The Chiefs Suck and Brian Jonestown Massacre...

Well, the playoff run for the Chiefs was pretty short lived. I don’t think many thought they were going to pull it off anyway, but I doubt anyone expected the level of miserable football that many of us witnessed on Saturday. It seems impossible to go a whole first half without one first down; however I now know, thanks to the Chiefs, that it is indeed QUITE possible. That game was simply embarrassing. The Chiefs have no offense other than Larry Johnson and apparently if teams (even the defensively challenged Colts) stack the line we can’t do a damn thing. Trent Green looked like he should be sitting in a retirement home somewhere. While I wasn’t necessarily screaming for Damon Huard to come in and replace Green, I most definitely was thinking about it. That game was just bad, bad, bad, and bad. That’s all I can say about that. Anyway, how about that Tony Romo?

When most people think of shoegaze they think about bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, and etc. Not that they shouldn’t, because those were obviously some of the best and most influential bands to come out of the movement, however there are often a few records I believe people tend to forget whether they were just overlooked or just released a bit late in the genres prime. One of those records that come to mind is Methodrone by Brian Jonestown Massacre. While maybe not a full blown shoegaze reverb/fuzz fest, Methodrone still reeks of enough distortion and feedback that I feel safe lumping it into that category. It makes sense that this record isn’t immediately thought of when naming off great shoegaze records, as Brian Jonestown Massacre isn’t really commonly thought of as a shoegaze band, and rightfully so. They recorded Methodrone and then for the most part abandoned that sound in favor of Anton Newcombe’s love for 60’s rock/psych, which is also quite distinguishable on Methodrone as well. That and the album came out in 1995 when the genre had all but disappeared.

The music on Methodrone works off of a druggy hazy vibe that is much like Jesus and Mary Chain but maybe a bit less noisy. Like I mentioned before, there is a pretty large 60’s nostalgia influence going on underneath all the guitar layers and distortion that it gives it a bit of a unique flavor. For anyone that might have missed out on this album, I suggest checking it out. The song “Evergreen” is one of the better songs that I’ve heard produced from any band that was making that sort of music before and during that time.

Brian Jonestown Massacre – Evergreen [MP3]
Brian Jonestown Massacre – That Girl Suicide [MP3]

Methodrone is still available and can be had over at Amazon. Do please give it a listen for those that get a chance.