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* 2003 ''[[And This Is Our Music|...And This Is Our Music]]''
* 2003 ''[[And This Is Our Music|...And This Is Our Music]]''
* 2004 ''[[Tepid Peppermint Wonderland]]''
* 2004 ''[[Tepid Peppermint Wonderland]]''
* 2005 ''[[Tepid Peppermint Wonderland Volume Two]]''
* 2005 ''[[We Are the Radio]]'' (EP)
* 2005 ''[[We Are the Radio]]'' (EP)
* 2008 ''[[My Bloody Underground]]''
* 2008 ''[[My Bloody Underground]]''

Revision as of 20:12, 21 December 2012

"BJM" redirects here. For other uses, see BJM (disambiguation).

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The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Anton Newcombe & BJM - Live at Coachella
Anton Newcombe & BJM - Live at Coachella
Background information
Also known asBJM
The BJM
OriginSan Francisco, California, United States
GenresPsychedelic rock, folk rock, neo-psychedelia
Years active1990–present
LabelsBomp! Records
TVT Records
Tee Pee Records
MembersAnton Newcombe
Matt Hollywood
Frankie "Teardrop" Emerson
Collin Hegna
Ricky Maymi
Daniel Allaire
Joel Gion
Rob Campanella
Past memberssee below
Websitehttp://www.brianjonestownmassacre.com

The Brian Jonestown Massacre (also known as BJM) is an American eclectic musical group, led by Anton Newcombe; the band's musical output spans multiple genres, including psychedelia, electronica, folk music, blues, and experimental music.[citation needed]. The band attained recognition in the second decade of the 21st century when its music was selected for the soundtrack of the HBO cable television series, Boardwalk Empire, with the song "Straight Up and Down" used in the opening credit sequence for each episode.[1]

Background

The group was founded San Francisco, United States (US) by Newcombe, Dean Taylor, Jeff Davies, and Joel Gion in 1990; since formation, the band has consisted of over forty members, with Newcombe the sole mainstay. Other prominent ex-members include Matt Hollywood, Ricky Rene Maymi, Patrick Straczek, Brian Glaze, Miranda Lee Richards, Sarabeth Tucek, and Travis Threlkel.[2][3][4]

The name "Brian Jonestown Massacre" is a portmanteau of The Rolling Stones' founder and guitarist Brian Jones and the infamous mass cult suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.[5][6]

Releases

1995 & 1996

The 1995 album, Methodrone, approximates the United Kingdom (UK) "shoegazing" sound that had gained prominence several years prior to its release. Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request, one of three new albums released by the group in 1996, reflects a pastiche of 1960s psychedelia that continues to characterize the BJM sound to the present day. Newcombe defines the term "psychedelic" as "mind-expanding", and is a term that is generally used to describe BJM's output due to the revivalist nature of the music.[7][8] Elements of Middle Eastern and Brazilian music are also apparent in the band's sound, along with influences by 1960s artists like The Beatles, Os Mutantes, The Velvet Underground, Donovan, Love, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones. Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request is an example of this 1960s influence, as the work is an homage to the Rolling Stones' 1967 album, Their Satanic Majesties Request.[9] The second album they released in 1996, Take It from the Man!, was recorded in the Rolling Stones' mid-1960s style of rock rooted in rhythm and blues.[10]

Thank God for Mental Illness, BMJ's third record, released in 1996, represents a country and rhythm and blues aspect to the band's oeuvre, with vocals and acoustic guitar dominating the overall sound. This is a format that Newcombe occasionally adopts when presenting live material during times of transition in the band.[citation needed] A further example of this country/folk influence was applied to the Bringing It All Back Home - Again album; the title is an homage to Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home.[citation needed]

And This Is Our Music (2003)

Electronic music appears in 2003's And This Is Our Music, evidencing more contemporary influences. The album's title is an obvious reference to the identically-titled, but distinct, albums, This Is Our Music, by the artists, Galaxie 500 and Ornette Coleman. In 2005, the band released the EP, We Are the Radio, on Newcombe's own label, The Committee to Keep Music Evil, which featured a close collaboration with indie singer-songwriter, Sara Beth Tuceck.

My Bloody Underground (2008)

My Bloody Underground was released on Cargo Records in 2008, but demos were available on the band's website from September 2007.[11] The title has been interpreted[by whom?] to be a name-check to the bands My Bloody Valentine, and The Velvet Underground, as well as a reference to BJM's endless procession of bandmates and the "scene" they collectively created.[original research?] Newcombe has down-played such interpretations, however.[12] Music videos of the some of the album's songs have also been released, including a music video compilation DVD, entitled Book of Days.[13]

2009 releases

The Brian Jonestown Massacre recorded both One EP and Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?, in Iceland and Berlin, in 2009. The One EP was released in November 2009 and features the songs, "One", "This Is the First of Your Last Warning" (which would also appear on Who Killed Sgt. Pepper), an English version of "This Is The First Of Your Last Warning", and an exclusive track, "Bruttermania". Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? was released in February 2010 and features musicians such as Unnur Andrea Einarsdottir (who recorded vocals on the previous BJM album) and Felix Bondareff, from the Russian band, Amazing Electronic Talking Cave; Will Carruthers and musicians from France, Germany, and Iceland also contributed to the album. Soon after the album's release, it was confirmed that Hollywood had returned to the band after an eleven-year absence. According to Anton Newcombe, he would feature on the band's next album and toured with the band. The group was scheduled to play the ATP New York 2010 music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010, in support of Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?, but canceled the appearance.

Aufheben (2012)

The most recent Brian Jonestown Massacre album release is titled "Aufheben" and was released on May 1, 2012. Newcombe stated in an interview with GoingThruVinyl that the album title relates to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's use of the term, whereby something is destroyed in order to preserve it.[14]

Documentary

Along with The Dandy Warhols, BJM were the subjects of the 2004 documentary film, Dig!. The film captured a love-hate relationship between both bands, highlighting the interaction of BJM frontman Anton Newcombe with his counterpart in the Warhols, Courtney Taylor-Taylor. The film was recorded over the course of seven years by Ondi Timoner and won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.[15] Newcombe distanced himself from the film, stating that its portrayal of him was unfair. Taylor-Taylor also distanced himself from the documentary, explaining that he felt pressured during the filming process; the Dandy Warhols' frontman also added, "It's a movie, not a documentary [...] She (Timoner) worked her ass off and forged a plot when there was no plot. She crafted the thing to swell and ebb by taking eight years of us and a year and a half of the Brian Jonestown Massacre".[16] The Dandy Warhols' drummer, Brent DeBoer, supported Taylor-Taylor and revealed to the Spinner website:

Ondi has 1,998 hours of footage that nobody saw and she could have taken it and made a really respectful show about two really talented bands working very hard and making great records. It could be a feel-good story, like here's where they're born, here's where they recorded, here's how they've grown together, and here's where they are now. But she just snagged a couple hours of just the worst behavior.

[17]

Members

Main article: List of The Brian Jonestown Massacre members

Currently, The Brian Jonestown Massacre consists of Newcombe alongside numerous long and short-term collaborators:

  • Will Carruthers – bass. Member from 2006–present. Formerly of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized.
  • Matt Hollywood – guitar, bass, vocals. A founding member from 1990–1999, then from 2009–present. Also founder of the drone group Rebel Drones.
  • Jón Sæmundur Audarson – guitar, artwork. Collaborates with Newcombe on installations, videos, and recording. Currently heads the DEAD clothing store in Reykjavík, Iceland, as well as leading the drone/experimental group Dead Skeletons.
  • Henrik Baldvin Bjornsson – guitar. Collaborates with Newcombe with recordings. Also of the Icelandic band Singapore Sling and Dead Skeletons.
  • Constantine Karlis – drums. Formerly of the New Zealand rock bands High Dependency Unit and Dimmer.

The BJM has undergone many personnel changes, with Newcombe the only consistent member (see comprehensive list of Brian Jonestown Massacre members).

The band has influenced many other indie bands, noted in the Brian Jonestown Massacre Covers Project.[18][dead link]

Discography

Main article: The Brian Jonestown Massacre discography
  • The BJM and The Dandy Warhols were the subject of the documentary, DiG!.[19][20]
  • "Open Heart Surgery" appeared on the soundrack of the television series, Rescue Me.
  • A number of BJM songs were used in the improvisational film by Zak Penn, entitled The Grand.
  • "Servo", from Give It Back!, was used in the 2007 film, Spin.
  • All but one song in the 2007 film, Broken,[21] was by The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
  • "Straight Up and Down" is used as the opening theme song for the HBO show, Boardwalk Empire.
  • "Vacuum Boots" appears in the first season episode of My Life as Liz.
  • The track, "You Look Great When I'm Fucked Up", appears at the end of the fifth episode of the first series of teen drama, Skins; the track, "Ballad of Jim Jones", also appeared in the tenth episode of the third series.
  • "The Way It Was" featured in the 2011 video game, Need for Speed: The Run.

References

  1. ^ Cristin Maher (17). "What's That Song From the 'Boardwalk Empire' Trailer?". spinner. AOL Inc. Retrieved 2 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "About". Brian Jonestown Massacre Facebook fan page. Facebook. 18. Retrieved 2 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Piero Scaruffi (1999). "Brian Jonestown Massacre". The History of Rock Music (in Italian and English). Piero Scaruffi. Retrieved 2 December 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  4. ^ "The Brian Jonestown Massacre". Rate Your Music. rateyourmusic.com. 2000–2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  5. ^ Hopper, Kevin (January 2, 2004). "A timeless sound keeps psych-rockers BJM relevant". Albuquerque Journal. p. 15.
  6. ^ Krause, Charles A (November 19, 2008). "Town Without Pity; 30 Years Later, Memories of Jonestown Evoke Guilt, Anger and Mistrust". The Washington Post. p. C.1.
  7. ^ Ged M (July 31, 2005). "The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Tepid Peppermint Wonderland: A Retrospective album review". SoundsXP.
  8. ^ Clegg, Rachel. "Brian Jonestown Massacre Interview". Caught in the Crossfire.
  9. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  10. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Take It from the Man!". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  11. ^ "The Brian Jonestown Massacre official website". The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Archived from the original on 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  12. ^ Gourlay, Dom (March 17, 2008). "The Brian Jonestown Massacre: enraging Anton, unintentionally". Drowned in Sound.
  13. ^ Brian Jonestown Massacre (2012). "Book Of Days My Bloody Underground" (Video uploads). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  14. ^ "Anton Newcombe Talks About the New Brian Jonestown Massacre record - Aufheben [31'17] S02 Ep05 Living in a reverse world". GoingThruVinyl. GoingThruVinyl. 13. Retrieved 2 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ "DIG!". Sundance Channel. SundanceChannel.com. 2004. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  16. ^ Alex Hannafoud (22–28). "Fine And Dandy (reprint of article)". Slabtown (from The Big Issue). Slabtown Network and jmcgrott@slabtown.net. Retrieved 2 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  17. ^ Dan Reilly (21). "Dandy Warhols Call 'Dig!' a 'Dishonest' Documentary". Spinner. AOL Inc. Retrieved 2 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. ^ "Brian Jonestown Massacre Covers Project page". N/A. Retrieved 2008-01-04.[dead link]
  19. ^ "Dig!". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  20. ^ ousmane bary (2). "DiG! - Brian Jonestown Massacre" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 2 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  21. ^ "Broken (2006/I) – Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
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