The Communez (silent Z) radio show's poster!

The Commune(z) second show

here is our set list for the night

song ------- artist
The Rest Will Fallow ------ ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
Man-oh-man ------- Black Dice
The Two Magicians ------ A. L. Lloyd
Mom Dance ------- Rings
Any One For Tennis ------- Cream
Fauta ----- El Guincho
Beach Party ------ Air France
Ultravisitor ------- Square Pusher
The Weight ----- The Band
Microphones ---- Mt. Eerie
Little Boxes ----- Devendra Banhart
Taue Mahuta ----- The Ruby Sons
Albi, the Racist Dragon ------ Flight of the Chonchords
White Winter Hymnal ------ Fleet Foxes
All I Want Is You ------ Barry Louis Polisur
Mending of the Gown ------- Sunset Rubdown
Bellevile Rendez-Vous ---- Ben Charest
Love Song for 15 Ontario ---- Set Fire to Flames
Namaste ----- The Beastie Boys
Hands ----- Fourtet
Blackbird --- The Beatles
Klang Klang ------ Hanged Up
Luna y Sol ------ Manu Chao
Dead Bodies ---- Air
Dirty Harry (Schtung Chinese New Year Remix) ------ Gorillaz
Waters of Nazareth --- Justice
the 3 R's (money mark remash) ----- Jack Johnson
Fake Plastic Trees ----- Radiohead
Bat Macumba ---- Gilberto Gil


wow! Sorry for anything that is wrong, this was done in the early morning. Next time I will try to have a podcast with these posts. I'll work on albums too! As with any Communez show there was random stuff interjected throughout the show, like speeches that overlap songs.

Until next time, peace!

BTW...

You guys should post your set lists.. so I can indulge in the goodness...

Lindsay Rae

Cheers Boys!

I would just like to take this moment to congratulate the boys on a wonderful first night on-air at KUMD.

Lovely Job!

Lindsay Rae

Less than a week and we're live on air!

Beware, The Communez is going on the air. We officially will be broadcasting live Monday nights from 1am-3am. Well, technically that is a Tuesday early freaking morning. Come listen to the madness (the late hours help keep us crazy) on 103.3 KUMD. We will be streaming live at www.KUMD.org. I have seen problems with the Internet stream, but I don't know if that is KUMD's issue or my crappy Internet connection. We have adopted the policy of taking all requests, yes no matter what the request is (it has to be clean though), this is The Communez. How can you reach us? you may ask. E.S.P. Or, you can call us at (218)726-7181 or 1-800-566-KUMD. We also have a AIM screen name, thecommunez ,one word and don't forget that Z. So happy listening. Peace.

This Process is Difficult

I swear I'm working on the second half of my top ten, but it is so much harder than I originally thought it would be. I went through my collection on my computer, and wrote down all the artists that would make the cut, and it was 43 deep. Seriously.

This is what I'm doing with my day, whittling down this list into something resembling a blog!

Lindsay's Top Albums # 2

My second album, was handed to me by 'The Wonderful Alex', I was hesitant to listen at first, but this album quickly became a fixture in every possible device able to play music in my presence. I had listened to punk before, I had listened to "world music", I had listened to pissed off guys with guitars before, But nothing I had ever listened to, portrayed such, passion, love, out right aggression and musicality like Gogol Bordello. It is the mission and heartfelt desire of front man Eugene Hutz, to tell the world the story of The Romani, the people that many know as gypsies. The love of this album, extends into a love of their live show. (which I've gotten the opportunity to experience twice :) ) The band combines generations of musical styles, musicians from all parts of the world, with a multi-lingual, handlebar -mustachioed (an slightly crazed) front man and the results give you a punk rock experience like you will never have again.

Tracks: "Immigrant Punk" , "Think Locally, Fuck Globally", "60 Revolutions"

Lindsay's Top 10 Album # 1

This is in no particular order, as you find my musical changes are ever-changing, but I want to boil it down to the albums that have been really influential to me, good or bad. Whatever that means...

Album number one, is "Before These Crowded Streets" By Dave Matthews Band. When I was 13, I listened to nothing BUT Dave Matthews, you could say I was a college frat boy, stuck in a 13-year-old girl's body, but meh. This is a beautiful album, and out of the numerous DMB recordings, I am going to go out there and say that this is the tops. This year marks the 10th aniversary of it's release, and even though a decade has passed by, every time I listen to it, it is just as fresh and inspiring as it was to me when I was an angsty young girl who hadn't found punk rock yet. But that's another blog. Good day to you.

Tracks: "Don't Drink The Water", "The Dreaming Tree" (* Fave Pick), "The Stone"

Gold Digger #1 - Manu Chao, Clandestino

This is the first instalment of Gold Digger, our newest feature. Hopefully we will post a review for a new album, but I couldn't pass this post up!

Manu Chao, Clandestino


For our international readers this album might not be a surprise. I have fallen head first for Manu. His music is great, but it is what he stands for and how he conducts his life that I most admire. For such a powerful artist, he still stays connected to the little people. Not like Bono or Angelia Jolie, where we start to doubt how sincere they are. But, from what I have learned about Manu, he truly cares. So on to his music. Manu Chao's Clandestino, is truly world music. I usually hate how American record producers and shops have the "world music" section. It comes off as the "and here are some artists not from the US of A". It comes off as some back-handed complement. But Manu seems to have taken "world music" to heart. His albums are packed with the different sounds of the world and languages. I don't feel like I can fully appreciate most of the album because of my own personal language barrier, but after listening to Manu I am compelled to fix that. But if you listen to his voice just as an instrument and not as words, you are treated to some wonderful music. It is hard for me to pick out a solitary song that I enjoy the most. Bongo Bong was stuck in my head for a very, very long time. Not because it is one of two English tracks, but that helps, but it has one hell of a beat. When you listen to the second song, Desaparecido, you hear this toy that plays a descending scale. The sound has a crass feel to it. But he uses the toy's sound throughout the entire album. It's fun. Other notable tracks are Luna y Sol with it sharp turmpets and the dub-inspired track Minha Galera. All in all this is album is a great way to get introduced to Manu Chao. I would also suggest doing a little research into his life, it is fascinating. Q did a great article on him in their April issue. Enjoy!

New feature!

Here at The Communez (silent Z), we desire to bring you the most bang for your buck, yes I know that it is free to read and I never will charge you to read, I promise. So, we are adding a new element to the blog, The Gold Digger. This is where we have found an album, that is not a new release, and we review it! Yay! If you ever have any album that you want reviewed drop us an e-mail and we’ll see what can happen. In the best situation, most if not all of the Communez will take a swing at it.

Jason's Top Ten Albums Of All Time Part 1

I have been getting a lot of pressure from Steve to get to writing this, but have been rather busy lately with school and my sister getting married soon and what have you, so I feel that I have not had adequate time to fully develop a list of my all time top ten albums. Although it was I who was originally the thrower down of the metaphorical gauntlet, I feel as though the gauntlet has been picked up and slapped in my face. This face slapping is intolerable and must be put to a stop, so I present you with my top ten albums of all time. I will have you know that this is a very difficult list to put together, so my picks are not 100% concrete. However, I do feel that it is a solid representation, so we'll get the ball rolling with the first 5. Enjoy.

1. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

I really don't need to say much about this album. Kind of Blue is the embodiment of jazz. My love affair for jazz goes back to when I was about 10 years old and decided to check out some John Coltrane and Stan Getz albums from the library and proceeded to listen to them over and over again, awestruck and amazed at what I was hearing. There are multiple albums that I could select from the genre, with each one being as magical as the others, but this is one that I feel sums up the magnificence of them all. Miles Davis is a household name, but not many realize that he is but just one member of the legendary ensemble that recorded this album, with John Coltrane on tenor sax, Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Miles' playing is somewhat minimalist on this album, but is nonetheless so sweet it almost brings tears of joy to your eyes. Coltrane's signature tenor tone paired with Adderley's alto vibe is like a saxophonic yin and yang bringing light and dark together in perfect harmony. The rhythm section is, of course, solid and allows everything come together in a sweetness that even the most outspoken jazz hater can not possibly deny. I'm definitely not the only person who feels this way about the album, so if you haven't heard it I can only scratch my head and wonder why...

2. Bad Religion, The Process of Belief

If you're not familiar with Bad Religion, I am a firm believer that you should be. I completely understand that punk rock isn't for everyone, but Bad Religion just makes too much sense sometimes for that to be an excuse. Most bands or artists go through phases, and BR is no exception. Their first recordings were very abrasive and stereotypical of the punk rock from the early '80s, but they soon refined their sound with Suffer, No Control, and Against the Grain throughout the later part of the '80s and early '90s. After a few stellar albums in '90s, they ran into a road block with the ill-received albums No Substance in '98 and The New America in 2000. Both were released on Atlantic Records, a move that many fans and speculatively the band members despise as well. After working out some differences with their former label, the band re-signed with Epitaph and in 2002 released my personal favorite by them and definitely my favorite punk album of all time, The Process of Belief. Could it be that 2002 was also the year that I was introduced to the band and the first live show of theirs I had been to? Perhaps, but there is certainly more to the equation. The album opens with the hyper-charged Supersonic, a track that belongs at the beginning of an album no ifs ands of buts about it. The rest of the album is filled with politically and emotionally charged tracks like Broken, Kyoto Now, Sorrow, and my personal favorite, You Don't Belong. This is one rare album that I can sing along every single word of every single song from start to finish, and given the broad spectrum of stuff I listen to, that says a lot.

3. Bob Dylan, Bringing it All Back Home


All I can say about Bringing it All Back Home is that I love Bob Dylan and this one takes the cake for me. Starting off with one of my favorite songs ever, Subterranean Homesick Blues, Bringing It All Back Home is full of gems. My other favorite tracks on this album are the twisted narrative entitled Bob Dylan's 115th Dream, the somber It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), and the poignant ballad Gates of Eden. Dylan has been covered by artists over and over time and time again, with tracks from this album being quite popular. Most well known of these are Mr Tambourine Man, and Maggie's Farm, which Rage Against The Machine covered on their 2001 release Renegades. Dylan isn't for everyone, but it's rare to find somebody that doesn't appreciate the dreamy eclectic mastery that he had of the songwriting craft at such a young age. Many folk purists were appalled at Dylan when he went electric but, in my humble opinion, it doesn't get much better than this.

4. Jimi Hendrix, Band Of Gypsys

This, for me, is the cream of Hendrix. Again, this record is definitely not for everybody. Recorded live at the Filmore East on New Years Eve 1969, Band of Gypsys is the pinnacle of Hendrix's guitar playing virtuosity. As a previous reviewer put it: "Father Jimi lays down a Stratocaster sermon" and it is a spiritual experience every single time I listen to this recording. Hendrix is accompanied by a super tight rhythm section with Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, which perfectly compliment the liquid fluidity of Jimi's guitar. Standout tracks for me are the nine minute long opener Who Knows, the thirteen minute long Machine Gun, and the straight preachin' Power to Love. I could go on and on about this album, but you need to experience it for yourself, and when you do make sure you listen to it at a reasonable volume.


5. The Clash, Combat Rock

There are a lot of Clash fans that will disagree with me on this one, but Combat Rock is in my opinion their best work. Combat Rock was recorded just before the band began falling apart, with Mick Jones leaving the band about a year after Combat Rock was released. This album has a few tracks that even the most musically oblivious should recognize, most notably Rock The Casbah and Should I Stay Or Should I Go?. Aside from the hits, there are other standouts on the album including the opener Know Your Rights, the fierce Straight To Hell, and my personal favorite track on the album featuring one of my favorite poets Allen Ginsberg titled Ghetto Defendant. Combat Rock is an album I can listen to over and over again and is filled with genre spanning compositions that put the seal on the legend that was The Clash.

Top Ten, Part 1

My top priority this morning was to make a preliminary list of artists that could possibly comprise my top ten. Admittedly, it is hard for me to narrow down, because what I listen to repeatedly and what I love to hear are two very different things. There are albums that I can listen to every day of the week and never tire of, and there are the ones that I only listen to every few months, but feel that amazement each time. A whopping two albums were easy for me to come up with, mostly because one has never left my turntable, and the other is in constant rotation as well. So while I keep whittling down the list of 38 artists that made the first cut, I'll let you see the first few that are entirely obvious to me.

1. Elvis Costello, The Clarksdale Sessions

I found this at Pastor Paul's Acoustic Garage Sale at First Ave. a few years back, and really haven't let it out of my sight since. It was a limited release edition of seven songs that were on The Delivery Man. In all honesty, The Delivery Man would be here in place of The Clarksdale Sessions, but the novelty of finding an album I'd never heard of by one of my all-time favorite artists makes it seem pretty special. The standout on the album is The Monkey, which is a poem by Mutabaruka, the dub poet. Check it out if you haven't!

2. The Detroit Cobras, Mink Rat or Rabbit

I'm going to preface this by saying my long-standing crush on Rachel Nagy has absolutely nothing to do with the rating of this album. It does effect my enthusiasm for their live shows though! But really, Rachel can belt it out with the best of them, and the band (with their ever-evolving line-up) can rock hard. There really isn't a weak spot in the album, and if you like one song, you like them all. I think this could probably be classified as easy listening for the rockabilly crowd.

3. Nosfell, Pomaie Klokochazia Balek

Ah Nosfell. Its not for everyone, and really, its more of a performance art than something to sit and listen to. Nosfell is a one-man band originally brought to my attention when my roommate's sister booked him at a few clubs around town after seeing him in Paris. The performances are what initially sold me, but also I have an affinity towards music in other languages, mostly because it keeps me from the temptation of singing (i.e. ruining whatever I'm listening to) or overanalyzing the lyrics. Fortunately, Nosfell makes up his own language (Klokobetz) and sings in that. His voice is great, and he does amazing things with his guitar. Kind of tribal-y, and really fun to listen to his pronunciation of the occasional English word. Any way you shake it, his magical made-up world of Klokochazia, that I really understand nothing about, is facsinating!

4. Old Crow Medicine Show, O.C.M.S.

I don't care much for acronyms, but I like this album anyway. I love that old-time, clean sound. The seriousness of some of the songs hardly comes through with how playful they are, and I appreciate that. Sometimes you want to listen to music with an interesting story, but not have it bring you down, and thats really what this album does for me.

5. Iron & Wine, The Creek Drank the Cradle

For some reason, the mellow vibe of this album just puts me in a nice mental place. It has the same effect on me as a warm breeze on a boat--insta-calm. Folky singers have a special place in my heart, and Sam Beam is no exception. I suppose something about a slide guitar makes it climb the ranks pretty quickly in my book!

Well, those are the first half. I can imagine the second half is going to be twice as hard!

Top albums sound off, Steve, part 2

Ok, so the first half was easy, but now I'm taking the musical bull by his horns and I'm going to fight this beast into submission (yeah right).

6. Beck, Guerolito


So, I love Beck. My favorite Beck moment was when he was on SNL and performed the song, Clap Hands, and the rest of the band backed him up by playing a dinner table. Oh, the puppets, can't forget them! If you can find the video, watch it. So onto the album. Trying to figure out which Beck album I liked best was hard, really hard. He reinvents himself so so much that it is hard to find just one. Each album stands on it's own. I picked Guerolito because it is not easy to take your own album and then remix it into something completely different. I don't think i could do that and then have it come out as good as Guerolito did. Oh, Beck.

7. John Denver, The Wildlife Concert


For those who do not have the pleasure of knowing me (I'm adorable), I'm kinda a hippie. Like only 5% of me is a hippie. OK, fine you caught me lying. I'm damn near a full blown hippie, if you read this book by the cover you wouldn't guess this. But, I'm old fashioned, my beliefs and the way I try to conduct myself is very hippie-esque. Being a student of Buddhism also helps this. So this is one of the reasons that I love John Denver. Plus, my mom listened to him all the time when I was a child (still one at heart). But out of all of the John Denver that I know and love, the Wild Life Concert stands out the most to me. It does have a lot of the perennial Denver classics, but it also has some of the rarer gems, and there is what the concert itself stood for. Thanks John for doing what you did for the world, you are missed by at least this music blogger.

8. Jurassic 5, Jurassic 5


Jurassic 5 gives me hope for rap. Don't get me wrong, I like some rap, but not all. I can see that it has it's place, but I just can't dig into most of it. But Jurassic 5 on the other hand I'm ecstatic about. The music that they come up with is fantastic! It has a good strong beat and under beat. They also tend to stay away from being negative. Yes there are other rap acts that I like, but as of now and as of an album as a whole this is where it is at. So "rap" your head around some J5 and they'll give you your Lesson 6: The Lecture.

Almost there, I know that I am missing something, and yes there are a lot of other bands I love, but we're looking at albums here man.

9. The Nightwatchman, One Man Revolution


Rage Against the Machine was/is/will be amazing. They were revolutionary and volitile. We needed that, we also needed them when the Iraq war broke out. But they were not around. Tom Morello was. His solo act, The Nightwatchman is as politically charged as RATM, but with the grassroots appeal. He feels more like the everyman instead of a guitar god. His voice also grounds him. We needed this. RATM was huge, but their size was their down fall. People looked past the messages and listened to the wizardry of Morello. But now that Tom has stripped away the amp and killswitch we find the gritty message. A message that needs to be heard, we need something to hope for, something to get us fired up, to inspire us, and for us to rally behind!

10. Raidohead, Kid A or Ok Computer or Hail to the Theif or In Rainbows

Come on, come on. This is a no brainer, yes. I love the rest of the discography, but these are my top! I don't know what else to say.

Sorry that this had a terrible ending. I'm getting tired and I just couldn't bring it down to one album. This is not as easy as you would think. I listen to A LOT of music, and a lot of different music too. Just to put it out there, I WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN A TOP 10 SONGS POST. No way. I think I would have a brain aneurism if I had to subject myself to that. Well, hopefully we start to see the other writers throw down their top tens. If you are interested in joining us for this adventure just e-mail me and we'll talk. As for now, Peace be with you and may you spread peace where ever you go.

Top albums sound off, Steve, Part 1

Top albums, eh. You know that this is going to be painful. I have a very hard time nailing down a top ten. I can guarantee that what I will put down now WILL change with the slightest breeze. One thing that I can say is that if you have not watched the new Sigur Ros DVD Heima you should. I realize that their music is not for everyone, but this DVD is filled with the beautiful scenery of Iceland. Also (if you have watched this movie you'll get this), I have two words, Stone Marimba. Yes, Stone Marimba. But all in all I love this DVD, it has brought me new respect for their work. Now I'll attack the gauntlet that was thrown down, and I'll make a sad attempt not to digress.

In no order, except the order of what my little brain comes up with.

1. Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon


At first many die-hard Devendra fans were not sold on this album. I will agree that it is not like Cripple Crow, but if you look at the over all arc of his musical career this should not come as a surprise. Smokey's sound is according with Devendra's style, eclectic. But, unlike really anything before, this album is very busy. Not sloppy busy, or over produced, but very well layered. I love how, to make this album, they rented out a cabin and invited all their friends over. You hear the layers, you hear the interconnections and the love. Yes, this sounds like a bunch of hippie babble about the perfect way to live, our utopia. But, this album holds all this. Smokey has so much to offer. There is dub, tropicalia, do-wop, and in the case of Seahorse, a damn near full orchestral suite. Damn! OK, on to more.

2. Beirut, The Flying Club Cup



Oh, Beirut. To fully appreciate Beirut I feel you also have to know the back story. Zach Condon, the man behind the band, dropped out of school when he was 16 and toured Eastern Europe. There he fell in love with Balkin music. If you can't hear this influence in Beirut's first major release Gulag Orkestar, well, then I don't have much to say to you. What surprised me though was in Beirut's second release, Zach did not, like I would of assumed, follow up with another Balkin inspired album, but he was influenced more by French pop. I'm not saying that he totally switched gears, but he just sampled a different part of Europe. For someone so young this was a brilliant move, yes I'm young too, but I have an old soul and so does Zach. Flying Club is a treat, it's robust and energetic, but not without emotion. It does start to lean towards dark and heavy, both not bad things. I think the best word would be contemplative.

3. George Harrison, All Things Must Pass


I have a hard time talking about this album. Is simply amazing. It's a classic. The most constructive statement that I have for All Things is that every time I listen to it, I feel as if I am finding it for the first time again. Out of all the solo work that all the Beatles did, I feel that All Things Must Pass, stands alone at the top.

4. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Worlds Apart


*Nerd Alert* As Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons would say, "Best Album Ever!" Yes, as a whole album from start to finish. Trail of Dead's Worlds Apart, would hold that spot. The album flows ever so gracefully from beginning to end. They transport you to a netherworld, where you're out at sea, moving to the ebb and flow of the sea of rock. With Trail of Dead's previous albums, you had very driven and hard songs, that had little connection at all. Like most "popular" artist (I will not drop names), their albums felt like a mass of singles. But, it all changed (for the better) with Worlds Apart. The songs, still have a very driven beat, but they artfully move in and out of this and contrast full tilt guitars and drums with quiet strings and minimal drums. The ornimentation of the music is perfect, it never is to far over the top. If you listen to this album you (in my opinion) MUST dedicate the time to listen to the whole thing straight through. You will be treated to a complete thought. I'm glad that there still are artists out there that make FULL ALBUMS and not a bunch of singles. Thanks boys!

5. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife


To be completely honest, the first time I heard The Crane Wife, it did not jump out to me. But then I forced myself to listen to it, start to finish. You ever had one of those moments that felt like you just got hit over the head, not literally (been there, did that, now I'm dyslexic), but figuratively? Well after listening to the album straight through, the realization that I had was as big as the 1000ft Lakers that I see out on Superior. What a truly wonderful album. The pictures that are painted in my dysfunctional mind are brilliant. I have always loved how The Decemberists almost go out of their way to tell a full story with every one of their songs. Yeah, an artist is supposed to, but few do with such a mastery and dexterity. The second song on The Crain Wife, The Island:Come And See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not Feel The Drowning, is especially not worthy. What a tale, what a story, what a song! I'm hoping that the next project that they take on is a collaboration where they perform Beowulf or some other epic! I know that they did do the Irish folk tale, but I feel like they could take on one of the classics and turn it into a masterpiece. If this does happen, I hope you all attend my funeral, for I will die from sheer joy!

Well that will do it for know, I need a nap. I'll finish this off at a later date (tonight?), and then you, the reader, might, just maybe will have a better idea of who I am. Peace

Getting things rolling...

Anyone who reads this blog, in the opinion of this humble writer, should have some pretty diverse, open, and eclectic music tastes. With that being said, I'm not going to try to make this a place where we tell you what you should listen to or what music you should like or dislike. I'll leave that to the pop culture media, because they're good at that stuff and know how to defecate squarely into the minds of our nation's youth. It is a sad state of things, but I have a sliver of hope that I could maybe help to do something about that and help people out when it comes to music, which is something I am quite passionate about. There is a lot of stuff out there, old and new, that you the reader may not have heard but would perhaps be better off if you did. This is not genre exclusive, and all will be covered. From folk to blues to jazz to rock to metal (did somebody say Dragonforce?) to hip-hop, no stone is left unturned.

I hope you come back often and enjoy this little blog, because it is going to be a riot. Some upcoming reviews include The Raconteurs new album Consolers of the Lonely, the Black Crowes latest release entitled Warpaint, plus a personal list of top all time albums, which is something that I hope the other writers chime in on as well to get some heated discussion going. I'm going to call it a night, so make sure to subscribe to the blog for further updates...

And in the beggining...

It has been decided that The Communez will not only be used as a space to attempt to explain what we are attempting to accomplish on our radio show, (still in the works, but it looks like the first airing will be next week) but, we will use this blog as a place to post reviews of new albums, old albums, shows, and general music related chit-chat. So let the communezal madness commencez.