After helping promote Bowie by Keenan Duffty, Kansas Citian Harley Sears became manager for St. Louis musician Kristeen Young, who toured with Morrissey earlier this year. Here's what homeboy dug in '07, which is ABOUT TO BE OVER WOOO!!!.
Harley (center) with Kristeen Young (right) and Baby Jeff White.
Nicholas Megalis, The Holder
Semi Precious Weapons, Time Zones
Mary Cigarettes, Keep Your Powder Dry
Morrissey, "All You Need Is Me"
Glasvegas, Daddy's Gone
Slinky Vagabond, Glitterbug
Jonny Chan, All About Me
Kristeen Young, Kill The Father
The Eons, Kosmonot
The Charlatans, You Cross My Path
Annie Zaleski, music critic at the Riverfront Times in St. Louis, had this to contribute to our year-end discussions.
Ten Albums I Liked This Year, in No Particular Order
maximo park, our earthly pleasures
idlewild, make another world
the national, boxer
the twilight sad, fourteen autumns and fifteen winters
lcd soundsystem, sound of silver
airiel, the battle of sealand
jon hardy and the public, working in love
rilo kiley, under the black light
a sunny day in glasgow, scribble mural comic journal
band of horses, cease to begin
Six More Albums I Liked Quite a Bit
Fall Out Boy, infinity on high
Bat for Lashes, fur and gold
Modest Mouse, we were dead before the ship even sank
Pinback, Autumn of the Seraphs
Blonde Redhead, 23
New Young Pony Club, Fantastic Playroom
Five Albums Everyone Loves That I Totally Spaced On in 2007
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, 100 days, 100 nights
Feist, The Reminder
The Field, From Here We Go Sublime
MIA, Kala
Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Top Ten Songs I Liked This Year, in No Particular Order
Mew "Am I Wry? No"
silversun pickups "Lazy Eye"
queens of the stone age, "Sick Sick Sick"
the ponys, "1209 seminary"
timbaland ft. keri hilson, "The Way I Are"
justin timberlake, "Summer Love"
Fields, "Charming the Flames"
Winterkids, "Tape It"
scotland yard gospel choir, "I Never thought i could feel this way for a boy"
Battles "Atlas"
By ERIC BARTON
Christmas is long over, but there's still one more gift: this video of KMBC Channel 9's Larry Moore reading to a bunch of kids who couldn't care less.
Only two of the collected brood of children make it through the story. The one on Moore's left looks like he might have had a bit too much Benadryl that day. And the other, well, it looks like Moore has him in a death grip. The others do like his viewers probably did before this segment and find something better to do.
Split Lip Rayfield
Saturday, 12-29-07
The Bottleneck
Better than: Ezra
By RICHARD GINTOWT
Is there any band that means more to Kansas than Split Lip Rayfield? Oh yeah – Kansas. But since Kerry Livgren long ago traded in his long hair and axe for a pastor’s robe, I’m gonna have to go with Split Lip Rayfield.
For twelve years, these guys have been blowing gaskets with a superfast bastardization of bluegrass. If you locked Yngwie Malmsteen in a cave for a year with a mandolin and a banjo, you might get something like SLR. It’s a nifty trick, but it’s backed up with great songs about boogan escapades and Batman.
The trio kicked off a three-night stand at the Bottleneck last night with a Tall Boy-sized set that spanned two hours and a decade’s worth of material. Banjo man Eric Mardis dedicated the show to Kirk Rundstrom, a founding SLR member who lost his courageous battle with cancer last February. Rundstrom’s passing initially seemed to signify the end of SLR, but the remaining trio of Mardis, Wayne Gottstine (mandolin) and Jeff Eaton (one-string gas tank bass) returned to the stage this summer and decided to honor Rundstrom’s memory the best way they knew – playing music.
Mr. Grant Snider's list, comments ... and portrait.
I don't want my Best of 2007 list to imply that I've heard every single album and formed my own unbiased opinion about it. Therefore, I've included two categories: a list of albums I've listened to completely, thoroughly, and repeatedly, and a list of albums I've heard very promising pieces of, e.g., the songs that are on MySpace. For my second list, I've extrapolated from a handful of songs and drawn the conclusion, "Given the financial means to buy or the effort to download illegally, this album would be pretty damn good."
Best Albums of 2007, List 1
LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver - The best album of the year.
Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha - Andrew Bird's performance complemented Wilco's when he opened for them at the Crossroads. However, Armchair Apocrypha makes Sky Blue Sky look embarrassing.
Radiohead, In Rainbows - Radiohead is way overrated. I love them.
The Shout Out Louds, Our Ill Wills - Critics say this Swedish band sounds like The Cure. I'm too young to remember what The Cure sounded like - except for that song 311 covered.
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - So clean and blue-eyed-soulful, I have to tuck in my shirt to listen to it.
Okkervil River, The Stage Names
Jens Lekman, Night Falls on Kortedala
Lewis and Clarke, Blasts of Holy Birth
Best Albums of 2007, List 2
Against Me!, New Wave - I'll forgive the fact that they played on the Warped Tour.
Fourth of July, Fourth of July on the Plains - Now no one can complain that I didn't include a local act.
Wu-Tang Clan, 8 Diagrams - Not sure if it contains a posthumous verse from ODB.
Deerhoof, Friend Opportunity - I can't listen to Deerhoof without picturing Yoko Ono.
The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour
The Bowerbirds, Hymns for a Dark Horse
The National, Boxer
Aesop Rock, None Shall Pass
Once, Original Soundtrack
Andrew Miller is the archbishop of Kansas City music critics. His cat is the duke. Here's what they liked this year.
METAL-ONLY BIN
10. Dillinger Escape Plan, Ire Works (Relapse)
9. Death Breath, Let It Stink (Relapse)
8. Pig Destroyer, Phantom Limb (Relapse)
7. Xasthur, Defective Epitaph (Hydra Head)
6. Machine Head, The Blackening (Roadrunner)
5. Baroness, Red Album (Relapse)
4. Yakuza, Transmutations (Prosthetic)
3. Wolves in the Throne Room, Two Hunters (Southern Lord)
2. Horse The Band, A Natural Death (Koch)
1. Between the Buried and Me, Colors (Victory)
FRESH FEMALE VOICES
10. Arch Enemy, Rise of the Tyrant (Century Media)
9. Feist, The Reminder (Cherry Tree)
8. Dri, Smoke Rings (Range Life)
7. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, 100 Days, 100 Nights (Daptone)
6. Charlotte Gainsbourg, 5:55 (Vice)
5. Tiny Vipers, Hands Across the Void (Sub Pop)
4. Bat for Lashes, Fur and Gold (Caroline)
3. Electrelane, No Shouts, No Calls (Too Pure/Beggars)
2. Shannon Wright, Let in the Light (Quarter Stick)
1. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (Republic)
HEAD EXPLODERS (Prog, Experimental, Noise, Instrumental, Epic, etc.)
10. Jesu, Conqueror (Hydra Head)
9. Sigur Ros, Hvarf/Heim (XL)
8. Isis, In the Absence of Truth (Ipecac)
7. Gonzales, Solo Piano (Sunny Side)
6. Grails, Burning Off Impurities (Temporary Residence)
5. Battles, Mirrored (Warp)
4. Black Dice, Load Blown (Paw Tracks)
3. Explosions in the Sky, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temporary Residence)
2. Minsk, The Ritual Fires of Abandonment (Relapse)
1. Hrsta, Ghosts Will Come and Kiss Our Eyes (Constellation)
TOP 10 LOCAL SONGS
10. Carmine Red “Orchid”
9. Ghosty “A Good Customer”
8. White Flight “Deathhands” (Superargo Remix)
7. Anti-Crew “Keep Talkin’”
6. Minus Story “Come into My Arms”
5. 4th of July “Bad Dreams Are Only Dreams”
4. Republic Tigers “The Drums”
3. Mac Lethal “Rotten Apple Pie”
2. Dri “Smoke Rings”
1. Pendergast “Almighty Dollar”
By CHRIS PACKHAM
Well met, O people of Earth’s past few days! It is I, Lord Magnus, time traveler from SEVERAL DAYS IN THE FUTURE! I greet you as a fellow traveler — OF TIME! Though you shall live to see the FUTURISTIC YEAR 2008, I say to you, the world is a very different place — far stranger than you could possibly know. The after-holiday sales during your prehistoric last-week era were UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME. I was able to acquire a FUTURISTIC PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY using a special fiduciary instrument that we of the future call a CHRISTMAS CHECK FROM MY NANA!
KNEEL BEFORE THE AWESOME MAJESTY OF MY NEW PLAYSTATION 2 HAMMER WIRELESS GUITAR CONTROLLER! Lo, the masses shall behold the power of my shredding and tremble! Unencumbered by the wired controllers of the ancients, I will become the master of Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast” on the "Hard" difficulty setting — REAL SOON NOW!
To me, your era is three days in the past. But you have yet to experience the FINAL AWESOME WEEKEND OF 2007. How I envy you! Would that I were able to relive that glorious time! Friday night's monthly CRITICAL MASS pitted the ancient cyclists of last week against the terrible forces of nature! Specifically, the great storm that we of Earth's future remember as THAT SNOWSTORM THAT HAPPENED LAST THURSDAY NIGHT! Though my frame is unsuited to the physical demands of biking, I attended with MY FRIENDS TROY AND KYLE. We took my dad's old hip flask and filled it with plum schnapps Kyle stole from his grandma's house. WE GOT TOTALLY WASTED in the Sunfresh parking lot at 4001 Mill at the 6 p.m. launch and made it only about four blocks.
Saturday began an epic THREE-NIGHT SERIES of music performances by SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD. We, the people of my era, prefer the BUTT ROCK OF THE 1980s — but Split Lip Rayfield is an AWESOME BAND, and I resolved to see Saturday's magnificent ALL-AGES PERFORMANCE AT THE BOTTLENECK. Yea, though the band blazed that night with the fiery power of the ages, I DRANK WAY TOO MUCH PABST and THREW UP ON THIS DUDE FROM INDEPENDENCE. Woe betide he who soils the boots of CRAIG or crosses Craig's FRIENDS FROM TRUMAN HIGH. Following an exchange of DRUNKEN SHOVING, we were all EJECTED FROM THE SHOW. People of Earth's several days' past, I beseech you: In the scuffle, I shall totally DROP MY WALLET, which contains my FAKE I.D. Please, my ancestors, retrieve my velcro Korn wallet and return it to the address within — I am totally offering a $10 REWARD!
Without money, I was compelled Sunday to resort to playing FREE POOL AT OVERTIME at 9083 Metcalf in Overland Park — every week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, the tables are free ALL DAY. When finally I was asked to leave for failure to make a purchase, I went home and PLAYED GUITAR HERO. Would that I had not quit my job at Papa John's! Learn from my example, O my ancestors, and totally do not lose your cash and debit card in a drunken weekend shoving match.
Enjoy your last days of 2007, and I shall see you again — in the VERY NEAR FUTURE!
Gotten enough Tigers yet? Yes? No? Well here's a belayed review of their latest show in Los Angeleeeeeeees.
The Republic Tigers
Monday, December 17
Spaceland, Los Angeles
Photo & Review by BERRY ANDERSON
Just east of Hollywood, Silver Lake is a hotbed of indie-rock goings-on. It has been called home at some point or another to the likes of Karen O, Perry Farrell and Elliott Smith. Spaceland, an inconspicuous club three blocks off of Sunset Boulevard, is at the epicenter of this scene. On the evening of Monday, December 17, it was the stage for Kansas City's Republic Tigers, Chop Shop Records newest it band.
Oz McGuire was one of KC's most popular eclectic-spinning DJs before moving to San Francisco last year. Tonight, Dec. 27, Oz returns with his brother Joe, aka Pleasuremaker, to drop the grooves at Nara (1617 Main St) from 10 p.m. to close as guests of DJ Kiko De Gallo. Oz and Joe are also playing tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 28, at the Eighth Street Tap Room in Lawrence. Included with Oz's lists below are some live DJ sets and exclusive Pleasuremaker cuts -- Joe's got a live afrobeat-style band that's making waves out in SF, as we knew he would.
Oz Top Ten-ish list of 2007 in no order:
Casbah 73 - Pushin' 40 (Hi Top)
DJ Bitman - Latin Biman (Nacional)
Balkan Beat Box - Nu Med ( Jdub records/Crammed Discs)
Pimps of Joytime - High Steppin (Wonderwheel)
Zeb - Stop the Earth, I Want to Get Off! (Wonderwheel)
Chico Mann - Manifest Tone (Kindred Spirits)
Gecko Turner - "AfroBeatNik (Seiji Remix)" - (Quango)
Sharon Jones - "How Long Do I Have to Wait (Ticklah Remix)" - (Scion)
Hot 8 Brass Band - Rock with the Hot 8 - (Tru Thoughts)
Pinker Tones - More Colours! Million Color Revolution Revisited (Nacional)
Reissues:
Numero Label - Everything they touch is gold, and they are including remixes on the vinyl reissues.
Fania - The Louie Vega re-edit of his uncle, Hector Lavoe's cut "Mi Gente" was a stomper.
Dancefloor Burners (Tops from my DJ sets):
Orgone - "It's What You Do," from The Killion Floor (Ubiquity) [This was the cut I played out the most and got the most response from.]
Beatfanatic - "African Rockers"
AIFF - "The Seduction"
Wunmi - "Keep it Rockin'"
Ohmega Watts - "Platypus Strut"
Pleasuremaker - "Watch Dem Die" MP3
ZShare: Oz and Pleasuremaker Live at the Elbo Room, San Fransico LINK
ZShare: Señor Oz Live at B Bar LINK
Bonus Track: Pleasuremaker, "A Dream of Peace" MP3
By DAVID MARTIN
Thousands of logo-festooned Midwesterners will travel to celebrate the outstanding seasons of their college football teams. The Missouri Tigers face Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on January 1. Two days later, the Kansas Jayhawks line up against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Here’s a guide for fans who may be making the trips to states governed at one time or another by a Bush boy.
Population
Dallas: 5.5 million
Miami: 3.9 million
Edge: Dallas
Average January low temperature
Dallas: 34 degrees
Miami: 59 degrees
Edge: Miami
Great embarrassment
Dallas: Assassination of JFK
Miami: Endurance of Castro
Edge: Dallas
Most appalling local resident
Dallas: Mark Cuban
Miami: Mickey Rourke
Edge: Dallas (Rourke was pretty good -- and therefore less appalling -- in Sin City)
Leading man
Dallas: Larry Hagman
Miami: Don Johnson
Edge: Dallas (Hagman gets bonus points for JFK cameo)
Reality-show taskmaster
Dallas: Kelli Finglass (Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team)
Miami: Ami James (Miami Ink)
Edge: Dallas
Excellence in reporting
Dallas: Dan Jenkins
Miami: Edna Buchanan
Edge: Miami
Coaching legend's state
Dallas: Dead (Tom Landry)
Miami: Bitter (Don Shula)
Edge: Dallas
Memorable sports-related movie
Dallas: North Dallas 40
Miami: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Edge: Dallas
Quarterback-turned-analyst
Dallas: Troy Aikman
Miami: Dan Marino
Edge: Dallas
Bowl title sponsor
Dallas: AT&T
Miami: FedEx
Edge: pick 'em
National Anthem singer
Dallas: Kilgore College Choral Group
Miami: Katharine McPhee
Edge: Miami
Pre-game activity
Dallas: Petty Theft (Tom Petty tribute band), House of Blues, Dec. 31
Miami: King Mango Strut, Dec. 30
Edge: Miami
Tourist area to avoid
Dallas: Victory Park/West End
Miami: Ocean Drive, South Beach
Edge: Miami ("More sunburned Midwestern yahoos here than anywhere this side of the St. Louis arch," one Miami expert tells us; but it'll be sunny)
Tourist area to embrace
Dallas: Deep Ellum
Miami: Little Havana
Edge: Miami (Cuban food, art galleries, cigar stores)
Best dining for fat-cat alumni
Dallas: Abacus
Miami: Prime 112
Edge: Dallas (Abacus chef Tre Wilcox appeared on Top Chef)
Best place for those without a ticket to watch game
Dallas: Vickery Park
Miami: The Ale House
Edge: Miami (The Ale House in North Miami Beach is seven miles from Dolphin Stadium -- and near water)
Penalty for disorderly conduct
Dallas: $500
Miami: 60 days
Edge: Dallas
So that's 10 for Big D, six for Miami and one tie. Congratulations, Tiger fans. You may have been left out of the Bowl Championship Series. But your eventual arrest will be less painful.
What a happy day for the American!
Debbie gold out!
Josh eans not…
Anyone know how to get ahold of his family I just found out and his…
I've always wondered that as well, it's literally nine blocks away from me, yet I…
Team hotels in plaza or elsewhere?? Any insight?
I'd give anything for that cocktail, hold the tail.
MLS All-Star Game logo being painted on side of Crossroads building
Phoenix will headline Buzz Beach Ball in September
Shatto's Cookies & Cream milk is still out there
Aixois Brasserie celebrates first birthday in a spirited fashion
Pie Five looks to make its dough in Overland Park
Michael Mikkelsen, DUI checkpoint protester, pleads guilty to sexual misconduct
Kiss' Rock & Brews will 'Shout It Out Loud' in Overland Park in early 2014
McDonald's sued by employee who wants a check, not a debit card