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.

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

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."

Slow Jam the News

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/

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).

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"

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:

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!

Goodbye CoCo

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.

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...

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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

Two Words

New SPOON! NPR has an exclusive first listen of  Transference....
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122279793