So I am once again unemployed, and while the free time is great for me to be able to focus on homework, my band, my writing and handing out resumes (oh the irony), it does indeed suck. So I’ve been a little pissy this week and to reflect my pissed-ness, I’ve been feeling the need to listen to punk music. WAIT WAIT WAIT, no, not skaterpunk or Greenday or anything, I’m talking about punk ’77, punk ’82, when punk meant spiked guitars, angry, intelligent lyrics and fearless, fucking awesome performers; not prancing douchebags with whiny voices and west 49 clothing. One of my favorite punk bands is the band of the week…

X!!!

X? Yes, X, they’re called X, just that one letter (capitalized by the way). And they kick ass. Inspired by Patti Smith and The Sex Pistols among others, John Doe and Exene Cervidfihjqerf (something like that) teamed up and put her rough, street-smart poetry to gritty tunes with great chord changes, smacking hooks and fast tempos. They also got Billy Zoom to play Chuck Berry-esque guitar (which doesnt fit the sound necesarrily, but adds something else to it) and D.J. Bonebreak to bang them drum skins.

In the early 80′s Ray Manzarek (The Doors’ keyboardist) produced their 4 masterpeices Los Angelos, Wild Gift, Under the Big Black Sun and More Fun in the New World. Amazing albums all of them. While Los Angelos or Under the Big Black Sun are often cited as perhaps their best albums, it was Wild Gift that really grew on me slowly and eventually astounded me when I realized the brilliance of songs like White Girl and Adult Books.

The most incredible thing about X is the way John Doe and Exene’s voices harmonize, but really it’s more like they meld or blend or something, perfectly complimenting eachother. Exene’s voice just wraps around Doe’s so perfectly. I would say that the way Spiral Beach’s Maddy and Airick’s voices work in unison is very similar to the way theirs do.

Regardless of whether you’re having a good week or a shitty one, check out this band. They made some incredible music that should appeal to plenty of non-punks just as well as those who dig punk and they were never as appreciated as they should have been. Do you like the doors? Of course you do. Well, if the keyboardist from the doors liked them dont you think you should at least check em out? Hellz yeah!!!

I never realized how sexy, romantic and beautiful the scottish accent is until I heard this band. Sure, we may laugh at it and imitate fat bastard but there’s some kind of forgotten image of a brave, romantic, poetic Scot that’s been left out of the common conscious. I imitated a scottish accent while looking in the mirror and all I can say is MAN I wish I were actually scottish. Thanks to the band of the week…

THE TWILIGHT SAD!!!

The Twilight Sad released their first album last year, it was called 14 Autumns and 15 Winters and was released by Fat Cat records, the same record company that released all the albums from last week’s band of the week, Songs of Green Pheasant, as well as the band No Age who’ve been gaining some acclaim recently.

The Twilight Sad kind of sound like Annuals except scottish and with better songs and less orchestration. In place of the all-to-familiar-by-now orchestra set up, TTS fill up space with accordian (Arcade Fire similarity) and lovely My Bloody Valentine-esque walls of noise/sound which is great. Lyrics deal with my favorite topic: teen angst (eek! I love it).

What’s the best thing about the band? Sure the Constantine-esque drumming is brilliant and we’ve already talked about the guitars but it’s the heavy scot-accented vocals that just get me going. I’ve been imitating them for the last week because there’s something about it that’s just so…mysterious or something? I don’t know, it’s like when I imagine the character behind them I imagine the person I’d like to be maybe…What kind of character is that, you ask? Listen to them and decide for yourself. Anyways, I love them.

With a healthy mix of great influences and a sound that fits snuggly in with todays crop without getting lost in it, The Twilight Sad are a band that with no shortage of potential in; potential that is already being used fantastically. This is a band that I can see becoming the Interpol of the next four years or something (hopefully they’ll avoid the mediocre third album though). A band that’s going to get big, gather tons of dedicated fans and have their name in bold wherever they go. And what a great name it is, The Twilight Sad…Why sad? This is music to celebrate.

http://www.myspace.com/thetwilightsad

Who could the band of the week this be? Somebody well known and well liked? Some weird obscure band noones ever heard of? An old band? A new band? A cool band? A weird band? A band with a girl in it? The Answer is……the obscure band noones ever heard of one! And it’s called…

SONGS OF GREEN PHEASANT!!!

WTF? Songs of Green Pheasant is the project of Duncan Sumpner, a teacher who recorded some tracks for cheap and got them released on indie-label Fat Cat Records. The sound he makes on his second album Gyllyng Street are a cross between folk and thoughtful dreamy-shoegazerish pop. The ambience of his music reminds one of a scene not unlike the albums cover: that of the seaside or a river.

His music doesn’t follow any of todays current trends or anything, it’s just somebody making intelligent sounds that somebody out there might enjoy. Somebody like me. Somebody like you?

His music is sort what you might expect as a solo release by any member of Slowdive (he’s not one though). The sound is big and airy, but it’s clearly very singular and the work of an individual. It’s rainy day music. It’s not easy to make out whats being said but the feeling of the song says enough in a way reminescent of The Cure’s Disingtegration (not that SOGP sound anything like Robert Smiths moody crew).

Songs of Green Pheasant isn’t the type of music that will appear on an OC soundtrack or surprisingly make it big comme Les Shins but it is the type of artist that your girlfriend might fall in love with or that you’ll pull out an listen to one day after forgetting that you even owned the album, only to discover you’ve forgotten how much you enjoyed it.

If your in the mood (are you..in the mood?) check out his myspace and just dig those 3 minutes inside Sumpner’s seaside world.