He Ain't Dead...

He's a Walker!

PS I Love You - Death Dreams

PS I Love You is a raucous indie two-piece hailing from the smallish city of Kingston, Ontario. Despite having a moniker that sounds like an emo/mall punk band circa 2003, the band has released a stellar rock record with its second full-length, Death Dreams.

Vocalist/guitarist Paul Saulnier (Paul Saulnier I Love You?) formed the band in 2006 while still in college, initially as a vehicle for his home recordings, composed mainly on guitar and his trusty Casio keyboard. Saulnier developed a loyal local following, and came to the inevitable realization that a dude tinkling away on a Casio keyboard is exactly no one's idea of a rockin' live show. He wisely enlisted the drumming talents of school mate Benjamin Nelson, and the duo recorded a series of singles and EPs, before releasing their first full-length, Meet Me At Muster Station, in 2010. The album garnered some favorable reviews from indie music sites, but the band failed to make much of an impact in the US. 

With Death Dreams, the band has expanded its sound, and likely, its fanbase. Rather than just crank his amp up to eleven (which it sounds as though he has), Saulnier has also deftly employed a variety of production techniques (multitracks and a legion of effects pedals, among others) to give his accomplished guitar skills some added heft. His intricate fretwork is showcased on "Don't Go", an atmospheric anthem that features a screeching high register eruption midway through, and a soulful, gospel-tinged female backing vocal on the chorus. The following track, "Don't Go", ups the sonic stakes to a level of artful noise that Kevin Shields wouldn't necessarily scoff at (a compliment, to be clear).

Sleep - An Exercise in Artistic Vision (and a Tribute to Gettin' Baked)

Editor’s Note - Dopesmoker is an album by the stoner metal band Sleep, consisting of one hour-long song. I decided that the best way to write about it would be to press Play, and write continually until the song is over. Giddy-up! 

I’ve been meaning to write about the musical phenomenon that is Dopesmoker since it’s reissue early last month, but one can’t just download a one song, hour-long album, press play on iTunes, and start clacking away at the keyboard. No, that is not the proper, respectful way to attack such a historic rock epic. And no, that is not a misprint in the first sentence: one song, one hour long. One hour, three minutes, and thirty-six seconds, to be precise. 

A bit of backstory before I continue. Dopesmoker  was originally recorded in the mid-nineties by legendary doom metal band Sleep, comprised of three stoner dudes from San Jose. It was to be the band’s first album for a major label, London Records, who signed the band with the intent of making them more “mainstream”. But Sleep were not interested in being the Gen X version of Black Sabbath. The band was hellbent on following their own artistic vision (how refreshing!), and after much time spent laboring in the studio, the band emerged, amidst a thick cloud of weed smoke, with their painstakingly created, hour long magnum opus. “We shall call it, ‘Dopesmoker’,” they proclaimed. Their label execs, as you might imagine, were less than enthused. 

The ensuing battle between the band and the label resulted in the recording being chopped up into six separate “tracks” and retitled Jerusalem, which still failed to please London execs. The noble members of Sleep refused any additional concessions, and ultimately broke up rather than see their masterpiece further compromised. Jerusalem was eventually released in 1999 on indie label Music Cartel. The band finally found vindication four years later, when the original hour-long track was released as Dopesmoker on Tee Pee Records in 2003. 

Fast forward nine years to 2011, when another indie label, Southern Lord, was contacted by bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros about a deluxe reissue of the recording. The label jumped at the opportunity, and on May 8, 2012, a remastered version of Dopesmoker, featuring new artwork and a bonus live track was released, delighting old-school stoner metal bros and introducing the band to a new generation of shaggy-haired headbangers.

Heavy Blanket - J Mascis is Back in the Face-Melting Business

Diehard J Mascis fans possess two crucial characteristics, a penchant for yelling “Lou Barlow Sucks!” at Dinosaur Jr. shows, and an inherently masochistic delight in having their faces melted. J will forever be known as the frontman and Axe-Shredder-in-Chief of Dinosaur Jr. But over the years, the schlubby Buddha of indie rock has displayed a restless creative spirit, which has manifested itself not only in his post-Dino band The Fog but in various one-off projects like Witch and Sweet Apple.

Last year, Mascis followed his wandering muse and released Several Shades of Why, an acoustic folk album that, while an accomplished effort that reaffirmed his talents as a singer/songwriter, no doubt disappointed his loyal followers. As if heeding their desperate pleas to plug in to an amp once again, Mascis ditched the acoustic strumming and mumbly vocals to focus on his bread and butter talent, the virtuosic guitar solo. The vehicle for this latest musical incarnation is Heavy Blanket.

Little is known about Heavy Blanket, other than that it is an instrumental trio fronted by Mascis. A press release made the media rounds a couple of months ago announcing the project, and featured a humorous account of the band’s back story involving teenage boredom, the Clap, Japanese hard psych, and smoking weed out of a tuba. The dubious nature of Heavy Blanket’s origins aside, what is indisputable is that the latest showcase for J.‘s guitar heroics is indeed heavy.

Why You Should Watch Castle

I don't have cable. Rather, I have rabbit ears (pause for laughter), which feebly jut out from the mantle in my living room and hover over me while I watch TV. In my ongoing efforts to improve the reception on the three channels (yes, 3) that are clear enough to watch (and that feature programming even remotely worth watching), the antennae often end up at eye level. On more than one occasion, I have very nearly poked my own eye out as I walked past them.

The three aforementioned channels are ABC, CBS, and the LivWell network. The only programs worth watching on LivWell are Motion and Mexico One Plate At A Time (featuring local celebrity chef Rick Bayless, who warrants a blog post all his own). So basically, it's ABC or CBS when I sit down to watch TV at night.

As you can imagine, having essentially two channels to choose from significantly limits one's viewing options. Fortunately, I am the type of person who doesn't like having to make choices, so works out OK. An added benefit is that with so few viewing options, I'm less inclined to watch a lot of TV, and more inclined to get up off the couch and actually do something productive, like read a book or sit out on the porch and stare down passing pedestrians.

But when I do watch TV, there is really only one show that I consider to be "can't missable". That show is Castle.