Author: Damn Ugly Photography

Song of the Day

LISA GERMANO
The Prince Of Plati

DOWNLOAD: The Prince Of Plati

Lisa Germano has always been an artist that’s been hard to pin a label on. The violinist, pianist and vocalist first popped up on John Mellencamp’s 1987 album The Lonesome Jubilee and was a mainstay of his band for seven years. Since then, she’s gotten rid of the tag ‘John Cougar’s fiddle player’ and hooked up with a string of A-List talent including Sheryl Crow, David Bowie, Neil Finn, Bob Dylan, Simple Minds, Indigo Girls and Iggy Pop and all the while, occasionally drops little gems of her own…her album Geek, The Girl, was even included in the list of the top alternative albums of the decade compiled by Spin magazine. Yet for all the success she’s had and her obvious talent, she has still managed to remain largely unnoticed outside of the coffee shops and small clubs where her kind of music shines. Today she releases her twelfth solo recording, Magic Neighbor, a melancholy collection of her truly unique songs that will surely keep the coffee house crowd happy.

Go makes friends on MySpace or check her out on her website

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Song of the Day

MELODY NELSON
The Other Side

DOWNLOAD: The Other Side

Melody Nelson is the fictional subject of Serge Gainsbourg’s concept album, Histoire de Melody Nelson, based on the Nabokov novel, Lolita. It’s also the name a psychedelia-lovin’, feedback-heavy trio of Gainsbourg aficionados from London’s East End have dubbed themselves. Fronted by Irish-Jamaican-Londoner Aidan O’Connell on vocals and guitar, with Birmingham-born bassist Ben Edwards and an Israeli known only as ‘Kapi’ on drums, they’ve been getting all kinds of notices for what all the kidz say is a killer live show and are building a reputation as being London’s loudest band. They may be loud, but the body of work they have already put together is impressive and their debut disc, Torch Songs, is due out this fall. If I can trust the press releases (and my own ears) we can expect intense harmonies, walls of he aforementioned noise, anthems about love, loss & confusion, all wrapped up with edgy production handled by the likes of David Roback (Mazzy Star), Mike Bennett (The Fall,The Stranglers) and Jerry Kandiah (Gang of Four, Killing Joke)

Go make friends on MySpace and keep your eyes open for the album!

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Song of the Day

LEVI FULLER
Colossal

DOWNLOAD: Colossal

I first time I’d ever heard of Levi Fuller was when fellow Seattleite and Song of the Day good-luck charm, Kate Tucker, sent me one of his ‘Ball Of Wax’ compilation CD’s…a quarterly collection of obscure music that features some of Seattle’s bestest indie bands. BofW Number 17 was released last month, and if you haven’t jumped on the Ball of Wax bandwagon, I suggest you head on over to his site and pick up a few right now. And Levi’s got his own new album about to come out, too. ‘Colossal’ drops October 27th and you can learn more over on MySpace or on The Official Levi Fuller Website !!!

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Song of the Day

THE RADIO DEPT.
David

DOWNLOAD: David

It’s been a long time since the Swedish Dream-Pop/Shoegaze outfit The Radio Dept. has graced the list, but they’ve tossed out this little taste of happy aural fuzz from Clinging To A Scheme, their album that’s set to drop early next year. I’ve been a fan of their loopy, whispery, languidly distorted music ever since I heard ‘Keen On Boys’ off of the Marie Antoinette Soundtrack…..

THE RADIO DEPT.
Keen On Boys

DOWNLOAD: Keen On Boys

Now I’m not sayin’ this stuff is gonna cure cancer and the blend of shoegazer pop with feedback-heavy psychedelia ain’t for everyone and some of you might think that Johan Duncanson’s vocals get a little syrupy at times, but I like the ethereal and almost hypnotic final effect…and besides…it’s my blog and I can post what I want!

Check out The Radio Dept. on MySpace

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Song of the Day

PARLOUR STEPS
Little Pieces

DOWNLOAD: Little Pieces

Vancouver’s Parlour Steps gets all kinda press up North, but I can pretty much guarantee they’ll be new to everybody reading this South of the 49th parallel. But if you’re a fan of that hard to define music category affectionately known as alt-country, then you should give ’em a listen…..front man Caleb Stull can really spin a catchy pop song, filled with brainy lyrics, toe-tapping arrangements and wonderfully layered harmonies. Their new album, The Hidden Names, comes out next month, but in the meantime, head on over to their MySpace Page and check ’em out.

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Off To Mount Snow…..

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Despite what is probably gonna be a wet weekend, I’m off to Mount Snow, Vermont, for the Tenth Anniversary ride with The Joisey Boyz. I’ll try not to break anything as I’m sliding down the side of the mountain…..

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Song of the Day

LOVE OF DIAGRAMS
Stones Throw

DOWNLOAD: Stones Throw

We’ve had a lotta ‘pretty’ music lately on The List, so before the some of the more militant types get up my ass for wimping out, it’s probably time for a wall of fuzzy, distorted, feedback-drenched guitars. Love Of Diagrams is a trio from Melbourne and in case ya didn’t notice, they ain’t copying ‘Men At Work’…they spit out an urgent, post-punk attitude and keep it simple…guitar, bass, drums, vocals. On ‘Stones Throw’, angular guitar runs and cannonball bass lines push along Luke Horton’s stripped-down, monotone vocals that seem so devoid of human feeling it’s almost like they’re computer generated, but the effect is wonderfully hypnotic. Nowhere Forever was released in Oz a couple of weeks ago and so far all I can find are import CD versions, but be industrious….use Google and find this thing…you’ll thank me! Check out more Love Of Diagrams on their MySpace page

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Song of the Day

ORENDA FINK
High Ground

DOWNLOAD: High Ground

Back in March I told you all about the Orenda Fink/Scalpelist project called O+S and now I found out that the Azure Ray singer/songwriter has yet another solo album set to drop in a few weeks. “Ask The Night” veers 180 degrees from the electronic vibe of O+S and her earlier work in Azure Ray and instead she seems focused on using spare, acoustic instruments to highlight her beautiful songwriting. The album was apparently recorded live to 8-track in Stephen Bartolomei’s basement and Andy LeMaster’s living room and features a wide variety of players and singers, including Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching), and Adrianne Verhoeven (Dri, The Anniversary, Art In Manila). And the news gets even better…she got back together with with Maria Taylor as Azure Ray over the Summer and a new Azure Ray album will apparently be showing up next year. Give her a look on her MySpace page

orenda

Song of the Day

WAX TAILOR
Say Yes

DOWNLOAD: Say Yes

When I heard the new single from Jean-Christophe Le Saoût, or Wax Tailor as the tres cool French hip-hop DJ/knob-twiddler prefers to be known, I was sure it was a cut off of the new Mos Def album, but no, those guys doin’ the spot-on Mos Def impersonation is actually the international Hip Hop collective known as ‘ASM’, or ‘A State Of Mind’. The funky vibe, sultry horns and booming bass lines also kinda reminds me a little of Mocean Worker, but it’s all good…to me, this revives the tradition of Motown soul with an updated style and mixes in a touch of French grooviness. ‘In The Mood For Life’ drops September 21st, and you can check out Wax Tailor over on MySpace

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And for those of you who like this sort of thing, here’s the music video…..

Blogrolling of the Day – newyorkshitty.com

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It’s not all music and photography here at Damn Ugly and with that in mind, I’m gonna pass on one of my favorite blogs to you guys today and strongly advise each and every one of you to visit the site on a regular basis…newyorkshitty.com is a little waste of time run by a Greenpoint resident who goes by the decidedly bohemian moniker, Miss Heather.

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I don’t know Miss Heather, but she apparently doesn’t mind being known as the ‘Dog Shit Queen of Greenpoint’…that’s ‘cuz she started her blog back in April of 2006 as a way of blowing off steam about her neighborhood, the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, and the stunning amount of dogshit that she seemed to encounter whenever she ventured out of her apartment.

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I’ll admit that I was drawn to her blog because, as a former Greenpoint resident myself, I wondered just how much could be written about my former nabe, and I will say that over time, her blog has certainly evolved into much, much more than just a litany of rants about the fecal habits of canines across the bridge from Manhattan…and that’s really what I love about it.

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Sure, she still loves to point out interesting crap-related things she stumbles across in the ‘hood, but the blog has become a wealth of Greenpoint-related information as well. Her numerous ‘Photo’s De Jour’ and the New York Shitty Day Starter’s and Ender’s are typically photographs she has taken on her travels through the greater Greenpoint/Williamsburg and when I see what she manages to find in what is a rather small corner of the city, I am always amazed!

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Her takes on Vinyl Siding are a revelation and because she is also a Crazy Cat Lady, her posts on the local feline population are also lotsa fun, but I’m really fascinated by her one-woman assault on a condo project known as The Viridian…..I’ve gotten tho the point where I can’t wait for the next dose of venom she will lay down whenever she writes about a building she obviously wishes would get swallowed up by Newton Creek…

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So to all of you Damn Ugly fans reading this, take a few moments and go give Miss Heather a few hits…I’m sure you’ll find the diversion worth the effort……

Click Here For A Dose Of New York Shitty !!!

fuck-off

Song of the Day

THE BLAKES
Basket

DOWNLOAD: Basket

Hard to believe it’s been two years since The Blakes have been on The List, so when I heard they had a new album set to drop in a few weeks I figured I would put Google to work and find something to toss out to you guys. And they’re hitting the road this fall, too…they’re gonna be in New York playing three gigs during CMJ, so if you like this kinda stripped-down, swaggering, vintage rock ‘n’ roll sound (Iggy does), mark your calendars now. Souvenir is out October 13th, but until then, give ’em a look on their MySpace page

blakes

James Gellert for Barron’s

* Click any image for Full-Size *

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I got a last minute call Tuesday from Adrian Delucca at Barron’s…could I shoot tomorrow…a profile portrait for the Hedge Fund Report? Of course I could…..and so the next morning we arrived at the offices of Rapid Ratings International to to shoot their CEO, James Gellert. The offices were small, but they did have one standout feature…Gellert’s wife, Jinsey Dauk, is a photographer and her work fills just about every square inch of wallspace. After we cleared out the conference room of it’s table and chairs, a lotta cool photos ensued……

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Song of the Day

THE HAPPY HOLLOWS
Faces

DOWNLOAD: Faces

After teasing the L.A. music scene with three EP’s, The Happy Hollows are ready to drop their first full-length album in October. You just gotta love Sarah Negahdari’s trilling, high-register vocal…it sounds kinda like a wilder Tanya Donelly from Belly, or maybe a sweeter Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs…and the almost DIY quality of the production with the buzzy, crunchy guitars and cascading bassline keeps her grounded, even when she pleads in the chorus, “I cannot fake it, I can’t even pretend…”. The new album, ‘Spells’, is due out October 6th, but you can head over to Bandcamp Dot Com and stream to entire album right now…then go make friends over on their MySpace page

happyhollows

Song of the Day

JET
She’s A Genius

DOWNLOAD: She’s A Genius

I’m willing to bet the ranch that the first time any of you heard of Jet was when Apple featured their song ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ in an iPod commercial a few years back…they milked that to death, but it morphed them from being a small indie act outta Melbourne into a major act playin’ arenas and everything! After taking a couple of years doing victory laps over their newfound fame, they finally got back into the studio to record their third album, Shaka Rock, that dropped last week. The reviews for the album have been kinda mixed, but I still kinda like ‘She’s A Genius’, even if it does sort of lift the guitar riff, bass line and percussion from The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’ ….. wait a sec ……. it is ‘My Sharona’…!!! Give it a listen and tell me I’m wrong and you can head over to Jet’s MySpace page to see who else they’ve ‘borrowed’ from!

jet

Song of the Day

JANA HUNTER
Two Cocks Waving Wildly at Each Other Across a Vast, Open Space, a Dark, Icy Tundra

DOWNLOAD: Two Cocks…..

I’m breaking one of my own rules today by taking a request. Francesco Ferorelli (whom I’m pretty sure I met when he was two years old!) has been holding my feet to the fire for years wondering why I never feature any of his bands on The List, but the simple fact is that most of the stuff he’s sent to me over the years has made my ears bleed before I even get to the chorus, so when he gave me the latest EP he put out featuring Jana Hunter, I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard. The spare, meandering guitar intro takes almost two minutes to get to her vocal, but when it does, the haunting Siouxsie Sioux-like quality of this song becomes evident…but then, I always liked the Banshees better when they wandered off on an arty tangent. And let’s not kid ourselves, with a title like ‘Two Cocks Waving Wildly at Each Other Across a Vast, Open Space, a Dark, Icy Tundra’, I think Ms. Hunter is firmly in the art-rock camp. She has toured with Tara Jane O’Neil, Rasputina, Deer Tick, Marissa Nadler and perhaps most notably, Devendra Banhart, who she also has also recorded with. Check out her MySpace page and then why not head over to Heart Break Beat Records and give a listen to some of Francesco’s other bands.

JanaHunter

Song of the Day

METRIC
Gimme Sympathy

DOWNLOAD: Gimme Sympathy

If you’ve been paying any attention to the way the Song of the Day operates, then you probably know I find a lotta new music from listening to some of my fave channels on the old Sirius…Alt Nation, Underground Garage, Sirius/XM U (the indie channel)…but I also frequent one terrestrial radio station that after all this time still pushes out great new music on a regular basis…Fordham University’s WFUV. New York radio has pretty much sucked the entire time I’ve lived here, but FUV has been the one welcome exception. I was listening yesterday when this new cut from Metric’s latest album, Fantasies, came on…I got so wrapped up in the hook-filled piece of synth-pop that I didn’t even realize I was listening to a heart-wrenching breakup song until I came home, downloaded it and listened a few more times. Emily Haines’ raspy vocal blends in beautifully with the dreamy synths and fuzzy guitars. But hey, I understand if you’ve had your fill of electro-synth and you wanna just listen to some great songwriting…that’s cool…then check out the stripped-down acoustic version on YouTube…

And then head over to their MySpace page and listen to a bit more and if you wanna stream WFUV, click here!

metric

So After 27 Years…I’m In Vogue?!!

vogue

I moved to New York in the Summer of 1982 and I was gonna be a fashion photographer! In no time at all I was assisting some of the best guys in the business, but then a funny thing happened…after about six months I realized that there was no way I was gonna be a fashion photographer! Not that I’m worrying about how my career has taken me all these years later…I’ve had a pretty good run…but still find it kinda cool that after all this time, I get a shot in Vogue, and in the September issue, no less! The story is a profile on Victor Niederhoffer, written by his daughter, Galt and the magazine published the portrait I did of him in his Connecticut home.

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Who Is This Guy On My Floor & Why Is He Showing Me His Crotch ?!!

*Click on any image for full-size*

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Between all the boardrooms I’ve been in lately and my trip to the Oval Office, I worked on a project about how small businesses can ‘Go Green” for BusinessWeek SmallBiz magazine. We started on a boiling hot rooftop in the Bronx and ended up in a very cool brownstone in Washington DC. The Bronx shoot was of Lew Gold, owner of New York Beverage…

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Lew had installed an array of solar panels on his roof as the main method to both be greener and save a bundle of overhead. My art director, Michael Scowden, like the roof shots so much he put it on the cover…

smallbiz_cover

Lew also switched over to more fuel efficient delivery vans and forklifts as well as installing more energy efficient freezers and ice makers. To show off his greener ‘fleet’, I set up a shot that showed off not only his vehicles, but his uniquely designed location…..

Me outside of Bronx Auto Body, ummmm…I mean New York Beverage!

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And Lew in the final shot…..

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Finally, we got outta the sun and did a shot of Lew and his fancy freezer…..

Kaz, color checking…..

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And Lew…hamming it up for the camera…..

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For the second part of the story, we headed down to D.C. to shoot Tomas Snorek of Ripe Design…..

Green wall…green ball…green story…God, the metaphors are endless!!!

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Tomas remodeled Ripe’s offices using low-emission, fume-free paint and sustainable materials such as bamboo flooring and has also installed compact fluorescent bulbs, only prints on recycled paper and bought one of his employees a bike so she can commute without burning any gas…

Obviously, Ian, Maryam and Tomas found something I said to be simply hilarious…..

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I did this amazing shot of Tomas with a tree growing directly outta his brain…..

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…but the one that made the Table of Contents page was a bit different…..

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And we wrapped up the shoot with some portraits of the Ripe Team…..

Tomas…

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Maryam…

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And Ian…

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BusinessWeek SmallBiz is on the stands right now, but I’m still feeling the effects from all that heat on that day in the Bronx!

Me and Michael Scowden cooking our asses off!

baked

Song of the Day

THE SWELL SEASON
In These Arms

DOWNLOAD: In These Arms

Today is one of those days when I went looking for the music, but instead, the music found me. I was heartened to find out that despite their recent breakup, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova will continue to perform as The Swell Season and that they’ve just finished Strict Joy, their first album since their Oscar-winning performance in ‘Once’. When asked about this song, Hansard said that it started as a small idea for a love song but soon blossomed into something much deeper about committing to trust and faith in another person…“Sometimes you’re just meant to commit to someone’s life, and you’re meant to go through all these experiences”….the resulting song is simply beautiful.

TheSwellSeason

Strict Joy drops October 27 and you can check out more from The Swell Season on MySpace or on their website

And as a bonus today, here is a YouTube video from their recent appearance on NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ hosted by Bob Boilen (and I strongly advise you to take the time and follow the link for the entire performance)…..

Song of the Day

RADIOHEAD
These Are My Twisted Words

DOWNLOAD: These Are My Twisted Words

Oh that crazy Thom Yorke…he’s at it again, dropping free shit on us and this time he didn’t even take credit for it! Yesterday, “These Are My Twisted Words” mysteriously showed up on the Web, and even though this thing has Radiohead tattooed all over it with that long, meandering intro loaded with simmering rhythmic complexity and Yorke’s trademarked mournful croon, the doubters out there were screaming it was a fake. But after enough people made enough noise, Thom did admit on their website that it was in fact a new song from Radiohead…hmmmmm…..could this be the song that has been rumored to be in the new “Twilight” sequel? Honestly, I could give a damn since I’m not a sixteen year-old girl and I didn’t see the first Twilight movie, but I’ll take all the Radiohead the boyz are willing to toss out. You can visit Radiohead on their official website

radiohead