17 May 2010

Great Songs: Broken Social Scene "Cause = Time"

Happy Returns

A quick look at Stereogum this morning has me beaming with shear joy after seeing their listing of an exclusive Versus track from a brand new slab due out on Merge this summer!  We'd announced previously that the band would be part of the Teen Beat celebrations going on this summer with label mates Unrest but had no idea that new tunes and a new record were in the cards as well.  That new long player will be called On the Ones and Threes and will be released this August.  Versus is one of the seminal acts of the nineties and their Stars are Insane debut full-length is still tops in our book. Their sonic intensity and sharp songwriting make them deserving of a comeback and we wish them the best of luck in their pursuits.

Simply Majestic

We can definitely rank The National's new record High Violet up there in the much-anticipated echelon.  As the band begins to roll out new tunes in support of the release, it's becoming clearer at every turn that they are truly a national treasure.  Last night had them appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman with special guest star Sufjan Stevens in tow.  Delicious. Enjoy.

13 May 2010

Free MGMT

If you've ever been a guest at the Ed Sullivan Theater to witness a live taping of Late Night with David Letterman, then you know it's a lot of waiting in line and then a quick rush into the (very very cold) studio and all of a sudden its all over in a blink of an eye and you are ushered right back out the door.  Visitors to the historic theater got a little more for the price of their free tickets yesterday when Letterman played host to psychedelic pop stars MGMT.  After taping the show, the band stayed on staged and performed a nearly hour long set featuring a good amount of material from their new slab Congratulations and a couple from their seminal debut Oracular Spectactular.  If there was any doubt about MGMT's predilections, Andrew VanWyngarden introduced It's Working with a perfunctory "This is a song about doing drugs." CBS is kindly offering a full stream of the event for your pleasure:

12 May 2010

Pol Position

Fast on the heals of announcing Carlos D's departure from the band, Interpol have announced a short tour to introduce us to new members and new material.  Tickets are in a short term pre-sale state via the band's own site so grab them now before Live Nation adds unreasonable surcharges to the very reasonable ticket price!  You can still grab the free download of new tune Lights while you are hanging in their living room. Here's the dates:

06.21.2010 Water Street Music HallRochester, NY PRE-SALE TIX
06.22.2010 Town Ballroom Buffalo, NY PRE-SALE TIX
06.23.2010 Mr Small's Theatre Pittsburgh, PA * PRE-SALE TIX
06.25.2010 Crocodile Rock CafeAllentown, PA * PRE-SALE TIX
06.28.2010 People's Court Des Moines, IA PRE-SALE TIX
07.01.2010 Bogart's Cincinnati, OH PRE-SALE TIX
07.02.2010 House of Blues Cleveland Cleveland, OH PRE-SALE TIX
07.05.2010 Blue Note Columbia, MO PRE-SALE TIX
07.08.201040 Watt Club Athens, GA PRE-SALE TIX
07.10.2010 The Music Farm Charleston, SC PRE-SALE TIX
07.14.2010 Ram's Head Live Baltimore, MD PRE-SALE TIX
07.20.2010 Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel Providence, RI PRE-SALE TIX
07.21.2010 Toad's Place New Haven, CT PRE-SALE TIX
07.23.2010 Northern LightsClifton Park, NY PRE-SALE TIX
07.24.2010 Chameleon Landcaster, PA PRE-SALE TIX
 
Pre-sale ends on Friday, May 14 at 11:59pm PST Pre-sale tickets will be available at will call.
 

10 May 2010

You Steal the Scene

Collective groove meisters Broken Social Scene are hitting the road proper this autumn to support their newly unveiled Forgiveness Rock Record.  The album is an exciting move forward for the seminal Arts and Crafts band and should push the group further into the mainstream.  Their shows are incendiary and compelling experiences and should not be missed for those who appreciate live music.  We here in Connecticut have access to perhaps the most intimate night of the tour with a stop at New Haven's venerable Toad's Place on September 20.  Get there!

Fall 2010 Tour
08/28 St. Louis, MO @ Lou Fest
09/08 Pittsburgh, PA @ Byham Theater
09/09 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
09/10 Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Festival
09/11 Richmond, VA @ The National
09/13 Washington, DC @ The Warner Theatre
09/14 Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
09/17 Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
09/18 New York, NY @ Central Park, Rumsey Playield
09/20 New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
09/21 Northhampton, MA @ Calvin Theater
09/22 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
09/24 Ithaca, NY @ State Theater
09/25 Buffalo, NY @ Town Hall
10/01 Ann Arbor, MI @ Michigan Theater
10/03 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
10/04 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/06 Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
10/07 Saskatoon, SK @ Odeon
10/08 Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall
10/09 Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre
10/10 Kelowna, BC @ Community Theatre
10/12 Victoria, BC @ Element
10/13 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
10/15 Seattle, WA @ Paramount
10/16 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/19 Los Angeles, CA @ The WIltern

Video History: Bobby & Johnny

From the debut episode of the Johnny Cash Show airing June 7, 1969, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash perform "The Girl from the North Country" at Ryman Auditorium.

08 May 2010

A Very Cunning Linguist!

Amanda Palmer keeps her torrid creative pace as, fast on the heels of releasing the high concept Evelyn Evelyn project and venturing on an exquisite tour in support of the same (as well as freeing herself from the bounds of her contract with Roadrunner), she announces her star turn in Cabaret this fall at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge.  She is, quite simply, amazing.

From the ART website:
Take your seat at the Kit Kat Klub, the perfectly marvelous cabaret where singer Sally Bowles meets writer Cliff Bradshaw. As the two pursue a life of pleasure in Weimar Berlin, the world outside the Klub begins to splinter. Sally and Cliff are faced with a choice: abandon themselves to pleasures promised by the cabaret, or open their eyes and face the coming storm. Presiding over the debauched party where  nothing is as it seems is singer,  songwriter, and former Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer as the Kit Kat Klub's magnetic Emcee, with A.R.T. regulars Thomas Derrah and Jeremy Geidt.

www.americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/cabaret

06 May 2010

Charm that Snake into the Dangerzone!

Yacht Rock #12.  Nuff said.

For Worse or Better

Dead Weather get it done again and again and again.  Another great video - the kind that makes you wish MTV were still MTV so you could keep watching in anticipation of it's next spin in the rotation.  But, hey, we've got streams now so just hit play...

Unrest Redux


File this under: Didn't See It Coming! Teen Beat flagship band Unrest will be reuniting for a special 26th Anniversary tour with different label mates joining them for each of a handful of stops around the eastern seaboard July 6-11. Many of the acts haven't played together in years including the twee popsters True Love Always and the sonic goodness of Versus. What a great surprise!

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, July 6, at Johnny Brenda's
with THE ROPERS, KEVIN BARKER (Currituck Co.) and MC: Jonny Cohen

HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, July 7, at Maxwell's
with THE ROPERS, BLOODY AMATEUR (Tel Aviv/Prosaics)

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, July 8, at T.T. the Bear's Place
with BOSSANOVA, ROBERT SCHIPUL, and YASMIN KUHN (Flying Saucer)

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, July 9, at The Bell House
with VERSUS, THE RONDELLES (original trio), BOSSANOVA, COTTON CANDY and MC: Patrick Bryant (SOMERVILLE SPKOUT)

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 10, at The Black Cat
UNREST ('83-'86, Tim Moran, short set), UNREST ('88-'89, Dave Park, short set), VERSUS, THE RONDELLES (original trio), BOSSANOVA and MCs: Jonny Cohen and Patrick Bryant

CARRBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, July 11, at Cat's Cradle
TRUE LOVE ALWAYS, BOSSANOVA and MC: Patrick Bryant (SOMERVILLE SPKOUT)

30 April 2010

Hot Streaming Vinyl

Third Man Records continues to prove itself the coolest label in America today with a live stream of the new Dead Weather slab Sea of Cowards playing on a turntable at their headquarters in Nashville throughout the day on April 30.  As if that weren't enough, the band will perform the record in its entirety live and streaming on Monday May 3 from the Third Man sound stage.  Check it:

Live TV by Ustream

29 April 2010

Into the Black

Interpol have been on hiatus since their third proper studio album Our Love to Admire was received with a great deal less fanfare than anticipated considering their jump to a major label.  It might be that there just wasn't enough going on with their very singular sound to keep people interested past their excellent first two releases of dark post-punk.  Perhaps enough time has passed that people are clamoring for new tunes.  The band seem poised to return soon and have just offered up a free download of new song "Lights" (for the price of a birthday and an email).  It's classic Interpol with no frills and no surprises.  a return to form?  We'll see.



                       

28 April 2010

I Need That Record!

Take the time to watch this excellent doc over at Pitchfork TV while you can and lament the loss of an important chunk of our American musical and cultural identity with the loss of more than 3000 independent music stores over the last decade or so and then stop downloading the latest hit off mediafire and head out to Mystic Disc and Redscroll Records and any other store that's left in the fight and start browsing and buying.  It's the right thing to do!

26 April 2010

It's Saturday Night

Congratulations certainly go out to dear MGMT for stepping out with one of the strangest follow-ups to a smash hit that we've seen in, well, just about ever.  The new record has an underpinning of Rocky Horror theatrical weirdness that's hard to shake. Frankly, you are just never quite sure of your footing with Congratulations.  To say it's challenging is simply understatement.  There are no immediate knock-out tracks here but their lead "single" Flash Delirium is sure to sneak into your sub conscience with its wily and serpentine logic.  The band hit the stage at SNL this weekend.

22 April 2010

A Perfect Pachyderm (x2)

Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley have just rolled out their new Siamese Twin tragi-comedy Evelyn Evelyn to unwitting fans.  The lead single is a double-sized Elephant that teases with its singy-songy vaudevillian turn.  The rest of the project is not surprisingly a little farther out on the darker edge of AFP's imagination and well worth the exploration if you find yourself on the dark side of life.

16 April 2010

08 April 2010

Drunk Girls Coming Soon

Wilco The Festival

Wilco have announced plans for a new festival entitled Solid Sound Festival to be held at Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA this summer.  The event will showcase not only Wilco's own estmeable talents (including all of the sundry side projects of its members including On Fillmore, The Nels Cline Singers, Pronto, and the Autumn Defense) but also feature a fully programmed comedy stage, screen printing demos, an interactive slide guitar workshop and more.

Tickets for Solid Sound Festival are on sale this Friday, April 9 through the bandʼs official website wilcoworld.net and through solidsoundfestival.com. From April 9 to May 31 tickets for the three-day event will be available for $86.50 (including all fees and parking) and after June 1 for $99.50 (including all fees and parking).

solidsoundfestival.com

01 April 2010

And now for something completely different...

The Flash Delirium video is streaming now on MGMT's site and it's must see vidvid! Just stay away from the brown acid before hitting play:

http://www.whoismgmt.com/

20 March 2010

Good Intentions

Of course, I planned on being on here a hell of a lot more often to keep folks up-to-date on proceedings here in Austin for SXSW.  At this point, I've probably forgotten more of what I would like to have posted about that I'd care to admit but that's how these things go.

One sure highlight was the AOL Spinner sponsored Rogue Wave show at Lance Armstrong's Mellow Johnny's bike shop.  Besides being a nice break from all the shit shows in dark and sticky bars, there were also plenty of free beer (Fat Tire), excellent screen printed posters and tees and of course the wonderful charming and poppy Rogue Wave.  The set list included: Stars and Stripes, Publish My Love, Sleepwalker, Solitary Gun, Good Morning, We Will Make a Song Destroy, Lake Michigan, and Permalight.

Chanced upon the excellent Carolina Chocolate Drops at the Convention Center.  We'd been trying to bring them in for Traditions in New London for the last several years and with hope we'll get them in yet.  Part raucous and uplifting jug band and party history lesson the roots of roots music, the Chocolate Drops are infectious and entertaining as all get out.  They've got a new slab out on Nonesuch which you shoud definitely grab if willing and able.

Had full intentions of seeing Superchunk post Chocolate drops (sort of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of great music from the Carolinas, donthca think?) but then on arrival quickly realized that I was definitely not the only one planning on Skipping Steps One and Three!  The line for this one wrapped a block and half around La Zone Rosa and was not gonna be in the cards for yr friendly blogger.

This did lead to a nice surprise: as I wandered away with no plan up a random side street, caught an strangely familiar voice floating our of a particularly cool looking outdoor venue/bar and I wandered in to catch Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles in full gear.  The band was ripping it up for the Paste Magazine, Sugar Hill Records, Vanguard Records showcase and the crowd was plenty pleased with what they were seeing.  A nice touch of home: shredding guitarist Lyle Brewer was sporting a Dutch Tavern tee shirt!  Sarah was followed by the cutesy girl group The Living Girls ("we like to live") and the Watson Twins.  I've got some video of the Living Girls I will post up on my return to the Northeast.

We're off to the madness again so out of time to type.  We did get to see Jacob Dylan (with Neko Case in tow), hung with Eddie Shea before one of his many many gigs supporting the Court Yard Hounds, ran into old pal Denis Mahoney just off his Black Pig gig with DJ Spooky, and much much more.  Plans to catch Dr. Dog, Demolished Thoughts (Thurston, J, and Andrew WK!!), Justin Townes Earle, Freelance Whales, Local Natives and many more today as well as hit the record convention and Flatstock for some take home goods.  Here's a shot from 6th Street for y'all!

18 March 2010

SXSWesting and Musket

We had a great first day at the annual music conference here in Austin.  The weather turned gorgeous after a few days of gray rainy ones, perfect timing for the mindless masses celebrating a Texas style St. Patty's day and the kick off to the biggest baddest music shindig of them all.  Highlights of my day including an excellent session on mastering led by the infamous Bob Ludwig and special one on one mentoring session with Maggie from Kill Rock Stars.

After the early day sessions we headed over to Third Man Records supremely fun pop up store at Frank's where they had "Texas sized" records for sale in 8" and 13" varietals.  The store was chock full of tasty goodness including requiste I Love Jack and I Love Meg buttons and extremely beautiful White Stripes poster that I will proudly hang in New London as a souvenir of our trip.  The also had a Third Man branding station though we weren't quite drunk enough to have ourselves marked for the team just yet!

After a banging meal at Frank's we headed south to Taco Maria's to see our good friends Avi and Celia perform a blistering set under the new moniker Hey Momma!  These two are as good as it gets playing their inspired blues - Avi ripping it on guitar and backing vox and Celia just blowing away the crowd with one of the best sets of pipes around.  They had the crowd from the get-go and never let them off the hook.  The margaritas were flowing pretty nicely at happy hour as well - just saying.  It was great to see Miss Tess and the bon Ton Parade in the crowd as welll.

The night wrapped up sweetly at Stubb's for NPR's excellent first night party/showcase featuring The Walkmen,   Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Broken Bells and Spoon.   The Walkmen were a revelatory surprise after listening to them for years but never seeing them live.  Great stuff indeed.  Sharon Jones was the win though for sure - blowing the doors of the place with the Dap Kings.  Broken Bells played a straight set of their new record and just nailed it.  And, well, Spoon was Spoon.  Such a great way to kick off the madness.  On the docket for today: a little Smokey Robinson, Rogue Wave and Broken Social Scene among many other surprises I'm sure.

12 March 2010

Birds of a Feather


New London's Roadside Attractions will be playing a special gig at the Oasis tonight with Portland, Maine's Brown Bird. The latter is just returning from a highly successful European run with Providence's much acclaimed Low Anthem. The band is continuing its tour ad infinitum throughout the spring running scatter shot around the east coast. Roadside Attractions have, of course, just released their debut ep Whispers and are currently in the studio with Eddie Shea working on their first full length. Roadside's sweet singing chanteuse Daphne Glover is heading to Austin, TX next week for the annual SXSW music conference. If you can't get to Texas, drop by New London tonight! Should be a great evening of music indeed.

mp3: Roadside Attractions You Ain't Gonna

09 March 2010

Great Songs: The Smiths "The Headmaster Ritual"

Flash Drive

Head over to whoismgmt now for a free download of Flash Delirium the first track to sneak out from MGMT's highly anticipated sophomore effort Congratulations!  It's a poppy psychedelic frenzy that'll leave you wanting more more more!

08 March 2010

Where in the World...

The MGMT hijinx ensue!!! With their new record Congratulations on its way, the pr push begins with a game of cat and mouse that will see some lucky fans who find their way to some as yet undesignated locations first rewarded with an as yet unrevealed experience.  Clues can be found at their new site and through Twitter postings. 
The rules from the site:
We will give clues to the secret location and a password on this page.
Once you figure out where the location is - GO THERE - 
you have 1 hour, first come first serve.
You will see a person holding an MGMT flag - 
go up to them and tell them the password.
If you are one of the first people to arrive - your journey starts then. 
You will need to be free for the next 2 hours.


Here We Go Again

What do you do if you are a band who made its name on a viral video of the hugest proportions?  Well, you got back and top it with another must see vid!  Ok Go have done just that with the new Rube Goldberg inspired masterpiece for This Too Shall Pass. This is well worth the next four minutes of your life:

02 March 2010

Grooved Pavement

Pavement launched their comeback yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand with a set that will have something for everyone (except all those nay-sayers who never got it anyway!).  The band will wind their way to US shores sooner or later but in the meantime will be getting constant feeds of fan fed sing-a-longs and shaky video teasers from the 14th row to keep us frothing like the Pavlovian mutts we are. Matador has a bunch of cheap re-issues of the catalog as well as the career spanning best of Quarantine the Past to fill out your collection in the meantime (isn't it time you got Watery, Domestic on vinyl anyway?!).

Here's the full setlist from New Zealand:
In the Mouth a Desert 
Trigger Cut 
Elevate Me Later
Shady Lane
Father to a Sister of Thought
Rattled by the Rush
Perfume-V
Summer Babe
Kennel District
Silence Kit
Range Life
Unfair
Stop Breathin'
No Life Singed Her
Fight This Generation
Date With Ikea
Box Elder
Grounded
Gold Soundz
Here
Give It A Day
Cut Your Hair
Encore:
Stereo
Spit on a Stranger
Conduit for Sale!
 
And here's proof it all went down! Range Life in all it's hand held glory!

Focus Group

Mercer and Mouse tested and re-tested their new material methodically prior to the release of the new Broken Bells record as the following bears out:

01 March 2010

Slow Jamming

It's NPR stream day I guess! The fine people at our favorite nationwide radio service are also providing a full-stream of Broken Bell's debut (which we'll be taking a bit later post work-day, wink wink...).  Listen now, cuz you should....

I have heard the mermaids singing

 Gorillaz full on stream of Plastic Beach available now at NPR, just check it:



Plastic Beach tracklist :
1. Orchestral Intro (featuring Sinfonia ViVA)
2. Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach (feat. Snoop Dogg & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
3. White Flag (feat. Kano, Bashy & The National Orchestra For Arabic Music)
4. Rhinestone Eyes
5. Stylo (feat. Bobby Womack & Mos Def)
6. Superfast Jellyfish (feat. Gruff Rhys & De La Soul)
7. Empire Ants (feat. Little Dragon)
8. Glitter Freeze (feat. Mark E Smith)
9. Some Kind Of Nature (feat. Lou Reed)
10. On Melancholy Hill
11. Broken
12. Sweepstakes (feat. Mos Def & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13. Plastic Beach (feat. Mick Jones & Paul Simonon)
14. To Binge (feat. Little Dragon)
15. Cloud Of Unknowing (feat. Bobby Womack and Sinfonia ViVA)
16. Pirate Jet

Son of a Gun

I'm not sure when we last heard from Jakob Dylan but he's back with a lovely new work Women and Country produced by the always excellent T. Bone Burnett. The first teaser single "Nothing but the Whole Wide World" is a laid back country folk number that features backing vocals from the lovely Neko Case. It's available for download over at the Spinner blog.

Jakob Dylan, 'Nothing But the Whole Wide World' -- Song Premiere - Spinner

27 February 2010

Rattled by the Rush

It's really happening!  The Pavement reunion that seemed an impossibility mere months ago is just about to kick into high gear with their first show in a decade.  Sadly it's happening down under and not here in the US but they'll be well-prepped by the time we all get our first glimpse later this year.  Spiral Stairs is kindly providing a peek into proceedings and grave architecture of the reunion over at his blog Spinalspirally.  In his own words, Sir Stairs says...
"it was the first time some of us had been in the same room together for close to 10 years. i think we all were a little nervous. it started off pretty rough, except for our drummer who probably practiced the most. but... by the time we had finished, most of the 40 plus songs we had rehearsed were sounding pretty good. we're really looking forward to the year ahead and seeing all the fans out there digging the music makes it all worthwhile. so thank you for buying tickets."
 

26 February 2010

Not Too Soon At All

Rogue Wave's new slab of airy psychedelic folk rock is due any day now and we couldn't be any happier about it!  Another clear sign of spring emerging from this never ending winter.  For those who can't wait (count us among them) Permalight is currently streaming through a special Pandora station for your listening pleasure.

Starting today, the band heads out on a 29-city tour, making stops in New York, Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and everywhere in between. Check out the entire North American tour schedule.

The band has also created video clips teasers for each of the tracks and a making of vid that are all available for viewing at Rogue Wave's site.

Permalight Tracklist: / 01 Solitary Gun / 02 Good Morning / 03 Sleepwalker / 04 Stars and Stripes / 05 Permalight / 06 Fear Itself / 07 Right With You / 08 We Will Make A Song Destroy / 09 I'll Never Leave You / 10 Per Anger / 11 You Have Boarded / 12 All That Remains

25 February 2010

Spinning Atoms

Thom Yorke will play a handful of dates here in the US leading up to an appearance at Coachella with the super duper group including Nigel Godrich and Flea among others he threw together to play out with his Eraser material. The news broke over at the w.a.s.t.e. site along with the announcement that the group, previously dubbed ??????, will now officially be known as Atoms for Peace. Thom says, "hope you like the name.. it seemed bleedin' obvious."

THOM YORKE / ATOMS FOR PEACE / APRIL 2010
Mon 5 Roseland Ballroom New York, NY
Tue 6 Roseland Ballroom New York, NY
Thu 8 Citi Wang Theatre Boston, MA
Sat 10 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
Sun 11 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
Wed 14 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
Thu 15 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
Sat 17 Santa Barbara Bowl Santa Barbara, CA
Sun 18 Coachella Festival Indio, CA

23 February 2010

That Fresh Smell

Devo is back and for the next 24 hours you can get a free download of their new smash hit "Fresh" for the mere price of an email. While there, be sure to take advantage of the Devo Color Study which will help determine the proper color scheme to help move the band forward with confidence!

22 February 2010

Broken Bells Ring True

James Mercer (he of the Shins) and Danger Mouse (yeah that Crazy guy) have made their live debut as Broken Bells at a gig last night in LA.  I, for one, and just happy to have Sir Mercer's plaintive and compelling poetry back in the collective consciousness for a time again.  That they tapped into the fringe cultural zeitgeist for Neutral Milk Hotel and Tommy James and the Shondells covers in their first outing is a good omen indeed.  Enjoy....








Visit Foundtrack's youtube channel for the whole shebang!

20 February 2010

They're Back!

Broken Social Scene have a new album ready to drop on May 4 through long time label Arts & Crafts and for the price of an email you can get a download of lead track "World Sick" to tide you over until then.  The band has also announced a handful of dates with more sure to come.  The winter thaw begins here!

03-14 Elkton, FL - Harvest of Hope
03-18 Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ
03-19 Austin, TX - The Parish
05-01 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
05-03 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
05-07 New York, NY - Webster Hall
05-13 London, England - Brixton Academy *
05-14 Minehead, England - All Tomorrow's Parties
05-17 London, England - Heaven
05-18 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
05-19 Cologne, Germany - Burgerhaus Stollwerck
05-21 Paris, France - La Maroquinerie
05-23 Linz, Austria - LinzFest
05-24 Berlin, Germany - Kesselhaus
05-27 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Festival
05-29 George, WA - Sasquatch
06-19 Toronto, Ontario - Toronto Island *#

* with Pavement
# with Band of Horses


 

18 February 2010

Punch | Stroke

Old timey Strokes cover from the excellent Punch Brothers.  What's not to like?  Certainly a nice way to celebrate the fact that the lower east side boys are back in the studio working on a new record.

Rufus Returns

Rufus Wainwright returns with his first record of new material and his sixth full length offering entitled All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu out on April 20.  The record is a return to simpler times featuring Sir Rufus and his piano stripped of some of the grandiose production that he explored on the Want albums.

Full tracklisting:
  1. Who Are You New York?
  2. Sad With What I Have
  3. Martha
  4. Give Me What I Want and Give It To Me Now!
  5. True Loves
  6. Sonnet 43
  7. Sonnet 20
  8. Sonnet 10
  9. The Dream
  10. What Would I Ever Do With A Rose?
  11. Les Feux d'artifice t'appellent
  12. Zebulon

Prelude to Plastic Beach

New teaser vid for Gorillaz Plastic Beach out on March 8th in which our lead man 2D gets delivered unto the scene...

Jug Runneth Over

a little teaser clip from Saddle Creek for the new Neva Dinova & Bright Eyes rerelease....

Bright Eyes / Neva Dinova "One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels"  teaser from Saddle Creek on Vimeo.

11 February 2010

This is Your Brain On...

Jazz and blues legend Mose Allison is one of the smartest fellas to ever tickle the ivories.  His storytelling through song is an American treasure and the fact that he's still churning out the tunes for our enjoyment is enough to keep one's head up and smiling sublimely through this long slog of a winter.  Sir Allison has a new track ("My Brain") available for free download over at AOL's Spinner blog (no relation to the excellent Matt Gouette tune).  Catch it now before it's gone.  The track is part of a new release out on March 23 on Anti- called The Way of the World.

 









Track List:
01. My Brain
02. I Know You Didn't Mean It
03. Everybody Thinks You're An Angel
04. Let It Come Down
05. Modest Proposal
06. Crush
07. Some Right, Some Wrong
08. The Way Of The World
09. Ask Me Nice
10. Once In A While
11. I'm Alright
12. The New Situation

Wilco cover Neil Young's Broken Arrow

09 February 2010

The Mutual of Omaha

Jake Bellows and his excellent band Neva Dinova have always been big here at the Palaz of Hoon.  The band played a few well-received shows here in olde New London towne though we've missed them on the last couple of tours.  Twenty Four Bit has the scoop (don't they always!) on a Saddle Creek reissue of the excellent record that Bellows recorded with fellow Omaha native Conor Oberst titled One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels.  The record will be expanded with the includion four recently recorded tracks by the pair including “Rollerskating,” “Happy Accident,” “Someone’s Love,” and “I Know You.

American Band Scam

Third Man Records, TheWhite Stripes and their management have issued a strong statement of condemnation for what they consider an illegal use of their song "Fell in Love with a Girl" by the United States Air Force Reserve as part of a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl this past Sunday. Judge for yourself over at the label's site where they have posted the pieces side-by-side for comparisons sake.

"We believe our song was re-recorded and used without permission of the White Stripes, our publishers, label or management. 

The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserves presenting this advertisemnet with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support.

The White Stripes support this nation's military, at home and during times when our country needs and depends on them.  We simply don't want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict, and hope for a safe and speedy return home for our troops.

We have not licensed this song to the Air Force Reserve and we plan to take strong action to stop the ad containing this music."


04 February 2010

Cage, no Cage

Thanks to Spike Jonze's We Love You So for pointing the way to the charmingly experimental work of French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot.  Her work is whimsical and fun while creating a serious sonic drone that would surely make Thurston and Lee smile blissfully in its Cage-like simplicity. This work is from a commission for The Curve, Barbican, London.

She Don't Lie, She Don't Lie, She Don't Lie

From Memphis, Tennessee's The Commercial Appeal:

Medical examiner cites cocaine toxicity, alcohol in death of Memphis musician Jay Reatard 
Bob Mehr

Autopsy results released Wednesday in the death of Memphis musician Jay Reatard reveal that he died from "cocaine toxicity, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death," according to Shelby County Medical Examiner Dr. Karen E. Chancellor.

The 29-year-old musician, whose real name was Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., was found dead in bed at his Cooper-Young neighborhood home on Jan. 13.

After a decade of working in the garage and trash rock underground with various groups, including the Reatards and Lost Sounds, Lindsey began to achieve mainstream stardom in 2006 with the release of his solo debut, Blood Visions.

His most recent album, 2009's Watch Me Fall, was released by the New York City-based label Matador Records.

Lindsey's death sparked international press attention and mourning by fans and friends. A memorial was held for Lindsey on Jan. 16 at Memorial Park Funeral Home. He was buried the following day, in a grave near Stax legend Isaac Hayes.

With more than 100 releases, including 22 full-length albums, Lindsey left behind a massive legacy. His manager, Adam Shore, confirmed that Lindsey's early work with the punk rock band The Reatards will be reissued on the local Goner Records label, while Los Angeles-based In the Red Records will be putting out material from Lindsey's later no wave outfit The Lost Sounds.

Shore added that plans for other releases are still in the works. At the time of his death, Lindsey was reportedly at work at his home studio on a solo follow-up for Matador. Former bandmates have said at least six songs were completed.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/feb/03/medical-examiner-cites-cocaine-toxicity-alcohol-de/

03 February 2010

The Double Life

Twenty Four Bit has the scoop on the new Amanda Palmer project titled Evelyn Evelyn.  The new act purportedly features the croonings of a pair of Siamese Twins. The duo (errr does that count here?) will release their debut this spring but you can check out a few tunes now over at their myspace.  It's some great vaudevillian stuff and is sure to make for a fine spectacle on tour (which they will be in Europe soon enough though I would expect US dates to come along sooner than later).

02 February 2010

An Extraordinary Machine

My Dave Rawlings obsession continues unabated as more performances continue to pop up on the web featuring his luscious, virtuoso guitar stylings and haunting harmonies with his graceful and gorgeous partner in musical crime Gillian Welch.  The latest peek into their music is provided by NPR as part of their excellent and sweetly off-the-cuff Tiny Desk Concert series. 

Set List:
"I'm on My Way Back to the Old Home"
"Ruby"
"Method Acting/Cortez the Killer"
"Sweet Tooth"

01 February 2010

Hallelujah!

The New London scene continues to prove itself as the most fertile musical turf in southern New England.  Other scenes may have bigger clubs or see stops from major acts on a more regular basis but when it comes to original music no small city can hold a candle to the amount of talent that olde New London town has presented over the last decade.  A brand new compilation POWERS (Cosmodemonic Telegraph) debuted this past weekend at the annual Rock Fix (part of Hygienic Art XXXI) that shows off some of those acts at their best.  It's a two-disc set featuring 28 new and unreleased tunes from the likes of Get Haunted, Fatal Film, Roadside Attractions, Straight to VHS, The Reducers, Matt Gouette, Above Below and many many more.  Check it out:

<a href="http://powers.bandcamp.com/album/cosmosingles-31">Get Haunted - Cedar Grove by Powers</a>

26 January 2010

Machine Head

Dave Rawlings Machine (really Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch switching their traditional roles supporting one another) released one of the loveliest records we've heard in a long time recently in A Friend of a Friend.  The record highlights Rawlings subtle and hypnotic guitar styling and excellent taste in material.  Most of the work here is covers (typically of songs by artists in which he played on the original recordings).  Some of the tracks are revelatory (a hauntingly beautiful cover of Dylan's Bells of Harlem; a mash-up of Conor Oberst's Method Acting with Neil Young's Cortez the Killer) while others suggest the perfect sound track to an episode of A Prairie Home Companion.  this stuff sticks in your craw and you can't help but wistfully whistling and singing along with a treasure like Sweet Tooth!  seek this record out, you won't be disappointed.

Here's some video someone kindly posted from an instore down in Nashville at Grimey's on December 3, 2009.  The sound on this video is absolutely stunning.  Make sure to check out the other clips available from this appearance, well worth the dig!

21 January 2010

A Spoonful of....

 It's a great start to 2010 with Spoon making the rounds to support their new slow brew rocker Transference (out now via Merge).  The band hit Conan (while they could) with "Written in Reverse" last night.

19 January 2010

The Turning of Seasons

Sad news today as Kate McGarrigle has passed away after a 3 year battle with cancer.  She was surrounded by family and friends (including her prodigal kids Rufus and Martha Wainwright).  McGarrigle was 63 and had enjoyed a more than thirty year career in music mostly singing with her sister Anna as The McGarrigle Sisters.



A Whole Lot Better

Heather over at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends posted some video she took recently of a Brendan Benson in-store show.  Yummy pop-rock confection follows, enjoy:

Forgetta About It

Sadly, Death Cab for Cutie turn in a forgettable attempt at Simple Mind's ubiquitous "Don't You Forget About Me" in tribute to the iconic 80s filmmaker John Hughes a the Critic's Choice Music Awards.  Still, worth a look see in comparison...



14 January 2010

Go Ask Alice


Looks like some tasty morsels pop up on the soundtrack to Tim Burton's highly anticipated Alice in Wonderland including a solo turn by one Robert Smith (of a little band called The Cure) taking a stab at "Very Good Advice" from the original Disney animated Alice.




The album, which is being called Almost Alice, will be in stores in March 2nd, while a video for the soundtrack's first single, "Alice (Underground)" by Avril Lavigne," is due in early February. Full track listing:

1. “Alice (Underground)” performed by Avril Lavigne

2. “The Poison” performed by The All-American Rejects
3. “The Technicolor Phase” performed by Owl City
4. “Her Name Is Alice” performed by Shinedown
5. “Painting Flowers” performed by All Time Low
6. “Where’s My Angel” performed by Metro Station
7. “Strange” performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli
8. “Follow Me Down” performed by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch
9. “Very Good Advice” performed by Robert Smith
10. “In Transit” performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz
11. “Welcome to Mystery” performed by Plain White T’s
12. “Tea Party” performed by Kerli
13. “The Lobster Quadrille” performed by Franz Ferdinand
14. “Running Out of Time” performed by Motion City Soundtrack
15. “Fell Down a Hole” performed by Wolfmother
16. “White Rabbit” performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals