Dead Man's Bones

Here's a piece that originally posted to kexp a month ago today. Dead Man's Bones plays The Triple Door tonight!


BluetoothFriend:
“He is an asshole. The video is evidence enough.”

Phoenix0929:
“Dude. He’s so sexy playing piano.”

DubbedVideoDubbed:
“What’s wrong with you? YOU’RE the asshole. You probably like Miley Cyrus or something. You are just a crap person.”

Cokkiepartylennon93:
“I love this. It’s so Gothic but not annoyingly Gothic. It’s real interesting. Iove it and I love their voices.”

Montgomc:
“It isn’t horrible but I’d rather see Ryan Gosling act than listen to him sing.”

Heyyounewave:
“Ryan marry me. Please.”

Have I told you about my new favorite way to not work at work? You guessed it, youtube commentary. If you’re like me you need something to distract you from the fact that you sit at a desk 40+ hours a week burning your eyes out on spreadsheets containing data you really couldn’t give two turds about. I do declare that youtube commentary may just be your savior. Simply dial up the interweb and start searching. Before you know it you’ll be totally LOLing coffee into your keyboard. It’s amazing really, when you consider the whole thought process behind creating the user name coupled with the energy required to initiate and maintain arguments with people you’ll likely never meet. To quote Gwen Stefani, this shit is BANANNAS. B-A-N-A-N-AY – ES!



Dead Man’s Bones is the thus-far astonishing musical side-project of actors Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, The Believer, Half-Nelson [Academy Award nomination, best recanize), Lars and the Real Girl) and Zach Shields (The Most Beautiful Thing, Fox 7 at Fifty). Regarded as one of the most dynamic and talented actors of his generation Gosling’s potential as a songwriter is unsurpassed. All zombie’s aside there is a certain terror that takes hold when faced with the work of actor/musicians – but I assure you - Dogstarr this is not. Gosling (on guitar, piano and vocals) and Shields (percussion) have put forth something special here.



With just 4 songs floating around the internet some may remain skeptical of Dead Man’s Bones (hey, it’s your right) but the way I see it, even if the rest of the album is corpse shit (doubtful) these songs and videos can stand alone in this space and time as something unique, energetic and moving.

Port O'Brien - Threadbare

You may remember a post from last year when I first experienced Port O'Brien...

Here is a new post - up today on kexp.org:

Earlier this month California natives Port O’Brien released their third full-length album Threadbare – on TBD Records (Radiohead, White Rabbits). Quite possibly my favorite record of 2008 this follow-up to the highly acclaimed All We Could Do Was Sing (City Slang Records) sees new emotional movement in the Port O’Brien camp. Those of you impacted by the boisterous, fun-loving, free-spirited anthems of last year’s breakout will immediately notice a shift in tonality, pace and subject matter within the hushed walls of Threadbare. I did. In fact I’m almost certain that after the first listen I turned to Kate and said “this sounds so different…almost muffled.” Indeed the sounds nestled amongst the grooves of this latest effort seem uniformly confined by overcast skies and high tides. These new songs are wrapped inside the kind of introspection that walks hand in hand with unexpected sadness - specifically the tragic loss of founding member Cambria Goodwin’s younger brother. Described as a freeform process, the early stages of Threadbare’s sessions soon gave way to the solitude of life’s slower moments. Recorded in large part with San Francisco’s Jason Quever ( Papercuts) the lion share of the record inhabits a space not much larger than the living room studio in which it’s tracks were laid. A longtime friend and tour-mate, Quever’s quiet contributions are palpable. He deserves a lot of credit for manning such a risky departure. While it may not soar to the erratic heights of it’s predecessor - Threadbare ratchets-up the humanity in a manner that solidifies it’s emotional impact and accessibility. Focused and deliberate Threadbare sheds the limitations of successful formulas while retaining the true essence of the band’s sound.

“My Will Is Good” is perhaps the apex of Threadbare’s likeness to last year’s All We Could Do Was Sing. The song – while surrounded in sombre(and elegantly arranged) acoustics and cello fog - finds Van Pierszalowski and Cambria Goodwin momentarily parting the clouds of loss with a beautifully softened burst of their uniquely of folked-up sing-along sound - all of the best bits are still here kids: toe-tapping intro followed up with a wonderfully catchy beat; Pierszalowski’s newly reserved voice (really maturing nicely, think of Conor Oberst’s transition from Letting Off the Happiness to The Story Is In The Soil…) humming (not enough of this in the world, anyone can sing back-up here) and lyrics that make really make you think.

All this is a good sign for Van, Cambria and the rest of the boys: with just three LP’s under their belts – Threadbare illustrates the band’s propensity for change. With change comes longevity. Sure All We Could Do Was Sing reached out, grabbed me by the neck and demanded my attention– but Threadbare – well Threadbare is really more like the arm of a sincere old friend – setting you down on the crappy old couch for some catching up.

PS – see them live.