Every week on I’m in a Band.. - hosted by the one and only DJ Octoon - we play a little game called "signed or unsigned." The game is as follows: a listener or one of the interns - either DJ Michael Cera or I - must pick which song out of two is a signed artist. No matter which strategy I use I have yet to pick the right answer.

I do not credit this to my overall lack of knowledge of contemporary music, which I’m sure helps, but rather to the skill of some of these unsigned artists. Since I started interning for "I’m in a Band.." I’ve discovered numerous artist and songs that I’ve begun listening to regularly. These bands don’t have the name recognition or the sex appeal that mainstream music has; but the music is good nonetheless.

So like the little kid that refuses to try meatloaf for the first time, only to find out later that they love it, quit fidgeting and try something new for once.

-Eddie (DJ name still a work in progress -ed. note: we call him DJ Six Dollar Burger)
Intern: I’m in a Band.. The BEST in Unsigned Music
Sunday 8-10 pm
UCLAradio.com (duh)

   I like Austrian  torture.

I recently attended a jam session with the stage-filling, tribal-love machine Dark Meat live at The Echo in downtown LA. First off, I love The Echo as a space. No matter where you are, the small, black space is taken over by the performance on stage (not to mention giant pictures of owls that may be hanging). Dark Meat ruled the world for that hour. Orgy woman, leaf blowers, water guns, face paint, simulated lesbian love and simulated beastial love abound. Yes, a new word "beastial" is what a band like Dark Meat asks for. If you are not familiar with this and, it is composed of about 16 people that all play instruments in unison with each other: 4 people on trumpets, 2 on drums, 3 guitars, and random other people doing random other things. The show was great. The music was great. The songs seem like they would go over fine with a four piece band but its more about filling a vibe and creating chaos that the band is going for than a good song (which they all are, especially "Well, Fuck You Then.")

You get the feeling watching the show that it will all collapse at any moment, but somehow it stays intact. My favorite aspect of the performance was how the band broke the fourth wall so many times. Various instruments were played by a man or woman walking around the audience, playing into your face, ear, nose, ect. He eventually blasted people with a leaf blower while banging a drum. I think he made sweet love to another man at one point, but my recollection is a bit fuzzy navel about it.

All said and done, Dark Meat comes highly recommended for a good show and some great melodies to stick to your head. You will leave deaf, blind, and border line retarded with tribal feast muck love.

Much thanks,
sheehan

Aside from interning on the show I'm in a Band every Sunday night, I like to do something fun every once and a while on the weekends. This weekend my roommate (Max Chang) and I had the brilliant idea of making a stop motion video. After many hours of turmoil we ended up with the following.

Alright, hopefully that works.

-Tim (a.k.a. DJ Michael Cera)

Pour some patchouli oil on the ground for your fallen homie: American Idol hopeful Jason Castro and his braided mane of unwashed hair became an Idol castoff last night, damned to walk in the wimpy footsteps of Sanjaya as contestants whose novel hairstyles could only take them so far.  Many Idol pundits (if those exist) attribute his relative success on the show to his distinctive hairstyle that endeared him to viewers and made him recognizable amongst the more hygienically inclined contestants.  Surely, he owes the dirt, oil, and miscellaneous gunk (not including shampoo) floating through the air into his locks for his placement on America's favorite singing competition.

However, pop music has proven unkind to our brothers with a distinct aversion to washing or maintaining their hair.  Sure, KoRn (yes, it hurts me to not be able to reverse that 'R' in Wordpress) is a band that at one point was considered the biggest band in the world while boasting an impressive four heads of dreadlocked hair which was reduced to three after the departure of newborn Christian guitarist Munky.  But their popularity and influence quickly faded once the apparent KoRn faithful realized that they (both the dreads and the band and the entire nu-metal scene) stink.  Similarly but not really, Counting Crows, led by Adam Duritz, a guy who would look like someone's creepy uncle who lives in a van behind Safeway without the dreads (instead he looks like a dude that sells airbrushed art on Venice Beach), enjoyed only limited success and a reputation not only as a one hit wonder but the epitome of one hit wonders.  What was initially a refreshing look for Mr. Jones and me (and the rest of the music listening public) eventually became visual pollution so bad that even Starbucks refuses to stock Counting Crows albums any longer, for fear of making their customers lose their appetites.  Zach de la Rocha has had a fine and successful career, but I'm sure that his bandmates went running to Cornell when they couldn't take the foul stench of his head anymore.  And okay, Bob Marley is a legend, and he sports the dreaded dreads.  But even look at him.  It's not like he's working anymore.

Moral of the story is that you should invest in haircare products if you plan on being an artist of any significance.  No, I don't have any affiliation with a major haircare product company.

- Brother Amur 

We DJs have a lot going on beyond radio, music, and oh yeah, school.  Here are but a few of the projects that keep us from graduation.

A Hot Mess Blog - A hella popular celeb site.

The Short-a-Week Project - Semi-professional writers and actors post a short every Friday. 

Charle.LA - Electronic music…and more.  

Cordellpace.com - Not sure who's site this is, but I think it's down right now. 

The Literary Brothel - Creative writing website (now blog) with the tagline: "Where Great Minds are Coming.." 

And… man, I should be reading.  Well, if any DJs have websites they'd like to promote, just hit me up on my MySpace page www.MySpace.com/iminabandandsoami  

To be continued…

Seriously. 

-DJ Octoon 

I've decided to start spotlighting select comments that are hidden here and there throughout the many posts on our website. Today I came upon this desperate request for information on a traditional style of music plus some sort of unwarranted self-deprecating apology.  

1. Shine Says:
   April 7th, 2008 at 9:14 pm

   I want to know about troat,
   It’s a music style. like traditional music.
   who do you know about that?
   Please explain to me..
   OPPPPP.
   I’m sorry about ucla.com manager.
   Because this writing is not so valuable.

 If anyone has any words of wisdom for dear Shine please share.

 Shine on, Shine.

-Jason

 

Third, the first studio album by seminal electronic group Portishead since 1997’s self-titled effort, accomplishes the improbable.  Not only is the long-anticipated LP brilliant musically, but it is the perfect album to release eleven years after their last.  The record is somehow true to their musical aesthetic, to the essence of Portishead, while still managing to sound entirely fresh and new.  The band clearly doesn’t feel the need to incorporate the superficial elements of their earlier works to create something that could be identified as recognizably, distinctively Portishead.  The music is simultaneously familiar and foreign; it is both satisfying to fans and their bold step forward. Turntablist and assumed mastermind Geoff Barrow has repeatedly expressed his dismay at the term “trip-hop” being applied to his music, as it hints at an audience of thirty-somethings eating meticulously prepared hors d’oeuvres while playing Dummy in the background of their wine-tasting.  Third refuses to be background music, forcefully making the listener take notice of its plentiful moments of uneasiness and the rare strains of melody that creep their way into the songs.  A defining trait of the group has always been its uncompromising adventurousness, and this new record definitely carries on this tradition.

At first listen, I hadn’t formed any opinion on the record, as the new songs were simply too strange to commit to liking or disliking.  I had no trouble accepting Third as part of Portishead’s complete body of work, something I find extremely difficult to do with work released a significant length of time after the artist’s prime.  Barrow’s great taste in drum sounds and rhythms are definitely present, as were Beth Gibbons’ delicate vocals and Adrian Utley’s distinctive guitar touch, but their approach to making music is entirely different.  Gone is the reliance on samplers and lush yet grainy production, replaced by minimal, live instrumentation fed through what sounds like defunct amps.  The vocal melodies are mostly beautiful strictly within the context of the dissonant, disorienting soundscapes created by Barrow and Utley.  The hooks around which the songs once revolved are absent, except perhaps on the penultimate track “Magic Doors.”  Gibbons’ singing provide the emotional center, though not necessarily the musical center, for the songs, a spot of warmth in each of the emotionally distant and icy instrumentals.  Only through repeated listens did I find Third to be an incredibly rewarding experience, as my head finally wrapped itself around its bizarre and beautiful sonics.  Portishead has set the bar high for any other mid-to-late nineties acts looking to reunite, motivated by their overdue cable bills or otherwise, by placing a great deal of faith in their fans to embrace their new yet old sound.  While the likes of Scott Weiland and Billy Corgan will inevitably bow their heads in shame at their attempts to imitate the pass, this trio can hold their heads high looking into an exciting future.

- Brother Amur

If you aren't already a part of it, it'd be a good idea to join our Facebook group.  We're doing giveaways via Facebook for practically every show we have tickets for so do yourself a favor and get in on the action.

Last.fm is the devil.

For the past three years, I've worn out my refresh button watching the social music networking site "scrobble" songs that I'm listening to. Even though I know what songs I'm listening to, because, well, I'm listening to them. Homework, social life, family be damned.

I guess it's kind of like drugs because some people really get into it and others try it and give it up as easily as they found it. But there's something in this gadget that keeps me coming back for more and more. I like to see which songs I'm a "top listener" on, like to see peoples' comments (especially on the random tracks I thought only I knew existed), and most of all, I go nuts on Sunday nights/Monday mornings (depending on what those sadistic bastards feel like) waiting for my Weekly Top 10 Artists to update.

As far as functionality goes, Last.fm is notorious for being… not that great. The people who run it run it the same way Lucy from the Peanuts ran her Advice Booth — kind of like you're lucky to even get the service and we'll set up shop and fix bugs whenever we damn well feel like it. I guess I'd have more to say about this if I felt like I could walk away from the program but I know I can't and so do they.

I do have to give them props for their increasing interactivity, however; recently the site announced it would begin streaming full songs by participating artists for free. And it's not just some mess you've never heard of — your favorite artists are up in this, too. Who knows what other features they will add in the near future, but it's exciting to watch the company grow. Even more exciting, though, is watching my plays build up and my charts give me a better idea of who I listen to most. Trust me, sometimes it's more surprising than you might think.

If you haven't yet, get addicted . "Last.fm fever - catch it!"

– J from the Bay

I find it interesting how over the last few years sports fans and some prominent journalist have justified cheating, specifically in relation to steroid use in baseball and most recently the NFL spy-gate situation with the Patriots, by stating "Well, everybody is doing it so what does it really matter!" And my only response to that is, "Just because everybody or every other team is doing it, doesn't make it right….it's still cheating; and if u get caught you have to pay the consequences. You rolled the dice one too many times and now it's your turn to 'do the time' "

Like the old-school proverb states "If your friends jump off the bridge, are you going to jump off too?"…….I hope not!

–Jokerpace (Sports Dept.)

Wuz Upper Laker Fanz

You have every reason to be in a state of euphoria right now, Mitch Kupchak turned into Jerry West for a day and turned a trade that will benefit the Lakers for years to come! (And to give more credit where credit is due, I'll compliment Mitch 'one more' for not making that Jason Kidd trade that the whole world felt like he should of did a year ago…Jason is a great point guard but he's a liability as a scorer and some nights he's good for ZERO pts and 10 assists, that's down right horrible on a team like the Lakers where they needed a consistent 2nd scorer more than they needed a distributor–and before you say it, I'll stop u right now and say 'No, Lamar Odom is not the 2nd scorer most Laker Fans thing he is, Odom is overrated and to passive to be the dominant player fans keep saying he's going to become'…Kobe alone is the floor leader for the Lakers and a Pt. Guard like Jason would have only made things uncomfortable on the court)But before u book championship victory parade tickets for the Lakers your going to have to wait another year becuase despite what the critics are barking (especially here in L.A. where everybody and their mother is drinking the purple and gold kool-aid) the Lakers HAVE NOT ARRIVED…Pau Gasol hasn't completed an injury free season in 3 or 4 years and despite Bynum's early season success before his injury, he's just now learning how to play like a real 'big man' and he has a few more learning curves to drive around before it really starts clicking in his head that he's 'the man'. Not to mention he's only 20 and never benefitted from learning from a great college coach on the fundamentals of hoops–he's just learning that now as a 3rd year proIn the meantime Laker Fans, enjoy a nice, much longer playoff run this year but start printing the 08/09 NBA Western Conference Champ. Round tickets now and expect your team to make an appearance and u never know they might be in position to hang another World Champ. Banner @ Staples…U think that will be enough to prevent Krying Kobe from opting out of his contract?

–Jokerpace (Sports Dept.)

Just as we received the news third-hand from the good folks at Stereogum who learned of these developments from the better folks at Getty blog, former sidekick to the bully on Boy Meets World and Rilo Kiley guitarist Blake Sennett will, barring any typical celebrity behavior, receive Winona Ryder’s hand (amongst other parts of her body) in marriage… forty-seventh-hand, I believe, although I lost count after the second dude with dreadlocks.  This engagement, if it is followed through with, would mark the beginning of a transitional period, a radical shift in lifestyle, for an oft-ignored (don’t feel bad though, your neglect makes for great material) sector of society hiding in the corner of coffee-shops or behind their tousled hair.  Yes, I’m talking about sensitive male singer-songwriters, the kind that Winona Ryder has been dating throughout the duration of her rise to fame.  Dating Winona has acted as a sort of confirmation as legitimate flavors of the month if not credible artists.  Sleeping with her had been the equivalent of winning a Grammy for singer-songwriters – initially gratifying in a narcissistic way but ultimately empty.  But now where will these poor souls go for artistic validation?  Will they wander in the wilderness until a new high-profile actress with a lust for pasty effeminate singers comes along? 

For a clue into the future of the modern troubadour, we could look at the career path of a singer-songwriter who has had to endure life without (banging) Winona.  Baroque pop artist Rufus Wainwright at one point seemed to possess everything required to be the new idol to both coffee-chugging pseudo-hipsters and disaffected teens with a taste for confessional songwriting – the famous parents, the propensity for personal, emotive lyrics, the pretty boy mug, the instantly recognizable and eccentric vocal delivery.  However, while he’s had quite a taste of commercial and critical success through his career, he’s failed to become a qualified, undisputed star for his lack of taste… in female genitalia.  Without the publicity and attention that comes with dating Winona, the housewives that read the tabloids that feature this type of news weren’t able to complain to their kids (and inadvertently inform them) about the latest singer-songwriter that they should avoid listening to because he’s just going to be bad news for poor Wino.  Perhaps if Wainwright’s music, style of dress, theatricality, okay, his entire being, weren’t so flamboyant, they could have had a beautiful temporary sham relationship to bolster Wainwright’s career and Ryder’s reputation as a (sissy) man eater.  He could have just bitten the bullet and pretended that Ryder was a little boy, which wouldn’t be a stretch during her pixie-haired phase.  But it simply wasn’t meant to be for Rufus, whose career trajectory may be a blueprint for the path that all male singer-songwriters will follow in the post-Winona era. 

- Brother Amur

This past week, “Saturday Night Live” was hosted by Ellen Page, star of the painfully hip, Oscar-nominated Juno and heir apparent to the title of “the object of scene kids’ wet dreams,” one currently held by Scarlett Johansson.  Not only was the future queen of overexposure bestowed hosting duties, but Chicago’s favorite sons, Wilco, were featured as the musical guests.  To most college kids with floppy haircuts and white earphones dangling down past their skinny frames right down to their skinny jeans, this would be a fantasy lineup for the weekly sketch program.  But for the majority of mainstream America, I would assume that a collective “who?” was whispered once the guests’ names appeared in the opening credits.  It causes one to wonder if NBC is simply trying to give some airtime to people who deserve more exposure than the usual superstars they invite to the show.  However, that’s incredibly unlikely since the ratings-deprived network (in the post-“Friends” era) will grasp onto any and all of its viewers with every fiber of its being.  No, NBC has a completely different agenda than giving the underdogs a chance for the sake of creativity or altruism (a word largely absent from the vocabularies of industry folk). 

Excuse me if I think that Lorne Michaels is coming off as a desperate kid trying to earn himself some indie cred, but his selection of hosts and musical guests this season suggests a certain degree of pandering to a demographic that they’ve been slowly courting since the rise of Andy Samberg and his internet shorts.  Perhaps Michaels assumes that most hipsters are either too young to be out late on a Saturday night or that they’re too depressed to rise from their beds; either way, he obviously notices that there is a viewer base there waiting to be exploited.  In only half a season, Michaels has already invited the likes of Feist, Spoon, the aforementioned Wilco, and Vampire Weekend to perform on the show.  Furthermore, he enlisted the services of Seth Rogen, a hero in hipster circles for his role in cult phenomenon “Freaks and Geeks”. However, if Michaels continues to produce interesting programming, I’ll try my best to disregard his motives and just enjoy the show. 

Brother Amur