Monte's Gauntlet

After hearing about the closing of The Crutch, a friend of mine, George Kaplan, talked me into contributing to a new blog, Monte’s Gauntlet. I love the idea of this blog – so much so that I wrote the mission statement for it. I’ll actually be helping out a great deal, but we will have a few others contributing all sorts of stuff. The blog’s not only something that is needed, but it’s also something nobody else is doing – it’s new and it’s fresh.

Go check it out – the mission is posted. Regular posting will begin very soon.

Thanks again to you all.

something new?

Just wanted to let everyone know that I may be contributing and helping out with something new. I've been talking to a few people and we may collectively launch a new blog as early as next week. A very different blog. Something that has never been seen. Stay tuned...

And thanks for all the responses on here and via email! Much appreciated!

Farewell

Well, I’ve had enough. This blog will be systematically dismantled in the next few days. Thank you to all our readers and to most of the artists and industry folks that we’ve dealt with in the past three and a half years. The Crutch is dead.

Give Me a Cover To Keep Me Warm

There are a handful of imperatives when it comes to cover songs. First, you must have a great original. A solid foundation is the only thing that leaves the possibility for a quality cover. Secondly, the covering artist should at least match the original, if not improve upon it. This comes down to a matter of subjectivity, but some are simply irrefutable, such as the famous “All Along the Watchtower” – even Bob Dylan resigned to the “fact.” Lastly, it cannot be a carbon copy of the original – it must have the covering artist’s stamp on it. It’s difficult to change a song and make it your own, while keeping the heart and attempting to improve the face, but it’s a crucial element when covering a song.

In the late ‘50s, early ‘60s record companies hired multiple artists to cover songs they thought could sell in various markets. The Beatles and Rolling Stones did covers in the teething years of their careers, while bands like The Byrds made their careers off of doing it. The Animals are often thrown into the same category of The Byrds, but The Animals improved upon so many of the songs they covered that, along with Jimi Hendrix and Joe Cocker, they stand as one of the few artists that truly made a song theirs when they covered it.

The most recent example of a band that fits in the same box as The Animals, Hendrix, and Cocker is The White Stripes. They are not known for it, but they have a number of stunning covers scattered amongst their records and b-sides. The White Stripes not only show their admiration for the artists and songs they cover, but they also reveal some of their deepest influences – the vocal inflection of Blind Willie McTell, pop goodness of Brendan Benson, lyrical stylings of Bob Dylan, experimental tendencies of Captain Beefheart, country heart of Loretta Lynn, blues soul of Robert Johnson, and rock and roll rebellion of MC5. A cover song is one of the kindest and honest signs of admiration from artist to artist – egos are suppressed, and suddenly, the music becomes the most important thing – and in that shared spirit, the Stripes seem to use it as an opportunity to promote other artists they feel people should know about. It’s like hand-picking an opening band – to use your clout to tout another artist.

Going along with that spirit, I decided to post some lesser-known covers/originals along with a handful from The White Stripes. I had to limit how many White Stripes tracks I posted because, well, I don’t want to get sued, but there are some amazing versions out there of the Stripes doing the likes of “Death Letter” (Son House), “Lovesick” (Bob Dylan), “For the Love of Ivy” (Gun Club), “Lord Send Me an Angel” (Blind Willie McTell), “Baby Blue” (Gene Vincent), “Jack the Ripper” (Screaming Lord Sutch / Peter Gunn), “Looking at You” (MC5), “Goin’ Back to Memphis” (Henry and June), “Ashtray Heart” (Captain Beefheart), and of course “Jolene” (Dolly Parton), among others.

Key: song title, original artist, covering artist(s)

Stop Breaking Down – Robert Johnson, The White Stripes
Party of Special Things To Do – Captain Beefheart, The White Stripes
Good To Me – Brendan Benson, The White Stripes
Who’s To Say? – Blanche, The White Stripes

Killing Floor – Howlin’ Wolf, Jimi Hendrix
Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers, Soledad Brothers
Jenny, Jenny – Little Richard, The Sonics
Underdog – Sly & The Family Stone, The Dirtbombs
You Got Me Hummin’ – Sam & Dave, The Reigning Sound
Girl Named Sandoz – The Animals, The Smashing Pumpkins
Where Did You Sleep Last Night? – Leadbelly, Nirvana
Preaching Blues – Robert Johnson, Gun Club
Who Do You Love – Bo Diddley, George Thorogood
Bonus: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) – Nancy Sinatra, The Raconteurs


*note: Jack White's t-shirt says Blind Willie McTell.

Music Enemy #1

The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Holy fuck. This was one of the most surreal things I’ve seen in a while. I don’t listen to the radio, nor do I watch much television, so every once in a while, I’ll check out MTV to see what the crazy kids are listening to these days. They’re not crazy – they’re retarded.

A few bright spots:
- Ok Go doing their treadmill routine. [video]
- The Killers weren’t bad – still not my bag. [video] [When You Were Young - new single from Sam's Town]
- Shakira dancing. Lord. [video]
- The Jackass crew making fun of Fall Out Boy when they came up to receive their award.
- Lou Reed adlibbing while presenting an award, saying MTV needs to play rock and roll videos again – “you know, two guitars, drums, and bass!”
- The Raconteurs as house band: Not only did they play “White Light/White Heat” with Lou Reed to start the show off, but they even had Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) with them later on, doing a kickass rendition of “Cheap Sunglasses”.

Outside of all that, it was painful. However, as it was with Titanic, I had to watch it so I could have an opinion on it. Apparently, Jared Leto has a band, and it’s emo goth something. Nominees in the rock video category included Leto’s band, Panic! At the Disco, A.F.I., Green Day, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. First, RHCP needs to stop. I saw the video of them visually placing themselves in the midst of rock and roll mavericks (for the most part) of the past and I almost threw my guitar at the television in disgust. Green Day – eh – I don’t have too much of a problem with them, but I still don’t dig their music. Panic? I wish this band were as dead as disco. A.F.I. won, but for the life of me, I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between all five songs as they previewed them before giving out the award. Oh, and the All-American Rejects played live – they played the same song that the other five bands recorded (and were nominated for).

I’m not going to go too far into my commentary on the hip-hop realm. I’m a big old school hip-hop fan, but we’re far away from that era. All I know is that I couldn’t understand a fucking thing anybody was mumbling – and I’m not talking about the performances – I’m talking about the presenters.

To top it all off, Jack Black was as funny as cancer. He needs to stop playing a caricature of himself – in movies and everything else that he does. It’s getting out of hand – the Groundlings need to have an intervention.

An intervention is also needed for MTV. People blame the big six record labels for the miserable state our music is in, but they have superiors. As far as popular music goes, there are only a couple eras that are a complete wash. One would be the late ‘70s, which was knee deep in shit like Elton John and Kiki Dee duets and “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”. The other would be the last 10 years. The reason for the latter is the lack of integrity from the information outlets. Rolling Stone, MTV, and Clear Channel have single-handedly (tri-handedly?) ruined the world of music in the last decade by turning the focus onto image and controlling what the public sees and hears. It’s this type of money-driving power that keeps the labels afloat.

There’s no way to remove the crap from the pop charts – they’ve always been dominated by cookie-cutter artists that the masses can swallow with no water – but with the technology age, there is an opportunity to take a piece of the pie away from the elite. The 600+ indie labels are gaining power, but without true competitors for the mass communicators in television and radio, it will only get worse. The rich get richer, and our minds get poorer.

New 12-Pack For Everyone

Chin Up Chin Up - This Harness Can't Ride Anything
This Harness Can't Ride Anything - Suicide Squeeze
Unfortunately, they'll get some comparisons to Kings of Leon for this hopalong.

Cococoma - Don't Tempt Me
All I Give 7" - Shit Sandwich
For the love of god, please do not tell Cococoma that you can record at a better quality. Perfect as is.

Cracklin' Moth - Talk to the Dark
Special Single
This sounds so familiar that it's going to get repeated listens so people can spot bites (please refer to 1984 for definition of "bite" used in this context).

White Bear - Subject of the Queen
Demo
A good balance between pop and Marc Bolan.

Lee Marvin Computer Arm - Cha-Cha
Lee Marvin Computer Arm EP - Conspirators in Sound
Douse me in gasoline, throw Lee Marvin Computer Arm at me, and watch me burn.

Black Mekon - Simplify
Free Range Hassle - ?
This came out of nowhere - picking up where the Immortal Lee County Killers left off.

Pit Er Pat - Solstice
Pyramids - Thrill Jockey
Put this in for a road trip and indie-tango in your seat.

The Big Sleep - Murder
Son of the Tiger - Frenchkiss
I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with this. Treadmill music?

Lou Reed and The Raconteurs - White Light, White Heat
live at MTV VMA
One of the coolest things I've seen on TV in some time. Too bad it had to be part of one of the shittiest things I've seen on TV in some time (MTV VMA).

Soledad Brothers - Downtown Paranoia Blues
The Hardest Walk - Alive
There'll be an article up soon on the Brothers - long overdue. Along with it will be a playlist created by the one and only Soledad drummer, Ben Swank. Some interesting shit.

All Thought and No Feeling Makes The Crutch a Dull Boy

Pitchfork and The Crutch don’t always see eye to eye on a great deal of music, with our tastes standing apart at the middle of independent music, but Pitchfork does a good job at what they do, so I’m not trying to take anything away from them on the whole. However, I was highly disappointed in their recent 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s list. Lord, I would love to buy these guys a drink and let them unwind a bit. In this moment, Pitchfork has left the feeling of the music for the pseudo-intellectual basement of life. Too much thought and effort into talking about what is primarily a list of rock and roll songs, which isn’t a genre that needs too much thinking.

There is some quality writing in the blurbs for the songs, so don’t get me wrong – it’s not a bad read. But, if you’re going to do a list that includes ALL music from the 1960s, I find it difficult to believe you can’t find more in the genres outside rock and pop. If you’re going to list one Brazilian song, you better be completely knowledgeable in music from every country during the 1960s – enough to be able to confidently tell me there isn’t ONE more song from the rest of the world, outside of Great Britain and North America, that couldn’t fit on the top 200. I don’t buy it.

And can anyone explain this to me?!:

200. The Kinks: “Sunny Afternoon”
150. Bob Dylan: "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding"
132. Louis Armstrong: “What a Wonderful World”
117. Ben E. King: “Stand By Me”
99. Jimi Hendrix: “All Along the Watchtower”
88. The Kinks: “You Really Got Me”
80. Bob Dylan: “Subterranean Homesick Blues”
77. The Velvet Underground: “Heroin”

76. BBC Radiophone Workshop: “Doctor Who (Original Theme)”
63. Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto: “The Girl From Ipanema”
49. Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra: “Some Velvet Morning”
38. The Meters: “Cissy Strut” (which was one ahead of Rolling Stones “Sympathy For the Devil”)
32. Ennio Morricone: “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Main Theme)”
20. The Shangri-Las: “Out in the Streets”
18. The Crystals: “And Then He Kissed Me”
10. Desmond Dekker and The Aces: “Israelites”
7. The Beach Boys: “Wouldn’t it be Nice?”
6. The Ronettes: “Be My Baby”
2. The Jackson 5: “I Want You Back”
1. The Beach Boys: “God Only Knows”

Um. Is this some sort of sick joke? I understand that this isn’t supposed to be a typical “greatest” list, but this is simply trying too hard to be different. “You Really Got Me” is 50 spots behind “Cissy Strut”?! I know they put the disclaimer saying they left off a bunch of “fantastic and amazing song,” but some tracks could’ve been swapped out for more important and meaningful songs, and the order of what was included is a travesty. Was there a criteria outside of Pitchfork's personal taste? Is this Pitchfork’s attempt to balance themselves between givens and quirk?

Yeah, bossa nova and reggae are wonderful, but having “The Girl From Ipanema” at 63 or Desmond Dekker’s “Israelites” at number 10, and not having The Beatles “Revolution” even on the list, is purely insane. And film scores and theme songs are neat, but there’s no reason to have them on a list that has Miles Davis and John Coltrane sitting behind them. I get the cheekiness, but what’s to be taken seriously and what’s not?

Oh well. All lists will create this sort of reaction – people get mad at lists, as if personally insulted. This was not personal – it’s merely a difference in taste – no rights or wrongs, even though I called them insane. I guess even I can contradict myself with an oxymoron while being counter ironic.

Here are a few songs out of my collection that I think should’ve made it:

The Beatles – Revolution
Hey Jude – 1968
This might be the best song ever written with lyrics, figuring in the energy, spirit, message, and most importantly, the timing. With all the turmoil in ’68, this song, even in its acoustic version from the White Album, was as socially conscious and topically powerful as anything Bob Dylan has ever done.

Booker T. and the MG’s – Green Onions
Green Onions – 1962
I am always surprised nobody went back and tried to put lyrics down to this track. It’s one of the most famous pop instrumentals, and it’s one of the coolest struts in the last 50 years. Everything in this song is blissful – the organ, Hitchcockian guitar, and a durable bassline. “Green Onions” even predates the funk that James Brown made popular a few years later with “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”.

John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom
Burnin’ – 1962
I’m not sure if I saw any blues on the list, but I certainly didn’t see this raunchy Hooker track. Everyone has covered this song, but Hooker’s version is perfect. Enough said.

The Doors – Five to One
Waiting For the Sun – 1968
So they said no “Light My Fire”, but that doesn’t mean you need to completely shun a group. “Five to One” is just as primal as “Break on Through”, but it embodies more of a rock and roll attitude, with its young conquering old theme. It’s a son of a bitch of a song, and I’m not elitist enough to ignore the fact that at least one contribution from The Doors deserves to be noted.

The Lost Souls – This Life of Mine
Nuggets II
The Lost Souls never released an album, but this Nuggets band from Cleveland lashes out on this track like very few could at the time. It’s off balance, as if the music just can’t catch up to the vocals – climbing and falling back down, as the screams come from the bottom of the well. It’s the child-like spirit that puts this in perspective – angst with confidence. He’s not running away – he’s going to find himself and become something. This song was their rite of passage.

The Pretty Things – Don’t Bring Me Down
The Pretty Things – 1965
It starts off like The Sonics, but dives into a catchy morphing of Beatles pop and early Stones blues rock. The cockiness and rawness of the recording is stunning, and though they were overshadowed by the Stones, they can put up “Don’t Bring Me Down” against almost anything the Stones did early on.

The Yardbirds – For Your Love
For Your Love – 1965
It was one of the supposed reasons why Eric Clapton left The Yardbirds – he thought it was too mainstream and was looking to play more blues. That didn’t work out so great for Clapton, but he did contribute to this track, which the Yardbirds simply kill.

Ramsey Lewis – The In Crowd
The In Crowd – 1965
It reached #5 on the charts, and though I think Billy Page’s composition predates the ‘60s, Lewis made it popular in ’65, and that’s enough for me. This jazz track is rock and roll to me – when I think of a song that swings, this is it. With additional help from a live audience, “The In Crowd” flows through highs and lows, held tight by the deadlocked rhythm section, even going to a whisper of music before storming back to end the song. If I knew how to dance, I’d be up for this song every time it came rolling through the speakers.

Cream – Sunshine of Your Love
Disraeli Gears - 1967
This song is typically seen as relying on the guitar work from Eric Clapton, but "Sunshine of Your Love" almost remained a demo - because the band couldn't find the right groove. It wasn't until legendary engineer/producer Tom Dowd (Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Allman Brothers, Otis Redding, etc.) suggested Ginger Baker try a Native American rhythm. Tada!

Others (I’m tired of writing, even the basics):
Count Five – Psychotic Reaction
The First Edition – Just Dropped In
Martha and the Vandellas – Nowhere to Run
Sonny and Cher – The Beat Goes On
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels – Devil With a Blues Dress On
Wilson Pickett – Land of 1000 Dances
Moody Blues – Go Now
The Turtles – Happy Together
The Standells – Dirty Water
The Youngbloods – Let’s Get Together

Crazy 8's - Chicago

A variety of new stuff from the Chicago...

Assassins - Guilty
You Will Changed Us - Chemicals Kill

Justin Sconza - A Pretty Picture
Pain By Numbers - Brilliante

Bound Stems - Andover
Appreciation Night - Flameshovel

Alexander Sands - What Ever Became of Betty?
Demo

The Like Young - For Money or Love
Last Secrets - Polyvinyl

The Record Low - This Other City
This Other City single - Self-released

Headache City - Headache City
Headache City - Shit Sandwich

Hot Machines - Can't Feel
Microphone 7" - Dusty Medical

What Made These Austin Kids Famous

It was a long wait, but persistence paid off for What Made Milwaukee Famous – a sugary rock and roll outfit from Austin, who, after shopping their self-released Trying to Never Catch Up around since 2004, have finally landed a deal with Barsuk Records. Swapping out a handful of tracks and replacing them with newer material, leaving the treats from the debut, this re-release…debut…whatever will turn some heads – especially the indie folk.

Michael Kincaid’s vocals lure and lull like Buckley and the blissful jump stops and handclaps have The Cars written all over it. Mix in a little post-punk and Radiohead with Beatles and Kinks melodies, and we’re getting closer to completing the picture What Made Milwaukee Famous lays out in their music. Comparisons aside, the pop hooks and the shimmy-shake in heart halting tracks like “Hellodrama” are what brought these Texas kids all the way to Lollapalooza this year.

Two years is no wait at all when you find yourself in position to be the next indie darlings.

What Made Milwaukee Famous – Hellodrama

Go to their Myspace page to hear three other tracks.

The Acoustics in This Place Are Great

I was just listening to a Jeff Tweedy performance from January 2000 – a 27 song farewell performance to a former Chicago staple, Lounge Ax. Even if you don't live in Chicago, you may recognize the name from High Fidelity - it's where Lisa Bonet sings Frampton. Peter fucking Frampton. Anyway, Tweedy has always played solo, acoustic, so it's no surprise his sets are amazing and that his songs transfer well to the acoustic realm. And even though MTV made playing acoustically a popular alternative for rock bands, it's always interesting to hear how these bands break down their songs and pull them out of the electric buzz, fuzz and feedback. But it doesn't always shock me that they pull it off, being that I’m sure many are like Immortal Lee County Killers’ Chet Weise, who once told me he writes and develops most of his punk blues songs on an acoustic guitar.

I wish I had a couple of those acoustic ILCK tunes to share, but hopefully these choice tracks – a mixture of studio and live recordings – will please you just the same.


Jeff Tweedy - Shot in the Arm
Original studio recording from Summerteeth

Smashing Pumpkins - Dancing in the Moonlight (Thin Lizzy cover)
Live Thin Lizzy recording from Bad Reputation

Radiohead - Creep
Live version of Creep

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps
Live version of Maps from Peel Sessions

Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train a Comin'
Live version of Hear My Train a Comin' from Woodstock

Social Distortion - Ball and Chain
Original studio recording from Social Distortion

T Rex - Planet Queen
Original studio recording from Electric Warrior

Johnny Thunders - Eve of Destruction (P.F. Sloan cover)
Original P.F. Sloan recording from Songs of Our Times

The Breeders - Cannonball
Original studio recording from Last Splash

*Note: If you can't read it, Whiskeytown, Guitar Wolf, Elliot Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel, Will Oldham, and Nashville Pussy are all listed on the Lounge Ax calendar.

The Movement That Never Was: BLOCK #7

Block 7

The last and final block of The Movement That Never Was 1997-2005 compilation. 60 bands - 60 songs. We could've easily pushed that number to 100, but we had to cut it off at some point. I wish I had time to delve into all this further and write the short bios for all the blocks, but I got caught in the middle of a move, so time is/has been scarce. We hope you all enjoyed the music. Now go and buy what you liked.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Our Time
Master – Wichita / Touch and Go (2002)

The Ponys – I Wanna Fuck You
So Sentimental 7” – Contaminated (2003)

Miss Alex White & Chris Playboy – Pop/Stall
Miss Alex White & Chris Playboy 7" - Missile X (2003)

The Blackouts – Let You Down
Living in Blue – Lucid (2004)

The Greenhornes – Can’t Stand It
The Greenhornes – Telstar (2001)

Thee Lordly Serpents – But You Think So
Thee Lordly Serpents – Pro-Vel (2004)

The Dishes – Use Your Arms
3 – File 13 (2003)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Whatever Happened to My Rock n' Roll
B.R.M.C. - Virgin (2000)

The Little Killers – Volume
The Little Killers – Crypt (2003)

King Khan – On a Brass Bed
Mr. Supernatural – Hazelwood (2004)

The Movement That Never Was: BLOCK #6

Block 6

The White Stripes – Lafayette Blues
Lafayette Blues 7” – Italy (1998)

The Von Bondies – It Came From Japan
Lack of Communication – Sympathy (2001)

The Dirtbombs – Stuck Under My Shoe
Stuck Under My Shoe 7” – Some Assembly Required (1998)

The Go – Keep On Trash
Whatcha Doin’ – Sub Pop (1998)

The Sights – Don’t Want You Back
Got What You Want – Fall of Rome / Sweet Nothing (2002)

Detroit Cobras – Hey Sailor
Life, Love, and Leaving – Sympathy (2001)

Demolition Doll Rods – Doo Walka Walka
Tasty – In the Red (1997)

The Paybacks – Just You Wait
Knock Loud – Get Hip (2002)

Clone Defects – Stray Boy
Shapes of Venus – In the Red (2003)