today’s vegetable

I first met Rob Fisk maybe six years ago. The details have faded, but it was Marisa that introduced us. There are shreds of a memory hinting towards a Seven Year Rabbit Cycle record, but what I remember most was his label Free Porcupine Society and the amazing handmade packaging he created.

Rob and I don’t really know each other aside from mutual friends, but he was the first person I thought of when we thought to do art prints as a part of the CASH fundraiser. There’s something so sincere and really wonderful about his art — from the early Deerhoof covers to the subtle prints he makes. (The JPEGs do them no justice.) His care and craft come through in all his work.

I’ll stop here. The best I can do is to show his art and let it speak for itself:

Rob plays music as Common Eider, King Eider and has also been a member of Deerhoof, Seven Year Rabbit Cycle, and others.

My story about Lushlife comes in two parts: West Sounds and Cassette City. Lush — Raj Haldar — has become a friend through working on his record Cassette City over the last 18 months. I didn’t know him from Adam in 2005 when he released West Sounds.

I can’t remember exactly how I stumbled across West Sounds, but I’m really glad I did. It got mixed critical reaction, but I think the critics really missed the point. Some were saying that the mash-ups were too simple, others criticized Lush for not being hip hop enough, though all admitted finding pearls throughout the record. The problem was that they listened to the tracks, but didn’t put enough thought into the context and the statement Raj was making.

It all starts with Brian Wilson famously calling hip hop “the lowpoint in the history of music.”

I hold the opinion that music shouldn’t be judged outside of personal context. Brian Wilson hates hip hop? Okay. But to call it the lowpoint in the history of music, of which his lifetime spans only a small fraction, is silly. Art changes, some people love the new, some people hate it. The point is that art is change, music is art, and the act of creation trumps all else.

That defined West Sounds for me. The quote from Wilson was on the digital packaging. In 2005 big Lushlife release was Order Of Operations, his excellent debut. West Sounds was a response to Brian Wilson, not some ridiculous verbal exchange or blog rant, but a new creation built from the man’s own work that could inform the argument and lend a new viewpoint. It’s a great example of a constructive reaction to a negative and unproductive comment. (And also the basis for an argument about why we need to support great thinking like Creative Commons, but that’s a whole separate post.)

So it was 2005 that brought me this heady introduction to Lushlife, and it wasn’t until 2008 that I reached out, introduced myself, and told Raj about what we were trying to do with CASH Music.

We hit it off pretty quickly, and Raj gave a rundown of plans for his next album, Cassette City. Before long he shared a sneak preview and that demo stayed in heavy rotation for me. We built him a site to stream it securely which he used to pitch labels and monitor their interaction with the demo. Billy helped him review contract terms and that ultimately gave Raj the ability to make a solid decision and sign with !K7 for the record.

As Cassette City drew closer each new version got better and better. I got to hear little tweaks and changes as I iterated through artwork for the cover. It was a pretty interesting way to work and I’m really proud of the end result. I’m a little too close to give an impartial review, so take my opinion for what it’s worth, but I love the final record. It’s wonderful, intelligent, and effortlessly blends true hip hop with indie rock sounds. Working on Cassette City gave me the real sense that CASH is building something, and for that I’m truly grateful to Raj.

We just helped launch a new Lushlife remix project that’ll add a fan remix to a great lineup of official remixers. Well worth checking out. Raj has included the test pressing from Order Of Operations in our raffle, and also wrote a really nice post about it on his blog.

Lushlife’s CASH fundraiser contribution
Lushlife at CASH
theyoungandinlove.com

Here’s what I know about Charlie: he’s half of Panther, he uses color about as well as any artist around, and he’s got fantastic hair.

Unfortunately that’s about all I know about Charlie, so to do some justice to this I nagged my friend/his wife Maggie for more. (Because, you know, she’s not too busy or anything.) So here’s a list of the raw IMs that followed:

• he’s always starting new projects. he’s created a whole horror movie soundtrack for a movie that only exists in his head (http://www.myspace.com/humaramusic)
• he’s got more energy then anyone I have ever met, constantly creating music/art
• he’s cuban/italian. his great uncle was batista.
• grew up outside of chicago, been in portland since the mid 90′s
• he’s a good cook – wants to invent future food and make a cooking show. not sure what future food actually is yet

Okay I’m stopping there. At this point we got into details about future food. Maggie talked about something with corn chips, peanut butter, and jalepenos that she shied away from. I, on the other hand, was captivated. As a major advocate of the peanut butter burrito I started thinking about moving to Portland so Charlie and I could start the future food burrito stand and television studio. And you can imagine the IM session went downhill from there.

That’s Charlie. Now, Panther, they’re a different story. Panther I know and they’re rad. For starters, the song ‘Violence, Diamonds‘ from their debut is the single best James Bond theme ever written. (No it didn’t appear in a Bond film, but that changes nothing.) Their new record, Entropy, is gaining attention, high praise, and comparisons to Steely Dan. The first two are spot-on. It’s a really good record.

Entropy takes some of the hard edges from Panther and blends them just slightly, keeping the frenetic feel but containing it a bit. It’s true that there’s a bit of classic rock blending its way in, but it really fits. It’s a little ironic, but Entropy feels like a real evolution for Panther — they pushed their sound and found just the right accents to make it something new, keeping the best of the Portland energy and adding another layer to it.

To add a final (and slightly obligatory) CASH fundraiser note: Charlie did one of the three art prints, detail shown above. You can purchase an 18″x18″ giclée print at http://cashmusic.org/

panthertouch.com
Buy Entropy

Jeremy Warmsley is a uniquely talented singer from London, England.

Almost a year ago he wrote out of the blue, saying he liked what we were doing at CASH. I wasn’t familiar with his music at the time, so I looked him up. Jeremy’s records were put out on Transgressive which is a good sign right off the bat. I found his website and listened to the tracks linked there, all really good. What was striking was that each listen brought more depth. Jeremy’s voice is the first thing you notice, then the pace and the playing, then the subtleties in the writing. It gets more impressive as you realize he’s a fantastic musician who’s equally comfortable on guitar and piano, playing live with a natural ease.

Quickly I’m hooked and like the music. I write back to him and we start to chat. He sends more music, get to know each other a bit, and he’s a genuinely good person. He let me into his world a bit, shared in-progress stuff, and I loved his perspective.

He put up a free EP at CASH, but the big news is that he’s been leading a new band called Acres, Acres. They start at Jeremy’s music and build from there. Harmonies on top of his voice add to rich musical accompaniment. There’s is a brand of pop all its own, feeling simultaneously like they could share a stage with the Beach Boys or the Arcade Fire. You can find a few tracks on their myspace page or catch them live as they’re about to play a bunch of UK dates. I’m not sure what Acres, Acres has planned after that, but it’s a good bet it’ll be worth keeping an eye on them.

Jeremy Warmsley’s CASH fundraiser contribution
Jeremy at CASH
Jeremy on Twitter
jeremywarmsley.com

I’ve got seven words that should make you love Portugal. The Man:
futuristic space grizzly punks in white suits.

Portugal. The Man is a new kind of band, or at least they’ve built a new kind of crowd. They could play on a hill in Texas, far from their Alaskan home, and pack it. They roll into Georgia, Wisconsin, or Rhode Island and fill a room. For a long time now they’ve flown just under the mainstream radar and have built an impressive following by tirelessly playing music to an audience almost every night.

Sure, perseverance pays, but Portugal also brings dedication to every detail, a great sound, and a style that’s approachable without being dumbed down. There’s art in all aspects of what they do, and it dangles like a carrot pulling you forward into their world. From John Gourley’s illustrations to his lyrics there’s an imagery woven throughout everything Portugal that builds a sense of grandeur or greater vision.

Lately they’ve been getting more notice, so don’t expect them to stay under radar much longer. Kanye West and Justin Timberlake both dedicated time on their blogs praising their video for ‘Do You’ — in which the band turns into the futuristic space grizzly punks shown above.

(In addition to the lithograph they donated to the CASH fundraiser, Portugal also let us use ‘Do You’ as part of our thank you mix. Thanks guys!)

Here’s the thing to love about Portugal. The man: they make real art that’s fully palatable to the world of pop, but won’t ever be tamed by it.

Portugal. The Man’s CASH fundraiser contribution
Portugal. The Man at CASH
Portugal. The Man on Twitter
Buy The Satanic Satanist
portugaltheman.net

Today was the release of Thao with The Get Down Stay Down’s new record, Know Better Learn Faster, on Kill Rock Stars. I hope it shatters the most optimistic projections for sales, becomes a cultural touchstone for Autumn in 2009, and gets in on that Nobel prize action. Why the enthusiasm? Well it’s a great record, and success couldn’t happen to a nicer person.

I asked Maggie Vail if she’d talk to Thao about the CASH Music fundraiser. Not only did Thao say yes to getting involved, she literally offered us her heart.

Seriously. Thao offered to send us the paper mache heart from the Know Better Learn Faster cover. She didn’t stop there, and asked if it would be okay if she did a sort of singing telegram for the fundraiser. A song written just for the winner, carrying any message as long as its positive. Such a great idea, and it holds all the charm and energy you hear in this latest record.

As for the album itself, Know Better Learn Faster will make a lot of favorite lists by year’s end. The band got a good deal of attention with their We Brave Bee Stings And All debut, and this record is a nice step forward. All the infectious energy is still present, hitting hard in tracks like ‘When We Swam,’ but there’s also an added degree of smart introspection in tracks like ‘Body’ and ‘Good Bye Good Luck.’ Thao also shows off her voice a bit throughout the record, carrying softer tracks with some really beautiful singing.

In a sentence, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down is a band that makes you feel good about music. They’re headed out on tour right now, so catch them when they’re close and put Know Better Learn Faster on your list of records to check out.

Thao wTGDSD’s CASH fundraiser contribution
Thao wTGDSD on Twitter
Buy Know Better Learn Faster
thaomusic.com

ps
Una’s rad ‘Bag Of Hammers’ video