May 15, 2008
On My Way to Interview the Long Blondes...
...but more on that next week. For now, I give you a couple recent videos from the band's British peers, who slot in neatly against the electro leaning of their newly released album "Couples".
Ladytron - "Ghosts"
Ladytron has been touched upon many times previously, and this song specifically was discussed here.
Late of the Pier - "Space and the Woods"
These floppy haired young ne'er-do-wells got a brief close up in this space previously as well.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
NYT: Kanye West's ego, "approximately equal" to the size of the universe
An attempt to introduce this with something clever would be foolish.
"There is a new yardstick for the size of the universe. It is approximately equal to the size of Kanye West’s ego."
Jon Pareles is not exactly mincing words with that opening sentence. More from his review of Tuesday's Kanye West show at MSG (link):
Mr. West’s set was the most daring arena spectacle hip-hop has yet produced, and in some ways the best, even as it jettisoned standard hip-hop expectations. The rhymes, the beats and the narcissism were there; the block-party spirit and sense of community were not. Until the encore Mr. West had no human company on the arena stage.The spectacle is framed as a sci-fi space odyssey, with Mr. West as a lone explorer whose starship crashes on an unknown planet. He’s stranded in a landscape of colored lights, billowing smoke — probably enough dry ice to cool Death Valley — and gorgeous, panoramic video images of clouds, galaxies, fireworks and cosmic eruptions. He converses with his computerized ship, named Jane, and with shooting stars. He raps with barely a respite, and bounds around the stage: striding, hunching, pumping his fist, falling to his knees, grinding against the stage, flailing, shouting his rhymes. It is a show of stamina and lonely self-determination that takes on its own obsessive momentum, like a Samuel Beckett scene staged by Robert Wilson and George Lucas.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 14, 2008
Retrohump: Adolescent Nonsense
Right now I'm drinking Coco Loto: Coconut Juice with Pineapple and boy is it disgusting.
Let's start today's retro romp with one from an "obscure punk-rock band" from Philadelphia, PA, (home of a one Y. Korngold).
Dead Milkmen - "Punk Rock Girl"
This next one comes from the 'Mats 1987 album Pleased to Meet Me, a title that spawned a million and one bad introduction jokes.
The Replacements - "Alex Chilton"
Continue reading "Retrohump: Adolescent Nonsense"
Posted by Randall Monty at 08:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 13, 2008
After the Jump Tickets Now on Sale!
You'll be hearing quite a bit about the ins and outs of this year's After the Jump Fest in the days to come, but a quick word of alert is in order at the moment.
HEALTH - "Glitter Pills"
(live on Pitchfork.tv's Don't Look Down)
Tickets for the benefit portion of June 21st's all-day, all-night proceedings at the Music Hall of Williamsburg are now on-sale. Proceeds from the reasonable $10 dollar ticket price will go towards underfunded city school music programs, and the line-up is pretty stellar. So far we can tell you that it'll feature...
- HEALTH
- Titus Andronicus
- Project Jenny, Project Jan
- Pattern is Movement
- DJ XXXChange (Spank Rock)
...and there will be a bit more to add in due time for the night bill, and loads more to dissect in regard to the free daytime festivities. Watch this space.
Some initial convincing:
HEALTH - "Crimewave"
Titus Andronicus - "Arms Against Atrophy"
Project Jenny, Project Jan - "320"
Pattern is Movement - "Right Away"
Santogold - "LES Artistes" (XXXChange remix)
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 07:07 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Video: the Kills - "Last Day of Magic"
One of the enduring two-piece's poppiest songs to date gets a tense and brutal video treatment that makes domestic violence seem like doomed romance (whether that's a responsible idea or not).
the Kills - "Last Day of Magic"
Previously: Bleak Girls Club
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 03:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 12, 2008
The Girls of Spring
Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, Pussy Galore's Julie Cafritz, and the Boredom's Yoshimi P-We return as the world's most terrifyingly intimidating female super-group, Free Kitten. Where Pavement bassist Mark Ibold previously filled the band's token male indie-rock luminary role, we now have J. Mascis bashing the hell out of a drum kit (and kicking the proceedings off with a righteous sneeze). A nasty grumble of a guitar line is the ingredient that'll shake your guts, but Cafritz adds even more bad vibes as the featured screaming banshee. "Survival of the fittest is a cruel cruel hoax" she drolly intones. I doubt these sisters in badassery would have any natural predators under any alternative laws of the jungle that she might propose.
Lissy Trullie - "Self-Taught Learner"
We know switch our attention to downtown cool of an entirely more aloof quality. Fetching tomboy Lissy Trullie is already a bit of a renowned fashion plate, chanteuse, scenester, and (we can only assume) incorrigible heartbreaker in advance of her debut EP. Its title track is a perfectly nonchalant cool breeze of a song, with slightly chugging guitars and low-key studio affects getting out of the way to let her nicotine saturated voice fill most of its empty space. It's deep but slight, and if you weren't graced with the above visual, you might assume it was coming from an adrogyne on the other side of the chromosome divide. If there's a nit to pick, it's that the song doesn't feel weighty enough to sustain itself after the lofty bridge at the two-minute mark. Brevity could have been another quill with which to smite hapless passers-by. But at the risk of being slightly condescending, a look at the above photo should clue you in on how much advice she needs to take from me in order to be successful.
Tickley Feather - "The Python"
This track, from Philadelphia single mom Annie Sachs' home-recorded debut has been floating around the internet for a minute, but it's too hypnotic to allow it to pass by unremarked. The song's various elements are pasted over each other like scissored bits in a stylish collage. The beat isn't guiding the wandering-in-a-fog vocal melodies, though it accidentally keeps time for the idle piano circles that seem piped in by loudspeaker from a far away warehouse. Its spare and pretty rather than forced, though. A would-be happy accident that was probably much more deliberate than it initially seems.
Ponytail - "Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From an Angel)"
Ponytail might have been a math rock boys club if not for the completely bonkers vocal styling of improbably wee front-gal Molly Sigel. This track is the racing heart of the Blatimore band's forthcoming Ice Cream Spiritual, spending seven minutes alternately sprinting away from hornets or stealing a few winks in the shade. Sigel's lungs are a living, wailing instrument of destruction, adding texture but not concrete meaning. She gives 100% conviction to screeches and purrs both, highlighting the reckless fun in the speeding guitar lines. Instrumental pyrotechnics that could have been a wonk too far are instead thrillingly alive and neon-colored.
P.S. I'm not sure if this kitty has offcially cleared the bag yet, but New Yorkers will be able to see these guys for free at this summer's After the Jump Festival!
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 01:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Video: Portishead - "The Rip"
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Denver/Boulder: Shows this week | 5.12 - 5.18
[Flight of the Conchords]
Monday, May 12
DJ Scooter @ Larimer Lounge
Fall From Grace @ Marquis Theater
The Mary Onettes @ Hi-Dive
Nylon Music Tour @ Gothic Theatre
Tuesday, May 13
Dead Meadow @ Larimer Lounge
Rocco Deluca @ Walnut Room
Subtle/Achille Lauro @ Bluebird Theater
Wednesday, May 14
An Evening With Asylum Street Spankers @ Walnut Room
Boulder Acoustic Society @ Fox Theatre
Frontside Five @ Bluebird Theater
Heart Start Hero @ Larimer Lounge
Thursday, May 15
Flight of the Conchords @ Caulkins Opera House
The Bellrays @ Larimer Lounge
Big Time Entertainment Show @ Hi-Dive
Emarosa @ Marquis Theater
Jackson Boone & The Lovers Jive @ Fox Theatre
Was (Not Was) @ Gothic Theatre
Friday, May 16
As Blood Runs Black @ Marquis Theater
Dark Lotus @ Gothic Theatre
Jen Korte And The Loss @ Walnut Room
Latch @ Hi-Dive
Margot And The Nuclear So And Sos @ Larimer Lounge
Shwerver @ Bluebird Theater
Super 400 @ Boulder Theater
Saturday, May 17
Atmosphere @ Ogden Theater
Blue Scholars @ Gothic Theatre
Brian Regan @ Paramount Theatre
Cloud Cult @ Larimer Lounge
Insane Clown Posse @ Red Rocks Ampitheatre
M.I.A. @ Fillmore Auditorium
Rob Drabkin @ Soiled Dove
Stand By Your Band III @ Hi-Dive
Tapes'n Tapes @ Bluebird Theater
Vitamins @ Walnut Room
Sunday, May 18
Boulder Acoustic Society @ Fox Theatre
Cloud Cult @ Larimer Lounge
Collective Soul @ Boulder Theater
CPC Gangbangs @ Hi-Dive
The Insomniacs @ Walnut Room
The Mars Volta @ Fillmore Auditorium
Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 09, 2008
Coachella 2008: Sunday (Day 3)
[This and all photos by Merry Swankster]
Sunday was the lightest lineup at this year's Coachella. The third and final installment of the fest saw sparse crowds and half filled venues all day long. For a substantial part of the day our group was at a loss on what bands to see. I don't remember that ever happening before, though it allowed time to check out the festival's extensive art installations without the accompanying guilt of skipping acts. The paltry schedule was magnified when our mid day penciled in selection did not show up. I was looking forward to seeing The Field, but immigration issues barred them from entering the country.
While the day still provided plenty of heavyweight entertainment from the likes of My Morning Jacket, Roger Waters and Justice, the consensus opinion of Merry Swankster's extended posse was disappointment. Without doubt the weakest single day crowd in at least five years for the festival so we obviously weren't alone with those thoughts. It gave the impression of a failed festival, something I'm sure the festival organizers will be eager to turn around in the coming years given the established prestige and past successes of Coachella. Expectations baby, they're a bitch. And the high expectations at Coachella are easy to take for granted. I look forward to complaining about making tough choices rather than feeling confused on why there is nobody interesting to see.
Previously:
Coachella Day 1
Coachella Day 2
Final day summary after the jump...
Continue reading "Coachella 2008: Sunday (Day 3)"
Posted by Merry Swankster at 08:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
When Pavement ruined Lollapalooza
Pavement - "Slow Century" DVD - West Virginia, Lollapalooza 1994
Waxing about Malkmus reminded me of being too young and dumb to check out Pavement play Lollapalooza in 1994 and led me to this nugget of hilarity from the band's "Slow Century" DVD (Matador). It then got me thinking about how radically different things are these days at music festivals. Its a complete 180. Pavement was routinely ignored (my 15 y/o self - guilty) during their stint as headliner in '94, to the point where things got a bit ugly in West Virginia. Safe to say leaving the stage to a chorus of boos, flying mud, and reciprocating with flipped birds and dropping trout is not ideal.
So what's changed since? Fourteen years later and the festival circuit in America is as healthy as ever. The model certainly changed, traveling festivals replaced by anchored regional events. But at what point do things unwittingly revert to a facsimile of Lollapalooza's original failed model? Tons of bands do the "festival circuit" and exclusivity of acts is getting harder and harder for festival promoters in such a crowded market. Survival of the fittest? Could be a dangerous way to weed out the losers, considering it's tantamount to cannibalization. Geography will come into play in a big way for some organizers. Pitchfork, Lollapalooza, and Coachella have distinct advantages being in or near Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively. Only time will tell, but the music industry as a whole doesn't exactly have the best record with success these days. Now I'm getting bummed out.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Coachella 2008: Saturday (Day 2)
[This and all photos by Merry Swankster]
Continued coverage of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival.
Previously: Coachella Day 1
Full rundown after the jump...
Continue reading "Coachella 2008: Saturday (Day 2)"
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:00 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Coachella's best individual song performance was by Hot Chip
Hot Chip - "Over and Over" - Live @ Coachella 4.26.2008
And this was it. (Another angle)
Posted by Merry Swankster at 03:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 08, 2008
Art Rock: Mike Keirstead's "The Jam Part I: A History"
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if 19th century French Neo-Impressionist painter Georges-Pierre Seurat listened to Jimi Hendrix on repeat for years on end? Of course you have… who hasn’t? At first I thought the result of this experiment would look exactly like this…
"man, you ever think the world is just made up of small colored dots?"
But it has come to my attention that is has been scientifically suggested that:
As this sound mathematical equation shows, Seurat + Axis: Bold of Love = Canadian artist Michael Keirstead’s magnum opus, The Jam Part I: A History.
While it took Seurat two years to dot his way through his 10ft wide painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte , it took Keirstead five years to complete the 113 stippled portraits in his 8ft work. Keirstead used the meticulous technique of stippling in which the artist uses small dots to create the effect of shading instead of using lines or blotches of paint. The delicate and painstaking process proves the gravity in which Keirstead viewed his work.
The musicians that are touching have collaborated while the head size and placement of each musician is a result of Keirstead’s own personal musical cannon of rock n’ roll lineage. It has been rumored that the original work of art was purchased by one of the Beatles. Though I'm not completely sure which Beatle's estate owns this work the fact that John's head is three times the size of McCartney's may narrow it down a bit. The good news for Pete Best and the rest of us is that you don't have to be a Beatle to own this piece of art since a newly established Philadelphia marketing group is now selling the poster.
// to purchase or view close-ups of The Jam Poster
Posted by Yonah Korngold at 05:46 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Video: Love Is All - "Give It Back" (New Song)
Aside from a few clear riffs, there's nothing conclusive about this video, posted to You Tube by Love Is All's powerful pixie singer Josephine Olausson. This grainy, far-off footage depicts an airing of "Give It Back," a tune slated for A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night, the band's increasingly anticipated sophomore record. We can only hope that hometown shows such as this will keep the band sharp and wily as they depart cozy Gothenburg, Sweden next month for a quick east coast jog.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 12:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Coachella 2008: Friday (Day 1)
Day 1 at the 2008 Coachella Music and Arts festival was a classic Coachella cocktail of young tenderfoots sipping success, old(er) stalwarts tickling fans with new material amongst sprinklings of vintage hits, and established indie bigs proving that swagger best complements talents when the latter is in abundance. Referring specifically to the Raconteurs who were so scarily good it was enough to hasten the rush back to practice garages and basements for the impossibly hyped newbies still in development.
Also operating on all cylinders was the completely different funk and soul phenomenon that was Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. Ms. Jones and company brought the house, or in this case tent, down with such a flawless execution of the word "Show" one can ever hope for. If you ever walked away from a concert feeling like your live music dollar did not provide the best anticipated return in entertainment dividends, Sharon Jones was the exact opposite of that.
Click through to see highlights of Friday at Coachella.
[All photos by Merry Swankster unless noted]
Continue reading "Coachella 2008: Friday (Day 1)"
Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:30 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
