NOS Eighties Music Video from Story of the Running Wolf “Electric”

Nobody, and I mean nobody, is doing “new old stock” 80’s music like Story of the Running Wolf.

In their latest rehash/remake/re-love video from my favorite music era, SOTRW revisits Weird Science, with two adolescent kids creating a beautiful woman from synth parts and mannequin limbs.  I especially appreciate the effort they put into showcasing old tech (monochrome monitors, 5.25” floppies (they actually BEND!), et al).  It’s glorious.

The video was produced and directed by Bruce Driscoll and Marie Seyrat for Pyromantra Productions.  If those names sound familiar to you it may be because they are the band Freedom Fry (you should go getchaself summa that too)! http://www.freedomfrymusic.com/

If you EVER get a chance to see these guys live… DO. IT.  They are amazing --which is especially impressive for 80’s (mostly electronic) music.  Here’s a review I posted after I last caught them at the Sayers Club in LA: http://danbeahm.blogspot.com/2013/06/stratospheric-new-video-from-story-of.html

And if you didn’t see their last video for “Stratospheric” (a wonderful mashup of Labyrinth and Never Ending Story themes), check it out at: https://youtu.be/ZhrbEOPv5-k

Various credits and links for the “Electric” video:

Directed by Bruce Driscoll and Marie Seyrat for Pyromantra Productions.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ele...
Bandcamp: http://storyoftherunningwolf.bandcamp...
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/storyoftherunn...
Download the single "Electric" free on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/storyoftherunn...
Twitter/Instagram: @sotrw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Storyoftheru...

Dawes “Stories Don’t End”

Listening to these guys again today.

I liked 'em when I first heard them, but I didn't realize how much until today.  I am REALLY digging them.

The music. The progressions. The harmonies. The lyrics (“…but I wanna raise with you and watch our younglings hatch – fuckin’ make the first letters of their first names match” –from “Hey Lover” made me giggle today).

It's pretty 70's (rock not disco), but I love that about it.  There is no denying the Mark Knopfler in the tasty and subtle lead guitar snippets that pepper everything, and for me, that is a very good thing. And I'm pretty happy when I hear all that Jackson Browne in the vocals.

http://dawestheband.com/

“Stratospheric” (the new video from Story of the Running Wolf)

The best thing on the internet just went live today. Hardy Howl Films presents this nostalgic gem for the LA duo Story of the Running Wolf. I’ve embedded the video below, but do yourself a favor and watch it in 720p full-size to enjoy all the glory of the especially well done film-to-video-transfer and 80’s-television-look goodness.

Story of the Running Wolf is Josh D’Elia and Jeffrey Chernick.  While other acts may be attempting a return to all things 80’s, D’Elia and Chernick do it with a precision and flair that leave all others in the dust.  Not only that, but they are not simply imitating the past with covers (like most 80’s-return bands trying to access via corny, clumsy comedy), but are instead writing their own original material that could easily and seamlessly mesh with any video line-up circa 1983 MTV.  Think Naked Eyes, Asia, A-Ha, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, New Order and you are on the path to Story of the Running Wolf.  These guys remind you what the 80’s was all about.  When you see and hear them one might first be tempted to cringe at just HOW MUCH 80’S they have conjured, but NO ONE who was alive in that decade can resist the mysterious day-glo neon and checkerboard-bad-3D-cool that some how sucks you in (because it IS cool whether you like it or not).

The video for “Stratospheric” is a mash-up of originally imagery in the style of The Never Ending Story (they made a freaking LUCK DRAGON!) and Labyrinth.  Let me just say that D’Elia as Bowie is spot on, but literally each and every visual element and piece of the story does it’s part to transport the viewer right back to a time when Aquanet was as ubiquitous as OP.

Even the motion logo at the beginning of the video got my pulse pumping with nostalgia.  The way D’Elia (who did much of the post work on the video) and Hardy Howl captured the “Sit, Ubu, Sit” and “Stephen J. Cannell Productions” feeling (remember the guy pulling the piece of paper from the type writer and flinging it into the air so it turns into the “c” of the logo?), right down to the warbly audio and cheesy-quasi-industrial video music queue, is just perfection.

Perhaps the best thing about this video, however, was how it transformed a room packed full of LA-hipster-douchebags at the Sayers Club in Hollywood last Saturday night into a screaming mob of 8-year-old little girls.  It was magical to see the mass of scarf-wearing (IT’S 90 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!!), pretentious a-holes drop their guards and literally scream with joy when the music started pulsing, the video rolled, and FREAKING FALCOR came flying across the screen.  Not even the scenester elite could deny the awesome.  The performance from Story of The Running Wolf that followed the video’s premier was nothing short of magical (and was mystically enhanced by the AMAZING and legendary sound system at the Sayers Club).

And kudos to the folks at Hardy Howl for bringing CUPCAKES to the event! The staff didn’t know what to do with themselves (the manager commented that no one had brought food to the club… ever) except abandon their reserved cool and climb aboard the life-sized Falcor that Hardy Howl brought to the club for PHOTO OPPS!!! Seriously… slutty club girls sans underpants with faces filled with a joy and innocence that would have brought tears to their daddies’ eyes.

If you EVER get a chance to see Story of the Running Wolf live, do NOT miss the opportunity. And if you can see them at the Sayers Club (this was their second performance at that venue), do anything and everything you can to hear them amplified by electronics that I can only assume involved some sort of pact with the devil.

A new album (including “Stratospheric”) is slated to drop in the near future, so for now you’ll have to sate your SOTRW hunger by downloading the single from iTunes and watching the video over and over and over again.

Alternatively, you can catch the tasty flava of Story of the Running Wolf in the remixes they’ve been doing at the behest of various bands on the LA Scene including an upcoming remix for Fitz and The Tantrums.

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I Like What’s Going On Here

The next two months are going to be VERY good for music.  It seems like it’s been a while since THIS many promising new albums from established artists were all released at once.

The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s have a new album I’m looking forward to as well, but the artwork is so unbelievably god-awful that I refuse to post a pic here. And I really hope the 7” from Sir Sly is the bellwether for a full length album.

[UPDATE:] And if we’re lucky:

LCD Soundsystem Says Goodbye

It is so hard to type through the tears.

Tonight LCD Soundsystem bids farewell with their last live broadcast performance. Their last “official show” will be April 2nd at Madison Square Garden.  The show sold out “instantly.” Hopefully we’ll still get to catch ultra-underground performances at nameless bars and secret knock clubs across the planet for years to come, but only time will tell. 

James Murphy was interviewed by Stephen Colbert, before performing “I Can Change” and then waving toodle-oo.  The mellow tune was well done and apropos.

As an aging musician, it was hard to hear the “I’m getting to old to rock” sentiment that Murphy (age 41) put forth as the impetus for the move, but to each his own (and I can certainly understand where he’s coming from).

I still plan to keep writing and rocking well into my 90’s; maybe I’m losing my edge.

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Grand National: Kicking the National Habit

Shame on me.  Shame on me for not buying this album when it came out... FIVE YEARS AGO.  What the hell?  I LOVE this album.

I remember really liking "Drink To Moving On" when I first heard the song, but then it slipped under my radar and through the cracks and I forgot all about it.

Yesterday I remembered and subsequently downloaded the album.

The first three tracks are SOLID.  Track four isn't my favorite, but that's because I'm pretty much opposed to all things Ska (it has that sped-up-reggae, upstroke beat that just gets on my nerves) and I don't like the word "Boner."  It's still a pretty good track though, and I'm sure those without fear of Ska will love it.  However, the next track, "Peanut Dreams," though a bit repetitive, has a FANTASTIC bass/guitar hook.  I love it.

The chorus of "Daylight Goes" makes me miss The Police... a lot.  In fact, there is quite a bit of Police influence towards the end of this album, and in my book that's a good thing.

There are a couple other album standouts, but I'm going to give this one across the board approval.  I love the album.  The only negative is that I didn't get it sooner.

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The Temper Trap "Conditions"

Every so often, I hear a song and like it enough to check out the album. Even less often, I check out the album and like it enough to make the purchase.

I just downloaded Conditions by The Temper Trap after hearing "Sweet Disposition" on the Glass Note label web page while looking for contact information for getting a sync/master license for a Phoenix song for our movie.

Being label mates with Phoenix is definitely a good first sign. They've got a similar "driving pop" vibe that I really dig. They've also got a little Snow Patrol (listen to "Fader") and Arcade Fire (listen to "Down River") action going on. They've definitely got a good deal of 80's influence ("Sweet Disposition" could have easily been on a When In Rome album --there's even a little Big Country, early U2 and Dream Academy spilling from various rifts in the album's space/time continuum).

The latter half of the album ("Soldier On," "Fools," etc.) leaves me with a kind of Coldplay meets the Bee Gees feeling that prevents me from giving the album a full "run out and buy it NOW" recommendation, which is not to say that I don't like what I'm hearing. I just don't feel as strongly about recommending it (though I do love hearing what it would sound like if Jose Gonzalez got together with The Killers to make a pop album, especially on "Resurrection").

After several listens, I still feel comfortable with a strong: if you haven't heard these guys, I definitely recommend you check them out.

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My Favorite New Band: Phoenix

what I'm listening to: United by Phoenix

I have drunk the Kool-Aid, and I have fallen in love. Sign me up for the field trip to South America, as long as Phoenix is flying the plane.

With just the right amount of reverence to Bowie and Byrne, Phoenix crafts pop-deliciousness with a fervor for life. I'm not quite sure how they've been flying under my radar up until now (especial considering my penchant for Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, Sondre Lerche and the aforementioned David Bowie and David Byrne). Perhaps it's because these guys are Frogs, and live far, far away.

I feel a little (just a little!) like I'm getting old, like my finger slipped for a moment from the pulse, like LCD SS, losing my edge. I hate it when I discover a band on SNL. It means I haven't been paying attention. But last night these guys definitely whipped me out of a trance when they injected 30 Rockefeller Plaza with their bouncy, dulcet tones.

The drummer simply exudes joy as he bangs out happiness with precision and abandon. The lead singer is cool, without poking you in the eye with it (I'm so sick of hipster-indifference posing as cool, so thank the MCP for somebody who just is cool). Wifey says the guitar player looks a little like Johnny Depp (I guess in dirty, Edward Scissors Hands kind of way), and even I can see that the keyboard player is wicked hot. So hey, not only are they sonically pleasing, but visually as well!

I'm listening to United while I type this. "If I Ever Feel Better" just started playing. Oh, oh, oh, me likey!

Phoenix. New album drops May 25. Check 'em out.

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New Song: "A Long Way Home"

I recently took a trip waaaaaay up north into Canada with my little brothers. It's been a long, long time since we all went on holiday together.

While I was up there I thought a lot about all the trips we took as kids, loading into the old Cadillac and driving all over the mid west.

When I got back from Canada, I wrote this song, and this video is it's debut:

A Long Way Home
©Renaissance Boy Recordings and Daniel Beahm (ASCAP)

We sailed the gold seas over backroads Indiana
Aboard a shining vessel bound for near South Bend
The roads rolled out like black top carpets carving corridors
Meridians and dirt canals connecting us to friends

One day we’ll see just where the roads all lead us
Too many maps misfolded past their use
Three brothers learn topography by memory
For grand adventures that they’ll speak of after youth is long gone

It’s a long way home
A long, long way home

And what of fireflies in June we would discover
The stars had fallen and they danced upon the lawn
Yes what of the fireflies, the herald of my brother’s birth
They’ve flown to heaven but their mem’ry lingers on

And it’s a long way home
A long, long way home

Just off the starboard you can see the merchant ships awaking
The trolling farmland schooners harvesting the gold
They mark the coming of the winter of the weather
They mark the turning of the leaves and of our souls

So come the winter we would plot a course for grand Ohio
We’d turn the rudder east toward the land of giving thanks
Her shores shown like a light house calling me to come home
A lasting stronghold and the bastion of my youth

Such ecstacy and revelry
I’d know, I’d know
The sweetly singing voices called to me “come away”
Such a fool to follow them
I know, I know
But I was so naïve and thus I strayed

I was the first to sign my name upon the dotted line
I was the first to break my mother’s heart and go
I was the first to walk upon the shores of foreign lands
I was the first to bleed for something I had never known

At night I’d gaze into the sky and search for True North
The Dog Star guiding me upon wayward way
I’d think of Andrew and of Matthew and of Indiana
I’d wonder if the stars were shining for them just the same

It’s a long way home
A long, long way home

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals (Gregg Gillis is a hard workin' thief; nothing wrong with that)

what's playing: Feed the Animals by Girl Talk

Me likey the mashup. Whereas medleys used to lift my skirt, technology and the MTV short attention span has paved the way to simply inserting snippets here and there.

Anybody who's seen me live knows I tend to pepper my originals heavily with bits of music and lyrics from other artists (Prince, The Cure, John Denver, Paul Simon, Twisted Sister, Tom Jones, Burt Bacharach, Quiet Riot, etc...).

I even gave the "real deal" a shot last year when Trent Reznor made files from "Only" available for a radio remix contest. I remixed, but also added snippets of "Head Like a Hole," "Closer," "Down In It," and "Hurt." I personally think it's better than the original, but then again I'm kind of a pompous bastard. Have a listen if you'd like. [Only (Used to Be Somebody remix) by Cats or Cars]

However, Gregg Gillis has taken it all the way, by creating an entire album of mash-up, putting things together that you'd never dream of. It's sooo much fun. A couple years ago I was loving Danger Mouse's Grey Album, but Feed the Animals goes the extra mile and sources from literally hundreds of songs spanning the decades in a genre meshing meet-and-greet that would make Dr. King proud.

Rod Stewart just morphed into Flashdance's "Maniac" super-high-speed rim shot and then subtly transformed into Procul Harem's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" ...all while serving as a base for Jay-Z, 50 cent, Ludacris and various other hip-hop/rap artists I should know but don't (white boy living in Colorado needs to expand his horizons).

Listening to this album is one "oh, man! are you freaking kidding me?!" after another (as I type this, Ace of Bass just paved the way for "Footloose").

Every song goes straight to the next, so clear your schedule and get ready to listen to the whole thing straight through (again and again). You'll thank me later.

Click the (rather lame) album cover image in this post to be taken to the Illegal Art (Girl Talk's label) download page where you can name your price. Put in whatever purchase amount you want and you're taken to a page with two links... one is the link to the album's Zip file (320 Kbps mp3's) , the other is a link to send moola via PayPal to Illegal Art.

Do it.

I guess I am a LITTLE bit country

I thought I had posted this already, but I guess it slipped my mind.

Here's a song called "Trainwreck" that I wrote a couple of weeks ago. The video's just me playing guitar in the front yard, but check out that view. Man, I love my life.

Those of you on the mailing list will be receiving an MP3 download to the recorded version as soon as we get the Renaissance Boy blog integrated with the new mailing list system. And hopefully the album with this one on it will be done soon... along with the other two albums.

CRACK THE WHIP!!!!

Rock.

New Music: Tapes N' Tapes, M83

what's playing: Tapes N' Tapes, Walk it Off

When I'm mixing down and finishing up an album, I tend to listen to nothing else, listening for "mistakes," levels, ways to improve, etc... trying to glean and shape every nuance. It goes with me wherever I go. I listen to it while falling asleep. I listen to it when I wake up. I listen to it in the shower.

That said, I hadn't heard a whole lot of new music since releasing Amplifier. While I was finishing the album, it was all I was listening to, and after it was finished, I returned to a lot of the music I had been missing while completing the album (Wilco, especially Summer Teeth and YHF, U2, Sergio Mendes, Les Baxter, The Police, Arcade Fire, Weezer, Steely Dan, Death Cab, etc...).

I've also gotten a little lazy with playing DJ, so I've been using Pandora a lot. Though in my defense, I did spend quite a bit of time "seeding" the various stations. (click here for my stations)

One of my stations focuses on newer music like Arcade Fire, Hot, Hot Heat, Grand National, Built to Spill, OK Go, etc... From there I was turned on to some new music.

LCD Soundsystem (I know: where the hell have I been, right?). I actually bought the CD (the first one, the self-titled double). I freaking LOVE it. Not to mention, now Daft Punk is also playing at my house again (it's weird how you can forget about bands until you're reminded what you're missing). I was also turned on to Mute Math by Pandora. I had heard people talking, but I thought these guys were gonna be a sort of Interpol-esque bunch of emo-catering math rockers. They are much more mature than I expected. I love these guys too.

Anyway, the reason I started this post was that I came across a couple reviews in the latest Wired and decided I'd check out some super-new music. Both Tapes n' Tapes and M83 got some pretty decent blurbs, so I hopped online to check them out.

M83 will be releasing Saturdays=Youth on April 14th. They've got "Couleurs" (along with four older tunes) available on their (annoyingly WIDE) MySpace page as a preview. Let's just say, with Wired's 9 out of 10 "dots" and references to Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins, I was expecting a lot more. Perhaps the rest of the album is more awe-inspiring than the single song on the MySpace page.

On to Tapes n' Tapes. On Tuesday, MTVU's Turn It Up! made the new album Walk it Off (April 8 release) available for streaming. I've been listening to the whole album. I think it's just not really my style. There's a lot of elements I like. There's some Modest Mouse and some Built to Spill in there, even some Talking Heads and Led Zepplin influences that I'm really enjoying. I love the bass and drum interaction (definitely check out the final cut, "The Dirty Dirty"). But in the end, it reminds me a lot of the things I really don't like about Interpol (I know that's my second Interpol reference... I can't get them off my mind, I dislike their music so).

So for now, I'm sticking with Mute Math, LCD Soundsystem and Daft Punk, unless you've got something you think I'd like?

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