Les Claypool's Duo De Twang cover Primus

After finding that video for Lee Van Cleef and posting it earlier in the week it dawned on me just how long it'd been since I had a Primus jag and I immediately set about correcting that, beginning with a couple of spins of 2011's Green Naugahyde. Then yesterday, as if the Universe decided to reward me, I found that Mr. Claypool's Duo de Twang is not only releasing an album but have shared their version of Primus' Jerry Was A Race Car Driver, which they cover (along with Wynona's Big Brown Beaver, the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive and - this I can't wait to hear - Alice in Chains' Man in the Box) on their forthcoming album Four Foot Shack, out February 4th on ATO Records.

Bad ass.

I've never quite understood how ol' Les fell in with the jam thing - a scene that I have a little more tolerance and understanding for after recently reading former AV Club current The Dissolve writer Nathan Rabin's You Don't Know Me But You Don't Like Me.

A little.

I believe this jam thing began for Claypool with his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade project. I saw the Frog Brigade (who Duo de Twang also cover on the album) back in... ummm, late early 00's maybe? It was cool but they were opening for Phil Lesh at Wisconsin's Alpine Valley and that was a long way to go from Chicago for a half hour opening set (cuz we left after after the Brigade played - the smell of patchouli doesn't agree with me). Totally worth it though.

Anyway, more Les Claypool in any capacity is always a good thing in my opinion.

More info on the album on Exclaim! here.

Queens of the Stone Age - The Vampyre of Time and Memory Official Video

Well, apparently it's music video day, although this actually dropped rather quietly yesterday. ...Like Clockwork is a top contender thus far for my album of the year and this track, coming in at number three on the album, was the first one on that first listen that told me the band had really crafted a powerhouse. The video is really quite strange, but the real killer occurs if you go here: http://www.vampyreoftimeandmemory.com/  here and do the full interactive music video experience. of course leave it to Queens to do something like this. So fantastic it borders on inconceivable.

Official Video: What Goes Boom by The Pixies

The Pixies kick off their new North American tour on January 5 (more info here) but in the meantime here's the new video to What Goes Boom (my personal favorite track off the all-together Awesome EP that came out a few months ago. From the official press release for the video:

"What Goes Boom," was one of the early songs Pixies worked on before the 
band went back in the studio, following Deal's departure. "It's kind of a 
ballsy song with real balls-out playing," says Santiago. "And [it] harkens 
back to a lot of the harder-edged Pixies stuff, which is my favorite to play."

Songwriter and guitarist Black Francis further explains that "the song is 
about a girl, a girl who plays the bass guitar. It's got kind of a metal riff 
which I think that, on occasion, we all really enjoy playing, even though we're 
not a metal band. And I wouldn't be the first to write a song about some 
gal who plays bass."

The video for "What Goes Boom" was directed by Jonathan Furmanski 
and Matthew Galkin. They had some grand plans for this but in the end
 basically decided it was cheaper and best to just blow something up.
 In an email, the two directors told us that "Our original vision for the 
'What Goes Boom' video was to create an homage to a 
central, dramatic scene in Star Wars. But, after that idea proved 
a bit too costly to produce, we decided the next best thing was to blow 
up Joey Santiago in the desert – the compromises we make for our art."

Electric Youth - Innocence

Wow. Really cool - new track from the forthcoming record Today, due out on Last Gang Records in 2014 (which is right around the freakin' corner!). If you don't recognize the name of the band you might the sound - they were featured on the soundtrack to Nicolas Winding Refn's brilliant Neo- Noir Drive two years ago or so. I had forgotten about this band after falling in love with that film and the music in it, and while this has reminded me to seek them out it has also made me slightly suspicious as Innocence is A LOT like the track A Real Hero track w/ College from the Drive Soundtrack.

Reverend Horton Heat's New Video

Great song. Great video. The change at 1:46 is killer.

After spending much of my twenties with the records The Full Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat, Liquor in the Front, It's Martini Time and Space Heater the Rev.'s been hot and cold with me. Everything he does is great, but a lot of it is within the same 'box' if you will. This is no different, but when the mood strikes me I can throw on the newer stuff (Spend A Night in the Box and up) can still make me smile (and suck the beers down faster than usual). Tonight was one of those nights. Thanks to Bloody Disgusting for posting this. It's from the new record REV on Victory Records.

Walton Goggins... Jessie Custer

A casting suggestion first brought to my attention by author Jacob Q. Knight on Twitter. If a Preacher show is going to happen, then in my book this HAS to happen! I've become a massive fan of Goggins since becoming enamored with his portrayal of Boyd Crowder on Justified, then going back and realizing he'd been awesome in a bunch of other films I'd seen him in over the years (definite nominee for best death scene - Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses). Goggins is intense in all the right ways and would be perfect for this role. I'm still afraid of AMC doing Preacher - Seth Rogen's involvement an interesting but not necessarily good development - but Goggins as Custer would definitely help make me less afraid.

image courtesy of house of geekery.com

Oceansize - Saturday Morning Breakfast Show

My friend Jacob from Blue Karma gave me Effloresce by Oceansize as an introduction to the band. After picking at it off and on for a few months the full weight and majesty of this beautifully crafted record really hit home about a week or two ago. I've pretty much been listening to it everyday since. All the tracks are fantastic, but this one hit me with a double whammy when it dawned on me that at ~330 they go into part of Pearl Jam's Ocean. I found this to be a brilliant little homage - the kind of thing a lot of bands do live but that I don't remember ever seeing done on an album before. It's a nice little tip of the hat that really adds some extra emotional weight to an already outstanding track.