More Cowbell bids a fond farewell to The Jayhawks, and naturally it got me thinking about my relationship with the band (or their music, anyways). I don’t have a terrific story about discovering them or how much they meant to me – to be honest, I got Tomorrow The Green Grass from Columbia House or something way back in… 1996? when I was just discovering the whole alt.country thing. Their name would pop up in email lists or whatever as being part of that scene and I think I’d heard “Blue” on the radio a couple times, so I ordered it. Hey – 12 CDs for a penny, how can you go wrong? Anyway, I listened to it a couple times, and filed it away. It was alright, but probably didn’t “rock” enough for me at the time.

From there I eventually picked up all their records, mostly whenever I got the craving for more twang than my CD collection at the time could provide. Hell, I think I even bought Smile twice, having sold it once when I was not craving the twang (not that that record offered a whole lot of twang). But somewhere along the way, I grew to really appreciate their stuff, even through all their different incarnations. I’d get excited when I heard some Jayhawks in a TV commercial or over the PA in a grocery store. I discovered the awesomeness of Gary Louris’ guitar tones and really, the production of all their records is sublime – just listen to Rainy Day Music on a good stereo sometime. Fantastic. It was like how a casual aquaintance can become a good friend over time without you even realizing it. I feel lucky to have gotten to finally see them perform two excellent shows in the last few years, once opening for Lucinda Williams and then early last year headlining their own show.

And now they’re calling it a day, at least for now. Fans who’d hoped that the current tour with Gary Louris and prodigal Mark Olsen would lead to a full-fledged reunion of the original lineup must be particularly stung by the news. I’m not especially surprised, though. When a band goes silent for the better part of a year, a live album is put on the release calendar and then shelved, when there’s more news about solo records and side projects than the main band, you know something’s up. But I’m glad for them – sometimes a change of situation is just what one needs to get the batteries charged up again. As I mentioned yesterday, the dissolution news is tempered a bit by news of drummer Tim O’Reagan’s first solo album coming out on April 1 (and it’ll feature most if not all the ‘Hawks anyway) and Louris’ contributions to a new Golden Smog record. The Jayhawks may be shelved, but they’re not going anywhere. Cheers, guys, and thanks.

I did make it to see The Empires at the Horseshoe last night. With every band strip-mining the 80s UK indie scene for inspiration of late, it’s good to see a band get the jump on things and start exhuming the early 90s for a change. The two points of comparison that came to mind while watching them were either a less combustible Swervedriver or a Catherine Wheel without the imminent threat of metal. Take that as you will. While they’ll hopefully grow into some more stage presence with time, their performance was pretty good though it lacked the nuance and texture of their recorded material – the keyboards that grace the studio versions of their songs weren’t coming across very well in the live setting. I wish bands wouldn’t try so hard to rock out live if it comes at the expense of the songs. Sometimes quiet and restraint can be far more powerful. Anyway, I would certainly peg them as having quite a bit of potential and worth watching. If you want to sample some of their stuff, listen to “Lesbian Games” off their website. Awful song title, but pretty good song. And man, I don’t want to think about the Google hits I’m going to get from typing that out.

I’ve been waiting for them to confirm this one for a little while, but The Album Leaf will be at the Horseshoe on April 5, tickets $8. I’ve only heard a little of his stuff (thanks to Epitonic, Better Propaganda), but it sounds interesting. anyone want to testify as to whether it will make for a good live show?

Bradley’s Almanac keeps the live tracks coming with an Ida show in Boston this past Sunday.

I think I missed this one… and now it’s sort of old… but anyway… Tiny Mix Tapes interviews Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.

Stereogum gives us nightmares.

np – The Wedding Present / Take Fountain

March 13th’s Wavelength looks to be a good one with Jens Lekman making what I think is his Toronto debut. Already a star in his native Sweden, Lekman trades in the sort of cleverly gorgeous pop melancholia that makes the indie kids swoon. Need proof?

There’s some audio clips here, No Love For Ned features an in-studio set in this week’s show, his North American label Secretly Canadian also has some rare mp3s available for your sampling as well as some full length mp3s and a video taken from his new album When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog, which came out last year. I admit I’ve only heard a little bit of Lekman’s stuff, but it seems quite nice and will probably be enough to drag me out to Sneaky Dee’s on a Sunday night. And I’m feeling partial to Swedes lately.

MP3: Jens Lekman – “You Are The Light”

The other act that night will be The Dating Service, described as “critical synth-pop from members of The Hidden Cameras and Republic of Safety. Head Camera Joel Gibb also handles DJ duties. Admission as always is pay-what-you-can.

While the news hasn’t been good from Wheat-land, there’s at least a silver lining to their current state of hiatus. This site has a number of live and radio shows available for download and enjoyment, courtesy of the band. They’re also hoping to re-release Medeiros and Hope and Adams (I didn’t realize they were out of print) and maybe even the “naked” version of Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second that was originally supposed to come out on Nude Records. I would love for that to see the light of day as I thought the Aware version that eventually did come out was horribly overproduced and really didn’t do the songs justice. The Nude recordings were much more alive. As for what the Wheat boys are doing now, Ricky has a new band called Duresse and he says that a new project with Scott and Brendan will be turning up any day now.

And speaking of break-ups, The Jayhawks are done (bugmenot: thisisbull / thisisbull). Alas. That Tim O’Reagan solo record sounds mighty interesting, though, and a new Golden Smog record will always be welcome in my home. Silver linings, folks. Silver linings.

Billboard talks to Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo about assembling the Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs, 1985-2003 compilation (due out March 22) and what to expect from the band in the way of new music, namely a couple of soundtracks that may never get released, and a new album which the band is “slowly at work on”.

Stylus declares it’s always time for Laura Cantrell, and points to this interview with her at Drowned In Sound.

Further poking around the Drowned In Sound site reveals this interview with Ambulance LTD. I gotta bookmark that site.

Bradley’s Almanac has the second half of that Wedding Present live set available to download now. Go get it. I still don’t have Take Fountain. Will try again tonight.

Folks looking for something to do in town tonight may want to swing by the Horseshoe for Nu Nusic Night – The Empires are a local combo who play some pretty nice moody space rock. I’ve been meaning to check them out for a while now and if I can get off my ass to be down there for 9:30, I may well do so.

24: So we’re what – ten hours in now? We’re right on schedule for the mid-season ennui to set in. You know, that difficult middle period where the characters are given the equivalent of busy work before things really ramp up into the final few hours of over-the-top madness. This is when we get the subplots like characters getting amnesia, getting attacked by mountain lions, etc. I don’t fault the producers that much – twenty-four hours of solid story is a lot to ask – but it can be a bit of a trial. Anyway, surely they should know by now that anytime anyone leaves CTU, they get ambushed. Go to get the security footage of that party? Ambushed. Go to get that computer file from that place (wasn’t paying that much attention)? Ambushed. Go to the parking lot? Ambushed. Go out to get a coffee? Ambushed. I must admit, I’m a little shocked that no one assassinated Paul at the end of the episode there. But assuming that they’ve now unveiled this season’s real Big Bad, it has to be noted, as Curtis so astutely observed, that he’s American. So much for villainizing Muslims – they’re just pawns in all this. Five will get you six that Mr Height Complex is doing this to make money. Evil evil corporations. Doesn’t that make it white dudes who were the bad guys in all four seasons now?

np – The Futureheads / The Futureheads

I’d been looking forward to The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou for almost a year now, and yet still took a couple months since its release to get around to seeing it. What can I say. I like Wes Anderson’s films – I wouldn’t say I’m a devotee the way that some are, but I do appreciate his distinctive quirks and directorial style. It’s a simple thing, but the way that he likes to frame his shots with the main subjects in the dead centre of a symmetrical setting is enormously pleasing to me.

Clocking in at two hours, The Life Aquatic is his most ambitious film yet, or at least the biggest budget. It follows a team of marine documentarians as they set out to hunt down the jaguar shark that killed one of their number while making a film about it. Anderson favourite Bill Murray is the titular team leader and the rest of the cast is filled with faces familiar from Anderson’s past films (Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston). While I thoroughly enjoyed the film as a whole, I can’t call it a complete success. There are some tremendously funny scenes and the quirks and eccentricites are terrific, ie – the Bowie songs sung in Portugese, the stop-animation marine life, the cutaway dolls-house set for the interior of the Belafonte.

It was also nice to see Bill Murray emote a little in a performance for a change – he’s become a little too adept at that stoic, emotionally defeated, deadpan thing of late. While he’s hardly scenery-chewing, he is a little more animated and it looks good on him. The beard works, too. I was a little disappointed in the story, however. I didn’t think it managed to hit the right notes to provide enough emotional heft to the story of Murray and Wilson as his presumed long-lost son, Ned Plimpton. Overall, the narrative seemed maybe a little too obtuse and didn’t build to the climax(es) that effectively, but it was still a fun film. And I’m not sure if the action sequences, which Anderson has never really tried before, were meant to come off like they were coreographed by the Max Fischer Players. Probably, but you never know.

Unfinished reports that The Life Aquatic will get the Criterion DVD treatment and be released on May 10. Details here.

Arcade Fire, April 27th, Danforth Music Hall. Tickets $20, on sale February 24. It’s a seated show, but I’m not sure if that means reserved seating or a free-for-all. Any bets on how fast this sells out? Not surprisingly, there is some griping from folks who’d prefer the band continues to play little loft shows for pay-what-you-can. Win responds. I don’t know if I can do this one, I’ve got a show the night before and I have to move that weekend. Anyway, there’s also an interview with the band at the Arcade Fire Web Community message board.

Stereolab fans should take note that Monade, Laetitia Sadier’s side project, will be in town at Lee’s Palace on May 16 to promote their second album A Few Steps More, out March 8. Tickets are $15.

Whilst assembling my SxSW wish list for next month, I jotted down March 19 at Stubb’s in Austin – that’ll be the first Son Volt concert in something like nine years. I’ve never seen Son Volt or Jay solo, so I’d like to get into that one though it’s sure to be a hot ticket. And for those who insist this new lineup ain’t Son Volt, you can take comfort in the release of their Austin City Limits performance on DVD April 19th or the Anthology compilation, out May 24 on Rhino.

np – Cinerama / Torino

I was going to see the Rwanda genocide documentary Shake Hands With The Devil last night at the Bloor, but was just too exhausted and didn’t think I could handle something quite that heavy. So I stayed home and watched one of my favourite movies of last year (and one of the greatest films ever, for my money), Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle instead. I’d seen it before off of a bootleg VCD but this was my first opportunity to see it in all of its full digital widescreen glory. Still awesomely funny. I had not realized that Freakshow was played by the guy who plays Stabler on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. That just blows my mind. They really need to make a sequel to this.

As a primer to his show with the Dukes at Palais Royale on March 4, Steve Earle will be a keynote speaker for Canadian Music Week that afternoon at the Royal York. I’d like to go, but the $20 admission is a little dear and it’s at 12:30, so I’d end up having to miss work.

Five Seventeen has finally “released” the Teenbeat tribute record he was overseeing, just in time for their twentieth anniversary festivities in DC next week. I actually make an appearance on one track, adding guitar to a cover of In Camera’s “Fragments Of Fear”, which is otherwise performed entirely by Five under the name of Nora Drenaline. You can hear it and all the other tribute tracks here. I was originally going to cover Luna’s “Bobby Peru” all on my own, but I just didn’t have the time to get it all together (Teenbeat put out the vinyl edition of Pup Tent back in 1997, hence their eligibility). The Washington Post has a piece on the label’s birthday (bugmenot: biasedmedia@yahoo.com / rathered).

It occurs to me that I have to do my taxes this week.

np – various SxSW preview tracks

One of the acts I’m most looking forward to seeing at SxSW is New York’s Asobi Seksu. I won’t be in town in time to catch their evening showcase, but I will be at their daytime show at Emo’s on the 18th. I only got their debut self-titled album this week, but it’s already burned its way into my consciousness. Curiously, it sort of sounds like three different bands on the album, depending on who’s taking vocals and what language they’re singing in.

When Yuki Chikudate is singing in Japanese, it sounds like a giddy combination of Puffy Ami Yumi J-pop vocals over top of a huge wall of My Bloody Valentine-ish barbed wire guitars, but when she’s singing in English the music takes on a darker, more edgy quality not unlike Caithlin De Marrais of Rainer Maria. But when guitarist James Hanna steps up to the mic, things get rather drab and plodding by comparison, sorry.

Asobi Seksu is a fairly strong debut with a few fantastic high points, a number of good songs and only a couple that don’t quite inspire. It’s somewhat front-end loaded but is very addictive and enjoyable all the way through and definitely augers well for the future.

MP3: Asobi Seksu – “I’m Happy But You Don’t Like Me”

MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Sooner”

There’s a few more downloadable goodies available on their website, and Earlash has this interview with the band from last Summer.

Womenfolk profiles Feist, whose Let It Die will finally be coming out in the US in April. They’ve also got a couple mp3s from Feist’s first record, Monarch, which used to be pretty easy to turn up in the used bins around town but now? Not so much.

The CBC addresses complaints that Muslims are portrayed badly in 24 by pointing out the good guys don’t come off much better.

Snow Patrol are coming back to town on May 18 at the Kool Haus and they’re bringing some of their Britpop buddies with them. Support for the show will be Embrace and Athlete. I’m amazed that Embrace is still around. I got a copy of their debut The Good Will Out from my college paper to review back in, like, 97 or 98 and I remember it being unremarkable and actually one of the records that signalled to me that perhaps my Britpop days were over. I thought they split up. As for Athlete, well Stylus is not impressed.

Bradley’s Almanac has the new video for Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” for your viewing pleasure. It’s a big file, download that puppy.

Microsoft offers some helpful tips on understanding what the kids are trying to say on the internet these days. Sadly, I actually found the information helpful. Thanks to More Cowbell for the link.

Was out last night to celebrate yet another 30th birthday for one of my friends (Sudeep is now an old man) and ended up at another of my frequent mid-20s haunts, Ye Olde Dance Cave, for old time’s sake. They’ve done some minor renovations to the place since I was last there probably a couple years ago, but it’s still got that same hole-in-the-wall vibe. We even scored our old table way back on the left of the stage. Good times, even though I didn’t really recognize a lot of the music they were playing (as opposed to when I was a regular and I knew the playlist top to bottom). But one of the things about going out and feeling young in the evening is feeling old in the morning. Ow.

np – Elliott Smith / From A Basement On The Hill