There are some things that defy explanation. Gurning, the act of contorting one’s face into something quite sinister and grotesque, is a very old pastime, laugh, and sport, with its own world championship competition held annually at the Egremont Crab Fair in Cumbria, England. This dude seems to win a lot, for good reason. While it may seem like the most ridiculous thing in the world, it really should be taken as a refreshing tonic if not downright soul-cleansing. How can you not forget about the foibles of people and tragedies of life when you look at this? Or this. Or this. See? The day just got a whole lot better, didn’t it?
If any music (when not doing its job repulsing you) has the same therapeutic qualities as a good gurn my vote would be for giddy viddy trio What’s Up. Just listening to Robby Moncrieff’s messed-up missives gets my Duchenne going in overdrive. Moncrieff, with conspirators Teddy Briggs and Brian Marshall, will be playing some dates with Dirty Projectors -- who were recently involved in a van accident (TMT News) -- in July (Moncrieff helped produce DP's Bitte Orca (TMT Review)) so put your best face forward and try to catch one of these too few West Coast shows. Before and after these gigs, What’s Up will strengthen their strong bond with the city of Portland with bookend shows in “Little Beirut.”
As a last resort, contort:
06.28.09 - Portland, OR - Superfest at Rotture $
07.02.09 - Vancouver, BC - Richard’s on Richards %
07.03.09 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey %
07.04.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene %
07.07.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent %
07.08.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour %
07.24.09 - Portland, OR - PDX Pop Now
$ Starfucker, Nice Nice, Explode Into Colors, Atole, Mattress
% Dirty Projectors
Here’s the tracklisting for What’s Up debut disc, Content Imagination (TMT Review), which was recently released by Obey Your Brain. I hate to push any sort of product in favor of another but there is no reason why you should not own this remarkably mad album.
Content Imagination:
1. Yes
2. Seasoning’s Greeting
3. Fool’s Gold
4. A Longing Expression
5. Content Imagination
6. Harper
7. The French Song
And as I mentioned, you’ll notice What’s Up dates in Portland above and one that name-checks a mysterious entity known simply as PDX Pop Now!. It would take your average, clueless halfwit three seconds to figure out that PDX Pop Now! is no mystery at all (it took me two-and-a-half days). It is a nonprofit organization working to promote Portland’s music community and it has a pretty cool compilation (available now!) that includes a lot of good tracks from good acts, including What’s Up’s “Seasoning’s Greeting.” If you haven’t bought our comp yet (why the #$@% not!), try this on for size and give some love to Portland, a city that's desperate to get something going musically (har, har).
Disc 1:
1. The Mint Chicks - "Hot on Your Heels"
2. At Dusk - "For A Reason"
3. aed & Quiet Countries - "Moving Day"
4. M. Ward - "For Beginners"
5. Luck-One and Dekk - "The Coolax"
6. Dirty Mittens - "The Dock"
7. Ethan Rose & Laura Gibson - "Sun"
8. Third Angle New Music Ensemble performing Bryan Johanson - "The Rat Catcher’s Dance"
9. The Thermals - "You Dissolve"
10. Thrones - "Trmph Lfe"
11. Mirah - "Generosity"
12. Magic Johnson - "Las Malas"
13. Chilly Willy - "Grab and Glow"
14. Ravishers - "Keep You Around"
15. Silentist - "Hex"
16. Dykeritz - "Chasing the Wheel Away"
17. Explode Into Colors - "Paper (Hot Sax Version)"
18. The Cysts - "Human Garbage"
19. Caleb Klauder - "Can I Go Home with You"
20. Plankton Wat - "Dawn of the Golden Eternity"
21. Chervona - "Reality Show"
Disc 2:
1. Jared Mees and The Grown Children - "The Tallest Building In Hell"
2. What’s Up? - "Seasoning’s Greeting"
3. Blue Skies for Black Hearts - "Jenny and Steve"
4. Starfucker - "Boy Toy"
5. Lightheaded - "HardRock"
6. Grouper - "Rising Height"
7. Lovers - "Igloos For Ojos"
8. Sandpeople - "Hate Aside"
9. Blue Giant - "Target Heart"
10. Cootie Platoon - "Divided"
11. Benoît Pioulard - "Idyll"
12. Ah Holly Fam’ly - "EIEIO"
13. Breakfast Mountain - "J Hollerday"
14. Gejius - "Let Down"
15. Tara Jane O’Neil - "Dig In" (feat. The Ecstatic Tambourine Orchestra)
16. MY-G - "Take Back Our City" (feat. Liv Warfield)
17. Bird Announced Land - "Sweet Dreams"
18. Blue Cranes - "Broken Windmills"
19. The Taxpayers - "Black Batons"
