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Dusted Features
Every Friday, Dusted Magazine publishes a series of music-related lists determined by our favorite artists. This week: Voxtrot and Oakley Hall.
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Listed: Voxtrot + Oakley Hall
Voxtrot
Austin quintet Voxtrot are one of the more promising "rock" bands touring America today. The quotations look silly but play an important role. There's plenty of life crawling about in the subgenres of rock 'n' roll, but few can play it straight up and straightforward without an ounce of cynicism and still pass our strictest bullshit detectors. Voxtrot's Ramesh Srivastava has what it takes, though. Maybe it's the band's location, away from the fads of the coastal plains, maybe it's because the band's chief influences came and went before the Carter presidency. In any case, "Raised By Wolves" was one of the best rock songs of 2005, and there's more coming soon. The Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives EP will hit stores in April, but will be available earlier at most of these shows. Srivastava was kind enough to participate in this week's Listed.
JANUARY
Fri 20 - Houston, TX - Rudyard's
FEBRUARY
Tue 14 - Austin, TX - Emo's
Fri 17 - Dallas, TX - The Cavern
Sat 18 - Norman, OK – Opolis
Mon 20 - Columbus, OH - Andyman's Treehouse
Tue 21 - Newport, KY - Southgate House Parlour
Fri 24 - Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen
Sat 25 - Madison, WI - Journey Music
Mon 27 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
Tue 28 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium
MARCH
Fri 3 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive
Sat 4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
Wed 8 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile 21+ #% Thu 9 - Portland, OR – Holoscene
Fri 10 - San Francisco – Hemlock
Sun 12 - Los Angeles, CA – Echo
Mon 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Cooperage, UCLA
Wed 15 - Austin, TX - SXSW - Emo's
APRIL
Fri 7 - Harrisonburg, VA – MACRock
Sat 8 - Washington, DC - DC9
Mon 10 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
Thu 13 - Toronto, ONT - Sneaky Dees
1. The Beatles - Revolver
Let's go ahead and get this out of the way. Obviously it's quite difficult for anybody to pick one Beatles record, but this one has always been special to me because in some bizarre way I have always thought that London in 1966 was perhaps the most magical place ever. This record is the closest I can get to rubbing shoulders with the Indica Gallery set.
2. Yves Montand - Master Serie
Yes, he is perhaps one of the more schmaltzy icons in France's musical history, but this collection always manages to fill me with the lightest form of joy. It is perhaps so enjoyable because it lacks all serious content, its value is almost entirely aesthetic.
3. Superpitcher - More Tomorrow
I cheated. This is an EP rather than an LP, but it is perhaps one of the most moving pieces of dance music I have ever heard. Very dark and haunting with an irresistible beat. I lost this record for the period of about five months (a cause of much grief) but I can assure the reader that we have been happily reunited.
4. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With the Arab Strap
Although I hold all of the early Belle and Sebastian records very near and dear to my heart, this is perhaps my favorite, although it's a toss-up between this and If You're Feeling Sinister... For me these albums are relatively perfect.
5. Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand
When I was in high school this was the first really "underground" record passed around between my friends. To this day it is still my favorite GBV record. What a way to combine straight up humor with spot-on musical sensibility!
6. Cat Power - You are Free
When this record was released it was pretty much the only thing I listened to for about three months straight. Beautiful flat production to compliment beautiful, simple songs.
7. Smog - Red Apple Falls
I've noticed that this record appears on several of these "lists." I guess that means it must be good.
8. Green Velvet - The Nineties
I'm not usually a big fan of greatest hits collections, but in this case I will waiver my prejudice. My only complaint is the unfortunate omission of "La La Land." Green Velvet records have such amazingly relentless beats, and the total lack of melody has always made them very enoyable for home and dance floor listening.
9. Joni Mitchell - Blue
Lyrically and musically, this record has resonated wth me (and about five billion others) from my teens and into present day. As far as mainstream folk records of the early seventies go, this is one of the finest.
10. Comet Gain - Realistes
I think Comet Gain are one of the most marvelous bands around today, and this was the first record of theirs that I was lucky enough to hear. Never over-produced, never lacking in melody. The third track is sublime.
Oakley Hall
Mildly off-shot from Dusted favorites Oneida via Poppa Crazee, this proud Brooklyn made its debut with a self-titled record released by Bulb Record in 2004. The band stray pretty far from their oft-cited Oneida connection, enough so that it is not quite misleading, but not far from it. The peacefully traditional twang and beautifully sung vocals are not only a far cry (pun intended?) from the heavy drone of Oneida, but even farther from the normal Bulb fare. Their new record, which is every bit as lovely as their last, is called Second Guessing and is available on the more congruent, and no less awesome Amish Records.
1. Dead Moon
The best band in the music biz. Hands down. They totally upturn any notion that aging is not rock. They are the youngest people on earth. I've seen them many many times and have never seen them play a bad show. What the fuck is up with that? Are they gods?
2. Dylan and the Band - The Basement Tapes(Both the released and complete bootleg versions)
Amazing tunes by some dudes possessed with effortless genius. We have a tape that has some bootlegs on side A and the Carter Family on side B and they make a lot of sense together.
3. The Balfa Brothers
Cajun music (not zydeco, mind you, CAJUN music. Big difference) is the most psych of american roots. Totally fucked up. Two fiddles and an accordion play three interlocking melody lines. A strummed acoustic guitar and a triangle hold it all together. You can get lost trying to follow this shit.
4. Roscoe Holcomb
Old time is a stupid, meaningless term. This is shredding. He's the ultimate musical solipsism and could do anything better and weirder than anyone else. A total monster.
5 Brooklyn
We're tired of people busting on Brooklyn. There's more good music here now than when there was hype: Company, Fireball, Death Vessel, the Woods, Awesome Color, Mother, Hot Fire, Roxy Pain. If you haven't seen these bands, you're in the wrong joints. Not to mention vets like Blood on the Wall, Oneida, YYY, Vaz, Black Dice, Animal Collective and the Rogers Sisters. Too much goodness to even name. This place rules. If you leave, you ain't coming back.
6. Jeff Jensen
The funniest dude alive and probably the biggest influence on our band due to the fact that he owns our van's tape player on tour. He elevates prank calls to high art - and pulls off some of the best deep cover infiltration since Donnie Brasco. After a few listens, you'll stop listening to him and only how his victims respond to him. Better than Ali G. Click: www.failedpilot.com.
7. Italian Rest Stops
When you go to any italian rest stop off any italian highway and eat the most delicious panini you've ever had, follow it up with a fresh ricotta filled pastry, and wash it down with the most amazing espresso ever, you'll be in love with Italy and proper living forever. When you go back to the car and think about how in a week you'll be back in the States at a rest area deciding between Sbarro's and Roy Rogers, you'll be really fucking depressed.
8. Sandy Denny
Yes, all of Fairport rules and they even made good music after her departure (and Richard Thompson's too for that matter) but we're at a point now where the sound of Sandy's voice gets us through the day. It's scary cause if we don't hear her, shit gets fucked up fast. She's mom.
9. Fred Neil - Sessions
The last thing he made before heading to Florida to communicate with Dolphins and it sounds like he was already trying. Deeply moving music.
10. the Sir Douglas Quintet - Mendocino
We love all Doug Sahm, but this one hits us in the gut. He's not afraid to sing about being your mama. He's not afraid to sing songs about being happy. He even sings about missing his home. When his effected fiddle cuts through the hash smoke of "Texas Me", you'll want to go back there with him. Bonus: Augie Meyer's organ playing is the best.
By Dusted Magazine
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