The Playlist: Five Songs You Need to Hear Now!

ONE DAY AS A LION: "Wild International"

This, kids, is BIG. Not just because it's a collaboration between Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha and former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore. And not just because it's a Morelloesque effects laden solo away from being a Rage track. It's mostly because this project has been kept so quiet, you probably didn't even know it existed.

"Wild International" is taken from One Day as a Lion's self titled EP, in stores this week.

THE BRONX: "Knifeman"

The Bronx's manic noise rock has garnered them plenty of attention over the last few years; Year in Rock recipients in 2006 may recall the utter insanity of "History's Stranglers". Well, they're back with a new, self titled album (third in a row; this, at least, they have in common with Peter Gabriel) in September. To tide us over, they've offered up "Knifeman", a strikingly normal track as compared to "History's Stranglers", as a free download on their myspace page. Listen to it and snag a copy for yourself here.

As a bonus, the video for "History's Stranglers", because it really is a phenomenal work of art.









MATT MAYS & EL TORPEDO: "Rock Ranger Record"

Upon listening to Matt Mays' previous studio efforts, one got the sense that there was a great rock singer/songwriter hidden somewhere inside the Haligonian, waiting to be unleashed. With "Terminal Romance", his second record with El Torpedo, those expectations are not only realized, but obliterated. Considering the laid back vibes that permeated all of Mays' prior work, it's shocking that "Terminal Romance" rocks with such urgency and consistency. Sure, there are a few more subtle moments to be had, but most of this record finds Mays in overdrive. This is the best example...











THE HOLD STEADY: "Constructive Summer"

While "Stay Positive" might not be the band's creative apex, it's certainly still one of the year's finest records. A little less conceptual, a little further reaching musically, many tracks are off-putting more for their stylistic detours than for their unwillingness to tie up loose ends in the narrative. "Both Crosses", in particular, is unlike anything in the band's canon. I, for one, applaud the Hold Steady's courage in changing things up. Granted, that applause is easier to give when they balance out the experimentation with a rip-roaring throwback to their earlier work like "Constructive Summer". (That's a link to their myspace, it should start playing directly.)






AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE: "Get to the Choppa"

Austrian Death Machine is a side project courtesy of As I Lay Dying's Tim Lambesis. The album is out this week. But that's not why you need to hear it. The entire album is a "tribute" to Arnold Schwarzenegger, right down to the song titles (also contains the hits "Come With Me if You Want to Live", "It's Not a Tumor", and "If it Bleeds, We Can Kill It").

What more do you need to know?







Served.

WillieTV
(it's like a TV show, but it really isn't)

Don't get excited, this is just a playlist of ten videos that I like at this moment for some reason or another. Basically, I figured out that I could pull this together in one window (as opposed to a bunch of separate ones) and thought, "Shit, you guys! I can make a video show like they used to have on the TV!".

Bear with me, I'm new at the web gadgetry. As such, this may not work at all. However, if it does, you're in for 48 minutes of random jank (music) video goodness. Go ahead; take a load off, kick back, rock out.

The videos:

1. The Dillinger Escape Plan: Milk Lizard
From last year's incredible "Ire Works"
2. My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges EPK
From this year's incredible "Evil Urges". This is an Electronic Press Kit, designed to give you a taste of the album, and the band as people. It's well done, and has clips from the record that might make you start to fathom its awesomeness.
3. Sons of Freedom: The Criminal
From 1988. Matt Wallace produced the Vancouver based band's self titled album right before doing "The Real Thing" with Faith No More.
4. Wintersleep: Oblivion
New single from the Haligonians' Polaris-prize nominated "Welcome to the Night Sky". I'm still serious when I say this is the best Canadian album released in the last five years.
5. The Gutter Twins: Idle Hands
From "Saturnalia". The Gutter Twins are ex-Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan and ex-Afghan Whig Greg Dulli. And this video has kids blowing shit up.
6. Carcass: No Love Lost
From the '94 metal masterpiece "Heartwork". Carcass' discography is currently being re-released with bonus DVDs and assorted other extra goodies. Get 'em before they decompose... huh-huh... get it?
7. Kyuss: Demon Cleaner
No matter how hard you try, you can't not love it. If, somehow, you actually do manage to not love it, I'm gonna have to check your papers.
8. The Mars Volta: Televators
One of the Volta's early videos, and easily their best.
9. The Black Keys: I Got Mine (Live on Letterman)
Catch 'em at Citadel Hill (along with Wintersleep and others) July 20, and you can get your ass kicked just like Dave did!
10. Tool: Parabola
Painfully long? Check. Pretentious? Check. Awesome? Double check.

On with the show...

Willie's Ginormous Canada Day Playlist!

Seeing as it's our nation's 141st birthday today, I thought it'd be fun to cull together a massive 141-song playlist, drawing from Canada's vast array of talent past and present.

You have no idea how difficult it was to think of 141 Canadian artists while ignoring Nickelback and its bastard inbred clones.

Naturally, a bunch of them are completely devoid of any web presence in the form of mp3's available for inclusion on this site (although I was blown away by some of the ones I was able to find; Sons of Freedom?!). And, with the new rules, I'm not bloody likely ripping and posting from my own collection.

Missing in Action:
Lee Aaron, Age of Electric, Barstool Prophets, Art Bergmann, Breach of Trust, BucketTruck, Change of Heart, Choke, Eric's Trip, Furnaceface, Glueleg, Grand Theft Bus, Haywire, Jet Set Satellite, Junkhouse, The Killjoys, Sass Jordan, Mudmen, Pluto, Slik Toxik, Stabilo, Staggered Crossing, Sunfish, Sven Gali, Tariq, 13 Engines, Wide Mouth Mason.

Oh well, the intentions were good, and all that. Enjoy this (still massive) 114 song playlist (minus any files that stubbornly won't play; not my fault, not my files). It's an eclectic, exhaustive, mercifully Nickelback-free mix.


SeeqPod - Playable Search

George Carlin: 1937-2008

The world just became a lot less funny. Details here.

During my younger days, I looked up to many different people, and for a variety of reasons. However, of all those I admired, none shaped my life quite like George Carlin. See, here's the thing; incredibly funny as he was, he also made a lot of sense. It's not often that a comedian makes you think as much (sometimes more) as laugh. It made Carlin one of the best, and makes me value comedy and intelligence equally. It's why whenever I do a PV, or make a snarky remark about whatever's pissing me off, I try to make you think and laugh simultaneously.

However, if you need irrevocable proof of Carlin's influence, one needs look no further than virtually any Pissing Vinegar, and all the naughty language contained within them. While Dennis Miller's famous rants were no doubt an inspiration, I can't deny that my work (and Miller's, for that matter) wouldn't be the same if not for this:



That, kids, is a motherfucking legend.

The News You Already Knew
(aka Copping Knowledge From Other People's Blogs)

- The Hold Steady's new album isn't out until July 15th, but the interweb (and its countless impatient ears) waits for no summer smash hit; it's downloadable now through the normal channels. In what I'd like to coin "the admission of defeat strategy", the band has offered the entire album up for your streaming pleasure. Click the cool ass logo to jet over to their myspace page and get your Hold Steady on.



- Speaking of bands streaming their whole albums, Coldplay are streaming their new album (the Brian Eno produced "Viva la Vida", here... unless you live in one of the six countries listed, which I shall proclaim "Coldplay's Six Nations of Shame" (US exclusion I can see, but what the fuck did Holland do?!). Assuming you pass the nationality screening profile, feel free to listen to "Viva la Vida" in its entirety... as long as you sign up or log in to your Myspace account. I'd say this arduous process was worth it, but I'm too lazy to sign in. Besides, it's Coldplay; how good could it be?

- Deepest apologies to My Morning Jacket. In the hubbub of all the past weekend's activities, I mistakenly awarded Album of the Week honours to Sloan. At the time of writing, I was unaware of the muscular majesty of "Evil Urges", an early contender for Album of the Year. If you can get past Jim James' helium falsetto (which only appears front and center on a couple of tracks; hardly the overpowering force of nature it was made out to be), and the band at their most adventurous and schizophrenic, there's plenty to enjoy on the disc. But, try as you might, one of those helium tunes (the blazing retro dance party/rockalicious space jam "Highly Suspicious") will be embedded into your head to the point of distraction. I refuse to compare this song to Prince, as every review ever does so. Suffice to say, no matter what you've read, it will surprise you the first time you hear it.

- Finally, AC/DC's new album is coming out this fall. And, in an act of gross betrayal to all rock music fans and/or an admittance of their core fan base, they've partnered with the Evil Empire. I've linked to the Rolling Stone article because there are a lot of great comments after the story, including one very long tirade by yours truly (that the staff at RS must have really liked, because they yanked it from the comments section, probably to use and attribute to another one of their writers). All I can say about this subject is this; the Pissing Vinegar is coming. It will be long. It will be angry. There will be an abundance of profanities. You will hate the world when you read it. Satan will stop buying AC/DC records when I am through with them. A PV the likes of this may destroy us all.

You've been warned.