NIN’s Technology Magicians : Sudjam

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

Dear Sudjam guys,

If you ever are looking for a cool girl with a master’s degree and tech experience to do some usability research on your stuff, please contact me at hardrockchick-at-hardrockchick-dot-com. Thanks!

On a serious note, if you want to know more about NIN.com and NIN:Access, look no further than this youtube clip:

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN

2124Comments (0)NIN%27s+Technology+Magicians+%3A+Sudjam2009-05-01+04%3A46%3A48hardrockchick

Ladytron < The Faint @ The Fillmore, 4/29/09

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

It was the first night of The Faint and Ladytron’s two night mini residency at The Fillmore. As co-headliners, each band would take a turn closing (imagine that!). Guess which night I picked? The Faint’s closing night, because I just like them like that.

It was to be my first time seeing Ladytron. I’ve skipped out on seeing them several times because I’ve heard mixed things. The band comes out to take their spots at what are essentially five stations of electronic doo dads. The 2 front women are kind of an odd pair- the pixie, who’s hairstyle is mimicked throughout the crowd, and the scary one. I say ‘scary’ because this woman’s intensity, paired with her starkly contrasting ’80s dress and flats, conjured up the movie Secretary for me. I just couldn’t get it out of my head.

Ladytron crafts some stellar beats, and they sound very good live. But, they are confined to their workstations, and generally seem to lack enthusiasm for the majority of the set. Perhaps this is in comparison to what I know I will be getting from The Faint, but frankly, I got bored. Maybe the vocals are too girly for me, “They only want you when you’re seventeen…When you’re twenty-one, you’re no fun”. Honestly, I don’t want to be reminded of that right now, thanks.

During the break, a couple people leave on the rail and we walk over and take their spots. I thought they were bored waiting for The Faint, too, but apparently the Ladytron fans just don’t move during the set. Watching the setup, and knowing that most of the guys set up their own equipment, I came to a shocking discovery. Joel, the bassist, and Clark, the drummer, look like they’ve lost their razors somewhere along their massive, non-stop tour. And the real shocker, Dapose comes waltzing out with short hair. NOOOO!!!!

The set begins, surprisingly, with ‘Mirror Error’ (‘Danse’ and ‘Agenda’ had taken turns opening all last year). Todd has lost the Dr. Horrible ensemble and now is heavily guylinered. I’m jumping around when I notice that I can hear myself singing, which- let me tell you- is NEVER a good thing under any circumstance. The sound was oddly quiet- not sure what was going on there.

Moving into the set, we heard the usual suspects, the oldies but goodies. ‘The Conducter’ was a great one to hear again, as was ‘Southern Belles’, which hadn’t made it into the set at any of last year’s shows. Still missing ‘Erection’ though…

The last Faint show I went to was pretty rough. Long story short- I kinda ended up choking a girl. But this time, no one touched me, nor I them, and I had room to dance around, which was great. Todd was making use of the stage, shaking the mic like a maraca, posing for the cameras. Jacob has even more crazy moves- no longer is there just a backbend, but a twist side step backbend like an olympic event or something. Joel, however, I’m a little worried about. To be honest, he looks a bit strung out. I think the guys need a good long break after this tour.

I came home with a poster and a setlist (my third Faint setlist!). Considering this is my fifth time seeing them in the past year, there is really nothing more for me to write about them (at least, until I get that interview I’ve been begging them for). I think this will be my last Faint show for awhile…but if you still haven’t seen them, I don’t know what is wrong with you (swine flu?), but you better get your ass in gear and do it now. They never disappoint.

OVERALL: 8.5/10
The Faint performance: 9/10
Ladytron performance: 7/10
venue (The Fillmore): 9/10
crowd/scene: 8/10
value ($41.50/ticket): 7.5/10
memorable: 7/10

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

2112Comments (2)2009-04-30+08%3A57%3A57hardrockchick

New Video: IAMX ~ Think of England

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

Review of upcoming album Kingdom of Welcome Addiction here.

Genre(s): Rockin' Videos

2110Comments (1)New+Video%3A+IAMX+%7E+Think+of+England2009-04-28+04%3A38%3A53hardrockchick

Autolux Rattled Eardrums @ GAMH, 4/25/09

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

My ears are still ringing.

Last time I saw Autolux was a Noise Pop show in 2007 at The Independent. Their set was cut short due to some fried amps or something. I had to ditch my ticket at the last minute when they came around last year. This time, I wasn’t missing it.

Autolux has been riding a buzz wave for several years now- a long time for only putting out one album. Their second album has been held up for awhile now- I was looking forward to hearing the new stuff.

I walked in late to this show, coming from a fundraiser party for a good friend who is getting a liver transplant next week. The opener on stage was playing super dreamy, slow music- not what I was looking for, not what I needed.

When Autolux hit the stage, the tone changed. The room darkened, the crowd grew oddly hostile. As they launched into their first song, my ears screamed in protest. They were a wall of sound, near My Bloody Valentine style. I don’t know if it was where I was standing or what, but my ears were bleeding even with my super fancy earplugs. Perhaps it was just a shock to my system after the opener- I soon gave into the full auditory assault and it felt good after the first song.

First thing I noticed was that Eugene seemed very smiley and happy compared to the last time I saw them. Carla, dressed all in white, was like the angel of drumming. Greg was very focused. The stage was so dark that you couldn’t help but get lost in the sound, except for the moments when Eugene does his guitar tricks, which, as any regular reader of HRC knows, gets me very excited! The axe is wielded like a baseball bat to the amp, or pressed up against the mic stand for ultimate distortion. Love it.

This is going to sound really odd, but there’s something about Autolux that makes me think of the fifties. I think it’s because the first song of theirs that I heard was ‘Here Comes Everybody‘, and hearing “sha-la-la” made me think of the Beach Boys or something. Perhaps paired with band members’ old school names like Eugene and Carla, I’ve never been able to shake this sentiment.

The new songs sound good, but at this point I still have to give it to the old favorites ‘Turnstile Blues’ and ‘Capital Kind of Strain’. There are some video snippets, albeit very dark ones, that I took below.

The set was barely one hour, with a one song encore. I really like Autolux, but the love is going to have to wait until the second album hits and I see a longer set.

They had a really cool poster on sale that I hope to pick up online later…..I believe Carla designed it.

Once again, the marquee was taken down before I left the venue. GAMH, what’s the rush to move on to the next show? I guess I will need to make a point to take the picture before I go inside….

OVERALL: 8.25/10
Autolux performance: 8.5/10
venue (GAMH): 9/10
crowd/scene: 8/10
value ($18.00/ticket): 7.5/10
memorable: 7/10

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

2106Comments (0)2009-04-26+20%3A02%3A03hardrockchick

Help Support Slim’s and GAMH! Save All Ages Venues!

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

from the GAMH/Slim’s weekly email:

Slim’s and GAMH are under siege from the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) with regards to our All Ages licenses. We have had a great deal of legal expenses in the past year. Purchase of this shirt will go to support our ongoing legal bills and help to keep Slim’s and GAMH alive. Only $20!
***PLEASE CONTACT SENATOR MARK LENO AND LET HIM KNOW THAT YOU SUPPORT ALL AGES CLUBS IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST THE ABC!!***
senator.leno@senate.ca.gov
Thanks for your support.
Shirts are available in person at the Slim’s box office M-F from 10:30am – 6pm, or EMAIL HERE for instructions on mail or fax orders.

Genre(s): Rockin' Things To Do

2102Comments (1)2009-04-25+22%3A20%3A15hardrockchick

Record Recap: Fischerspooner ~ Entertainment

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

Fischerspooner, a Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode influenced ‘electro-clash’ duo from Brooklyn, is one of the more interesting live acts out there. A theatrical, high energy experience, their current tour is a must see.

Fischerspooner’s third album, the somewhat generically titled Entertainment, is a more mellowed out version of their style. ‘The Best Revenge’ starts the album off; a dreamy dance track with the occasional interjection of some horns. ‘We Are Electric’ contains some screaming guitar at the end- touching on the psych/electro space that Fischerspooner pulls off well. ‘Money Can’t Dance’ starts out with a clip from Gene Krantz on ‘To The Moon’. A quasi-parable of sorts about being “off track”; the song states, “it’s too late for someone like me”. Something about the beat of ‘In A Modern World’ reminds me of this. “In a modern world it’s hard to be heard”…commentary on the state of the music industry, perhaps? In ‘Supply & Demand’; “I got supplies, you got the demand, I got the feeling that you don’t understand” speaks of a struggle between two people. ‘Amuse Bouche’ features grinding, hypnotic synths backing up the song title being repeated along with “don’t look back”. The albums most overtly political song, ‘Infidels of the World Unite’, muses the need to stand for something, but how some are “doing wrong in the name of right”. ‘Door Train Home’ speaks of being betwixt and between two places, a guitar mimicking the roar of a train. ‘Danse En France’ is perhaps the album’s oddest track, slowly trudging along to a mix of French and English lyrics. The album finishes with ‘Too the Moon’, an upbeat number that seems hopeful despite the fears expressed in the previous songs.

Entertainment, oddly enough, is less fun sounding than prior Fischerspooner abums. It’s more mature, weaving a story of a journey from point A to point B. It may not get you dancing to infectious beats like their previous work, but it will get you thinking.

Entertainment is available on May 4th.

1. “The Best Revenge”
2. “We Are Electric”
3. “Money Can’t Dance”
4. “In A Modern World”
5. “Supply & Demand”
6. “Amuse Bouche”
7. “Infidels Of The World Unite”
8. “Door Train Home”
9. “Danse en France”
10. “To The Moon”

Youtubes of recent performance:

Money Can’t Dance

Danse en France

Emerge

Catch Fischerspooner at The Fillmore on May 22nd.

Genre(s): Thoughts on Albums

2086Comments (0)2009-04-25+22%3A01%3A25hardrockchick

Record Recap: IAMX ~ Kingdom of Welcome Addiction

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

What exactly is IAMX? Electronic? Rock? You really can’t accurately convey to someone what IAMX is; it has to be heard. And this is exactly the point of it.

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction is the third album from Chris Corner’s IAMX. While the album stays consistent with past efforts in terms of its danceable qualities, dark lyrics, and strong, soaring vocals, it possesses a slightly different formula than The Alternative and Kiss & Swallow. The majority of the tracks are structured around hooks rather than being led by Corner’s vocals. It takes some getting used to. The album feels a bit more mellow and thoughtful than The Alternative, which is much more visceral.

The record seems to deal with the theme of settling into oneself, despite an addiction. The last elements of an internal struggle dissipate in the ‘Nature of Inviting’; surrendering to a power, in a love/hate relationship. In the title track, the lyrics ‘suck at life’ seem a tad pedestrian, but this melancholy march speaks of taking ownership of a fault, and is ultimately an empowering song. ‘TearGarden’, a song about lustful aggression, possesses that half step down in notes that just tugs at my soul- despite my distaste for the name. ‘My Secret Friend’, featuring Imogen Heap, is a very synthy, lightly veiled love song to substances. ‘An I for An I’ is industrial, aggressive, and foreboding; warning about an imminent disaster. Lines such as “we owe it to the sex toys, to the icons of our time” are followed up by the rare bit of guitar. This is proceeded by ‘I Am Terrified’, a stripped down love/lust song with very poignant lyrics:

“I am terrified
I think too much
I get emotional
When I drink too much
I buy every cry
Cause I don’t trust
I am terrified
I think too much”

‘Think of England’ is a transitional song about gathering strength again, and is pointedly biographical in referencing where Corner lives, in Berlin. ‘The Stupid The Proud’ is the most theatrical, telling a story; “God is dead, we get to sleep tonight”, brings up religion and gender themes. ‘You Can Be Happy has a middle eastern intro, and discusses empowerment with a positive beat. ‘The Great Shipwreck of Life’ feels very eighties, and more like it belongs on The Alternative. “I’ll be Peter Pan and you just be pretty”. Acceptance is the message. ‘Running’ has a ‘Closer’-like beat with very melancholy vocals. The tone is ‘sleepy after staying out all night’. A reflective track, the album ends with this comfortable downer.

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction is as equally well crafted as past IAMX albums, however, it’s tone keeps it from becoming immediately attachable. By listen 3, you’ll start to understand.

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction is available on May 19, 2009.

1. “Nature Of Inviting”
2. “Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction”
3. “Tear Garden”
4. “My Secret Friend” (featuring Imogen Heap)
5. “An I For An I”
6. “I Am Terrified”
7. “Think Of England”
8. “The Stupid The Proud”
9. “You Can Be Happy”
10. “The Great Shipwreck Of Life”
11. “Running”

Youtubes of some of the new songs:

I Am Terrified:

Teargarden:

You can see IAMX at Slim’s on June 9th

Genre(s): Thoughts on Albums

2080Comments (2)2009-04-25+06%3A59%3A37hardrockchick

Throbbing Gristle Was Tough to Swallow @ The Grand, 4/23/09

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

The show sold out almost immediately.

Anyone who calls themselves an industrial fan has at least heard of Throbbing Gristle. But they’ve been so dormant for so long that my motivation for buying tickets were more about knowing I should be there than necessarily being a fan of the music.

I decided to watch this show from the back to fully take in the sound and visuals. As the set was about to commence, the houselights brighten instead of dim. They are filming the set, which, apparently, necessitates this. Or perhaps it’s part of their aesthetic. Either way, it made me uncomfortable. I am used to experiencing live music in the dark; this made me squinty, irritable, and easily distracted.

A stark, laptop focused stage awaits Genesis, who comes out looking very Donatella Versace robo-granny with his sleek ‘do paired with a baggy shirt, skirt, and vest; Sleazy, Cosey, and Chris Carter in a kimono follow. The music begins, loud and full bodied- I forgot that sometimes people go see live shows for the sound. I’m usually up close trying to be onewiththeband. The visuals were very lean- only a red, tribal looking projection was behind them.

Genesis starts with his smoke-soaked voice, talking about murdering children in the song “Very Friendly”, which references the Moors Murders that occurred in Manchester when the band was growing up. The 18 minute long song establishes the provocative tone yet subdued rhythm that would be maintained through the barely over an hour long set. “Persuasion” follows.

I felt like I was at a museum, watching an exhibit of a band playing. There was a huge wall between the band and the audience; no give and take allowed. Appreciation trumps the fun factor….and this is a notion that is hard for me to maintain while watching a set. The lights made me very distracted: oh, there’s a girl with a really ugly skirt on; look, that guy is really fucked up; my, that man has a purse and is fanning himself with a chinese fan; hmmm…I believe that’s Mike Patton standing near me…

Listening to the band play that inspired a lot of the bands I love is an interesting experience. It’s kind of like witnessing a bunch of raw ingredients that were later mixed with other ingredients and baked by your favorite bands.

Here are some loose examples:

Genesis – cigarettes + melody = Ogre
Chris Carter + speed + guitar = Reznor

Next, TG went into “Something Came Over Me”, with the not so subtly perverse lyrics “Something came over me…was it white? Was it sticky?”

The slower, meandering beats paired with the bright light kind of sent me into a wormhole. I was thinking how I would probably be really into this if I were on drugs, which caused me to look around and find people who were on drugs, think about which kind of drugs, then on to what they do for a living, what happened in their past that made them take drugs, what if they aren’t on drugs but just act like that normally, which version of them I would prefer between those two options, what neighborhood they live in, how did they get here, where did they get their ticket, do they ever read my site….you get the picture. Suddenly, I wasn’t at a show, I was at the DMV with better music and the same bad lighting….waiting…

A birthday wish was made to Genesis’ daughter, who came out on stage. Some guy up in the balcony started yelling. I look up in the balcony and notice that people are sitting. “It’s a museum…one day you’ll appreciate it.” echoed in my head.

‘Discipline’, a faster song with more to it, awakens me from my daze. The floor rumbles and I move a little to the music. However, this was the final song. Applause brings them back out, but only to bow like at the end of a play. It’s only 10:30pm. The house lights dim as we leave. Oh, the irony.

OVERALL: 7.25/10
Throbbing Gristle performance: 7.5/10
venue (The Grand): 7.5/10
crowd/scene: 8/10
value ($30.00/ticket): 7/10
memorable: 6.5/10

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

2070Comments (2)2009-04-24+08%3A17%3A46hardrockchick

Zia from the Dandys joins BJM for ‘Not If You Were the Last Dandy on Earth’ at Coachella

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

Zia from The Dandy Warhols- who has commented on my review of their set before- joined Brian Jonestown Massacre during the song ‘Not If You Were the Last Dandy on Earth’ for ultimate irony. Very cool.

Read my recent review of a well behaved BJM here, and a older review of a not so well behaved BJM here.

Genre(s): Rockin' Videos

2066Comments (0)2009-04-22+06%3A08%3A12hardrockchick

Dark Matter w/ Dave Navarro

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

Dave Navarro, guitarist for Jane’s Addiction, has an internet radio show called Dark Matter on Indie 103.1, which airs Wednesdays from 10p-12a PST. In light of the upcoming NIN/JA tour, he’s been dedicating the shows, deemed ‘NIN/JA Wednesdays’, to all things NIN/JA related. With a strong twitter component, somehow….this happened:

April 8th show: HRC logs off early and misses calling in…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This rockin’ industrial version of ‘Whores’ played before my call:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

April 15th show: the call…

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It’s fun to be HRC sometimes!

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN,Miscellaneous

2050Comments (1)Dark+Matter+w%2F+Dave+Navarro2009-04-22+05%3A31%3A25hardrockchick