Friday, May 13th, 2005

Jenny, You're Barely Alive

Rolling Stone gets a preview of Jenny Lewis’ solo record, tenatively titled Rabbit Fur Coat and due out in January of 2006. Thanks to Achtung Baby for the link. Lewis also tells The Kansas City Star (and repeats it to The Detroit News, via LHB) that Rilo Kiley has graduated from the distribution deal that they had with Warner Bros through their own label Beaute/Brute, and have officially signed with the major label. More Adventurous will be getting re-released in the near future, which seems an odd move considering that the album has not been hard to find at all in major retail stores – in fact, it’s already been discount priced. But the majors will do what the majors will do… Rilo Kiley are at the Opera House next Thursday.

Chart has a tenative list of all the artists scheduled to appear at NXNE next month. I’m looking at the list and… to be honest, save for the local bands who are usually playing around Toronto anyway, I don’t know hardly any of them. I’d certainly like to make it out to a couple of the shows this year, but am going to need some guidance on what’s worth seeing. Recommendations anyone? I like what I’ve heard of Catlow and Marah put on a good show, but otherwise nothing’s jumping out at me.

Billboard talks to Sleater-Kinney about the writing process of their new album, The Woods. Word is is that this is their heaviest album yet, and I believe it – the audio clip on their webpage nearly blew my speakers.

Drowned In Sound interviews British Sea Power siblings Yan and Hamilton. British Sea Power are at Lee’s next Tuesday.

Portastatic have completed a new album, Bright Ideas, slated for release in August. The last Portastatic album was practically a Superchunk record anyway, so it’s hard to be disappointed that Mac is concentrating on the side-project these days, but still – I hope this isn’t a sign that the ‘Chunk are going to be in mothballs for the long term.

Stream half the new Pernice Brothers album off their shiny new website. The stuff certainly sounds different from the solo acoustic renditions, that’s for sure. Discover A Lovelier You, out June 14, seems to continue to mark Joe’s progression further and further away from the orchestrated pop of his first few records and into more rock territory.

Someone please remind me when this comes out, please?

Daily Yomiuri previews the Canadian Wet tour hitting Japan this weekend. Via Pop (All Love).

Here are my photos from Wednesday night’s Mountain Goats show. And as a chaser, check out Zoilus’ piece on The Sunset Tree from last week’s Globe & Mail.

My stereo amplifier, an NAD 302, sounds great but is old school and has no remote. I, being lazy, don’t like having to get up and walk over to it everytime I want to switch a source or adjust the volume. Buying a new integrated amp just to address this seems unnecessary and buying a receiver is also not in the plans at this time, so I am going to build a remote. I figure a length of wooden dowel around 2 meters long will be sufficient to let me poke the channel buttons from my couch. I haven’t figured out how I’m going to handle the volume knob, though. Maybe magnets.

np – Swervedriver / Ejector Seat Reservation

By : Frank Yang at 9:16 am
Category: Uncategorized
Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
RSS Feed for this post23 Responses.

  1. 5/13/05 9:28 am

     Jimminy Cricket says:

    i suugested a suction cup for the end of your "remote", like lazy golfers use on the end of their putters to pick the ball out of the hole. Schmuck, on the volume knob and rotate away. Split the patent with me OK.

  2. 5/13/05 9:32 am

     chris says:

    you can hear/download some of the jenny lewis solo stuff (live recordings) @ http://…/

  3. 5/13/05 10:07 am

     jrmy says:

    My favorite video store here in Providence has a neat little extendo-claw that people can use to reach the videos on the otherwise-out-of-reach shelves. I think you can actually get it from those "science toys for kids" sorts of catalogs (sadly, I have no names of specific catalogs for you). That could do the trick in regards to the volume knob as well….

  4. 5/13/05 10:10 am

     TS says:

    Couple of things:

    – that band Jem – what have they done besides get on soundtracks for the OC and SFU?

    – I too looked at the list of bands – i won’t know what to see either until they are organized into neat little showcases….then I might have a clue. However, I am psyched to see the Telepathic Butterflies! I have to say I’m a little underwhelmed – and the exciting showcases are ticketed. C’est la vie!

  5. 5/13/05 10:13 am

     Frank says:

    one of those claw things would be awesome. I got one from a McDonald’s Happy Meal when I was a kid, but I don’t think I have it anymore. It ruled, though.

    All I know about that Jem chick is that she’s cute.

    http://…/

    and yeah, there’s no one act on the NXNE list that’s getting me off my ass, but if some of the showcases pile together a few decent acts, I could be persuaded.

  6. 5/13/05 10:23 am

     PG says:

    nxne = bbbqs! the extra b stands for…uh, not quite sure yet.

    excited to see inward eye again.

  7. 5/13/05 10:24 am

     PEI Brian says:

    About NXNE… a band totally worth checking out is Two Hours Traffic. They have some of their old stuff on newmusiccanada but they just released their first LP and it’s a dandy. I believe they’re playing the Horseshoe, I’m not sure which night though.

  8. 5/13/05 10:33 am

     ryan says:

    don’t bother getting reminded about that 6 feet under disc; every used bin in the world will be overflowing with these in 6 months.

  9. 5/13/05 10:36 am

     Frank says:

    okay, i totally didn’t mean to link to the 6FU soundtrack story. Stupid pitchfork for constantly changing the links to their stories. IT’S CALLED A PERMALINK, PEOPLE.

    I meant to link to the bit on the CD coming out with The Believer.

  10. 5/13/05 10:41 am

     Paul says:

    Frank, I think you’re going to like the new Pernice album quite a bit. It’s got a very 1986 London/Stephen Street production feel to it.

  11. 5/13/05 10:46 am

     suckingalemon says:

    it’s awful that after looking at that nxne list, the band im most excited about is fembots.

    i really do not understand why sxse is one of the biggest events in north america yet nxnw gets sadder every year.

    hopefully the showcases will be well put together and something decent will pop up.

    or maybe someone should let eric warner put on nxne since overthetop was so amazing this year.

    cheers

  12. 5/13/05 10:47 am

     suckingalemon says:

    oops. i keep getting my letters criss-crossed. *nxne and sxsw.

  13. 5/13/05 11:26 am

     mike says:

    I’m going to be a stickler for grammar suckingalemon…I think you meant you UNDERSTAND why sxsw is one of the biggest events in north america yet nxne gets sadder every year….

    As much as I’m a little disappointed in the tentative artist lineup for NXNE, it seems that NXNE at least has the balls to give showcase opportunities to quite obscure bands rather than the hyped bands that SXSW focuses on. Don’t get me wrong…I’d loved to go to SXSW, but I think the additional exposure that a hyped band(eg. Arcade Fire) gets at SXSW really doesn’t do much since their buzzworthiness has already reached the fans that matter months before(eg. through blogs, indie music publications, etc).

  14. 5/13/05 11:27 am

     cowpie says:

    the past few portastatic records have blown the last few superchunk records off the planet. he is obviously saving his best material for portastatic.

  15. 5/13/05 11:45 am

     Pwarf says:

    You can purchase the McSweeneys mix on their site now. Its a pre-order I guess. I got mine in — this has me very curious.

  16. 5/13/05 12:17 pm

     Mikey says:

    Aw, you bring back geeky memories talking about your NAD. I had an NAD receiver and it served me well for, jeez, 12 years?

    I too wished I had a remote, but liked it too much to replace it until it died, which it did in dramatic fashion. Music playing, then suddenly a loud buzzing for about 10 seconds, just long enough for me to be looking down through the ventilation holes at the circuit board as it burst into flame.

    Seriously.

  17. 5/13/05 12:21 pm

     Frank says:

    nice. I’m all about spectacular failures. I had an old JVC amp that did that – I turned it on and happened to be looking through the ventilation grill on top and watched one of the resistors turn bright red and then black, as it turned into a little piece of charcoal. Fascinating.

    I am a NAD junkie, I love their stuff. I am thinking now I may get a new integrated amp, move the 302 to bedroom duties. I hd thought about getting an AV receiver but the truth is I can’t see myself learning about how to properly set up a 5.1/6.1/7.1 system or buy the extra speakers. It’s just not that important to me. A good stereo setup will satisfy my TV and movie needs – the music reproduction is paramount. Obvs.

  18. 5/13/05 12:43 pm

     tim j. says:

    the fembots are always unfuckwithable.

    two hours’ traffic are OK if you like super-bland straight-up pop-rock… haven’t heard anything by them in the past six months and they have a new, plaskett-produced album coming.

    the porcelain gods, from halifax, are basically the Super Friendz, jr. and are very endearing.

    you’d like stirling – in the britpop vein, although they lose points for their album cover being a blurry picture of the bar at lee’s palace…

    the gardens faithful are my sleeper hit of nxne. vintage keyboard rock sound. maybe if the cars met pavement?

    carolyn mark has never put on a bad show in her life.

    the scribbled out man (don kerr’s band) play here all the time but put on a fun, dynamic show. and they can really, really, really play their instruments.

    junior pantherz are wonderful, enon-ish.

    but i am frequently convinced that the deadly snakes are the best band in toronto – think a bluesier, seamier constantines. (and the cons are a pretty seamy band)

  19. 5/13/05 1:56 pm

     suckingalemon says:

    mike,

    thanks for correcting my grammer.

    you’re right in what you say about giving more attention to unknown indie bands rather than to a band like bloc party who have already made the scene. however, id love it if nxne would step it up a little.

    if fembots and carolyn mark could go on the same showcase id be set.

    cheers

  20. 5/13/05 2:03 pm

     PEI Brian says:

    the plaskett produced album has been released, it’s a pretty big step forward for their sound, especially since the oldest member is 20.

  21. 5/13/05 2:07 pm

     JOSH says:

    One humorous incident that’s already emerged from the strange-bedfellows relationship between R. Kiley and Warner:

    The record store I work at got shipped copies of More Adventurous with spines for Dire Strats’ Brothers in Arms affixed to them.

    Wish I’d kept one. Or at least taken a picture…

  22. 5/13/05 7:14 pm

     timothy says:

    that jem chick is guilty pleasure personified. i’d respect a jem fan over rilo kiley any day. not that i’m intolerant or elitist, but there is still the SECRET THOUGHTS INSIDE MY HEAD.

  23. 5/19/05 1:13 pm

     Mark says:

    Two Hours Traffic are better than OK, they’re one of the best new bands I’ve heard in a long while. Their new album is fantastic.

→
←