One Day As A Lion EP – Review

Now, how do you review Zack de la Rocha’s new project (with Jon Theodore from The Mars Volta on drums) without mentioning the proverbial elephant in the room screaming out ‘FUCK YOU I WON’T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!”?

By ignoring it completely, or at least trying to. Hmmm… Let’s see if I can do it!

So, One Day As A Lion (the EP), which can be made into an acronym quite easily like many other band names, is basically a really lo-fi sounding, gritty little 5-track EP that surprised the hell out of me. I mean, Zack sings. Holy shit, what is up with that? His lyrics (rhymes? I’m white, forgive me) are still as politically charged as ever, if not a little more refined in their delivery. ODaaL (the EP, not the band (or the song on the EP either)) is like a syringe compared to the baseball bat that was uh, Zack’s other work.

There’s another guy in the band? Holy shit! Jon Theodore totally slays the kit on this EP. One thing that sets this apart from your typical beat/rap sound is his drums. Taking the pow-, uh, sound, back to a powerful two piece. Think The Black Keys, only angrier and less guitars. About the same amount of hair though. Depends on Dan Auerbach’s facial hair situation. Anyways, the beats are fucking rad. Be impressed, or know your enemy (that doesn’t even make sense!).

One other thing I have failed to mention is that if you liked Grinderman and The Good, The Bad, & The Queen based solely on the fact that you can listen to them on your iPod and have the same name for artist/album/song, you’ll love these guys. Seriously, if that isn’t enough reason to fork out the $10, then I don’t know what else you need. A bullet in the head?

It’s a great little CD though. Good amounts of noise, you’ll be banging your head along straight away, barking out de la Rocha’s rhymes. Buy it, stop being shit.

Speaking of shit, don’t reunite a band and call it ‘the right time to do it’ considering the President you hate so much is leaving in a year regardless. Rage Against The Machine (dammit!) broke up in 2000, at the start of Bush’s term, and then reunited in 2007, almost at the end??! Guys, you missed the whole thing and 3 of you filled it up with the a-pathetic Audioslave! DIE!!!11

If Zack did one of these a year or so, it’d shit over anything RATM would put out. Just saying, and I love their old stuff. You know, like everyone. Ever.

84 wasted comebacks out of 100.

Nick Cave Can Spook You In New Ways…

Photo: Sigurd Fandango (via Pitchfork) Click on Nick for the website!

How does 5.1 surround sound uh, sound? I’m excited, but then again, how amazing will Nick Cave be in surround sound? Orbital and Nine Inch Nails have done it a few times, and it sounds pretty cool because it’s so immensely layered… Who knows. They should release Grinderman in 5.1, and then come around to my place, play a gig, then leave all their gear behind. I’m a scab, so what?

This really has nothing to do with Music or Photos, but I thought it was pretty funny/interesting/depressing. I’m only in my early-20’s and that makes me feel really old. Damn kids and their Facebooks…

A photographer I’ve always been jealous of is Nic Bezzina. Here’s a reason why. Here’s another.