First post of the year!) The Procession are a Los Angeles-based trio producing rock so fun it’s impossible to ignore. Sure, their songs are nostalgic, bringing to mind Mersey rock in one song, Mungo rock in another, and they’re somewhat similar to Oxford, England’s current funsters The Young Knives, but after just a few seconds the comparisons disappear and you’re left with some great tunes. These guys obviously enjoy singing and bopping along to their music. If life seems a little too stiff, loosen your neck with the melodies of the Procession.
Currently you can only get their first album Musique Magnifique from iTunes, but V2/Nude is scheduled to release the tangible version in February. I’m guessing the release date will be February 13th, because, according to their MySpace page, the Procession will be on KCRW‘s Morning Becomes Eclectic on Valentine’s Day.
- Listen to “Don’t Let Go” (the only track I could find for download)
- Or listen to 4 other tracks on their MySpace page.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, The Procession have a residency at the Fold for the remaining Tuesdays this month. They’ll be performing at El Cid on the 9th and the 23rd and at the Silverlake Lounge on the 16th and the 30th.
Song Update
After listening to the album on their website, I purchased the album and here is another track to whet your appetites. Buy the album on 
, it’s worth it.-Seamus
- Listen to Living Alone
If you've read this site before, perhaps you remember back a few months ago when we suggested you sacrifice at least one White Castle run so you can buy ABO's 2nd album Derdang Derdang. It's still one of my favoritest albums from this year.
Read MoreSpank Rock is puerile nerdy hip-hop, not unlike the Beastie Boys, though think less screeching granny and more whining Urkel. The group’s name is apropos, and like all the young dudes, these guys are just as apt to spank it as they are to rock. 
They whip it out to measure it in each track, rhyming about that narrow gap between getting pussy and getting Rick Rubin to produce your album. (You were possibly wondering when someone would be brave enough for such a task?) You’ll hear plenty of robotic beeps and vocoder squawks, as you might so far expect, but the beats will make you shake it, the rhythms will make you groove, and the samples will make you smile. YoYoYoYoYo is a fun album; also one of the few albums I own that my wife also enjoys, maybe even more than I do.
- Listen to Rick Rubin
- Listen to Sweet Talk
Oh yeah, uh-huh, you like it? Well you might also enjoy watching Spank Rock perform their ACT.
Buy YoYoYoYoYo
On Monday, October 30th, 15 theaters across the U.S. will screen the My Morning Jacket concert film Okonokos. If, like us, you can’t get enough of My Morning Jacket, and you happen to live in or close to the 15 cities chosen for this event, you could catch the film the evening before the DVD becomes available. (The soundtrack came out a month ago.)
Apparently, there’s a light plot to the film, the staging is semi-primeval, the audience at the Fillmore was encouraged to dress in as fey a way as possible, and there may be a scene involving the silhouette of a horse. The best part is it’s like going to a concert, but without the whole standing-around-in-faerie-costume-for-hours sorta thing. You could also be one of the lucky attendees to take home an Epiphone Les Paul Special II geetar.
Here’s a preview:
For theater and ticket info check D&E Entertainment‘s website.
For more info, including trailers, check My Morning Jacket‘s website.
- Listen to Death is the Easy Way
For the CD, you could… 
IV Thieves is the name of the band formerly known as Nic Armstrong and the Thieves. As the story goes, after touring in support of their first album, the other band members became so integral to the group that Nic’s name was taken off the band name. Isn’t that a nice story? It seems like it usually goes the other way, doesn’t it? I understand using the name Thieves; Nic/nick, slang for to steal, and they’re from the home of Robin Hood; but what about the IV? Is it a roman numeral representing the four members of the band, or do these Nottingham lads actually nick IVs from hospital patients or drug users? Or maybe they are supporters of randomized experiments in statistics, so they steal Instrumental Variables from regression analyses to produce inconsistent estimates. I can’t decide whether these guys are Roman, cruel, or math nerds. Perhaps they’re all three, like Caligula with a pocket-protector. (Possible title for their next album?)