One of my favorite bands of all-time was the short-lived Austin-based 7% Solution. They pulled from so many great musical sources, from the shoegaze greatness of Slowdive to the psych-beauty of Spiritualized. The band only released two full-length albums, as well as a couple of 7″ singles, but they are all worth hunting for. A live highlight from their set was a cover of Can’s “Oh Yeah,” which the band recorded as a b-side for the “Lullaby” 7″ single. The cover eventually appeared as a bonus track on the limited edition version of their sophomore album, Gabriel’s Waltz. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any samples or live videos of the cover, so you’ll just have to trust me and get yourself a copy. The band’s old website is still up, with several free MP3s that you can snag, so go get your download on by clicking here.
I also happened to find a few YouTube videos of live performances. They look and sound kinda crummy, but hey, it is better than nothing.
Today’s Friday Jam is Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.” Not only is the video badass, but its also fitting. You see, this coming Sunday is our own Chip Adams’ birthday. Chip’s favorite band is Radiohead – but even before they were the cool thing to like. “Paranoid Android” comes off Chip’s favorite album from the band, OK Computer. See the photo of the vinyl above? Yeah, Chip got his copy signed back when we drove to Houston to see them live during the Kid A tour. We met Ed O’Brien after the show. That was the first band member of Radiohead that Chip met in person. Later on in NYC Chip would get to meet Thom – you’ll have to ask him about that sometime. So without further adieu, listen to our Friday Jam and be sure to wish Chip a happy birthday!
Morrissey is a big deal here at the Dangerbird Austin office. Up on the wall behind my portion of the desk is a Meat Is Murder poster. The Smiths and Morrissey take up a huge portion of our CD and vinyl library. Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance sits proudly on our bookshelf. So when the Mozfather himself comes to Austin, we freak out just a bit. To honor his arrival on Sunday (yeah, the Mozzer on Easter…), today’s Friday Jam is “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful.” Expect a full report on the show first thing Monday!
It has been a pretty shitty week around here. We’ve been worried sick about Dangerbird Jeff’s kiddo, Pablo, who was admitted to the hospital a couple days ago. We’ve been pacing around here at Dbird Austin, waiting for the occasional Twitter or PABLOg update. Beyond that, some crazy weather here in central Texas caused some significant damage to our roof and fence, so we needed a mighty kick ass Friday Jam to help bring in the weekend.
After flipping through our vinyl library, one specific record just seemed perfect: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Take Them On, On Your Own. A little dirty, a little rough but entirely catchy and infectious, “In Like The Rose” is now blaring from the office. I hope our neighbors don’t mind a little BRMC on a Friday afternoon.
The weather flat out sucks here in Austin right now. It has been cold and rainy for most of the week, but the good news is that this should all be out of here before everybody flocks to Texas for South By Southwest. Since it is such a gray and dreary day outside, combined with the fact that it is Friday the 13th, Portishead just seemed to perfectly fit my mood.
For this week’s Friday Jam, I selected “Only You” from their self-titled album, which came out in 1997. This is one of those records that simply sounds perfect on vinyl, as do all of their studio efforts. Chris Cunningham directed the video for this particular clip, which ended up as one of my favorites of all time. Cunningham’s videos are always a visual treat, but this ranks as one of his best.
