I have felt, for the greater part of the last couple of months, like one big Black Keys album. I realize I am not "introducing" this band to anyone, but I feel the need to give them some mad props. I haven't listened to much else in a while. They are definitely going to get me through this winter. I choose this song because it reminds me of Scarlett. It's a perfect mellow ballad for these gray days in Portland. They have started and will not stop for quite some time. Sometimes blustery, sometimes freezing, sometimes wet, sometimes bone-chilling dry, and always gray.
If you are an avid Pandora listener, and love blues rock, I highly recommend The Black Keys radio station. It will hook you up with John Lee Hooker (another favorite), The White Stripes (popular and not so popular tunes), Masters of Reality, Benjy Ferree, The Steepwater Band, Led Zeppelin, Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys lead vocalist's solo work), Wax Tailor, Jimmy Hendrix, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, and many others. It's really a phenomenal station, mixed with old time, country blues, blues rock, eclectic electronica/soul/drum and bass mix, and delta blues. I dig.
As I hoof it around town 135 blocks from my house to my daily meeting, I find myself content in my urban surroundings, at peace and stoked to have these bluesy city sounds ringing in my ears. I have been through hell and back this last month and I feel brave, edgy, free, and raw with every step over the puddles in my worn-out Chuck Taylor's. I crinkle my lips to touch the septum of my nose and feel its chilled and soft. I can feel the soles of my feet getting sore as I walk quickly over the Burnside bridge to reach the west side of town before it's too late. Auerbach's guitar chords and bourbon-soaked vocals send electric shocks through the hemispheres of my brain and I feel stoned. Music is a drug to me. I feel like I am settling comfortably into my addiction, riding the high through the city feeling like nothing else matters except keeping in time with the bass with every step I take and every blinking hand at the crosswalk. I look up and I feel unafraid of anything and everything around me. I look back down, paying attention to the lyrics and humming the melody. This is my city. This is what makes me happy. I love feeling this way. I owe it to these bands for making that possible for me. I hear The White Stripes next and I revert to college days, driving through the Wyoming flat roads, bloody nose from dry air while coming down from something, cigarette out the window, and black Carharts slicked up from weeks of being unwashed and worn heading to Colorado by way of big Montana sky to help my friend see about a girl.
Now it seems to be that no matter what music you like, no matter where you come from, whether music is your life or not, people from all walks of life LOVE The Black Keys.
The Black Keys consist of Dan Auerbach (lead vocalist and guitarist) and Patrick Carney (drummer/producer). Now, these guys have been BUSY. From their foundation in 2001 in Akron, Ohio to becoming Grammy nominees in 2010 and wrapping up their latest album of seven set for release this year in December, it has been nonstop hard work and a series of accomplishments only some independent rockers dream of.
The name The Black Keys comes from a schizophrenic acquaintance the both had where he would leave incoherent messages on their answering machine in times of distress referring to their fathers as "black keys" such as "D Flat" to show disrespect. They got a kick out of this and decided to go with it. I find it one of the most suitable band names for these guys. After finding a name for themselves, they set to work and immediately released their first album The Big Come Up in 2002. This was a successful record for independent rockers who had not yet found their footing in the mainstream music industry. From their on out, they have worked tirelessly to spit out an album and special edition records each year. Their second album (not technically an album but as an EP), spawned two singles "Leavin' Trunk" and "She Said, She Said" (both covers), recorded in Carneys' basement on an 8-track tape recorder.
Finding joy in laying down tracks with abstract, unique modes of recording equipment, they went on to produce their second album Thickfreakness in 2003 on a Tascam 388 (for those of you who don't know what that is, it is the king of all-in-one analog recorder/reproducer multitrack tape devices). Rubber Factory, their third album released in 2004, was recorded in an abandoned factory which was later bulldozed to the ground in 2010. In 2005, they released their first live album, Live. In 2006, they would later produce their second live album titled Live in Austin, TX, which was from a performance done in 2003. And to make a sweet contribution to this wonderful city I call home, they recorded and released their third live album, making a live musical video titled Live At The Crystal Ballroom from their performance in 2008 at The Crystal Ballroom located on Burnside here in Portland, Oregon.
2006 was a breakthrough year for Auerbach and Carney. They were starting to gain worldwide recognition and eventually were asked to open for bands such as Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Beck, and Sleater-Kinney. They started contributing to a wide variety of soundtracks as well as movie trailers and in 2010, their songs were featured in a slew of corporate commercials including Victoria's Secret and Zales. In 2010, we were graced with a 15-track LP titled Brothers and with that, many singles were introduced over the airwaves for popular radio and their songs were then brought to the commonfolk. Many people I talk to say all of a sudden, they were hit like a bomb with The Black Keys. They were suddenly just there, being played in everyone's car during rush hour traffic and in the background at some of their favorite hotspots.
Along with many other special side projects including the iTunes Sessions in 2010 and Record Store Day Black Friday double 12" vinyl with six bonus tracks, we were finally able to cheer them on knowing them intimately by the time they were nominated for four Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Album simultaneously being acknowledged in Rolling Stone Magazine for #2 Best Album of 2010 with Brothers. On our television sets, we were graced with their musical appearance on Saturday Night Live and enjoyed watching their first short musical film for "Howlin' For You" revealed earlier this year.
Their SEVENTH studio album (that's right) will be released this December 6th which was officially wrapped up in March. We have been given sneak peeks into this album with two major singles already released and we can only wait with extreme anticipation of what new feeling this exciting album will generate for us.
IN OTHER NEWS:
For those Smiths fans out there, they have released a special edition of remastered album sessions that should be a nice little addition to your melancholic collection.
Radiohead has just announced their European tour. Maybe that's another push for me to get over there (as if I really need one).
And speaking of Jack White (drumroll please)...
Jack White would like us to "give thanks for Third Man Records' winter bounty," as his label has announced a slew of new releases and a number of giftable TMR items. And what a bounty it is. Deep breath...
On November 29 the label will release two singles from actor John C. Reilly (Step Brothers,Talladega Nights, Boogie Nights). Jack White, Reilly's co-star in Walk Hard, plays on both. The first single features Reilly duetting with Tom Brosseau on two Delmore Brothers tracks. The second features Reilly covering Ray Price and Dolly Parton/Porter Wagoner tracks with Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark. On November 22, they'll put out a new spoken word single from Edgar Oliver, the actor, playwright, and poet from the Discovery Channel program "Oddities". [taken from Pitchfork.com].
HOW EXCITING!
Florence and The Machine came out with a new video and Bon Iver is releasing a deluxe edition of his album Bon Iver (two little things to keep us hanging on).
With these gray days, comes a time for reflection and also catastrophic loneliness. However, it is a great time in this great city to become inspired to write, listen, walk, meditate, read, and dream. I have always had a difficult time, as do most Oregonians, during these long winter days. But if you have bands like The Black Keys producing more albums to be released during these harsh times, it feels bearable and exciting. And I feel fortunate to have had The White Stripes as a part of my past and The Black Keys as part of my future.
Keep fightin' the good fight.
