I was a little late to the boomerenga party that is Guantanamo Baywatch. I missed out on grabbing a copy of their now out-of-print LP Postcard From The Tar Pitz, but thankfully I was able to download it from their Bandcamp. They have a new record coming out soon through Dirtnap Records, and I’ll have no excuse to miss out on this one. If I do you can feed me to that sexy dinosaur pictured above, wait, that might actually be a good thing.
Chest Crawl is the name of the new record, and I haven’t heard anything from it yet, but here’s a little info: “Chest Crawl sees the band working more vocal numbers into the mix, incorporating the usual surf/garage suspects (Cramps, Trashmen), more obscure 50’s rock n’ roll/RNB wildmen, as well as slightly heavier nods toward the young-oldies sound being popularized today by bands such as Hunx, Shannon And The Clams, Nobunny, etc.” Keep ‘em peeled for Chest Crawl to drop this May and expect a Guanatamo Baywatch tour this March with Mean Jeans.
Starting with our Reader’s Poll, we’re looking back on 2011 with a series of top 10’s that will cover everything from album covers to music videos, from favorite 7“‘s to favorite LPs, so check back and see what our staff has to say as we make our way to the new year.
It’s a good sign when it’s this hard to choose our favorite albums of the year. So much great music from so many great bands! But when push came to shove and the days ticked away, we put it to a staff vote, and these ten LPs proved to be the best of the best. It’s not to say there aren’t plenty of other albums worth mentioning, and you can find more GET BENT recommended listening here, but we’d be listing off albums for weeks if we didn’t restrain ourselves just a little bit. (Cause in the meantime, I’m sure there’s already been a dozen more great records released while I typed this sentence.) So here’s our collective two cents. Feel free to disagree in the comments!
Starting with our Reader’s Poll, we’re looking back on 2011 with a series of top 10’sthat will cover everything from album covers to music videos, from favorite 7“‘s to favorite LPs, so check back and see what our staff has to say as we make our way to the new year.
As far as music videos go, there are some reoccurring formats that seem to work particularly well. There’s the performance video, in which the band plays in an odd location (think: empty warehouse, on top of a building, in a field, somebody’s dining room). Then there’s the video with a storyline — a short movie where the band follows a narrative as dictated by the song in question. There’s also the psych-out music video, where there’s a lot of acid-washed shots and trippy images. Whatever the case is, I’m content to watch because I love it when a band I dig is encapsulated forever in moving image. 2011’s rolled out some pretty cool music videos, if I do say so myself. It was hard to narrow all of them down into a list of ten, but here it is, in no particular order.
1. ”Don’t Ever Change,” Bare Wires (Daniel Hilsinger): Can you spot all of the cameos? This is a favorite for many reasons: Principal John Dwyer, a student body which consists of some Get Bent! Bay Area favorites, and the fact that “Don’t Ever Change” follows an uber cute high school romance. It gets me every time!
Starting with our Reader’s Poll, we’re looking back on 2011 with a series of top 10’s that will cover everything from album covers to music videos, from favorite 7“‘s to favorite LPs, so check back and see what our staff has to say as we make our way to the new year.
I’ve named the awkward jogger “Mr. Guy”. You might know Mr. Guy, as he is the everyman of suburban America.
1. “Malt Lick Her”, The Jitters - Malt Lick Her EP (Self-released)
The sincere irreverence of this song exactly matches a mood that certain kinds of people watching inspire. In other words, I want a 40.
It’s been a good year of music, and wouldn’t you know, the votes were spread out across a lot of bands, but one album stood out amongst the rest: Thee Oh Sees second LP Carrion Crawler/The Dream. See the other nine albums that topped the reader’s poll after the jump. Don’t agree? Comment your top 10 below.
Mikal Cronin has been a pretty popular subject this week at GET BENT. We announced his tour dates and featured a track from his new 7” coming out on Goner Records. “Am I Wrong” is a cut from his upcoming 7” split with King Khan & The Shrines (tour dates here), which will be released soon to support the 2nd year anniversary of the upcoming Bruise Cruise Festival.
Cronin and The Shrines will be playing Bruise Cruise next year along with Thee Oh Sees, The Soft Pack, The Togas (a super band consisting of Ty Segall, Ryan Sambol (The Strange Boys), Shannon Shaw (The Clams) and Lance Wille (Reigning Sound) and many others. Buy your tickets here.
“It’s a Mess” is a podcast that sandwiches some of our favorite garage jams, L.A. local bands, and a few guests between dick jokes and giggles.
Episode VII, in which Douglas calls in sick, features a creature only previously known to It’s a Mess listeners through lore: Dr. Zazz (the quotable one himself). Drew and Scrappy McShitler run through some backed up material in Doug’s absence, including stories of old, ridiculously spiteful e-mails, ridiculously creepy e-mails, and some culinary take-aways from this year’s Los Angeles.
Here are the songs they get to: Neverever - “Wedding Day” (Shake-A-Baby) Shannon and the Clams - “Sleep Talk” (Sleep Talk) Spider Bags - “Eileen” (Teenage Eyes 7”) Jacuzzi Boys - “Los Angeles” (Glazin’)
End Bumper (as always): Vera Lynn - “Goodnight, Wherever You Are”
E-mail us comments, praise, questions, concerns, praise, suggestions and booking at: itsamesspodcast@gmail.com.
What, you haven’t heard Sleep Talk yet? Do you live under a rock? Shannon and the Clams, who’ve recently performed a nice little live set for us at HAMPAD, team up with director Hannah Lew to present us their latest video. Having just premiered on L.A. Record, ”Toxic Revenge” is one of Sleep Talk’s punky cuts and its accompanying video contains the band’s trademark quirks for the best little two and a half minute monster movie you’re gonna see all year.
“It’s a Mess” is a podcast that sandwiches some of our favorite garage jams, L.A. local bands, and a few guests between dick jokes and giggles.
In undoubtedly the best episode to date, Doug and Drew welcome some very special guests to HAMPAD studios. That’s right, boys and girls, Shannon and the Clams stop by to play a few songs live and to wax on with the boys about touring, creepy old dudes, Houston, Wendy’s, their favorite music, and much more! Watch the video of their garage set here!
Here are the songs: Bare Wires - “Don’t Ever Change” (Cheap Perfume) King Lollipop - “You Will Never Find Me” (Woodland Whoopee Songs of Ol’ Callowhee)
Shannon and the Clams’ set: “Ozma” (Unreleased) “The Woodsman” (Sleep Talk) “Tired of Being Bad” (Sleep Talk) Cover: “Looking Out My Backdoor” (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
End Bumper (as always): Vera Lynn - “Goodnight, Wherever You Are”
Oakland sweethearts Shannon and the Clams drop by HAMPAD to play a couple songs in the garage for the upcoming episode of our podcast. Check back on Wednesday for the full episode and a short interview with the band, or subscribe on iTunes for night-before access!
