Blank Dogs

I think I first saw this name in some lame Matador/Fucked Up ad. The name stuck in my head even though it is easy to forget. Started trying to track down some of the allegedly endless output, when I realized I am old and you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes anymore-the info is just sitting on his myspace page.
I have always hoped that as I got older I would just lose touch with the rad music being made (rather than the belief that rad music was being made by hasbeens my own age.... or not being made at all). This blog Dead Metaphor is a lot easier to read than MRR and this 39 good records from 08 was an cool place to start checking out what is going on. Shitty Limits was pretty rad and once again, Myspace has all the tunes and downloads. But this is supposed to be about Blank Dogs, so back to the matter at hand.
The aesthetics are on point and that is crucial. The whole masked man thing is cool kind of a slacker Death in June thing. The out of print releases list is pretty impressive. Picked up the "On two side" CD. 12 songs. Sacred Bones
This reminds me of Down(the one from Lansing MI, not NOLA) and Spare Snare as much as the obvious Joy Division cop out comparison. This is some good catchy pop with a layer of reverb, fuzz, and lofi trickery smeared over it. I guess some people like their hooks overly orchestrated and some people like them buried in the murk. Not as frantic as a band like boyracer, but another comparison that springs to mind and is probably as valid as the "cure on valium" bs that you might read elsewhere.
In the Red is going to be putting out a BD CD soon so check it out.

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He needs to stick with interviews with mainstream people and stay away from the bad "prom queen" rock and roll

Weezy overload here

Bone Awl

Bone Awl records are much anticipated around the WWDIS lair. I don't really get down with the cassette only stuff, but the records have me ready to order as soon as I know they are out. Got the new Night's Middle 3 song 7" from Nuclear War Now Productions. Super fast shipping and everything was well packed. NWNP kick ass. They also co-released this with Klaxon-the Bone Awl home base.
Starts off with the simple pounding "your late" which if you make the wrong choice of speeds will sound even punker. Reminds me a little of Rudimentary Peni, but with more harsh metal vocals(especially at the wrong speed). Next up after a long movie sample is "Night's Middle" which hits way harder than the 1st track. This is the top tune on here.
Side Two is left holding "make for yourself a last vision". Slightly more complex than the A-side, but basically just as pummelling.
Bone Awl are not really fucking around, they continue to deliver the goods
12 page booklet had my hopes up for some major graphic content, but it didn't really blow my mind. Nothing bad, just no bonus points.
PS-keep your eyes open cause Bone Awl will be on tour this summer. I think they will kill it live.

In unrelated news went out and saw some bands Friday night. Defeatist from NYC. Tombs(NYC) and Phantom Glue(boston). I love Tombs and they kicked ass-new record on Relapse right around Valentine's Day. Defeatist blew me away-super tight and raging. I thought I was too old for gindcore, but I guess not. Maybe it was the soundsystem, but they had some sick D-Beat parts(too me anyway) Phantom Glue were another nice surprise. Classic Boston heaviness mixed with a little driving rock. The best part about this night, is somehow I didn't feel like the oldest person there-despite clearly being in the running.

Jour Sans

Don't want to gloat, but I called Albert's win a couple weeks ago. Belgium gets 2/3rds of the podium, 3 out of 5 in the top five and six in the top ten. The whole team finished in the top twenty. Damn. That is a smack down. Stybar's second is even more impressive in light of this. Boom was off, but he is young. Will Rabo shift him to road full time or let him try for revenge next year??
Much like Boom, I had a bad day on the bike. A day without... the jour sans. Sometimes when the French get it right, the get it right. I was convinced the bike was broken, but I think it is me. It felt colder than it was, and if I had waited an hour or so and hooked up with Billy, it might have been a different story. Hopefully its true that these rides lay the foundation for a good spring and summer. I think I am just hating cause my indoor to outdoor riding ration is like 1 to 5 or 1 to six. Definitely need to HTFU. Might be more excited about the halftime show than the game.
Thankfully I have not seen any "boom, boom out go the lights" headlines yet.
Time to heat up the 5 layer dip and drown my sorrows.
Picture above is an example of an F on homework. My cross bike was crusted with filth to an embarrassing level. I thought about just burying it in the snow and letting the spring thaw do the cleaning, but I am planning on racing it in two weekends. Nice use of the snowbank as a wheel stand. Gotta stay up on the maintenance or else!

Young Disciples

Tales of empowerment and achievement are always a worthwhile uplifting thing to read, but when they are accompanied by kick ass music it is just that much better. Think James Brown shining shoes in front of a radio station that he would own 30 years later for example. The Numero Group have resurfaced another batch of amazing songs that come wih the added bonus of an amazing history/story. YODI enterprises is the subject of the story. East St.Louis is the location and the late 60s(67 on) is the time frame. You don't have to be much of a historian to know what kind of shape America was in during these years and cities like East St.Loius were at the forefront of helping to define "urban poverty" and the resulting social ills that came with it. Unemployment is at 7.2% today in America. In 68, it was at 25% in East Saint Louis. Imagine how fucking grim that would be. But rather than succumb to drugs and gangs. YODI got together to get kids making music. Started as an effort to keep unemployed kids out of gangs, it did much much more. It was the same lack of opportunity and hope gave us the Sex Pistols and hardcore, but roll it back 40 years and you get some epic funk and motown-esque workouts.
The songs make up for any lack of originality with exuberance. They have the benefit of having the ability to augment any arrangement with horns and endless percussion.
Songs like "crumbs from the table" and "third flight" were pretty stellar and would be amazing 45s to score, but just be happy you can get them and more on one CD. The liner notes are fully in depth and worth the price of admission.
Numero group keeps finding these untapped veins and the cynic in me wonders how long they can keep going, but then you check a regional site like this and realize, there are more waiting than you could even realize.