This is some of the oldest news on the internet, but I am in the mood to add a sliver of content to my infrequently visited, cob-web infested corner of the internet. Also, the album is so fucking incredible that I really feel the need to unload for a second. Sigur Ros’ new record Valtari is due out on May 28th 2012, but I managed to get my hands on an advance copy and I simply cannot stop listening to it. Each song is a thing of beauty; a slow building, almost low-fi swell of ambient vocal and instrumental wales, peppered with subtle interruptions and cameos by what sounds like ancient, wooden, instruments being played by Bruno S. and captured by some bloke with a tape recorder. The tone of this record feels much darker and less playful than, say, their 2008 release Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust. Especially absent is a song with the frenetic, celebratory feel of something like Gobbledigook. Obviously the album isn’t lacking in any of Sigur Ros’ signature sounds that they are known for and carry across the entirety of their catalog, but this album feels much, much more meditative and gloomy. Varúð in particular nails me square in the heart. To me, it’s almost a perfect masterpiece and I am completely addicted to the moods and imagery the album implants within my imagination. They will be playing some dates in the US (and abroad) this year and I look forward to seeing how these songs translate into a live setting (that is, if I can get a fucking ticket). Dates and a video for the new album below.

Sigur Ros 2012 Tour Dates (copied and pasted from BrooklynVegan.com)

July 30 2012 the mann (skyline stage) philadelphia, united states
july 31 2012 prospect park, brooklyn new york city, united states
august 1 2012 echo beach, toronto canada
august 3 2012 osheaga festival, montreal canada
august 3-5 2012 lollapalooza, chicago, il united states
august 8 2012 paramount, seattle, wa united states
august 9 2012 edgefield, portland, or united states
august 12 2012 hollywood forever cemetery, los angeles, ca, united states
august 18/19 2012 summer sonic festival japan
august 24 2012 rock en seine festival paris, france
august 25 2012 steinberggasse, winterthur festival, switzerland
august 28 2012 paradiso, amsterdam netherlands
august 29 2012 paradiso, amsterdam netherlands
august 31 2012 electric picnic festival ireland
september 2 2012 a perfect day festival verona, italy
september 4 2012 arena vienna, austria
september 7 2012 berlin festival berlin, germany
september 9 2012 bestival isle of wight, england
september 16 2012 sacrum profanum festival krakow, poland
september 17 2012 sacrum profanum festival krakow, poland

In my opinion, there are only two people called Matt Walsh who matter. The first is a comic genius. The second is a Matt Walsh who you may know for his roles in bands including The Desert Fathers, The Forms, The Wild Roverz, First Nature and more. This same Matt Walsh is the primary brains behind recording studio Florida Keys NYC. I think he is the only person I know personally and who I regard as an actual real life friend who makes or is involved with music that I actually like; music I don’t have to pretend to like out of support. Music that I will spend money on or go see if it’s happening live in my city. Anyhow, I can always count on this dude to bring cool shit to my attention. His most recent contribution to my personal orbit of cool shit is a guy called Luke Folger and his Electro Power-Pop Mobile Suit. This thing is so rad on so many levels I can barely keep my mind from blowing to shreds. As you will see below, the construction of the thing is a marvel. A body harness that not only accommodates all sorts of midi-synth stuff, but also decent sized speakers and the battery power required to keep everything running without a hard-wired external power source. And as you will also see in the video, the music kicks ass as well. To be able to build a portable electro studio is one thing, but to be able to put it to good use and create something that sonically kicks ass is a whole other story. Witnesseth, below:

Luke Folger and His Electro Power-Pop Mobile Suit, Harlem, March 2012

Dear Metallica,

I hate you. As a band and as individuals, I hate you. I never thought this would be the case. But I can say in complete earnest that, as a 35 year old metalhead who has seen you go from ragged, denim-clad metal gods to insecure fashion avenue wealth-casualties that I, in fact, hate you in a very real and very profound way.

In 1988, when I was 11 years old, I had a prepubescent musical and sociological awakening that was formed in large part by the environment from which I was borne. While many of my friends jumped on a bandwagon piloted by the likes of Michael Jordan and Nike, I found myself feeling rather dark, alienated, and unwilling to follow such a wiggerish pied piper. I was very turned off and vehemently opposed to such fashion and attitude. It was 6th grade and I sought refuge and comfort with a classmate named Josh Schaeffer who had a mullet, an ear piercing, and a complete willingness to show up to school in a Guns N Roses shirt that featured an image of a recently-raped woman on the back. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure he ended up in military school which, ask any metal head worth his salt, was a very real fear at the time. Anyway, through him, I discovered, among many many other metal icons, the great METALLICA.

In the year 1988, I looked up to Metallica with a reverence that would end up being the compass for which my life’s bearings were set to… 1992 and 1993 was the Metallove plateau. My walls were plastered with posters big and small, my denim jacket was a living advertisement for them and I wore it proudly and triumphantly … then in 1994 I heard your black album. Or should I say, the brown album. Because it felt like each of you unleashed your own brown into my ears. First off, the songs blew. At that point in my young life I had never heard such insincere, desperate heaviness. Second off, you seemed to have a new and revolting zeal for preposterous music videos and manufactured imagery. Prior to black, with the exception of One, your lyrics enabled my mind to create it’s own visuals for what your music was about. With black, your science was so fucking weak that you leaned on the crutch of MTV mise-en-scene. You, my friends, had officially become soft. And from then on, you would never, ever, ever recover. As a matter of fact, you’d reached the apex, tripped over your own shoelaces, and stumbled down down down down down.

Flash-forward to today. I’m 35. I pay your post-black album to now timeline no mind. I saw you play the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show at MSG a while back which was just so pathetic and nauseating. I have Justice, Puppets, Kill ‘Em, and Lightning in my iPod and listen to them quite often. I saw Some Kind of Monster because I happened to be in a room where it was playing. I’ve seen the paparazzo pics of flip-flop wearing James and his bag of couture because 80 people forwarded it to me, knowing it’d make my blood boil. I’ve heard plenty about Lars’ art collection. I heard 10 seconds of your Lou-Reed-Collabo vanity project. I get it. You are mentally deranged, rich, white dudes who made a killing by smartly commodifying your metal zeitgeist. And then, WHAM, I recently read about Orion Music + More festival (fest) (whatever) happening June 23 & 24, 2012 in Atlantic City, NJ.

For the most part, not a bad fest. Not great, but not bad. I mean, I don’t care for half the shit you have booked, but a lot of people do. So more power to them. I hope they have fun. I really do! Because I am not an asshole. But then I see that one of the evenings is being touted as the first time you will have played the black album in its entirety on US soil. THE BLACK ALBUM? I see you are playing Ride The Lightning in its entirety on one night, which is a fucking great idea because that’s a great fucking album. But the BLACK ALBUM? Who are you playing for? Who of your fan base would rather hear that than, say, ANY OF THE OTHER ALBUMS PRIOR TO JUSTICE? Is it because black was your first serious, MTV-approved commercial success and that you feel obliged to cater to fans too dumb to get into your stuff before MTV told them too? Or is it because pre-Justice stuff is far too difficult for Lars, the shittiest, luckiest, most fraudulent drummer of all time? Either way, kudos on the fest because it actually implies effort. Though, probably not your effort. As a matter of fact, I think I know exactly what you’re doing; you are hosting a festival of eclectic, more contemporary acts, headlined by you, so you can attempt to slingshot yourselves back into relevance. Good luck with that. I also see there will be comedy at the fest. Will that include a 35-minute set of Kirk trying to convince the audience he isn’t gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that)?

Jesus fucking christ you have some incredible albums, but as ‘men’, you are a fucking disgrace. And transparent. Write a song as balls to the wall awesome as Disposable Heroes between now and the fest and I will become a Big Brother to some kid. I promise.

Just a quick note to the three of you who visit every month. I recently overhauled the TUNES section of the site to serve as more of a curriculum vitae of the various bands I have been in, including my solo GarageBand nonsense. As more stuff becomes available from the archives (closet, boxes, friends) I will update that area. I will not put every single solitary piece of recorded music I have ever participated in…. there’s too much garbage, too much audio of us dicking around the studio, too many “alternate versions” of different songs… you get the idea. The section will act more of a Top Shelf look at stuff I’ve done. Thanks for reading. Thanks for listening. And keep checking back, cause that shit gone grow son.

Here is the set list from the M83 show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 23, 2011. Yes, it says Montreal at the bottom, BUT I found this on the floor of Music Hall of Williamsburg after the show, and the songs listed reflect the songs played at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Growing up, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine was one of my heroes. I outgrew him being an idol-figure years ago, but I’ve never stopped loving his music. Having been listening to them for over 20 years, their music never really struck me as being very ’satanic’; that quality was always the craft of bands like Deicide and Slayer. No, Megadeth always struck me as more politically oriented and allegorical. I’ve always carried a certain image of Mustaine in my head all these years, but he recently went on television and eviscerated everything I ever thought by professing his new-found devotion to Christianity. Watch the heart-breaking confession below.

What could be better than spending a beautiful Sunday at the Williamsburg Waterfront catching the sea air, marveling at the majesty of the Manhattan skyline, watching the boats, and admiring the bridges that link us to Manhattan? How about enjoying all of that while the dulcet tones of Todd Barry’s voice tickles your funny bones with his comedy. Yeah. Ages ago Todd was added to the Pretty Good Friends show happening at the Williamsburg Waterfront on Friday July 29th. He joins an already stacked roster featuring Eugene Mirman, Patton Oswalt, Kristen Schaal, They Might Be Giants and more. Doors are at 5:30pm and the event is absolutely free! Beer me! This was announced ages ago, but I am now just getting around to mention it. Or mention anything else for that matter. Am I the shittiest, most run-of-the-mill blogger ever to take to the keyboard?

Two things. First, I hate “top” lists. They are subjective, infuriating, inaccurate, and completely unessential. Second, my knowledge of music is very specific and rotates in a very small orbit. Which makes this post out of character for me. But it has to be done. I have to get it off my chest to the 10 people who read this blog. These are, for me, the best screams ever in recorded music. Feel free to add other contenders into the comments section! I am always looking for a good, blood boiling scream!

The Forms – The Seagull

As exhibited in this post on BrooklynVegan, the Forms and I go waaaaay back. As a matter of fact I think I am one of the first people to get his mitts on their debut masterpiece Icarus. The album is full of start-stop time signatures, soaring melodies, and some serious guitar noise. But within this disc lies one of the best screams you will ever hear. On the fantastic piano-oriented tune The Seagull, Alex Tween unleashes a vocal explosion that will blow the earbuds out of your ears. Listen to the whole song… shit, listen to the whole record, but pay dirt is struck at the 1:11 mark.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meshuggah – New Millennium Cyanide Christ

I cannot 100% remember if it was during this song or Bleed at their Irving Plaza show on their last tour when a guy next to me screamed “Aaaaggghhhh! I want to punch someone! I want to fucking punch someone!! I WANT TO KILL SOMEONE” and disappeared into the pit. Either way, this song packs one of the most relentless punches of any Meshuggah song. They chose a very funny approach to the music video for this song which somewhat deflates and charicaturizes the sheer brutality of the song, but I love it. This song is 100% balls, but for the death blow stay tuned for the 3:55 mark.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again

This is definitely the easiest, most common choice so it’s at the bottom of the list. The Who might be one of my most preferred straight up rock and roll bands of all time. For a four piece, they created such an ear drum destroying, earth shattering wall of volume. Roger Daltrey has got some SERIOUS pipes but the scream he let’s out towards the end of Won’t Get Fooled Again I think shocked a LOT of people for its unprecedented power. It still blows my mind that it was set to wax in 1971.

The Just For Laughs Festival is coming to Chicago in a little over two weeks and it definitely deserves mention. OK, it’s actually the Twix Presents TBS Just For Laughs Chicago. The festival takes place from June 14th – June 19th, 2011 at venues all over the Chicago area. NYC prides itself on being a comedic epicenter, and it definitely is to an extent, but as a city we do not have a festival that comes close to something of JFL’s magnitude. I mean, we have the New York Comedy Festival, Sketchfest, and the The Del Close Marathon, but these shows happen at different times of the year and at the end of the day they are to small and fucking niche. Highlights of this years JFL include:

And that is just the “Hey, I recognize those names” shows I randomly yanked off the schedule. There are so many more shows on the schedule you’ll faint. Check Out The Complete Schedule.