This Week's Shameless Budgeteer Plug: Polka, foosball, CD reviews and a whole bunch of random pictures

All right, here's the goods already:

"The Happiest Music on Earth?" -- Can you tell I have some Polish in me? Can ya?

"Moving Out of the Basement" -- No, this isn't some sort of postcollegiate, coming-of-age story about finally -- finally -- moving out of my parents' basement. Nope, this is all about the Fooshead, baby! (Intrigued? Read on!)

"New Releases from Ryan Rapsys and the Clearwater Hot Club" -- Surprise, surprise, more CD reviews ... but, hey, at least I have fun! (Also reviewed -- in brief -- Cary Brothers’ “Who You Are," Ann Savoy and Her Sleepless Knights’ “If Dreams Come True," Sir Salvatore’s “Those Men are Not Astronauts," Dan Colehour’s “Straight to the Highway” and “Music in the Zoo, Vol. 3," the latest batch of recordings to emerge from the Minnesota Zoo's summer concert series.)

Finally, some random shots I took over the past week can be found in "Fourthfest is Back" and on the Budgeteer homepage (sorry, I have no way of linking directly to my "two ducks and a deer in the drainage ditch" masterpiece).

Don't Tell a Soul, Vol. 33: ... And Then I Fly High

For the uninitiated, "Don't Tell a Soul" is my ongoing, semi-regular awesome* mix tape series.

And this, right here, is the latest installment.

As always, to encourage the consumption of music that doesn't suck, I have provided -- wherever available -- links to free, artist-sanctioned MP3s of the songs.

Enjoy!
Matt

(Questions or comments? E-mail mperrine [at] duluthbudgeteer [dot] com.)

1. The Unband - "Geez Louise"
Sound familiar? This is the standout on the "Super Troopers" soundtrack.

Rock on, Scubatron.

2. Gorillaz feat. Shaun Ryder - "Dare"
I should probably admit that anything that even remotely sounds inspired by the '80s will automatically make these mix tapes. (I was there with this disclaimer when Felix da Housecat pumped out "Ready to Wear," too.)

3. Father Hennepin - "Doc Bronner"
Something about Scott "Starfire" Lunt's voice is completely heartbreaking -- well worth seeking out the "Iron Country" comp for this quasi-C&W gem.

4. Dolour - "I Smell a Lawsuit"
Recommended if you like the popcentric numbers college freshmen listen to. (This is, in no way, a slight: Dolour is heavenly.)

5. Charles Douglas - "Me + My Woman"

An irresistible nugget of a song that somehow didn't make the "31 Flavors" cut. Not to sound too redundant, but well worth seeking out Mr. Douglas for.... (I mean, I really don't know how else to get it!)

6. Cloud Cult - "Please Remain Calm"
The latest Cloud Cult genre-bouncing adventures finds our heroes dabbling in danceable indie rock (indietronic?). What's not to love?

7. Simple Kid - "The Commuter"
R.I.Y.L. Bicycle (again, the group), Forest for the Trees and, to a lesser extent, the sunnier (read: poppier) Flaming Lips moments.

8. Vegetarian Meat - "Not You"
R.I.Y.L. Charles Douglas (he's kind of half o' the group), the Jesus and Mary Chain (minus the drone but before the road songs) and late-period Pixies -> right around Black Francis' transformation into Frank Black.

9. David Miller - "Narrow Your Eyes" (They Might Be Giants cover)
If you like Aqueduct, this guy sounds exactly like "Mr. Aqueduct" David Terry.

So much, in fact, that I almost suspect "Miller" is a fake last name.

...

What, you've heard better indie rock conspiracies this week?

10. Heavy Vegetable - "Daisy"
Before Pinback, the talented (Mr.) Rob Crow was in this group -- and let's just say it's easy to hear the "aural road map." You won't be disappointed.

11. I Self Devine - "All We Need is Another Day"
Let me see, Do I think I listen to too much I Self Devine?

Hmm....

12. Steve Winwood - "Roll with It"
Question: How do you follow up one of Minneapolis' hardest-hitting rappers?

Answer: With one of adult contemporary's** most winning tracks, of course!

13. Apples in Stereo - "Sunndal Song"
I was about to write "What the fuck is a 'sunndal,'" but then I found out.

14. Look Down - "Zack Morris Phone"
All right, here's my way of stumbling into Look Down: I was at Pawn America up on the hill, spending too much money on used pieces of plastic -- per usual -- when I saw a picture of five dweebs. I thought it was your average pawn shop find. (You will know exactly what I mean if you take a look this "awesomely bad" cover.)

Well, for some unknown reason, I decided to flip it over and look at the info.

You know, like, Is this a joke and these guys are actually really cool kind of thing or ... is this just another horrible pawn shop CD from the mid-'90s that time has understandably forgotten about?

First track? "Zack Morris Phone." Bam. (That's the sound of me excitedly slamming down my three bucks to see if it's as listenable as it is funny.)

I'm glad I took a chance. Look Down is one of the most intriguing groups to come out of the Twin Cities since Best Friends Forever, the Plastic Constellations or Better Off Airport. (Your choice.)

15. A - "Old Folks"
If "ageist" comments don't fly in your household, this track will surely not be welcome on your station wagon's "poppin' tin" stereo. (Good tune though!)

16. X - "Someone's Watching"
I swear, backing a track by A with one by X was wholly coincidental ... I am not lame.

Or at least I try not to be whenever possible....

17. Live - "Horse"
If you like your rock to straddle (so to speak) the C&W fence -- like my mix tapes frequently do -- here's another golden oldie, "Horse," aka the unlisted track on the group's landmark album "Throwing Copper."

18. The Strugglers - "The Latest Rights"
Coming in at a cozy place somewhere between Ireland's the Frames and France's My Diet Pill are the Strugglers, the best group to have a record deal everywhere except these here United States. (Yep Roc, are you listening? These guys are the new Wilco: Best snatch 'em up before Lost Highway does!)

19. The Jayhawks - "Save it for a Rainy Day" (live on Cities 97)
Heartbreaking. Epic. (And/or monumental.) Oh, and Minnesoter.

Jayhawks, how I miss thee.

20. Jason Anderson/Wolf Colonel - "From Wisconsin"
This track draws comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel. While everyone is compared to Neutral Milk Hotel from time to time, this is one of the few acts (guys) who actually deserve that level of praise.

21. Wilco - "Walken"
I don't know for certain, but I'm guessin' this one's gonna rock when Wilco comes back to town Aug. 14.

22. Dylan Hicks - "Renaissance Man"
Like Mark Mallman, Dylan Hicks has mastered the crap out of unpretentious Minneapolis rock. Way to go; that makes me even more proud to say I was born in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Sorry, cheesy moment's over ... will never happen again.

23. Sonic Youth - "Superstar" (Carpenters cover)
Sonic Youth successfully taking on the Carpenters' greatest triumph? Who knew?

*Like you didn't know.
**At least it was contemporary in the '80s....

Today's Moment of Zen: A Job I Don't Envy

This Week's Shameless Budgeteer Plug

Another week, another set of stories to tell your children at night...

"A Replacement for Green Man?" -- The Gallows' Marc Gartman has crafted up the ideal Duluth summer music festival. The lineup is amazing: Low, Trampled by Turtles, the Gallows and Charlie Parr -- to name just a few. Anyway, it will be held July 7 on Park Point, and it's free, so mark your calendars.

Accompanying that story is "Other Minnesota Summer Festivals," which is, more or less, the longest sidebar you'll ever read. (p.s. Did I mention that I got to talk to Dave Simonett of Trampled by Turtles for these two stories? Most excellent.*)

"Discover Duluth: Seven Bridges Road" -- My beloved** photo essay series finally hooks up with my favorite spot in the entire Twin Ports! Plus, as an added bonus, I managed to squeeze one of my favorite photographers, Mark Ryan***, into another Budgeteer story!! (That's right; two exclamation points.)

"Pickin' on Charlie Parr, the Gallows and Ryan Adams" -- It was like my birthday or something this week, as, along with excellent new releases from Charlie Parr and the Gallows, I was fortunate enough to be able to review Ryan Adams' new classic before its street date. (Something funny I just noticed: Of the three A&E stories this week, I managed to mention Charlie Parr and Trampled by Turtles in all of 'em. A HA HA)

ALSO: "Dixon Reflects on Exciting Times in District" isn't my handiwork, but it does include two of my photos from Tuesday night's "heated" school board meeting. (I'm sorry, I think I confused "heated" with "What happens when a bunch of Northlanders infected with Minnesota Nice get upset? Not a whole lot.") AND, if you give me a few hours to work them up, "The Northland's Week in Review" for June 16-22 will have some of my shots from this morning's much-talked-about fire on Railroad Street.

UPDATE: "Beyond the Big Screen: Home Entertaining Gets Personal," my contribution to this season's Blueprint special edition, is now online. If you enjoy billiards, foosball, darts, etc., read on.

*I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy....
**By my gramma ... in case you were wondering.
***My all-too-brief Q-and-A with him is available here, in this online exclusive.

Don't Tell a Soul, Vol. 32.5: Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi, Yep (Cloud Cult for the Uninitiated)

After their monumental performance at the Grandma's Marathon Big Top Tent last Saturday night here in Duluth, my wife (as well as half of my friends) is positively obsessed with Cloud Cult. As such, she asked me to make a little mix tape (er-ino) with some of the group's best songs. Here's what I came up with.

Two quick notes before the fun starts: I have not included any tracks from "The Shade Project" and/or "Lost Music from the Lost Years" because ... well, I can't get my hands on them. (Help?) However, Craig Minowa has assured me that the group now has national distribution for its music and at least "Lost Music" will be repressed for the masses. Finally, I have provided links to free, artist-sanctioned (or at least I hope so) MP3s of the songs wherever available.

I hope this here playlist nudges you in the right direction (in other words, falling head over heels in love with Cloud Cult).

Cheers!
Matt

1. "Please Remain Calm"
2. "Living on the Outside of Your Skin"
3. "Where it Starts"
4. "Take Your Medicine"
5. "What it Feels Like to Be Alive"
6. "Moving to Canada"
7. "It's Gay"
8. "You Got Your Bones to Make a Beat"
9. "Washed Your Car" (live on KUMD)
10. "Son is Watching/You are My Sunshine" (live on WOXY)
11. "The Deaf Girl's Song"
12. "Untitled" (from "Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus")
13. "Chemicals Collide"
14. "As Long as You're Happy"
15. "On the Sun"
16. "Transistor Radio"
17. "Ready to Fight"
18. "Shape of 8"
19. "Alone at a Party in a Ghost Town"
20. "May Your Lives Be Long"
21. "Puck's 6th Birthday"
22. "Pretty Voice"
23. "Fairy Tale"
24. "Moon's Thoughts"
25. "Car Crash"
26. "Your 8th Birthday"

Agree? Write me. Disagree? Get your own damn blog.

Today's Moment of Zen: My Very First Facebook ("dot com") Meltdown!

For all those Facebook.com haters out there, I feel your pain. I signed on to stay in contact with all those lost classmates, but it's becoming more and more ridiculous. For example, I logged on today and found a "hot" discussion titled "Is Being Gay OK?"

No shit it is! What are we, George W. Bush zombies or something?!

ANYWAY, for your viewing pleasure, I've attached my "response" to the stupidest question ever:

Post #417

You wrote one second ago

Why are people even bringing up the Bible? It's about as valid as a Britney Spears song in any given argument.

Besides, "Is Being Gay OK?"? It's such a non-issue these days ... unless, of course, you're an ignorant Republican hillbilly who's had his eye on his sister for the past couple of years.

God bless!
Matt

Don't Tell a Soul, Vol. 32: Now I'm with you everyday

For the uninitiated, "Don't Tell a Soul" is my ongoing, semi-regular awesome* mix tape series.

And this, right here, is the latest installment.

As always, to encourage the consumption of music (that doesn't suck), I have provided -- wherever available -- links to free, artist-sanctioned MP3s of the songs.

*No joke. I mean, at least the songs were awesome at the time of this here blog's posting.

Enjoy!
Matt

(Questions or comments? E-mail mperrine [at] duluthbudgeteer [dot] com.)

1. Muse "Assassin"
A little harder than most "DTAS" selections, I'll admit, but it eventually gets to that lovable Radiohead-biting** aesthetic.

2. I Self Devine - "Overthrow"
Just another reason to get down on your knees and say "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy" to the Minneapolis hip-hop gods.

3. Live - "The Dam at Otter Creek"
A slow builder, sure, but a slow builder with a payoff.

4. Cloud Cult - "Living on the Outside of Your Skin"
"Yi, yi, yi, yi, yep."

Love it, love it, love it.

I believe it was during this song at the Grandma's Marathon Big Top Tent last Saturday night that I turned to my lovely wife to say, "I think this is my new favorite band."

5. Lou Reed - "Vicious"
"Why don't you swallow razorblades"? Hey, man, we've all had those days; but only fuckin' Lou Reed is man enough to write a catchy jingle about it.

6. Dessa - "551"
Of the three* Minneapolis hip-hoppers on this mix tape, Dessa is definitely the cutest. Err ... I mean, the one with the best chance to cross over and sell millions of albums on the pop charts. (Which is also true.)

7. Rjd2 feat. Blueprint - "Final Frontier"
Recommended if you like pretending you're not a honky by singing this at karaoke night on Tower Avenue.

8. Prince - "My Little Pill"
R.I.Y.L. Outkast's brilliant "?" track on "Stankonia" and/or the score to "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

9. Atmosphere - "Horny Ponycorn Horns"
Three words: "The Fun EP." Like the pros say, "Get it before you gotta get it on eBay."

And nothing, my friends, screams "fun" like a pornographic circus song. (Isn't that Prince's territory, anyway?)

10. Reverend Horton Heat - "Reverend Horton Heat's Big Blue Car"
These guys seriously wail. Tubular vernacular aside, this is no joke. When they came to Fargo while I was living there, they definitely helped us party down. The lead singer/guitarist, aka the Reverend, got up on the bassist's stand-up unit (it was on its side at the time) just to play a freakin' guitar solo -- and this song, which was fresh, shiny and new at the time, effectively sums up that night.

They blew me away.

11. The Waxwings - "Clouded Over"
I flip-flop between listening to the Waxwings 24/7 and totally forgetting they exist.

So, for this, my beloved Waxwings, I must apologize.

Guess what? I remembered your complete and utter greatness again!

12. Fleetwood Mac - "I Don't Want to Know"
If you're not down with the 'Mac, well ... that's your prerogative.

But I will say that you shan't be expecting an invitation to my bar, The Pierce Arrow, anytime soon.

And I hope it stings when you find out how much fun we had playing foosball without you.

13. Marah - "The Apartment"
If you're ever feelin' kind of Wyoming, plug this in. The Spanish horns will have tears in your beer in no time.

14. Moth - "3 Choices"
How could this band have escaped me for so long? For shame.

15. Robbie Fulks - "Move it on Over" (live at the Brewhouse) (Hank Williams cover)
A fine companion piece to George Thorogood's legendary cover of this track.

16. Ben and Jason - "How the Hell Do I Explain?"
R.I.Y.L. sad, sappy sucker music written by boys that probably emulate Radiohead's early "emo" sides too much for most people (except yours truly). Plus, classy title. *THUMBS UP*

17. The Format - "Sore Thumb"
R.I.Y.L. Motion City Soundtrack, and you're not afraid to shout it out loud!

18. The Traveling Wilburys - "She's My Baby"
I usually didn't pay attention to this leadoff track while surfing through the greatest-supergroup-ever-amassed's second (and final) album, but, of course, after I found out it was primarily a Jeff Lynne composition, I've been playing it nonstop.

Viva ELO!

19. Lucky Boys Confusion - "Hey Driver"
This song's magical verses sound like something straight out of the realm of classic rock radio. (Although I'm quite sure I will be the only one to hear that.)

Eddie Money? Perhaps.

No, no, that couldn't be it ... or could it?

ANYWAY, that half-punk chorus? Sing along or die.

20. Dolour - "B.K.S."
Acronyms I don't get right away frustrate me....

Music's good, though. -> Like a cross between Lucky Boys Confusion ('cause I'm sure y'all know their back catalog by heart...) and "Magical Mystery Tour."

UPDATE: I think it means "Butter Knife Suicide." Sometimes acronyms are best left unsolved....

21. The Wrens - "This Boy is Exhausted" (early vers.)
Already one of my favorite songs of all time (like in the top 20 favorite!), this here early version -- available on the "You'll Never Eat Fast Food Again" comp from Drive-Thru Records*** -- effectively adds minor elements of surprise to a track I've pretty much worn out.

p.s. This track's not available free, but the band does have quite a hefty collection of tracks available for your downloading pleasure.

22. Jason Anderson/Wolf Colonel - "Astronaut, Astronaut"
It's sad to say, but if Jason Anderson hadn't released "Something/Everything!" on K Records -- which I love dearly, just so you know -- and, instead, had released it on, say, Astralwerks, he would be a lot closer to becoming the household name he deserves to be.

This is one of those painfully overlooked masterpieces. (It's cheap, too, so buy it already!)

"Now I'm with you everyday."

23. Oasis (and friends) - "Fade Away"
Guess what happens when Oasis drops the pretentiousness and the unnecessary feedback and noise? The best -- and prettiest -- song of their career.

Well worth seeking out the first "HELP" War Child charity album for this gem, which features Johnny Depp on guitar and -- second "What the fuck?" moment in this sentence -- model Kate Moss on tambourine.

Lovely nonetheless.

24. reru (fka Nothing Jive About Jupiter) - "If I Were You"
Remember when I spoke briefly about the 20 best songs ever recorded? This one's near the top.

Although possessing a completely different dynamic, Jes and Bri's next band (without Damon and Ethan, unfortunately), Best Friends Forever, is somehow better.

*Or four? Does anyone know if Blueprint actually resides in the Twin Cities?
**In the best way possible, of course.
***How fucking weird is that? One of the most treasured groups of all time on one of those throwaway punk labels.... To Drive-Thru's credit, though, I will always have a special place in my heart for Fenix*TX's two releases (as Fenix*TX, that is). Oh, and Midtown -- I secretly like them a lot too.