frusciante. Huh? Of course, there are always complaints about lists like these, who got snubbed, who is wrongly placed at the top or bottom, and so on. Sometimes I think the choices are coloured by how much a guitarist sticks out, especially to other musicians or guitar god wannabes (Yngwie Malmsteen, anyone?)So, since I'm a non-guitarist (no musical ability whatsoever, actually) I've compiled a short list of stringbenders I like without any thought to how technically proficient they are, how difficult their music may be to play, or how wizardly they wield their axes. They might not be flashy, might just be rhythm players, but they've made some noises I like and they're not always included on favourite guitar player lists.

Wherever possible, I've tried to include live videos so you can see guitar grandeur without studio trickery.

Jamie West-Oram has made his career with The Fixx, a band some might mistakenly characterize as a synth band because they were lumped in with new wave bands of the 80's. But I always loved his quirky contributions, and he never overplayed or tried to be a rock god, just propelled or served the song.

Saved by Zero



Tom Verlaine has never reached mainstream acceptance and never really attempted to do so. He's been acclaimed by indie rock guitar geeks and critics, mostly for his work with Television. But the TV-love, to me, is part and parcel of his guitar tandem work with Richard Lloyd, with guitar lines intertwining, separating, snaking together again, clashing, and endlessly building ascending and spiralling soundscapes. Verlaine's solo work is not always so dense, but it does contain a similar unique glory.

A Town Called Walker



Elliot Easton's work with The Cars always included tasty licks and and sturdy rhythm to complement Ric Ocasek's more straightforward lines.

Candy-O



Robyn Hitchcock could make my list on his own, and if you've seen him play a solo show, you know what I mean. However, when Hitchcock plays with a foil, such as he does nowadays with Peter Buck in the Venus 3, he seems to be spurred on to different levels. Kimberly Rew in The Soft Boys is another fellow who lifts Hitchcock up to such great heights.

Queen of Eyes



Bob Mould, especially with Husker Du and Sugar, created blisteringly beautiful walls of sound, waves of melodic distortion, and curtains of metallic noisy pop.

Makes No Sense At all/ Love is All Around (Mary Tyler Moore Theme)

Royal Albert - The Movie

I was sent the trailer for a new doc on the Albert, the place that has welcomed Husker Du, Green Day, Black Flag, The Weakerthans, The Watchmen, Comeback Kid, Propagandhi, Melvins, Stretch Marks, Personality Crisis, Sloan, New Duncan Imperials, Urge Overkill, Breath Grenades, Sons of Freedom, Kittens, UK Subs, Biohazard, Jesus Lizard, Nine Pound Hammer, The Vibrators, Cannibal Corpse, Telepathic Butterflies, The Wind-ups - the list goes on forever. Decades of rock, many flavours, blood, sweat and beers, long live the Albert.