As predicted, I was able to find a used copy of Ryan Adams’ love-it-or-hate-it Rock N Roll just a week after release. And you know what? I neither love it nor hate it. It’s a pastiche of rock styles from the late 70s through 80s and some homages work better than others. The T-Rex stomping riff-rockers don’t work so well – no fault of Adams’, really, but it’s tough for anyone not named Marc Bolan to make songs like that sound anything beyond ordinary. He’s more successful with his janglier-sounding numbers, in the vein of The Replacements or U2. Yeah, U2. Maybe a third of this album is what I’d call decent to good material, the rest is pretty disposable. I think Lost Highway screwed up by making this one the full-length and Love Is Hell the EPs, but since we’re getting the whole of Love Is Hell eventually, it doesn’t really matter.

Going to see Liz Phair’s instore at Sunrise Records this afternoon, and then her show with Wheat this evening. Do I go to praise her or bury her? I’m not sure yet. I do feel more ambivalence towards this show than anticipation. I will expand on this after the show. Don’t expect pictures, though – I don’t trust the cam to not get confiscated by The Guvernment’s goonie security chimps.

np – Ryan Adams / Rock N Roll

From Bradley’s Almanac – a complete live set from My Bloody Valentine. This show is from May 1989 at the Axis in Boston and the sound quality is pretty good considering it’s almost 15 years old. Click here.

The new Doves album, scheduled for a March 9 release, has been given a working title of Winning Days.

The Belle & Sebastian DVD Fans Only has been given a North American release date of January 20 from Matador Records. The same day, B&S-wannabes Camera Obscura’s sophomore record Underachievers Please Try Harder gets a release on these shores courtesy of Merge, who are releasing a DVD of their own that day – Superchunk’s Crowding Up Your Visual Field, pushed back from this Fall.

The Observer delves into the wisdom of Wayne Coyne.

Matthew Sweet fans should check out this repository of b-sides and unreleased material, all available for download.

Last two links from Largehearted Boy. In these slow news days, I don’t know what I’d do for content if not for LHB. All hail!

MP3.com is history. They’ve been bought by CNET and as of December 2, 2003, will no longer be available. While their usability has gone to shit as of late – having to fill out their subscription form EVERY time I visit and want to hear something is absurd – they did offer a pretty groundbreaking and valuable resource in their time. Alas.

np – Calexico / Feast Of Wire

The tail end of the little rain/windstorm last night knocked out the power in my apartment tonight, leaving things decidedly on the pitch side of black (for those just joining us, I live in a basement with a modest amount of natural light on the best of days). I’d anticipated this scenario and had dug out my bicycle headlights (no, I don’t own a flashlight) so I was still able to get see somewhat, get around my apartment and confirm that I had absolutely nothing to amuse me without any power. And I was hungry. I wanted popcorn. So, after sitting around for a little while hoping the power would come back on, I got my coat and umbrella and headed out into the night.

First thing I saw in the sky were the spotlights from the Paramount or the Air Canada Centre or wherever the hell it is downtown that has spotlights going every night. It seemed this blackout wasn’t very widespread. In fact, it didn’t even extend down my whole block let alone my street – just the stretch of houses around mine. Nice. So as I trudged toward the 7-11 a few blocks away (I was craving popcorn, remember), the street became more and more lit up – by the time I got to the store and its excessive fluoresence, I was feeling like a Morlock creeping out from the sewers to feed on the Eloi… or their popped corn, at least. I grabbed the foodstuffs I needed and lurched back into the darkness. “My preciousssss…”

Thankfully, the power came back on about 10 minutes after I got home and I didn’t go feral or anything.

Excellent Online has a feature they’re calling “PopKIDS”, which is basically 4th graders offering their unvarnished comments on random indie/alt songs. Initial targets are Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham and The Salteens, and The Lucksmiths and From Bubblegum To Sky.

Neil Halstead talks to Penny Black Music about Spoon And Rafter and also mentions the possibility of rereleasing a pile of Slowdive material in the near future. That would be nice for everyone who’s had to pay upwards of $50 on eBay for a copy of Pygmalion. And this is coming from someone who’s sold a few copies of Pygmalion on eBay for upwards of $50…

Just a quick note to Torontonians – Joel Plaskett is doing a free instore at Soundscapes on College St at noon next Saturday, November 22.

I just checked my Air Miles account. Over four years of collecting the things now and I’ve accumulated enough miles to almost get me to the airport.

np – The Wrens / The Meadowlands

24 commentary for this week – I actually didn’t have anything to say about this week’s episode, besides the usual (Kim needs to die, etc). I thought it was pretty solid. But those last few seconds… He shot him in the ear? Who shoots someone in the ear? I mean, really. He was probably aiming for the soul patch.

Vice has a typically snotty article about bands screwing indie labels, but the bit about Teenage Fanclub versus Matador Records is particularly interesting. The Fannies seem like such nice boys, the idea of Matador’s Gerard Cosloy hating them with a fire that rivals the very pits of hell is an odd one. Link from Ypersound.com.

More Matador-related horror stories here: a slew of bands are asked, “What was your worst memory of touring with Yo La Tengo?” Hilarious anecdotes ensue. From Largehearted Boy.

Congratulations to Doc Halladay on winning his first Cy Young award by a landslide. That’s four Cy Youngs for Blue Jays pitchers in eight years – pretty damned impressive, and also ironic. We somehow manage to have both the best pitching in the league and no pitching at all.

np – The Weakerthans / Reconstruction Site

Election day yesterday, and I’m gratified to see the right man (in my opinion) won. I love this city and have been increasingly frustrated over the past years watching an incompetent city hall continually squander Toronto’s potential with half-assed schemes and questionable ethics, to say the least. The new guy, David Miller, is someone I’m genuinely excited about – it’s not often that I feel like I’m voting FOR someone as opposed to voting against someone else. Congratulations, Mr. Miller. Here’s to the future.

The actual process of voting was kinda frustrating – for no reason other than there was a very pretty girl in line right in front of me, and for 20 minutes I couldn’t think of a goddamn thing to say. “So, who’re you voting for,” didn’t seem appropriate, and so… And if this story sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because it is. Yeah, what we have here is a chronic inability to speak to women. All hail me. If you want to make me feel like more of a dork, feel free to post what you would have said in that situation.

Listened to Ryan Adams’ Gold again for the first time in a very long time. Time hasn’t changed my initial opinion – too long, too overproduced. And it’s a shame, cause there’s some good tunes on there. And then I listened to Whiskeytown’s debut Faithless Street… I hate to sound like one of those mooks who’s all, “man the early stuff was so much better”, but the artists don’t have to make it so damn easy. But I think Love Is Hell is good, and is hopefully a return to form and not an aberration.

Some additional tour news – opening for Adams will be The Stills who SOOO impressed me this Fall opening for Interpol (if you’re not catching the sarcasm, read this). Lame-o opener plus $25 ticket plus Wednesday night show in my least favorite venue equals me not going to go.

Belle & Sebastian fans are urged to pick up the latest issue of Magnet. There’s a very illuminating and forthright interview with the band about their early days, the ones that were, at the time, shrouded in secrecy. They talk about the chaos and politics that plagued the band for most of its existance. Of particular interest is some insight into the famously cancelled Toronto concert in Fall 1998 – the one that was supposed to be at the Opera House but was cancelled at the last minute with a hand-scrawled note taped to the front door of the venue due to ‘food poisoning’ or something. Turns out, that was a righteous bit of spin… And you get more dirt on Stuart and Isobel than you thought would ever be revealed. It’s amazing how little I knew about a band I’ve been following for over five years now.

While on the subject, Chart has a review of Saturday night’s show.

Another reason to get the new Magnet is this quote from a deliberately snarky review of the new Peaches by Andrew Earles:

“According to Peaches, I want to fuck her. According to Peaches, everyone wants to fuck her. If her image and lyrics are to be believed, fucking Peaches would be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway.”

Man, that’s good.

Record Store Review is a neat site that lets you rate and review your local independent music merchants. There’s quite a few for Toronto, though it appears some people out there don’t like Rotate This’ attitude. I’m aghast. Really, I am.

Ok, not really.

np – Spoon / Kill The Moonlight