Thursday, February 16th, 2006
Hello Amsterdam
“Hello Amsterdam my name is Fernando
Hello Amsterdam I bet you’ve seen my kind before
Another sad tourist with his eyes rolling in his head
Another sad tourist who never had a drink before”
– “Hello Amsterdam”, American Music Club
So hi from Amsterdam. I’m not entirely sure what day it is… The flight out was pretty uneventful, I slept through pretty much all of it. I may still be jet-lagged though, I’m really not sure. I guess I’ll find out tonight. The photo was taken out of a window at the Lloyd Hotel, where I’m staying. It’s pretty nice here – I’ve got a view of a canal. I suspect I’ll spend most of the rest of today puttering about and planning the rest of the trip properly. Hopefully the weather will be a little less damp and blustery, but I somehow doubt it. Either way, I’ll surely have more to report tomorrow, but for now I will sign off on the travel end and rattle some music news.
With the release of The Cardigans’ Super Extra Gravity in Canada, there’s another flurry of press with the band – here’s an interview with Nina Persson with JAM!.
Chromewaves faves She Wants Revenge are at the Horseshoe on April 9 and super-heavy but still somehow indie-friendly Isis are at Lee’s a fortnight later on April 27.
There’s now an e-card for Trespassers William’s Having, allowing you to preview a few tracks before the record is released on February 28.
Drummer Murph talks to Pitchfork about zombie Dinosaur Jr’s recording plans – “just kind of hanging out, getting ready, jamming around…” So don’t get too excited about a new album just yet.
From the department of broken-up bands: Luna’s farewell tour DVD Tell Me That You Miss Me will be out in May on DVD but first premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival at the end of April. And around the same time, The Delgados will release a double-disc collection of all their Peel Session tracks. And Emma Pollock’s website finally has a little content to it, and an opportunity to sign up for her mailing list and get an exclusive MP3 for your troubles.
np – Olympic Curling / “HAAARD!!! HAAAAAAAARD!”
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2/16/06 11:46 am
Can I just state for the record that I am absolutely flabbergasted that you have been sent to Amsterdam, FREE OF CHARGE, just for being a blogger?
2/16/06 11:47 am
you and me both, man. and yet, here I am. And it hasn’t turned into an outtake from "Hostel" yet.
2/16/06 11:52 am
Have a great time. I was in Amsterdam one year ago today as a matter of fact. It was really cold.
2/16/06 11:59 am
Although it’s a little pricey, the Anne Frank house is well worth the price of admission – as if you weren’t already going to check it out !?. Having absolutely no frame of reference from living in WWII times, walking through her annex allows me some kind of attachment to the feelings that my Grandmother still vividly recalls.
If you weren’t already going to do it, rent a Bike for a day and travel around.
Also maybe it was just the Red Light district that got me thinking this way, but the number of Phallic symbols in that city is astounding. Starting with the pillars lining the cobblestone roads.
2/16/06 2:23 pm
Hey, I was in Amsterdam last week! (Not really astounding, I live nearby, in Utrecht where Jens Lekman will be playing tomorrow)
2/16/06 2:30 pm
Anne Frank Museum (in my opinion) was really not very special. I felt they could have done more with this. I was waiting for it to be over with from the 1st second I walked in. I think Amsterdam is a wonderful city to visit in the summer, as everyone is out and super friendly. The vibe cannot be beat. Go have some Indonesian food. The Van Gogh museum was also a let-down for me. All in all though, it’s my favorite European city.
2/16/06 6:58 pm
If you have the time, do the the Heineken Museum tour. There is a time-limited AYCD sampling of their product at the end (at least this was the case ten years ago).
2/17/06 5:41 am
Note that the Heineken brewery is closed on Mondays. I found that out <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photo…">the hard way</a>. They don’t do AYCD anymore, but rather <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photo…">3 drinks and a gift</a>
Also: I think EVERYWHERE in Amsterdam has a canal view. And also, if you can, do a canal boat tour. A good way to get some good info and stay warm and dry. And definitely do the Anne Frank House. I found it very powerful.
2/17/06 5:54 am
Err, looks like you don’t do links the way I thought you did… sorry about that manglage. :)
2/17/06 9:01 am
elbow april 17th … anyone know where?
2/18/06 6:00 am
no venue info yet, but I’m guessing Opera House.