I gotta rock n roll

GET BENT!: Review: Cosmonauts - If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die

Detroit’s Beehive Recording Company and New Music from the City’s Growwing Pains

letsgetbent: wrote this about a lovely city and their snarly rock and roll tendencies. 

By Lisa Parisi

I am not going to touch upon that cliché trope of ruins and demise that are associated with our Detroit. We aren’t a dead city, we don’t wallow in the shit economy; we play and produce music, and we foster a community that far overshadows that titillating voyeuristic high some people get from looking at abandoned buildings and thinking that is all there is to a city’s culture. That isn’t on our radar, and it shouldn’t be on yours either.

There is something truly beautiful about what is coming out of Detroit musically and how it gets to your eardrums. It’s that perfect blend of that DIY, renegade gusto combined with the crafting of a sound that is solely Detroit’s. The generating enterprises within the city; the opportunities for free recording, distribution, and marketing are what renders the DIY attitude of the city heartwarmingly charming. The premier avenue of such equalitarian ethos is Beehive Recording Company, whose motto is to keep music free. The metaphorical wizard behind the curtain is Stephen Nawara (Rocket 455, Detroit Cobras, Electric Six)—metaphorical because he really isn’t behind any curtains, look for him playing doo-wop and Motown classics between sets, drinking a cold one in one of our charming dives, or hosting the Beehive Ball, which successfully brought rock and roll to the gala setting. The “behind the curtains”-ism is to evoke the concept that Nawara is letting the bands stand on their own, he bolsters them with his technical savvy by giving artists the tools and support they need. As Nawara explains, “the history of Detroit is filled with exhaust but also with the internal combustion of the artists and musicians. Whether you play an instrument or just like to listen, our musical heritage is in our blood.” And it is this history and camaraderie that we are proud of, that keeps the heart of this city ticking, that welcomes any visitor or new face with a cold beer, we have our own hospitable way of making sure your ears ring by the end of the night. Detroit takes that Midwest charm and rock and roll-ifys it.

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(Source: getbentfm)

GET BENT!: Review: Pangea - Killer Dreams EP

Review: “Burger Records Sampler”

Written by: ME

 There’s something nifty about Burger Records. Any label that releases a “sampler”— great play on the food motif—with one song from every album released (many long sold out) deserves many hearty pats on the back. Any label that appeals to their listeners via Facebook, inquiring what out-of-print albums to reprint, deserves a few high fives. And any label that releases seventy songs for their listeners to do what listeners do—listen AND for free—deserves a big sloppy, wet kiss on the cheek. Here’s to you, Burger.

The sampler starts out just how the label did, with a little poppy, pleasant tune from Thee Makeout Party. The progression runs through some big names and more obscure projects of big names. Ditties range from the sugary and poppy, to the electronically dancey, to gnarly punk. Watch out for Traditional Fools’ rendition of “Davy Crockett”, where the snarl seeks to reign, King Tuff’s delightful ode to his desirable burial garb in “Freak When I’m Dead”, and the Cosmonauts’ “Psychic Denim”—your blue jeans never sounded this good, did they? Cumstain, Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin, Bad Sports, Davila 666, Mean Jeans, Audacity, and Pangea aren’t wallflowers themselves; they pop out just as much. There are seventy songs with plans for more on the way. We can’t review them all, so let your ears do the judging.

originally appeared @: http://letsgetbent.tumblr.com/post/15684501978/check-out-the-burger-records-mega-sampler

the jams: http://burgerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/burger-records-sampler