I am going to keep this simple this week. I don’t think I need to go into detail about Led Zeppelin, and I’m probably not the person to go into detail either. I did grow up on this stuff, thanks Eugene! It is funny how 40 years later this song still resonates. ‘Communication breakdown, its always the same; having a nervous breakdown, driving me insane.’ I don’t know if those are the actual lyrics, but they sound right. But, that is how I felt this week. I guess that’s what makes music stand the test of time, when 40 years later, the lyrics someone wrote, still resonate; the music still rocks. I’ll post some other Led Zeppelin songs, but not go into detail. Here are the two main things I like about Led Zeppelin. 1) John Bonham…awesome drumming, inspired many. 2) Some of Jimmy Page’s solos are great. One in particular might be my favorite guitar solo of all time. Oh, that’s a good topic for a later date. But today, as they use to (maybe still do) say on the radio, ‘Let’s get the Led out….’

Communication Breakdown. I was going to post a live version, but couldn’t find a good one.

This is one of my favorites, and the song with one of my favorite guitar solos. I think its because of the way they go into it a 1:30. Stop, pause, solo.

I’m surprised how few live versions of these songs there are and how few hits these songs have.

This is another I always liked. When I was running enzyme assays to finish my PhD, I had Led Zeppelin in heavy rotation. I remember my adviser walking into the lab, hearing Led Zeppelin as I grinded muscle tissue and giving his approval. Again, its hard to find a good live version, but here is a version of the Foo Fighters with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones in 2008 or so, pretty good version.

I think I’ll leave it at that for this week, I need to go home. The best part about writing this post is that as I sit here, typing rocking out to Led Zeppelin, 10 feet away my office mates are still here talking science. Anyway, enjoy!

Update 2/24/12 11:10 am PST: I don’t know if I jinxed myself or what, but Communication Breakdown really is the theme of this week. This morning as I was trying to show someone how a high speed camera works, I could not get the camera to communicate with the computer. Coincidence?

First, the music. This week I am going to be posting some music that is classified as dubstep. Yep, dubstep. I never heard of it until recently, and I’ll be honest it is not what I thought it was. In particular, I’m posting songs from one artist, Skrillex. So, what is dubstep? Well, that is part of what I set out to find this week. First, I went to wikipedia, who tells me it is a form of electronic dance music (I could have guessed that), originating from South London (did not expect that), with lots of production, crazy sounds, and what I’m learning is called the ‘bass drop.’ Get those sub-woofers ready. So, its electronic, dance music originating from England. Ok, well that didn’t really do it for me. So, I went to youtube. Now, I really thought when I first heard the term dubstep that it was some form of reggae……it is not. If you put dubstep into youtube, this is what you get, an awesome dancer!  So, that started my journey into dubstep. I also remembered hearing about it in relation to Korn’s new album…they went all dubstep. I listened to a song and thought…that’s not reggae at all (in my mind I could see Korn going with a reggae vibe). And, there was one artist associated with Korn’s dubstep, Skrillex. So, I started looking into his music. And that’s where things got interesting. Skrillex is this 24 year old from the LA area. He was in some screamo type bands a few years ago, left, went solo and became a DJ. The thing that I find interesting is, if you listen there are a lot of metal/hardcore influences in his DJ (dubstep) music. So, after exploring his music, I looked into others listed on the wikipedia page, and related songs from the dancer to find a whole world I never knew existed.

Ok, that’s fine and dandy, but what does it sound like? A good question, and as usual hard to explain. It is electronic, yes. Most have a good beat, because they are DJ’s and people want to dance to it. Then there is the bass drop, most seem to start out mellow, then get crazy. Also, Pete once said his son described some metal as dinosaur music, which is a perfect description. During the bass drop there are a lot of mechanical sounds, and voices, but no words. To me, and others, it sounds like robots. So Pete, play this for Petey and see if he thinks its robot music. Especially the artist Liquid Stranger. I realized on Skrillex’s one album there are a lot of ‘monster’ sounds, then I made the connection that the album title was scary monsters and nice sprites. Crazy sounds, nice sounds. The other thing I find interesting is the complexity of the songs. Pay attention to some of the Skrillex songs, there are bars of music where almost every note is a different sound or sample. It makes me wonder how you put that together. How you realize I’m going to go from this crazy sound to the next, ‘….trust me, it’ll work.’  There are also odd timings that I like, easy to do electronically, harder to do as a band. There are several parts where the timings seem to come from out of no where, but somehow work. Also of note, Skrillex won 3 Grammy’s this past weekend. A lot artists remix other music, and I like that as well. You have some vocals, then the bass drop. So, this is what I learned is dubstep, its won Grammy’s, its only been around since the late 90′s and it is interesting. Its actually great to work to, complex to keep you interested, good beat to make it background music. So, enjoy? I’m curious to get your opinions.

Ok, this first one I couldn’t stop playing all week, Skrillex ‘First of the Year’. Here is what I like, at the second bass drop (after the second ‘Call 911′) he does a double time beat (same tempo, but the beat is double timed to sound faster), then cuts it in half for the classic hardcore breakdown. To me, it made me think of the good old hardcore breakdowns, play the double time to sound fast, then break it down, you know you’re bobbing your head to it. Plus this just has some interesting melodies.

I also enjoy the odd timings, and random things thrown in.

Here is a remix of a song I never heard of, wait for the bass drop. But, pay attention to the random sounds thrown it at various beats.

Here is an actual video. Again, weird random samples, almost one per beat at some points (around 0:56 is one). Also, I enjoy the harmonies of the electronic voice. I hate autotune, if you’re going to sound like a robot, sound like a robot.

Here is one of the songs he won a Grammy for, for best remix.

And the last for the week. This is another remix of a song I never heard of, by a group I never heard of, but that guy that I posted the link to that can dance well, has a dance crew that dances to this song, and I liked it.

And, that’s all. Weird, interesting stuff. I also found out from wikipedia that some consider the American version of dubstep, brostep, which I can understand, but its still intriguing to me. Consistent beat, complexity, and catchy melodies here and there.

Here’s a little bit about Rancid. Punk band from the bay area…about 60 miles west of me. The guitarist/singer Tim Armstrong and bassist, Matt Freeman coming from the now infamous, but very short lived Operation Ivy. They recruited guitarist/singer Lars Fredricksen, and were rounded out by drummer Brett Reed…a lefty I believe. They were part of the 90′s punk revival. I was never a huge fan of the Southern California Punk scene, but I always liked Rancid. They always felt like they were from NYC. Here’s a link to wikipedia if you want to read more: Rancid.  Their first album/ep came out in 93, followed by Let’s go in 1994. But today, I’m going to post songs from their 1995 album, ‘….And out Come the Wolves,’ since this is the one I was listening to today. They are still around, wikipedia tells me they have a new album coming out this year. I always liked them, in my opinion they are good song writers. Some of them are great to sing along to. Plus, on this album I like the drumming, unfortunately this drummer is no longer with them….I think the drummer from the Used is playing with them now. But, I like it. Why? Well, good dynamics, good use of the ride cymbal and good emphasis on certain parts of the song. After listening to this after several years I realize a lot of my own style came from this. Some call it stealing…others inspiration. Also, their bass player is great, many have tried to emulate him, few have succeeded. I think I saw these guys in 1996 at Roseland in NYC. And I think Pete and Jess saw them waiting for a plane in AZ once. I should see them again. Being close to where they hail from, I bet a show will be coming up. I should pay attention. I digress. Here are some songs off of ‘….And out Come the Wolves.’ Maybe you’ll think of Spring, or punks with mowhawks (they always had good ones) or nothing at all. Regardless, Enjoy!!

This songs came into my head this morning. Great chorus, great use of two singers.

Another one that was a ‘hit’

How about a live song, another great one off the album.

And the last one, but there are other good ones. I was going to post a live version of this, but the quality wasn’t great, and you can’t appreciate the dynamics. Its fast, punk rock, then cuts to a mellow part. Great dynamics and toe tapping. I also like after the mellow part, it kicks back in, then the other singer takes over with more….gusto.

Ok, that’s all, let youtube guide you to other stuff.

I think covers are an art form in themselves. There are several directions you  can take as a band to cover a song. You can cover a very popular song, add your twist and make it yours. You can cover an obscure song and maybe introduce a whole new audience to the original artist. You can keep the song the similar to its original. If you’re a punk band you tend to speed it up, metal bands make them heavy and pop musicians show off their voice. Why you decide to cover the song is a whole other topic. You love the band or song so much you want to play it. You hear a song you think would translate well to your style of music. Or you just want to have fun playing it. In my last band, I was a fan of covers. Some worked, some didn’t. Some were obvious, some not. Here are some that I suggested, I’ll let you guess which ones worked: Moby’s ‘Southside,’ Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance,’ Berlin’s ‘The Metro,’ Talking Heads ‘Burning Down the House,’ The Clash ‘Police on my Back,’ The Grinch, Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since you’ve been gone.’ There’s probably more, but I can’t remember.

Anyway, it can be fun, and some artists do it well. This week I thought I would be inspired from my dream last night. I had a dream that I was at a concert, in the summer and Mark Wahlberg was covering Duran Duran’s Rio. I know, its weird,  I don’t know where this dream came from either, but I woke up with Rio in my head. Which made me think of an album that came out years ago of Duran Duran covers. I use to have it…..I don’t know if I still do. That is what happens when your car gets broken into twice! Anyway, see if you can remember the originals, here are some of my favorites off the album.

The first is a cover of ‘Hungry like the wolf’ by Reel Big Fish. They are Ska band from CA, they’re fun, and pretty good musicians. This has to be one of my favorite covers of all time. They take an 80′s pop song and turn it into a pretty rocking lounge song! They….had fun with it.

This was the last song off the Rio album, and my second favorite Duran Duran cover, ‘The Chauffer’ done by the Deftones.

Here’s Eugene’s favorite song, covered by Eve’s Plum. I’ll admit, I like the original better.

I think we’ll leave it at that. The other one’s are hard to find on youtube, surprising I know. And we’ll get to more covers in the future, there are lots and lots and lots of them out there! Enjoy!

Since we’re starting at the beginning, I’ll give my story how I heard them. There was a time when MTV use to play videos. Think back, it was a while ago. In addition to videos, they had specialty shows, 120 minutes and Headbangers Ball. Well, I was 16, I think the summer of ’93 watching Headbangers Ball one night when I saw this video. ‘A Shogun Named Marcus,’ by this band Clutch. I don’t know what it was about the music, but I was instantly hooked. The following week I watched and waited and luckily the video came on again. After that started an almost 20 year musical journey. I’ve seen them more times than I know, over 30 at least. I’ve seen them in every place I’ve lived. And, if tradition holds up, will continue to see them every year over the holidays.

There are a couple of things I like about this band. 1) There is no drama as far as the public eye can tell. Just check out their wikipedia page, pretty sparse. 2) They play rock, riff-driven rock. 3) Their music has this driving feel to it. Its not fast, there are no crazy drums, but it is driving. 4) Great live shows. 5) They keep things simple. When you see them live, nothing extravagant. The singer says a few words here and there, the band plays. For a long time, they never did encores. Thank you goodnight. 6) For me, they are the band that has always been there, that has evolved and stayed who they are. 7) They seem to really enjoy playing their music, not because its cool, or will get them famous, because they like it.  We’ll leave it at seven.

So, the early stuff. It was definitely heavier. The singer’s voice was gruffier. The music was angrier. They seem to be developing their style at this point. One thing they had down was the music was riff-driven, with a driving rhythm section. Its hard to describe in words what I mean by driving, so pay attention when you listen. Its almost like they are playing slightly ahead of the beat, but not rushing it. Again, the music is not fast, not like punk or thrash metal, but it has a driving feel. I also like the drummer. Much of my drumming style was influenced by Clutch’s drummer. Simple fills, steady beat and in the earlier music good use of cymbals. Using them to the advantage of the song. Riding the ride cymbal and driving the hi-hat. Again, it’s also angry, and when your 16, well you have all the teen angst, so it fit. But, the songs are still good after all these years when you’re having one of those days. So here are a few.

Impetus. I listened to this running the other night and it was great to run to, I played it twice. Eugene see if you can last through the 1+ minute intro. This song is a great example of the driving feel.This off of an early ep.

Arcadia. Off another ep. Their early sound has this dissonant guitar sound. They are from Maryland, near farm country and they somehow captured that. Captain America, where are you now?

Molt. A rare one. Maybe one of the rarest. One of the only songs I don’t own, but one of my favorites. It was recorded for their first album that came out in 1993, but never made it on it. Its slower, but driving. One thing I like about the drummer is the use of the kick. Pay attention.

And how about a live version of Passive Restraints, also off the same ep as Impetus, but this is from 2001.

So that’s the early years. We’ll get to their other stuff down the road. Enjoy.

Yesterday as I was running, I had a playlist on with various ska and punk bands. On the last leg of my trek a Madness song came on that put me in a good mood. So, I’m going to post some Madness. Plus, the name is fitting to this time of year and my past week. Madness. Madness are a ska/pop band formed in 1976 in England. They had several hits in the late 70′s/early 80′s and were part of the ska revival. Hm. I didn’t know it was being revived that early. But, you probably know one of their hits, ‘Our House.’ I’ll be honest, I have mixed feelings on ska music. In the mid 90′s I wasn’t a big fan, but I think it had more to do with the 90′s revival of the revival of ska, and a lot of CA bands that were getting airplay. I wasn’t a fan of CA punk bands or ska bands. But, time goes on, fads come and go. There are some ska bands I have always liked, mostly Operation Ivy, which we’ll save for another day. I think in the 90′s ska was too happy and sounded cheesy. But, last year, I think around this time, I dived into the revival ska of the 70′s, checking out the Specials and Madness. Well, its not bad. Its upbeat. Its fun. And its catchy. One of the things I like about ska is the beat. Often played on the offbeat, it has an upbeat feel. I know, I’m just repeating words, so just pay attention when you listen. Plus, it is fun. Rarely do you see a serious ska band. Why is that? I think maybe it is the music. How can you play upbeat fun songs, and be serious? I digress. I don’t know much about Madness…the band, but wikipedia does, so you can read more here. But last year using some iTunes gift cards I got some of their songs. I originally wanted ‘Our House.’ Always a good song. One of the things I like about it is at the end when they are repeating the chorus, they change key. Everything goes down a step or so. As Al, the singer/guitar player for my old band knows, I would suggest doing this for our songs. Changes things while keeping them the same. After I got that song, I checked out others, and I liked them. Its upbeat music for a down time of year. So, when it gets dark early, the clouds set in and the precipitation of choice falls. Close the blinds, put on some Madness and get rid of those winter blues. Enjoy.

This is the song that came on and put me in a good mood. Night boat to Cairo. The video is ridiculous.

I wanted to purchase this song, but it was not available on iTunes.

Hm. What other songs to post. This one’s for Pete since it is associated with the Young Ones. Welcome to house of fun.

And I guess I have to post these two.

Try dancing like the guy in the video, it’ll shake your cabin fever away!

Life of Agony. That’s the band. Here is how I first came to know of Life of Agony. It was 1993, I went to see Clutch (who, by the way, I just saw a week and half ago, almost ten years seeing that band) at Studio 1 in Newark. I was…16 I think. Eugene probably dropped me off, maybe even on a school night. I see 16 year old kids now and I can’t believe I went to those shows. Thanks Eugene. Well, Clutch was opening for Life of Agony. I never heard them or of them. But, after Clutch played they came out and the crowd erupted with energy. Again, I was 16, in downtown Newark, and it was not a….what’s the right word….it wasn’t the friendliest crowd. But, regardless, I was impressed with Life of Agony, until my Dad came to pick me up. I don’t think I saw the whole set, but I saw enough. I wound up seeing them several times in the 90′s, and they put on a great live show. I’ll put the link to the wikipedia page (here), but they are from Brooklyn, NY; formed in the late 80′s and released their first, and best (in my opinion) album “River Runs Red” in 1993. They also stole Type O Negative’s drummer. One of the things, actually probably the thing that makes this band is singer Keith Caputo’s voice. He, himself, has been in the news lately…I’ll let you find out why on your own. But his voice makes Life of Agony. It is powerful. It was heavy music, with a powerful singer. And it was re-created live. What you heard on the album, you heard live, plus the energy. River Runs Red is filled with teen angst, but there are some great songs on it. I recently, well I guess its a few months ago now, put the cd in rotation because it was featured on an episode of the Office. I was watching the Office re-runs, not paying much attention, when the character Dwight starts playing the song A River Runs Red. Took me back.

So, instead of posting what I had planned, I’ll post some Life of Agony. Enjoy. Maybe it’ll make you think of the old Studio 1 days, or Roseland Ballroom (I’m pretty sure Pete was at that show with me, I know Brian was).

Here is the title track. And the one on the Office. Try holding those notes as you sing along.

Another of my favorites off the album. This video gives you an idea of what their shows were like, although it is a bit dated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaCijH0USo8&ob=av2e

If the video isn’t embedded, click to watch.

You know, when I got into these guys I started playing guitar and initially I tried to get the same guitar sound, I came pretty close, with a $25 distortion pedal and my set up.

Here’s a live version of  a River Runs Red and This Time from 1994.

And lastly, I always like their cover of this song, from their 1995 album.

I forgot that I liked how they did the bridge.

Takes me back. They’re still around…sort of, again I’ll let you read about the singer’s recent …endeavors. But, these were some good songs.

Enjoy.