Songs Of The Week #29: TCDroogsma

Mount Moriah, Jamie Lidell, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Beach Fossils, & Gloss...

Well hello again, mp3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #29!

For those of you who don't know quite what you're looking at, here's the story. Each week we ask two of our contributors to download and listen to the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. As always, we highly suggest that you head over to The Current's website and subscribe to the podcast yourself. Free music is free music.

Once they've given the songs a thorough listen we have them write a review of the songs and given them a rating of 1-5. As always, you can have your say in which song was the best by voting in the poll on the right side of the page.

Sadly, as has been the case for a month now, only one of our contributors has had the time to indulge in these songs. So yet again, all we have to offer you is TCDroogsma's thoughts on the songs. Considering his social life, its pretty much a lock that he'll always be free to throw his thoughts out there.

So, Droogsy, thoughts?

01. Mount Moriah – Bright Light (from the album Miracle Temple)

TCDroogsma:

     There's a lot to like about "Bright Light."  Mount Moriah works up a nice country-fried groove and lead singer Heather McEntire does a fine job doing her best Neko Case impression.  The problem with "Bright Light" is that it never escapes average.  Honestly, it's difficult to work up an opinion one way or another about this one.  It's solid, I suppose.  I certainly don't dislike it, but if I never heard it again I wouldn't be sad.  And if I ever do hear it again I probably won't even notice.

Final Score: 2.5/5

02. Jamie Lidell – What A Shame (from the album Jamie Lidell)

TCDroogsma:

     So, full disclosure here:  I only have a loose idea of what dubstep is supposed to sound like.  I feel like I should apologize for that, but I'm not going to.  I'm 31 years old for Christ's sake!  If I was being paid to write about music I'd take the time to figure it out.  Since I have to spend 40 hours a week stocking shelves I'm just not devoting the time to it.

     Why do I bring this up?  Because in my ill-informed mind, "What A Shame" sounds like an artist trying to turn dubstep into pop.  As mentioned above, it's possible that I'm completely off base on this whole this.  More to the point, I don't particularly like this song.  Lidell certainly sings it like he means it, but the racket going on behind him never develops into any sort of groove.  If this is just an exercise in genre-hopping for Mr. Lidell then I hope he cashes in.  If I'm wrong about this being dubstep-ish and this is a wholly originally creation by Lidell then... yipes.

Final Score: 1.5/5

03. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – So Good At Being In Trouble (from the album II)

TCDroogsma:

     Before I get into this song, take the four minutes it takes and listen to the song.  Seriously, give it a go.  I'll wait.

     (Waiting... waiting... waiting...)

     Pretty great, right?  Now, listen to it again and try to imagine what it would sound like if it was sped up, given a horn part, and maybe a couple backup singers.  You know what this song sounds like to me?  It sounds like a great, lost Motown classic!  Add in those things I mentioned (and some ballin' matching light blue suits) and you're listening to a Temptations song.  Hell, UMO even fades it out instead of giving it a full stop just like the classics.  I genuinely couldn't enjoy this song more.  The band does a fine job of taking Berry Gordy's rules for writing hit songs and giving them a white boy, indie twist.

Final Score: 4/5

04. Beach Fossils – Generational Synthetic (from the album Clash The Truth)

TCDroogsma:

     This is the third time in four weeks that The Current has laid a scratchy, lo-fi jam at my feet.  First it was Parquet Courts (fuzzy, post-punky, awesome), then it was Broncho (fuzzy, indie-punky, pretty awesome) and now Beach Fossils (fuzzy, stoney, pretty good).

     As you can see, the trajectory of awesomeness is on the downswing.  Beach Fossils may be from Brooklyn, but the first shared vibe that comes to mind is Wavves.  The stoner vibe that runs throughout the song definitely gives it a lazy swagger.  Whereas Parquet Courts & Broncho are clearly putting all their energy into being a cohesive unit, "Generational Synthetic" sounds like its authors could genuinely give a fuck less what anybody thinks of the song.  And that attitude, ironically, makes it more likable.

Final Score: 3/5

05. Gloss – Ian's Dream (from the 7” Front Porch)

TCDroogsma:

     I can't remember the last time I was as excited about a local band as I am about Gloss.  Back in November we reviewed "Front Porch," the A-side from this 7".  If memory serves, both MinneSarah & I compared the guitar work to vintage Johnny Marr (though I think I decided that was too much praise and settled on really great Peter Buck).

     Well here we are in February and we're presented with "Ian's Dream," the B-side.  If Gloss had just hit on the vintage-Marr guitar work again I would have been thrilled.  Instead, what we're treated to here, is a less urgent song that immediately calls to mind Minus The Bear.  The rhythm section is tight, the vocals are understated yet catchy, and the guitar.... oh, that guitar.  Perhaps referencing Peter Buck was selling these guys short.  Everything about "Ian's Dream" comes together perfectly.  A pop gem that could have come from 1987 or 2007.

Final Score: 4/5

There you have it, folks! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away.

As always, neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists reviewed, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with laptops and little too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Trendsetting #5: Mike Otto & TCDroogsma

We'd like to thank the academy...

Well hello again, everybody!  Welcome to Trendsetting #5!

For those of you who aren't quite certain what you're looking at right now, here's the scoop:  Each week we scan the newspapers and the internets to come up with roughly 10 trending stories both here in Minnesota and out in the rest of this big crazy world.

Once we've determined which stories are trending we send them along to Mike Otto & TCDroogsma to get their takes on the stories.  Then, rather than keep their amusing ranting to ourselves, we publish them here for everybody to enjoy!

As always, Mike & Travis have not read each other's comments prior to posting.

It was a crazy week, guys.  Thoughts?

01. The Obama Administration calls out the Chinese military for years of cyber-terrorism, accusing the Chinese of hacking into government & major businesses computers to acquire data.

Mike Otto:

     Of course they are. I could have told you that shit. The REAL reason this grinds American's gears won't be recognized by anyone in the national media.

     Lets face it, America, we are China's bitch right now. We owe them a nearly unfathomable amount of money, their economy is on the up-tick and their military is as strong as the mighty U.S. Army, if not frighteningly larger than ours. Now, I'm as red, white and blue-blooded as the next person, but that doesn't keep me from seeing the facts. Anything China does, short of a direct act of aggression/war, we just have to shut up and take. A war between the United States and China would be the end of life as we know it, so lets all keep our fat fingers crossed, America.

TCDroogsma:

     Frankly, I'm not sure how much of this I believe.  I mean, China's got far bigger problems than hacking U.S. interests.  Not to mention, their military probably isn't smart enough to hack into American computers.  Sure, they're good at math but, that only mea...  NOT SMART ENOUGH!  WHO'S SMART ENOUGH, FAT AMERICA!?!  YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WE CAPABLE OF!  WE TAKE ALL YOUR DATA WHILE YOU JOKE!  ALL THE DATA FOR CHINA! ALL! THE! DATA!

02.  In Cypress, Texas, a newborn baby was found alive in a plastic bag by dogs passing by.

Mike Otto:

     So let me understand this: You got pregnant. You carried this child inside you for 9 months. You didn't go to the hospital when your water broke. You pooped this kid out in your apartment, cut the umbilical cord poorly with a scissors (3 inches remained attached to the child and it wasn't tied off) and essentially threw the child in the trash. I'd nominate this woman for mother of the year, but she's wouldn't qualify.

     Being able to poop out a kid doesn't make you a mother, everything you do for the child after birth does though, you know, THE SUBSEQUENT 18-22 YEARS AFTER YOU POOPED IT OUT IS WHAT MATTERS. Texans are historically anti-abortion, maybe this woman was too, but one things for sure, she is not anti-dumpster-baby.

TCDroogsma:

     When reached for a comment, the mother of the child reacted by saying, "Yes, I dumped my baby in the dumpster!  And I would have got away with it too if it wasn't for that meddling dog!"  She then pulled off a mask and stunned cops with her true identity:  You guessed it, Frank Stallone.

03. Minnesota's congressman Keith Ellison becomes the first member of the United States Congress to visit Somalia since their new government took power.

Mike Otto:

     Mr. Ellison faced many questions about how America plans to further aid war-torn Somalia, if he still faces racism In the States, and if the bulk honey is organic...

     You know the honey isn't technically organic, but that doesn't really matter as long as it's raw and local you will get the benefits you are looking for. It's incredibly difficult to get honey certified organic because you have to guarantee the bees are only pollinating organic flowers, which requires an incredible amount of "Certified Organic" land...oh fuck it never mind, yah its organic. (sorry, inside joke)

TCDroogsma:

    Ellison reportedly thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to pander to his Minneapolis constituency visit the rebuilding nation.  According to sources, Ellison was most taken with the cuisine & the beauty of the land, but just couldn't adapt to the coffee shops filled with people reading quietly and politely, breaking the silence only to apologize when stepping outside to answer cellular phone calls.

04. According to this article, leading geneticist Dr. Gerald Crabtree human intelligence is slowly declining thanks to adverse genetic mutations.

Mike Otto:

     If this comes as a surprise to anyone, you are only re-enforcing Dr. Gerald Crabtree's study.

     Now, it seems to me that as our worldly population continues to grow exponentially, it stands to reason that the bar of "average intelligence" would slowly but surely begin to regress. Then again, this could just be another bullshit theory from some idiot scientist...wait a minute... oh whatever, my head hurts, I'm gonna go watch a Honey-Boo-Boo marathon.


TCDroogsma:

     So we're getting dumber, are we?  Come here a minute, college boy, 'cause I got a couple or three things to say about all this "dumber" talk.  Fuckin', dumber?  No.  I mean, if I was getting dumber, I wouldn't be making these quality-ass jokes on the fuckin' blog now would I, guy?  Huh?  Can't hear you over THAT knowledge bomb?  Fuckin' guy,  Now who's dumbest, dummy?  Exactly.

05.  8 month old Carlos Orozco of South Minneapolis is abducted by Isabel Diaz-Castillo only to be found 4 hours later by Minneapolis police officers.

Mike Otto: 

     The abductor, Isabel Diaz Castillo was found with baby, Carlos in a Minneapolis basement only 4 hours after their disappearance. Isabel, you need to step your abduction game up! If you want this abduction to work, you have to leave the city, buy a bus ticket with cash and head for the border for Christ's sake! Buy a baby disguise! You're better than this Isabel...

TCDroogsma:

     Thank god that nightmare is over for Carlos & his mother Victoria.  When police found Diaz-Castillo hiding with baby Carlos in a relative's basement she was unwilling to give up the child without a struggle yelling, "That's my baby!"  Fortunately, baby Carlos was extracted from that dangerous situation and returned to a marginally less dangerous situation: living on Franklin & Portland.

06. Tubby Smith's Gopher basketball team endures a tough week, losing games to Iowa & Ohio state by a combined 47 points.

Mike Otto:

     OH NO! WHATEVER WILL I DO, THE GOPHERS FUCKING SUCK AGAIN?!?

     First of all, it's basketball. Second of all, it's college basketball. Third of all, I don't need a third reason to despise the Gophers. I'm not bandwagon either, the Gophers could make an historic Cinderella-type run to the Final Four, and I will stand here alone, constantly trashing their sport and them as a team. Then, when they inevitably choke, I will be here to say I told you so and quench my thirst with the tears of Dinkytowners.

TCDroogsma:

     So we're still calling this news, huh?  Alright, umm... Tubby Smith continues to struggle to motiva... HAHA!  YOU NO GOOD AT BASKETBALL EITHER!  AMERICA INVENTED RETARDED GAME AND TOO RETARDED TO PLAY IT!  WE HACK TUBBY SMITH COMPUTER AND GUESS WHAT!  NO INTELLIGENCE!  HAHAHA!  NONE!

     I'm sorry, I've really got to update my passwords.  Evidently the Chinese are playing for keeps here.

07.  Switzerland's lone wild bear, known as M13, is shot & killed by Swiss authorities as a "threat to humans."

Mike Otto:

     Really, Switzerland? A SINGULAR bear is your greatest threat to human safety? It's apparent to me that the Swiss need to learn what REAL fear is all about. I suggest we plop Switzerland down in the parking lot after a San Francisco Giants/LA Dodgers baseball game, then they will truly understand "threats to human safety."

TCDroogsma:

     According to Swiss authorities, M13 was shot and killed because he "regularly sought out food in inhabited areas," and "showed little fear of humans."  In M13's defense, the humans WERE THE SWISS!  You know who else loved to seek out food in inhabited areas and showed little fear of humans?  Hitler!  And you people didn't even TRY to stop him!  I'm sick, I'm sick, I'm really sick of the Swiss.

08. Sue Paterno, widow of pedophile-enabling college football coach Joe Paterno, & her family release their own investigation, absolving Joe Paterno from guilt in the Jerry Sandusky case.

Mike Otto: 

     Jesus Christ, fuck off Sue Paterno you old fucking bitch.

     Guess what, I initially felt kind of bad for you in this whole mess. Your late husband and the rest of his cronies were covering this up after all, and you probably didn't know enough to do anything about the horrors that were occurring. However, after your constant yapping the past year and now this report you have conducted and published with your husbands money (the same money he was earning while sweeping this mess under the rug) I have officially lumped you in with the rest of the scumbags who let this happen.

     What can I say, me thinks the lady doth protest too much? All you would have had to say to look decent in all of this was something like "horrible tragedy, I feel for the victims, wish i could have done more, known more." BOOM. You'd be golden. But no, you've made this all about YOUR money and YOUR family's reputation, and the injustices the media has perpetrated on YOU and YOURS.

     Let sleeping dogs lie, you rotten dried up old bitch. Lives were ruined. Young lives. And all you can think about is what YOU"VE lost. You haven't lost shit compared to the victims of Jerry Sandusky, so do us all a favor, shut the fuck up, or just go die.

TCDroogsma:

     I sympathize with Sue Paterno.  If my husband's lasting legacy after death was that of a pioneer who devoted his life to college football I'd do everything in my power to rescue his name too.

09. Rapper MC Hammer is arrested in for resisting arrest & obstructing an officer in Dublin, CA (outside of Oakland).  He then claims to be the victim of "racial profiling."

Mike Otto:

     MC Hammer arrested? STOP THE PRESSES!

     Hammer was upset when, during a traffic stop, he was asked if he was, "on parole or probation." Instead of staying calm and saying simply "neither" he became, according to the police, argumentative and refused to exit the vehicle, having to eventually be removed with force and charged with obstruction and resisting. Completely avoidable, Hammer. You forgot that when it comes to the police, they CAN touch this, in fact, they can touch this whenever they want.

TCDroogsma:

     Hammer's confusion is easily understandable as the incident was the first time anybody's tried to profile him since the early 90's.

10.  Ben Affleck's Argo takes home the Oscar for Best Picture.

Mike Otto:

     I saw Argo and I thought it was a good film. That being said, I am somewhat sad it won Best Picture because this officially marks the end of Ben Affleck being the butt of every "over hyped/under-talented" actor/director joke. He's reached the top, and I was much more comfortable with him stuck in that meaty part of the Hollywood curve.

     Oh well, at the end of the day, I realize I could give two shits about Ben Affleck, The Oscars, or anything else to do with award shows where celebrities get in a giant circle jerk session and decide whose jipe is worth the most.

TCDroogsma:

     Ben Affleck:  Actor, producer, writer, award-winning director... and still the bomb in Phantoms, yo!

There you have it everybody!  Another week's worth of trending stories given a run through the ringer.

For more Mike Otto, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@SwervinTaters).  For more Mike Otto, be sure to follow the Sue Paterno harassment suit that CourtTV will begin broadcasting in about a week or so.

For more TCDroogsma, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found here on Newest Industry hosting our weekly Flatbasset Radio podcast.  At least he will be until the Chinese hack into that too.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly we have a Facebook page here.  Stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Newest Industry Presents: Flatbasset Radio - Episode #13

Gimme the loot, gimme the loot!

Well hello again, music junkies! Welcome to the 13^th episode of our podcast Flatbasset Radio!

For those of you who don't know quite what you're looking at, here's the story. Each week TCDroogsma reviews songs for our Songs Of The Week column. Since he's usually down on those songs we asked him to start recording a weekly podcast for us to show us that, yes, he is actually a music fan and deserves to keep his post.

This week is Membership Drive week here at Newest Industry! TCDroogsma (and Newest Industry) implore all of our listeners/readers to make a donation. Remember, with every donation we'll send you a bumper sticker that says, “I Make Newest Industry Happen.” Put it on your car's bumper that way you can drive around and show off to everybody just how smart, hip, and culturally aware you are! Plus, you know everybody hates just walking around and thinking, “Boy, that's fine car, but I'd just like to know more about that person. What do they believe in? How do they spend their money? How can I acquire this information without actually talking to them?” Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

In this week's episode TCDroogsma shamelessly whores out for donations, laments the breakup of the only prog-rock band he ever liked, plays us his new personal theme song, questions whether any good music has come out since 1998, struggles to explain his “renowned” big things/little things theory, and plays us one of his favorite love songs.

Click here to download the podcast for free or click the player below to give it a listen.

Here's how it breaks down:

01. The Mars Volta – Son Et Lumiere/Intertiatic E.S.P.

02. The Roots – Don't Feel Right

03. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Can't Stop

04. Notorious B.I.G. - Gimme The Loot

05. My Bloody Valentine – New You

06. Paper Tiger – Rides

07. Lifter Puller – Manpark

08. Kool A.D. - Bering Sea Gold

09. John Vanderslice – White Dove

10. Lil' Wayne – Sorry 4 The Wait

11. Graham Wright – Medicine Hat

There you have it! We accept cash, check, money order, foreign money, beer, sandwiches, brandy, & compliments! Become a sustaining member today!

For more TCDroogsma, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He's usually rambling on about something or other.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on all the work being done by our regular contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it may seem, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Songs Of The Week #28: TCDroogsma

Cheatahs, Jenny O., Pillowfight, Broncho, & Usonia...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #28!

For those of you who don't know quite what you're looking at, here's the deal: Each week we ask two of our regular contributors to to download the free songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. After spending some time with them they write up a review and give them a score of 1-5.

As always, we highly encourage you to head over to The Current's website and subscribe to the podcast yourself. Playing along at home is fun for the whole family!

To that end, we've posted a poll to the right-hand side of the page. Please take a second to vote for whichever of this week's songs was your favorite. At the end of the voting period, the winning artist will receive the validation of winning an anonymous internet vote against a bunch of their fellow artists.

Unfortunately, as has been the case for the past few installments, we've been unable to find a second person to review the week's songs. Not surprisingly, though, TCDroogsma was still readily available to fly solo this week.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Cheatahs – The Swan (from the album Extended Plays)

TCDroogsma:

      I'll be honest, it took me about 20 seconds of “The Swan” to make up my mind about Cheatahs. This kicks ass. Maybe it's just the fact that The Current has set my expectations so low for these songs that even the first hint of an electric guitar is all it takes to get my pulse going, but I don't think that's the case.

Cheatahs aren't reinventing the wheel by any means. In fact, if I was The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart I'd be drawing up a copyright lawsuit as we speak, but that doesn't really matter. The combination of late 90's emo-pop guitars (more Jawbreaker than Braid) and shoegazing vocals aims right for the sweet spot of my 31 year old brain. I've listened to "The Swan half a dozen times now and I still have no idea what the song is about (I'm guessing not a swan). Regardless, it's been better each time I've listened to it.

Final Score: 4/5

02. Jenny O. - Good Love (from the album Automechanic)

TCDroogsma:

      “Good Love” starts off with a bit of a space-country-funk vibe that suggests Phantogram drinking moonshine. Unfortunately, that energy quickly gives way to a rather mundane alt-pop song the leans a little too heavily on its country side and abandons its space-out side. Which is a shame.

      On its surface, it seems like there is a lot of stuff going on in “Good Love.” After a few listens, however, the indie affectations are revealed to be just that, affectations give a bit of color to a rather black & white song..

Final Score: 2/5

03. Pillowfight – In The Afternoon (from the album Pillowfight)

TCDroogsma:

      I'm sure this gets brought up in every review of Pillowfight (Dan The Automator & Emily Wells), so I hate to bring it up, but here goes: Ever since Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson cracked the code of sultry-soul & hip-hop drums there have been no shortage of artists ready to take a shot at the throne. The most obvious comparison to Pillowfight is that Bitter:Sweet album from a couple years ago. I enjoyed that record much like I enjoy “In The Afternoon.”

      Sadly, what sinks Automator & Wells here (and what sank Bitter:Sweet) is the one thing that nobody wants to acknowledge about Winehouse: Namely that a large chunk of her success was based on a cult of personality that is nearly impossible to replicate. Admittedly, there is something thrilling about the sensual moans that dot the chorus of “In The Afternoon.” However, that chorus consists of the lines, “In the afternoon I get sentimental, I know that ain't right, the fun we have should be criminal...” Which, when you think about it, just sounds like your insane girlfriend going through mood swings in the middle of the day.

Final Score: 2.5/5

04. Broncho – Try Me Out Sometime (from the album Can't Get Past The Lips)

TCDroogsma:

      “Try Me Out Sometime” lives in the same space that the Parquet Courts song from a couple weeks back inhabits. It's fuzzed out vocals and stuttering, adrenaline-fuled guitar work comes squarely from post-punk/no-wave forefathers like Minutemen & Husker Du. Is that a band thing? Not at all. In fact, it's refreshing to see the pendulum of indie rock swing back away from polished (i..e. Grizzly Bear, TV On The Radio) and back toward the scrappy.

      To that end, “Try Me Out Sometime” is fighting the same fight lyrically and musically. The music isn't the most instantly memorable (or most easily digestible). Lyrics like, “look me over when you're done,” and “gotten straighten me up, gotta get me straight..” may be directed toward a potential lover, but can just as easily be a plea to take 10 minutes and give Broncho a good listen. Take them up on the offer, it's well worth the effort.

Final Score: 3.5/5

05. Usonia – How Does It Feel (from the album What's Fresh)

TCDroogsma:

      Oh damn! This makes me want to dance! And almost nothing makes me want to dance! Let's be honest, all it takes is 8 bars of that keyboard to know exactly where this song is going to go. They're the anti-Broncho in that regard. But that's kind of the point

      Looking at the title of this song (and the title of the album), one thing is immediately apparent: Usonia hates question marks. Listening to “How Does It Feel” drives that home. This is not music designed to be listened to while sitting in your bedroom, headphones on, parsing the tracks for meaning. This is music designed to make your girlfriend grab your hand and drag you to the dancefloor before the first verse has even begun.

      (And super props to Usonia's bass player. Somewhere Alex James is smiling.)

Final Score: 4/5

So there you have it, everybody. Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away.

As always, please remember that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists reviewed, The Current, or Minnesota Public Radio. We're just music fans with laptops and a little bit too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our regular contributors. More importantly we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it may seem, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Trendsetting #4: Mike Otto & TCDroogsma

On to the next one, on to the next one...

Well hello again, everybody! Welcome to the fourth installment of Trendsetting!

For those of you who aren't totally sure what you're looking at right now, let us break it down for you. You see, each week we scan the newspapers and the internets to keep track of stories that are trending in Minnesota and around the world.

At the end of the week, we settle on ten or so and send them off to Mike Otto and TCDroogsma. They send us back their takes on these trending stories and we post them here. As always, Mike & Travis have not read each other's comments before we post them.

It was an eventful week. Mikey, Droogsy, break it down for us?

01. A meteor the size of a school bus blazes across the Russian sky before ultimately exploding with the force of 20 nuclear bombs, knocking out windows and injuring nearly 1,000 people.

Mike: 

     We all should have known that the universe couldn't be trusted. Between the solar flares, spy satellites and potentially dangerous asteroids us Earthlings feel as though nothing outside our atmosphere can be trusted. Now the universe goes and destroys the last 1,000 functional windows in Russia? Fuck off, thing my tiny human brain can't fully comprehend.

TCDroogsma:

      Seems to me that this meteor exposed a dangerous truth about Russians: Nearly all of them have cameras mounted to their dashboard. I guess that's what you get when you build a creep-shot-based economy.

02. President Obama delivers the first State Of The Union speech of his second term.

Mike:

     Our President focused on many topics during his most recent State of the Union speech. The state of our still-stuttering economy, our struggling middle class, and the fact the United States currently has over 70,000 "structurally deficient" bridges. It was the most inspirational political speech in decades.

TCDroogsma:

     I stayed home Tuesday to watch President Obama give his annual State Of The Union.  Unfortunately, Obama's relentlessly monotone delivery quickly put me to sleep.  I guess you could say Obama got me with a drone strike! (rimshot!)

03. Gophers' basketball coach Tubby Smith is caught on camera doing the Harlem Shake after his team's victory over Wisconsin.

Mike: 

     I'd be dancing too if i was getting paid 3.3 million dollars to lead a slightly above average Big 10 basketball team. Go Gophers! Reigning NIT RUNNER-UP!!

TCDroogsma:

      It was all fun and games until the celebration awoke Old Man Mbakwe from his nap. “Turn off the hippity-hop jibber jabber,” the center implored. “You kids call that music?” He then put on a Lawrence Welk LP and proceeded to show the team a dance he calls the “Strained Quad Shuffle.”

04. Alden Anderson, a Missouri sex offender living in St. Paul, is killed after stabbing & killing Kody, a police dog, during a fight with the police.

Mike: 

     Jesus Christ. This guy would have been better off banging the police chief's wife.

TCDroogsma:

     I don't even have a joke for this one.  Being fatally shot immediately by the police was too good for this worthless human being.

05. A food fight at Minneapolis South High School erupts into a racially-motivated riot.

Mike: 

   "Ethnic tensions" were cited as the source of the melee, but really it was all about Reggie taking the last Italian Dunker.

TCDroogsma:

      Meanwhile, across town, Minneapolis North High's regularly scheduled third period race riot went unnoticed by media and faculty alike.

06. Farmington Senior goaltender Austin Krause, upset about playing time, intentionally scores on own goal before flipping off coach and leaving the ice on Senior Night.

Mike: 

     The goalie in question, a senior, was riding the bench more than he liked, while a fellow student goalie, a sophomore, was accumulating better statistical ratings and keeping his mouth shut. This senior was trying to make a point, and he did. He proved he is a petulant little bitch. Don't worry though bro, HIGH SCHOOL IS EVERYTHING, THIS SHIT MATTERS!

TCDroogsma:

     You know who was probably super-psyched about this?  That sophomore goalie!  He must be thinking, "Damn!  Not only am I better than Kruase, but the bar for the next two years has been set at, 'Did he freak out and flip off the coach like a little bitch?'  I could lose every game for the next two years, but as long as I don't score on my own goal and piss off the entire city, I'm pretty much coming out ahead.  Thanks for being completely incapable of dealing with even the most trivial amount of adversity, Austin!"

07. Double amputee Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius is arrested for allegedly murdering his model girlfriend.

Mike: 

    He is sticking to the story that "he made a mistake, he was startled" by his girlfriend , model Reeva Steenkamp and "fearing a home intrusion, accidentally" shot his girlfriend in the face 4 times. Yah sure and I "accidentally" used to ask for 5 orders of mozzarella sticks when I bought an Arby's 5 for $5.95.

TCDroogsma:

     I'd be startled enough to accidentally shoot if Reeva Steenkamp snuck into my house too. And I don't own a gun, if ya know what I'm sayin'!  Huh?  Am I right?  Huh?  Ugh... I'm sorry...

08. A crippled cruise ship stranded in the Gulf Of Mexico and carrying 4,200 people (nearly all of whom has resorted to living in their own filth without power or running water) is finally pulled to port in Mobile, Alabama.

Mike: 

     THANK GOD! These peoples' NIGHTMARE in the Gulf is finally over! 

     You know this was a ship full of out-of-touch richies, whining about drinking toilet water and pooping in bags, WAH WAH. If that was a ship full of poor people, the real fun WOULD HAVE STARTED when the power went out. Hell, there are plenty of people in this world that would KILL to be stuck on a dysfunctional cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico. "I've been adrift on my cruise ship for THREE DAYS!!!" Fuckin' Western problems.

TCDroogsma:

      Upon arriving in Mobile, many of the passengers of the ship were surprised to find that they were by a large margin, the best dressed, cleanest, and most coherent people in town.

09. North Korea, in a show of strength meant to provoke South Korea and the United States, detonates a nuclear device underground.

Mike: 

     Well played North Korea, well played. Your people might not have food, but you have successfully threatened the World Police. You think America play?

     For better or worse, our government has always had their finger on the trigger. Hey Kim Jong-un, if it's gonna be a "you or us" type-of-thing you won't like he result. I truly feel for North Korean citizens who just want to wake up, go to their jobs and live their lives. This isn't their battle, they just have to pay the price for it.

TCDroogsma:

      When reached for comment, President Obama was unimpressed, “Really, Kim Jong-un? You detonated a nuclear device? All by yourself?  Because, y'know, I'm currently trying to reduce the number of ACTIVE NUCLEAR WARHEADS at my disposal from 1,700 down to about 1,000. But I'm meeting some resistance, so maybe, I don't know, I'll just hold on to the EXTRA 700 NUCLEAR WARHEADS. Save 'em for a rainy day or something.”

10. A two year old Minneapolis boy is slapped for being too noisy by a 60 year old Idaho man on board a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta.

Mike: 

     Leave it to Idaho. The baby slapper in question, Joe Rickey Hundley reportedly uttered the words, "shut that n****r baby up" right before he open hand slapped the 2 year old boy on a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta. Personally, I hope they sent that fuckin' honky to the back of the plane.

     Many Minneapolitans who witnessed the incident jumped to the aid of the young boy and his mother, 33 year old Jessica Bennet, who admitted it was, "regrettable she got stuck next to the most rotten potato to ever come out of Idaho."

TCDroogsma:

      What is it about the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport that causes residents of Idaho to think they can they can get away with whatever they want?

Well there you have it, folks. Another week's worth of trending topics broken down by our experts.

For more of Mike's errr.... “unique” take on life, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@SwervinTaters).

For more of TCDroogsma's errr... ramblings, be sure to follow him on Twitter (@TCDroogsma) or right here on Newest Industry hosting our weekly Flatbasset Radio podcast.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on all the work being done by our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free and legitimate way to support the blog.

Ryan's Record Of The Week #9: "Who Killed Spikey Jacket?"

Well hello again, punk rockers!  Welcome back to Ryan's Record Of The Week!

It's been a long time comin', but we finally made our way back down to Extreme Noise to talk with our friend (and punk rock enthusiast) Ryan!  We were hoping to find something new to soundtrack the rest of winter, and Ryan was definitely up for the challenge!

As you can see from the picture above, Ryan was pleased to point us in the direction of Boston band Who Killed Spikey Jacket.  He told us all about the album, showed off the insert, lamented the lack of quality inserts, explains a skill he gained from dirty punk house floors, tells us about leading the "Chaos Walk" in Jackson, Michigan, and, sadly, fails to solves the mystery of just who killed Spikey Jacket.  Have a look:

Boom!  "Who Killed Spikey Jacket?" from the band Who Killed Spikey Jacket?  For a little better idea of just what you're getting into with this band, have a listen to their song "Spike Your Hair With Beer:"

There you have it, rock n rollers!  For more on Who Killed Spikey Jacket, be sure to check out their website here.

As always we'd like to give a big thanks to Ryan and all the folks down at Extreme Noise.  For those who don't know, Extreme Noise is located at 407 W. Lake St.  It is run on a completely volunteer basis.  These folks love what they do and it shows.  Stop by and support them when you have a chance.  Visit their website here.

Of course Newest Industry has an internet footprint as well.  Follow us on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  If you can't tell, we're completely volunteer-run as well.  Odd though it is, giving us a "like" on Facebook is the best way to support what we do.

Songs Of The Week #27: TCDroogsma

Night Beds, Adam Green & Binki Shapiro, Thao With The Get Down, Stay Down, Eels, & Aby Wolf...

 

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #27!

For those of you who remain unfamiliar with the column, here's how it works. Each week we ask two of our regular contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. They spend a few days with the songs and then give us their takes. Each song is then given a score from 0-5.

As always, we strongly recommend that you click here and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free music and playing along at home is fun for the whole family!

To that end, we've posted a poll to the right side of the page. Please vote for whichever was your favorite song. At the end of the week we tally up the votes and the winner is rewarded with the sense of validation that can only come from anonymous internet polls, which his the highest civilian honor America can give out.

As has been the case for the last few weeks (and remains the case this week), TCDroogsma will be tackling these songs solo dolo. Unfortunately we still haven't been able to find a cohort. If only their were more judgmental music fans who like seeing their name on the internet out there...

So, now that that's out of the way, let's get into it. Droogsy, thoughts?

01. Night Beds – Ramona (from the album Country Sleep)

TCDroogsma:

     Remember that Ryan Adams album Gold?  Night Beds sure do!

    
     "Ramona" isn't a bad song, but there is absolutely nothing new going on here.  If you enjoy alt-country, you will like this song.  If you don't, "Ramona" is background music.  As someone who likes Ryan Adams and is on speaking terms with alt-country, I can't say this song does anything for me.

Final Score: 2/5

02. Adam Green & Binki Shapiro – Just To Make Me Feel Good (from the album Adam Green & Binki Shapiro)

TCDroogsma:

     While I'm not (and never was) a Moldy Peaches fan, it was pretty clear with that group that their appeal was rooted in Kimya Dawson's charm and their ramshackle performance/recording style.  I don't say that to diminish Adam Green's contributions to the group.  For all know he was the brains behind the whole operation.  Frankly, I never cared enough to dig deeper.

     With "Just To Make Me Feel Good," we find Adam Green returning to the boy/girl format of The Moldy Peaches, but without either of those two calling cards.  Green does a pretty fine job of channeling his inner Stephen Merritt, remaining mostly deadpan while Binki Shapiro gives the song color.  Still, much like Night Beds up above, the song lacks any trait that stands out.

     "Just To Make Me Feel Good" does redeem itself with its lyrics.  Green's come a long way from the nursey-rhymed ridiculousness of the Peaches albums, asking Shapiro (or the significant other she represents) to, "Ask me things with no warning."  The song lives in the the little moments of relationships that make them worthwhile, not an easy terrain to navigate.  They do it admirably here.

Final Score: 3/5

03. Thao With The Get Down, Stay Down – We The Common (For Valerie Bolden (from the album We The Common)

TCDroogsma:

     Two questions:

     Have you ever been sitting at the bar chatting with an oppressively foxy woman and feeling good about your chances, but, as the night presses on, she keeps saying more and more ridiculous and/or insane things that eventually you just say, "Fuck it, she's hot, but I can't do this any longer?"

      

     Remember back in December when I reviewed Thao's "Holy Roller?"  I tried to explain that I couldn't accurately judge any Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down song because I was blindingly smitten with Thao herself?  It's not that I only liked the songs because Thao is so damn sexy, it's that I couldn't separate the songs from the sexy.

     (In case you forgot why I feel that way, watch this video. That song is classic.)

     I think you can see where I'm going here.  "We The Common" if finally the last call vodka tonic that pushes Thao from the, "OK, she's a little loopy, but she's still sexy" to, "That's enough, I can't do this."  It wouldn't matter if the Get Down, Stay Down consisted of Lucy Liu, Natalie Portman, & Ryan Gosling backing Thao, "We The Common" is bad enough that it overwhelms all the charm exuded by the frontwoman.  

     If I had never heard a song with that stupid guitar style, pointless strings, boot-stomping percussion, and a brutally quirky wordless-hook then maybe this would be tolerable, but The Current's been shoving shit like this down our throat for years.  I'm drawing the line right here. 

Final Score: 0.5/5

04. Eels – New Alphabet (from the album Wonderful, Glorious)

TCDroogsma:

     "New Alphabet" is not necessarily new ground for Eels.  It lives in the same, "I don't feel so good, what the fuck's going on?" world that has made Eels famous.  Most of those songs, however, are either living in the moment of not feeling good or looking back on that moment from a time well into the future.

    
     It may just be me, but I really like "New Alphabet" because it lives in that moment between those two points.  "I'm in a good mood today, I'm so glad that it's not yesterday" implies that E is still coping with whatever happened and "New Alphabet" finds him squarely in the "Lashing out" phase of coping.  As someone who's been know to lash a bit, this song really speaks to me.

     What E's done here, is give us his take on the pop music narrative of "I did it my way."  Obviously, that's coming from Sinatra, but the line runs through all strains of music.  The first time I listened to this song, the fist song that came to mind was P.O.S. "Purexed" (one of the the great songs of my lifetime).  There's very little difference, "Yeah, we do our own damn thing, we don't blink at what tomorrow might bring at all," and "When the world stops making sense, I make a new alphabet."

Final Score: 4/5

05. Aby Wolf – Brave Boy (from the album Wolf Lords)

TCDroogsma:

     I'll be honest, I'm kind of losing the plot with Aby Wolf.  The first time I saw her she was playing at the 331 Club and had a coffeehouse hippy vibe going.  Next I heard from her was the still-brilliant single "What U Waitin' 4?" which was in the hip-hop world, but sported a earworm hook that sound like it was flown over from the world of indie rock.  Her contribution to BK-One's Radio Do Canibal album was a low-key highlight, wrapping her pretty voice around some sampled Brazilian guitar work.  Outside of her work with Dessa, the last thing I heard was a SOTD track from the A Wolf & Her Claws project, "All This Time," which was a fine song, but found Wolf venturing further from the hooks and leaning on her voice/glitchy noise to prop the song up.

    
     Which brings me to "Brave Boy," a collaboration with Grant Cutler, the man who provided the music for Lookbook.  "Brave Boy" features the same warped-instrumentation of A Wolf And Her Claws and Lookbook with one exception: it doesn't go anywhere.  Where those projects had the ability get hips shaking, the music of "Brave Boy" doesn't make me want to do anything.  That would be OK if Wolf were able to find a hook to propel the song forward.  Unfortunately, the progression I detailed above has reached it's obvious end: Wolf relying solely on her voice to carry the song.  Frankly, it just doesn't work.

Final Score: 1.5/5

There you have it, folks! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, pondered upon, reviewed, and filed away.

As always, please remember that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with word processors and little bit too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our weekly podcast, Flatbasset Radio, or ranting like a lunatic on his personal blog Flatbasset.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.