New Blog for local show reviews

Missed a local band recently, or did you go but wonder what somebody else may have thought of the show? A couple of local music fans have started a blog that’s promising to focus on reviewing live shows from local bands in the Columbia area, and so far they’re off to a good start. Here’s the link, which I’ll also put over there —->
in the links section for future reference.

www.splatteredinc.blogspot.com

With little to no space devoted in local print to post-show reviews of the local rock scene, a new outlet like this one is a welcome addition to the mixture of media coverage on local music. Now, get out there and support your local musicians!

Animal Collective’s 80′s Revisionism

The new Animal Collective album Merriweather Post Pavilion may be a critical favorite, but count me as one who just doesn’t get it, sorry. The music is rehashed 80′s synth grooves at best, without the catchy tunefulness of, say, A-Ha or Ultravox or even Haircut 100 to back it up. Case in point, the band’s new video for the song “My Girls,” which is five minutes of music in search of a song:

The Musical Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

While listening to the umpteenth version of U2‘s “Pride (In the Name of Love)” this MLK day, take a moment to hear another, more nuanced version of the same issue. “Legacy” by Pierce Pettis doesn’t mention Martin Luther King, Jr. or even the civil rights struggle. Rather, it comes from the perspective of living in the south, and the predjudices we pass down to our own children and grandchildren, unknowingly or on purpose. This clip features Pettis not only playing the song, but stopping to explain it a bit, too…

Random Music Video: Tha Acorn, “Crooked Legs”

The Canadian band Tha Acorn has built a solid discography of understated indie pop/folk, including 2007′s Glory Hope Mountain and 2008′s outtakes and oddities set Heron Act, both on Paper Bag Records. The song “Crooked Legs,” which you can see/hear in the video below, is on both of those discs. The song and the accompanying visuals are equally hypnotic.