Airport Samba!

Jay-Z's got 99 problems but the cost of his fecal matter ain't one

2006-08-01T21:58:00.000-04:00

At Black Pitch Press, you can apparently buy the bacteria, skin cells, fecal matter and/or urine of some of today's top musicians. Think of it -- once the stem cell revolution comes around, you'll be able to clone yourself a Jakob Dylan for the low low cost of just $8.75 plus shipping! But do you have twenty-seven bucks? Because if you do, Michael Stipe can talk a dump on your chest! A virtual dump, of course.

Some of the other musicians sampled include Rick Allen, Julian Casablancas, Conor Oberst, David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar, Rick Nielsen, John Cougar Mellencamp, and, of course, Jay-Z ($33.00 for poo!). I'd rather spend the money quenching my need for Stooges records, but whatever.

Blood Brothers announce Young Machetes: it's already leaked

2006-08-01T18:44:00.000-04:00

Just when you thought those crazy bloggers couldn't pirate music any faster, the new Blood Brothers record, out October 10th on V2 Records, has leaked. Can I point out that I just heard about this record's existence less than a week ago? Are you people stealing from Johnny Whitney's bedroom or something? Jesus Christ.

Anyway, the record is called Young Machetes and is supposedly going to bridge the gap between the unabashed genius of Burn, Piano Island, Burn and the simpler, more textually complex Crimes. I'm very interested in hearing this. After all, the Bros have written some of the richest, most sonically challenging hardcore music of the last ten years.

If you're going to find it on Soulseek, make sure to get it when it comes out or pre-order it. These guys are worthy of your help.

Blood Brothers - Official Site

Hear the new Matthew Friedberger!

2006-07-30T12:08:00.000-04:00

Here in the states, we're mainly counting the days until Tuesday when we can buy the new Lily Allen record. When that is over, though, we'll need something to occupy our precious time, and Fiery Furnace Matthew Friedberger is just the man to do it. After all, his (even for him) ultra-ambitious double album Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School comes out August 8th on 859 Recordings.

I always love to hear about how badly people misinterpret Matthew's work in critical reviews, and this album is no different. I've already heard the term "unlistenable" about twenty times. Cool. You know how much I love this guy, so either listen to some tracks below or just skip ahead to the next entry.

At Obscure Sound, you can hear "The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company Resignation Letter", "Her Chinese Typewriter", "Don't You Remember?", "The Cross and the Switchblade" and "Do You Like Blondes".

At Noise for Toaster, you can hear "Under the Hood at the Paradise Garage", "Ruth Versus Rachel" and "Holy Ghost Language School".

At Good Hodgkins, you can hear "Things Were Going So Well", "Up the River" and "Seventh Loop Highway".

I know it's a double album and everything, but that's still a fucking great sampling of the two records. Enjoy.

Back from vacation

2006-07-30T12:03:00.000-04:00

After a two week hiatus, Airport Samba is finally ready to return from a summer break. I've got lots of interesting stuff for you, including my thoughts on the new Matthew Friedberger, Girl Talk, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Pajo. Not to mention a trip to see the lovely Jens Lekman.

For those of you at the Pitchfork Music Festival, fuck you. For the rest of you, welcome back.

Jeff Mangum plotting to kill Zach Condon, financing ab machine

2006-07-18T00:44:00.000-04:00

This one is only sort of a joke. If you go to Aziz is Bored, comedian Aziz Asnari conducts an interview with "Jeff Mangum" about his future. Topics include Aeroplane's influence, his plot to destroy Beirut, a Neutral Milk Hotel "total gym", and the idea to create a VH1 reality show called "The Queen of Carrot Flowers" where Jeff finds a wife Joe Millionaire-style. Ill.

You can hear it here.

Though Neutral Milk Hotel actually isn't returning, there is some consolation. Orange Twin has made the only record from Mangum's side project Major Organ and the Adding Machine finally available on vinyl. Not exactly a brand new concept album, but it's all I got.

Monday's Best: Slits playing Boston, Bobby Gillespie bludgeoned outside club, David Byrne didn't steal from hot dog stand

2006-07-17T23:21:00.000-04:00

According to several sources, reformed all-girl punk band The Slits are playing their first Boston date in over a quarter century at Great Scott's on October 30th, the day before Halloween. Aside from flat-out rocking, the band is infamous for posing half-nude in their liner notes (they were also, arguably, except for the Raincoats, the most popular all-girl punk band of the 1970s). There's also a band called Aids Wolf playing, apparently. Keep this date open, things could get interesting.

In other news, NME is reporting that Primal Scream singer/head maestro Bobby Gillespie had the shit kicked out of him outside a Spanish nightclub just days before the band was slated to perform on one of the last episodes of Top of the Pops. Apparently, Primal Scream played "Country Girl", black eyes and all. Can't wait to see that up on YouTube.

Lastly, Pitchfork published an interview with David Byrne this morning. Even if you don't care about Byrne's newfound love for 1980s Spanish opera or why he decided to keep "Qu'ran" off My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, he's got some interesting things to say about the music industry. Check it out here.

Slice of Samba: Futureheads, Paul Holcomb, Destroyer

2006-07-16T15:45:00.000-04:00

The Futureheads - "He Knows" (courtesy of Bradley's Almanac)
This is a live track from the Futureheads' last stop in Boston a few weeks ago. I was at the show, and loved it, but not as much as I love it now. They are so crazy good live -- I hope you get the chance to witness it.

Paul Holcomb - "Ted's Techno Tubes" (courtesy of Yeti Don't Dance)
If you're not a big blog reader or a Daily Show aficionado, you probably haven't heard about this. This is cut-up actual audio footage from the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, 85 year-old Ted Stevens. Keep in mind that this guy regulates internet activity in the United States when he mentions that the internet "is a series of tubes" and that when other people are downloading movies he can't get the internets that his staff sends him. Right.

Destroyer - "European Oils"
Many people are calling Dan Bejar's newest, Rubies, the album of the year, including awesome comedian and DJ Aziz Asnari. I haven't gotten a chance to hear the whole record, but you can listen to the track that people are loving, courtesy of Good Hodgkins.

Bright Eyes will release rarities collection in October

2006-07-15T13:54:00.000-04:00

October 24th will not only be the first Tuesday I'll be 21, it will also be the day of the first Bright Eyes release since last year's live album, Motion Sickness. According to the Saddle Creek Records newsletter, Conor Oberst has put together an announced amount of rarities on an album titled Noise Floor, ready to be released on October 24th. Of course, this isn't Bright Eyes's only planned release -- he's publicly talked about his yet-to-be-named spring 2007 record. Get out your wallets! Or your torrent programs. Just get out something.

Again--
Bright Eyes - Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005) -- October 24th, 2006
Cool.

The Velvet Underground & Nico: best debut album ever?

2006-07-14T18:20:00.000-04:00

In the latest issue of Uncut Magazine, the editors have chosen what the consider to be the 100 greatest debut albums of the last 60 years. The list is pretty good -- though I have to say that Isn't Anything was not My Bloody Valentine's first record. I don't know who fucked that one up.

See the full "100 Greatest Debut Albums" list here.

Jens Lekman show sells out; I'm relieved to be so obsessed

2006-07-14T17:41:00.000-04:00

Swedish singer/songwriter/sampler/hottie Jens Lekman's Boston stop at T.T. the Bear's Club in Cambridge on July 22nd has sold out, according to Ticketmaster and the T.T.'s Box Office. This doesn't come as a shock or let-down for me, who totally fucking adores this man, and bought tickets months ago. Those of you who decided to wait will now have to eBay it.

Lekman has significantly risen in popularity since last year's stop at P.A.'s Lounge, following the release of Secretly Canadian compilation Oh You're So Silent Jens. We're still waiting on his third full-length, with no release date or album title in sight.

If you're a fan of Morrissey or the Magnetic Fields, you need to hear this man. Seriously. Click below.

Jens Lekman - "Black Cab"
Jens Lekman - "Someone to Share My Life With" (Television Personalities cover)
Jens Lekman - Official Site

Sufjan Stevens, Thom Yorke material out today: nobody cares?!?

2006-07-11T13:27:00.000-04:00

For the first time in many, many weeks, I'll be making a trip to the record store to buy CDs the day they come out. Remember Blessid Union of Souls? I bought that "Hey Leonardo" album the day it came out too. And it was awesome.

So what's on tap? A lot -- in particular, Thom Yorke's long-anticipated The Eraser and Sufjan Stevens's lovely bundle of outtakes, The Avalanche. There's also new stuff from Muse and David Bazan if you really want.

I've been especially perturbed by how much everybody hates these two records -- especially The Avalanche. Alright -- even though he's awesome, you can hate Thom Yorke if you want (I guess) -- but can you really rip on a fucking outtakes album? The guy released it because people like me are out there who will claw somebody's eye out for the last LP. Give him a break -- he's just giving people what they want.

So here's the evidence against buying the record:
All Music tells Sufjan to shut the fuck up in a special feature called "A Case Against Sufjan Stevens"
Pitchfork Media explains that this record is "useless" (seriously).
Stylus Magazine compares The Avalanche to the notoriously shitty The Spaghetti Incident (Guns 'n Roses) here.

Here's the evidence for buying the record:
Stream The Avalanche

Holy shit: Syd Barrett, 60, dies of cancer

2006-07-11T13:15:00.000-04:00

Long-time Pink Floyd collaborator and singer/songwriter Syd Barrett has died of cancer at the age of 60, according to various sources, including the manager of his estate. Although he had not released any albums since 1970's The Madcap Laughs, Barrett's influence as a composer has been felt throughout rock. David Bowie, Wayne Coyne and Malcolm Mooney have all cited Barrett as a huge motivator for their songwriting.

Though often forgotten, Barrett's contribution as a member of Pink Floyd was massive. 1968's Piper at the Gates of Dawn was mainly a Barrett work, and several tracks from Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here (i.e. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond") were written about him -- by his own bandmates. Clearly he had a fucking ridiculous impact.

Cursive - "Big Bang"

2006-07-07T18:12:00.000-04:00

How can horns be so goddamn heavy? Ask Cursive, who, on their latest record (out later this summer on Saddle Creek), add a wind section to their already incredible mix of instruments. They've got to be the most underrated band on the planet.

Hear what's working on becoming the song of my summer, "Big Bang", here. And make sure to pick up Happy Hollow when it hits stores on August 22nd or pre-order it from Insound below.

Cursive - Official Site
Pre-order Happy Hollow!

Early Eraser reviews: "Irritating, ticking bullshit"

2006-07-07T17:43:00.000-04:00

Remember how I told you that Thom Yorke is about to release one of the most innovative records of the year on Tuesday? Well, pretty much every one else disagrees with me. Here are just a few of the snarling reviews I've been reading -- hot off the press -- in the last few days.

The Guardian: 60% "The Eraser is no more experimental than the average Radiohead album. In fact, it sounds exactly like you would expect a Thom Yorke solo album to sound: twitchy electronic beats, doomy washes of synthesizer, backing vocals that are invariably high, wordless and ghostly, except on Skip Divided, where they literally involve whimpering. The lyrics are one long defeated sigh, interrupted by the occasional tut and roll of the eyes. We are variously informed that there's no light in the dark, time's running out for us, things are fucked up, it gets you down and people get crushed like biscuit crumbs. Even the guitar on The Clock sounds like it's grumbling. At its worst, The Eraser brings to mind the unlikely image of Autechre fronted by Private Frazer off Dad's Army: thump, bleep, splonk, we're all doomed, I tell you."

The Scotsman: 40% "The album then pulses out on the anticlimactic Cymbals Rush, which is little more than computer bleeps - not just any computer bleeps, mind, but old school Amstrad computer bleeps, or the kind of supercomputer featured in 1970s conspiracy movies. Strangely, this is the track which has cropped in the Radiohead live set. Ultimately, The Eraser is little more than a collectable curiosity to tide us over until the main missive next year. But let's hope Thom had some fun for once."

And, my favorite:

Somethingawful.com: 0% "Here’s a little bit of history, just in case you’re twelve years old or something: There once was a band called Radiohead who made two pop-rock albums, followed by a gigantic nerd opus called OK Computer that set the world’s population of dweebic collegiate brow-furrowers on fire like so many lighters at a Bon Jovi encore. After that, Thom Yorke had a stroke and forgot how to make words with his mouth, and Jonny Greenwood decided that he was too smart for tunes. Since then, they’ve been periodically plopping out bewildering hunks of semi-musical garbage which nerds pretend to enjoy in order to seem smart.

While Radiohead’s release schedule isn’t too regular, they are certainly prolific in one regard: the albums they occasionally do release are so jam-packed with stupid ideas that even the most voracious consumer of failure will be tided over for a good many years. However, within the constraints of a band so meticulous and perfectionist about giving each and every bad idea the mucous-shine of overwrought humorlessness, Thom Yorke found himself cooking up more bad ideas than could be accommodated by their plodding schedule. Nerds rejoice: Yorke’s po-faced pretension has finally burst the Radiohead dam, and a muddy tide of bad ideas is now spilling toward you like a tidal wave.

Unfettered by the musicality of his bandmates, Thom Yorke is now free to develop his music in whatever direction he sees fit. Judging by the prevailing sonic trends on The Eraser, that direction is “clicking and moaning.” While the record is comprised of approximately 45% clicks and 35% moans, Yorke puts his sonic genius on display by bunging the cracks with liberal smattering of beeps, bonks, shuffles, grating monotone loops, and a whirring cavalcade of sundry electronic nuisances.

Basically, imagine a Radiohead album with all the music removed and replaced by irritating, ticking bullshit.

Oh, silly me, that’s what the last three and a half Radiohead albums have sounded like anyway. How about this: imagine that Radiohead had all their musical instruments stolen and yet were contractually obligated to deliver an album in one hour.

You know what? This is all too complicated for something so fundamentally simple. Just imagine that Thom Yorke made a really boring, dashed-off solo album cobbled together exclusively from the worst elements of Radiohead’s recent career and lacking entirely in redeeming features. Now imagine Pitchfork Media ejaculating out their fingertips and every nerd you know not shutting the fuck up about it, ever. This record is seriously terrible, and when I say “seriously,” don’t mean that I’m serious about the album being terrible, I mean that the album is serious about being terrible.

Addendum: 22% of the letters in Thom Yorke’s name are superfluous. Fuck him.

Of course, the big motivators/influencers have yet to weigh in -- Spin, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, could you really trash this good of a record?

Explosions in the Sky finish new album, aim for February release

2006-07-07T16:15:00.000-04:00

Explosions in the Sky, better known as the country's premier guitar-oriented post-rock outfit, have just finished recording their third full-length and are planning for a February release, according to their website. Recorded by John Singleton in Minneapolis, the album features six songs "ranging in length from three to thirteen minutes each", and will be classic Explosions territory: soaring melodic guitar, war march snares. The name of this record is unknown at this time, though the band is planning to announce details before their September 16th performance at Austin City Limits.

If you want to get your Explosions in the Sky fill before the summer ends, head over to their official site where you can legally download all eight tracks from 2005's extremely rare Travels in Constants EP they did for the boys at Temporary Residence. If you're a fan of the band or the genre, I highly recommend checking it out.

2007: New albums from Bright Eyes, Massive Attack, and now Explosions in the Sky. Hot damn.

Explosions in the Sky - Official Site
Temporary Residence - Official Site

Six Organs of Admittance, Major Stars, more at the Middle East tonight

2006-07-07T13:39:00.000-04:00

If you're not getting drunk and eating veggie dogs in a lawn chair in Somerville tonight like I'm planning to, you should head on over to the Middle East, which is hosting one of July's best shows. The lineup features Californian guitar lord Benjamin Chasny (a.k.a Six Organs of Admittance) doing his folk/jazz thing, as well as Important Records noisemakers Major Stars, and ex-Harvey Danger rockers Bound Sterns. For a $10 door charge, there's hardly anything more worth it.

So here are the details:
Wed., 07/07 (tonight)
SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
Major Stars
Bound Sterns
@ the Middle East Upstairs
9PM, 18+, $10

If you're still not convinced, you can listen to a song from each of the bands below. Or, in the case of Six Organs of Admittance, you can watch a video. That's right -- visual stimulus! Wow!

Six Organs of Admittance - "All You've Left"
Major Stars - "Pocket"
Bound Sterns - "Crimes and Follies"

Sufjan Stevens announces fall tour

2006-07-07T12:35:00.000-04:00

For the first time in over a year, multi-instrumentalist and American history buff Sufjan Stevens has announced an extensive set of tour dates, this time with labelmates My Brightest Diamond. According to an Asthmatic Kitty press release, this tour "will feature no cheerleading outfits...suit coats, neckties and corsages might be more appropriate." Interesting. Could we say that Sufjan has grown up? I loved the dancing as much as the next guy, but I think this is better.

Mr. Stevens will be premiering some new music on this tour, so make sure to bring your Talkboy. And go pretty much anywhere in the country that isn't New England. Dates below:

Mon. Sept. 11: Nashville, TN, Ryman
Tues Sept 12: Little Rock, AR TBA
Fri. Sept. 15: Austin, TX, Paramount Theater
Sat. Sept. 16: Austin, TX, Paramount Theater
Tue. Sept. 19: New Orleans, LA, House of Blues
Weds. Sept. 20: Atlanta, GA, Fox Theater (PASTE Fest)
Thu. Sept. 21: Chapel Hill, NC, Memorial Hall
Sat. Sept. 23: Indianapolis, IN, Egyptian Theater
Sun. Sept. 24: St. Louis, MO, The Pageant
Mon. Sept. 25: Milwaukee, WI, Pabst Theater
Tue. Sept. 26: Chicago, IL, The Riviera
Thu. Sept. 28: Philadelphia, PA, The Towers
Fri. Sept. 29: New York, NY, Town Hall
Sat. Sept. 30: New York, NY, Town Hall
Mon. Oct. 9: Los Angeles, CA, The Wiltern
Weds. Oct. 11: San Francisco, CA, Zellerbach Hall
Fri. Oct. 13: Portland, OR, Crystal Ballroom
Sat. Oct. 14: Vancouver, BC, St. Andrews Cathedral
Sun. Oct. 15: Seattle, WA, Paramount

Asthmatic Kitty - Sufjan, My Brightest Diamond to Tour
Sufjan Stevens - Part 3 of the Avalanche

The Flaming Lips trash Clapton, Dylan

2006-07-07T12:19:00.000-04:00

Between writing songs about magic wands and sexual robots, the Flaming Lips apparently have time to shit-talk anybody who's not them. In a recent audio interview with Rolling Stone, Lips members Steven Drozd and Wayne Coyne went to town on some of rock's greatest legends, including Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan. And we're not talking about Thom Yorke calling the industry "a bunch of retards", this is some intense stuff.

On Clapton:
"Most recently, the first in a series of Cream reunion shows took place here, which prompts a joke from Lips multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd. The joke: "What do coffee and Eric Clapton have in common?"

But of course: Both suck without cream."

On Dylan:
"I mean, have you seen Dylan lately? You can't recognize a single song he plays anymore. It's like you order a pizza and Dylan brings you a pile of dog food, and you're like, 'What's this? I ordered pizza.' And Dylan says, 'This is my version of a pizza.' "

For you, Grand Wizard Coyne, I will post some homophobic kid's response to someone telling him he'd like your band if he liked Ween:

"the flaming lips suck my ass! their singer is a whinny fag, and while the music is pretty good with beck-ish sound effects and groovy melodies, they lack any creativeness that could ever put them into a fair comparison with the musical gods that are ween.

if i caught a ween show with the flaming lips, ween had better play their traditional 3-4 hours, or i'm going to get up on stage and beat the living shit out the flaming lips faggoty-assed singer."

Happy?

Frank Black: "Pixies will never record again"

2006-07-06T16:43:00.000-04:00

After years of speculation, an iTunes single, and having to waft through two Frank Black country records, a July 6th Uncut Magazine interview with the Pixies revealed that the band is never planning to re-enter the studio to record the follow-up to 1993's Trompe le Monde. This is what Frank Black had to say:

"I wish it could go a bit further again and we could make a record. Not all of the band-members are willing to do that. Rather than make a big deal out of it, we've agreed to just continue to play live...We definitely enjoy ourselves. There is a little camaraderie, a gang mentality that takes over when we're about to take the stage."

It's that girl in the band, isn't it? Jeez. Just write some more fun stuff, Black Francis!

Music saved my life: Wire - Chairs Missing (Harvest; 1978)

2006-07-06T15:29:00.000-04:00

Without Chairs Missing, Wire would only be one of the most influential punk bands of all time. Instead, they opted to record a set of songs that reflected their evolving musical tastes and became something even more obscenely enormous. The ferocity of the incredible Pink Flag remains, but the band willflully stretches their sound, filling in spaces with Eno-like atmospherics, polyrhythmic synth noises, and the trademark Colin Newman shout. "Mercy" is the album's crowning apex, guitars breathing fire to a colossal climax while the drums break for a beautifully planned closed hi-hat hit that invites the listener to see if their heart is still beating...but doesn't leave them enough time to do so. It sounds crazy, but it's one of those musical moments that can't be explained, but only felt.

The record's studio magic is especially apparent in "Heartbeat", as the band fades in and out like the man behind the boards is playing with the levels. It's a classic moment of postmodernism, but something that very few musicians -- maybe only Kraftwerk and Steve Reich -- were doing at the time. Even someone like David Byrne or Malcolm Mooney, who played with sonic texture like no one else, must have been inspired by how the band used studio sounds to craft an atmosphere on "Used to Know", where literally the whole song sounds like it's slightly off-time and bubbling on the turntable.

But, of course, a Wire record wouldn't be complete without a series of straight-up rockers, and there are plenty of those to boot. "I Am the Fly" and "Outdoor Miner" are art-punk before the term existed, and evidence that Wire were decades ahead of the game. "Too Late", the album's reflective closer, has Newman shouting "Is it too late to change my mind?" over something -- after a lot of very close listens, I still can't tell if it's a heavily mutated guitar sound or a synth. It doesn't matter -- the sonics are astounding, either for 1978 or now, and proof that a band like Wire will always be respected, recognized and enjoyed.

Wire - Official Site
Wire - "I Am the Fly"

Band of Horses coming to Boston

2006-07-03T16:05:00.000-04:00

After spending two years opening for other, less rockin' Sub Pop bands (read: Iron & Wine), Seattle indie rock outfit Band of Horses have planned their first headlining East Coast tour for this fall, fresh on the heels of their debut, the magnificent Everything All the Time. They'll be making their New England stop at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston on September 8th, so saddle up and sauter your iron death shoes!

09/08 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA

True, it's not the same as seeing Thom Yorke orgasm into a mic for three hours, but it will still be fun.

New Johnny Cash, Stephen Malkmus, more previewed

2006-07-03T11:58:00.000-04:00

2006's second half is already shaping up to be a doozy. With releases from Bob Dylan, Radiohead and Beyonce expected, monies are sure to be flowing through Virgin Megastore's credit card system. Mmm.

Of course, I wouldn't bring this up if there wasn't a catch. Alas -- I have ways for you to hear some of the most highly anticipated of the yet-to-come, including a four new tracks from the straight-up fuckin' weird Matthew Friedberger and a full album stream from the Man in Black himself. And a new one from ex-Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus! Before the poodle ripped off his face, of course. See below.

Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
Matthew Friedberger - Winter Woman/Holy Ghost Language School tracks
James Figurine - Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake tracks
Stephen Malkmus - "Mets to Infinity"

Legally listen to the new TV on the Radio record

2006-07-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

I know most of you out there have already illegally download TV on the Radio's major label debut Return to Cookie Mountain, but for those of us who have waited patiently, our opportunity has arrived. NME, the UK's answer to Billboard (or something), is streaming the album in its entirety as we speak. Follow the link below for electronic bliss.

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

Sleater-Kinney on "indefinite hiatus", last show Aug. 11th

2006-07-01T11:23:00.000-04:00

While I was away, indie rock's most prolific girl group went and called it quits on me. Sleater-Kinney, Oregon's least wood-related export, posted a note on the Sub Pop website last Tuesday, indicating that they were going on an "indefinite hiatus" -- and we're not talking about the five-years-from-now-Maynard-James-Keenan-kind, this is the real deal.

Just yesterday the world learned that their last show will be at the Roseland Ballroom in Portland on August 11th, after earlier reports indicated that their August 4th stop at Lollapalooza would be the band's final outing. I was hoping for a final tour a la Cher, but alas, if you really care, you better go get a fuckin' plane ticket ASAP.

I'm not one for eulogies, so for now, you can listen to three of the band's most well-known compositions. Enjoy!

Sleater-Kinney - "Oh!"
Sleater-Kinney - "You're No Rock 'n Roll Fun"
Sleater-Kinney - "Entertain"

2006: The First Six Months

2006-06-24T14:36:00.000-04:00

So we're halfway through 2006. I usually wait for the end of the year to do any sort of recap, but I always like to see where we are, where we've been, and what's to come. So I've compiled (in no particular order) my favorite records of the year and ten records that I really, really can't wait to hear. Enjoy!

My Ten Favorite

Scott Walker - The Drift (4AD)
What it is: Experimental avant-pop

Undoubtedly, Scott Walker's The Drift is the most hyped album so far this year. Before I had even heard it, I had been reading reviews for weeks in the Guardian, NME and Pitchfork, all saying the same thing -- brilliant, genius, unparalleled...hell, Stylus even called it "the best record so far this century". So what if I had some high expectations? Think about it: a master of the pop and the avant-garde, releasing a record he had been writing for over a decade with a 40-person orchestra.

The album plays like a concept album about the freakishly bizarre: an obliterated Elvis Presley hunched over the toilet, talking to his stillborn brother, cossacks charging into fields of white roses, donkey-punching in the streets of Dublin. Topics such as these might be ruined with a less formidable force, but (forgive me for saying this) Walker knocks 'em out of the park. His delicate croon sits atop a soaring atonal string section, never once relenting. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to hear the soundtrack to every Hitchcock movie compressed into 58 minutes? Welcome to my life.

I think what Mojo said about The Drift is the most correct, though: "It could be high art, or it could be bollocks. Either way, it's lovely."

Thom Yorke - The Eraser (XL)
What it is: Thom Yorke

What puzzled me in my first few listens of this record was that it sounded very much like a Radiohead record. In fact, it may as well be, because Thom Yorke seems like he is Radiohead on The Eraser, playing an assortment of instruments and crooning his famous off-kilter wail. I think Alex Martin gave the best summary of this album when she called it post-modern classical. "You have to listen for the notes he's not playing." The often silly jazz adage is in this case true -- Yorke makes it very clear, especially in tracks like "Skip Divided" and "Cymbal Rush" that he's willfully depriving us of structural integrity -- that we are to construct it for ourselves.

At the end of the day, The Eraser is something we have come to expect from Thom Yorke, a masterful piece of art on par with any of his other works. And that's not to say it's by any means mediocre -- Yorke may very well be our generation's most innovative musician.

Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche (Asthmatic Kitty)
What it is: Orch-pop

I am absolutely appalled by the fact that 22 songs Sufjan rejected for his last record is one of my favorite ten records of the last six months. Does that say that music just sucks these days? Or that Sufjan really is one of the most prolific songwriters today? I would vote the latter, because I don't think my ears fool me when I hear a song as touching as "Pittsfield" at the end of an outtakes album. Or how about "Adlai Stevenson" which, after a couple dozen listens, still manages to confuse with its five string counterparts.

Like Illinois and Michigan before it, The Avalanche tells of pain and desertion, ascension and absolution. The songs are no less complex, poetic or engaging. Change the words and this could be Sufjan's album about Indiana, Rhode Island, Minnesota, or Wyoming, and it could be indie rock's latest masterpiece. What Sufjan continues to accomplish is the creation of truly original, inspiring music. Black Francis, tomorrow this could be you.

Liars - Drum's Not Dead (Mute)
What it is: An indie dance band with two drummers and a delay pedal

I had completely abandoned my personal copy of Drum's Not Dead until a transmission from Thom Yorke's Dead Air Space blog gave me reason to have another listen. It's message was simple: Thom Yorke fucking adores this record, and, therefore, I must give it a second chance. Turns out, Mr. Yorke was right -- this is a much more mature, personable, and satisfying record that anything I could have expected from a band that penned "There's Always Room on the Broom" just two years ago.

"It Fit When I Was a Kid" is predictable territory for Liars, but they put a unique spin on it this time -- two minutes into the monotone, pulsing droner, the drum line fades out and a melodic guitar line blends into soothing "oohs" and "ahhs". It worked on They Threw Us In a Ditch and Put a Monument on Top, and it still works now. "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack", on the other hand, is a completely new direction for the band -- a gentle and pleasurable ballad that many blogs I've read have called the unparalleled song of the year. It's not that I don't agree, it's that I'm too overwhelmed by the quality of the album as a whole to focus on its details. You just have to listen -- it's more than Berlin, a history, or the sum of its parts.

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid - The Exchange Sessions (Domino)
What it is: Experimental jazz

"Hebden's own taste tends toward those people who have always been outside of the fashions of the day, among them the free-jazz musician Pharoah Sanders and the German avant-garde rock band Can. "I think the ultimate achievement in music is when you manage to change people's perception of what's possible while, at the same time, producing something that connects with them instantly," he says. "Windowlicker by the Aphex Twin and Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliott are not like anything ever done before, but everyone who hears them understands them straight away. That's the kind of music that changes history. It's pop music that does not rely on nostalgia."

The current climate of pop music doesn't sit well with Hebden. For the past two years, one band after another has got huge by rehashing the classic rock sounds of the 1960s and 70s, and the tide doesn't look as though it's going to turn for some time yet. The Australian retro-rock band Jet, in particular, inspire Hebden's wrath. "I'd rather listen to 15 Emma Bunton albums than a single song by Jet, who I think are the most offensive band in the world right now. They are militantly retro, combined with this ugly arrogance. Jet say that they want to be like the Rolling Stones, who are, they claim, the only good band in the world. But when the Stones made their great albums, that wasn't their attitude at all - their ears were open to so much." -- The Guardian, April 2006

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (Badabing!)
What it is: Balkan folk music meets indie rock

We said it couldn't be done a hundred times before -- a teenage boy putting pen to paper and crafting a truly enjoyable work of art with purpose and technique. Zachary Condon exceeded all of our expectations by not only making us dance, and think, but using a fucking Balkan orchestra to do so. There's two accordions, a full string section, a timpani played by the other guy in Neutral Milk Hotel, and even some belly slapping -- take that, Broken Social Scene!

There's more to Gulag Orkestar that simple teenage aggression -- "Postcards from Italy" is probably the best song of the year, opening with a gentle ukelele bounce and exploding into a full-on waltzing parade. That's not to say that we don't have the typical bombastic dirge here and there -- "Scenic World" is a page out of the Jens Lekman book, leaving plenty to the imagination as Condon sings a simple melody over Casio melodica. What keeps us coming back for more, though, is not that Gulag Orkestar is the best or most intelligent record of the year. It's that Condon has the ability to become this generation's saving grace.

Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth of a Beast (Matador)
What it is: Concept art/ambient electonica

Tom Zé - Estudando o Pagode (Luaka Bop)
What it is: Brazilian samba operetta

A seasoned session guitarist by age 20, and a legend by his early 30s, Tom Zé is the epitome of Brazilian pop stardom. Throughout his illustrious career, he has continued to challenge classic pop structure and narrative by singing about things that pushed people's buttons. Zé's latest, Estudando o Pagode, is a look into our modern world: one where we have not moved forward, but backwards. Women are still treated unjustly, quakes Zé, and we must do something immediately. That is not to say that Zé's effort is merely feminist -- it touches on all important social issues of our time: homosexuality, racism and social injustice.

Of course, albums cannot be successful on concept alone, and Zé succeeds in creating a work that not only evokes great passion but also will make you fuckin' dance. How could you go wrong?

Danielson - Ships (Secretly Canadian)
What it is: Indie pop

I was a little skeptical about the new Danielson record when people started praising it. I know he was Sufjan's mentor and everything, and, as a fan of indie folk, I'm supposed to want to rub myself in anything Mr. Stevens is vaguely related to, but I still wasn't ever that psyched about Daniel Smith. Until now. Ships is Daniel Smith's most unique record so far, featuring an impressive cast of players: members of Why?, Deerhoof, Serena Maneesh all contribute. Plus, I can actually listen to it without getting a headache! It's wonderful and catchy! I like it a lot, I think.

I'm going to recommend this record to anyone who likes indie pop, especially the Shins or the New Pornographers or anything else that sings about strange things. It's fun, and definitely worth your time. It even got a resounding thumbs up from Jens Lekman!

Adem - Love and Other Planets (Domino)
What it is: Folk-pop with some electronics

It's a rare and unique occurence when I feel genuinely safe with a record, though that was the case with Adem Ilhan's 2004 release Homesongs. The album was a sprawling opus, malleable in form and texture, gentle and bewildering without sacrificing power. I listened to "Gone Away" so much that the words started blurring together and meaning nothing. It was the sound I desired, the cooing of the melodica, the aura of safety.

Two years later, not much has changed. A step farther from his experimentalist role in Fridge, Love and Other Planets shows Adem working with a full-time percussionist -- adding a depth that Homesongs never truly achieved. But Adem never lets percussion overshadow the brilliant songwriting. "Launch Yourself" buzzes into a frenzy of handclaps and delicate harmonies before a driving 4/4 beat even enters. "Spirals", on the other hand, is classic Adem territory...just him and an acoustic guitar, gently picked arpeggios, singin' about love...ah. I don't think I breathed once through the whole song.

Am I always going to brag about how I played tambourine for him at the Avalon? Until the day I die.

The Yet-To-Come
Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways (Lost Highway; July 4) - Finished a mere few days before his death, American V: A Hundred Highways proved to be Cash's final recording (duh), and will be released on July 4th (how fitting). Rick Rubin produced it and says it's Cash's most powerful statement in years. Will it be the Olatunji Concert of our generation? We'll find out on Independence Day...

James Figurine - Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake (Plug Research; July 25) - Though he very recently signed to Sub Pop under his Dntel moniker, James Tamborello will be releasing his debut as James Figurine on Plug Research this August. Unlike Dntel, which showcases Tamborello's ability to sound like the Postal Service on amphetamines (or just being in the band), James Figurine is an ol'-fashioned man and his guitar...and a lot of electronics. Mmm.

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (Interscope; August 1) - There's a record floating around on the internet since February that claims to be an unmastered version of the Brookyln sextet's Interscope debut, but I have yet to get up the courage to try it on for size. It comes out in September.

Matthew Friedberger - Winter Woman/Holy Ghost Language School (859; August 8) - With the first week of August comes this Fiery Furnace's solo debut. It will surely be a double album full of the blips, backwards vocals and ripping atonal guitar solos we've come to expect from this guy.

Bob Dylan - Modern Times (Sony; August 29) - Dylan's first real studio album since 2001's Time Out of Mind...lots of questions. Is he going to come out of the gates blazing like our ol' bud Neil Young did? Or is it just going to be back to business for "the greatest living songwriter"? I think this is going to be a pleasant surprise. He helped us out in every war he's been alive for thus far, how could I believe this would be different?

Grizzly Bear - Yellow House (Warp; September 5) - According to all literature even vaguely referencing the creation of Yellow House, this is a record that was set out to be a "difficult listen". I always like to hear that, especially from a band that has, until now, prided themselves on the poppier and more accessible side of free-folk. Of course, with the "cool" scene of the moment, there will always be doubts, but I have faith in Grizzly Bear.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Then the Letting Go (Drag City; September 19) - Last year's Superwolf collaboration with Matt Sweeney was positively dreary, and 2004's Greatest Palace Music was a glorified covers record with slick Nashville production, so I'm hoping this one will be a return to basics for Big Willie Oldham. I loved I See a Darkness and Days in the Wake...I don't want to lose him before at least one more grand statement.

Decemberists - The Crane Wife (Interscope; October 3) - The Decemberists have finally announced a title and date for their major label debut -- it's The Crane Wife, and we'll hear it on October 12th. According to a Capitol rep, the album was originally supposed to be a double album and was fashioned down to fit on the standard 80-minute CD. Meloy, have you lost your mind?

Micah P. Hinson - Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit (Sketchbook/Jade Tree; October 10) - He's been compared to Elliott Smith, Conor Oberst, Alex Chilton and Bob Dylan (huh?), but Micah P. Hinson is his own depressed self, as we saw on 2005's The Gospel of Progress, a thinly veiled piece on broken romance. I'm a sucker for it all -- his voice, the mushy topics, singer/songwriter droopiness...ah.

Akron/Family - Meek Warrior (Young God; October 10) - The fact that Akron/Family were even in the studio was revealed last week, and two days ago, they announce the October release of Meek Warrior. This one promises to be an even more controlled chaos bath which will hopefully get them a lot more attention than last year's superb self-titled affair.

Guns 'n Roses - Chinese Democracy (A&M; ?) - It's been in the making for a decade and a half, and according to walking time bomb Axl Rose, the album is being completed and will be released sometime this fall. Do we believe him this time? It's on the list, now, isn't it?

What you should do this weekend (aside from reading this).

2006-06-22T16:40:00.000-04:00

So it's weekend time again. Which means one thing -- time to get drunk and throw watermelons off the roof! Or at least catch some good music. So here are some suggestions for activities that might get you out of the A/C.

Friday:
1) Jello Biafra speaks at the Somerville Theatre. Jello is pretty much the coolest ever. Aside from being the frontman for the best L.A. punk band ever, he's spent the last ten years or so trying to be elected mayor in San Francisco, running for president and speaking across the country. He's also had time to collaborate with the Melvins and Mike Patton.
2) Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus play in the middle of nowhere to 25,000 adoring Ticketmaster whores. The only people who are going to get to see the guy from Bauhaus hang upside down and hiss like a bat are a) the kids with really fast fingers, b) in the NIN fan club or c) payed an obscene assload of cas on eBay. Good for them.
3) Liars and Apes play at Paradise, speak out against pronouns. If you have yet to be convinced that this show is gonna be fucking choice, head over to Liars website and check out the pictures of them live. My favorite is the one of the guitarist with the "stop shopping" trench coat thing.
4) Final Fantasy and Alex Lukashevsky go all Ruskie on us. Go to T.T. the Bear's if you want to hear a lot of violin playing. Or just will lap up anything anyone involved with the Arcade Fire puts out. Or are just curious at the Owen Pallett hubbub. It's interesting stuff, I have to say.
5) Mark Knopfler ejaculates all over his guitar strings for three hours at the Bank of America Pavilion. Emmylou Harris is going to be playing at this one, if you're about that. I like her voice, but if I wanted to see Dire Straits songs played I would wait for Dire Straits to reunite. That's all.

Saturday:
1) Dave Brubeck does his yearly thing at Berklee. Even though he's been doing it for years, I still have yet to go see him. I'm a fucking moron. He made some of the most delighting, great music of the 50's. Could anybody turn down a chance to see "Take Five" with an extended piano solo? So awesome.
2) Taking Back Sunday and Angels and Airwaves play the Tweeter Center just to prove to me that they actually are more famous than I thought. I used to love this band. I saw them open for Piebald and Ben Kweller back in the day. I haven't heard any of their new stuff, can someone go and tell me if they suck?
3) Beirut makes his Boston debut. Rescheduled from a week from now is Beirut's first Boston show at the Lily Pad in Cambridge. Apparently, since playing his first show ever less than two months ago, Zach Condon's ten-man orchestra has made a considerable improvement and they actually are a joy now. I'll probably go to this one, mostly because it's the cheapest. Five bucks!
4) Etta James isn't dead; plays the Bank of America Pavilion. She was one of the most iconic performers of her day, and I'm sure there's a great demographic for going to this show. Not for me, though.
5) Asobi Seksu does a lot less than "make sex". Though I love them to death, I have to admit that even I can't stand this band live. Come on folks. Even My Bloody Valentine played behind a massive mirage of smoke and strobe lights, can't you take a hint?

Top of the Pops canceled after 42 years

2006-06-20T13:57:00.000-04:00

Top of the Pops, known to us stateside folk as "the American Bandstand of the UK" is being put down by the BBC after 42 years on air, according to numerous media sources, such as Billboard. BBC spokesperson jana Bennett had this to say: "We're very proud of a show which has survived 42 years in the U.K. and gone on to become a worldwide brand, but the time has come to bring the show to its natural conclusion."

Aside from having an incalculable influence on British popular culture over the last five decades, Top of the Pops has featured everyone from the Beatles, U2 and Nirvana, and more recently, chart-topping soulsters Gnarls Barkley. Though its ratings had been failing in recent years, the show was still widely respected and recognized as one of the most important music television shows in the world. The term "top of the pops" had even become synonymous with success (see: lyrics to "Bad Weekend" by Art Brut).

Now all we have left is TRL. Great.

Stephen Colbert interviews Congressman Lynn Westmoreland

2006-06-20T10:43:00.000-04:00

I don't usually post things of a political matter, but this is outrageous. Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central's infamous fake newsman interviewed Georgia Congressman Lynn Westmoreland on his show last Friday, and proved just how incredibly stupid politicians can be. Watch as Westmoreland is only able to name three of the ten commandments after he speaks about the importance of keeping them in offices of law.

Harvey Danger sign to Kill Rock Stars, plan awesome comeback

2006-06-20T10:29:00.000-04:00

Harvey Danger, the band that brought us 1998's suprisingly delightful "Flagpole Sitta", have signed to indie label Kill Rock Stars and planned the release of their fourth album, Little By Little. The double album, apparently their most ambitious work by far, will see the light of day on August 22nd. Until then, the band will be making a few stops on the West Coast, including a date in Eugene, Oregon, with MxPx and Stroke 9. Jesus christ, it really is still 1998.

Anyway, here's what frontman Jeff Lin had to say about the record in an interview with Information Typepad last September:

"We’ve written a few new songs that we’ve played the couple times we’ve played out. Currently our focus is going to be on writing new material and recording material for a new album. We’re going to be working with producer Steve Fisk, and we’ve booked time in October. As far as future plans go, it all hinges on how the material turns out. I think if you look at the history of the band and how we’ve worked, we always work best when we focus just on the music-making process. We stopped working in that way when the commercial success hit (there were so many other distractions, other issues that came up), so I’m excited to see what happens now. Everything else follows from the work, and I think we’re back to a point where there’s much less distraction so that bodes well."

My favorite part about this band is that they got so goddamned famous with a song on Never Records. Have you ever heard of it? Because I sure haven't. And yet they're still rocking it on an indie. Good for them.

Bright Eyes, Elvis Costello, more to stream live from Bonnaroo

2006-06-14T19:07:00.000-04:00

Blue Room, the AT&T site that I have a spectacular love-hate relationship with, will be streaming select bands live from Bonnaroo -- the only summer festival that anybody seems to give a shit about these days. So if you're not one of the 80,000 adoring fans that will get to spend a weekend caked in mud and pooping in the grass, you can share at least part of the experience.

Among the acts that will stream live on Blue Room will be Bright Eyes, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Phil Lesh, Ben Folds, My Morning Jacket, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Les Claypool, Matisyahu (ew), Oysterhead, Devendra Banhart, Gomez, The Neville Brothers, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Dungen, Moe, and a "very special guest". It's not Radiohead, is it?

If you're willing to deal with a crappy video feed, microwave the popcorn and kick back. It'll be sweet. And let's hope no one dies this year, k?

Blue Room - Bonnaroo Webcast
Bonnaroo - Festival Site

New Yo La Tengo album leaks, worst title ever

2006-06-14T18:57:00.000-04:00

Yo La Tengo's latest work, though set to be released on September 12th via Matador, leaked to the net this morning. I had high hopes for this record until the title was revealed -- it's called I Am Not Afraid of You, And I Will Beat Your Ass. I've refrained from posting about this because I thought the announcement of the title was nothing more than a clever PR move. But no. This is really it, guys.

A sample track from the record is below. I'd say this is classic Tengo, but eh.

Yo La Tengo - "Beanbag Chair"
Yo La Tengo - Official Site

Alan Sparhawk preps EP of ripping guitar solos

2006-06-12T12:32:00.000-04:00

Anyone who saw Low on their last North American tour knew that lead singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk was just itching to let one rip. So it doesn't particularly surprise me that he's recorded an EP of solo guitar work, titled Solo Guitar. The album is set to be released by Siber Media in late August. According to Tiny Mixtapes, who have somehow heard it, it's "actually a very lovely record". Then maybe we can expect something like we got from Tom Verlaine's solo guitar record earlier this year? I hope so, anyway.

The tracklisting, in all its uncapitalized glory:

1. how the weather comes over the central hillside
2. Sagrado Corazon de Jesu (first attempt)
3. Sagrado Corazon de Jesu (second attempt)
4. how a freighter comes into the harbor
5. how the weather hits the freighter...
6. ...in the harbor
7. how the engine room sounds
8. eruption by eddie van halen
9. how it ends

The announcement of this record completes a long period of silence for Sparhawk after a nervous breakdown made the band cancel the remainder of their North American tour last year. I'm glad to hear he's doing alright.

Low - Official Site

And the greatest living songwriter is...

2006-06-11T17:35:00.000-04:00

The latest issue of Paste Magazine features a list of the 100 greatest living songwriters compiled by 50 (supposedly) credible music journalists. The list is below:

1. Bob Dylan
2. Neil Young
3. Bruce Springsteen
4. Waits/Brennan
5. Paul McCartney
6. Leonard Cohen
7. Brian Wilson
8. Elvis Costello
9. Joni Mitchell
10. Prince
11. Randy Newman
12. Jagger/Richards
13. Paul Simon
14. Stevie Wonder
15. Willie Nelson
16. David Bowie
17. Holland/Dozier/Holland
18. U2
19. Patty Griffin
20. Van Morrison
21. Lou Reed
22. Lucinda Williams
23. John/Taupin
24. Jeff Tweedy
25. Chuck Berry
26. R.E.M.
27. Radiohead
28. Robbie Robertson
29. Tom Petty
30. John Prine
31. Carole King
32. Leiber/Stoller
33. Pete Townshend
34. John Fogerty
35. Steve Earle
36. Beck
37. Smokey Robinson
38. Kris Kristofferson
39. Led Zeppelin
40. Bacharach/David
41. Ray Davies
42. Loretta Lynn
43. Ryan Adams
44. Al Green
45. Jackson Browne
46. David Byrne
47. Sufjan Stevens
48. Welch/Rawlings
49. Cat Stevens
50. Public Enemy
51. Penn/Oldham
52. Paul Westerberg
53. James Taylor
54. Aimee Mann
55. Dolly Parton
56. James Brown
57. Morrissey
58. Sly Stone
59. Jack White
60. Jimmy Webb
61. John Hiatt
62. Sting
63. Richard Thompson
64. Andy Partridge
65. Bill Mallonee
66. Charles Thompson
67. Conor Oberst
68. Allen Toussaint
69. Merle Haggard
70. Alex Chilton
71. Vic Chesnutt
72. Michael Jackson
73. Julie Miller
74. Over the Rhine
75. Ron Sexsmith
76. Will Oldham
77. Bruce Cockburn
78. Robert Pollard
79. Stephen Malkmus
80. Pink Floyd
81. The Flaming Lips
82. John Darnielle
83. Fleetwood Mac
84. They Might Be Giants
85. David Bazan
86. Sam Beam
87. Lyle Lovett
88. Parliament
89. Victoria Williams
90. Nick Cave
91. Drive-By Truckers
92. Alejandro Escovedo
93. Joseph Arthur
94. Sam Phillips
95. Patti Smith
96. Jimmy Cliff
97. Josh Ritter
98. Jay Farrar
99. Outkast
100. T. Bone Burnett

You can agree or disagree with it all you want. Personally, I think the list is better than your generic "best-of" lists. Case in point: does anybody remember VH1's 100 Greatest Songs Ever list with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones at #1? Jesus.

Paste Magazine - Official Site

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts tracks ready to be remixed...by you!

2006-06-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

If you have yet to visit the My Life in the Bush of Ghosts site, I highly suggest you head over there for some good fun. David Byrne and Brian Eno have made all 23 separate tracks of "Help Me Somebody" and "A Secret Life" available for download. They challenge you to remix the songs and submit them -- the best tracks will be featured on David Byrne's blog! What a freakin' honor.

If you've never heard the 1981 collaboration, go buy it. Now. I'll pay you back.

Wilco announce only summer East Coast date, pick middle of nowhere

2006-06-09T10:57:00.000-04:00

For country bumpkins Wilco, there's virtually no city in the United States that won't have them as guests at their dinner table. Case in point - the band schedules the only East Coast date of their summer jaunt, and they pick Florence, MA. Never heard of it? That's okay. I've lived in this state all my life, and I haven't either. Apparently it's close to Hadley and Williamsburg, and it has a grocery store.

07/16 - Florence, MA - Pines Theatre

If you want your daily dose of Wilco before then, you can check out the new Glenn Kotche record. I hear it's good, but I haven't had the pleasure of line dancing to it yet.

Wilco - Official Site

Akron/Family recording new album with help from Hamid Drake, Broken Social Scene

2006-06-09T10:03:00.000-04:00

I spent most of 2005 either running around Boston trying to convince people to like Akron/Family or bringing the band buckets of vanilla granola backstage. Between their first Boston show at Great Scott's and their second at P.A.'s, Akron/Family got really good live. And still no one came.

Despite an avalanche of critical praise and a blistering live show, the band is still struggling for air in the free-folk scene. Hopefully the fact that they are releasing their sophomore album this fall will change those damn Pitchfork-worshipping hippies opinions.

The album is tentatively titled Akron/Family is Empty, and is slated for a late September release. Not only will the sessions feature the ferocious guitar playing of band mentor/former Swans circus freak Michael Gira, but it will also feature special performance from all-around jazz hero Hamid Drake, as well as contributions from their buds from Canadian indie rock collective Broken Social Scene.

According to Pitchfork, that's not all for the band. Akron/Family is planning to enter the studio after their record release show in September and before their December tour to start recording on another new album. These guys just never fuckin' stop. Watch out Sufjan!

12/06 - Somerville, MA - P.A.'s Lounge

Akron/Family - Official Site

Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast (Matador)

2006-06-08T16:25:00.002-04:00

Ambient electronic group Matmos (a.k.a. Bjork's backing band) have built a career out of peculiarity and secrecy, but their latest on Matador, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast takes the cake. On their seventh full-length, the San Franciscan duo have taken the concept album to new heights, dedicating each sound collage to a person who has influenced them. There's a song about Darby Crash (late lead singer of the Germs), Valerie Solanas (famed feminist writer) and even the famous pervert, Boyd McDonald. The best, however, is Matmos's take on William S. Burroughs. The track opens with the clack of a typewriter. Soon a blur of backwards-looped snares join and the typewriter noises swing into a dizzying pulse. I think there's even some excerpts read by Drew Daniel himself.

For a group that is so frequently overpraised, Matmos have really succeeded in making their sound simultaneously captivating and blindingly dissonant. And they actually released an album without bragging about the laundry list of "instruments" used in the making of the record. Here's a list of some of them, straight from the horse's mouth:

amplified crayfish nerve tissue, the pages of bibles turning, a bowed five string banjo, slowed down whistles and kisses, water hitting copper plates, the runout groove of a vinyl record, a $5.00 electric guitar, liposuction surgery, cameras and VCRs, chin implant surgery, contact microphones on human hair, violins, rat cages, tanks of helium, violas, human skulls, cellos, peck horns, tubas, cards shuffling, field recordings of conversations in hot tubs, frequency response tests for defective hearing aids, a steel guitar recorded in a sewer, electrical interference generated by laser eye surgery, whoopee cushions and balloons, latex fetish clothing, rhinestones on a dinner plate, Polish trains, insects, ukelele, aspirin tablets hitting a drum kit from across the room, dogs barking, people reading aloud, life support systems and inflatable blankets, records chosen by the roll of dice, an acupuncture point detector conducting electrical current through human skin, rock salt crunching underfoot, solid gold coins spinning on bars of solid silver, the sound of a frozen stream thawing in the sun, a five gallon bucket of oatmeal

Right. Anyway, the album is a pleasure to pretend to be intelligent and dance to. Check out a clip and some delicious linkz below:

Matmos - Official Site
Matador Records - Matmos Page
Matmos - "Steam and Sequins for Larry Levan"

Holy shit: Paris Hilton debuts single

2006-06-05T18:17:00.000-04:00

The most despicable bitch on the planet, Paris Hilton, has released the single to her first album. The song is called "Stars are Blind", and you can download it, courtesy of Stereogum, right here.

Can't anybody decide what stars are? Examples:
Modest Mouse - Stars are Projectors
Nylons - Stars are Ours
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Tears and Stars are One and the Same
The Frames - Stars are Underground
Echo and the Bunnymen - Stars are Stars

I like the last one the best.

Radiohead in Boston, 6/4/06, I met Thom Yorke in a Thai restaurant

2006-06-05T16:36:00.000-04:00

The main story is that Radiohead rocked the Bank of America Pavilion last night in front of 5,000 adoring fans. The side story is that I was put on the guestlist by Thom Yorke himself, and I sat seven rows from the stage.

I was walking out of my favorite Thai resturant with a Chaing Mai Lettuce Wrap and motherfucking Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood are waiting in line for a table! All I could do was shake Thom's hand and wish him a good dinner. When I got home to eat on my floor, my girlfriend (also known as Alex) suggested we go back and try and get his autograph on one of our copies of OK Computer. Of course, I thought it was a bad idea but she insisted. And she was right.

She ran in, got the CD signed, and got Thom to put us on the list for the show. She even told him we had heard The Eraser! Very gutsy. It seemed almost too good to be true, so we went to the Bank of America Pavilion half expecting to not get in. But we did, and we were very, very close to the stage. And the show was great.

Willy Mason, who, by the way, just graduated from high school in West Tisbury, almost stole the show. I'd say he had a "Springsteen-esque voice but better". Nobody seemed to care that he was there, but I loved him. He even waved back when I said hi.

And then Radiohead. Thom insulted Clear Channel and danced around the stage like a lazy-eyed monkey on K. It was wonderful. I especially enjoyed the re-worked "Gloaming" and all of the new stuff. The girl next to me was upset that they didn't play "Creep", but I didn't care. I enjoyed myself and it seemed like the band did too. Very rare. Set list below:

There There
2+2=5
Lucky
15 Step
Arpeggi
Kid A
Dollars And Cents
The National Anthem
Nude
Videotape
Paranoid Android
Spooks
The Gloaming
House of Cards
Idioteque
Bangers 'n Mash
How To Disappear Completely
--------------------------
Airbag
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Bodysnatchers
Everything In Its Right Place
--------------------------
4 Minute Warning
My Iron Lung
Karma Police

Poptartssuckedtoasted has posted every new song the band has played on the tour here. I recommend "Videotape".

Reunited! Meat Puppets and Zombies prepare tours

2006-06-04T16:36:00.000-04:00

Two of psychedelic rock's most influential acts have decided to reform in the same weekend. And yes, it's just a coincidence.

According to Pitchfork, estranged brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood have decided to kiss and make up and record their first album since 1995's No Joke. The Meat Puppets were highly regarded in the 1980s after a series of releases on SST Records. However, record sales didn't seem to peak until after Nirvana's 1994 appearance on MTV Unplugged, when Kurt Cobain performed "Oh Me", "Plateau", and "Lake of Fire", three tracks from the legendary Meat Puppets II album. Since then, their cult status has only grown. And this probably won't help.

That's not all - Tim Alexander of Primus is going to be their session drummer. This is going to get funky.

Meanwhile, the group behind some of the most memorable pop songs of the 1960s is planning a fall tour of the states. According to Billboard, lead singer/guitarist Rod Argent has taken some time away from his producing duties to reform the Zombies. You may know the band from the song "Time of the Season", or from just having a really cool name.

More information on the bands here:
Meat Puppets - Official Blog
The Zombies - Fan Page

Go record shopping on Tuesday. Seriously.

2006-06-01T11:32:00.000-04:00

As if last week's release of Ted Nugent's Scream Dream reissue wasn't enough to get your ass to the record store, June 6th is shaping up to be the blockbuster day for summer music releases. Hitting stores will be new stuff from Sonic Youth, Boards of Canada, Kieran Hebden, Mojave 3, Peter Brotzmann, The Robot Ate Me, Smoosh, Psapp (the band from the Grey's Anatomy theme song) and the Metallic Falcons. We're also going to hear the long-awaited best of Impulse Records compilation, which will include out-of-print and hard-to-find material from the legendary roster, as well as a few tracks by John Coltrane himself.

A partial list is below. You'll have to make it to Newbury Comics to discover the rest.

Release Schedule, 06/06/06:
Be Your Own Pet - S/T (Universal)
Boards of Canada - Trans Canada Highway (Warp)
Bouncing Souls - The Gold Record (Chunksaah)
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country (Merge)
Head Automatica - Popganda (Warner Bros.)
Ice Cube - Laugh Now, Cry Later (Lench Mob)
Jarboe - The Conduit (Atavistic)
Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid - The Exchange Sessions, Vol. 2 (Domino)
Metallic Falcons - Desert Doughnuts (Voodoo-EROS)
Micah P. Hinson - The Baby and the Satellite (Jade Tree)
Mojave 3 - Puzzles Like You (Beggars)
Oakley Hall - Gypsium Strings (Brah)
Peter Brotzmann - Alarm (Atavistic)
Portastatic - Who Loves the Sun (Merge)
Psapp - The Only Thing I Ever Wanted (Domino)
Rhys Chatham - Angel Moves Too Fast to See (Table of the Elements)
The Robot Ate Me - Good World (5RC)
Smoosh - Free to Stay (Barsuk)
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped (Geffen)
Various Artists - The House That Trane Built: The Best of Impulse Records (Impulse!)

Thom Yorke's new album leaks!

2006-05-31T15:17:00.000-04:00

Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser, set to be released by XL Recordings on July 11th, has been leaked. You can download the album below. Happy listening!

1. The Eraser
2. Analyse
3. The Clock
4. Black Swan
5. Skip Divided
6. Atoms for Peace
7. And It Rained All Night
8. Harrowdown Hill
9. Cymbal Rush

Thanks to all who posted mp3's: A Soundtrack to Everyone, Blogs are for Dogs, Funtime OK, Contrail, etc.

Rapper faces three years in prison for calling France "a slut"

2006-05-30T18:06:00.000-04:00

Straight from the NME:

A French rap star is to appear in court today (May 30) charged with offending public decency with a song in which he referred to the country as a "slut" and vowed to "piss" on national heroes Napoleon and Charles de Gaulle.

Monsieur R is facing three years in prison or a €75,000 (£51,000) fine after an MP from the ruling UMP party launched legal action against him over his current album 'Politikment Incorrekt', reports The Guardian.

In the video for the song 'FranSSe', Monsieur R, whose real name is Richard Makela, appears dressed as a gendarme with two naked women rubbing against the French flag as he rapped: "France is a bitch, don't forget to fuck her till she's exhausted/You have to treat her like a slut, man." At another point in the song, he sang: "I piss on Napoleon and on General de Gaulle."

MP Daniel Mach proposed a law making it a criminal offence to insult the dignity of France and the French state upon hearing the album. He has since taken action against Makela, 30, for making and disseminating "violent and pornographic messages" to which minors could get access.

It's one thing to have your music banned, but quite another to be threatened with three years of jailtime. Yeesh.

Beyonce, Bonnie "Prince" Billy announce September releases

2006-05-30T17:08:00.000-04:00

In strangely similar fashion, former Destiny's Child Beyonce Knowles and indie folk hunchback Bonnie "Prince" Billy have announced their plans to release albums this fall. According to Billboard, "the world's hottest woman" has set September 4th as the release date for her sophomore effort, to be titled B-Day. The first single, "Deja Vu" will hit airwaves this summer. It's produced by Jay-Z. Surprise, surprise...

Two weeks later, Drag City will issue Bonnie "Prince" Billy's 6th studio full-length, titled Then the Letting Go. This clears up a lot for those of us that thought that he was in Iceland and not recording an album. Not much is known about the new project, other than that its first single, "Cursed Sleep", will be released as a 7" and CD EP in July. According to Pitchfork (who did very rudimentary investigating) more details will be released on the Drag City website in the coming weeks.

For now, enjoy the Will Oldham of yore:
Will Oldham - "Death to Everyone (Live)"

Scott Walker - The Drift (4AD)

2006-05-28T15:26:00.000-04:00

"I'm the only one left alive..."

The Drift is Scott "Sinatra on acid" Walker's first full-length in 11 years. I hadn't heard his stuff until a few weeks ago, and let me tell you, it is enormously fucked up. I think I read something in NME about how this is the perfect music to lie on your floor in complete darkness and sodomize yourself to. Great comparison. Imagine Nick Cave fronting Glenn Branca's 100 guitar orchestra -- his voice is effortlessly enormous, only reinforced by an almost violent backing band.

The faint at heart (or ear) will be driven away by just about everything -- the atonal string section, his high-pitched wail, and his strange topics. How does hearing someone sing about Mussolini's mistress being buried alive sound? Or cossacks raping Russian children? Or gouging eyes out? Mmm. That one's my favorite.

Like The Fiery Furnaces' Blueberry Boat and CocoRosie's Noah's Ark, this is not for everybody. But somewhere between punching donkeys and cursing Christ there's a very powerful record here. It's hard to find, but it's there.

Scott Walker - "Jesse"

New Sufjan Stevens tracks leaked

2006-05-26T15:18:00.000-04:00

On July 11th, Asthmatic Kitty will release The Avalanche, a collection of outtakes from the Illinois sessions. Listening to these songs really makes you think...how are his outtakes better than everybody else's best stuff? I can't believe how prolific Sufjan can be.

Below is the tracklisting (as usual, a mouthful) for The Avalanche, as well as links to download most of the songs. Enjoy.

1. The Avalanche
2. Dear Mr. Supercomputer
3. Adlai Stevenson
4. The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night By Saint Dargarius and his Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies
5. Chicago (Acoustic Version)
6. The Henney Buggy Band
7. Saul Bellow
8. Carlyle Lake
9. Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair
10. The Mistress Witch from McClure (or, the Mind that Knows Itself)
11. Kaskaskia River
12. Chicago (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version)
13. Inaugural Pop Music for Jane Margaret Byrne
14. No Man's Land
15. The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake
16. The Pick-Up
17. The Perpetual Self, or "What Would Saul Alinsky Do?"
18. For Clyde Tombaugh
19. Chicago (Multiple Personality Disorder Version)
20. Pittsfield
21. The Undivided Self (for Eppie and Popo)

Frog Eyes played T.T.'s, I slept through X-Men 3

2006-05-26T12:37:00.000-04:00

Frog Eyes and Sunset Rubdown played at T.T. the Bear's last night. Unfortunately, I was too busy drinking, eating cheap popcorn and standing in line to see X-Men 3 (I slept through the whole film, previews and credits included). According to many sources, the show was great. I hear a lot of people went hoping to see Spencer Krug do his best Wolf Parade impression, which never happened. Poo.

I was never too fond of the Waits-raping Frog Eyes until I heard an alternate version of "A Latex Ice Age", courtesy of Said the Gramophone. It's as gentle and melodic as the band gets. Check it out:

Frog Eyes - "A Latex Ice Age"

If you're willing to make the trek, both bands will be playing the Fuel Rocket Club in Hanover, NH tonight. Details here.

Sonic Youth/Flaming Lips to play Boston!

2006-05-25T18:06:00.000-04:00

Celebrate, hug your mother, rejoice, whatever. According to the official SY site, Sonic Youth and the Flaming Lips are coming to play Boston in September at the Bank of America Pavilion. Sonic Youth will be touring to support Rather Ripped, which comes our way on June 6th, and the Flaming Lips are pretty much just touring for the hell of it. We can't blame 'em, nobody can ever seem to get enough.

09/03 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion

Was I the only one who saw Sonic Youth do "What a Waste" on the season finale of Gilmore Girls? Coco Moore must be a coke addict already.

B. Fleischmann - The Humbucking Coil (Morr)

2006-05-25T17:54:00.000-04:00

I've literally forgotten what's so vital about intelligent electronica. Even with a band like Matmos, who makes it so very clear that they are trying to relate to the Karma Loop-buying, sushi-eating, fjord-sipping hipster, it seems to make sense to the band, a small group of allegiant fans, and Ryan Schreiber. I've never particularly disliked truly celebrated, innovative electronica (read: Autchre, Aphex Twin, Richard Dorfmeister), but sometimes it can be a little too much for me.

B. Fleischmann has always hit my radar, mostly because of his collaborations with Jimmy Tamborello and the Album Leaf. And then there's the whole thing about him being buddies with Erlend Oye...eh. They're all German, and they all are great. I was pleasantly surprised to hear The Humbucking Coil, though. It still is the same old live instruments/vocals/crazy panning as you're used to hearing from the ambient techno cronies. It's very subtle, very melancholy, and very lovely. Not as many blips as I am used to from this guy, but I still adore it.

His voice sounds like Boston singer/songwriter (and my BBQ buddy) Ad Frank, which always kind of freaks me out. But then I remember that Ad would straight out tell me that he fucking hates his life, and B. Fleischmann just beats around the bush. I love that goddamn bush.

B.Fleischmann - "First Times"

Black Heart Procession tour with Castanets

2006-05-25T14:53:00.000-04:00

Touch and Go's bleakest indie rockers, the Black Heart Procession, will be touring the United States in August with Devics (Filter Recordings) and Raymond Raposa, a.k.a. Castanets. It's been a good year since we've gotten any news about any of these bands, and it's nice to see they are emerging from their respective cocoons.

8/1 - Boston, MA - The Middle East

Great! So that makes Silver Mt. Zion and Black Heart Procession in the same week, at the same venue. Maybe I'll invent a festival and invite them.

The Curtains sign to Asthmatic Kitty, Chris Cohen quits Deerhoof

2006-05-23T12:33:00.000-04:00

Three-piece twee poplets The Curtains announced yesterday that they will release their fourth album, Calamity this fall via Sufjan Steven's Asthmatic Kitty label. The band, a self-proclaimed "crossover jazz band without the improvising" proudly bear their influences on their sleeves, playing off the innovation of Devo, Captain Beefheart and the Velvet Underground. I can hear some Deerhoof in it too, which I guess shouldn't surprise me, as their drummer, Chris Cohen, happens to be Deerhoof's bassist. Or should I say Deerhoof's former bassist.

That's right. With the news of the Curtains signing came the news of Chris Cohen's departure from the cutie pie indie rock band Deerhoof. "This is the band that I've always done on the side (I started it with my friend Trevor before I ever joined Deerhoof)," said Cohen on Deerhoof's MySpace page, "and I feel a real strong pull to go and perform our new material live and focus all my energy into that. I hope you all understand." We understand, Chris.

Additionally, Stereogum reports that Deerhoof has recently posted a nine song EP on their website, which includes covers of the Beatles, My Bloody Valentine, Canned Heat, and more. I've heard the Beatles in Spanish, German and French, but never Japanese (or with the word "panda" in it). It proves to be Cohen's last recorded material as a 'Hoof.

The Curtains - "Fletcher's Favorite"
Asthmatic Kitty - The Curtains Calamity Page
Deerhoof - Nine Song EP

Sub Pop, Secretly Canadian announce release schedules

2006-05-23T11:34:00.000-04:00

Two of indie rock's most influential (and quite frankly, best) record labels have announced their summer and early fall release schedule. Sub Pop gives us new music from The Album Leaf, Comets on Fire and The Thermals, while putting out the debut releases of Brazilian samba-punk outfit CSS and Allentown, Pennsylvania noise bath aficionados, Pissed Jeans. Secretly Canadian sticks to the basics, with a new one from Songs:Ohia (this time under the Jason Molina moniker) as well as a double album from Windsor for the Derby. The full roster is below:

SUB POP
Pissed Jeans - Don't Need to Make Myself Disappear 7" (June 6)
CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy (June 13)
Wolf Eyes - The Driller 7" (July 25)
Comets on Fire - Avatar (Aug. 8)
The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, the Machine (Aug. 22)
Chad vanGaalen - Skelliconnection (Aug. 22)
Rosie Thomas - If Songs Could Be Held (Sept. 12)
The Album Leaf - Into the Blue Again (Sept. 12)
Dead Moon - Echoes of the Past (Sept. 12)

SECRETLY CANADIAN
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - According to Plan (July 11)
Windsor for the Derby - Calm Hades Float / Minnie Greutzfeldt (Aug. 22)
Jason Molina - Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go (Aug. 22)
Early Day Miners - Offshore (Aug. 22)
Rhys Chatham - Trumpet (TBA)

There are also some rumblings of a new Shins album in late fall. That would be nice.

Everybody likes Missy Elliott

2006-05-20T16:04:00.000-04:00

Last night, I was smoking a cigarette in Harvard Square with my good friend Mark, who happens to work with Mission of Burma. Over veggie burgers, he revealed to me that Roger Miller is a HUGE Missy Elliott fan, and happened to spin a few of her songs in a very short DJ set in Cambridge last week. (He also provided me with an advanced copy of The Obliterati, more on that later.)

Today, in a completely unrelated manner, I stumbled upon David Byrne's archived radio shows. In the month of October of last year, the Talking Head only spun Missy Elliott songs. I shit you not. Fact check me here.

So then, I just started googling "Missy Elliott" and "Indie". What came up surprised me a lot:
1) Interview with Bonnie "Prince" Billy- "I always buy Missy Elliott records on the first day they’re out."
2) Jarvis Cocker Talks Bono, Missy Elliott
3) Zutons cover Missy Elliott

Should it surprise me? I mean...Missy Elliott is a fantastic pop star. I respect anybody who has the balls to dress in an extra large garbage bag and do the Freddie. Or, in general, be a woman in the atrociously sexist hip-hop scene. I'm thinking of finding a couple of tracks and shimmying. If David Byrne can like her and still know more about Latvian techno than any human being alive, I can too.

Four Tet set to release DJ-Kicks compilation

2006-05-20T13:55:00.000-04:00

As if doing some serious rocking out with James Brown's drummer and releasing two live albums wasn't enough for 2006, Four Tet wunderkind Kieran Hebden is the next in line to contribute to !K7 Records legendary DJ-Kicks series. The twenty-one track mixtape is slated for a June 26th release, and will feature everything from 60s soul to French pop to straight up drum n' bass. Gangsta.

Tracklist:

1. David Behrman - Leapday night (scene 1)
2. Syclops - Mom, the video broke
3. Curtis Mayfield - If I were only a child again
4. Heiner Stadler - Out-rock
5. Gary Davis - The Professor Here
6. Heldon - Les soucoupes volantes vertes
7. Stereolab - Les yper sound
8. So Solid Crew - Dilemma
9. Akufen - Psychometry 3.2
10. Animal Collective - Baby day
11. Madvillain - Figaro (st101 remix)
12. Julian Priester + Pepo Mtoto - Love, love
13. Four Tet - Pockets
14. Model 500 - Psychosomatic
15. Shona People of Rhodesia - Taireva
16. Quickspace Supersport - Superplus
17. Cabaret Voltaire - Kneel to the boss
18. Gong - Love is how y make it
19. Showbiz & AG - Represent
20. Group Home - Up against the wall (getaway car mix)
21. Autechre - Flutter

Not only will we get to hear Kieran somehow mix Curtis Mayfield with Animal Collective, we'll also get "Pockets" - the first new Four Tet song since 2005's Everything Ecstatic. If you aren't into the whole mixtape thing, but still want to hear "Pockets", Domino is planning to release it is a 12" sometime this August. Kieran promises that this is "the only new Four Tet material this year", so treasure it.

Adem - Love and Other Planets (Domino)

2006-05-19T10:19:00.000-04:00

It's a rare and unique occurence when I feel genuinely safe with a record, though that was the case with Adem Ilhan's 2004 release Homesongs. The album was a sprawling opus, malleable in form and texture, gentle and bewildering without sacrificing power. I listened to "Gone Away" so much that the words started blurring together and meaning nothing. It was the sound I desired, the cooing of the melodica, the aura of safety.

Two years later, not much has changed. A step farther from his experimentalist role in Fridge, Love and Other Planets shows Adem working with a full-time percussionist -- adding a depth that Homesongs never truly achieved. But Adem never lets percussion overshadow the brilliant songwriting. "Launch Yourself" buzzes into a frenzy of handclaps and delicate harmonies before a driving 4/4 beat even enters. "Spirals", on the other hand, is classic Adem territory...just him and an acoustic guitar, gently picked arpeggios, singin' about love...ah. I don't think I breathed once through the whole song.

Love and Other Planets was released on April 24th in the UK, but a stateside release date has yet to be announced or planned. In fact, Adem's name is no longer on Domino's US roster (did they drop him?). But, hey, if you're willing to spend high import costs to hear one of the best albums of the year, more power to you.

Am I always going to brag about how I played tambourine for him at the Avalon? Until the day I die.

Adem - "Warning Call"
Adem - "You and Moon"
Adem - "Launch Yourself"

This just in: two people in Great Britain don't like Arctic Monkeys, record sales slump 0.0006%

2006-05-17T16:46:00.000-04:00

When the Arctic Monkeys debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest selling record in UK history, I was really happy. Granted, I was pretty indifferent about their music, but I was excited to know that there was a band of young, passionate kids out there getting a lot of media attention. It doesn't happen that often, you know? We need more of 'em.

Recently, there have been a few stabs taken at the band, through British hipster bible NME, namely by Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell (wtf?) and, everyone's favorite lazy-eyed intellegensia, Thom Yorke. Let's see 'em:

NME: Are you better than the Arctic Monkeys?
Borrell: What? Of course we fucking are...If you'd ask me if I felt like a genius compared to them, then yeah, I do.

NME: Why do you think the Arctic Monkeys are selling so many records?
Yorke: The fact that poor Arctic Monkeys are getting so much attention is purely based on the fact that the mainstream music business is such a bunch of fucking retards as far as I'm concerned.

Since Yorke's comments, the band's sales have not stopped skyrocketing. As of May 1st, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not had sold over a million copies in the UK alone. Not bad for a bunch of college kids, even if the music industry sucks. I don't think there's any denying that, Mr. Yorke, but we're taking one step at a time. K?

Beirut to make Boston debut on July 1st

2006-05-17T11:56:00.000-04:00

Beirut, a.k.a. 19 year-old Zachary Condon, is set to make his debut performance in Boston on July 1st at P.A.'s Lounge in Somerville, and come back again in August. See my review of his new record. I'm not joking, it really does sound like Tim Buckley fronting a fucking Balkan orchestra.

07/01 - Somerville, MA - P.A.'s Lounge
08/26 - Somerville, MA - P.A.'s Lounge

If you aren't crazy like I am, and haven't been rabidly following Beirut's every move since he entered the blogosphere, check him out and listen to a song or two here.

Jens Lekman contemplates LG lawsuit, preps live DVD/EP

2006-05-16T18:44:00.000-04:00

According to Jens Lekman's blog, cell phone giant LG (you know, the phones you get for free when you buy Cingular's cheapest plan) has used a song in their latest ad campaign that sounds curiously similar to Jens's "A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill". And what does Jens have to say about this?

"If you live in the United States of America you might see a washing machine commercial with a song that apparently sounds a lot like one of my songs. It is not one of my songs but here's the story. I was approached about a month ago by this company , represented by a myriad of producers. They wanted my song, I said no. Yesterday I saw a comment on my Myspace site "Holy crap, this LG commercial just featured a Sweet Summernight on Hammer Hill". I got worried , I contacted my recordlabels. Today I got the verdict: It's not your song, but it's something very similar. I havent heard it yet so I can't tell if I've been totally ripped off or not. If I have then I'm the total loser - my song gets associated with a washing machine and I get paid nothing for it.

Take a listen: LG Washing Machine Commercial Audio

And then this: Jens Lekman - "A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill"

However, Jens has announced no legislative action in his defense. Come on, it sounds really similar. It even has the clapping and trumpet and everything! Oh well.

Meanwhile, Jens continues to work on the follow up to last year's gorgeous Oh You're So Silent Jens in Goethenburg. As a teaser, Jens is planning to release a DVD/EP entitled Kullaberg, which features five new songs supposedly recorded in a hollowed-out volcano. Right.

There is no confirmed release date, but I have the tracklist for you. Does that help at all?

The Death of My Parents
Eureka!
Happy Birthday to Shame
The Rain Has Got to Fall
Your Arms Around Me

Jens Lekman: Official Website

David Thomas Broughton/Doveman trek across America, reverb pedal stock soars

2006-05-15T17:23:00.000-04:00

David Thomas Broughton has the tape loop skills of Thurston Moore and the croon of a young Antony. His latest record, The Complete Guide to Insufficiency, has already gotten near the top of some early year-end lists, and many consider it to be one of the most creative records of the year. Doveman continues to be greatly underappreciated, and despite the brief success of last year's The Acrobat, still can't manage to headline anywhere that merits promotion. Still, the pair have decided to take their show on the road, with a stop in Boston.

7/8 - Somerville, MA - P.A.'s Lounge

Last year I had the chance to see Doveman and The Robot Ate Me in some dude's basement in Jamaica Plain. I'm regretting that now.

Toumani Diabate finishes Boulevard without Ali Farka Toure

2006-05-15T17:12:00.000-04:00

On June 20th, 2006, Malian kora legend Toumani Diabate will release Boulevard de l'Independence on Nonesuch Records. Though it will be Diabate's first solo album since 1999's New Ancient Strings, many will recognize the name and sound from Ali Farka Toure's final recording, 2005's critically acclaimed In the Heart of the Moon. Diabate had planned to record Boulevard de l'Independence with Farka Toure until his death in Bamako on March 7th, but chose to continue the project without him.

Instead, Diabate decided to work with the Symmetic Orchestra, a collective of session musicians from Mali. According to the BBC, "Boulevard exhibits a balance between tradition and innovation, youth and maturity, electric and acoustic, quiet interludes and rocking dance numbers." Sound like one guy with a kora? Didn't think so. Tracklisting:

1. Toumani
2. Boulevard de l'Independence
3. Ya Fama
4. Mali Sadio
5. Africa Challenge
6. Wasso
7. Mamadou Diaby
8. Tapha Niang
9. Single

Montreal Jazz Fest, 6/28 - 7/9

2006-05-15T13:10:00.000-04:00

For a mere couple thousand dollars a person, you can not only stay in the most beautiful city in North America for two weeks, you can also spend every night sipping martinis and seeing some of the classiest music the world has to offer. The annual Montreal Jazz Festival will be held from June 28th through July 9th this year, and it will feature performances from a laundry list of great entertainers, just a few of which are listed here.

Do I see the Commodores?:

Amadou & Mariam, B.B. King, Brad Melhdau, Cab Calloway, Calexico, Cat Power, DJ Shadow, Daniel Lanois, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Elvis Costello & the Imposters feat. Allen Toussaint, David Sanchez, Emmylou Harris, Etta James, Gomez, Jamie Cullum, Jamie Lidell, Joe Lovano, John Pizzarelli, John Zorn, Kenny Garrett Quartet, Konono No. 1, Maceo Parker, Martha Wainwright, McCoy Tyner, Pat Martino Quartet, Pharaoh Sanders Quartet, Ravi Coltrane, Salif Keita, Seu Jorge, The Bad Plus, The Belle Orchestre, The Commodores, The Dears, The Juan MacLean, The Roots, Tony Bennett, Wayne Shorter, Yann Tiersen

I would go just to have the chance to hang out with Tony Bennett, jesus christ. What are you waiting for? Sell all your belongings and go here:

Montreal Jazz Festival: Tickets and Information

Ben Chasny tours, records a lot

2006-05-15T11:50:00.000-04:00

Ben Chasny, the freewheeling guitar lord behind free-folk juggernaut Six Organs of Admittance, is planning on spending most of the spring and summer releasing records and touring the United States. On May 23rd, we get his collaboration with Joe McPhee session drummer Chris Corsano and TVBC guitarist Paul Metzger, titled Split. The only thing record label Roaratorio will offer us about this release is that it's "short and sharp." Thanks.

On June 13th, Chasny offers us his first full length since last year's superb School of the Flower. This one's called The Sun Awakens, and, according to an interview with Everything is Fire, is "more relaxing and rich than its predecessor." As usual, the record will be released by Drag City in the US. Tracklisting:

1. Torn By Wolves
2. Bless Your Blood
3. Black Wall
4. The Desert Circle
5. Attar
6. Wolves Pup
7. River of Transfiguration

Lastly, Chasny will launch his first American tour that will play somewhere that isn't an art gallery. On July 7th, Chasny will be coming to the Middle East Upstairs, a place where we've come to expect high school bands to warm up in, and occassionally Matt Pryor. Ah well. Better than the Zeitgeist.

07/07 - Boston, MA - The Middle East Upstairs

Antonio Carlos Jobim gets reissued

2006-05-15T11:01:00.000-04:00

Antonio Carlos Jobim, the self-proclaimed "Brazilian Gershwin," will finally get the reissue treatment for his early work, via experimental jazz/soul label DBK Works on June 27th. The albums in question, The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim (1965), Love, Strings, and Jobim (1966), and A Certain Mr. Jobim (1967), have all been long out of print, and never available on compact disc. Thankfully, the digital-savvy world will able to get their fix of the king of bossanova. Dig:

The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim
1. She's a Carioca
2. Agua de Beber
3. Surfboard
4. Useless Landscape
5. So' Tinha de Ser Com Voce
6. A Felicidade
7. Bonita
8. Favela
9. Valsa de Porto das Caixas
10. Samba do Aviao
11. Por Toda a Minha Vida
12. Dindi

Love, Strings, and Jobim
1. Eu Preciso de Voce
2. Preciso Aprender a Ser So
3. Seu Encanto
4. Tristeza de Nos Dois
5. Razao de Viver
6. Berimbau
7. Samba Torto
8. Chuva
9. You
10. Imagem
11. Morrer de Amor
12. A Morte de Um Deus de Sal

A Certain Mr. Jobim
1. Bonita
2. Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Voce
3. Off-Key
4. Photography
5. Surfboard
6. Outra Vez
7. I Was Just One More for You
8. Estrada do Sol
9. Por Causa de Voce
10. Zingaro

With all the hubbub recently around other important Brazilian artists such as Os Mutantes, Tom Ze and Joao Gilberto, it really surprises me that Jobim's name hasn't come up. His contributions to the country's musical landscape is unparalleled, and probably will never be matched.

Antonio Carlos Jobim: Clube do Tom

Gnarls Barkley tops UK charts, plays Conan

2006-05-14T21:16:00.000-04:00

Need another reason why pretty much any other country is better than the United States? Take England. Last week ended with indie hip-hop sensation Gnarls Barkley (Danger Mouse/Cee-Lo) atop the UK charts, with their song "Crazy". Meanwhile, back in the United States, Daniel Powter's banal teen pop anthem "Bad Day" spent its third week at #1. 'Nuff said.

In other news, following the release of their debut St. Elsewhere, Gnarls Barkley will grace the presence of everyone's favorite short red-headed talk show host, Conan O'Brien, on his May 24th show. For us American folk, it will be our first glimpse at the duo's supposedly bombastic live show. Could anyone miss Cee-Lo in Alice in Wonderland garb?

Gnarls Barkley: Crazy

William Parker/Kidd Jordan to release Palm of Soul

2006-05-14T17:34:00.000-04:00

After spending most of last year gathering live material for what would become 2005's free-jazz masterpiece Sound Unity, Parker returns on June 13th with his first proper full length of 2006 (let's not count the hit-or-miss "Long Hidden" sessions). Recorded in Brooklyn in September, Palm of Soul is a Afrobeat-inspired free improvisation composed and arranged by tenor sax virtuoso Kidd Jordan. According to the tracklisting, nobody better touch his chicken wings:

1. Peppermint Falls
2. Forever
3. Living Peace
4. Unity Call
5. So Often
6. Resolution
7. Last of the Chicken Wings

As he usually does, Parker is going to be playing the bass and other assorted percussion instruments, and will be accompanied by the wonderful Hamid Drake, who also produced the record. When it comes to all-out rhythmic domination, not much comes close to the Drake/Parker tag team.

Check it out:
William Parker / Hamid Drake / Kidd Jordan

Flying - Just-One-Second-Ago Broken Eggshell (Mill Pond)

2006-05-14T14:29:00.000-04:00

With the whole free-folk explosion in full swing, I'm always confused when I discover genuinely original indie folk going completely unnoticed. As was the case with the guys of Akron/Family, Brooklyn-based collective Flying has slipped almost entirely under the hipster radar. The four-piece's debut album was just released on Mill Pond Records, and boy is it a party. Unlike other bearded boys like Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart, Flying find themselves more based in pop song structure and strongly influenced by South American/European psychedelia (read: Os Mutantes, Brigitte Fontaine). And a lot of times I find it refreshing to hear female vocals at least once in a genre. Yeah.

Flying: Last Trick

Go to New York and see this:

6/10 - New York, NY - Northsix

And, hey, while you're in New York, buy me a shirt.

Thom Yorke releases The Eraser, Radiohead doesn't break up

2006-05-14T14:11:00.000-04:00

After many years of anxiously awaiting new Radiohead material, I can now announce...a new Thom Yorke album. Eh. It's not Radiohead, but it's close enough. The record is titled The Eraser and will be out on British-based XL Recordings on July 11th. More from the man:

this is just a note to say that something has been kicking around in the background that i have not told you about.
its called The Eraser.
nigel produced & arranged it .
i wrote and played it.
the elements have been kicking round now for a few years and needed to be finished & i have been itching to do something like this for ages.
it was fun and quick to do.
inevitably it is more beats & electronics.
but its songs.
stanley did the cover.
yes its a record!
no its not a radiohead record.
as you know the band are now touring and writing new stuff and getting to a good space so i want no crap about me being a traitor or whatever splitting up blah blah...
this was all done with their blessing. and i don't wanna hear that word solo. doesnt sound right.
ok then thats that.

i think its out in july and im pretty certain XL are going to put it out.
love thom

If you're like me, and you weren't clicking refresh on a Ticketmaster site at 10:01 last Saturday morning, you won't be seeing Radiohead anywhere this summer. Whatever, this will be nice. Mark the date!

Silver Mt. Zion tour, plan Fuck You Drakulas

2006-05-14T13:46:00.000-04:00

Silver Mt. Zion, everyone's favorite apocalyptics, are finally planning to launch a North American tour that actually includes the United States. Their tour will take them across the great states and Canada with labelmates and klezmerkore aficionados Black Ox Orkestar, who recently released their sophomore effort on Constellation. They are even playing a date at a real venue in Boston! Funny, I thought they hated us.

7-26 - Boston, MA - Middle East Downstairs

According to the official Silver Mt. Zion site, a new album is expected to be finished by the end of summer and released some time this fall. The record, which the band worked on this winter, is tentatively titled Fuck You Drakulas and will feature live recordings. I hope there's some new stuff on there too...as usual, I can't wait.

Danielson - Ships (Secretly Canadian)

2006-05-14T12:18:00.000-04:00

I was a little skeptical about the new Danielson record when people started praising it. I know he was Sufjan's mentor and everything, and, as a fan of indie folk, I'm supposed to want to rub myself in anything Mr. Stevens is vaguely related to, but I still wasn't ever that psyched about Daniel Smith. Until now. Ships is Daniel Smith's most unique record so far, featuring an impressive cast of players: members of Why?, Deerhoof, Serena Maneesh all contribute. Plus, I can actually listen to it without getting a headache! It's wonderful and catchy! I like it a lot, I think.

I'm going to recommend this record to anyone who likes indie pop, especially Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or the New Pornographers or anything else that sings about strange things. It's fun, and definitely worth your time. It even got a resounding thumbs up from Jens Lekman.

Danielson: Did I Step On Your Trumpet?

His ridiculous live show will also be visiting every city in New England even remotely populated, so keep your ears open:

7-19 - Boston, MA - The Middle East
7-20 - Portland, ME - Space Gallery
7-21 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
7-22 - Providence, RI - AS 220

May's Criminally Underrated: Part 1

2006-05-13T17:05:00.000-04:00

Scott Walker, THE DRIFT (4AD)

Former Walker Brothers frontman issues his first full-length in 11 years. I hadn't heard his stuff until this week, and let me tell you, it is enormously fucked up. I think I read something in NME about how this is the perfect music to lie on your floor in complete darkness and sodomize yourself to. Great comparison. Imagine Nick Cave fronting Glenn Branca's 100 guitar orchestra. For the avalanche of critical acclaim this record is getting (read: Independent, Observer, NY Times), it is very, very strange. And very, very powerful.
RIYL: Nick Cave, Glenn Branca, if Pulp was scarier
More: Scott Walker

Beirut, GULAG ORKESTAR (Badabing!)

Apparently there's this 19 year old kid playing with Jeremy Barnes of Neutral Milk Hotel on this one. It sounds like a fucking Balkan orchestra. The blogging world (especially Stereogum) have been pooping themselves over the possibility of this kid being the savior of indie rock. I'm not quite convinced of that, though his debut record is quite fun to listen and dance around to. I included a picture of Beirut because I couldn't find the album art.
RIYL: Neutral Milk Hotel, The Decemberists, Devotchka
More: Beirut

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid, THE EXCHANGE SESSIONS, VOLUMES 1 & 2 (Domino)

The live collaboration between Kieran Hebden (Four Tet, Fridge) and Steve Reid (Fela Kuti and Sun Ra's drummer before Tony Allen existed) has been generally rejected by the critical world. I don't like that. This stuff is damn near revolutionary! And even if you don't enjoy the music, you have to respect that these two have produced the first viable connection between electronics and live drum improvisation. Interesting tidbit: Steve Reid played drums on Martha & the Vandellas "Dancing in the Street." So cool.
RIYL: Four Tet, good drumwork, whatever Rashied Ali record this project is named after
More: Kieran Hebden/Steve Reid

El Perro del Mar, EL PERRO DEL MAR (Memphis Industries)

For a record that garnered SO much pre-album hype, El Perro del Mar's sophomore album has been talked about very little. My guess is this: though there are a bunch of tracks on the album that are downright new classics ("Party", "God Knows"), there are too many that keep the album from moving forward. It appears slow. In any case, she is one of the front runners in the New Swedish Underground, and she deserves recognition! Plus, there aren't enough female artists out there.
RIYL: Saturday Looks Good to Me, 60s pop, Architecture in Helsinki
More: El Perro del Mar

Metallic Falcons, DESERT DOUGHNUTS (Voodoo-EROS)

I haven't really gotten through this whole record yet, but my guess is it's good. The duo consists of Sierra Casady (Coco Rosie) and some other girl. How could it possibly be bad?
RIYL: Coco Rosie, weird experimental pop
More: Metallic Falcons