Sunday, January 4th, 2009
WikipediaFirstly – some of you who make this a weekly Sunday stop may have been a mite confused as to why the area to the right formerly reserved for the cover of the week is now vacant… well, henceforth that feature is now going to be rolled into the regular blog.
The benefit of this to you is that it’ll now show up in the RSS feed, like a number have asked for, and you can comment, which is always amusing. The benefit to me is that I now no longer have to have these things locked and loaded before midnight Saturday night for fear of the site breaking. Same thing about missing a week – no breakie. I mean, I’ve been churning out these things one a week for six years now, the well is starting to run a little dry, so by segue – if anyone’s got a stash of cool or interesting covers that they’d care to donate, drop me a line. It’d be appreciated. And links will still be going down after a week.
Anyways, that’s the PSA portion of things.
Glasgow’s Glasvegas rather ably conquered the UK in 2008, and are turning their eyes to America for 2009. Their self-titled debut, released back home in September, will come out in North America this Tuesday and be accompanied by a couple of bonus tracks to annoy those of us who sprung for the import.
Not amongst them, however, is this cover of Phil Spector via The Ronettes, which proves they’re not shy to own up to one of their most obvious influences. It was a b-side to their “”It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry” single.
They also kick off a North American tour tonight in Boston. No Toronto date yet, but Google certainly seems to think they’ll be at the Mod Club on April 3. I’ll confirm that when I can. Update: Date confirmed, tickets $21 on sale Saturday.
Features on the band have recently popped up at The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe and The Daily Record.
MP3: Glasvegas – “Be My Baby”
Friday, January 2nd, 2009
An introduction to Montt Mardié
David MagnussonIt seems rather fitting that the first post of this new year should be devoted to an artist who seems to have great difficulty in choosing a favourite year, musically speaking, so he’s opted to go with them all. Montt Mardié is the stage name of David Olof Peter Pagmar, a Swedish pop savant whose two albums – the 2005 debut Drama and the 2007 double-set Pretender/Clocks – were cherry-picked last year for the UK release Introducing… The Best Of.
While it may seem odd to have a “best of” for someone barely 25 years old and with just two albums under his belt, Introducing really does feel like a compilation of top singles from an artist who’s been at it far longer than he has. His compositions tend to be rooted in throwback ’60s pop style, grand and orchestrally-minded and full of wit and humour, but Pagmar doesn’t discriminate when it comes to digging through his record or movie collections for inspiration. Musical cribs from The Cure nestle alongside classic Brill Building song structures and quotes from Meatloaf. Lyrics reference Breakfast At Tiffany’s and Star Wars – Introducing is a glorious open house pop culture party, where everything is fair game and welcomed with love.
Though I’ve no hesitation to recommend Mardié to fans of fellow Swedish troubadour Jens Lekman, who makes an appearance on duet “Castle In The Sky”, there’s more that distinguishes the two than make them similar once you get into the “male singer-songwriter pop auteur” category. If Lekman is the droll, detached sophisticate, then Pagmar is his earnest and wide-eyed younger brother, too enthused about everything to worry about looking cool. Whether backed by a full band and/or orchestra or just his own home recordings, Pagmar delivers everything with breathless enthusiasm and frequently slips into a soulful falsetto that’s just imperfect enough to be endearing. And on the tracks where he’s accompanied by female backing vocals, it’s simply sublime. There’s no trace of irony here, just giddy devotion to the joys of pop music and it’s difficult to resist. In fact, why would you want to? If Peter Bjorn & John were the new face of Swedish pop for 2007 and Lykke Li was last year’s model, then I nominate Montt Mardié – who is currently at work on album number three – for 2009.
Peculiarly, the Swedish albums appear easier to find than the comp. In addition to Amazon.com appearing to have stock (see links above), both are available at eMusic. But if you’re keen to try the single-disc version, inquire with the good folks at Ruffa Lane, who put it out.
The Guardian declared Mardié their band of the day last June and basically described him as the second coming of Prefab Sprout – a title I can’t comment on because I know nothing of the first coming of Prefab Sprout.
MP3: Montt Mardié – “1969”
MP3: Montt Mardié – “Metropolis”
MP3: Montt Mardié – “New York”
MP3: Montt Mardié – “High School Drama”
MP3: Montt Mardié – “Come On Eileen”
Video: Montt Mardié – “High School Drama”
Video: Montt Mardié – “Metropolis”
Myspace: Montt Mardié
Daytrotter closed out last year with a studio session from Bon Iver. Their new EP Blood Bank is out on January 20.
Bradley’s Almanac bids farewell to Dirty On Purpose, who played their final gig on New Year’s Eve, with a recording of their last show in Boston last October.
Filter talks to Mercury Rev’s Jeff Mercel.
20 Album Covers recreated in Lego – all I can say is that Lego men come with much more interesting accessory pieces than when I was a kid.
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
In praise of Pulp
WikipediaThis whole year has been marked with a strong resurgence in my musical Anglophilia, but for no particular reason I can articulate, the closing weeks in particular have been marked with a heavy, heavy dose of Pulp.
Britpop debates usually start with the old Blur versus Oasis arguments, but for me, Pulp rise above them both by a considerable distance. Yes, I’ve got a big ‘ol man-crush on Jarvis Cocker and don’t care who knows it. There’s not many artists out there that I’m still desperate to see live, but he’s definitely one – in fact, if the opportunity arises to see him anywhere, I’ll be checking flights (note to Jarv – please play somewhere interesting that I can plan a vacation around). Considering he shunned us on at least a couple of tours this year, waiting for him to come to Toronto would seem to be an exercise in futility.
Seeing as how I’ve been playing to death all the albums I’ve got (reaching back as far as His’N’Hers as well as the John Peel Sessions set I got in London back in May), my main musical purchases on Boxing Day were copies of the deluxe editions of This Is Hardcore and Different Class, released a couple of years ago. His’N’Hers was also fancied up at that time, but isn’t on the shopping list yet, mainly because I’ve read that the bonus material on the second disc isn’t really essential. And while you could argue that the demos and b-sides collected on the other two also aren’t absolutely crucial, but to my ears there’s enough a-side-worthy stuff amongst those odds and sods to warrant a place in my collection and, dammit, I just needed some new material, even if it’s old. The remastering (and in the case of Hardcore – which I’m more convinced is an absolute classic with every listen – slightly different mix) of the albums proper is also nice, as are the liner notes from Cocker.
And since this post has actually even more pointless than usual, I’ll toss up a massive YouTube mix of all their videos dating back to His’N’Hers, most of which I’ve surprisingly never seen. And seeing as how the Pulp: Hits video anthology isn’t available in region 1 or NTSC, this is probably as good as it’s going to get.
Video: Pulp – “Bad Cover Version”
Video: Pulp – “The Trees”
Video: Pulp – “Party Hard”
Video: Pulp – “A Little Soul”
Video: Pulp – “Like A Friend”
Video: Pulp – “This Is Hardcore”
Video: Pulp – “Help The Aged”
Video: Pulp – “Something Changed”
Video: Pulp – “Disco 2000”
Video: Pulp – “Sorted For E’s And Wizz”
Video: Pulp – “Mis-Shapes”
Video: Pulp – “Common People”
Video: Pulp – “Babies”
Video: Pulp – “Do You Remember The First Time?”
Video: Pulp – “Lipgloss”
Video: Pulp – “Razzmatazz”
Dig For Fire has video of former Pulp sideman and all-around awesome guy Richard Hawley last December.
Blurt talks to Stuart Staples about the reconstituted Tindersticks, playing the Opera House on March 10.
NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with The Cure.
Incendiary has an interview with Brett Anderson.
Magnet breaks new ground in wondering who was better, The Beatles or The Stones.
The Line Of Best Fit interviews Kieron Gillen, author of the excellent comic series Phonogram, the second series of which appears to be more focused on contemporary indie rather than the Britpop retro-ness of the first, Rue Britannia. It’s still shaping up to be excellent, though, and I’m not the only one to think though – the first printing sold out almost immediately.
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
An introduction to Gramercy Arms
Stefano GiovanniniDepending on how familiar you are with early-’90s American college rock, Gramercy Arms’ resume will either read impressively or anonymously. Led by former Dambuilders honcho Dave Derby, the New York-based outfit also boasts drummer Kevin March (also Dambuilders and the final lineup of Guided By Voices), guitarist Sean Eden (of the late, loved Luna), guitarist Hilken Mancini (Boston power-poppers Fuzzy) and bassist Rainy Orteca (also of Joan As Policewoman, who aren’t circa ’90s but whose Joan Wasser was also in the Dambuilders). So to say there’s many lifetimes of playing dingy clubs wound into their collective DNA would be an understatement, and that doesn’t even begin to include the number of guest stars who appear on their recordings.
But save for Derby and Manicini, none were ever frontpersons or even main songwriters for their respective bands so to expect Gramercy Arms to sound like any sort of amalgam of their histories would be unfair. And it’s just as well, because they really don’t. Their self-titled debut – released this past Summer in the UK and set for a March 3, 2009 domestic release – is like an east coast interpretation of west coast pop. The mood is light and breezy, but whether by design or circumstance doesn’t sound as sun-kissed as one might expect, nor as eccentric.
Those who come to the band from an affection for the participants’ past works may be somewhat disappointed at how conventional the power pop on offer is. For myself, if I wasn’t told that Sean Eden was on this record I probably wouldn’t have known from casual listening. His idiosyncratic guitar genius is mostly kept restrained, and was put to far better use with Elk City. But as stated above, it’s unfair to come to Gramercy Arms with such weight of expectation and taken for what they do, there’s still much to like for aficionados of guitar pop. But really, would one more ripping Eden solo have been too much to ask?
The Guardian made Gramercy Arms their band of the day back in June. And the band made a Christmas tune featuring Mascott’s Kendall Jane Meade on vocals. Grab it before it’s just so out of season that it’s awkward to listen to.
MP3: Gramercy Arms – “Automatic”
MP3: Gramercy Arms – “Looking At The Sun”
MP3: Gramercy Arms with Kendall Jane Meade – “This Christmastime”
MySpace: Gramercy Arms
The Acorn have put together a little holiday gift for their fans in the form of Ear Worms, a collection of 12 songs 30 seconds in length each, and Little Elms, a short 4-song EP. Both are available for free download at their website right now.
ZIP: The Acorn / Ear Worms
ZIP: The Acorn / Little Elms
Arcade Fire are offering a free download of an unreleased track in exchange for your email address.
Magnet reports that Bob Mould will be releasing a new solo album, still untitled, on April 7, and are going so far as to call it his best record since Sugar’s File Under: Easy Listening. That there’s some high praise – be interesting to see if its warranted.
New Jersey Springsteen/punk acolytes who’ve been popping up on no shortage of year-end lists, The Gaslight Anthem will be a the Opera House on March 20, tickets $15.50.
AOL Sessions is currently featuring an in-studio performance from Ryan Adams.
Spin asks tough questions of The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne. He also gives Exclaim! a list of reasons why Christmas is great, be it on Mars or wherever. And head over here to see some fun behind the scenes footage of the Lips’ recording of the NBC promo theme/jingle-thing. You know, the three notes thing. Whatever that’s called.
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Review of JCVD
Rotten TomatoesI’ve spent a goodly amount of time this holiday break watching movies, and expect to continue to do so before heading back to work (shudder) next week. Most have been from a backlog of DVDs and DIVXs but it was off to the theatre last night for JCVD, which I’ve been anxious to see since its debut at TIFF in September.
Not that I’m especially a Jean-Claude fan, though I’ve always thought that he was better than the material he was given, but the pitch – Van Damme plays himself as a washed up actor who gets caught in a hostage situation – was too enticing to miss. But as promising as that premise was, it’d also have been very easy for it to fall victim to a lot of nudge-nudge, wink-wink, ultra-meta self-aware “aren’t we clever”-ness. Thankfully, it does not. It actually plays things very straight, and Van Damme is excellent – no qualifiers.
He is worn and haggard and genuinely believable as, well, himself. The weight of the past decade – drug addiction, failed marriages, child custody battles, the fact that he hasn’t made anything resembling a major film in over a decade (Double Team with Dennis Rodman (!) was the last one in his filmography that I recognized) – are all etched into his face and used as fuel for the performance, and it’s riveting. It’s hard to imagine that JCVD will revitalize his career in any major way – he admits he’s getting too old to continue making action hero flicks and it’s unlikely this will offer a new career path in serious drama – but it should grant him something he’s never been given before, and that’s respect.
Though will it be enough to wipe away the memory of his career to that point? Probably not. Unreality has assembled a half-dozen classic moments in Jean-Claude, and that Kick Boxer scene will be burned into my brain for eternity.
Trailer: JCVD
Also recently watched: Son Of Rambow, which was really much sweeter and enjoyable than I’d expected, Ghost Town, which was also much better than its rather cliched premise about a man who discovers he can talk to ghosts, and Hamlet 2, which was one of the absolute worst pieces of dreck I’ve ever had the misfortune of sitting through. Steve Coogan and Catherine Keener should be ashamed of themselves. In fact, the entire cast listing should read “Alan Smithee” top to bottom.
Trailer: Son Of Rambow
Trailer: Ghost Town
Trailer: Hamlet 2
Back with music stuffs tomorrow.
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