Lil' Bear laid down in the grass today and spent time with his butterflies and mushrooms.

Conditions - Fluorescent Youth (Good Fight)

You're never going to hear anyone make the statement "I've been emo since before it was cool," because anyone who's listened to the style of music now known as emo for long enough to make that statement almost certainly hates the term and vociferously refuses to identify with it. Having said that, I've been vociferously refusing to identify with the emo label for at least 15 years now, so I know more than a little about the style of music it seeks to describe. And the debut album by Richmond's own Conditions, Fluorescent Youth, might be the best example of the form I've heard all year. This album isn't a throwback, either; it's emo as it exists in 2010, integrating strains of the alternative rock and metalcore sounds that the emo genre has spent the last decade or so rubbing shoulders with. In fact, for those who follow both the emo and metalcore scenes, the name of Conditions vocalist Brandon Roundtree will be familiar. Roundtree was previously the vocalist in Virginia metalcore band Scarlet, who brought him in as a last-minute replacement for original vocalist Jon Spencer (no, not that Jon Spencer--this Jon Spencer). Roundtree sang on final Scarlet album This Was Always Meant To Fall Apart, but other than that album's uncharacteristically melodic opener, "Obsolete," it was mostly filled with pounding mosh riffs, over which much screaming was required. Scarlet's metallic sound is a far cry from the sound of Fluorescent Youth, on which Roundtree never screams at all. Indeed, Conditions seems more like a return to the melodically-oriented sound of Roundtree's first band, FIAD, of which Conditions guitarist Jason Marshall was also a member. The sharp divide between the similar sounds of FIAD and Conditions and the significantly heavier sound of Scarlet leads one to believe that performing in Scarlet was more of a favor to friends for Roundtree, while the sound of Conditions is the sound he, and by extension the entire band, is most interested in playing.

It is appropriate, then, that the entire album is driven by sincerity and emotion. It's become a bit of a cliche for bands within many different genres outside the mainstream, from emo to pop-punk to metalcore, to focus their lyrics upon relationship travails in order to milk emotion from their music. Such lyrical topics must be handled very well to avoid coming across as the same sort of vapid, insincere claptrap served up to listeners every day on pandering top 40 radio stations. Thankfully, Conditions have too much to say about other topics to spend much time discussing relationships. Fluorescent Youth begins with "The End Of Progression," which serves as a lyrical and musical manifesto for the entire album. Both verse and chorus are structured around distorted, chugging rhythm guitars, contrasted with melodic leads. The driving rhythm section pushes guitars and vocals to heights of greater intensity, with Brandon Roundtree hitting the top of his vocal register as he sings, "You are fading out as you're slowly settling for the same. You play it safe, you end progression." This is just the first of many times on the album that Roundtree takes a stand against the materialistic mainstream of modern culture. "I've been cheated, I've been broken, and it made me a better man," he declares on the song's bridge, making the point that risk is necessary to experience true quality of life--a quality for which material possessions will never be an adequate substitute.

The next song, "Better Life," expands on this theme, adding standout lyrics to one of the album's best musical moments. In fact, Fluorescent Youth is that rare album on which the best musical and lyrical moments seem to come on the same songs, which is always a welcome phenomenon. The chorus of this song is outstanding--speedy, intense, yet gorgeously melodic. Roundtree sings, "When you fall, when you break, when you wish you didn't feel--keep your head, don't forget, it's the pain that makes us real. I know most of the time, it's hard to keep in mind, but from lessons learned comes a better life." Like many of the songs on this album, Roundtree's lyrics are relentlessly positive, designed to provide pep talks for the exact sort of emotional state that might lead someone to pick up an emo album in the first place. Rather than wallowing in depression and despair, Roundtree wants his listeners to get motivated. It's an admirable goal.

"When It Won't Save You" is a particular highlight on a uniformly good album, driven as it is by an unshakable earworm of a verse. The song begins with Roundtree singing over an otherwise-unaccompanied guitar riff: "The way that I feel and what's supposed to be real strongly disagree. There is one thing I keep in front of me." Now the drums come in, pushing the song towards a crescendo, as Roundtree continues to sing. "Because cash won't save, and cars won't transcend the grave. I call everyone I know the only things of value I could ever own." It's at this point that the main verse truly kicks in, and with the entire band playing through it at full power, it's catchy enough to be the chorus of the song. Yet, when the chorus finally arrives, it's even catchier, pushing the song up into a higher gear that you wouldn't have even expected it to have. Roundtree is still continuing with his earlier theme of anti-materialism, which he's previously made explicit on the song's first verse ("I can't chase the American Dream--trading life for money never made much sense to me"). There's something beautiful about hearing him declare, "If I'm wrong at all for living this way, I'm alright being wrong." Alternative music has become big business in recent years, and Conditions are beneficiaries of more visibility and promotion than they ever could have expected if they were playing the same music ten years ago. That said, it's still hard as hell to make it playing music of any kind, and "When It Won't Save You" acknowledges the reality that, rather than shooting the moon and being able to look forward to life as rockstar millionaires, what the guys in Conditions are really doing, in all likelihood, by spending their early 20s being in a touring band, is sacrificing years of their life during which most of their peers will be getting college degrees and beginning their careers. Ten years from now, these dudes might all be significantly poorer than the kids they went to high school with, but the experience, the memories, and the sense of accomplishment will make all of it worth any material loss they suffered in return. At least, I think that's what Brandon Roundtree is saying on this song, and I definitely agree.

I was even more blown away by "Miss America," another song with a stunning chorus and brilliant lyrics. On this song, Conditions take a stand against the sexist commodification of the female human form, and the effect such commodification has on women forced to grow up in a culture where their physical characteristics are treated as the only valuable part of who they are. It's extremely impressive to come upon a band operating in the emo genre, a genre often derided for its tendency towards objectification of women, who are so willing to make a political statement like this. Even more impressive is the astuteness of their commentary. "It's a basic human need, feeling beautiful," Roundtree sings at the beginning of the song. "But you coat your broken body, so subliminal, and the colors that you wear hide a criminal." His words here are addressed to a personification of America's fashion-obsessed culture, which hides its sinister aspects amid superficially-appealing advertising. The song's chorus is an irresistible singalong, but has lyrics that are strongly political. "Miss America is a slave from the waist down, stealing the whole town's love. And good little girls won't stay away." Within the chorus is an implicit condemnation of the sort of victim-blaming many people engage in when they put down women's attempts to conform to society's expectations. Instead, Roundtree and Conditions point the finger of blame squarely in the face of a materialistic American culture that dehumanizes women and hurts humanity as a whole. It's a powerful sentiment, made even more amazing by the fact that it's so different from typical emo lyrics. I can't help but hope that a few kids who get this album have their minds opened to a different viewpoint where this issue is concerned.

There are still many more excellent songs on this album. "Comfort Far Away" is the sort of full-scale, orchestra-backed ballad that a lot of emo bands are putting on their records lately, and while I'm not a fan of the trend in general--if the song would sound weird during your live set, don't you think it will also be a bit jarring in the middle of your album?--I'm reasonably into Conditions' attempt at it. It's a weird, haunting track that, again, avoids relationship-related lyrical sentimentality in favor of concerns about living up to one's full potential, and about... demonic possession? I don't fully understand the song's lyrical content, though I am intrigued by a chorus that asks, "When I sleep, when I dream, does someone else take control of my body?" A more typical--and better--song on this album is "...Made Ghosts," which starts with a quiet piano intro over which Roundtree sings the song's chorus. This intro is deceptive, though, as it makes the song sound like a ballad. Once it kicks in, it's one of the fastest, most energetic songs on the album, and the difference between the chorus as sung over unaccompanied piano and with the backing of a full band is drastic and creates an interesting contrast. Album closer "Illuminati" is the only song here that seems most likely to be about a girl, but its mix of heavy, chugging guitars and strange, apocalyptic imagery ("sporadically use my tongue to reiterate you're an oxygenated dream I long to breathe so deeply") gives it an interesting, original feel that helps it avoid cliche.

Fluorescent Youth could be referred to as a promising debut, but that would be underselling its quality in a big way. Indeed, it delivers upon all of its promise, making clear that Conditions are already one of the standout groups in the emo genre, regardless of their newcomer status. Fluorescent Youth is one of the best albums of 2010 thus far, and I'm very much looking forward to what Conditions will have to offer in future. Do yourself a favor and get this record.

Show 22 is the third installment of the Bobble Gods monthly Rapstavaganza special.

Their guests where the mysterious Mike Rockwell from Kulture Clothing co., and longtime local emcee Michael Millions. In addition to playing lots of dope music, they talked about what is wrong with the local hip hop scene, how to fix it, and when you should expect the locals to start supporting it the way they used to. The Gods offered excellent insights into changing the game, while Mike and Michael showed us what was right with it, and how to work that angle. From start to finish, they kept their guests rolling with their off-the-cuff jokes and inappropriate humor. No doubt, this show is worth every minute.

CLICK HERE FOR GODS OF THE BOBBLEHEADS

A little something to get your tired Monday brains excited about the weekend again. The Trendsetters @ New York Deli on Friday. CLUBLUV October @ New York Deli on Saturday. This is going to be a HUGE weekend people! Listen and download to your hearts content :) Cheers! - DJ Epoc

CLICK HERE FOR RVA RADIO: DJ EPOC

1. Adam Beyer & Alex Delano - Filthy Lobster (Original Mix)
2. Tube & Berger - Kreidler Flory (Original Mix)
3. Union Jackers - Yambo (Original Mix)
4. Ivan Pica - Freak (Terrace Mix)
5. Die & Interface ft. William Cartwright - Bright Lights (Mark Knight Remix)
6. Shapeshifters - Incredible
7. Fedde Le Grand - Noise Reduction
8. Mowgli ft. Tara McDonald - Can't Stop Singing (Round Table Knights Remix)
9. Toni Braxton - Make My Heart (Avicii's Replacer Remix)
10. Sgt. Slick - Everyday (Digital Lab Remix)
11. Moquai - Oyster (Michael Woods Remix)
12. Pocket 808 - Ghostship (Hook N' Sling Remix)
13. Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now (Abel Ramos Brighton w. Love Remix)
14. Snap - Rhythm is a Dutch Dancer (Antoine Montana vs. Chuckie Remix)
15. Sebastian Ingrosso & Dirty South - Meich vs. Clocks vs. How Soon is Now (Bootleg)

DJ Epoc: Whether he is playing house parties, art galleries, or popular night spots, DJ Epoc’s unique blend of world dance anthems and American top-40 tracks puts him in a class of his own.

Since starting in college, he has performed in front of audiences for nearly 8 years. He is a tireless self-promoter and consistently works to take the dance scene to a new level. His loops, beats, and meshed styles harness the emotions that live in each of us, guiding his mission to bring our shared passion for music to life.

http://djepoc.posterous.com

This was filmed here in Richmond. Tarp surfing?

The following was pulled from LATE NIGHTS & CHICKEN FIGHTS with permission from Nickodemus. Check out his blog at nickychulo.wordpress.com .

RVA | THE WAKEN BAKEN SHOW
by Nickodemus

Kickin it backstage and getting ready for the Waken Baken show with the #GetEmDrunk team. @iChrisChampagne @HennyGED @MrDdotC @AlexEber21 and @BDollaVA. Follow the team on twitter.

Henny and Nickelus F. Talking back stage before the show. If you don’t know Richmond’s Hip-Hop powerhouse Nickelus F. then you need to do a little research. He recently released his ‘Commercials’ mixtape. Check it out when you catch a minute.

Henny & Dolla definitely did there thing during the show. Henny had the crowd rockin with there hands up and a few people were even singing along. A few kids were rockin #GetEmDrunk tees. It was a crazy ass experience. Definitely a good time. Next show Henny & B.Dolla have you better attend.

The females to my left wanted me to take a few pics of them, So I made moves and I did. They were a pretty cute little crew haha.

Big K.R.I.T. did his thing as well. His performance was alright but he supposedly got extremely sick after the show and they had to stop the tour for a day or two.

Nickelus F was one of my favorite performances because I’m a fan of his. I got to talk to him for a few and he gave me props on my flier design..I was so boosted haha. I have his latest two mixtapes and I’ve been keeping up. He recently released a single called Chocolate Milk, be sure to give it a listen when you get a chance.

The Taylor Gang showed up a little late but it was well worth it. Wiz Khalifa was acting a fool backstage with his crew. The kid is a trip.

Taylor Gang or teabag a bear trap.

Wiz had a hell of a lot more energy and charisma that I though he would have. For a certified tree specialist, this kid can move. The girls in the crowd were going craazy.

Yeah that happened. This Taylor Gang kid kept eying me because he though I was going to grab it hahaha. People were lighting up in the Center Stage theater during the performance. It was crazy..Good show.

World Burns To Death/Slang - Split EP (Prank Records)
The humanity!
All bullshit torn asunder,
Never relenting.

Negative Approach – Friends Of No One (Taaang Records)
If you have to ask,
You’re prob’ly never get it.
Worst cover art though.

Brain Handle – Smiling/Smiling Again (Iron Lung Records)
Seething Rust Belt angst,
Bowing deep at Ginn’s altar.
Alas, too damn short.

Marked Men – On/The Other Side (540 Records)
Curs’d disparity!
A killer and a phone-in.
No apex, no waste.

Vaccine – Human Hatred (Painkiller Records)
Splenetic fury,
Weaned on teats of indignance
And Infest records.

Canadian Rifle – Facts (Residue Records)
Like Naked Raygun,
Crimpshrine, Snuff? I sure’s hell don’t.
These guys kick ass though.

Manipulation – s/t (Fashionable Idiots Records)
No toes stubbed here on
The stumbling block of cliché.
Careening discord.

Midnight Soulstice is a Richmond Soul and Funk radio show, hosted by Mr. Felty & DJ Pari, featuring guest artists and DJs.The show airs every Friday from 11pm-1am EST. Listen live at 97.3fm or WRIR.org

CLICK HERE FOR MIDNIGHT SOULSTICE

Dig this - Midnight Soulstice co-host DJ Pari is back from his recent European tour with Soul legend Leroy Hutson and is ready to dig deep into his box of new vinyl discoveries for tonight’s show. Of course there will be many more treats and favorites from his collection, so prepare yourself for two hours of excellent vintage Funk and Soul and even some new releases which have not hit the stores yet.

- Flowers - For Real (LAX)
- Leroy Hutson - All Because of you (Curtom)
- Garland Green - Just loving you (Spring)
- Lou Courtney - I don’t need nobody else (Epic)
- Love Tambourines - Spend the day without you (Crue-L Records)
- Linda Clifford - From now on (Curtom)
- Archie Bell & The Drells - Let’s Groove P.1 (tsop)
- The Rebirth - Evil Vibrations (Ubiquity)
- Rasaan Patterson - So Hot (Dome)
- Marc Evans - The way you Love Me (Defected Records)
- Opaz - Don’t say nothing (Island)
- The Transatlantics - Couldn’t be him (Freestyle)
- Speedometer - You’ve made me so very happy (Freestyle)
- Shaolin Temple Defenders - I know what it is (Soulbeats)
- El Chicano - I’m a Good Woman (MCA)
- Trinidad Oil Company – Feelin’ Allright (Chrystal)
- Jay Mitchell - Goombau Bump (GBI)
- The Beginning of the End - Come down (Alston)
- Ray and his Court - Soul Freedom
- Hal Singer - Malcolm X (King)
- Magnum - Your Mind (Fine Music)
- Pieces of Peace – Pass it on (Twinight)
- The Soul Suspects – Handle It (Black Prince)
- Freddy Wilson – Promised Land (Eastbound)
- The Turnarounds – Soul Walk (Tangerine)
- Frank Penn - Gimme some skin (Penn’s)
- Irene Reid - Dirty Ole Man (Oldtown)
- Scacy & The Sound Service Sunshine (Scacy Records)
- Lou Pride - It’s Man’s Man’s Man’s World (Suemi)

----------------------------------------

RVALUTION is revamping itself after a streak of great sell out shows over the summer with guest Ana Sia. Her dancey dubtrax make their way to the Hat Factory tonite and kick off a string of strong October talent including Dave Nada, DJ HeavyGrinder and Cobra Krames. Make sure and educate yourself by checking out her music (links below) and come out. What else are you doing on a Tuesday night?

Make sure to use the "RVA" promo code to get the VIP discount. You can use this at the box office or buy ahead of time HERE.

Ana Sia’s love of electronic music combined with an innate understanding of the value of dance to the human soul collectively fuse to create unforgettable sets of experience, whether she is slamming spots in her hometown of San Francisco or taking her turn in the forests of music festivals around the country.

Ana’s energetic delivery of brain-fazing beats has earned the Princess Slay-ah an important spot in pioneering the West Coast future sound movement. She will take you on a musical expedition into the deepest reaches of your brain, as she masterfully blends a wide spectrum of rhythms with a beautiful fluidity and a delicate sensibility, giving the dance floor a delightful ride that ends at the corner of bliss and oblivion.

Uniting the best elements of dirty dubstep, grimy glitch, and her personalized blend of “global slut psy-hop,” Ana Sia’s sets confirm crunk status of all who dare enter into her seamless world of sound.

DOWNLOAD SETS FROM ANA SIA
http://www.zshare.net/audio/51195486069a41de/
(live from Vancouver; DubForms 11)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/594761427ac1ade8/
(live in Denver; Rocky Mtn Crystallization)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/16377133c7901489/
(juicier vintage mix; dripHOP)

www.myspace.com/anasiamusic

LCD Soundsystem is coming to C-Ville and we have a pair of tickets to giveaway to the show at the Charlottesville Pavillion. Hit us up on twitter HERE with a reason I should give them to you.

No fruity contests. Just you and us getting to know each other and us feeling good about giving them to you.

In the fall of 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University students Emma Ellsworth, Kenyatta Watts and Nathan Madden walked into a documentary film class as strangers—not only to each other, but to the art of film-making as well. The trio quickly developed an idea, narrowed a focus and began developing an outline for their film that was tentatively expected to explore the graffiti culture in Richmond.

CLICK HERE FOR GET UP PART 3

Our interview with film-maker Emma Ellsworth:

I graduated from VCU this past December with a BA in Mass Communications- Broadcast Journalism. I have only made two films thus far; the "Get up" documentary and a short adaptation of "Alice and Wonderland". I thoroughly enjoyed both genres, however I think I would like to try my hand at music videos.

"Get up" was the product of a documentary class I took at VCU and our groups were chosen by our teacher based on who she thought had similar ideas and would work well together. I think the other members of my group will agree that there were times when we butt heads (we spent A LOT of time together), but we also had a boat-load of fun. I'm sorry that was a little cliche but also true. Despite any differences, it would have been close to impossible to have completed this project alone in the time we had.

I learned a tremendous amount about film-making through this documentary, but I still have a lot to learn. I am looking to help out with smaller films or get an internship. I also recently acquired an old camera that I am looking forward to tinkering with.

The Bastard Noise – A Culture Of Monsters (Deep Six Records)

When considering contemporary music, much of which has come to rely on dissonance and traditionally non-musical sound, the question sometimes arises of what elements constitute “noise.” Going by the strict dictionary definition of noise as an unwanted sound, any application of the term to music is an extremely subjective measure, and not just in a curmudgeonly “damn kids and the noise they listen to nowadays” sense either. Whole genres have predicated themselves upon elements which, until recent decades, would have been considered verboten – rock and roll’s love affair with distortion and the record scratching of hip hop come to mind. Even as a defined genre, “noise music” – the sort of aleatoric scraping and shrieking of artists like Merzbow and Wolf Eyes – seems like a contradiction in terms. That is, if noise exists as a genre with practitioners and fans, it is no longer an unwanted sound and by definition ceases to be noise. Noisy, perhaps, but not noise.

This semantic argument may or may not provide a better understanding of A Culture Of Monsters, the newest release by The Bastard Noise – but it may have some bearing. The band’s name itself was a sobriquet chosen to differentiate the members’ experimental material from their work in seminal prog/hardcore band Man Is The Bastard. They initially dealt in the exact sort of corrosive soundscapes that the term “noise music” brings to mind. Recent releases, however, have found the band incorporating more concrete structural elements which, though not unlike the oddball brutality of their parent band, could hardly be considered a nostalgic rehash either, forsaking any preconception which could be inspired by the name or the members’ past endeavors.

At this point, The Bastard Noise hardly seems like an appropriate band name, at least not in the hyper-literal sense in which it initially was used. While some of the noisemaking devices have survived the band’s stylistic transition, there is such intense focus to the music that not a single element seems out of place or utilized with anything less than strict intentionality. The band expands upon the musical template they had initiated with their material from a split record with the Endless Blockade – an off-kilter, bass-driven heaviness which spends most of its time settled in a mid-tempo gray area. It’s not quite slow enough to be doomy, not quite fast enough to be thrashy, but the band places a greater emphasis on letting parts be heard clearly than on previous recordings. While there are certainly sonic outliers – the spoken word introduction by Nathan Martin of the late Creation Is Crucifixion or the In A Silent Way-era Miles Davis-style Rhodes playing on “If Another World…” come to mind – the majority of the album sounds like some alternate reality where Frank Zappa overcame his staunch antipathy for punk rock and embraced the genre as a means of adding an element of blunt force to his aesthetic palate.

A Culture Of Monsters is nothing if not blunt. One of the heaviest bass sounds ever committed to record locks in with an insane drummer to plod and pummel. Vocals alternate between a grindcore growl and a banshee scream. Homemade noise-making devices scatter sounds like shrapnel, piercing the album’s intricacy with shards of focused dissonance. Songs transition from eerie placidity to full-on roar with acute abruptness.

The album seems noisiest, in a sense, in terms of its lyrics. All the detritus of the 21st Century – the military/industrial complex, crass materialism, technological ubiquity, the breakdown of mankind’s fundamental abilities to communicate with one another – are thrown against each other in a jumble of loosely-connected fragments. Like some horrific kaleidoscope, they conjure a rainbow made up of all the hues of despair and destruction that loom over humanity. These unpleasant and unwanted ideas are corralled into, and fenced off by, the album’s caustic dissection of the modern human condition. Each song has a subheading which adds a slightly more strident element to the lyrical content. While each is still a far cry from a straightforward explanation, there is a pointed quality which gives the lyrics characteristics of a manifesto. There are recurring references to robot domination and the means by which they subsume and subvert humanity. How literally a listener should take these admonitions is not entirely clear – there is certainly an exaggerated William Burroughs/Philip K. Dick sci-fi feel to the concepts, but this is also a band whose members are known for their aversion to the snares of technology.

It remains entirely in the ears of the beholder to determine whether or not this is as much of a noise album as the band’s name might indicate. It’s a confrontational, sometimes cantankerous, take on ideas most people are unwilling to confront. A Culture Of Monsters suggests that those who buy into a culture of heightened consumption and exponential technological growth contribute, however unwittingly, to the sort of mass dehumanization that leads to mankind’s darkest hours. It’s a message as alienating as much of the music, which provides an inventive take on hardcore that many listeners might find noisy. Members of The Bastard Noise have been creating uncompromising, progressive, and decidedly heavy music for a quarter-century now, and A Culture Of Monsters is no exception. With this newest album, the band manages to shake the foundations of all that is safe and artificial within modern music. While they may not have much chance at widespread success, their music continues to issue aesthetic shockwaves that will ripple outwards for years to come.

Playlist link: College Town Nostalgia

Here we are back with the second we-can-bump-uglies-if-you-ain’t-got-your-monthly installment of The Jams of Terry. I’ve got my butt a little tighter than I did on the last playlist, bringing you some college town nostalgia for back to school. This is mainly what I consider to be the original college rock, the melodic stuff from the mid-‘80s that came out after punk but before alternative. There are a few digressions, because nostalgia is a funny thing. You never know what will have you looking into the past, but I know that it happens more when the weather gets chilly. Who knows what’s next. J-Pop? Reggaeton? Tuareg Guitars? All I know is that this playlist is best enjoyed while wearing corduroys and flannel.

1. Dirty Boots – Sonic Youth
This song sounds like a party in dark, chilly woods. I first heard it in junior high and decided that when I got to college, I’d finally be able to afford Doc Martens and I’d wear awesome flannel shirts and get stoned and make out with girls sitting on logs with crackly leaves under our feet. That’s exactly how college turned out. I swear.

2. Precision Auto – Superchunk
Perfect. The quintessential ‘90s college rock band makes a video of themselves driving around the quintessential college town, Chapel Hill, NC, in fall, the quintessential nostalgic season. I saw this band in ’03 and it was like a reunion of all of the people I used to see at pop-punk shows in the mid-‘90s, but now those motherfuckers were in law school instead of high school.

3. Can’t Hardly Wait (Tim Version) – Replacements
Music for bleary-eyed dudes who hang out on roofs. An old roommate of mine used to make fun of guys who rocked the “I’m Cute But I Just Woke Up” look and got more girls than us. Those guys had a band. This is it.

4. Just Like Heaven – Dinosaur Jr.
Two-for-one! Dinosaur Jr. are usually associated with grunge, but they started in that magical time in the ‘80s after punk, but before alternative rock, when this kind of stuff was called college rock. And here they are, covering The Cure, another college rock band.

5. Pretty Persuasion - R.E.M.
Perfect. The quintessential ‘80s college rock band from the quintessential ‘80s college town, Athens, GA, makes a wistful song about being a sucker for love. And Jawbreaker did a “meh” cover of it, making it OK for punks in the ‘90s to listen to REM, even after “Everybody Hurts.”

6. Into You Like A Train – Psychedelic Furs
People in college love ‘80s nights, where they go to bars, got hammered on well vodka and realize that “Don’t You Want Me” is too slow to actually dance to. Well, here’s some sneering, clove smoking ‘80s music 4 dat azz. This is from the same album as "Pretty in Pink,” which is a great movie to watch with a date who’s going, “This was my favorite movie in high school. I totally had a best friend who was just like the ‘Kinda Ethnic But Nonthreatening’ guy from this movie,” then you go, “Whatever,” and drink more beer and she gets mad because you have to get up to piss like four times. Hey, Jawbreaker also did a “meh” cover of this.

7. Hounds Of Love – Kate Bush
Kate Bush is the holy grail of art school girls. She looks all haunted and does modern dance and sings like someone dropped a piano on her foot and she has a leather jacket that she’s probably worn at the same time as a leotard before and I think one guy I know has a class with her and says she never talks to anyone when they’re outside smoking and she isn’t exactly pretty, but she’s so badass that she’s attractive, and we’re not shallow anymore now that we’re, like, college guys, riiight? PS - Dudes: If you crank this song, the drums are pretty epic.

8. I Would Die 4 U – Prince
This came out when I was five, but I bet in the mid ‘80s, Prince was the mainstream artist who was out there enough for avant garde art schoolers to like him, plus you could party to him but not feel like you were dumbing down your taste. OK. Now picture twenty year old me guzzling Colt 45 and shedding a tear to the “You’re just a sinner I am told/bring you fire when you’re cold…” part.

9. Like I Love You – Justin Timberlake
Wait, what? Let me explain. In my fifth or sixth year at VCU (no Animal House), this Timberlake album dropped, and if I had a dollar for every time I went to a “dance party” that turned out to be this CD on a boombox in the corner of a room with about a dozen pink toes standing around, not dancing, I wouldn’t have any student loans left. Me and my friend Jeff would always laugh at the monologue in the middle where he says, “Here, wear my jacket,” because we thought he was saying “Here, hold my jacket.” Kill The Man Who Questions would not approve because they had a song called “Coatrack” about guys at shows making their girlfriends hold their jackets while they moshed. And so political punks started dancing, and time marched on…

10. History Lesson Pt. II – Minutemen
The bromance national anthem. What’s more college rock then starting a band with your buddies and writing songs about how you’re buddies and you love being in a band together? Nothing. Made all the more poignant by the fact that D. Boon, the singer/guitarist, died in a car crash about a year later.

Legendary early-80s English postpunk band Gang Of Four has had a rather inconsistent history, breaking up and reforming several times over the course of their 30-year history. Originally made up of vocalist Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bassist Dave Allen, and drummer Hugo Burnham, Gang Of Four experienced member attrition after being together for about five years, with first Allen and then Burnham dropping out circa 1983. Gill and King remained together for over a decade, making albums with studio musicians and synthesizers filling out the lineup, but it was never the same, and these "gang of two" albums were woefully inferior to the work of the original band. In 2004, though, that original lineup reformed and began touring, playing songs from their classic first three albums with the vigor and energy one would normally expect only from a much younger band. I saw one of the shows on that tour and was very pleasantly surprised, considering my initial skepticism about the reunion. The reformed band really seemed to have the goods.

Now, six years after that original reformation, Gang Of Four has returned to the studio to bring us their first album of new material in 15 years. The reformed original lineup did record and release Return The Gift in 2006, but that album was a rerecording of the old songs they'd been playing on tour, and featured no newly-written material. And since that album, Allen and Burnham have left the band once again, with Burnham retiring to become a professor at the New England Institute of Art, and Allen leaving for undisclosed reasons. So does this mean that the version of Gang Of Four that's finally brought us new material is as inferior as the "gang of two" incarnation that created the band's noticeably inferior fourth through sixth albums? Where the full album, entitled Content, is concerned, it remains to be seen, but the first song released from the album offers reasons to be encouraged. On "Never Pay For The Farm," new bassist Thomas McNeice has every bit the harsh, growling, yet extremely funky sound that Dave Allen brought to Gang Of Four, while Andy Gill's bright, scratching guitar sound banishes any thoughts of synthesizers fogging up the mix. Mark Heaney's syncopated percussion makes it easier for the listener not to miss Hugo Burnham, and Jon King is as manic and frustrated as ever, delivering politically-tinged lyrics in a powerful voice that is at the same time shaking with anger, or perhaps paranoia.

Perhaps this time, Gang Of Four have learned from their previous attempts to carry on after the disbanding of their original lineup. Instead of moving in a more synthetic direction, instead of acting like Gill and King are the band's only members and filling in the holes with computerized instruments and people who don't really care about the band, they've recruited new members who can play in the spirit of the original lineup and allow the band's classic sound to stay intact. Hopefully this means that Content, unlike so many latter-day Gang Of Four releases, will be able to stand alongside their classic albums Entertainment! and Solid Gold. If nothing else, though, at least they've given us one more great song.

Stream or download "Never Pay For The Farm" from ReverbNation here. (Download requires email address)

A comedy in the tradition of Double Indemnity and The Lost Weekend, Santo Diablo! is the story of a young man, driven mad by guilt and paranoia after stealing a can of chili, who becomes convinced that his roommates are plotting to kill him.

Local filmmaker Joey Tran has been making comedies for years, you can see more of his work at www.vimeo.com/metimo.

CLICK HERE FOR SANTO DIABLO!

Well here we go again, and Im back with my wildest mix to date.. Cheese Whiz!

Tastemakers Reinhold and Jennings bring you BOUNCE, our showcase of the best in local and regional deejays sets. PLF/RVA - working on bringing you the newest sounds from all over! For all the information you need email john@rvamag.com.

CLICK HERE FOR CHEESE WHIZ

*TO DOWNLOAD mix save on this link: "CHEESE WHIZ"

BOUNCE 031 Reinhold's "CHEEZE WHIZ" Mix

Welcome to the Cheese Whiz mix! Honestly this mix is just so silly, I fell over laughing a few times while recording it. Its a little out of the norm than what I would usually spin live. However, I got an idea In my head to do a concept album of sorts ... and I went with it.

It is my hope that it will make you laugh, and at times bang your head while pumping your fist in the air! I start it off with a 1970's Spainsh Cheese Whiz commercial (below), which of course is pretty appropriate opening for all this cheese. This mix is full of songs that are classics that we love/hate and are in many ways guilty pleasures, and then there are just some killer tracks in here as well. In this mix I go from AD/DC mix to Sandstorm directly into Zombie Nation. Did I mention Bon Jovi? Now, I completely take the blame for all this, and because of it I went ahead and poured Cheese Whiz all over my face - as you can see! I'm sure I will put up the whole photo shoot for it soon for you to check out online - and you can have fun laughing at me and the ridiculous mess that it made. Well, I hope you enjoy listening to Cheese Whiz, and If you stick around to the end you will hear the famed "Meow!" song that I rarely get to play - its always good for a laugh.

Much thanks,
Reinhold - PLF/RVA

Special thanks goes out to Todd Raviotta (Photo), Conway Jennings, and Tony Harris (design) for their help on this mix.

TRACKLISTING:
-----------------------------------------------

Cheez Whiz de Kraft - commercial 1985 - Venezuela (link below)
A Team Theme (Twin Pack Voxx Remix)
Its Bigger than Hip Hop - WTF vs Dead Prez - Sidney Samson
SHOTS, to the Heart - (LMFAO VS Lil Jon vs Bon Jovi)
Thunderstruck (Crookers Mix)
Sandstorm Original Mix - DaRude
Zombie Nation (Sport Chant Remix) - Kernkraft 400
ZOMBIES! - Designer Drugs
I Got My Eye On You feat. Luciana (Chuckie Remix)
How Low (Cobra Krames Club Remix)
Rage Against The Machine vs Laid Back Luke
Back With an 808 - Sharp
Finally - DJ Falk Ibiza Edit
Sexy Bitch - Guetta feat. Akon (Chuckie Lil Jon Remix)
Pump Up The Jam - Crowd Is Jumpin Mix
Sirens - Original Mix (more Sirens!!!) - Detboi
What Is Love 2K9 - Klaas Impact Mix Edit
Animal - Fake Blood Remix
Mr. Jack - Original Mix - Luna City Express
World Wide Party (Hoxton Whore mix)
Cold As Ice (Dubstep mix) - Specimen A
Meow Meow - Original Mix & Outro - High Rankin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bio -
John Reinhold has played with many talented Dj's and produers, and is constantly inspired by those around him. Here is a short list: Mr. Jennings (PLF), COBRA KRAMES, VIBESQUAD, Elliot Lipp, DESIGNER DRUGS, Doddie (Audio Ammo), Dj Mir, Jackie O, Tiki, Lee Mayjahs (PEX), Dj Everyday (PEX), Michael Nighttime (PLF), Akasha (PLF), Beatdown (PLF), Aline Nuntez, Bobby LaBeat (Audio Ammo), Jessie Split, Joanna O, Nigel Richards, Justin Paul (PEX, Playloop), Dave Hughes (PEX, Playloop), Long Jawns (Audio Ammo), Throwdown, Phil the Viking, Nosaj Thing, John Q, MASS FX, Schizo Dj, EPOC, and Dj Vic Vic.

Contact:

http://www.facebook.com/TheReinhold

http://plf.podomatic.com/


http://rvamag.com
Booking:
 John@rvamag.com

Opening this Friday at ADA Gallery, Joan Gustad's 'LOVE & Other Demons' is her first show since the passing of her husband and in that context is a brave exhibition that some might find hard to look at. The new work has the children again as subject matter but all the imagery has been tinged with a sense of something uncomfortable.

Opening Friday October 1, 2010, 7-10 pm
Artist talk and reception: October 9, 2010, 5:30-7:30 pm
ADA Gallery 228 W Broad St.

---------------------------------------

" Joan Gaustad has followed her own muse for many years, creating a landscape of ethereal beauty that, perhaps with the waving of a wand or a secret incantation, seamlessy integrates darkly ambiguous social scenarios. There are all kinds of echoes here – from 50’s illustration to the Tantric and the tribal. "
- RICHARD ROTH , artist and writer

Perhaps it is her lifelong fascination with spirituality (Christianity as a child, and Buddhism as an adult), that “lends [her] paintings an almost iconic weight, and suggests the sacred. The tension and power of Gaustad’s art lies in the coexistence of images which acknowledge fear, even trauma, with a way of rendering which implies the hope and dignity possible in any life, however damaged.”
–Wesley Gibson, Art Papers and New Art Examiner

Joan Gaustad (b). September 11, 1948 , Richmond, Va
Education includes art studies in Bangkok, Thailand (1967-1969), Offenbach Hochschule fur Gestaltung, Offenbach, Germany(1970-1971) and a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1974. Joan Gaustad has shown her work throughout Virginia, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, University of Richmond, and the Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University. Joan shares her life in Richmond, Virginia with painter Gerald Donato, where they both have been active supporters of the arts. In 2007 Donato and Gaustad were jointly awarded the Thesesa Pollak Award for Excellence in the Arts.

Japanese transplants PEELANDER-Z are making an appearance tonight at The Camel and if you haven't seen them live don't miss out. Seriously, one of the most fun shows you will ever go to. Prepare yourself for pop punk, group chanting and dancing, possible human bowling, banging on pots and being swallowed up by the Japanese flavor.

BIG thanks to Trigger System for bringing them back to RVA.

CLICK HERE FOR PEELANDER-Z

Little Master, Canadian Rifle, Constrictor, and Real Talk
Thursday, September 23 at Strange Matter

Regardless of the name it's currently going by, the club located at 929 W. Grace St always feels like home to me. I've been seeing shows there since moving to Richmond 17 years ago, and whether it's called Twisters, The Nanci Raygun, or Strange Matter, it's still pretty much the same as it ever was--a dark, grotty hole in the wall, the classic rock n' roll dive bar. And I love that about it, even on nights when I showed up by myself, and setup time leaves me standing around unsure what to do (which, I suppose, is where drinking comes in). Once the music starts, though, none of it matters.

Newly-formed locals Real Talk led off the evening's musical entertainment. They had thoroughly impressed me with their debut public appearance, and they again acquitted themselves well. Their songs struck me as more straightforward this time, with less twists and turns than before, though I recognized enough riffs that I'm sure they were playing pretty much the same set. Maybe being familiar enough with them to have expectations about their sound changed the way I heard them. Only a recording I can listen to over and over will allow me to form a more objective impression at this point, though whatever it is they're doing, I'm sure I like it. Especially favorable to my ears are the melodic touches they insert into some of their songs; I enjoy the contrast between these less ripping riffs and the still-harsh vocals. There's something to be said for modulated vocals, but there's also something to be said for using screams to push against melodic tendencies--it adds layers and textures that wouldn't be present in the music otherwise.

Virginia Beach's Constrictor were up next. They're the sort of dual-guitar quartet in which both guitarists play rhythm parts, while the bass is the true lead instrument. The bass player's parts were the sort of walking basslines that have been part of poppy punk's DNA since introduced to the genre by Descendents bassist Tony Lombardo. Constrictor's riffing brought a decent touch of bar-band cock-rock to their sound, and they were clearly very well practiced--they hit each song like a runaway train, and stayed lock-tight throughout their set. However, regardless of how well they played, their sound didn't do too much for me, and I found myself zoning out after a while. While zoning, I notice that their drummer had the habit of twirling his sticks, Tommy Lee-style, whenever he had a second in which he didn't need to be hitting anything. It seemed like one of those things that someone first teaches themselves to do when they're bored, but soon develops into a nervous habit, one they can't help but engage in. Constrictor's drummer did it so often that, during one song, I decided to count his stick-twirls. Fifty-seven. In fairness, it was one of the longest songs they played. Recordings I've heard of Constrictor on their Myspace page de-emphasize the walking basslines that seemed so prominent live, making them sound less poppy and pushing them further into the realm of rock n' roll. If their live sound was closer to the way they sound on the recordings I've heard, I might have enjoyed their set more. As it was, I just wasn't feeling it.

Chicago natives Canadian Rifle played next. The band I hear Canadian Rifle compared to most often is Leatherface, and with their gruff vocals and melodic-punk guitar riffs, I can see where people are coming from. However, Leatherface are only the best-remembered exponent of an entire genre of English melodic punk that raged throughout the late 80s and early 90s. They were really too full of beer-soaked emotion to make an accurate comparison between them and Canadian Rifle. Snuff, a faster, punkier, but still gruffly melodic band from that same group of English punk bands, are the more accurate comparison, to my mind. That said, even Snuff weren't as gritty as Canadian Rifle, and the Chicago boys made the influence of dirty hardcore on their music prominent by beginning with an incredibly fast tune that resembled both Dillinger Four and early Husker Du. They slowed down a bit after that, but never really let up, attacking their tunes with a ferocious intensity and blowing everyone's hair back. Their songs being short and their performing style involving a minimum of tuning and other nonsense, it seemed as if their set ended too soon, but Canadian Rifle were content to leave the crowd wanting more. I don't know about anyone else, but I satisfied my jones for more of their music by picking up their new LP, Visibility Zero, which I am thoroughly enjoying thus far.

The final group of the evening was Little Master, who have recently attracted attention for reasons other than their music--those being, specifically, their ongoing legal battle against the City Of Richmond, who attempted to prosecute them for violation of a recently passed noise ordinance. In light of that legal battle, their melodic, mostly-undistorted musical performance seemed somewhat ironic; of all the bands who performed at Strange Matter that evening, they seemed the least likely by far to get in legal trouble for being too loud. Then again, my standards where volume is concerned are different from most people's. Little Master's music reminded me of some past periods of indie rock--the late 80s college rock era, or the bands that signed to Sub Pop right after the grunge thing died circa 1993. The best-known antecedent for their sound would probably be Candy Apple Grey era Husker Du, though it'd be more correct to compare them to The Moving Targets, early Afghan Whigs, or Hazel. I'd heard that Antlers guitarist Wolfgang Daniel was playing second guitar with Little Master recently, but he must not be a permanent addition to their lineup, as they performed at Strange Matter as a three-piece, with Wolfgang in the audience watching. And while I'm sure a second guitarist could add interesting layers to their sound, they clearly didn't require it, as there were no empty spaces in their sound crying out for an extra instrument. Regardless of what lineup they choose to move forward with, I'm sure they'll do well--as long as the city doesn't throw them in jail.