January 31, 2006
Jesus Thinks He's Morrissey (Man Bites Dog)
Wow.
I noticed this tidbit in Salon.com's Audiofile column (you have to watch an ad to access it), and had to go to the Guardian website to confirm, but I'm still not sure I believe it.
A full scale Passion of the Christ street parade musical soundtracked by Manchester post punk and pop?
With that dancing retard from the Happy Mondays playing a disciple?
Jesus and Judas dueting on "Blue Monday"? Jesus and Pontius Pilate belting out "Wonderwall"?
That is some crazy British shit. I think it moves past my conception of "good" or "bad" ideas.
You just have to read it...
Tags: Jesus, Manchester, UK, Insanity
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 02:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UPDATE - More artist announcements Complete Lineup for Coachella 2006
The IV drip is flowing a little stronger. More confirmed artists:
**UPDATE - KROQ (Los Angeles) has posted a more extensive list of bands. I've added them below in bold.**
| Day 1: DEPECHE MODE FRANZ FERDINAND SIGUR ROS COMMON DAMIEN MARLEY ATMOSPHERE CARL COX MY MORNING JACKET LADYTRON CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH TOSCA CAT POWER ANIMAL COLLECTIVE HARD-FI DEVENDRA BANHART SHE WANTS REVENGE THE WALKMEN THE JUAN MACLEAN AUDIO BULLYS LADY SOVEREIGN DEERHOOF THE DUKE SPIRIT EDITORS STELLASTAR* LYRICS BORN THE ZUTONS WHITE ROSE MOVEMENT COLETTE WOLF MOTHER THE LIVING THINGS NINE BLACK ALPS YOUTH GROUP DERRICK CARTER MATT COSTA THE NEW AMSTERDAMS PLATINUM PIPED PIPERS CHRIS LIBERATOR JOEY BELTRAM HYBRID THE LIKE THE SECTION QUARTET INFADELS SHY FX & T POWER INFUSION |
Day 2: TOOL YEAH YEAH YEAHS BLOC PARTY PAUL OAKENFOLD SCISSOR SISTERS MATISYAHU JAMES BLUNT MOGWAI TV ON THE RADIO SLEATER KINNEY GNARLES BARKLEY (DANGER MOUSE & CEE-LO) COLDCUT DIGABLE PLANETS AMODOU MARIAM LITTLE LOUIS VEGA MYLO SEU JORGE PHOENIX WOLF PARADE THE GO! TEAM METRIC IMOGENE HEAP ART BRUT DUNGEN THE DEARS JAMIE LIDDELL THE MAGIC NUMBERS LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES JAZZANOVA MICHAEL MAYER MATES OF STATE GILLES PETERSON GABRIEL & DRESDEN THE SUBWAYS MINUS THE BEAR BE YOUR OWN PET GIANT DRAG COHEED AND CAMBRIA KASKADE KRISTINA SKY THE OCTOPUS PROJECT |
Previously: Partially leaked Coachella lineup - Tool joins Depeche Mode as headliner, Coachella Lineup to be announced Monday, Coachella 2006? Rumored lineup
Tags: Coachella
Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 30, 2006
Partially leaked Coachella lineup - Tool joins Depeche Mode as headliner
Ok...so technically it is still Monday where I am so today's earlier post is still valid. Goldenvoice has leaked the following bands confirmed for April 29 & 30 in the California desert.
Headliners: DEPECHE MODE TOOL
SIGUR ROS
FRANZ FERDINAND
COMMON
YEAH YEAH YEAHS
BLOC PARTY
DAMIAN MARLEY
PAUL OAKENFOLD
MATISYAHU
SCISSOR SISTERS
MY MORNING JACKET
TV ON THE RADIO
GNARLES BARKLEY
WOLF PARADE
CAT POWER
HARD-FI
SHE WANTS REVENGE
DANGER MOUSE
THE LIKE
That hit the spot...not the full lineup, but enough to quell the fix. Tool is the suprise, apparantly the replacement for Smashing Pumpkins, but pretty damn great so far. The LA Times has picked up on the initial list of bands.
Previously: Coachella Lineup to be announced Monday, Coachella 2006? Rumored lineup
Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Raconteurs - Poised to blow our minds
You ever wish that Jack White would form a proper band so that his immense talent could be unleashed without the need for him to literally cover every musical aspect of the music? Perhaps Jack has had the same thoughts, but does not want to tinker with the White Stripes' look, feel, and sound that he carefully developed and potentially be destroyed if they were to add, say a bass player. So what is Mr. White to do? Maybe he can join forces with his buddy Brendan Benson, and Jack Lawrence & Patrick Keeler (of The Greenhornes) and start a new band?
Think of the stories this supergroup will weave for us! All anecdotes with skill and wit! Of course they'd go be known as the Raconteurs and they would blow our fucking minds!
Its true kiddies, the 2006 supergroup is here and they are The Raconteurs.
Their website hails the arrival:
Remember a time
when all was not fine
and up from the dingy sewers
came four lousy thieves
who flourished like trees
behold The Raconteurs
Jack White explains:
"It's a whole new band - a dual attack with dual guitars, dual vocals, and dual songwriting. The songs are giant. They're really large."
I'm giddy with excitement.
The facts:
-1.30.2006 - Limited edition 7" released in UK/Europe with tracks:
Side A: Steady, As She Goes
Side B: Store Bought Bones
*Both of these songs can be heard on the band's website.-3.7.2006 - Same limited edition 7" released in North America. (March?? &#%@$)
-5.2006 - The Raconteurs full length album entitled "Broken Boy Soldiers" released.
-5-2006 (post release) - Merry Swankster HQ soils itself repeatedly while listening to the awesomeness that this project will deliver.
<
//The Raconteurs - site
Tags: The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers, Jack White, Brendan Benson, White Stripes. The Greenhornes
Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
MS Daily Picks - Williamsburg forever!
It would be a real shame if all anybody remembers about the Brooklyn music scene in the 00's is hype and questionable haircuts. It seems like you can't read an article about any band in Brooklyn without constant hand wringing over whether or not we should actually be enjoying this music we're currently enjoying. I mean it sort of sounds like..., and they seem like they're having a good time, but are they really? Am I really? Are they faking it? Is faking it the new meaning it? Are they too basic? Too pretentious?
I guess it was inevitable that the first decade to occur entirely post-internet explosion would be cripplingly self-conscious, but really this misbeggoten borough has produced some great music so far. I understand how annoying it is for people who don't live here (and do, for that matter) when Spin magazine declares B-burg the "Rockest City in America!" despite not actually being a city. But before you had to read about it 8,000 times there were homemade t-shirts and gigs with ten people in the audience and kids who really loved music. Just like anyplace else.
Of course this is all a long winded way of me hand wringing over the fact that I don't want my young adult memories to be diminished by the fickle whims of the hip. I don't want my kids laughing at me for the generational equivalent of being really into Bananarama. I have some faith that the music that was springing up in the 'hood after I moved here in the hipster gold rush of '02 will hold up, justifying my premature nostalgia.
And really even though they'll always be associated with Brooklyn, I think both these bands have moved away by now. If that helps you enjoy it any more. Plus this stuff is good.
I think...
Taken from a Japan/Australia only split 7" single with the Liars, this song's status as a throw away gives me even more hope for the impending Show Your Bones. This track is all tension and release with Karen's delicate vocal floating above sustained keyboard notes and a brittle programmed beat. Pretty on its own, this interplay is occasionally broken by eruptions of Nick Zinner's strutting guitar. That guy is good at guitar.
Not their best song ever, but one would hope those are saved for the album, right?
Note: The fuzziness of this track could very well be intentional (an attempt to out murk the Liars?) but I think at least some of it has to do with somebody converting their vinyl single to mp3. If somebody out there in TV Land has a clearer copy, I'd love to hear it.
Liars - The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack
Then we have the Liars themselves, whose forthcoming album Drum's Not Dead is arguably more obtuse than the almost universally declared unlistenable They Were Wrong, So We Drowned. I really liked parts of that album, but they weren't the dance-y winners that got them famous and alot of people weren't willing to give them room to breathe. I suspect the critical mass on the new record will be a bit better, but still stranded firmly in the "cult artist" bin.
Amazingly though, for one track at least, the band plays it straight. It's beautiful and downright sweet. I listened to it at least three times before I was willing to admit that it was indeed a Liars song and not a cruel hoax.
A bare bones guitar line is joined after a minute by Angus' multi-tracked falsetto. Usually used as a counterpoint to intense drumming, it's startling to hear how pretty his voice is on its own. Amping up the beauty are cascading background sighs and a healthy dose of sleighbells (!).
Also surprising is the direct simplicity of the lyrics coming from a guy who mainly shouts about horse-men and Witch Mountains.
"If you need me/ if you need me / I can always be found."
"I will stand by your side/ I will stand by your side"
A belated response from the man whom "Maps" was famously written about? That's my take, but it could also be about a German goblin, I guess.
Tags: Yeah Yeah Yeahs , Liars, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 09:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Foot in the door for $7.99 Arcade Fire; Oh and that stainless steel Fridge too!
From the department of "Economics, Free Market, Undercutting and Misguided Indie Angst" (DEFUMIA) comes this post on the Chromewaves blog regarding a recent Best Buy advertisement for cheap CDs of popular indie bands like Arcade Fire, New Pornographers, Cat Power, Antony & the Johnsons, among others. Cheap like $7.99 cheap.
For years now Best Buy, Wal-Mart and other big box retailers have been selling CDs at a loss as a way to entice customers into their stores in the hope that while at the electronic meccas they will pick up other profitable items. Some critics scoff at this business tactic and claim they never heard of someone going in to "pick up a cheap CD and walk[ing] out with a microwave." As with many debates, that statement is much too simplistic and lacks quantitative data. You need not walk out with a relatively big ticket item like a microwave for this plan to work for Best Buy. Adding a spool of blank CD-Rs or other high margin items such as iPod accessories to your shopping cart gets it done.
The other point of contention with Best Buy's strategy is from independent music store loyalists complaining that the low price points drive away business and spell the eventual demise of their local concert-poster covered sanctuaries. While not entirely untrue, these local stores, like the rest of the music industry, are in trouble anyway whether or not $7.99 CDs are being sold. It definitely does not help matters, but the economics tell you that a customer will buy the cheaper product if given a choice. If I need a hammer and my choices are a $15 one at Bill's hardware store or a $7 at Home Depot, guess who is getting my money? Altruistic purchasing may be well intentioned, but its not sustainable. Plus we all know where good intentions lead to.
I'm willing to counter the complaints with the following points, neatly laid out in bullets:
- Best Buy will never replace the look and feel of an independent record store.
Anyone who has visited the Amoeba Music record store in Los Angeles or San Francisco knows this to be true. These are palaces of music that no other place can match in selection, atmostphere, and overall feel. Sure Best Buy will carry the big indie bands (not an oxymoron these days) but they will never have the thorough selection of used, imports, rarities, vinyl, etc. that make those local stores so beloved. I dare you to ask a Best Buy clerk if they carry the DFA Holiday mix just to see the awesome blank stare that follows. - Outside of large cities mom and pop record stores do not exist.
For many Wal-Mart is the only option for everything, including music. The only real competition is the so very delicious Internet, which in many ways is like those independent stores but better. Which brings us to... - The Internet
The great equalizer, sort of. Between Amazon, Insound, iTunes, eMusic, and the more illicit services, every recording is a few clicks away from your mailbox or hard drive. So if you happen to be stuck in say Wichita on Tuesday release day and Wal-Mart isn’t carrying the new Clearlake album, have no fear! Jump online voila, yours it will be.
The sweet smell of commerce on a Monday!
Tags: Best Buy, Indie Music, Wal-Mart, Amoeba
Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:03 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
eMusic - Scrappiness pays in volume
Below are excerpts of eMusic CEO David Pakman's interview with mp3.com. Full interview here.
David Pakman on:
customers:
They're a much more pleasant consumer to deal with because they are far less fickle. They are are interested in value but they're not starving for dollars. They have credit cards that are valid and don't max out all the time and they can afford to buy both a $400 hardware device and spend, you know, 100 bucks a year on music. So, we like that consumer a lot better.
DRM:
We'll continue to be no-DRM, not for philosophical reasons but only for practical, compatibility reasons. And if that whole practical, compatibility thing got sorted out, if you could sell DRM-protected music that was interoperable everywhere and that wasn't sort of penalizing customers for buying music digitally, we would do that.
- - -
We certainly do believe that the lack of interoperability is holding the digital music market back. There's no question that Napster and Yahoo and AOL's MusicNow would all sell more music if they worked on the iPod. So definitely DRM as it relates to lack of interoperability is a problem for the industry. In terms of DRM's limitations on consumer behavior, I think you can strike a balance with the consumer that says, "You can still do some things with this, but not everything that you might be expecting to do." You just have to disclose that up front to them.
eMusic's business model:
It's the same way that health clubs exist. If 1,000 people sign up on January 1st with their New Year's resolution and all 1,000 people went every day, the gym would be way too crowded and you would quit.But, of course 1,000 people don't go every day and some people go for the first couple of months and then don't ever go again for the rest of the year. That's the same model for us and Napster and Rhapsody, where a label might get less on a per-song basis but the consumption tends to go up.
The iTunes customer buys about three or four songs per customer per month on average. The eMusic customer buys 20 songs per month on average. So, the consumption is much higher when a user prepays for music. They want to get their money's worth. That also means that a highly casual user probably won't subscribe to a service because it's too much of a commitment. So, the difference between the models is that labels might get less on a per-song basis in a subscription service but will sell more of their music.
Yes sir! Pragmatic straight shooter, I like this dude. eMusic is a sweet service, check them out here.
Tags: eMusic, David Pakman, DRM, Digital Distribution
Posted by Merry Swankster at 08:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 29, 2006
Coachella Lineup to be announced Monday
The restless can chill and start stressing over bigger problems. Like the scheduling sacrifices that will have to be made at the loaded festival.
Smashing Pumpkin rumors are being squashed in Chicago. Maybe its a conspiracy to keep it under wraps! We'll know soon enough.
Previously: Coachella 2006? Rumored lineup
Tags: Coachella, Smashing Pumpkins
Posted by Merry Swankster at 08:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 27, 2006
Masters of War
GOT MORE GUNS THAN ANYBODY
There has been some talk about the lack of protest music while our country is at war. While I do not disagree, the motivation to make such statements can be reduced to the following three motivations. 1- Blind patriotism, 2- outrage at the lack of outrage (not being) communicated in song, or 3- nostalgia for the 60s style Rock and Roll fueled revolution that empowers the masses, provides soundtracks to future films, and ensures long (however caricatured) careers for countless bands. Those pointing out that there isn't a modern day Bob Dylan or Joan Baez kumbayaing with the youth are either starved for a leader or dream of a romanticized ‘don’t be evil’ pop culture cult of personality for guidance. Its a desire to personify dissent with humility and poetic brilliance, or shocked that somehow the law of averages hasn’t caught up to us yet because these kind of people “must exist” during wartime.
Valid or not, it is what it is. In actuality there have been many songs since March of 2003 that dwell on the state of global affairs, some great, some clichéd and others rubbish. Bright Eyes’ “When the President Talks to God” is a jarring, pull no punches attack at Dubya’s relationship with the ultimate advisor. TV on the Radio released “Dry Drunk Emperor” when their fury at the government overtook them last fall during the Katrina crisis. Even the always subtle Eminem got in on the action with a brilliant animated voter encouragement video for “Mosh” circa 2004’s presidential election. Pearl Jam’s last studio album, Riot Act, was scathing with criticism for most of its fifteen tracks, topped with an irony-enriched album title that played on another, Federal and more Famous, controversial act. Give it to Eddie Vedder to conjure such juxtaposition between Riot and Patriot.
So what does it all mean? I suppose peeps got to stop wishing for so much damn cyclical culture. Carte blanche to call bullshit on this space when the next retro trend in music is praised. Clearly inevitable, like “I’m never drinking again” proclamations.
Right. On with today’s pick of the day.
Not even going to touch the obvious, kick a drunk hobo while he’s down or; hijack a friends myspace account and send sketchy messages to exes, too easy of an observation that is a band called Celebration writing a song titled “War.”
Effusing urgency through a marching snare, looping keys and questioning lyrics, its no wonder this track was produced by David Sitek from TV on the Radio. TV on the Radio songs are like pouring a bucket of melted plastic over a pile of legos – that is when the oozing plastic represents layered sound creeping through crevices and the legos are both the musical core of the song and our brains being blown away with noise. Which continues to envelope the dead tissue. Not gothic, but just so damn dense.
//Celebration - Celebration - buy
Tags: Celebration, war, MP3, TV on the Radio, Protest, Pearl Jam, Bright Eyes, Eminem
Posted by Merry Swankster at 08:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 24, 2006
Serena Maneesh - Live @ the Mercury Lounge, New York City, 1.21.2006
A lot of the appeal of Serena Maneesh so far has been the mystery. Norweigan band that no one's heard of because they're, you know, Norweigan drops out of the sky with a glowing and very vague Pitchfork review. MBV and Sonic Youth as hip reference points. As the rest of the indie world plays catch up and negotiates with various retailers to hear the band, info starts to drip out about details that would normally dominate early album press. Cameos brought from connections romantic and otherwise with hip Christians Daniel Smith (Danielson Famile) and Sufjan Stevens. Light Steve Albini involvement. Enough to sell out a couple NYC venues for sure even if the album wasn't any good.
Which brings us to a very sold out Mercury Lounge on a Saturday night. I think the opening band was still on stage at the posted start time of 11:30. 12 o'clock came and went. Alot of tall folks flooded the stage to set up equipment. 12:15 and the nervous crowd chatter began to take an annoyed edge. By 12:30 as the band and crew disappeared back stage, catcalls began in earnest. When they reconvened at around quarter to one, we were all ready to be blown away.
It sorta happened.
First off, they looked great. Shitty to bring it up, but we had a lot of time during the prolonged set up to inspect the cut of their respective jibs. Lead singer Emil Nikolaisen looked like Jimmy Fallon dressed up like Jimi Hendrix for Holloween. His freakishly tall half sister/ bassist split the difference between Nico and Janice from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. There was also a clean cut preppy drummer with eyeliner, a be-scarfed giant on crutches (and guitar), another less prominently placed blonde female vocalist, along with yet another unassuming guitarist, and an in the shadows violin player that could have either been Danielson main man Dan Smith, or (more likely upon photo reconaissance) a Norweigan Dan Smith archetype. Quite an imposing line-up. A total spectacle even.
Set and album opener "Drain Cosmetics" is one of the most immediate songs in the band's arsenal and a good bone to throw the grumbling crowd. Multiple fuzzed out guitars fleshed out the relatively straightforward melody. The vocals fought for space in the wall of sound and lost, failing to reproduce the album's nuanced atmospherics. But it wasn't too disappointing due to the MVP performance of the motorik rhythm section, which gave the song more propulsive thrust than its recorded version.
The Norweigans' German precision carried over into the next number, "Selina's Melodie Fountain." Without a super tight song structure, and home to multiple guitar freak outs, a song like this would crumble without the grounding presence of a good drummer and bassist. It was actually great.
From here on out the band revealed themselves to be a one trick pony. A song would start with a rush of guitar noise. From their prime center stage real estate, the hot bassist and new wave drummer would lock into a Kraut groove. Assorted guitars and guitarists would digress from there, providing solos and feedback in equal measure. On a dime the sonic shenanigans would halt, and everyone would convene on the rhythm, building to a triumphant crescendo. With the exception of a down tempo Isn't Anything homage mid-concert, all the remaining numbers in the set could be described in this way.
Luckily it was a good trick, and it didn't have a chance to wear out its welcome, as the set was over in a slender 45 minutes. No encore. "Un-Deux," their poppiest number, conspicuous in its absence.
So, first Manhattan appearance down, mystery intact. No mean feat.
For extensive pictures of the show, pop over to the always thorough Brooklyn Vegan
To listen to some tracks try here (Scandinavian style)
To buy the album, go here
Tags: Serena Maneesh, Mercury Lounge
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 04:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Merry Swankster Lite
This last week has been a bit light on posts while I moved from my secret underground bunker on the West coast to a new, more secure bunker at an undisclosed location west of the Mississippi River. Could be Phoenix, could be Tokyo, but its not New York. That is Jeff & Keith's territory.
Regular posts should start up again soon.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 20, 2006
MS Daily Picks - Am I denigrating this by evoking Lady Rapture?
The Gossip: "Standing in the Way of Control"
As soon I as first heard this song, I thought, "Where is the female equivalent of the Rapture? No, Le Tigre does not count as they preceded the Rapture. Not Pretty Girls Make Graves; that's incredibly too tenuous.
I'm talking about some girls in Seattle or NYC or SF or Portland hearing "Out of the Races" EP and saying, "How much would skinny boys adulate us if we emulated this sound and added some strained female voice to it?"
I'm sure someone more scened-up than I has about six bands on that tip on the burgeoning cusp, so I won't be so disingenuous to claim that my non-knowledge of such an entity renders it gospel truth.
While the Gossip is not Lady Rapture, "Standing in the Way of Control" is its entry into the nascent category. The Gossip, known for minimistical songs over before they begin, seems as if the entire garage whiskey band shtick was a way to conserve energy for this gem.
Sounding like a sped-up, more visceral, cigarette-toking Dolly Parton, Beth Ditto rides the base two-step and post-punk-ish guitar loop into the the horizon, voice oscillating between warble and some straight-up Tina Turner power. The song keeps threatening to launch into a "Take Me Out" refrain, drumline showing signs of petering into a new direction, but holds its shape, returning to loops. That, my friend, is when the DJs need to oblige with a volume boost.
You will be underwhelmed on the first listen; you will be hooked by the third. This song feels like it's on a tight-rope; a sonic quiche. Any false step would have destroyed it.
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 01:25 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 19, 2006
Fire Engines! Awoooooooo – Awoooooooo!
One of the great byproducts of Franz Ferdinand’s meteoric and completely out of left field ascendance was an increased focus on the Scottish post-punk artists of the early eighties that had such a big influence on their sound. Last year saw two long lost releases from that scene finally see the light of day. One, Orange Juice’s the Glasgow School, was fantastic and would have had a long bloody battle with Wolf Parade for the top album of the year, if it was a new release.
The other, Codex Teenage Premonition by Fire Engines was actually pretty disappointing.
For a much discussed (well, they got a one line mention in Hornsby’s High Fidelity anyway) band with exactly zero albums in print, the decision to release a compilation of shoddy live and demo performances is baffling at best and borders on destructive. The most unkempt and borderline No Wave artist of 1980 Glasgow, the songs would probably be a little ungainly even with pristine production. These early demos and shoddy live recordings are basically unlistenable. To paraphrase Dylan, something’s happening here, but I can’t tell what it is. I can’t even compare their worth to their studio counterparts, because the last time these songs existed on disc was 1992’s now also out print Fond compilation. I was probably passing them over eagerly for some sweet Stone Temple Pilots at that point. STP’s elegant bachelor status aside, I wish I had that decision back.
With the UK tracklisting this comp. would be blatantly irrelevant. Luckily for us Yanks, the US version provided three extra tracks that almost completely redeem the whole endeavor.
Discord (Peel Session, 1981) – mp3
The crisp BBC recording studios and excellent taste of John Peel strike again. Closer to the dance-y noise of NYC’s James Chance and the Contortions than the proto-Smiths bliss of Orange Juice, this track manages to be simultaneously catchy and insanely loose. It threatens to fall apart, but never does. Plus, it’s tough to beat a chorus of “Duh duh duh dow, duh duh duh dow, duh- Discord/ Yow!”
Candyskin (Peel Session, 1981) – mp3
But they can do poppy too. This is probably the song everybody’s talking about when they claim FE as a Franz influence. A big fat bassline, two intertwining guitar parts, a shower of la-las, steady drum beats. Check. Also a coolly evocative nonsense chorus in “Candyskin-uh Candyskin / Who’d have guessed your luck? / You don’t want a velvet skin, oh/ Candyskin-uh Candy-suck!”
Obviously.
Jacqueline (Franz Ferdinand cover) - mp3
Franz repaid their creative debt to the Engines by pulling them out from whatever rock they were under and getting them to record this track, which FF used as a recent b-side. They turn the slick rocker into a really fun shambles that makes the original’s abrupt pace shift almost organic and better suits the desperate hedonism of the lyrics. Bonus points for actually making a Franz song even more homoerotic by replacing the line “I’m so drunk I don’t mind if you kill me” with “I’m so drunk I don’t mind if you fill me up.”
So there you go. You’re welcome Brits.
Tags: Fire Engines, Franz Ferdinand
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 02:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 18, 2006
Stroking with Saturation
The Strokes have lots of news.
Television:
-SNL this weekend (Jan 21). Peter Sarsgaarde hosting.
-FUSE TV 30 minute live special.
Print:
-New York Magazine cover story by Jay McInerney. (*Gawker guide to NYM story.)
-SPIN Magazine cover story by Marc Spitz next month.
Next Single - Heart in a Cage
Apparently already on the radio. Its quite full of self loathing, but aren't we all?
"BIG TOUR"
-North American Tour dates to be announced by the end of January, though it will kick off in New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on March 3rd and continue until mid May. The NYC show goes onsale on Jan 27th, presale tickets already sold out.
-More exotic dates are being planned for mid June (Europe), late July or August (Japan), and August (Australia & new Zealand).
-Also in the works are dates in South America by the end of 2006. Touring South America is the new 'we're big in Japan.' Huge.
Of course if you think the new album sucks or you are totally over watching four dudes look bored onstage while their singer flails around behaving like a drunken lunatic between songs, you won't care.
Previously: 'Juicebox' Not Enough
//The Strokes - site
//The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth - buy
Tags: strokes, Heart in a Cage
Posted by Merry Swankster at 03:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
On Overdrive, TrioTv.com
MTV and Trio are among the multiple cable channels (E!, Comedy Central, et. al.) unveiling broadband channels online. Currently, my on-demand music opportunities are limited to DVR-ing Subterranean and New York Noise and fast-forwarding through the crap or absentmindedly purusing the underwhelming stable of choices on AOL's Music on Demand.
So, my interest was piqued when, researching for an article, I found the music category on Trio TV's broadband channel. Free music videos (alas streamed)!
So, what are the options?
Secret Machines' Sad and Lonely (hello! 2002); as well as Guster, Madonna (from American Life album), and Damien Rice. Clearly there's a gaping ravine's worth of improvement there.
So onto MTV's Overdrive -- which is inaccesible by Firefox users, natch.
Visitors are greeted by Jim Shearer, who, while seemingly interested and well-versed enough in indie rock, has nill magnetism. At this point, I would take the cloying Matt Pinfield.
The music search is just about as good as you could expect from a MTV entity.
Here's a random sampling:
Kings of Leon: 2
New Pornographers: 1
Strokes: 7
Wu-Tang: 6
Screaming Trees: 0 (where's Nearly Lost You?)
You can even search while watching your current video. It's a worthwhile endeavor, provided you have a decent internet connection.
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 03:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 13, 2006
Clap Your Hands Say Tour
CYHSY announced tour dates in the US & Canada. Note the graduation to larger venues in several cities. Keep on keeping on. Presale tickets for most dates available NOW - here.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 2006 North American Tour:
3.07 - Philadelphia, PA - TLA
3.08 - Washington DC - 9:30 Club
3.09 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
3.10 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
3.12 - Sunrise, FL - Langerado Festival
3.15 - Ft. Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater
3.16 - 3.19 - Austin, TX - SXSW Festival
3.21 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
3.22 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah
3.23 - Los Angeles, CA - El Ray Theater
3.24 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
3.25 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
3.28 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
3.30 - Lawrance, KS - The Bottleneck
3.31 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
4.01 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
4.03 - Chicago, IL - Metro
4.05 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
4.06 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
4.07 - Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
4.08 - Toronto, ONT - Lee's Palace
4.10 - Montreal, QUE - La Tulipe
4.11 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
4.12 - Boston, MA - Paradise
4.14 - New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom
4.15 - New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom
Previously: Best of 2005, Coachella 2006 Rumor, CYHSY
//Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - site
Tags: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 12, 2006
Even Slackers have made it back to work, Vice
In a hubristic declaration, Vice Records wrote, "In another crushing blow to the traditional music industry, VICE Records introduces (perhaps) the world's first record label MP3 blog."
They promised us, oh they promised us, one new track every two weeks. That's bi-weekly, ladies. (random sidenote, explain this definition to me)
There are two tracks since December 11, 2005 (full disclaimer, yesterday, when I wrote this (no kidding) there was only one. Bloggers, look what happens when you wait a day to post). The first track: a dance remix Bloc Party's Two More Years. And, oh boy, is it unnecessary. The track combines a sped-up, Strokes "Is this it?"-era throwaway drumbeat with Kele's most disinterested singing voice to date.
It is certainly not a "thunderous remix," as Vice proclaims.
The second song, a Pink Floyd cover by the Panthers. It's barely decent. But I'm not a Panthers fan, so what do I know?
Sure, mp3 blogs, especially those run by music labels, should not necessarily be the domain of the crème de la crème. But you do yourself a colossal disservice by launching a blog with only one so-so track and failing on your frequency claims, while doing so with bombastic rhetoric.
Am I the only one who thinks they made an error when they decided to be commercial tastemakers as opposed to habitual hypocrisy finger pointers? Psst. Vice, the finger is pointing at you.
UPDATE: I do love the fact that they are doing this. I realize my post was a bit excoriating and that didn't come across. Kudos to Vice for doing it. But I would tone down how you're promoting it.
Tags: Bloc Party, Vice Records, mp3 blogs
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 02:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Flaming Lips - Tour UK, release "The W.A.N.D."
The Flaming Lips have released "The W.A.N.D." as a digital track and the first song from the forthcoming At War With the Mystics. The album comes out on April 4th in the States, but the song is available now at Rhapsody, Napster, and Yahoo music. Most of you will likely need to wait until the 17th of this month when iTunes will have it.
In other news, the Lips have scheduled some dates in the UK in April and promise to "bring you more dates as they get fixed in the New Year." Until those are announced it looks like mini tours will be the trend of '06.
UK Tour:
4.19 - Edinburgh - Usher Hall
4.22 - London - Royal Albert Hall
4.24 - Birmingham - Academy
4.25 - Manchester - Apollo
Also, January 31st marks the release of a 5.1 surround sound version of their 1999 masterpiece The Soft Bulletin. Preorder here. The audiophile set is way pysched and readying the hookah for optimal placement, allegedly (of course).
Previously - Flaming Lips Set Release Date for "At War With the Mystics", Single Details, New Flaming Lips - You Gotta Hold On
//Flaming Lips - site
//Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin 5.1 - buy
Tags: The Flaming Lips, The WAND, Soft Bulletin, Tour, At War with the Mystics
Posted by Merry Swankster at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Yeah New York, Yeah Chicago, Yeah San Francisco!
Pitchfork reports that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will go on a mini tour next month. Our own Jeff Klingman recently scooped the influential music site with a post squashing rumors the Yeah's new album would be about Karen O's cat.
The band's mind melt of a website has a hand scrawled note posted on it's homepage apologizing to fans for the lack of news and alludes to more extensive touring of the US and Europe. By alluding I mean they will tour the US in April and Europe in May. They also "claim" that NY is colder than LA. Stay tuned for more meteorological breakthroughs from the weather experts at Yeah Yeah Yeahs dot com.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Winter Tease:
2.23 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
2.24 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
2.25 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
2.27 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
3.1 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
3.2 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
*UPDATE - Hoboken show surfaced (via BV).
Previously - Debunking the feline myth, Yeah Yeah Yeah's - Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow, Coachella 2006?
//Yeah Yeah Yeah's - site
Tags: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:41 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
MS Daily Picks - Addition. Subtraction.
Addition: Love is All - “Felt Tip”
It starts with a lone bass line. A good, strong bassline. One you can hang your hat on.
:15 seconds in, some subtle guitar and percussion join the mix, but in an atmospheric role rather than as a focal point.
:15 more seconds, and we get the arrival of a sweetly Scandinavian accented female vocal. It is clear, but hushed. The soft delivery and heavy echo bolster the sense of nerves and isolation neatly as the lyrics imply the illicit activities of our Sharpie armed graffiti artist protagonist. While singer Josephine Olausson displays melodic vulnerability, Johan Lindwall’s bassline is the back bone moving the song forward.
We ride this neat vocal and bass interplay until the 1:13 mark, where JO is backed up by a distant male vocal. As nice as the harmony is, a light swell of cymbals begins ratcheting up the tension rather let things get comfortable. This pays off almost immediately as spiky guitars come in to give release and pick up the song’s pace in the process, impressionistically fleshing out the bass skeleton.
Only 2:20 in now, the full band is working out the initial vocal melody/ rhythm interplay with instrumental flourishes and backing harmony injecting some confidence into the lyric. Our lone vandal becoming a movement/ generational spokesman?
After a thirty second chorus lap the horns come in, fast and clipped. Propulsive. It’s at this point that the vocals become increasingly wild, and the carefully layered sonic elements all begin to pile up in a frantic rush to the finish. Evoking a frantic police chase, maybe? Fast and thrilling, it’s far away from the minimal start point.
Then, in a flash, it’s over. But not before dropping all the accumulated elements away once more to give the original bassline a well deserved curtain call.
Cool.
Subtraction: Akron Family - “Running, Returning”
Akron Family – “Running, Returning”
In direct contrast to the previous pick, this track starts at its densest point and continues to streamline. A song in three distinct parts held together by a superlative lead vocal, lets take each in turn.
Part one: Starting with some banjo and basic but cut up and distorted percussion, this track is soon joined in earnest by a troupe of harmonizing voices. The choir punctuates each rhythmic beat, serving double duty by giving heft to the marching pace of the drums while simultaneously adding harmonic warmth to the backing track. Over this thick stew comes the soaring vocal. The lyrics are sort of harmlessly ambiguous hippy whatnot , but this guy's voice is great. With his long, sustained notes held over the pulsing voices of his compatriots and continuing banjo it reaches an effect best likened to Bends-era Radiohead as produced by the Animal Collective. That sounds like crazy fantasy camp hyperbole, I know, but it's really the most apt description.
Part two: The backing vocals drop away, as does the percussion. A short banjo interlude takes center stage, joined by some acoustic guitar and eventually piano. The banjo exits. We are left with a plodding piano melody and of course the vocal, more pinched than before. Since I've already caught the fanciful comparison bug I'll point out the similarity here to an imaginary folk version of Clinic.
Part three: With roughly a minute thirty to go, they change up and slow down again. At a funeral pace, the lead vocal reaches for the heavens and comes pretty damn close to Jeff Buckley territory. Maybe an octave less range, but the vocal gymnastics here deliver at least a minute that could absolutely be from the Grace cutting room floor.
As his voice gives out and fades, we're left with just an understated banjo outro, and then quiet. Impressive.
With this band's debut record and Feels 2005 may go down as the year that "freak folk" finally became interesting. What do you know?
P.S. NYC Kids take note, Akron Family bring their massive beards to the venerable Knitting Factory this Saturday the 14th. See you there!
Disclaimer: I do not know what you look like and I will not see you there.
Love is All MySpace page, buy CD
Akron Family MySpace page, buy CD
Tags: Love is All, Akron Family
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 09:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 10, 2006
Satan eats Cheez Whiz and Britney's Slutty Ambition (from schoolgirl outfit era), care of the Funny Farm
Finally. Validation for all the middle school mischiefs and after school dry creek tokers out there mongering rumors about Jimmy Page's deal with the devil. "Trust me dude, its all there. Stairway to Heaven is all about satan - you just have to listen to it backwards. We can try it on my dads record player later."
A fellow named Jeff Milner has a site with Backmasking clips from groups such as the Beatles and Led Zeppelin who are infamous for alleged hidden messages when their music is played in reverse.
Rounding out the usual suspects are a few unexpected artists such as Britney Spears and Eminem. I'm not entirely convinced that all of these are legit and simply the work of an imaginative ear, but check it out yourself (via Coolfer).
Tags: Backmasking, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Britney Spears, Satan
Posted by Merry Swankster at 11:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 09, 2006
Post Punk History
So, after being assaulted by this trailer, I fully expect Sofia Coppolla's Marie Antoinette to be a very 1980's version of 18th Century France, with Less Than Zero style parties and drug abuse, and Jason Schwartzman as King Max Fisher the XVI. That is absolutely the movie I want to see, and if it's period piece as usual, I will be sad.
If disappointment bests me yet again, I will be consoled by this, history's finest New Order video.
Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette
Tags: New Order, Marie Antoinette , Sofia Coppola
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 01:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Coachella The Movie
Goldenvoice presents Coachella.
Coming to theatre near you for one day only on January 24, 2006.You can purchase tickets online or in person at select theatres on Friday, January 6, 2006. Tickets are $10 advance or $12.50 day of event. No refunds. This film is rated R, some language may not be suitable for younger audiences.
And you also have the chance to go to the PREMIERE of Coachella, taking place on Thursday, January 19th at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. A very limited number of tickets for this event will go on sale Saturday, January 14th at 10am through Ticketmaster.
Presale information: The presale will start on Monday, January 9th at 12pm and end on Tuesday, January 10th at 12pm. The password that you will need to get your premiere tickets to see this movie is ORPHEUM. Buy Tix
Surely if the the movie is half as great as the festival it should be awesome. Footage of Arcade Fire's 2005 performance is worth the price of admission alone.
//Previously: Coachella 2006? Rumored lineup
//Coachella - site
Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Morningwood vs. We Are Scientists "Debate" or Bloggers stirring up Shit out of Nothing.
Two well respected blogs (Brooklyn Vegan, My Old Kentucky Blog) are inferring competitiveness between two bands that are likely to be mentioned many times in the still bloody and barely out the womb year that is 2006. Those bands are the dismissingly labeled "mainstream" Morningwood and the apparantly more widely embraced "indie", We Are Scientists. Both groups have albums coming out tomorrow.
I think its rather silly to discuss backlash that Morningwood may be receiving as it does nothing but enforce an observation by become a self fulfilling trend. It exposes the smug elitism that masks insecurities of music fans - an overwhelming sentiment represented in the indie world. I never understood why certain people become so threatened by some bands' success, or even perceived success. I don't expect it to ever go away, but never have I been given a good enough reason by the many snobbish detractors who subscribe to the party line that some bands are to be blindly embraced and others scoffed at.
In relation to hype and critical reviews of course. I'm ok with praise and scorn if a band is great or crap, but give me something better to work with other than:
"Morningwood's already acquiring tons of hipster hate," "Chantal [Morningwood singer, female] is a fat bitch," "It's like they went to Urban Outfitters and took notes on everything that's 'hip,' and then threw it into their 'image.'"
That last line reminds me of this (via Stereogum). Also absurdly lame, ugh.
To be clear, the Merry Swankster has not hear enough of either band to offer an opinion. Tomorrow We Are Scientists are performing a free show at the Virgin Megastore in LA (Hollywood & Highland location) at 8:30pm. I'm going to check it out for myself before I pass, or post as the case may be, judgment. They follow the LA performance with a short tour in and around the Northeast for 9 consecutive days starting on Thursday Jan 12.
We Are Scientist Dates:
1/10 - Los Angeles, CA - Virgin Megastore (free) SOLD OUT
1/12 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
1/13 - Buffalo, NY - Buffalo Icon
1/14 - Toronto, ON - Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
1/15 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
1/16 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean
1/17 - Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
1/18 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
1/19 - Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar
1/20 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's SOLD OUT
The Scientists follow their US jaunt with opening slot shows for the Arctic Monkeys-headlined Shockwaves NME Awards UK tour and also in support of the Kaiser Chiefs in Europe (dates).
Morningwood Dates:
1/11 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
1/24 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
1/26 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
1/27 - Los Angeles, CA - Roxy
1/28 - Orangevale, CA - The Boardwalk
1/30 - Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
1/31 - San Diego, CA - Soma
2/17 - Buffalo, NY - Club Icon
2/18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theatre SOLD OUT
2/20 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
2/21 - Sayverville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
2/23 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theatre
2/24 - Towson, MD - Recher Theatre
2/25 - Boston, MA - Axis
//We Are Scientists - site
//Morningwood - site
//Morningwood - Album Stream @ AOL - stream
Tags: We Are Scientists, Morningwood
Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:25 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
MS Pick of the day - Franz Ferdinand & Scissor Sisters - Suffragette City
Franz Ferdinand & Scissor Sisters - Suffragette City (Live, V Festival 2005)
Wham bam thank you ma’am
[Gay friendly] Franz Ferdinand & [totally gay] Scissor Sisters teamed up last summer at England's V festival and covered [allegedly sometimes gay] David Bowie's Suffragette City. Gay men everywhere exploded.
A Franz fansite reported:
"Speaking to an NME reporter afterwards, Alex [Kapranos] said that he and Jake Shears [of Scissor Sisters] had been swapping e-mails in the run-up to the festival about a potential collabortation [sic]."
//V Festival - site
//Scissor Sisters - site
//Franz Ferdinand - site
Tags: V Festival, Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters, Bowie, Suffragette City, MP3
Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 06, 2006
'Juicebox' not enough
Insomniacs beware, the Strokes marketing machine has begun!
The advertisements for the craptastically-titled First Impressions of Earth have begun showing on MTV2. The spots show our heroically gruff rock stars staring vacantly as the Spy Hunter-themed riff from first-single Juicebox plays.
This is well and good. I doubt the mainstream hard rock-listening public are not invariably conditioned to dole out $14.99 for every Strokes record like they do the White Stripes. And, of course, your marketing needs to come out with the big guns, blaring the first single.
And, on it, Julien Casablancas is ANGRY. "Why won't you come over here?" he asks, as if he's redressing a mall shopper who has not given the obligatory glance towards the "what's new" sign.
But here's the thing: Your base strongly dislikes that song.
The build-up to this album reminds of what befell Heaven's Gate, a movie I have not seen. Let me explain.
Heaven's Gate is known as THE worst box office bomb of all time. Anyone who has actually seen the film - Klingman? - can attest to whether or not it deserves that baneful title. Hot-shit director Michael Cimino was coming off his Academy-Award winning Deer Hunter and wanted to make the definitive Western drama. Not over-dramatized cowboy action, but the story of immigrant settlers. Anyway, news reports of control freakishness, ballooning budgets, an insane attention to detail, hubris, and a director responsible for all the aforementioned surfaced. The movie's first cut, screened for United Artists, went over 5 hours.
It is said that neither Cimino, nor UA actually saw the final cut before it hit the theatres. There's more here .
The main point -- and parallel -- is that those involved in the film believe critics were convinced that Heaven's Gate was crap before they saw it. Critics then informed the populous and this begat the worst box office bomb ever.
Indie rock critics have not been doling out negative stars for First, but the same meme is there. Fans are eying it incredibly warily. The Strokes, who put out two good if not challenging albums, are stretching their legs, in a move that appears forced. Bands fear the sophomore slump, and then they fear that they'll never grow if the third album doesn't go in a different direction. Worked for Radiohead... why not us?
Maybe First is good. Maybe even spectacular. Hopefully, for the Strokes, enough fans will give it a chance. But RCA Records needs to do some grassroots work to get the base energized. Marching out Juicebox on late-night TV is to indie rock fans what talking about the environment would be to George W. Bush's core constituency.
Tags: Juicebox, The Strokes, First Impressions Of Earth, Heaven's Gate, Marketing
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 03:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UPDATE: Lazy Sunday video (SNL Narnia Rap) for your iPod :: Free
iTunes has an easy to download and toss in your shiny new Christmas gifted iPod version - download.
//Previously - MS Pick of the day - (SNL) - Lazy Sunday
Tags: SNL, Lazy Sunday, Chronicles of Narnia rap
Posted by Merry Swankster at 02:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Arctic Monkeys: Will tour! Release album! Mock us with horrendous titles!
The massively hyped UK band the Arctic Monkeys have announced their first major North American tour. Starting 2006 with shows in the UK and Ireland, the then energized band will hop our way and kick off shows in San Francisco on March 13. The 11 dates will hit major cities and work over to the northeast before ending back on the west coast and wrapping up in Seattle on March 29. The spotlight show will be the Austin SXSW Domino showcase which will no doubt be overflowing with industry heavyweights, writers, and perhaps representatives from this intrepid blog.
In other Monk--, eh, Arctic Monkey news, the bands debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not will be released on January 23 in the UK and a day later in the US - something about the time difference. And yes, the title is shockingly more horrifying than the band's name. The label doesn't seem to mind though:
"It's going to be the soundtrack to 2006" - Laurence Bell, Domino Records
Arctic Monkeys 2006 Tour
UK & Ireland
01-23 Dublin, Ireland - Ambassador Theatre
01-24 Dublin, Ireland - Ambassador Theatre
01-25 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Ulster Hall
01-27 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy
01-28 Edinburgh, Scotland - Corn Exchange
01-29 Newcastle, England - Academy
01-31 Nottingham, England - Rock City
02-01 Leeds, England - Leeds University
02-02 Liverpool, England - Liverpool University
02-04 Manchester, England - Academy
02-05 Manchester, England - Academy
02-07 Sheffield, England - Octagon
02-08 Birmingham, England - Academy
02-09 Norwich, England - UEA
02-11 Cardiff, Wales - Great Hall
02-12 Cambridge, England - Corn Exchange
02-13 Bristol, England - Academy
02-15 Portsmouth, England - Guildhall
02-16 Brighton, England - Dome
02-17 London, England - Brixton Academy
North America
03-13 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-15 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
03-17 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa (Domino SXSW Showcase) *
03-18 Chicago, IL - The Metro
03-21 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Theatre
03-22 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
03-23 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
03-25 New York, NY - Webster Hall
03-26 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
03-27 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03-29 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café
* with Test Icicles, The Beautiful New Born Children, Archie Bronson Outfit
Previously: Arctic Monkeys - Listen for yourself, Arctic Monkeys, Buzz, Craigslist delusions
//Arctic Monkeys - site
//Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am That's What I Am Not - preorder
Tags: Arctic Monkeys
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
MS Pick of the day - T.Rex - Baby Boomerang
T. Rex - Baby Boomerang
The Shins - Baby Boomerang
I have never made it a habit to lie in order to impress people. Nor do I feel the urge to embellish any credentials to boost the elusive chase of what is deemed "cool" or "hip." I suppose more important than being deemed cool, is avoiding the humiliation of being perceived uncool, or in more fahionable parlance, the omnipresent lame. It seems prepubescent insecurities linger as I feel defensive actions necessary by choosing a T. Rex track for today's MS Pick of the day.
Fucking pitchfork. I picked up The Slider after a much longer than expected search for the original recorded version of this song - which I first heard on the Shins Fighting in a Sack EP. The inspired sound of the Shins awash in a bluesy bath of synths and heavily processed acoustic guitars with confident vocals delivered deliberately rather than melodically was interesting. Some digging around the web and I learned that the fantastically fun track was a cover of 70's glam outfit T. Rex.
I've been meaning to toss this up on the site in an effort to enlighten readers to a past legend while simultaneously connecting with a current cult group (and inspiration for this site's tagline). But now I'm clearly bringing up the rear to p-fork's dastardly timing. Actually I'm just trying to look cool. Fuck.
//T. Rex - The Slider - buy
//T. Rex - Reissues, Pitchfork reviews
//T. Rex - Wikipedia
//The Shins - Fighting in a Sack EP - buy
Tags: T Rex, Baby Boomerang, MP3
Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 05, 2006
*EXCLUSIVE* Yeah Yeah Yeahs next album not about cats! Debunking the feline myth
Ex-album title, ex-parrot
Sorry, Koko
First Koko B. Ware loses his trademark parrot Frankie in a tragic house fire, and then he’s robbed of an indie rock revival by selfish layabouts, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It’s been a tough decade so far for the Birdman.
A scrawled note on the YYY website refutes the widely reported news (here and here, for instance) that the band’s long brewing second album would be A: named for the high flying 80’s WWF mainstay, and B: a whimsical concept album about the trials and tribulations of Karen O kitty, Coco. Which is good news, because those were both terrible ideas.
UK fansite Bang reports that the as of now untitled album will feature all new material along with two live favorites, “Cheated Hearts” and “Honey Bear”(mp3). Linked from there (and now here) is a live recording of the latter for your listening pleasure. The sound’s a little rough, but you get the idea. Theoretically, other lost songs should find their way to EP superstardom. Please “Sealings,” please “Sealings,” please “Sealings.”
Ultimately, we’ll all have to wait until late March to see if they’ve lost the plot in some other, non cat or nostalgic pro wrestling manner.
And fly free Frankie. Bobby Heenan can’t kidnap you from your perch in Valhalla.
-Posted on behalf of the always amusing wrestling scholar Jeff Klingman.
//Yeah Yeah Yeahs - site
Tags: Yeah Yeah Yeahs</