Meta Happy Returns, An Awesome Week for Angry Months, Confusing Corrections, Fond Farewells

Dengue Fever is in town - on stage and screen - this week.  Union Docs is showing the documentary Sleepwalking Through the Mekong - about the LA-based band's first trip to Cambodia to play its tribute to US-influenced retro-Cambodian rock - in Williamsburg, Monday night (reservations suggested); the band itself will be playing shows at Mercury Lounge on Tuesday (tix), Southpaw on Wednesday (tix).

DF's CD Venus on Earth has been one of happier happenings 2008 has had to offer.  I mentioned it a little while back; its grooves have gotten groovier, its flaws easier to overlook.  Spencer called it "music Quentin Tarantino beats off to" - that's a compliment in ‘fiddlespeak - and it does dabble in the hypercool.  But it's also sleevily passionate.  And fun!

Rather than re-host an mp3 - you can hear plenty of Dengue Fever at their myspace and on Hype Machine (and at the Merc and Southpaw, this week) - I thought I'd put together a mix of late-‘60s/early-‘70s Cambodian covers of western pop songs.  There are better Cambodian originals than these tracks, but these are good - even the bad ones are good - and a lot of the appeal of Cambodian rock is its skewed familiarity.  American pop, psych and surf styles are given standard garage band support, but lacquered with thick-reverbed Khmer vocals and the errant oddment.  I'm not sure Procol Harum ever considered adding trombones to "Whiter Shade of Pale."  Or calling it anything that would translate to "Apart from Beloved Lover."

Towards that end:  Something that sounds a lot like "Black Magic Woman" is now "I Love Petite Women."  The charm of cultural exchange.

Recording and performance qualities vary.  The bulk of the these come from Sinn Sisamouth, the "King of Khmer Music" (tribute myspace).  His version of Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco" (here "Missing Tender Care") is gorgeous; his "House of the Rising Sun" ("I'm Still Waiting for You") benefits from a lot of guitar fuzz and snarl.  On the other hand, linguistic side-effects make portions of "Hey Jude" ("Always Hope") sound backmasked, and "Sugar Sugar" ("Who Doesn't Love?") just don't crackle.  Ros Sereysothea - another major Cambo-pop star whose work Dengue Fever has covered - fares much better in a faster tempo; "Proud Mary" ("Cry Loving Me") might be a tad stiff, but "Wolly Polly" does Sahm the Shahmm proud.

My favorite is Lelu Thaert's "Dance Soul! Soul!" in which he goes splat over Booker T's "Green Onions."  Awesome, insane.

1. Yol Aularong - Yuvajon Kouge Jet (Brokenhearted Bachelor)(mp3)
2. Sinn Sisamouth - Srolanh Srey Touch (I Love Petite Women) (mp3)
3. Ros Sereysothea - Cry Loving Me (mp3)
4. Sinn Sisamouth - I'm Still Waiting for You (mp3)
5. Lelu Thaert - Rom Sue! Sue! (Dance Soul! Soul!)(mp3)
6. Sinn Sisamouth - Always Hope (mp3)
7. Sinn Sisamouth - Missing Tender Care (mp3)
8. Sinn Sisamouth - Apart from Beloved Lover (mp3)
9. Sinn Sisamouth - Quando My Love (mp3)
10. Lelu Thaert - Do You Remember (mp3)
11. Sinn Sisamouth - Who Doesn't Love (mp3)
12. Ros Sereysothea - Wolly Polly (mp3)

Zipped file. 

All these tracks were pulled from compilations called "Cambodian Rocks."  Khmer Rocks issued a numbered series of four, and they're available direct or from third-party dealers at Amazon.  An out-of-print, unrelated, Parallel World collection with the same title is available for download at WFMU.

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Local H!  We have an album cover (I think) and tour dates (definitely) - including Saturday May 17th at the Khyber in Philly (tix) and Sunday May 18th (tix) at Luna Lounge in Brooklyn.

Chicago people have it extramuchgood.  From the band's site:

"Starting May 7th, Local H will begin a 7-night stand at Chicago's Beat Kitchen, culminating on May 13th with the release and performance of their latest studio album, 12 Angry Months (Shout!Factory). Local H will perform a different studio album, in it's entirety, on each night with one night dedicated to B-sides and rarities. Each night
will have surprise guests and a different opening act.

"Fans may purchase a week-long pass via Musictoday, beginning March 3rd. Week-long pass holders will also receive a commemorative ticket, discounted price, and a one of a kind T-shirt. These passes will be available through a pre-sale only. Individual show tickets will be onsale via Ticketweb.com, starting Saturday, March 8th."

That whole week costs less than a single All Points West ticket.  The band appreciates its fans.

• CHICAGO RESIDENCY:
  May 7 -- Ham Fisted
  May 8 -- As Good As Dead
  May 9 -- Pack Up The Cats
  May 10 -- Here Comes The Zoo
  May 11 -- Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles?
  May 12 -- B-sides and Rarities
  May 13 -- 12 Angry Months

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Just to clarify:  Emmy the Great will be playing the Bowery Ballroom on March 11th as part of the annual Rock Over London bill (advance tix are $10, not $14, and are here).  However, Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, who were originally listed as topping that bill, have been moved to the Mercury Lounge.  The bill that was to be at the Mercury Lounge that night, Pigeon Detectives and Joe Lean & the Stupid Fucking Name, will now be at the Bowery with Emmy... except minus Lean's band, which has had to cancel its US dates.

Then, after a handful of gigs at SXSW, she'll be at the Roxy in LA on March 17th with... Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip and Riz MC (tix).

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New Nine Inch Nails instrumental album available NOW.  If you can get through to their server.  Which I CANNOT.  (Hat Tip)

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Daniel Radosh's Rapture Ready! site is alive and floaty, though the book itself isn't, yet.

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Bad Gets Worse, Dept.:  In a single weekend, the Rams lost Isaac Bruce and Jeff Wilkins.

Bruuuuuce's best years might be behind him, but he's still very able.  And it would have been nice to see him retire with the team.  He was the only good thing about the Rams for a long, painful time; that they're mired in a new long, painful time might have helped push him towards San Francisco.  (Though I'm sure the disrespectful cap $huffling and a reunion with new SF offensive coordinator Mike Martz factored in.)  Heartbreaking.

Kicker Wilkins was often the only good thing about St. Louis' special teams, even in the best years.  He went 100% one season, he led the whole league in scoring in another.  It was always a shock when he missed one.  But my strongest memories of Wilkins have to do with weird failures:  After going 17-17 in 2000, he decided to change his entire style the following year, going shoeless... and coming up far short of perfect.

But the brightest memory of the Greatest Show years happened when - obvs not a knock on him - Wilkins got injured.  Martz had so taken him for granted that the team didn't have a back-up kicker on the roster.  For the remainder of that game, the team went for - and pretty much converted - every fourth down when in the opponent's territory; every PAT was a 2-point attempt.

tags: 12 angry months  dengue fever  emmy the great  local h  marc bulger sucks  

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