Review: "Songs From Six Deep" by The Worsh Ahts

I am writing this on the night of the Grammys. The Grammys, in case you haven't heard of them, are awards for the "best music" in the United States. Well, that is a bunch of nonsense. I haven't ever seen the "best music" even get nominated for a Grammy award. This brings me to a brand new release from The Worsh Ahts, aka Steve Loborec from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. It's called Songs From Six Deep, and it's safe to say that it will never be nominated for a Grammy award. Thank God.

To sum it up- it's a disturbing, low-fi, dance/punk guitar-driven indie rock that's somewhat similar to bands like Guided By Voices, Beep Beep and early The Faint. Most of the songs are less than a minute and a half. The vocals are generally distorted and obscured, and most of the singing seems to be secondary, although the lyrics are featured for each on his Youtube page. 

The album begins with "The Formula for Life," a haunting echo chamber of sounds, sprinkled with a sample from the old film "The Bride of Frankenstein." The third track, "Lunatic Soul," lives up to its name well, and it's frantic pace and "Dracula" sample make it one of my favorites. "I May Have Been Franklin Pierce" is a depressing little ditty about a depressing life of a depressed former President. "The Voyage (Reminiscence)" starts out like it's going to rock you for four minutes, then promptly dies out. "Extending" has some of the most unique sounding guitars I've ever hear.

Probably my favorite two tracks are "Grim Fairy Tales" and "Songs For...." "Grim Fairy Tales" is dark twisted take on fairy tales, of course, that has jagged minor chords and a Beep Beep-like lead guitar that is serene and freaky at the same time. "Songs For..." might be the most "normal" song on the album, actually- it's just a nice guitar instrumental that has a nice warm sound.

Two things that are very cool about this release that give it a personal touch for Loborec are the facts that the album art is an etching his mother made when she was about five, and the words featured in the song "The Program" were recorded by his grandfather, Perry R. Westlake.

Songs From Six Deep is a disturbing, yet delightful, insight into the life of Steve Loborec. If you want to hear it for yourself, visit his Youtube page. If you want to download it, just email him and I'm sure he will hook you up. 

Story Time with Mr. Beat - The Caning of Charles Sumner

The Caning of Charles Sumner

I couldn't imagine turning on CSPAN today and seeing a Congressman beating up a Senator in the Senate chamber. But that's exactly what happened on May 22nd, 1856. Here's the story of the caning of Charles Sumner.

Once upon a time there was a Republican Senator from Massachusetts named Charles Sumner. He was strong abolitionist, and a leading voice in Congress for the anti-slavery movement. He saw the expansion of slavery out west as very, very, very, very, very bad.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 further divided the American people in regards to the expansion of slavery out west. One of the things it said was that the people who lived in Kansas and Nebraska territories (aka the white men who lived out there), could vote to determine if slavery would be legal there or not. As it turned out, this was a very, very, very, very, very bad idea. You see, this caused a mad rush of people to the territories to settle so they could determine if Kansas and Nebraska would be either a slave state or free state. Kansas would be called "Bleeding Kansas," because of the fact that pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers there were resorting to violence to get their way.

Charles Sumner was horrified by what he read about Bleeding Kansas. He hated the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and decided to write a speech attacking the law. He called the speech "Crime Against Kansas."  On May 19th and 20th, 1856, he gave his speech to the Senate. That's right, the speech was so long that it took two days. He argued Kansas should be admitted to the Union as a free state, and attacked the political power of the Southern slaveholding class, known as "Slave Power."

If he would have stopped there, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out so bad for him. However, next he began to talk trash about the authors of the Kansas-Nebraska Act- Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina. Although Douglas was in the audience during the speech, Sumner called him a "noise-some, squat, and nameless animal . . . not a proper model for an American senator." Listening from the back of the Senate chamber, Stephen Douglas reportedly said, “that damned fool will get himself shot by some other damned fool.”

No other person was attacked as much in the speech as Andrew Butler, who actually was recovering from a stroke at the time and not present to hear the attacks. I won't go into detail about what Sumner said about Butler, but let's just say Butler's character was greatly attacked. Not only that, Sumner talked trash about the entire state of South Carolina, hinting in his speech that its history be "blotted out of existence."

Reactions to Sumner's speech were mostly negative. Even abolitionists thought the speech was harsh, although many northern newspapers praised Sumner's words. As you could imagine, Southerners were outraged. One Southerner, South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks, who also happened to be the the second cousin of Andrew Butler, was very, very, very, very, very angry about the speech. Brooks wanted to challenge Sumner to a duel, but fellow South Carolina Congressman Laurence Keitt advised him not to because he believed duels should be between those of equal social standing, and any man who attacked someone recovering from a stroke, such as Sumner did, was not worthy of a duel. The two agreed it'd be better if Brooks just beat the heck out of Sumner with a cane.

On the morning May 21st, Preston Brooks arrived at the Capitol, carrying a cane. He hoped to attack Sumner, but could not find him.

The next day, Brooks again arrived at the Capitol, carrying the cane. The Senate chamber was nearly empty, as he walked in shortly after most of the Senators had left for the day. Brooks hesitated at first, as several women were present in the Senate gallery. After the women left, he approached Sumner, who was writing at his desk. Sumner's head was down and his legs were trapped underneath his desk, which was bolted to the floor.

As Brooks arrived at his desk, he reportedly said something along the lines of, "Mr. Sumner, I have read your speech twice over carefully. It is a libel against my relative and my state." As Sumner began to stand up, Brooks repeatedly beat Sumner severely on the head before he could reach his feet. The metal end of the cane caused Sumner to get knocked down, where he was trapped under the desk. While under the desk, Brooks continued to strike Sumner until Sumner ripped the desk from the floor. By this time, Sumner was blinded by his own blood. Sumner staggered up an aisle and passed out.

Most of the Senators who were still around did not intervene, but a few did attempt to help Sumner. However, they were blocked by Laurence Keitt, who reportedly had a pistol pointed at them, shouting, "Let them be!" Despite Sumner being passed out, Brooks continued to beat Sumner. Finally, after his cane splintered into several pieces, Brooks decided that was enough, and left the chamber. The entire attack lasted no more than one minute. Sumner was carried into another room and attended by a doctor, who gave him stitches to close the wounds on his head.

Sumner became a martyr in the North and Brooks became a hero in the South.

After the caning, Brooks was arrested for assault, but soon released on bail. He was later fined $300 and expelled from the House of Representatives. He returned to South Carolina, where they through parades and rallies for him. Many southerners were proud of his attack, and he received hundreds of new canes from supporters. One had "hit him again" inscribed on it. Brooks was immediately re-elected, but died soon after at the age of 37.

Sumner suffered traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. He spent three years recovering before he was able to return to his Senate seat. After returning he picked up right where he left off, with another fiery Senate speech in 1860 titled "The Barbarism of Slavery." He was again threatened, but no one ever physically attacked him again. He would go on to serve in the Senate for 15 more years. Due to his injuries from Brooks, he suffered from chronic pain the rest of his life.

The caning of Charles Sumner illustrated the mood of the United States at the time- it was a country that was deeply divided over the expansion of slavery. The caning was a symbol of the collapse of communication between Northerners and Southerners in the years leading to the Civil War. It made it seem that secession or civil war was now inevitable.

Man Goes Crazy and Destroys Toilet

Trapper Keeper

Review: "The Electroliners EP" by The Electroliners

                                                                                                                                                           
It's safe to say very few new bands around sound quite like Omaha's The Electroliners.
The country/western/americana songs from their new self-titled E.P. take the listener to a simpler time. The record seems to contradict itself throughout. It's slickly produced, yet vintage. It's bright and bubbly, yet can be dark at times. It's sounds like it came out of the South, yet it came from the North.

"Francine" is the piano-driven, dance-along, just plain fun opener. "Francine, Francine, you ain't no homecoming queen," are the catchy first lyrics of the chorus. The song goes on to continue putting down Francine. Poor Francine. But the guy who went for the homecoming queen clearly made the wrong decision. 

"Give Me A Double (I'm Drinking For You)" is a sad drinking song (obviously) that hints at some of the sad western songs of the '50s and '60s. "Hey bartender, my only friend, just one more drink before the night ends." 

My favorite song is "Rub 'n' Tug," which surprisingly reminds me of some of Yo La Tengo, Fountains of Wayne or The Butthole Surfers. For those who are not familiar with those three bands, or maybe who are just casual fans, you may be surprised to find out that the three rock bands occasionally dabble with western and folk music. The song has a fun rhyme scheme and a great lead organ part that compliments the vocals. 

For fans of old-time country/western music, this E.P. will be refreshing for you. Listen and purchase here. 

My Top 5 Music Releases of 2013

Obviously, there is a lot of music I have yet to hear, but here is my small list…

5. Little Leaves by The ACBs
4. Picking Out Boxes by Lindsay Katt
3. Modern Vampires Of The City by Vampire Weekend
2. Desire Lines by Camera Obscura
1. Fade In/Fade Out by The Dead Girls

Review: "From Mercury to Cupid" by Jeremiah Akin

I first met Jeremiah Akin, about a year and a half ago, in Lawrence, Kansas, at a venue that is no longer in business. The singer-songwriter from Moscow, Idaho was there on a tour across the country in his Prius. My band, Electric Needle Room, opened up for his solo act. Hardly anyone was there, of course, but Jeremiah had a passionate, charismatic, and memorable set. He played heartfelt songs, just him and his guitar. It was an intimate performance that really connected with the small audience.

His recordings tend to be more epic, with a full band backing his intimate songs. His second full-length album, From Mercury to Cupid, is even more epic and energetic, with the electric guitars turned up loud. It's an eclectic album, at times rocking out, at times in the spirit of more traditional mellow singer-songwriter stuff, and at other times the album has a more jazz feel. It's the best roots rock album I've heard in awhile- it actually reminds me of Paul Westerberg's more recent recordings.

Standout tracks include "The Ballad of Helen Troy," "Shock Therapy," "Save Me (Get Away)," a cover of Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box," and "Romeo's Rut." My favorite song, "Shock Therapy," has fun percussion, weird barking noises, and lyrics about the prescribed therapeutic relief from…a relationship? "Save Me (Get Away)" is a roots-rock dance hit with a driving beat and an addictive riff. "Romeo's Rut" is family rivalry ballad that's dark and haunting with the greatest line from the whole album: "The peace between our families is the end of you and I." It features girl/boy vocals that compliment each other well, especially the background soprano vocal part.

Jeremiah's biggest strength is his ability to write clever and unique lyrics. His lyrics are a refreshingly candid and straightforward. What's best about them is that they are not unambiguous, leaving them almost vulnerable and more honest. This is coming from someone who rarely even pays attention to lyrics!

So if you're still reading this, it's time to head over to Mr. Akin's Bandcamp page for his latest album to stream and purchase it. You'll be glad you took the time. 

Story Time with Mr. Beat - The Whig Party