and this is why i speak to you in parables by White Orange

In honor of Tupac Shakur’s 40th birthday (actually took place last Thursday) and one of my favorite hip-hop ad-libs (my favorite being Young Jeezy’s “YEAHHHHHHHH!”) of all-time, I am here to share some of the things I have been “feeling” over the past six months. Some of these things are related to the current calendar year, some of them aren’t.

Youth Rescue Mission “S/T” - One of my early front-runners for local album of the year, I have spent an incredible amount of time with this record. The music is great but it’s the fiercely personal stories behind the songs on the album that resonate with me personally. Tales and dynamics so close to the heart that I don’t feel comfortable sharing them with you. To paraphrase the press release, this is a family of individual songwriters that have combined their shared experiences and the end result are ten poignant, revealing songs. If I owned this on vinyl, the grooves on tracks “Floorplan” and “Great White” would be so worn from overplay that I would have to resort to cassette digital download for their audio alleviation. Might I also add that “Dark Star” is the most metal, un-metal song that has ever existed in Seattle. OK, that might be a reach. Nevertheless, I have learned how to play it, and as a result turned it into a beast that only Kim Thayil and members of His Hero Is Gone would recognize. Righteous. Catch them tonight at the Comet with the Foghorns + others.

Femi Kuti at Neumos - It’s not often you get the chance to dance, have a one-sided conversation about social injustice and get sex advice all during the course of the same event (there’s a political fundraiser joke in there somewhere), but that happened when Femi Kuti ended his North American Africa to Africa tour in Seattle. Like a charismatic, manic composer he orchestrated Positive Force through a two-hour set that made sure newly converted fans (like myself) will be counting down the days until he returns in Seattle. This set is in the top five of the “best sets of 2011″ so far.

Good Rock n’ Roll Comes in Three’s (Three good albums, all totally different in content. I’ll have reviews of all three posted shortly) -

and this is why i speak to you in parables by White Orange - From the opening phase shifter (possibly flanger?) drenched riff of “Where,” you are a wayfarer, trapped inside a brobdingnagian 1982 ghetto blaster that is peculiarly placed in the middle of a sandy oasis.  This sequence would be fantastic if you were the protagonist in a Beck video directed by Spike Jonze. Instead your end is near because you have no access to food or water. The only item that you have at your disposal is the Queens From the Stone Age/Kyuss split EP on cassette tape. As you hold the tape in your hand, fond memories flood your mind, feel good hits of the summer transposed over an idealistic youth. Suddenly you realize the obvious and the smile your memories have crafted is removed from your face. What good is a tape if you’re trapped inside a boom box? Where is the cruel god that has done this to you…

Weatherhead by Helm’s Alee - “Why not be oneself? That is the whole secret of a successful appearance. If one is a greyhound, why try to look like a Pekingese?” - Edith Sitwell

This release feels like a band fully entrapped in the throes of self-realization. Night Terror, for all its sullen triumphs, (and god bless you, there were a great many) lacked something that I currently cannot find the proper words to describe (hopefully by the beginning of next week, this is not the case). Perhaps it was because you knew that no matter how effervescent a song might have started, a tempest was coming to make short work of its vulnerable beginnings. In the case of Weatherhead, what is ethereal remains that way, choosing to stay beautiful despite what you might expect. “Music Box” and “Anemone of the Wound” could not have existed on Helm’s Alee aptly-named previous album. I think fans of this band will be pleasantly surprised upon first listen (don’t you worry, Helm’s Alee still rock). Put to rest any potential fears by clicking on the soundcloud link.

S/T by Strong Killings -  The morning buzz off my grumpy neighbors lawnmower, a woodpecker that only visits my house on the sabbath in order to serve as a terrifying alarm clock for my baby sister, the beckoning call of the ice cream man, watching fireflies coexist with bats, often meeting their end in the process — these are a few things that remind me of summer. Now added to the list of dog day admonishments is the self-titled album by Strong Killings. I know, we really haven’t hit summer quite yet, but in my mind it’s been summer for months and I’ve been nodding my head to this album for weeks now. If Once If summer does make an appearance, mark my words, you’ll agree with me.  “Minimum Wage” and “Licked, Nicked” are bonafide anthems that won’t leave my ipod unless someone puts a gun to my head. Even then, depending on what’s going on in my life, I still might refuse. Gentle readers, the wait is almost over. I can’t wait for you to have this…

Other songs that remind me of summer. Some good, some not so good.
“Fantasy” by Mariah Carey (f. Ol’ Dirty Bastard)
“Natural One” by Folk Implosion
“Comin’ Home” by Hum
“Street Dreams” by Nas
“Slow RIde” by Foghat
“Frankenstein” by Edgar Winter Band
“Overnight Scenario” by Rare Essence

Actually, I lied. All those songs are awesome.

medicine by OCnotes - The strongest argument for our government to implement universal health care. Performing at the Electric Tea Garden tomorrow (Friday) night.
Mercy Ties/Grenades Split 12″ on Echolalic Records -So good. I’m actually tired of telling you how good this is.

Ride The Fader by Chavez - A classic. I listen to this album all the time. One of the best albums of the 90’s that nobody talks about. I can’t remember how I heard about Chavez (I think a Jawbox interview? Or maybe it was John Angelo also produced  Triple Fast Action’s Cattlemen Don’t — another criminally underrated group) but I am very fortunate that I did. Not many bands can claim that they have their own sound, yet Chavez can boast about this achievement and I wouldn’t go against their words. Just about all the songs on this record are good. The opening riff to “Lions” will make you wake up in a cold sweat. “All I want to do is open my barrage,” sings a sweet yet irratated Matt Sweeney on “You Must Be Stopped.” Ever been in a hurry to get somewhere but know your efforts are futile? That is what the song sounds like. “Ever Overpsyched” is the best Beatles song that the Fab Four never wrote.