Golden Veins

Infinite Playlist - 25 Jim O’Rouke - “All Downhill...

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:09:17 -0600

Infinite Playlist - 25

Jim O’Rouke - “All Downhill From Here”

So it’s been three months. Yeah, winter is pretty great at cancelling all plans I ever have of being productive. But enough of my medicated problems.

To jump back in, I’m not going to waste much time talking. Just came across this album and it’s a pretty solid rockin’ album (for the most part). Or at least when it rocks, it does it properly. And lyrics seem a bit harsh. I think, as Ric Ocasek once surmised, it’s just what I needed.

Golden Veins Singles Club - Month 6 “Being...

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:31:49 -0600

Golden Veins Singles Club - Month 6

“Being Strangled”

Well, it’s hard to be believe, but we’ve already reached the halfway mark of this little journey we are calling “Golden Veins Singles Club.” If you thought the first half was great, just wait until you hear what’s coming up….

Anyway,let’s see what Greg has to say about the two tracks…

“BEING STRANGLED”
I don’t have much to say about “Being Strangled”; it’s mainly Scott’s baby. Micah, another stalwart of the Des Moines music scene sings backing vocals and plays guitar on this one. It’s a great song…it has a palpable overcast day feeling. I like singing someone else’s words and melodies, and I think Scott writes really good lyrics and melody. He comes at it in a different way than I do.
“US MERE MORTALS”
One night while screwing around with beats and keyboards, we came up with the foundation for “Us Mere Mortals”. I made the initial beat and put in the harp notes, Ryan added the keyboard trills and Scott basically wrote the other two sections of the song. I tried writing words and melody to the whole song, and we even thought about getting in someone to rap over a part, but ultimately we felt the song worked best with main vocals saved to the very end. Scott also added in the various spoken-word samples. Hopefully the cumulative effect of these elements makes up, at least in some part, for the lack of rapping.

Also included with this single is a brutal remix by Matt Bad, as well as fantastic artwork by Michelle Holley.

The single drops today, so get to it!

and, as always, you can check out/join the club here!

Golden Veins Singles Club - Month 5 “Radio...

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:25:49 -0600

Golden Veins Singles Club - Month 5

“Radio Prohibidas”

“Radio Prohibidas”, the fifth single, is a whispered warning over a jungle campfire, with tribal drums and ominous chanting serving to enhance the song’s foreboding air of menace. Backed with this, “Never Know”’s atmospheric verses mix with its strum und drang choruses to create a cathartic ode to realization and resignation, made all the more powerful through the accompanied vocal stylings of the amazing Skye Carrasco.

Also included with this single is a spooky remix by Blutiger Fluss, as well as amazing artwork by Brendan Wells.

The single drops today…so go get it!

If you haven’t joined the club…then do so here!

Golden Veins Singles Club - Month 4 “I’ll Take the...

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:25:05 -0600

Golden Veins Singles Club - Month 4

“I’ll Take the Bullet For You”

A sigh to a scream, “I’ll Take The Bullet For You”, the fourth single, is an anthemic, guitar-laden plea for love and understanding, no matter the cost. The b-side, “Zenith/Nadir,” is an atmospheric instrumental that will take you from the dark side of the moon through a black hole and back in three minutes and change.

Check out the b-side (among other tracks) here!

Don’t forget about our Christmas track….

And while we’re pimping stuff, you might as well follow us on twitter. We say all sorts of interest shit there!

Finally, if you haven’t joined the singles club….go here.

Golden Veins Singles Club (Christmas Edition) - Merry Christmas...

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:00:00 -0600

Golden Veins Singles Club (Christmas Edition) - Merry Christmas (Don’t Forget to Write)

Well, it’s just a few short weeks before nearly everything shuts down for a day (except for movie theaters and Chinese restaurants) and we spend time with family. So in celebration of such a holiday, we recorded our own little seasonal ditty. Give it a listen, then download it!

Golden Veins Singles Club Just a reminder of the Golden Veins...

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 23:16:00 -0600

Golden Veins Singles Club

Just a reminder of the Golden Veins singles club, which is currently going on right now. Single number four will be available for download Tuesday, December 14th, but you can hear the track now here.

Stay tuned for a special Golden Veins Christmas release…

Congrats gents…sounds like it was a great year of...

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:49:26 -0600

Congrats gents…sounds like it was a great year of touring.

thepoisoncontrolcenter:

Well our 2010 tour has wound down to an end and now the number crunching begins. To start, here is the complete list of songs we’ve performed over 129 shows, 2 radio appearances, and a handful of acoustic performances. 56 PCC original songs performed, and 11 covers.

RANK SONG    COUNT
1 Pacific Sunrise   122
2 Monument   115
3 When The World Sleeps  98
4 Don’t Go    86
5 Being Gone   84
6 Give It A Try   80
7 Magic Circle Symphony  79
8 By The Wave    67
9 Friends In The Band   63
10 Cognac Dreams    56
11 Porcelain Brain   54
12 Start The Revolution  53
13 Camille Claudel   52
14 Calling Card    44
15 A Collage Of Impressions 40
16 Some Ordinary Vision   32
17 After The Holiday   27
18 Cemetery Glow   25
19 Wake Up, Waco   22
20 Make Love A Star   21
21 Seagull    21
22 Glory Us    19
23 Thousand Colors   14
24 Thrill     13
25 Baron In The Trees  10
26 Walls Of City Hall   9
27 Two Mountains    8
28 When We Break Down  8
29 Shot In The Face   7
30 Yellow Image    7
31 Stay Golden    6
32 Alice     5
33 Ride The Thunder  5
34 untitled (Joe’s new song) 3
35 Master Alarm Clock  3
36 Terminal    3
37 Upper Darby    3
38 Don’t Cry    2
39 Eye     2
40 It’s A Surprise   2
41 Jose Cuervo    2
42 Dandelions    1
43 Destiny March    1
44 Driving    1
45 Grab Me An Old Milwaukee 1
46 Losing To Living   1
47 Make A List Of People…  1
48 Minds Align    1
49 Moon     1
50 My Hand Smells Like Breast 1
51 O.C.     1
52 Rise And Fall    1
53 Shabami    1
54 She’s Got Better Things To Do 1
55 Teenage Girl    1
56 Tiny Isles    1

COVER SONGS     COUNT
57 A Salty Salute (Guided By Voices)  8
58 Opera House (The Olivia Tremor Control)  3
59 As We Go Up, We Go Down (Guided By Voices) 1
60 Crocodile Rock (Elton John)   1
61 I Can’t Explain (The Who)   1
62 Jumping Fences (The Olivia Tremor Control) 1
63 Random Rules (Silver Jews)   1
64 Running Back (Thin Lizzy)   1
65 Two States (Pavement)    1
66 Undone - The Sweater Song (Weezer)  1
67 Walk On The Wild Side (Lou Reed)  1

GRAND TOTAL SONG PERFORMANCES   1407

Infinite Playlist -24 Weezer - Getting Up and Leaving (2010) I...

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:02:06 -0600

Infinite Playlist -24

Weezer - Getting Up and Leaving (2010)

I intended to post this to coincide with the release of the deluxe version of Pinkerton, however I think I was too busy trying to find the warp zone in World 4-2 in Super Mario Bros. (no..not the warp zone to 5, but the other one to 6,7, and 8). I was also going to complain about Pitchfork’s uneven review of the album. But what would be the point in that. I like to keep this tumblr account positive. So I’m simply going to say that I believe the unrleased demos are further proof that Rivers and co. were on fire during the mid-90’s. Also, Pat co-wrote this song and only makes me wish that he were more involved with the songwriting during this period. The dude has a real knack for writing what I can only describe as slightly off, yet still poppy music.

GV on the TV -2 I suppose technically this should be called...

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:53:06 -0600

GV on the TV -2

I suppose technically this should be called “GV on the Radio” since this is footage of Greg and I recording for Daniel Bosman’s radio show, The Backyard. The interview was recorded/aired back in late September. Thanks to Drake student Lindsay Dressen for recording and posting this.

My favorite quote is at the very end, “That was good…nice and long…”

Oh Daniel!

Sound and Vision - 2 Rushmore - (The Who - “A Quick One...

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:00:44 -0600

Sound and Vision - 2

Rushmore - (The Who - “A Quick One While He’s Away”)

Wes Anderson is quite adept at using music in his films. I would’t be surprised if at least one or two more of his sequences appear in future posts.

I love the slow-motion disembarkment from the elevator.

Sound and Vision - 1 Once Upon a Time in the West - (Ennio...

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 07:24:30 -0600

Sound and Vision - 1

Once Upon a Time in the West - (Ennio Morricone - “Man with a Harmonica”)

Time for a new feature! Movies are great and films are great. When they are put the two together, it makes both of them super great. This new feature celebrates when the two are beautifully married.

The first clip is probably what I would consider the best example of this. Ennio Morricone’s haunting score superbly accompanies Sergio Leone’s deliberately paced revelatory final duel between Bronson and Fonda.

Oh yeah, big spoiler alert with the scene, so if you haven’t the film, be warned.

Golden Veins Singles Club - Month 3 “Warholism (Is...

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:01:37 -0600

Golden Veins Singles Club - Month 3

“Warholism (Is Polaroiding)”

Well, we are just trucking right along with the GVSC. Hard to believe it’s month three already. Anyway…about this month’s A-Side/B-Side

Aptly titled, “Warholism (Is Polaroiding)”, the third single, is an art-punk ode to desire and the high art of low-class (and vice versa). For the b-side, keyboard, strings and voice make up the holy trinity of “Among The Saints”, an aching ballad duet featuring the beautiful and talented Skye Carrasco

As always…if you want to join the club…just go here.

GV on TV - 01 “Zenith/Nadir” With some hard work...

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:03:54 -0500

GV on TV - 01

“Zenith/Nadir”

With some hard work (and a bit of luck), we’re hoping to have at least several music videos made throughout the course of the Golden Veins Singles Club. So, let me present to you our very first one! This little number was edited together by Natalie Mirsky.

Zenith/Nadir is a b-side to the upcoming single “I’ll Take a Bullet for You,” due out in December. For more information on the Golden Veins Singles Club, simply go here.

Enjoy!

Under the Influence - 33 Refused - “Deadly...

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 07:41:28 -0500

Under the Influence - 33

Refused - “Deadly Rhythm”

David Sandström is unbelievably good. You hear him on the album and you figure a lot of the drumming couldn’t be real. Then you see him live..and he seems to be a robot. And not to sell the other guys short, because they are as tight as any band could hope to be.

Infinite Playlist - 23 Guns N’ Roses - “Get in the...

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:51:00 -0500

Infinite Playlist - 23

Guns N’ Roses - “Get in the Ring” (1991)

All of us here at Golden Veins are pretty solid Guns N’ Roses fans. And while I doubt that “Get in the Ring” would be any or our favorite GnR song, there is something about it that makes me play it in its entirety whenever it comes up on shuffle. It’s a good mix of GnR’s rock n’ roll swagger and Axl’s trademarked cockiness. We keep saying that GV is going to cover this and replace all the magazines names with Iowa based press. It has yet to happen…but one day we will.

Also, this seems appropriate as Bob Guccione died earlier this week. You know, the guy that got more pussy than his son, Bob Guccione, Jr., did.

Under the Influence - 32 Guided By Voices - Gold Star for Robot...

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 09:00:43 -0500

Under the Influence - 32

Guided By Voices - Gold Star for Robot Boy (Live from “Austin City Limits”)

This here performance came from their farewell tour in ‘04, at which time they stopped by “Austin City Limits” and recorded a pretty full set.This song in particular was originally on Bee Thousand and supposedly is about a student Robert had while he was teaching elementary school (if you can believe he was once a teacher).

Anyway, I love Robert’s half-assed jumping jacks and full-assed high kicks. I kind of imagine Patrick from Poison Control Center being like this in twenty-five years. But without the beer gut.

Infinite Playlist - 22 Guided By Voices - Liquid...

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 11:53:48 -0500

Infinite Playlist - 22

Guided By Voices - Liquid Indian

Apparently I’m unable to properly read a calendar. You see, the GBV show was not LAST Wednesday, but instead is THIS Wednesday.

Anyway, for some reason everyone seems to really hate this album. Boo hoo, they’re no longer lo-fi. Shit, even Bob himself has said in interviews that their lo-fi approach wasn’t because they really liked the sound, but was out of necessity. Personally, I think Ric Ocasek was a good fit for the album. Yeah, it’s a little slick, but it makes for some really good pop-rock songs. As a side note, I just read that Ocasek prohibited the band from drinking while recording, thus making it their only album recorded sober. That’s hilarious.

Extraordinary Rendition - 01 The Strokes - “A Salty...

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:32:22 -0500

Extraordinary Rendition - 01

The Strokes - “A Salty Salute” (Guided By Voices cover)

Welcome to a new feature called “Extraordinary Rendition.” It’ll feature awesome songs covered by awesome bands. Typically they’ll be bands we like covering other bands we like. And this is no exception. The Strokes do a bang up job covering this GBV classic.

Under the Influence - 30 Guided By Voices - “A Salty...

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 23:22:12 -0500

Under the Influence - 30

Guided By Voices - “A Salty Salute”

On Wednesday night, I’ll be traveling to Chicago to see this drunk asshole reunite with the classic GBV lineup and play, what I expect to be, a pretty great set. So, for the next few days I’m going to be posting GBV shit. So if you don’t like them…go to the kitchen and make yourself a sandwich until Thursday or Friday. Anyway, this particular video comes from something called Heedfest, which people gather in Dayton, Ohio, drink a lot of beer, play some GBV covers and hope that Robert Pollard shows up. In this case, with whiffle ball bat in one hand and Miller Lite in the other, he climbed on stage and performed this song. Old Robert is truly one-of-a-kind.

Under the Influence - 29 R.E.M. -...

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:59:00 -0500

Under the Influence - 29

R.E.M. - “Nightswimming”

Whenever I hear this song, I have to stop. Maybe for just a few seconds, but I still stop. This song easily could have been ruined. If the lyrics were poor, then the “circular piano” (as bassist Mike Mills describes it) would have been boring. And if too much happened instrumentally, then the lyrics would have been lost in the clutter. Yet, it all smoothly clicks into place.

NOTE: I chose this version because all I could find otherwise was Stipe wearing that silly face paint that he was so fond of a few years back. No thanks.