Saw Bloc Party the other night and really enjoyed it. Another huge bonus was that the openers were The Kills. Their second album, No Wow, was released earlier this year but I more or less ignored it at the time. But I noticed they were opening and so on Monday decided to check out their stuff more thoroughly just in case I had been missing something.



Turns out I was missing out. VV (Alison Mosshart) and Hotel (Jamie Hince) crank out feedback-drenched guitar rock, normally accompanied only by their trusty drum machine. Their debut album Keep on the Mean Side came out two years ago, and both albums are about equally as good. I've heard their sound described as sparse, but I don't really buy it--rather, their songs represent more an economy of sound. Hotel's stabbing, repetitive guitar at the forefront, with VV's snarling vocals complemented by Hotel's hushed replies, all balanced out by the backing drumbeats. While they don't exactly sound like DFA79, the idea is similar, only with a thick, fuzzy guitar replacing the bass, a drum machine standing in for the human equivalent, all channeling a bluesy air rather than death metal. Either way it's loud.



Check out the video for "The Good Ones," which as a song is pretty good but not my favorite. However, it does give you a feel for their stage dynamic. Their live show reminds me of those SNL sketches with Chris Kattan and Cheri Oteri where they randomly start talking dirty to and spanking each other for no reason. There wasn't a spanking during the show, but plenty of sexual tension. Someone has posted the entire new album here. My fave song:

The Kills / "Love is a Deserter"

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So I've been catching up on all the show I've missed while I was on my trip and so this is something of a follow-up to my "What I'm DVRing" post a little while ago.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
I've really started to love this show. Charlie Day is absolutely hilarious and one of my favorite people on TV, but the other three main characters have also really grown on me. The show consistently pushes into topics which you really shouldn't be able to make sitcom episodes about, but that's the appeal. In one episode Charlie floats the possiblity that he has cancer so he can make a move on a waitress wearing a Livestrong bracelet. Of course, he doesn't tell her he has cancer, he tells his friends, who he hopes will tell her. Meanwhile, Mac becomes interested in a hot transexual.


Mac, Dennis, Sweet Dee and Charlie

Then in the last episode the guys buy a gun after they're robbed, which the fiscally-challenged Charlie promptly uses to intimidate his landlord into ignoring his rent delinquency. Upcoming episodes include Dee's grandpa wanting to be buried in his SS uniform and Charlie's childhood molestation

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Everything is Illuminated looks fairly intriguing. I also love the song used at the end:

Devotchka / "How It Ends"

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Not that anyone in the media cares, but apparently Chief Justice Rehnquist (and Wisco native!) was a massive drug addict for a long period while he was on the court. Of course, if you're old, white, and your dealer is a doctor, it's OK.