The Dumbing of America

Uh Oh!

toddc2001 — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:09:48 +0000

Obviously, something is amiss at the TDOA offices. Posts are disappearing! Please stand by and we’ll try and fix the problem.

We’ve Moved!!!

toddc2001 — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:06:10 +0000

The Dumbing of America has moved to http://thedumbingofamerica.net

Click the link to read new interviews with folks like Peter Hook!

We’re moving!

toddc2001 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:38:33 +0000

It’s a big day at TDOA! I’ve just completed our first on-air interview with Living Things at the CBD HD-Radio affiliate in Dallas. By the time you read this, it’ll have streamed line online, but you can listen to the podcast at their website: Indie-Verse.com.

To coincide with the launch of our weekly interview show, I’ve launched a new website with a simpler name: http://thedumbingofamerica.net. In the next few days, you’ll automatically be re-directed to that site when you visit this one. In the meantime, those of you who are internet savvy, can update your rss readers and make the change. I’ll mirror the content on both sites for the next week or so before shutting this one down.

If you were wondering about the lack of new interviews, I hope you’ll understand that the move of the website and launching of the radio show has taken up all of my time. You can look forward to more piping, hot content in the weeks to come. I’ll also post the podcast and a schedule of upcoming interviews in the next few days.

Buckle up! We’re just getting started.

I Am A Sheep

toddc2001 — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:43:40 +0000

Initially, I resisted this concept of a mid-year top ten. It seemed like a cheap concept for websites with nothing to talk about. But then I started looking at the lists onmy favorite websites and realized that none of the albums I like were getting any attention. Given that this has been the best year for new releases since….the eighties (?!), I felt a need to throw my two cents into the ring. What follows is a list that I’d be proud to publish if this was December 31st. The prospect of six more months of great music, is truly exciting.

1) The Boxer Rebellion: Union- If you loved The Verve and remember when it was still cool to like U2, you ought to be listening to this band. This self-released album topped the U.S. and U.K. ITunes charts the week it debuted. I’d like to think that TBR is our little secret, but I suspect there are a lot of you out there.

2) The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: Self-Titled- As British as The Boxer Rebellion sound, THOBPAH bring a sound that is distinctly super American chunky. Great melodies that merge with an indie sensibility that is far from self-indulgent.

3) Gliss: Devotion/Implosion- Like watching the most beautiful carousel you’ve ever seen, Gliss switch instruments and vocal duties effortlessly and make you swoon every time. How much do I love the re-emergence of the distortion pedal in music? In a year where the great ideas of the 80′s are given new life, Gliss simulatneously seem original yet nostalgic. I hate to throw the JAMC reference around this list too much, but they were a brilliant band and Gliss make me realize what they’d have become with better vocals and less self-indulgence.

4) An Horse: Rearrange Beds- 2-piece from Australia that harkens back to the best of The Spinanes (look it up. you’ll love it.). I interviewed them days after they first arrived in America after this album was released. With an appearance on Letterman and accolades from numerous magazines, we can expect An Horse to be on many year-end lists for many years to come. Deservedly so.

5) White Lies- To Lose My Life: Equal parts The Teardrop Explodes, Joy Division and Interpol. Certainly enough to make Brandon Flowers shut up forever (hopefully…). I had predicted that this would be my album of the year after hearing a few cuts. If I have any complaint, it’s that the second half of the record is a little uneven. Still a tremendous effort, though.

6) Zee Avi- Zee Avi- This one snuck on the list at the last second! I posted her brilliant cover of “First of the Gang” previously and just got a copy of the album this week. Since then, I’ve had it on an endless loop. Prepare to here a voice that will melt you in a second. To compare someone’s voice to Billie Holiday isn’t something I would do on a whim. The album alternates from moody, to playful, to beautiful in a way that seems natural. An amazing debut. Prepare to read about her for the next six months and the rest of your life.

7) East Hundred- Passenger: Erroneously posted in our revised ‘Best of 2008′, this was actually released in January of 2009. Why this band isn’t on a major label is one of this years’ great mysteries. Perfect vocal melodies from Beril Guceri coupled with a band that can write music that isn’t dependent on ‘hooks’, yet sticks in your head. Quite a combination and a recipe for a great album.

Crocodiles- Summer of Hate: Fresh off their network debut on Carson Daly’s televsion show, this is a band with unbelievable potential. Their resemblence to Psychocandy/ Mary Chain-style is eerie. When they release their ‘Darklands’ expect them to be huge.

9) Jason Lytle- Yours Truly The Commuter: Yes, it’s the singer from Grandaddy. Yes, it’s as good as anything Grandaddy did. Anything other questions?

10) Gomez- A New Tide: I’ve intentionally posted this video which just shows the album cover, while the opening track plays. Perhaps the best “pop” song I’ve heard in years. Close your eyes and let this soak into your eardrums.

Upon Further Review: The Top 10 of 2008 ?!!?

toddc2001 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:22:07 +0000

So I was reading through the ‘Guide To Being One Of The Cool Bloggers’ (You can download it on Pitchfork, but you have to answer a 20-question quiz on Kraut-rock before you can access it. I used my Julian Cope book to cheat.) and it says that I have to do a “Best of the first half of 2009″. Seriously? Are the cool kids that desperate for content? I started reading through the lists a few sites have already published and noticed a disturbing trend: They were listing albums released in 2008. Sorry everyone, but Ida Maria was released in July of 2008 and I don’t want to hear the “it wasn’t released in the U.S. until 2009 argument. Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ was released online in 2007 and was properly put on the 2007 “Best of” lists. NOBODY, put but it on their 2008 list.
Instead, I make a different proposition. Why not put out a revised ‘Best of 2008′? I’m the first to admit that sometimes I miss an album release. With so many bands self-releasing albums and with the internet creating a larger number of accessible bands, it’s hard to catch everything. So I’m going to take this opportunity to reflect back on 2008 and list my revised top 10.

Here’s the list I published on January 1 of this year.

1) The Duke Spirit- Neptune (Both of their albums have been my number 1 for their respective year. Clearly, the most under-rated band on the planet)

2) The Virgins- Self-Titled (Still a good pop record, but fading fast in my memory)

3) Darker My Love- 2 (Despite mailing it in when they were interviewed by me, this album still packs a wallop.)

4) Steve Malkmus- Real Emotional Trash (As with many Pavement records, it continues to grow on me. Such a great songwriter.)

5 thru 10 were occupied by albums that I still like, but have quickly faded from my frequently played list: The Kooks (Konk), The Late Greats (Life Without Balloons), The Pigeon Detectives (Emergency), Fujiya & Miyagi (Lightbulbs), We Are Scientists (Brain Thrust Mastery), The Bronx (3)

So, with apologies to those I originally forgot, here’s the revised Best Albums of 2008…with a little perspective:

I’m efforting to post some videos that haven’t been shown here before. With bands like TDS, it’s hard because we’ve written them up so many times. But I’m pretty proud of these brand spankin new videos.

1) The Duke Spirit- Neptune

2) The Black Box Revelation- Set Your Head On Fire

3) The Black Keys- Attack and Release

4) Ida Maria- Fortress ‘Round My Heart

5) Darker My Love- 2

6) Jaydiohead- Jaydiohead: What? I can’t put a mashup album on my list? Well, this is the best mashup I’ve ever heard and deserves to be on this list.

7) Steve Malkmus- Real Emotional Trash

Division of Laura Lee- Violence Is Timeless

9) The Pigeon Detectives- Emergency

10) The Virgins- The Virgins

What do you think? What albums did you miss the first time around in 2008, that you’re loving now?

A plea for help

toddc2001 — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:18:05 +0000

Help….

I’m trying to move this website from our humble little WordPress.com home to our shiny, new WordPress.org mansion. I”ve googled, I’ve followed the instructions, I’ve watched youtube videos and yet….I’m stymied. Certain things would help: not being ADD, not being in a constant state of exhaustion, a governmental decree adding an extra six hours to each day. Since none of these things seem likely, I’m making a plea to my readers. If you now how to do it or can direct me to a nice step-by-step instruction list, I’d be forever indebted. It’s impacting my ability to schedule interviews, participate in interviews, edit completed interviews…..In other words, I suck and I need you help.

Post something in the comments. I’ll add your picture in the masthead or send you a copy of the new Cheap Trick album or….something.

Your New Favorite Band: LR Rockets

toddc2001 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:35:00 +0000

For those of you joining us from England for the first time, I have some important news for you from here in the States. Remember that MTV thing we foisted on you a few decades ago? Yeah, we don’t really do that video on the tv thing anymore. I understand it’s pretty big over there now. Oops. Sorry. Um, and ya know how excited you were when My Bloody Valentine re-formed? Well….we have dozens of MBV and Jesus and Mary Chain-a-like bands here now. Hope you don’t mind, but we lifted that from you.

Here’s the thing: I love the spate of “I love my distortion pedal” bands that have popped up in the States. And I don’t really miss videos. But…there’s this thing going on in England that all of us in the States need to know about. Um…they’re having fun over there. Lots of it. While we’re busy gazing at our shoes, they’re dancing, getting drunk and having a grand ‘ole time. England’s LR Rockets is a great example of a band, who make videos (lots of them!), have fun and aren’t ashamed of it.

I love hearing a great song from a new band. In fact, I can make mix cd’s of one-hit wonder bands all day long and be perfectly happy. Tell me that this new band has a bunch of good songs and I’m ecstatic. We previously highlighted LR Rockets’ song “Cameron Is Connected”. Once we explored the bands’ other songs, we found a band who can weave three or more great hooks within a single song. There is no greater manic pop thrill than to listen to a band like LR Rockets who’s energy, enthusiasm and ability to craft a song breathes some fresh air into our perfectly comfortable darklands.

I try to challenge you here at TDOA: I hope that you can listen to The Bronx and Band of Horses back to back without complaining. LR Rockets are quite different than anything we’ve got going here in the U.S. right now. The fellows from LR Rockets (LP, LEBOMB, JUDGE, FACE & SYMS) took some time to tutor us on the ways of the next British Invasion. Time to open your brains again, kiddies.

TDOA: We’ve talked with older British bands about the fickle nature of the British music press. How do you approach the media and try to promote the band, knowing that they can turn on you in a heartbeat?

LP: Firstly I think we are a bit more confident and positive than to think about a backlash. How could anyone turn on us? Come on really! Our approach is make music we love, get it in the right people’s hands by any means possible, work hard and enjoy making and playing music. The rest is then out of your control. I think the biggest thing is do not get hung up on the success side, enjoy it and be the best band you can be and fuck everyone else. If they like you then great, if they don’t, do you really care? We don’t (but we might chop your hands off if you do slag us off).

TDOA: Radiohead and The Boxer Rebellion have used different methods, but essentially shown that you can self-release your own music and be sucessful. Does this influence how you approached the major labels or how you plan the future of the band?

LP: Self-releasing has had a massive influence over us and many bands in the UK. Majors are not signing bands and few labels take risks on people so you need to be successful to get a deal. So how the hell do you do that without a label or backing? Well you save all your hard earned cash and you do it yourself. Nice of the majors (and even the indie’s too some degree) to do that to us, right? Yes (god I’m asking my own questions, when I should be answering yours here, sorry), they have in backward way, as you can now actually do it yourself with the way the rest of the industry works and if it’s successful keep doing it yourself and not giving any of your money to the greedy ‘unit’ men and women. The labels have made a rod for their own back’s. More and more bands are going to be self releasing. We see it around us all the time now. We self released ‘Dance it Away’ EP back in Jan 09 and it was the most successful releases we have had to date. You do the math’s (yes we say math’s over here, how terribly english!).

TDOA: I hesitate to call you music “pop” because it has a negative connotation here. But your music has a more radio friendly feel than the My Bloody Valentine/Jesus & Mary Chain revival that we here alot in the U.S.. Do you think about the commercial appeal of your music while writing?

Lebomb: We certainly don’t consider the commercial appeal when writing, however an LR Rockets song is not complete without at least two or three killer melodies. Our philosophy is to try and write more hooks in one song than your average band can get into an entire EP. It’s all about enjoying what we play and wanting to sing and dance along to our own shit really. In that sense, if making it popular with ourselves, qualifies as pop and in turn makes it commercially viable, then roll on the huge fan-base that will come and dance and sing along with us!!

TDOA: “Alternative/New Wave” or whatever you want to call it has been going for over 30 years now. From Oasis to Nirvana, it’s been proven that good music will generate revenue for labels and radio. Why do you think radio still refuses to take great music like yours and put it in heavy rotation?

Face: Because we’re the Devil!!! Radio is dominated by pop, squeaky clean crap that constantly gets churned out by majors and some 50-something suit heads the labels. And what does he like to look at? Young girls and boys…the old perv. He probably reckons his kids shouldn’t be influenced by five hardened lads who have something to say and are making music for a real reason. Plus the most powerful suits are those in the US and God help us they have a ‘hard on’ for R&B for some despicable reason.

TDOA: The bands here in America rarely have videos, but the British bands all seems to have several. In fact, there really isn’t much of a forum for videos in the U.S. anymore, as MTV is more focused on bad reality shows. How do bands like yourselves afford to make videos? Am I correct that there seems to be a greater focus on videos there?

Judge: Really! Well, you have a lot more cable channels then us with a lot more music channels. Music vids I believe are as popular in the states today as they were back in the 80s. Though the music video for british bands is a big hit for there finances. It is a promo tool that is known not to make (if any) great return. BUT, as we love making videos and will continue to do so as there are many mediums in which people can view these. We don’t see it as being an obstacle just a load of fun. In every song we make we always speak about ideas regarding visuals weather it be narrative or performance based. If we had more wonga then we would do a vid for all our songs!

TDOA: I’ve read a little bit about the reaction to ‘Death of the UK’. I know you guys have said you’re not deeply political, but at least you’ve made an attempt! Why do you think we don’t see much in the way of musical political protest music? It’s not like we live in a time where the economy is great and the world is at peace…

Lebomb: We’re not deeply political, true…as it’s not our way to wear our bleeding hearts on our sleeves. We don’t belive in cramming an agenda down anybodies ear-holes, but that doesn’t mean we’re afraid to cross swords with the occasional topical issue. I think in England there’s a general resistance to taking the Billy Bragg route of protest song, as it lacks that artistic edge you get from distancing yourself from a subject matter and coming back at it with either wit or cynicism. As a nation we often think we’re far too cool to admit we believe in something and I think it’s a symptom of that…perhaps that’s a shame.

LR Rockets- Death of the UK

TDOA: What does the band enjoy more, making videos or playing live/touring?

Syms: As much as the band enjoy the creative process of making a video that conveys the subject matter of our singles, we prefer to be playing gigs, touring around and meeting the locals. Expressing a song, with the amount of energy that we can produce at a live show, is one of the most exhillarating experiences for us and once we start to feed off the crowds reaction performances get bigger and better.

TDOA: Any plans to tour America in the next year?

Judge: Would never say never! Things just keep happening all the time for us and we have achieved a lot that is remarkable in the way that you wouldn’t of dreamt it. I feel quite confident with the way things are going we shall be crossing the pond next year!

TDOA: What music are you listening to these days?

LR: Fight Like Apes, Datarock, Dan Black, Ming Ming and the Ching Chings, My Tiger My Timing, Swound, The Chapman Family, The Fall, Devo, Depeche Mode, Stopstarts, Liars.

TDOA: If there was one band you could banish from the planet, who would it be?

Face: That’s easy! Snow Patrol, they represent everything that is bad about British music and have somehow tapped into the brain dead parts of the rest of the world too. Supermarket indie music…I get embarrassed when I hear a Snow Patrol song. In fact, if it’s easier you could just banish me so I don’t have to hear them anymore.

For more information about LR Rockets, visit their website at : www.lrrockets.com or their MySpace page at: www.myspace.com/lrrockets. You can also follow them on Twitter: @LRRockets

The Best of Bonnaroo

toddc2001 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:27:48 +0000

If you’ve been reading us for a while, you know we love our festival previews. With Bonnaroo coming this weekend, here’s our picks to click, starting at he bottom of the lineup and working our way up. I’m going to skip the top of the bill since I assume you know who these Springsteen and Beastie Boys fellow are….

Zee Avi- I already posted her brilliant Morrissey cover. Here’s her single and another great cover (Interpol). Amazing voice proving you don’t have to be loud to move me, despite what you’ve been saying about me.

Phoenix- Their new album is terrific and this band will certainly make the transition live.

BrakesBrakesBrakes- For those about to fall asleep, we salute you…

Alberta Cross- They ignore my plaintive cries for an interview, but I still love them. I could post a video of every song they’ve ever recorded and you’d be impressed. I’ve chosen my favorite song despite it not being a true “video”. It might be the most heartbreakingly beautiful song I’ve ever heard. What a joy it would be to see them live.

White Rabbits-The kind of band that ought to be blogged about every single day by the cool kids. I was on the fence until I saw this performance on Letterman. What do we learn from this? They must be amazing live, hence our Bonnaroo recomendation.

The Knux- Silly? Yep. Fits the mold of most of the bands we like? Nope. Breaking news: I don’t listen to alternative 24/7. Love this song and I’m not apologizing for it.

St. Vincent- Oh the hype. But in this case, it’s justified. Check out this rehersal video and realize that this is how good they are when they aren’t even really trying. Imagine the Bonnaroo-goodness! Annie Clark is an amazing talent, worthy of the adulation.

Jenny Lewis- She is the lead singer of one of my favorite bands and as you can see from this Coachella video, she is amazing on her own. Another of the great singers at the festival this weekend.

Gomez- Why isn’t this band one of the top 5 biggest alternative bands in the blogosphere? Did they pass on going bowling with Stereogum? I saw them in Dallas last night and was blown away. Technical ability- A+, Songwriting- A+.

Bon Iver- As I progress through this post, my heart continues to sink as I look at this amazing roster that I’m missing. I envision walking the grounds carrying a box of kleenex, crying at the beauty and the majesty. Bon Iver, you’d make me weep with joy.

Tremendous video from Jools Holland’s show

Band of Horses- I’m going to stop here, although their are bigger names on the top of the bill. For me, this would be the perfect way to end the weekend. A band who’s music I hear everywhere (commercials, movies, tv shows, the soundtrack of my dreams) and who really should be running their own country by now by virtue of their amazing ability to craft songs. Dude, we elected an actor and a cowboy. Could BOH do any worse?

Your New Favorite Band: Ringo Deathstarr

toddc2001 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:13:06 +0000

The brilliantly named Ringo Deathstarr are an Austin-based band who need to be on your radar. They’re the ADD cousins of My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary chain, crafting three minute bursts of noise-bliss that will shred your ears and leave you asking for more.

After numerous line-up changes, the one constant is singer/guitarist/mastermind Elliott Fraizer. The band (well, actually it was just Elliot) completed one EP in 2007 to rave reviews from indie mags everywhere. Kip Berman from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart name checked them in an interview and the buzz has steadily increased.

With a new line-up and a new album being recorded, we thought this would be a good time to touch base with Elliott and get a finger on the pulse of Ringo Deathstarr.

As you know by now, I like to add a few videos to each interview so that you can listen to them for yourself. Their reputation for being MBV-loud, makes finding videos to post a bit of a challenge. Turn these up to 11, flick the light switches on and off to get a good strobey effect and dream on.

TDOA: In recent interviews you’ve talked about the lineup changes and the
more colaborative writing process. Do you sense a change in the sound

or style of the band as a result?

EF: The sound is still the same vibe, but yes it is changing. But, nobody wants to do the same album over and over.

TDOA: After doing the bulk of the work on the EP, do you find it
difficult to loosen the reigns and let other musicians influence the sound?

EF: It just depends on the song. Sometimes I have the whole song already mapped out before showing it to the band, but it is great to have everyone writing, ’cause we like variety. I only did all the work on the EP because I had to, not necessarily cause I wanted to.

TDOA: You wear your JAMC and MBV influences on your sleeve (thanks for
not being as coy as most bands!). The U.S. generallly missed the boat
on these bands when they were in their heydey. Do you think bands
like RD can capture the American ear this time or do you have to go to England to get your just dues?

EF: I think that with the success of A Place To Bury Strangers and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, that people are perhaps ready for the noise pop dreamy sound. I think the reason it didn’t catch on a long time ago was because of GRUNGE. Right now, I think it works because people want more interesting guitar sounds than the same old rock n roll. I think electronic music is popular because, to a lot of people, the sounds are more interesting that just a guitar and a drum kit. But when they hear more unusual guitar sounds, it attracts interest, I guess.

Sweet Girl

TDOA: We’ve been extolling the virtues of Austin on our site for a while. Any thoughts on why the Austin music scene appears to be so vibrant?

EF: Because it’s so easy to be in a band here. I mean, its like saying, “Why is the acting scene in LA so big?”

TDOA: What influence did bands like Sixteen Deluxe and some of the older Austin bands have on you?

EF: I was not here when Sixteen Deluxe was around, but I met the guitar player, Frenchie, in 2002, and I have only recorded with him or at his studio ever since. What a dude!

TDOA: The lead singer of The Horrors gave an interview in NME recently in

which he suggested that Facebook, MySpace and music blogs should be
blown up because they’ve created a plethora of bad underground bands.
How do you feel about the internet as a marketing tool? (BTW, not
trying to lead the witness here, even though we’re “part of the problem”).

EF: It has its ups and downs. I agree about the tons of bad bands, but if you are a good band, it makes it so easy to get heard. It is hard at first to convince the world that you’re not just another shitty band. One of my favorite books is “Our Band Could Be Your Life” by Michael Azzerad, and the bands in there didn’t have the internet, they just toured a bunch and put out lots of albums, but they made a big impact on lots of people’s lives.

TDOA: How did you connect with Pains of Being Pure at Heart and can you tell us about your experiences with them at SXSW?

EF: Kip, the singer, had mentioned us in an interview or something so that’s how I found out about them, so we just contacted each other, hung out in New York when we were there, and they are just great. We played CMJ with them, but at SXSW they had 50 shows a day so we couldn’t play with them.

TDOA: We talk to a lot of bands that struggle to get publicity, record
deals or spots in festivals. Can you share your secrets on how RD has managed to be a part of SXSW?

EF: After we released our EP and it got good reviews we applied to SXSW and got in. I guess you just gotta be doing something that people want to hear. When I first started this band, friends would tell me that it was a stupid idea, but after 3 years it finally paid off. I guess some bands just give up too early.

TDOA: When will we see some new music from you guys? Any plans to tour this summer?

EF: We are recording an album now, but we have no money so it will take a while. We have a couple of releases coming out at the end of the summer in the UK and Japan. We will tour at the end of the summer I suppose.

TDOA: What bands are you listening to these days?

EF: MBV and JAMC, of course!

For more information about Ringo Deathstarr, visit their MySpace page at: http://www.myspace.com/ringodeathstarr

Fresh Fish

toddc2001 — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:00:32 +0000

Holy Guacamole, there’s a lot going on in TDOA! Interviews, promos, inquiries from people who want to see TDOA in other mediums…Oh yeah, we probably should post something too.

Better late than never, here are the best songs we heard released in May. Click on the name of each band if you’d like to find out more. Interviews with some in the future. Last month we asked for your feedback on this feature. We got some great tips (Loving Gliss! Thanks for that tip.) and tried to get interviews with the bands people seemed to love the most. How about you? What are your favorites amongst this list? Who did we miss?

The xx- Teardrops

The Joy Formidable- The Last Drop

Zee Avi- First of the Gang to Die

Pink Mountaintops- While We Were Dreaming

My Sad Captains- Ghost Song

Cut City- Departure in Particular

King Creosote- Here On My Own

Phoenix- Lasso

Deerhunter- Disappearing Link

Royal Treatment Plant- Undercurrent

Engineers- Sometimes I Realize

Pocketbooks- Footsteps

Doveman- Breathing Out

White Rabbits- Percussion Gun