Of Montreal covered David Bowie's "Starman" on AOL Spinner interface. Watch It Here Starman (David Bowie Cover) By Of Montreal
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Of Montreal Live
Of Montreal covered David Bowie's "Starman" on AOL Spinner interface. Watch It Here Starman (David Bowie Cover) By Of Montreal
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
New New Pornographers song
The New Pornographers release a song to the pub yesterday which is on their upcoming album Challengers My Right Versus Yours Can't help but think hearing the line "new empire in rags" that I am beginning to see a pattern here?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
I Know but..........The National White Sessions
I know its a new week but this is too good not to share. The National recorded a White Session yesterday in France. Great sound quality and great set. I posted a few highlights below and a link to the whole show.
Download in two big chunks Part I and Part II
or song by song HERE
Setlist and link to individual song below.
1. Start a War
2. Brainy
3. Slow Show
4. Squalor Victoria
5. Apartment Story
6. Racing Like a Pro
7. Ada
8. You've Done it Again Virginia (off of Lit Up EP)
9. Mistaken for Strangers
10.Fake Empire
11. About Today
Thursday, May 24, 2007
The Week of the National: New Songs Acoustic
I finally got my new Wilco and new National in. I had already downloaded the National in order to prep for the concert but I will say the actual cd sounds much better than the download I had. You can hear so much more. If you still don't have it, go get it; it truly is all its cracked up to be.
I listened finally to the new Wilco, first listen I thought it was pretty good. I really liked the first few songs and then the last few songs. I am sure the middle will grow on me.
I just uploaded a whole radio show with The National in April. They play "Mistaken for Strangers" and "Gospel", as well as a good interview. Both songs are acoustic.
Download Track By Track HERE
White Stripes and Modest Mouse videos
Watch the Premiere of The White Stripes video for their new single "Icky Thump"
HERE Pretty good tune.
TWS are playing around here in July.
07/30 - Birmingham, AL @ Sloss Furnace
07/31 - Southaven, MS @ Snowden Grove Park
Also, Modest Mouse performing "Missed the Boat" on the Late Late Show.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Funny story about Isaac Brock in Oxford.
From Blender
Isaac Brock’s favorite restaurant in Oxford, Mississippi, is a BP gas station. An Indian family operates it and, along with Snickers, pork rinds and Genessee 12-packs, they sell some of the best chicken curry the Modest Mouse frontman has ever tasted. “I eat here almost every night,” Brock says, parking his rental truck out front.
Tonight there’s a clerk working whom Brock has met only a couple of times. He’s in his late 20s, sporting blond highlights and a shirt stitched with flowers — it’s the look of someone who learned about American style from 90210 reruns.
“Hey, man,” Brock greets him. “How ya doing tonight?”
“Oh, pretty bored.”
“Well, shit, man, you wanna get a beer later?”
The clerk smiles and furrows his brow.
“You should call me,” Brock says, bundling the invitation in his lisp-tinged drawl. “I can at least tell you about some good bars.”
“You know, really … ,” the clerk says sheepishly in heavily accented English. “I want to go to strips.”
“Shit, I don’t know any strip joints around here,” Brock says, frowning. “But let me find out. Here’s my cell. Call me in an hour.”
The clerk takes down Brock’s number and thanks him politely, if warily. Brock buys a pack of cigarettes and two Indian dinners, then steps out into the November cold. “I feel for that guy,” he says. He lights a cigarette and waves it at the highway overpasses that surround the BP. “Just dumped into a gas station in the middle of nowhere. No shit he’s lonely.”
I have never even eaten at that gas station (the BP across from Kroger).
Isaac Brock’s favorite restaurant in Oxford, Mississippi, is a BP gas station. An Indian family operates it and, along with Snickers, pork rinds and Genessee 12-packs, they sell some of the best chicken curry the Modest Mouse frontman has ever tasted. “I eat here almost every night,” Brock says, parking his rental truck out front.
Tonight there’s a clerk working whom Brock has met only a couple of times. He’s in his late 20s, sporting blond highlights and a shirt stitched with flowers — it’s the look of someone who learned about American style from 90210 reruns.
“Hey, man,” Brock greets him. “How ya doing tonight?”
“Oh, pretty bored.”
“Well, shit, man, you wanna get a beer later?”
The clerk smiles and furrows his brow.
“You should call me,” Brock says, bundling the invitation in his lisp-tinged drawl. “I can at least tell you about some good bars.”
“You know, really … ,” the clerk says sheepishly in heavily accented English. “I want to go to strips.”
“Shit, I don’t know any strip joints around here,” Brock says, frowning. “But let me find out. Here’s my cell. Call me in an hour.”
The clerk takes down Brock’s number and thanks him politely, if warily. Brock buys a pack of cigarettes and two Indian dinners, then steps out into the November cold. “I feel for that guy,” he says. He lights a cigarette and waves it at the highway overpasses that surround the BP. “Just dumped into a gas station in the middle of nowhere. No shit he’s lonely.”
I have never even eaten at that gas station (the BP across from Kroger).
New Smashing Pumpkins
The new Smashing Pumpkins or so Billy Corgan calls them is basically Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin plus a couple of other musicians sans Iha (the japanese dude) and D'arcy (the girl) (Sound familiar "cough" Son Volt "cough"). They played for the first time last night in Paris. Here is a new song they played called "God and Country" that will be on the new album Zeitgeist out July 10. .
The National week cont'd
Boxer is up to an 89 on metacritic which is the second highest aggregated score of 2007. Nice. Baby We'll Be Fine - Live on KEXP;
Warm Singing Whores - rare B-side
Also, iTunes has two B-Sides from Boxer that are wonderful.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Indie Festival at Red Rocks
Pretty good line-up. I wish A) I was still in college/law school. or B) I lived in Colorado. Festival in Denver, CO at Red Rocks on September 14, 15 (same weekend as ACL). link to festival
The Flaming Lips
The Decemberists
Spoon
Kings of Leon
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Cake
Cloud Cult
Ghostland Observatory
Flosstradamus with Kid Sister
Das Efx
Earl Greyhound
Juliette & the Liks
YACHT
Ra Ra Riot
Bob Log III
Lords of the Underground
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Autovaughn
Otis Gibbs
Oh and Just because it is the week of the National here are two older tracks live from a Black Session.
Slipping Husband
Cold Girl Fever
The National on Human Giant
The National played on the 24-hour marathon of the Human Giant on MTV. While I found the comedians a little annoying, I did stay up for The National. Mistaken for Strangers
and Apartment Story. Great Performance.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Boxer Reviewed..
Well, the critics are as obsessed as I am. Here begins the week of The National.
From Popmatters 9/10
"All these elements—the warmth and humanity and musical complexity, the indelible images and koan-like puzzles, the guitar-based rock and classical embellishments—go a certain distance in explaining why Boxer is so good… but they don’t quite explain it. This album, like all great albums, somehow transcends all the factors that makes it work, absorbs them in a seamless whole and breaks your heart in the process. All hail Boxer, the album to beat for the rest of the year. "
From Tiny Mix Tapes 4/5
"It’s a parasitic form of music that The National dwells within. It leeches onto the listener’s brain, sticking both of them into permanent symbiosis. It creeps, crawls, and shambles, infecting all in its wake. Zombies couldn’t have created these melodies, but it’s that sort of mindless state it leaves its audience in. And we don’t want brains; we want songful solace. It’s music to get mournful with, but as addicting as car crashes. If The National don’t blow up after this time up to bat, the joke is a bad one. Alligator was a declaration of intent and bombast, Boxer is the refinement of."
From Pitchfork 8.6 and Best New Music
Obviously, it's pretty easy to read a lot into the National's music and especially into Berninger's lyrics, but that shouldn't imply that Boxer is a willfully difficult or overly academic work. Like those on their last album, these songs reveal themselves gradually but surely, building to the inevitable moment when they hit you in the gut. It's the rare album that gives back whatever you put into it.
From Popmatters 9/10
"All these elements—the warmth and humanity and musical complexity, the indelible images and koan-like puzzles, the guitar-based rock and classical embellishments—go a certain distance in explaining why Boxer is so good… but they don’t quite explain it. This album, like all great albums, somehow transcends all the factors that makes it work, absorbs them in a seamless whole and breaks your heart in the process. All hail Boxer, the album to beat for the rest of the year. "
From Tiny Mix Tapes 4/5
"It’s a parasitic form of music that The National dwells within. It leeches onto the listener’s brain, sticking both of them into permanent symbiosis. It creeps, crawls, and shambles, infecting all in its wake. Zombies couldn’t have created these melodies, but it’s that sort of mindless state it leaves its audience in. And we don’t want brains; we want songful solace. It’s music to get mournful with, but as addicting as car crashes. If The National don’t blow up after this time up to bat, the joke is a bad one. Alligator was a declaration of intent and bombast, Boxer is the refinement of."
From Pitchfork 8.6 and Best New Music
Obviously, it's pretty easy to read a lot into the National's music and especially into Berninger's lyrics, but that shouldn't imply that Boxer is a willfully difficult or overly academic work. Like those on their last album, these songs reveal themselves gradually but surely, building to the inevitable moment when they hit you in the gut. It's the rare album that gives back whatever you put into it.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Week of Wilco Cont'd. YHF Outtakes
Since this is technically the week of Wilco (bet you can guess what next week will be the week of), I found something too good not to share. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Outtakes in full quality. Very very good. Thanks to That Truncheon Thing Great alternate versions of old songs, and amazing un-released songs I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (alternate version). Not For the Season Alone (Shakin' Sugar) Poor Place (Alt. version).
Cars Can't Escape.
Download and unzip the whole thing Part I
Part II
Interesting Article: Son Volt vs. Wilco
From the LA WEEKLY
Let’s say it at the outset: It’s totally unfair and totally unnecessary to compare the new albums from Wilco and Son Volt. Comparing Jeff Tweedy’s and Jay Farrar’s bands has been done to death, and 12 years after Uncle Tupelo’s breakup, they don’t have anything to do with each other. It’s a lazy little trick, backward-looking, unfair to both guys, and their new stuff deserves to be judged on their own merits.
Too bad, because Uncle Tupelo’s records sound every bit as great now as they did then. Nah — they sound better. And if Tweedy and Farrar never wrote another single decent song between them after Tupelo’s final album, Anodyne, that’d have been fine. But they did, by the truckload. They still do. And while Farrar’s Son Volt records languish in a nowhere-land of critical and commercial apathy, Tweedy’s Wilco got cast as America’s Radiohead — a band that could do no critical wrong, album after album, while their music got less accessible, more experimental and a hell of a lot less catchy.
2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was Wilco’s OK Computer, the perfect intersection of the band’s past pop sensibilities and growing studio experimentalism. Wilco’s public recognition grew, as did their tours, and a successful documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, told a compelling story. Making that kind of successful stylistic leap generates a lot of good will, but it also lets the band get away with some weaker stuff that they might not have been able to before.
So by the time A Ghost Is Born came out in 2004, it was safer to call it genius than to just be annoyed with Sonic Youth–like 10-minute guitar drones and a lack of any songs you’d remember once the CD was flipped off.
Keep Reading
Wilco’s new album, Sky Blue Sky, is definitely a step back from those perilous cliffs of artiness. The opener, “Either Way,” is about as straightforward as Tweedy’s ever been. Gently plucked guitar, a light organ backup, and even strings roll in. Why, it’s as if Tweedy were betting that FM radio was set to be the next big thing.
Sky Blue Sky Once in an interview, Tweedy demurred when the writer claimed that he was one of the best songwriters alive. “I’ve never written a hit,” he responded. There’s nothing wrong with writing hits, and on Sky Blue Sky, Tweedy seems to have that goal in mind. If only the songs really measured up to the best of FM radio’s heyday. Tweedy seems to be trying to go after the light feel of 1970s music, but he ends up channeling a little too much of the Grateful Dead and not enough Three Dog Night. Borrowing some of Steely Dan’s jazzy keyboard touches doesn’t really help much either. A step back from self-conscious experimentalism it may be, but it’s not back to the territory of pop gems from Being There or Summer Teeth.
Maybe Wilco’s just played the Bonnaroo fest one too many times, because there’s a hippie-ish jam-band haze around these songs that makes them sound like they were written by the whole band and recorded in their rehearsal space (they were).
Sky Blue Sky isn’t a terrible record, but it commits the one sin that I’ve never heard committed before on a Wilco album: It’s boring. Maybe they’ve been exasperating before, but never boring.
It’s quite possible that if I forced myself to listen to Sky Blue Sky 10 times in a row, I’d pick up on all sorts of subtleties and nuance, it might grow on me, and then I’d have a deep appreciation of the record. But part of the joy of earlier Wilco albums was that there was no need to learn to love them. You put on Being There or AM and you knew right away what the charms of those records were.
Farrar, far right, and a jolt of Son Volt (Photo by Josh Cheuse) Not that I should be comparing these two albums, mind you, but after just one listen, I knew that Son Volt’s new album, The Search, is the one I’ll be coming back to again and again. Don’t judge it by the opener, “Slow Hearse.” Skip that one altogether and dive into “The Picture,” as catchy and upbeat musically as it is pissed-off lyrically. Picking up where he left off on the last Son Volt record (Okemah and the Melody of Riot, 2005), Farrar’s not shying away from the mess that our country is in to focus only on one-on-one relationships. He’s angry, and it shows, but he’s never ham-fisted about it.
Farrar pulls out all sorts of musical tricks on The Search. There are live horns on “The Picture,” backward-looped guitars on “Circadian Rhythm” and string sections on “Underground Dream.” It’s not what you’d expect from the guy who so completely embraced the traditional country style (and kept his No Depression cred firmly intact) on early albums like Trace and Straightaways, but it works and sounds great here, and it’s as good as anything Farrar has made, well, since Uncle Tupelo broke up.
The Search The ghost of Uncle Tupelo will haunt Farrar and Tweedy forever, and they’ll embrace it or resent it in the same way that all pop stars embrace and resent their early work that certain types of fans keep obsessing over. Tupelo’s ghosts have been active lately on the Internet. A batch of live shows and other bootlegs have been making the rounds of certain MP3 blogs of questionable repute, and two in particular really show off why the past is such a tough thing to leave alone. The first is a live radio set recorded in July 1990 at WFMU in New Jersey. Eleven songs, all acoustic, with no DJ grilling the guys between songs: It’s a lovely set. Near the end, Tweedy harmonizes with Farrar’s lead vocal on a languid cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers’ “Sin City.” You wish it had 20 verses so that it could just keep on going.
The other bootleg that’s been showing up is the band’s final show, appropriately in St. Louis, across the river from where they grew up. The poster for the show read, “St. Louis’ 4th Best Country Band,” the kind of tongue-in-cheek modesty that made Uncle Tupelo so endearing. Most of the lead vocals here are by Tweedy — Farrar had already made the decision to leave the band, and there was probably more bad blood flowing than what’s discernible from listening. It’s no The Last Waltz, but it’s a powerful show with good sound quality, and worth checking out if you can find it, especially the encore cover of Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.”
WILCO | Sky Blue Sky | Nonesuch
SON VOLT | The Search | Transmit Sound/Legacy
Let’s say it at the outset: It’s totally unfair and totally unnecessary to compare the new albums from Wilco and Son Volt. Comparing Jeff Tweedy’s and Jay Farrar’s bands has been done to death, and 12 years after Uncle Tupelo’s breakup, they don’t have anything to do with each other. It’s a lazy little trick, backward-looking, unfair to both guys, and their new stuff deserves to be judged on their own merits.
Too bad, because Uncle Tupelo’s records sound every bit as great now as they did then. Nah — they sound better. And if Tweedy and Farrar never wrote another single decent song between them after Tupelo’s final album, Anodyne, that’d have been fine. But they did, by the truckload. They still do. And while Farrar’s Son Volt records languish in a nowhere-land of critical and commercial apathy, Tweedy’s Wilco got cast as America’s Radiohead — a band that could do no critical wrong, album after album, while their music got less accessible, more experimental and a hell of a lot less catchy.
2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was Wilco’s OK Computer, the perfect intersection of the band’s past pop sensibilities and growing studio experimentalism. Wilco’s public recognition grew, as did their tours, and a successful documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, told a compelling story. Making that kind of successful stylistic leap generates a lot of good will, but it also lets the band get away with some weaker stuff that they might not have been able to before.
So by the time A Ghost Is Born came out in 2004, it was safer to call it genius than to just be annoyed with Sonic Youth–like 10-minute guitar drones and a lack of any songs you’d remember once the CD was flipped off.
Keep Reading
Wilco’s new album, Sky Blue Sky, is definitely a step back from those perilous cliffs of artiness. The opener, “Either Way,” is about as straightforward as Tweedy’s ever been. Gently plucked guitar, a light organ backup, and even strings roll in. Why, it’s as if Tweedy were betting that FM radio was set to be the next big thing.
Sky Blue Sky Once in an interview, Tweedy demurred when the writer claimed that he was one of the best songwriters alive. “I’ve never written a hit,” he responded. There’s nothing wrong with writing hits, and on Sky Blue Sky, Tweedy seems to have that goal in mind. If only the songs really measured up to the best of FM radio’s heyday. Tweedy seems to be trying to go after the light feel of 1970s music, but he ends up channeling a little too much of the Grateful Dead and not enough Three Dog Night. Borrowing some of Steely Dan’s jazzy keyboard touches doesn’t really help much either. A step back from self-conscious experimentalism it may be, but it’s not back to the territory of pop gems from Being There or Summer Teeth.
Maybe Wilco’s just played the Bonnaroo fest one too many times, because there’s a hippie-ish jam-band haze around these songs that makes them sound like they were written by the whole band and recorded in their rehearsal space (they were).
Sky Blue Sky isn’t a terrible record, but it commits the one sin that I’ve never heard committed before on a Wilco album: It’s boring. Maybe they’ve been exasperating before, but never boring.
It’s quite possible that if I forced myself to listen to Sky Blue Sky 10 times in a row, I’d pick up on all sorts of subtleties and nuance, it might grow on me, and then I’d have a deep appreciation of the record. But part of the joy of earlier Wilco albums was that there was no need to learn to love them. You put on Being There or AM and you knew right away what the charms of those records were.
Farrar, far right, and a jolt of Son Volt (Photo by Josh Cheuse) Not that I should be comparing these two albums, mind you, but after just one listen, I knew that Son Volt’s new album, The Search, is the one I’ll be coming back to again and again. Don’t judge it by the opener, “Slow Hearse.” Skip that one altogether and dive into “The Picture,” as catchy and upbeat musically as it is pissed-off lyrically. Picking up where he left off on the last Son Volt record (Okemah and the Melody of Riot, 2005), Farrar’s not shying away from the mess that our country is in to focus only on one-on-one relationships. He’s angry, and it shows, but he’s never ham-fisted about it.
Farrar pulls out all sorts of musical tricks on The Search. There are live horns on “The Picture,” backward-looped guitars on “Circadian Rhythm” and string sections on “Underground Dream.” It’s not what you’d expect from the guy who so completely embraced the traditional country style (and kept his No Depression cred firmly intact) on early albums like Trace and Straightaways, but it works and sounds great here, and it’s as good as anything Farrar has made, well, since Uncle Tupelo broke up.
The Search The ghost of Uncle Tupelo will haunt Farrar and Tweedy forever, and they’ll embrace it or resent it in the same way that all pop stars embrace and resent their early work that certain types of fans keep obsessing over. Tupelo’s ghosts have been active lately on the Internet. A batch of live shows and other bootlegs have been making the rounds of certain MP3 blogs of questionable repute, and two in particular really show off why the past is such a tough thing to leave alone. The first is a live radio set recorded in July 1990 at WFMU in New Jersey. Eleven songs, all acoustic, with no DJ grilling the guys between songs: It’s a lovely set. Near the end, Tweedy harmonizes with Farrar’s lead vocal on a languid cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers’ “Sin City.” You wish it had 20 verses so that it could just keep on going.
The other bootleg that’s been showing up is the band’s final show, appropriately in St. Louis, across the river from where they grew up. The poster for the show read, “St. Louis’ 4th Best Country Band,” the kind of tongue-in-cheek modesty that made Uncle Tupelo so endearing. Most of the lead vocals here are by Tweedy — Farrar had already made the decision to leave the band, and there was probably more bad blood flowing than what’s discernible from listening. It’s no The Last Waltz, but it’s a powerful show with good sound quality, and worth checking out if you can find it, especially the encore cover of Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.”
WILCO | Sky Blue Sky | Nonesuch
SON VOLT | The Search | Transmit Sound/Legacy
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Jeff Tweedy Interview: AV Club
"AVC: Back when you were with Uncle Tupelo, did you find working beside a songwriter as strong as Jay Farrar daunting or inspiring?
JT: I didn't find it daunting. I was very taken with Jay at a young age. Even before I played in a band, or played guitar, I was a classmate of Jay's. He was always a mysterious, kind of big character, even though he was very, very quiet. He seemed to possess some knowledge that everybody else didn't have. I was really inspired to work hard, not only on my songs, but on helping bring his songs to life. I worked so hard at getting better as a songwriter, because I wanted our records, the things that we were doing together, to be awesome. I wanted to write something that sounded good next to his songs. I never felt daunted—I felt much more inspired.
AVC: In the early days of Uncle Tupelo, you seemed to be more the spokesman for the band in the press.
JT: Well, Jay's just so socially awkward that it was by default that it fell on my shoulders to talk. It was so painfully uncomfortable to be in a room with him, for me at least. Jay and I are just so different. He sort of appeared to be comfortable with making people uncomfortable by not saying very much. I could never be that way. So I always spoke up. I answered the questions. I got tired of waiting, most of the time.
AVC: Back when you were a young rock 'n' roll fan, were you ever let down by a band that went in directions you weren't expecting?
JT: No, I honestly can say I don't ever remember feeling that proprietarily toward any band. [Laughs.] There have definitely been bands that changed and I lost interest. But I didn't hold it against them. It wasn't something they did to me, like they disappointed me or let me down, because they still had their other records that I loved. And honestly, I've never made a record other than No Depression that people didn't say something like that about. Still Feel Gone was way too polished and produced. March was obviously a big disappointment because it didn't have any electric guitars on it. And so on.
My question is: Could anybody imagine the Wilco record that would make everybody happy? I can't imagine it. So you're confronted with that reality—anything you do is going to be a disappointment to somebody. We just have to do what we do, and that's make a record that we fuckin' like. [Laughs.] We really don't have any other options. If we'd made a record that followed up on every impulse and stylistic sensibility that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had going for it, can you imagine the criticism? Not to mention that it would be impossible for us.
I hope I don't sound too defensive here. I don't want to come across as being up in arms about any of this. I just have a very pragmatic approach. I understand that a lot of people aren't going to see it, or aren't interested in seeing it. But that doesn't really have anything to do with me."
The whole interview is
HERE
JT: I didn't find it daunting. I was very taken with Jay at a young age. Even before I played in a band, or played guitar, I was a classmate of Jay's. He was always a mysterious, kind of big character, even though he was very, very quiet. He seemed to possess some knowledge that everybody else didn't have. I was really inspired to work hard, not only on my songs, but on helping bring his songs to life. I worked so hard at getting better as a songwriter, because I wanted our records, the things that we were doing together, to be awesome. I wanted to write something that sounded good next to his songs. I never felt daunted—I felt much more inspired.
AVC: In the early days of Uncle Tupelo, you seemed to be more the spokesman for the band in the press.
JT: Well, Jay's just so socially awkward that it was by default that it fell on my shoulders to talk. It was so painfully uncomfortable to be in a room with him, for me at least. Jay and I are just so different. He sort of appeared to be comfortable with making people uncomfortable by not saying very much. I could never be that way. So I always spoke up. I answered the questions. I got tired of waiting, most of the time.
AVC: Back when you were a young rock 'n' roll fan, were you ever let down by a band that went in directions you weren't expecting?
JT: No, I honestly can say I don't ever remember feeling that proprietarily toward any band. [Laughs.] There have definitely been bands that changed and I lost interest. But I didn't hold it against them. It wasn't something they did to me, like they disappointed me or let me down, because they still had their other records that I loved. And honestly, I've never made a record other than No Depression that people didn't say something like that about. Still Feel Gone was way too polished and produced. March was obviously a big disappointment because it didn't have any electric guitars on it. And so on.
My question is: Could anybody imagine the Wilco record that would make everybody happy? I can't imagine it. So you're confronted with that reality—anything you do is going to be a disappointment to somebody. We just have to do what we do, and that's make a record that we fuckin' like. [Laughs.] We really don't have any other options. If we'd made a record that followed up on every impulse and stylistic sensibility that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had going for it, can you imagine the criticism? Not to mention that it would be impossible for us.
I hope I don't sound too defensive here. I don't want to come across as being up in arms about any of this. I just have a very pragmatic approach. I understand that a lot of people aren't going to see it, or aren't interested in seeing it. But that doesn't really have anything to do with me."
The whole interview is
HERE
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
New Go! Team; New Spoon
The Go! Team has posted a new song on myspace. Download it over at iguessimfloating.
Also, new spoon song that is very dark with no drums....see for yourself over at Sixeyes
Monday, May 14, 2007
Wilco speaks
From Wilco:
"Greetings to you all from the east coast branch -- where we've been burning the midnight oil for months getting ready for May 15. And it is finally upon us.
By now, you know that next week is the official release date of Wilco's 7th album (or 9th depending on how you count). Hence the slightly serious tone of this note. Tuesday, to be precise, marks the US release of Sky Blue Sky on Nonesuch Records. If you haven't had a chance to listen to the on-demand stream, by all means click here and take it for a spin. We're pretty sure you'll enjoy the ride.
But once you've done that we hope you'll take a moment to reflect (see, I told you this was serious) on how this dynamic has worked over the years -- the dynamic between us and you. We (and this "we" means the band, first and foremost) expend a lot of time, energy and other resources trying to make this something you are not just a witness to, but a participant in and we genuinely hope you can feel that.
We've been asked many times if we'd consider changing the way we do things, usually by people who are convinced we'd be more successful if we did. And either out of stubbornness or something else, we keep refusing. Instead, we just do what we do and somehow it all works. We continue to make lots of music available free to all in the road case, continue to allow taping/photos at shows, and basically just try to keep the things we do charge for of a quality that make you feel like you got a bargain. You know, mutual respect and all that. We like the way it works... a lot. We really do believe in trying to keep as much of it as free and open as is humanly possible. That seems pretty obvious... but somehow it remains a slight novelty in the modern day music business. So much so that people continually mention it in their stories when they write or speak about the band or the somewhat sad state of the music business.
Anyway, what we're getting at here is that right now we need you to participate in a way that is part of what has made this nice little story work. We're actually asking you to please go out next week and do the right thing for Wilco. That is, vote with your feet and prove the band's faith well-placed and buy the record. It's available from Tuesday at all kinds of retailers everywhere. Ask for it by name. It's also available here, and for those of you who are more digitally inclined, here.
Okay, enough campaign speeches. You get the message. And we trust that you'll act on it as you always have."
I 100% agree. The least we can do is support the bands we truly love such as Wilco, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, etc.
Also Full Interview with Tweedy HERE
"Greetings to you all from the east coast branch -- where we've been burning the midnight oil for months getting ready for May 15. And it is finally upon us.
By now, you know that next week is the official release date of Wilco's 7th album (or 9th depending on how you count). Hence the slightly serious tone of this note. Tuesday, to be precise, marks the US release of Sky Blue Sky on Nonesuch Records. If you haven't had a chance to listen to the on-demand stream, by all means click here and take it for a spin. We're pretty sure you'll enjoy the ride.
But once you've done that we hope you'll take a moment to reflect (see, I told you this was serious) on how this dynamic has worked over the years -- the dynamic between us and you. We (and this "we" means the band, first and foremost) expend a lot of time, energy and other resources trying to make this something you are not just a witness to, but a participant in and we genuinely hope you can feel that.
We've been asked many times if we'd consider changing the way we do things, usually by people who are convinced we'd be more successful if we did. And either out of stubbornness or something else, we keep refusing. Instead, we just do what we do and somehow it all works. We continue to make lots of music available free to all in the road case, continue to allow taping/photos at shows, and basically just try to keep the things we do charge for of a quality that make you feel like you got a bargain. You know, mutual respect and all that. We like the way it works... a lot. We really do believe in trying to keep as much of it as free and open as is humanly possible. That seems pretty obvious... but somehow it remains a slight novelty in the modern day music business. So much so that people continually mention it in their stories when they write or speak about the band or the somewhat sad state of the music business.
Anyway, what we're getting at here is that right now we need you to participate in a way that is part of what has made this nice little story work. We're actually asking you to please go out next week and do the right thing for Wilco. That is, vote with your feet and prove the band's faith well-placed and buy the record. It's available from Tuesday at all kinds of retailers everywhere. Ask for it by name. It's also available here, and for those of you who are more digitally inclined, here.
Okay, enough campaign speeches. You get the message. And we trust that you'll act on it as you always have."
I 100% agree. The least we can do is support the bands we truly love such as Wilco, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, etc.
Also Full Interview with Tweedy HERE
Friday, May 11, 2007
Ben Gibbard Covers: From Neil to Nirvana; Oh and Also National News
Gibby of Death Cab For Cutie covered a couple of songs recently in Massachusetts.
All Apologies
Harvest Moon
Also a new song:
Casino Blues
Also, for your tri-weekly National update
You can listen to the whole new National album Boxer on myspace
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Austin City Limits Festival: Solid Line-up
September 14-16 in Austin, TX
Austin City Limits Music Festival
Bob Dylan, Bjork, The White Stripes, The Killers, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, The National, Wilco, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, Robert Earl Keen, Spoon, Indigo Girls, Lucinda Williams, LCD Soundsystem, Andrew Bird, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Peter Bjorn & John, Yo La Tengo, Blonde Redhead, Midlake, and About a Bazillion MORE
National Update:
I feel like it is my duty to update you on the best band in the country. The National have a new video out for "Mistaken For Strangers" one of my personal favorites on Boxer.
Also, here is another video from the Atlanta show, thanks to my buddy Chewy.
Also, here is another video from the Atlanta show, thanks to my buddy Chewy.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
New Releases and Wilco, etc.
New Music Tuesday:
Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara (available on eMusic) score -N/A
Bjork - Volta P4K - 5.8 Metacritic - 75
The Clientele - God Save the Clientele (available at eMusic)P4k 8.3 and Best new music
Of Montreal - Icons, Abstract, Thee EP P4K - 8.0
Elliot Smith - New Moon (available at eMusic)P4K - 8.7 Metacritic - 82
The Sea & The Cake - Everybody P4K - 7.6 Metacritic - 75
Last week's releases (sorry so late)
Feist - The Reminder Metacritic - 79
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (on Emusic) Metacritic - 79
Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position Metacritic - 83
Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian (on eMusic) Metacritic - 82
Speaking of the new Wilco coming out next week, you can stream the whole album. HERE at AOL
Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara (available on eMusic) score -N/A
Bjork - Volta P4K - 5.8 Metacritic - 75
The Clientele - God Save the Clientele (available at eMusic)P4k 8.3 and Best new music
Of Montreal - Icons, Abstract, Thee EP P4K - 8.0
Elliot Smith - New Moon (available at eMusic)P4K - 8.7 Metacritic - 82
The Sea & The Cake - Everybody P4K - 7.6 Metacritic - 75
Last week's releases (sorry so late)
Feist - The Reminder Metacritic - 79
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (on Emusic) Metacritic - 79
Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position Metacritic - 83
Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian (on eMusic) Metacritic - 82
Speaking of the new Wilco coming out next week, you can stream the whole album. HERE at AOL
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Jeff Tweedy Interview: Festivals and Uncle Tupelo Reunion
Tweedy said this to Spin:
SPIN: Is there a particular festival that you wish you'd attended?
JEFF TWEEDY: I don't think I would have wanted to be at Woodstock without a helicopter, but that would have been pretty amazing. To be honest with you -- and this isn't going to be a very popular comment for a magazine doing a huge feature on festivals -- I generally wouldn't go to one of these unless someone was paying me. I don't mean that to sound crass. I'm just spoiled because, for the last 20 years of my life, I've been able to watch bands from the side of the stage.
...
SPIN: You'll be playing Bonnaroo with the Police -- are all these band
reunions tempting you to re-form Uncle Tupelo?
JT: All I can say is, right now it feels like that would be kind of silly and wouldn't be very productive musically. And as a music fan, I don't know how many times it's happened where I said, "Wow, there's a lot of great artistic ground that just wasn't mined yet." But at the same time, I would never rule it out. And contrary to most people my age, I don't think I ever liked the Police.
Speaking of Reunions, Blue Mountain is apparently reuniting and have tour dates.
Jun 7 2007 8:00P
Twangfest @ the Duck Room @ Blueberry Hill St. Louis, Missouri
Jun 8 2007 8:00P
Proud Larry's Oxford, Mississippi
Jun 9 2007 8:00P
Proud Larry's Oxford, Mississippi
Jun 24 2007 8:00P
Schubas Chicago, Illinois
Jun 30 2007 8:00P
Hal & Mal's Jackson, Mississippi
Monday, May 07, 2007
Modest Mouse and Man Man live in Birmingham
I missed Love as Laughter. Man Man is insane. I have never seen a crazier live band. The band was huddled up tight playing and screaming like you have never seen. Very cool. Their music is very strange but hey sometimes it works (see Tom Waits). Pics and vids describe most of what I saw.
You may want to pause the player to your left so two different things won't be playing.
Isaac Brock is offically a meat. His vocals and guitar were flawless. They honestly absolutely blew the roof off. Crowd was also great. Highlights were "Tiny Cities," "Doin the Cockroach," "Trailer Trash," and "Spitting Venom." Nice mix of old and new. I did want to hear "Parting of the Sensory" or perhaps "March Into the Sea" but oh well I can't complain. The old stuff was nuclear good. I have always wanted to shout "Fakes" with a crowd of people during "Trailer Trash." The sound was a little raspy? But I think it was the arena. Nevertheless, it honestly doesn't matter. On "Florida," "We've Got Everything," and "Missed the Boat," Marr filled in James Mercer's parts very nicely see video below. Marr's guitar and singing are amazing additions. Being on Fourth row was not too shabby. All in all a Very Very solid show. Setlist and video below.
Setlist:
Paper Thin Walls
We've Got Everything
Dashboard
Florida
Fire It Up
Bukowski
Fly Trapped in a Jar
Float On
Education
Trailer Trash (with a partial other song tacked on end?)
Little Motel
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes (partial song on end)
Missed the Boat
Doin the Cockroach
The View
Encore:
Spitting Venom > partial I Came As a Rat
Missed the Boat
You may want to pause the player to your left so two different things won't be playing.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Updated: Arcade Fire and The National Atlanta
Updated:
Thanks to Rich at Cable and Tweed here are a couple of Mp3's from the show.
This one is when Win summoned everyone to the front (funny price is right quote)Quote
Great Version of "Wake Up" from Atlanta with Crowd. Wake Up
For whole show, head over to Cable and Tweed
First off, The National got no respect. Everyone was sitting down the whole time. They still were amazing though. Matt Berninger doesn't play an instrument which is strange but he rocks nonetheless.
They sounded flawless. He truly meated-out on "Mr. November" and "Abel." The new songs sounded great. One variation from the album was on "Squalor Victoria" where he yelled the same a few times at the end of the song. He screamed so hard he almost took a spill. The piano on stage sounded fantastic.
SETLIST:
Start a War
Mistaken for Strangers
Secret Meeting
Slow Show
Abel
Squalor Victoria
Apartment Story
Fake Empire
Mr. November
About Today
Arcade Fire wow is all I can say. With all the hype and expectations, they still lived up to and over and beyond. The venue was like a huge Ryman and I think has a capacity of 4600 and it was nearly if not slap-full. The show started out with some evangelical crazy woman on the screens running up and down the stage (on the screen) Then everyone comes piling out (all ten of them) and start it off with a flawless "Black Mirror." AF steamed through neon bible with "Neighborhood 2 (Laika)" and "Haiti" sandwiched in between. Laika was a definite highlight where Will and red-headed dude were acting like African tribesman on two miscellaneous drum sets on the stage.
LAIKA
The entire show everyone one would play a different instrument. Win played Keys, Organ, Mandolin, bass, and guitar, while Regine played drums, keys, organ, etc. They had 2 permanent violinists and 2 permanent horn guys (who looked completely normal by the way.) Bullhorns, stand-up bass, multiple percussions, keyboards, organs, mandolins, guitars, violins, clarinets, trumpets, (some instrument I have no idea what it was), accordians, were all played and I am probably leaving something out.
Probably the best part of the show:
I was on the second actual row, but there was a little sitting area with fold out chairs where people stood. Finally, on "Power Out" Win told everyone to come to that area. He said something to the effect of these chairs are driving me crazy will yall come up here to the front. Security tried to stop us but Win told them to let us through. As everyone jumped up and down screaming AF could not have sounded better. The crowd was pandomoneum.
Power Out
Then, they went merged straight into "Rebellion(Lies)." All of the sudden we look up and Will is tight-roping the rail up to the balcony with drum in hand high-fiving everyone. I can't believe he did not fall. Go Here to see the rail he climbed. Something caught my eye behind me only to find two high-schoolers making out (or snagging as we called it) like there is not tomorrow. Honestly, this kid probably had the best night of his life. Then, I saw one white girl on the front row up on somebody's shoulder flash her boobs to the band. Then a black girl flashed her boobs up in the balcony. As if it could not get any better, they barrell into "Keep the Car Running."
Then they come out for the first encore with a flawless "Intervention" thick-torqued organ and all. They walked off the stage only to return with none other than "Wake Up" which everyone in the crowd went ape to. Everyone in the crowd black, white, chinese, indie, mid-life crisis, high-schoolers, corporate, hippy all screamed side by side to the choral singing of the song. Incredible experience. Honestly the best show I have ever seen.
Black Mirror
No Cars Go
Neighborhood 2(Laika)
Haiti
Black Wave
My Body is A Cage
Windowsill
The Well and the Lighthouse
Ocean of Noise
Neighborhood 1 (Tunnels)
Power Out>
Rebellion (lies)
Keep the Car Running
___________
Encore:
Intervention
Encore 2 :
Wake Up
Thanks to Rich at Cable and Tweed here are a couple of Mp3's from the show.
This one is when Win summoned everyone to the front (funny price is right quote)Quote
Great Version of "Wake Up" from Atlanta with Crowd. Wake Up
For whole show, head over to Cable and Tweed
First off, The National got no respect. Everyone was sitting down the whole time. They still were amazing though. Matt Berninger doesn't play an instrument which is strange but he rocks nonetheless.
They sounded flawless. He truly meated-out on "Mr. November" and "Abel." The new songs sounded great. One variation from the album was on "Squalor Victoria" where he yelled the same a few times at the end of the song. He screamed so hard he almost took a spill. The piano on stage sounded fantastic.
SETLIST:
Start a War
Mistaken for Strangers
Secret Meeting
Slow Show
Abel
Squalor Victoria
Apartment Story
Fake Empire
Mr. November
About Today
Arcade Fire wow is all I can say. With all the hype and expectations, they still lived up to and over and beyond. The venue was like a huge Ryman and I think has a capacity of 4600 and it was nearly if not slap-full. The show started out with some evangelical crazy woman on the screens running up and down the stage (on the screen) Then everyone comes piling out (all ten of them) and start it off with a flawless "Black Mirror." AF steamed through neon bible with "Neighborhood 2 (Laika)" and "Haiti" sandwiched in between. Laika was a definite highlight where Will and red-headed dude were acting like African tribesman on two miscellaneous drum sets on the stage.
LAIKA
The entire show everyone one would play a different instrument. Win played Keys, Organ, Mandolin, bass, and guitar, while Regine played drums, keys, organ, etc. They had 2 permanent violinists and 2 permanent horn guys (who looked completely normal by the way.) Bullhorns, stand-up bass, multiple percussions, keyboards, organs, mandolins, guitars, violins, clarinets, trumpets, (some instrument I have no idea what it was), accordians, were all played and I am probably leaving something out.
Probably the best part of the show:
I was on the second actual row, but there was a little sitting area with fold out chairs where people stood. Finally, on "Power Out" Win told everyone to come to that area. He said something to the effect of these chairs are driving me crazy will yall come up here to the front. Security tried to stop us but Win told them to let us through. As everyone jumped up and down screaming AF could not have sounded better. The crowd was pandomoneum.
Power Out
Then, they went merged straight into "Rebellion(Lies)." All of the sudden we look up and Will is tight-roping the rail up to the balcony with drum in hand high-fiving everyone. I can't believe he did not fall. Go Here to see the rail he climbed. Something caught my eye behind me only to find two high-schoolers making out (or snagging as we called it) like there is not tomorrow. Honestly, this kid probably had the best night of his life. Then, I saw one white girl on the front row up on somebody's shoulder flash her boobs to the band. Then a black girl flashed her boobs up in the balcony. As if it could not get any better, they barrell into "Keep the Car Running."
Then they come out for the first encore with a flawless "Intervention" thick-torqued organ and all. They walked off the stage only to return with none other than "Wake Up" which everyone in the crowd went ape to. Everyone in the crowd black, white, chinese, indie, mid-life crisis, high-schoolers, corporate, hippy all screamed side by side to the choral singing of the song. Incredible experience. Honestly the best show I have ever seen.
Black Mirror
No Cars Go
Neighborhood 2(Laika)
Haiti
Black Wave
My Body is A Cage
Windowsill
The Well and the Lighthouse
Ocean of Noise
Neighborhood 1 (Tunnels)
Power Out>
Rebellion (lies)
Keep the Car Running
___________
Encore:
Intervention
Encore 2 :
Wake Up
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