Golden Smog...

Before I discuss the virtues of the new Golden Smog record let me freely comment on an event I went to this past weekend. It was an art exhibit in SF at a performance space called Mighty that I believe I've been to before but was probably all crazy on pills or something at the time so I'm not completely sure. Anyway, Mighty hosted an art/music show called Sneaker Pimp. The art part of the show comprised various artists (mostly graf but some traditional) taking a sneaker and making it their own. There were a lot of sneakers there that artists had gone at with various levels of abandon. Some of the artists treated the shoe like the ceiling of Sistine Chapel while others more like the cover of their 5th grade Trapper Keeper. Generally cool. On the music side there were two main DJs: Kid Koala and Dan The Automator. Kid Koala was, straight up, a bad ass. Just excellent hip hop DJ with a flair and style all his own who clearly enjoyed getting feedback from the crowd. Now, as near as I can tell, Dan The Automator is now like the Target of DJs. He's a brand and not a DJ. He spun for about 10 minutes then seceded the decks to an underling who played for the next hour while Danny Boy walked around on the stage saying stupid shit into his microphone. He can obviously spin and produce but, my man, you are no MC. It kinda sucked. Maybe there was a good reason for it, maybe his crossfader finger was hurt or something. Anyway, if you're in SF and the Sneaker Pimp show is still up at Mighty check it out, the art is a first class reflection of the hip hop style.

Golden Smog's Another Fine Day is another fine album by the semi-super group. As you might expect there's a bit less Tweedy this go around, though his contributions are excellent. The record is dominated by the voice of Gary Louris, and that's okay. The record is more classic rock than country rock and is, I'd say, a couple songs too long at 15. But it's a good listen and will carry you through these last dog days of summer.

1 song from Another Fine Day:

I Can