Two (former?) members of Pittsburgh shit kicking rockers The Takeover UK, Nic Snyder and Josh Sickles, have ventured out into the world under new moniker 1,2,3 and released the sensational single “Confetti” this past Tuesday available via iTunes for next to nothing. Along with a little recording help from bassist Derek White (who is proving to be fairly prolific with now-defunct Gems, The TOUK, and his own solo project) Snyder and Sickles have emerged from whatever recording label drama TOUK has been dealing with this past year to deliver a boozy wallop of garage pop ecstasy.
“Confetti” is endearingly tattered, rough but not amateur. The slow, soulful stomp lets Snyder spiral into a deliriously macabre daydream, as he flashes just enough sneer to seem sardonic rather than depressed. Coupled with gorgeously wistful B-side “Can’t Bribe God,” the single points to a more than promising start. When you consider how TOUK, even amidst their liquor soaked ballads, could sound a bit too polished at times, its exciting to see 1,2,3 making unabashed gutter anthems, full of gallows humor and self-deprecating wit. If you happen to be holed up in some after hours Bloomfield dive in the coming weeks, don’t be surprised if you hear these tracks pouring from the speakers of some dilapidated hi-fi.
(Tracks are posted to stream, not download. Mosey on over to iTunes to buy the single.)
If you’re reading this website, chances are you and I share similar tastes in music. The similarities don’t end with the way the music sounds, it includes how the music is made, who is making it, and where it is being performed. The artists who I pay attention to, I mean really pay attention to, especially within Pittsburgh, are more likely to have day jobs, perform in smaller clubs tucked away in neighborhoods, self-release most of their music and work hard at their craft anytime life is not predestined to interrupt them. This isn’t an elitist notion about what type of music is valid in my “critical” mindset. This is the description of the type of music that compels me to write about it on a semi-sporadic basis.
With this lifestyle in mind, Burr Settles, a Lawrenceville resident, releases February Album Writing Month out into the world, inspiring thousands of musicians from all over the world to complete 14 songs in 28 days. In this the seventh year of the event, there are currently 3597 musicians registered on the FAWM website, who are racing toward the goal to double 2009’s output of 7,000 plus songs. Glance through the list that tracks every registered musician’s progress toward 14 songs and you will see folks from Michigan, Germany, The UK, New Zealand, and Pittsburgh to name a few. What kind of musical output is expected to arrive from this immense creative task? Frankly, I am anxious to see. Keep reading →
Just as the post-holiday, winter doldrums, snowy-cold malaise begins to truly take hold, the exhilarating prospect of a new year worth of quality shows begins to materialize. None more promising than the solid line up the Brillobox has ready for Saturday as Pitchfork darlings Bear in Heaven make a mid winter pit stop in the steel city along with orchestral pop manufacturers Freelance Whales, and local scene mainstays Mariage Blanc.
While there really isn’t a shortage of shows across the city, there does seem to be a shortage of quality national tours making there way through the northeast, mid-Atlantic, and rust-belt regions that would make Pittsburgh a target. Regardless, the next few months seem to be heating up concert wise (can you say St.Vincent at Diesel on the 21st of February), and Saturday’s show is a great place to start. Tracks and write ups after the jump. Keep reading →
With 2010 a little over a week old, I have finally gotten around to posting the fourth part of the speed of the pittsburgh sound’s Top 70 Tracks of the Year (actually it’s 71 due to a last minute addition). In lieu being sick of the way I write (especially when doing track reviews) I have decided to release my top ten tracks without commentary. Frankly, these songs speak for themselves and half of them have been have been written about literally hundreds times on scores of year end lists.
I will say that I am fairly proud of my top ten. Some of the tracks are obvious, some are not. Regardless, I am considering this to be my final word on the music of 2009, the first proper year of speed of the pittsburgh sound. It’s been fun as hell and the site hasn’t ruined my love of music (which, for a hot minute this summer, I totally thought would happen). Hopefully speed of the pittsburgh sound and all those great Pittsburgh music blogs out there, you know who you are, can keep the momentum going into the new year. Goodbye 2009, you were too good to me. Onto the tracks after the jump. Keep reading →
First and foremost, I must thank the fellas at Songs in the Key of Touche for calling me out, kicking me in the ass and forcing me to write this post. This post in particular was something I had wanted to do ever since I started this blog in February. If you’ve read the blog the past year, you know that I jump at any chance I can get to showcase the stars of the Pittsburgh music scene.
This list provides not just 20 different songs but 20 different artists that call the steel city home. I have also included a couple regional bands from towns (Youngstown, OH and Morgantown, WV) that I consider extensions of Pittsburgh in their own right. I wrote new stuff about some songs and other pieces are mostly recreated from old track reviews. Truthfully, I just needed to get this list out there. Its been germinating too long in side my small small brain for me to function as a normal human being. Enjoy the list (and no one get pissed off). Keep reading →
Okay, I swear I won’t be updating this blog every time a new Yeasayer track comes out. The only reason I did it this morning is because for the first time in three months I checked out Le Blogotheque and even though the entire site is in French, the first story concerned something about Yeasayer. All I could understand was that there was an mp3 for “ONE,” an incredible new song from the forthcoming Odd Blood LP out February 9th, a track that just so happened to blow me away when they played a shit ton of new material at Mr. Small’s last summer.
Considering the band hasn’t released any other singles besides “Ambling Alp,” haven’t put any other new stuff on their MySpace and the usual suspects (Gorilla vs. Bear, Pitchfork, Stereogum) haven’t said a damn thing all morning, I slowly realized I was actually ahead of the curve. Regardless, the track delivers, building off the new world tribal music-electronica dance fusion Yesayer is obviously gunning for on the new LP. Its lush, off-center and brilliantly eclectic, all the things we love about Yeasayer. Enjoy the track below.
Before we get to the second part of our year end track list, a little Pittsburgh music scene house cleaning needs to get done.
Good Night, States just released a free download of their rendition of the Christmas classic, “The Christmas Song.” Download the track here from their website, and try your damnedest to get into the Christmas Spirit.
Black Moth Super Rainbow’s frontman Tobacco is making his bid for the most challenging hip-hop remixer in the game right now with a head spinning version of The Anti-Pop Consortium’s “Get Lite.” I love that even from the first moments of the song, you know its Tobacco working the production. Check it out. Anti-Pop Consortium – Get Lite (Tobacco Remix)
Oh, and last but not least Donora hits up the Brillobox this Friday with Morgantown upstarts The Librarians and Satin Gum. Tickets are six bucks, so there is not reason not to go.
Anyways, speed of the pittsburgh sound’s Top 70 Tracks of 2009 continues after the jump with tracks 50-31. Keep reading →
So yes, 2009, speed of the pittsburgh sound’s first year of existence. It was a learning experience, that’s for damn sure. I went to more shows, absorbed more new music, and wrote more about that music than any time in my life. Trying to break away from the Pitchfork conventions of music review has truly been a struggle. After writing countless posts about videos, tracks, albums, music news and shows, I can now realize, for better or worse, how much that particular website has influenced my writing. Hopefully over the next year, I can become more comfortable in my own skin. Regardless of that little meditation, I am excited to bring you the first 20 of my top 70 songs of 2009.
Why 70? No clue. I edited down my iTunes “songs of the year” playlist t0 70 songs. It’s that simple. There is a mix, although not as much of a mix as I would like, of top forty hits, hip-hop and indie stuff. I tried to be eclectic but the list isn’t very worldly by any means. In the first 60 songs, I will be picking out highlights to review a little more closely, with the last 10 all getting the write ups they rightly deserve. Every song will be available to listen to but not download. And as for all you Pittsburgh upstarts pissed your band didn’t make this list, next week I will unveil my Top 20 Steel City Tracks of 2009, so hold your breath. Anyways, enjoy the list after the jump. Keep reading →
The crowd for the Jay Reatard/Kim Phuc show this past Monday night at the Brillobox was a little more, how should I say this, meaner than the usual mix of indie kids the Penn Avenue mainstay is used to. A large, enthusiastic crowd, sure, but they had a bit of an edge. It’s a welcome change of pace from some of the more precious crowds I have seen at shows lately. I will say this was probably the direct result of a local concert promoter (and by that I mean OPUS ONE) facilitating the perfect union between a local band and a national tour.
I don’t think any Pittsburgh band could even begin to approach the pure viciousness of a Kim Phuc live show and for all those who have seen Jay Reatard in concert already know how similar their musical philosophies are. Between Jay Reatard’s pocket rock opuses disguised as shotgun blasts of hardcore rage and Kim Phuc’s zombie Stooges swagger, the show, simply put, did not fuck around. It was a heaving sweaty mess of the loudest music ever to come out of the Brillobox’s monitors, deliriously beaming with something too many Pittsburgh bands seem to lack: attitude. Keep reading →
