One Stupid Mop

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Parts & Labor - Constant Future

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Brooklyn's noise rock scene has birthed a lot of bands in the last decade such as TV On The Radio, Battles and Pterodactyl that can make a lot of beautiful noise, but the racket that comes from Parts and Labor is more rock and roll than anything else. 

They're the band that is rooted in both noise and rock - though they experiment, they're not trying to challenge the listener so much as pummel their ear drums. But like TVOTR, they've got an anthemic quality to them at the same time, minus the motown melodies, of course.

2008's Receivers was their first album without drummer Christopher Weingarten. On that album, it almost sounded like the band, at that point a quartet, was looking for a straight-ahead, stripped back just noise-y 4/4 rock. While that sounded like the band, something felt off. Thankfully, "Constant Future," the first single from the new album of the same name sounds like P&L is back.

Sounding like a galloping horse, lead singer Dan Friel sings of "no more constant future," which is a little bit different than the constant digging of gold he sang up a few years ago. If this is the band looking back, or just slowing down, then either P&L is on their last hurrah or just about to take off. Regardless, this is one of those highly anticipated albums of 2011 and "Constant Future" just raised my expectations thoroughly.

The new Parts & Labor album, Constant Future, is out March 8 on Jagjaguwar, one of the best labels that nobody ever talks about because people suck. In the meantime, buy music by Parts & Labor from Shockhound. (Check out everything, but go for Mapmaker first. That's the gold right there.)

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes - All Out Of Love

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I hate Air Supply. I'd rather listen to the Eagles. Or Rod Stewart. That said, the Gimmes have done something great here. Something really, really great.

For the uninitiated, Me First and The Gimme Gimmes are members of several punk bands who get together every other year, record a bunch of covers and then go on tour, partying and rocking the hell out of every city they stop in. They've even played a Bar Mitzvah and managed to be decent enough that they got a live record out of it.

So the new seven-inch is five tracks by Australian artists. It's got stuff from INXS and Olivia Newton-John and, obviously, this Air Supply track. Good times.

Pre-order the new Me First and the Gimme Gimmes album from Fat Wreck Chords.
Buy other Me First albums from Fat Wreck Chords too. Believe me, they're worth the cash. It's not like you've never heard the songs anyway.

The Strokes - New York City Cops

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Somebody, somewhere, who is not a member of The Strokes, has heard the first single off the band's new album, Angles. Unfortunately, all we got was this glowing review, and not even a 30-second clip to show for it. 

If it were me, and I had heard it, I'd post something too. And then I would bask in the jealous tweets and blog posts such as this one because I had experienced the return of the Jesus band.

Way back in 2001, before Is This It? finally dropped in the U.S., the New York boys were the only band that anybody anywhere was talking about. We didn't know why, just that this was the record that would change our lives. Frankly, every song on that record is a classic. You can't slam it, even if you got sick of being slammed in the face by hype, and I could understand why you might have rejected it on hype alone. Lots of people were less than thrilled with the aping of The Velvet Underground. Whatever. Every artist steals from somebody so I say steal from somebody worthwhile.

The Strokes then put out Room On Fire a ridiculously criticized sophomore album that progressed a little but retained the band's sound on almost all levels, and deserved far better because it was a stellar follow-up. And of course they followed that one with some significant musical progression on First Impressions of Earth, and it not only tanked but was ripped even harder than Room On Fire because this time it didn't sound enough like The Strokes. What-ever.

So, since we now know that "Under Cover of Darkness" on some level reclaims the so-called classic sound of the band I'm going to throw the controversial Is This It?-era b-side "New York City Cops" back into the fray. 

As anybody who has heard it knows, the track raised eyebrows because of the chorus: "New York City cops/New York City cops/New York City cops/They ain't too smaaaaaaaart." The song was dropped from the album in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. A nice gesture, yes, but like changing the original cover, probably not necessary.

The Strokes were supposed to save music. I'm pretty sure that The White Stripes - well, Jack White - has done a lot more reaching for that goal. The Strokes? They're just a really damn good band that is finally putting out a new album. Rejoice!

Buy The Strokes music at Shockhound.

Unwritten Law - CPK

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Unwritten Law just posted the first single, "Starships and Apocalypse," from their new album, Swan, on the their MySpace page. It's not bad, but it doesn't excite me the way "Superman," the first single from Oz Factor, their 1996 major label debut captivated me for months until the rest of the album came out. And yes, I realize that is a completely unfair comparison.

One of my first great finds in the "nobody wants it" collection in Studio B at WKPX is UL's 1994 full length debut, Blue Room, rereleased in 1995 after they signed to Epic. I can remember listening to the album over and over, it was fast and dissatisfied - the ideal punk record I was on the constant search for. I even excused lead singer Scott Russo for being too wasted to sing any words audibly when the band opened for Bad Religion and Dance Hall Crashers the next year in Fort Lauderdale.

Angsty about parents, girls, politics, people. From "CPK," what a way to start a record, to the heartfelt "Suzanne" to "Obsession," "Shallow" and "World War 3," UL was on it.

The band chose Bad Religion's Greg Graffin to produce it's second album, Oz Factor, which had the same feel and sound but much, much better production value because it was recorded at Graffin's own studio in Ithaca, New York. Whether it had the sound Epic wanted or not, Oz Factor, and solid tracks including "Superman," "Falling Down," "Tell Me Why," and a couple of rerecorded tracks from Blue Room turned UL into Warped Tour superstars.

From there to MTV success, the band changed a few members and changed their sound a bit. No shame, it just wasn't what I was feeling. I got progressively more bored listening to the albums that led up to their major breakthrough. On an urge, I've spent the last few days listening to almost nothing but Blue Room and Oz Factor, and somehow I think I'd enjoy those later ones a lot more. 

Either way, those first two records stand up pretty well for anybody that was into skate punk in the mid-90s though.

Buy Unwritten Law's Oz Factor at Shockhound.
Blue Room is out of print. If I find somewhere to download it, I'll update the post. Man is that piss poor and disappointing.

Pink Noise Test - I Can't Stand It

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Pink Noise Test was an L.A. four-piece that put out a couple of EPs and got signed in the golden era of alterna-experimentation - the mid-90s. The first I heard of them was "I Can't Stand It," a beautifully feedback-drenched, Weezer- and Jesus and Mary Chain-ripping slab of Velvet Underground coverness. They even put out a video for "All The Same To Me," with I'm sure got absolutely no airplay on MTV despite the fact that the label should have bought it onto the Buzz Bin.

It was glorious. And then the band disappeared because they didn't sell any records and Interscope had no time for them. It doesn't mean I don't listen to their one full length, Plasticized, at least once a month. The album, as a whole, is really solid. Now that I think about it, there's no way they could have topped it so it's probably better that they were one and done.

While Plasticized is out of print, here's a nice download of the Electric Train EP, which came out just before the full length.

NOFX - You're Wrong

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Right off the bat, I want to make something clear - this IS NOT about politics. Not directly, anyway.

Tonight, Keith Olbermann ended his run on MSNBC. It doesn't matter why, though I'm sure I'll follow the bloviating that my fellow media lapdogs - myself included - will piss across the Internet this weekend in a completely overdone combination of speculation and admiration for the feat he accomplished: bringing a network back to life.

This NOFX song comes about an album and a half after the band decided to go clearly political when they felt like it, instead of telling stories or using vague references. In fact, "You're Wrong" is about as direct as a song can be on political views. There's no debating there.

The same way that NOFX made a transition early in the 00s to make whatever statement they felt like, Olbermann resurrected a network by doing the same with the news. He usually started with facts, but there was an viewpoint he was getting across - often that people on the other side were wrong. Doing it in a less combative way than the least combative nitwit on Fox (Shep Smith notwithstanding, because that guy doesn't get enough credit), Olbermann took shots at politicians and other networks and anybody else he felt was giving the country the shaft. That, alone, deserves respect.

MSNBC, and especially Olbermann, stirred something significant for those who feared for the country in the time of Bush, especially from 2004 until 2008. I think he jumped the shark at a certain point, but that doesn't matter considering I gave up a good portion of my night-time cable news talk show watching sometime early in 2010 because it was making me crazy, and because I found that clicking links online to go to the source of facts makes me feel more sane and less partisan. Yeah, I like to read. Sue me.

What Olbermann did in those first few years, aside from discover Rachel Maddow and gift her to the world, was show the morons at MSNBC that they could have viewers if only they did something interesting between prison documentaries and reruns of "Dateline." That, and the steady, bland delivery of the actual news on CNN, is the reason that MSNBC is now a left-leaning, second-place ratings "winner" behind Fox.

So, Keith, this one goes out to you. And now, here's to toning down the left-right bull shit on cable news. Or at least on MSNBC. (Please let NBC News give the world a second CNN. That, and a third network that broadcasts breaking news live on the weekend, is what this country needs. I'm not gonna go there though. Like I said, this isn't about politics...)

Buy "You're Wrong" and other NOFX songs on the Never Trust A Hippy EP or the epic career-spanning collection of EPs (that is worth every damn penny), The Longest EP.

Social Distortion - Gimme The Sweet and Lowdown

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Celebrating their 30th year as a band, Social Distortion this week released their 7th album, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, and, not surprisingly, it sounds like Social D. This album is often slower in tempo than the old stuff, but it burns with the bitter optimism that has always made them a Social Distortion a great band. Ness growls over often blues-influenced punk songs, singing about the lower side of life, much to the contentment of at least this listener right here. 

What really fascinates me is that I get the feeling that if Tom Petty had wanted to join up with the punks instead of being a harder-rocking everyman version of Bob Dylan, he'd be Mike Ness. That's what I get out of "Gimme The Sweet and Lowdown." It's not the first time I had that feeling, but on this song, it actually sounds that way.

I wasn't sure about Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes the first couple times through, but it's starting to catch in my head now. I hope others give it as my listens as I have before judging it.

Buy Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes from Shockhound.

Also, check out Social Distortion's set at Daytrotter.

Batwings Catwings - Jealousy

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My introduction to Batwings Catwings comes courtesy of 17 Dots, the eMusic blog, which raved about their debut EP, Peacock Collection. This vibrating live footage was actually the first thing I heard.

Noisey pop that's covering ground from the Atari Teenage Riot-esque bass swells of "Endless Summer" to the near Franz Ferdinand-feel of the self-searching dance party of "Misbehaving," I can't get enough of Batwings Catwings, despite what I imagine goes through people's heads as I have uttered the name of this band.

"Jealousy" has a Nirvana feel to it - as in, that riff feels like Nirvana, in a good way - and then lead singer Dana Poblete starts screaming about some prissy bitch that I don't think she really wants to be anything like. Really, Dana, don't change a thing. It's perfect. The band, the voice, the lyrics - I want a full length and I want it now.

So, what, should I go through the art-punk metal-influenced description which apparently fits based on the bio the band gives itself? The four-song Peacock Collection has been on constant rotation for the last week. "Misbehaving," especially. No, all four songs especially. Best four songs of 2011 so far. (Slight overstatement? Maybe. But then what does it mean when you just start the EP again when it ends? Yeah, that's what I thought.)

I paid for the Peacock Collection on eMusic, but you can download it for free from the band.

Batwings Catwings official blog-like website.
Batwings Catwings on MySpace.

Mogwai - Mexican Grand Prix

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Nobody expected Mogwai to come back with another album. The "why would you do that?" posts were coming fast and furious from the indie blogging elite but one listen to Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is all the explanation we need.

From top to bottom, the great and grooving electro-weirdness abounds on what I guess is a comeback for the somewhat legendary Scottish indie heroes. Maybe it's just been too long, but I hear a glorious mashing-up of Goo-era Sonic Youth, late-era Death In Vegas and a dash of forgotten Mute Records (not) all stars Add N to (X).

Mogwai was a giant in the early 2000s. With Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, it seems they are primed to conquer the world once again. If they don't, it's proof that nobody appreciates quality any more.

Pre-order Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will from Sup Pop. (There's also two other tracks from the album to download at the label site.)

Timbaland & Missy Elliott - Take Ur Clothes Off

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Saturday posts aren't much of a habit (yet), but I couldn't resist the new hotness from Timbaland and Missy Elliott. Sure, I could be overreacting because Da Real World was a part of the soundtrack my freshmen and sophomore years of college, but this is the sort of track these two made a habit of putting out EVERY SINGLE TIME until they got tired of each other somewhere around 2001 or so.

I'm not gonna wax nostalgic or over-intellectualize this - it's a classic Timbaland beat and Missy rhyming about how hot and rich she is, which is all I ask out of either of them.

Hopefully Timbaland Thursdays will lead to a new album from either Tim, Missy or both. In the meantime, I know what I'm going to have on constant refresh every week...

Download "Take Ur Clothes Off" straight from the source, and go back every Thursday for something new.