May 11, 2006
Bows and Arrows posts about Grandaddy’s farewell.
Now, with their swansong set for release, it becomes clear what Grandaddy’s so cleverly done: tried to convince us that they were never relevant to begin with. Gradually, the band has lessened the weight attached to each release until we’re left with shells of Grandaddy songs (the Todzilla EP), but by the time we notice it’s tough to recall if and when their songs actually did matter.
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I really should’ve gotten to this earlier, but OH WELL. “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” asked Sandy Denny in 1968. Well, I do: I bought some delicious granola this morning. Thanks, Poland!
Anyway, if you’re around your computer today and have a decent connection, you ought to check out London’s Resonance FM between 1800-2000 GMT (1PM-3PM EST, you figure the rest out) for back-to-back shows by scanner master and alt-canon blogger extraordinaire Woebot and, hold your breath like a spoiled child, the Ghost Box crew. I hammered on this a while back, and I know you’ve all been totally psyched to dive right in but also completely incapacitated by how great the new Tom Ze album still is (or the soap opera of Italian politics, or spring, or whatever you’re into); anyway, now’s your chance. I really think they’re one of the more exciting, interesting labels out there. Freer than kissing and less messy, too.
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Popjustice is once again taking nominations for this year’s edition of the Ł20 Music Prize.
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Jody Rosen talks about rockism at Slate.
By far the most-discussed piece of popular music criticism of the past several years—at least among pop music critics—was Kelefa Sanneh’s October 2004 New York Times article, “The Rap Against Rockism,” which took a long-running conversation in music-wonk circles to the pages of the Gray Lady. For those who haven’t caught up with the debate, rockism is … well, no one quite knows what it is.
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Charles Taylor, of the New York Observer, takes a second look at Casualties of War upon its release on DVD. [via Greencine]
In 1989, America didn’t want to see another Vietnam movie. Now, mired in Iraq, viewers may see the movie as a startling precursor to some of the nightmares that have already arisen from this war.
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All the news that’s fit to print…
Pitchfork Media
-Franz Ferdinand Write Book, Tour, Turn Down Ad [LINK]
-Yo La Tengo, CYHSY’s Alec Ounsworth Honor Arthur Lee [LINK]
-The Hold Steady Announce Summer Tour [LINK]
-David Bowie creates new festival [LINK]
NME
-Maximo Park announce one-off intimate gig [LINK]
-Keith Richards discharged from hospital [LINK]
-Manic Street Preacher man reveals all about solo project [LINK]
-Clor split up [LINK]
CMJ
-Bad Religion’s Graffin Molds ‘Clay’ [LINK]
-Free NYC Grandaddy Party [LINK]
-Blood On The Wall Sign To Fat Cat [LINK]
-Whirlwind Heat, Be Your Own Pet Tour [LINK]
Tiny Mixtapes
-Can and Can’t Can Tour [LINK]
-Mr. Lif Tours [LINK]
-MC5 Bassist in Motorcycle Accident [LINK]
-Smoking Popes Start Tour This Month [LINK]
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May 10, 2006
Siren Music Festival has announced its initial lineup.
* Stars
* Tapes ‘N Tapes
* The Stills
* The Cribs
* Celebration
* She Wants Revenge
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The newest Audiovant podcast is up. This time: Vetiver.
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Funky 16 Corners has a Funky Philadelphia mix available for download.
Starting this week, and repeating periodically (maybe once every few weeks) from now on I’ll be posting themed mixes for download.
Keep in mind that these will be comparatively large files and if you’re working with a slow connection they will take a VERY LONG TIME to download. However, if you have a faster connection it won’t be nuthin’ but a thang.
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Blair at Music for Robots has a solid disco mix for download.
Another weekend is over so here is a new mix to help you face the week ahead. The mix has a handful of new songs, some oldies and some future-classics, all of which fall somewhere in the electro-disco continuum (see Justice, Metro Area, Kitsune records, Demon and Chicken Lips as reference). I hope you enjoy it!
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Sub Pop comic Eugene Mirman took to the streets earlier this week in a protest against himself that culminated in a visit to a bar, which promptly turned the protest into a celebration. Confused? Check the Apiary for more details.
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Byron Crawford talks about the prevalence of strip clubs in breaking hip-hop records.
Billboard magazine has picked up the story I brought you, famously, about strip clubs some time last week at XXL. Jigs down in Atlanta are throwing important music industry parties on week nights, in strip clubs, where they decide which awful southern rapper gets to be the next D4L.
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Marcello Carlin reviews Boogybites Vol. 01.
There are 16 tracks spread over a 72-minute sequence, and at their best – and maybe this is why they draw these middle-aged ears so readily – they resuscitate the melody/space quadrant which made the ‘88/9 second wave of Detroit Techno so enthralling, but also take care to feed into that still under-explored sect of heartbreakingly melodic electronica (take Casinos Versus Japan and the sepia-toned end of Aphex as your starting points) which adds poignancy to the neon dance euphoria. Thus Fred Giannelli’s “Distant Gratification” opens like a sadder and wiser nephew of “Pacific State,” and later tracks – Anja Schneider and Sebo K’s “Rancho Relaxo,” Digital Excitation’s “Dream Party” – maintain those doleful Kevin Saunderson chord changes and wistful harmonies over delicately spaced beats.
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Chromewaves posts about Grandaddy upon the release of their final album.
With the release of Just Like The Fambly Cat yesterday, that was the end for Grandaddy. Sure, Jason Lytle is doing a compact solo acoustic tour in support, but that’s more like a roving wake than it is an actual promo jaunt. Undone by financial and personal pressures, they - and by they, I mean Lytle, the man who actually writes, plays and records the albums - elected to call it quits with this final album.
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All the news that’s fit to print…
Pitchfork Media
-The Fall U.S. Tour Becomes Slightly Less Chaotic [LINK]
-Neko Case extends tour [LINK]
-Devendra Banhart Schedules Summer World Tour [LINK]
-The Pipettes reveal debut album details [LINK]
NME
-David Bowie to curate New York festival [LINK]
-Take That plan album of new material [LINK]
-Guns N’ Roses album ‘out this year’ [LINK]
-Dirty Pretty Things go underground [LINK]
CMJ
-Joseph Arthur To Release Art Book [LINK]
-Singer-Songwriters Get Roughly Traded [LINK]
-Vaux Going Indie For ‘Beyond Virtue’ [LINK]
-The Dears Prep New Album [LINK]
Tiny Mixtapes
-High Fidelity to be Turned into Broadway Show [LINK]
-Franz Ferdinand: Say No To $50 Million Advertising Campaign [LINK]
-RIAA Releases Report On Piracy [LINK]
-Of Montreal Tour [LINK]
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May 9, 2006
Jay Hinman talks about the girl-group box set One Kiss Can Lead to Another.
“ONE KISS CAN LEAD TO ANOTHER: GIRL GROUP SOUNDS LOST AND FOUND” has got something for every fan of swingin’ lizz-adies. If you dig the lush, sleigh bell PHIL SPECTOR sound, you’re in luck. Love producer’s tricks a la JOE MEEK? Some great ones of that ilk are on here, like the bizarre screecher “Egyptian Shumba” by THE TAMMYS. Dig the mersh stuff? The weird stuff? Bratty white girls? Soulful black girls? Climb aboard. You’re likely to hear a few things you’ve heard before – say, THE SHANGRI-LA’S’ “Out in the Streets”, MARY WELLS’ “Bye Bye Baby”, LITTLE EVA’s “Trouble With Boys” or “Funnel of Love” by WANDA JACKSON (not a representative track on this box by any means) – but you’re also likely to hear some bombshell girl numbers that are super rare and barely/never comped.
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Girish has a post about Hungarian film director Bela Tarr.
The Hungarian Bela Tarr has made just three films in the last twenty years—Damnation (1987), Satantango (1994), and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)—and his huge reputation rests predominantly on them. They also happen to be the only Tarr films I’ve seen.
I caught up with Damnation this week; the film’s style strongly prefigures its two successors. The story is wonderfully—ridiculously—minimal, banal even, in its archetypal contours. A man loves a married woman, and plots to have the husband sent away on a smuggling assignment so that he can spend time with her. That’s pretty much all there is to the story—a skeletal abstraction from a familiar noir template.
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Eardrums has a post about the new band from the ex Boo Radleys singer Sice.
Paperlung is the new band from ex-Boo Radleys singer Sice. He has been away from the music industry for several years, and in his own words spent his time breeding and writing novels. Paperlung is a different band than the Boo’s, but the vocals sends me some fine reminders back to the shoegazing 90’s. A band to keep your eyes and ears on in the future.
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Coolfer provides commentary on the new version of Napster.
Ever since Napster unveiled its new free music site — songs can be played for free up to five times before a subscription or purchase is required — the comments and coverage have been intense. Some don’t think much of the poor sound quality. Others consider the ad-based royalties a breakthrough and an important first step in exploring alternative business models.
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Chromewaves talks about Soul Asylum.
Soul Asylum and I have a bit of history. During their 15 minutes of mainstream fame in the early 90s, I had my high school band cover “Runaway Train” because I thought it’d get us girls. It didn’t. Neither did being in a band at all, come to think of it. I would have rather done “Somebody To Shove” but that opening riff was way too hard for my amateur fingers.
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The IFC Blog has some final thoughts about The Tribeca Film Festival, collecting a number of bloggers thoughts in one place.
The general grumblings about the festival seem to be that it’s looking a little porky around the midsection, and that sure as hell isn’t muscle under there in the narrative programs.
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Stereogum has a new Sufjan song up today called “Saul Bellow.”
You heard “Dear Mr. Supercomputer” and “The Henney Buggy Band”; Suf’s banjo-led meditation on the Augie March author is more subdued, but equally inspiring. And these are Illinois OUTTAKES?! Makes us wish Seven Swans had a leftovers LP.
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Pop Zeus checks in with a post about reggae covers of Beatles songs. [via Largehearted Boy]
Glen Adams “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”
The title of this song comes from the punchline of the joke, “What did Ringo say right before he got thrown off a cliff?” Okay, bad joke, but seriously; why did everybody always give Ringo so much shit? One of my brother’s favorite Dead Milkmen songs is called “When Ringo Buys A Rifle”, and it’s about the day Ringo decides to stop putting up with bullshit from the other Beatles and extract his revenge.
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All the news that’s fit to print…
Pitchfork Media
-The Fall American Tour Descends Into Chaos [LINK]
-Glenn Kotche Talks New Wilco Album [LINK]
-Radio 4 fight Enemies Like This [LINK]
-Former Brainiac turns Model/Actress [LINK]
NME
-Graham Coxon records World Cup song [LINK]
-Franz Ferdinand singer to have book published [LINK]
-The Bees plan low-key tour to test out album [LINK]
-Radiohead play more new material [LINK]
CMJ
-ESG To Release New Single, Album [LINK]
-Minders Tour ‘Bright Guilty World’ [LINK]
-Calexico Plan Summertour [LINK]
-Go-Betweens’ Grant McLennan Dies [LINK]
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May 8, 2006
I was wondering why I do this writing stuff. On top of a horrendous bout of writer’s block, I spent two hours trying to sort out an interview of which (due to a mechanical failure [due to human error]) I had essentially managed only to tape my end of the conversation. After much ear-straining and publicist-writing I gave up and left for the concert. And I was really excited about the show — I was seeing John Vanderslice in Charlottesville, VA for the second time. The first time had been a blast, but since then I had become a real fan, had an enjoyable interview with him, and had written on him more than any other artist. In order, ostensibly, to write up something (less confessional that this piece) I was supposed to be on the guestlist.
I wasn’t. Usually when this happens, you cough off the few dollars and get over it. But it always happens to me at this club, and I don’t make enough at this writing stuff to pay for pens, let alone the Internet connection to submit this entry. Let alone the shows. So I had two choices: pay, and head straight for the ATM inside if I want a t-shirt and a beer; or call the publicist, pace the alley, and generally pout. I chose to take a meaningless stand and look like a cheapskate. Yes, I will sacrifice my dignity for the sake of my pride.
The upside: I run into Vanderslice in the album, quickly lose hope of continuing to wait for the publicist without ranting like a child, and end up being helped into the show. The doormen continue to question me: “Are you writing down your name for us?” Yes. “Is it your own name?” I can’t answer. I’m confused and buy a drink.
Fortunately my fit hadn’t made me miss any of Page France’s show. They hadn’t quite done it for me on record, but came close. Live — even despite the muddy sound — they turned into a bit of a jamboree, minus the country influence. Not all of the crowd managed to clap along, but enough did to make me think they won over a few fans.
Vanderslice came out after a short intermission, and was in a much different mood than when I caught him on the Cellar Door tour. The band was tight, but the musicians were loose, joking around (oddly often about crack, or The Streets’ “tour support” as Vanderslice pointed out). The humor lent a new atmosphere to the frequently dark songs, and the crowd seemed responsive (and much more knowledgeable than at his last visit).
Vanderslice’s albums are a mixture of precision and recklessness, but on stage he lets go more, feinting at the guitar-hero posturing that only mildly informs his records. With the big, tom-heavy drums and the classic guitar riffing, Vanderslice’s band makes the shift from headphone indie rock to head-banging club rock (and, yes, I exaggerate both stretches of that continuum, but you know what I’m saying).
And if I weren’t already a fan, I would be based on one simple fact: no encores. Vanderslice announced that he hates them, and that this was the line of demarcation for the night. The encore was starting, but no one would have to go through the disappearing band/wild clapping charade. Then the group tore through far more songs that they would have needed to please us, ending with an always-big “Time Travel Is Lonely,” and an oddly stripped-down and reserved “Angela.”
At this point, instead of everyone going home, Vanderslice initiates a “dance party,” so that we can get our fix of Jeezy. The indie kids I talked to were excited by this prospect, hoping to hear the new TI. As much I loved the idea, I was re-invigorated by the set, which meant it was time to go home, happy with the both night and the fact that I had something to write about. I was also pleased that Vanderslice’s peculiar reputation as the “nicest guy in indie” had held up (for the third time in three encounters with him).
And I was unashamedly glad to have saved enough money to buy a t-shirt and a tour-only CD.
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An Aquarium Drunkard has a preview of the new Sonic Youth album.
Rather Ripped yet again exemplifies why these cats are the Grateful Dead of Art-Rock. Like those aged hippies, no one does what Sonic Youth does, nor could. Pale imitations, yes, but never matched, nor topped.
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Robosexual has a post about the band Mixel Pixel.
Shortly after I started listening to the Unicorns, I heard about these guys and went for the bait - how can you resist an album called Rainbow Panda, with Bert and Ernie and Pac-Man stuff on the cover? I was quite pleased to find that it was a great album, similar to the Unicorns’ in many ways, and like that album perhaps a little silly for some people. Like the Unicorns, the members of Mixel Pixel seem to see nothing wrong with having weirdness and goofy lyrics share the stage with great musicianship.
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Movie critic Anthony Kaufman asks: Why Don’t Critics Like Art School Confidential?
It’s an odd movie, to be sure, but funny, piercing, and especially resonant for sensitive guys who once pined away for their art-girl ideal.
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Hamilton Leithauser talks to Pop Matters in advance of the Walkmen’s new album. [via Largehearted Boy]
“Touring is how we make money. There’s a big scam in the record industry and you don’t make any money from royalties. Just keep coming to shows.”
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