New Music: Superhuman Happiness - Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight

I've retired a couple classics this week, so I think it's time to make up for it by introducing a new band.  I heard these guys on KXLU yesterday morning while driving to work.  I didn't catch the title of the song, but the band is called Superhuman Happiness and they pretty much kick ass.

Based out of Brooklyn, Superhuman Happiness claims to "seek joy and love through shared rhythm and melody, composed and improvised."  They're big into instrumentals.  I'd say at least half of their tracks are groovy jams, often (always?) featuring Stuart Bogie on sax.  From what I can gather, Stuart's the ring leader of the group.

I've liked what I've heard so far and plan on going to Amoeba Records to find a hard copy of this release.  Go ahead and check out their songs on their myspace page here.  If you like it, lemme know.

UPDATE: So far I've done a pretty good job of staying true to this whole expired music concept.  A couple weeks ago I was driving with Krs10 (I was driving her car) with the radio turned down low when I realized Rush's "Freewill" was playing.  Instinctively I said "Oooh, Rush" and turned it up.  Then about five seconds into it I remembered this song had expired.  I immediately turned the radio off.  This annoyed Krs10, not because she's a Rush fan but because she thinks what I'm doing is ridiculous.  She turned the radio back on and we finished listening to the song.

Because we were in her car and she turned up the radio, I do not consider this a violation.  One step I haven't taken yet, is physically removing the seven or eight CD's worth of expired music from my iPod.*  This is primarily due to the fact that I'm lazy.  I fully intend on removing those tracks soon, but since I haven't, my iPod has been resting quietly on my dresser.  And FYI, I won't be deleting these files permanently, instead I'll store them away on an external harddrive.  I need a lot more data before I take a step as big as destroying/eliminating music for good.

*Even I'm surprised at the small number of expired CD's on my ipod.  This is another consequence of constantly losing CDs.

See ya, R.E.M. - Out of Time

Expired March 12, 2011

I've been looking forward to this one for a couple weeks now.  Not because I don't like this album, I do, but because of the obvious jokes I can make (but won't) about the record's title.  R.E.M.'s "Out of Time" officially expired this past weekend.

Probably my favorite R.E.M. record*, OOT is known for featuring "non-traditional rock instruments" (mandolin, organ, congas, etc.)  It also spawned one of the most iconic music videos of all time, Losing My Religion's vid directed by Tarsem Singh.

I remember buying this cd at our local video/music store, Alfalfa Video.  (Alfalfa Video apparently still exists.  There's one left and it's in Bossier City, LA.)  It's weird.  At one time I owned or had access to every R.E.M. release up to and including "Monster."  Today, the only R.E.M. record I own is "Murmur" (Exp. April '03) on vinyl.  I don't know what my problem is with hard copies of music, but I must lose five to six cd's a year.   I suppose it makes this experiment a little easier.

Because it's been so long since I've listened to this cd, I familiarized myself with its track listing and saw three or four titles that I had no recollection of.  I imagine if I heard them again (which I won't) it'd all come back to me.

A somewhat-funny anecdote re: the opening track "radio song": when I was in college I was at a bar with some friends and there was a dude playing acoustic guitar and taking requests.  He passed around a sheet with all the songs he could play and on it was "radio song."  Knowing it featured a rap portion (originally performed by KRS-One**), I thought it would be funny to request it.  When I did, the guy was like "...really?  fine..."  And I'm thinking... "you made the list, dude."  So he starts to play and I'm digging it.  Eventually, he comes to the rap portion which I assume he WON'T do, so I start clapping.  He looks at me and says "You obviously don't know this song very well" and then busts into the rap.  I got served by some white dude with an acoustic guitar.  And I didn't even see it coming.

Anyway, to recap: 7 of R.E.M.'s 14 studio releases have expired.  That means, no more "Staaaand in the place where you are...", no more "I am... I am!  I am Superman...", no more "It's theeee end of the world as we know it..."   And you know what?  I feel fine.

*Even though, in public I tell people Murmur is my favorite.  I do this to look cool.


**This was my introduction to KRS-One.  He's also the reason I call my wife Krs10.  (she's ten times better)

Adios, Madonna - Like A Prayer

Released March 21, 1989 on Sire/Warner Bros.

This is an easy one for me.  I have never ever ever been a Madonna fan.  ...but...  if a gun was placed to my head and I had to pick a favorite M song, it would have to be "Papa Don't Preach."  Unfortunately, that song, along with the rest of True Blue has also expired.  In fact, for you Madonna/Expired Music fans playing along at home, you're now looking at Erotica being the earliest available Madonna album.


I wonder if that's a big deal.  Have Madonna fans (is there a term for these people, like DeadHeads?) drawn a line in her catalog marking a point where she stopped being awesome?  Or do they love everything she does?  Also, have I just eliminated all of pre-weird-accent Madonna?

I'm asking questions I don't really care to know the answers to.  But I've gotta fill some space here somehow.

ADDITIONALLY:  I want to make sure people understand that I'm actually practicing what I preach.  (I'm in trouble, deep)  I'm doing everything in my power to avoid music pre-1991.  This includes turning off my radio when a song I KNOW is older than twenty years comes on.  So far, it hasn't been a problem.

New Music: Patient - Alice's Adventures Through the Windshield Glass

I went looking for new music this morning, but this time I used a brand new technique, one I've wanted to try for a while now.  My favorite online tool: the random word generator.*  Just hit the "new word" button and you're off.  Today's word was "patient."  From here, I went to Facebook and searched for "patient, band."  Three results came up:

The first was a band called "Kill the Patient."  They describe themselves as a two-piece emo rock band.  Unfortunately, they just formed last week and have yet to produce any music.

The second result was a band called "Patient Patient."  These guys have actually produced music and have posted four of their tracks on their facebook page.  They're three dudes from the NW who describe their music as indie, melodramatic pop rock.  I could have easily made them today's featured artist, but they're a little too similar to my last new music post, Maps and Atlases.  If you dug M&A, you'd probably enjoy Patient Patient as well.  So check them out.

I kept digging and found one more "patient" band on Facebook.  Hailing from Roch-Town, NY, "Index Patient" claim to play "an epic mix of original music to make a positive impact on the world."  Translation: they're Christian rock with influences including POD, Hoobastank and Incubus with a splash of Tool.  I'm sure one day I'll be posting a Christian Rock band on here..... but not today.

Today, we're going industrial instrumental, because after meandering over to Myspace, I found a band called "Patient" (It doesn't get more perfect than that) who creates music described as "dark electronic/dark ambient."  I'm on track 6 now and I gotta say, I'm digging it.  At the least, it's great background music to listen to at work during the month of October.  It's creepy, yet I'm still bopping my head.  The obvious comparison to NIN must be made, but that may just be because I have little knowledge of this genre as a whole.  The only Industrial album I ever owned was Gravity Kills self titled album (Exp. 3/5/16).

Apparently "Patient" is one dude, Frank Palmezzano, who writes, produces and mixes everything.  He has a website where you can download four full-length albums.  For today's post, I chose the one with the creepiest title.  An obvious Wonderland theme, AATtWG has track titles including "A Grin Without a Cat" and "House of Cards."  Enjoy!


*My old coworkers and I would often hold DJ hour on slow days where we'd play music inspired by a specific theme.  These themes were usually chosen via the Google Random Word Generator

Peace out, Eagles - Hotel California

Released December 8, 1976 on Asylum

Hotel California is the first song I ever liked.  Maybe even the first song I ever listened to in its entirety.  (I'm sure that's not true, but I certainly don't remember anything prior)  I was in 2nd grade, when an older kid in my carpool asked my mom if we could listen to one of his tapes.  I don't know if it was a single, or a mix tape or what, all I remember is this song came on and it caught my attention.

For years following, it held the title of "favorite song ever."  Today, I consider it just another good song I've heard way too many times.

The only Eagles album I ever owned was their live "Hell Freezes Over" release which I bought when it came out in 1994.  I was feeling nostalgic for my "favorite song ever."  So, basically, it's been 17 years since I bought a CD for a song that I hadn't really cared about since 1986 and that was first released TEN YEARS BEFORE THAT in 1976!  I didn't even realize til today that the Eagles released seven studio albums, six of which came out before 1980.  So, that leaves us with only their 2007 record "Long Road out of Eden."  I don't know about you, but I can't wait to never hear "desperado", "take it easy" or "life in the fast lane" again.

I've checked out and I'm leaving.  Now.    

Say goodbye to The Monkees - 1966-1987

I LOVED The Monkees.  Nickelodeon re-aired the series in 1986, exposing me and the rest of my generation to the silly antics and slapstick comedy of Mike, Peter, Micky and Davy.  Oh, and their music.  Those catchy, light-hearted, whimsical, innocent songs.  The show's theme alone is sweet enough to give you a toothache.  To me, their music reminds me of two things: sitting cross-legged on the carpet, inches away from the television... and doing my laundry.

Why does it remind me of laundry day?  Because EVERY freaking time I go to the laundromat on Lincoln and Ocean Park either Day Dream Believer, I'm a Believer or Last Train to Clarksville (Believer?) plays on the radio.  It's like I'm stuck in some weird Groundhog Day loop that will only come to an end when my wife and I finally buy our own washer/dryer unit.

The owner and operator of the laundromat apparently feels separating colors from whites is most enjoyable when listening to sounds of the 60's.  I couldn't disagree more.  Which is why I always bring my iPod to help pass the time.  Unfortunately, the voices of Dolenz, Nesmith, Tork and Jones penetrate even the loudest (post 1991) NOFX.

So... The Monkees are gone.  (With the exception of their 1996 release "Justus" which celebrates the 30th anniversary of the group and features the return of Michael Nesmith*.)  Or are they?  I'm not suggesting we eliminate the series.  Or their movie "Head."  And as a result, music featured in these productions are permitted to stay.  But only in this form, no soundtracks on CD or cassette are permissible.   

As I write this post, I am informed that Davy Jones has announced the following:  Monkees 2011  With my luck they'll be playing the Blockbuster Video next door to my laundromat.


*As a kid, Mike was always my favorite and even now I'm usually drawn to the straight guy in comedies.  And even though I respect his attempt to "fight the machine" by insisting on playing and writing their own music, I can't help but think he's a bit of a douche.

Listen to Maps and Atlases - Perch Patchwork

Time to introduce some new music to the mix.  I was thinking about a new band I recently discovered called Man at Arms whose record I picked up at random in the Amoeba dollar bin about three months ago.  These guys are loud, raw and unpredictable with lyrics about time travel and primordial swamps.  It's pretty sweet.

Sticking with my rule of NOT including previously found music on this site, I decided to use them as a starting point.  I went to their record label's (Joyful Noise Recordings) website to check out what other bands they had to offer.  I started browsing the catalog of bands and came across this album by Maps & Atlases. 

After a little more research, it turns out they're actually on a new label, Barsuk Records.  I know Barsuk well due to the fact they've also signed one of my all time favorite bands, Menomena.*  Maps & Atlases have most (if not all) of this album available to listen to on their Myspace Page.  Check 'em out.  They're even currently on tour (opening up for Menomena, in fact) spending February in the Midwest and most of March down south in Louisiana and Texas. 

I realize record labels don't always stick to one type of band, but in this case I'm not surprised to learn that Maps & Atlases are no longer on Joyful Noise Recordings.  They sound nothing like Man at Arms.  Maps is cleaner and would fit comfortably in most silverlake hipsters' record collections.

*I picked up Menomena's Friend and Foe record at random (at full price, too) in Amoeba a long time ago.  That same day I bought The Long Winters album When I Pretend to Fall which is also a  fantastic album.  It wasn't until later that I realized The Long Winters is ALSO on Barsuk Records.