Friday, December 14th, 2007
Earlier this week I finally caught a screening of the much-discussed Todd Haynes tribute to Bob Dylan, I’m Not There and, if you’re looking for the condensed review, I really liked it. But I appreciate that it’s not nearly a film for everyone, Dylan fan or no, and that some might leave the theatre with varying degees of confusion or disappointment even though the fact that the film features six actors, of different genders and ethnicities, portraying the main character should be a tip-off that it’s not exactly a conventional film.
But that said, it’s not excessively cryptic or impenetrable. It simply follows six parallel yet interwoven storylines portraying Dylan surrogates – he’s never named – at different points of his career with varying degrees of allegory but all with relatively straightforward narratives. And that’s where Haynes sets his traps – it’s easy to start thinking that he’s intending to tell a story (or six) with a conventional arc and that there’ll be some sort of resolution, either individually or collectively, and that’s not his intention. These threads aren’t meant to be followed to a destination – if you’re looking for a proper story or to find out what happens next, you’re in the wrong place. This isn’t a biography told in a creative manner, instead it’s an impressionistic romp that celebrates the spirit of Dylan, the mythic aura that trades in fact as much as fiction, and this Haynes captures well. He concentrates on capturing Dylan’s essence – the creativity, the playfulness, the cantankerousness, the inscrutability – and the life is secondary.
While much of the attention has been focused on Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of Dylan in his post-Newport years – and don’t get me wrong, she’s great – I think the strongest performance comes from Christian Bale as the Greenwich-era Jack Rollins. His screen time is limited, relative to Blanchett or Heath Ledger, but when he’s in the scene, he’s astonishing in his ability to embody Dylan without impersonating him. AND he’s Batman.
This is a film that will probably reward multiple viewings. I’m nowhere near a Dylan scholar but it was fun playing spot the reference – visual recreations, thinly veiled representations of real-life figures – and there’s surely a dozen I missed for every one that I got. I think the key is to go in without an expectation of what you’re going to get, because whatever that is you’re probably wrong. It’s like a Dylan lyric on celluloid – no one knows for sure what it means, maybe not even the author, but that doesn’t mean it’s not brilliant. In fact, that’s probably exactly why it is.
Harp talks to Todd Haynes about making the film and also reveals how the one Dylan recording that appears on the soundtrack, the title track whose masters were long thought lost, was uncovered in an unlikely place.
Trailer: I’m Not There (trailer 1)
Trailer: I’m Not There (trailer 2)
CMJ reports that all those Calexico tour-only albums that were sold out by the time they reached your city are now available digitally in Touch And Go’s online store. Yay.
Jens Lekman talks first kisses with Harp.
BeatRoute talks to Jonsi Birgisson of Sigur Ros.
The AV Club has an interview with Polly Jean Harvey.
‘Tis the season… for interviewing Carl Newman of The New Pornographers, apparently. The Independent, Nerve and The Village Voice all have chats with the ginger popsmith (second two links via Idolator). And if that’s not enough Pornographic insight for you, he’s also on the cover of the latest Big Takeover.
Last year, the Drake Hotel made the last week of the year more than just a post-Christmas hangover with their “What’s In The Box?” series of shows running from December 26 through the 30th and this year, they’re doing it again. For five nights, they’re featuring five acts in the Underground for five bucks and are topping that off with a few choice performances upstairs in the Lounge as well. It’s a more electronic-heavy lineup than last year but still enough to get me out of the house and down Parkdale way for a couple nights at least. The full list is as follows:
December 26th – Skratch Bastid, Ghislain Poirier (live set), Vitamins For You and My Dad Vs Yours
December 27th – The Ghost Is Dancing, Jetplanes Of Abraham, Hexes And Ohs, Five Blank Pages and Krief
December 28th – Thunderheist, Jokers Of The Scene, Bonjay, Syntonics, Opopo PLUS Jenn Grant in the Lounge.
December 29th – A Place To Bury Strangers, Fjord Rowboat, The Two Koreas, Dundas and Love, Anna PLUS Peter Elkas in the Lounge
December 30th – Pheek, Adam Marshall, Coordinates, J Hunsberger and JAP_
Pitchfork solicits year-end lists from various artists.
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
So, I’m trying to figure out what to do tonight. There’s a number of options, all appealing, and all conveniently (or inconveniently, depending on your point of view) located essentially on the same (large) city block.
First off, and this is the one that’s been on my calendar for a while so it’s probably got the inside track, there’s Vampire Weekend at the El Mocambo. If I were to be influenced by the local entertainment weeklies then this would be the one to see since both NOW and eye are running features on the Brooklynites this week (Metro Times also has an interview but Detroit doesn’t really count as local). I can’t say I’m especially familiar with any of their stuff, nor am I an avowed fan of African soukous music or even Paul Simon’s Graceland (the most common talking points in any press on the band). But the stuff on their MySpace sounds like good pop music to me, and that’s usually a good enough sales pitch for me. They’re touring in advance of their their debut, self-titled full-length which is out January 29 and also on the bill is Toronto’s We’re Marching On.
MP3: Vampire Weekend – “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”
MP3: We’re Marching On – “1800s”
Video: Vampire Weekend – “Mansard Roof”
MySpace: Vampire Weekend
Now option B is right around the corner at Rancho Relaxo where Two-Way Monologues is hosting an evening headlined by Ottawa’s Amos The Transparent (whom you may recall from this post) as well as locals Oh No Forest Fires and The Craft Economy (whose EP of hepped-up dance-pop, All In C, you can download the entirety of from their website – Worth the effort). If nothing else, it’d be interesting to see how Amos crams all their members onto that tiny Rancho stage. And seriously, listening to material from all three bands whilst writing up this paragraph… maybe this is now option A…
MP3: Amos The Transparent – “After All That Its Come To This”
MP3: The Craft Economy – “Drag-On”
MP3: The Craft Economy – “The Crash, The Wagon, The Dying Horses”
MySpace: Amos The Transparent
MySpace: The Craft Economy
And finally, just a little further down College St at ye olde Tiger Bar, you’ve got a night of No Shame with Gentleman Reg, taking far too long to follow up 2004’s Darby & Joan, along with a couple visitors from The Big Apple – Michael Leviton and Leah Hayes, aka Scary Mansion. I’m not familiar with the Noo Yawkers at all but again, the MySpace samples are compelling and on any other night it’d probably be a no-brainer but with the competition… I dunno. Maybe I’ll flip a coin. A three-faced coin. Update: Just heard that Michael Leviton and Scary Mansion have cancelled for tonight. Show is in question. I will update when I hear. Update 2: So the Tiger Bar show is off, but Gentleman Reg has been added to the Rancho Relaxo show (option B) above, which makes my pick for this evening a total no-brainer. Sorry Vampires, some other weekend. The show now begins at 9:45 or so, be there! $7 or $5 with a canned food item. Update 3: So Reg didn’t play the Rancho show after all. Hope no one was inconvenienced.
MP3: Gentleman Reg – “It’s Not Safe”
MP3: Scary Mansion – “Sorry We Took All Your Money”
Video: Gentleman Reg – “The Boyfriend Song”
Video: Gentleman Reg – “Over My Head”
Video: Michael Leviton – “The Beach Gets Cold”
Video: Michael Leviton – “Summer’s The Worst”
MySpace: Gentleman Reg
MySpace: Michael Leviton
MySpace: Scary Mansion
If that’s not enough, there’s also The Hidden Cameras’ show for World AIDS Day at Hart House at University Of Toronto, details on tickets here. eye and Chart talk to Hidden Camera-man Joel Gibb about this and that and the state of the new record.
Stereogum talks to members of The Acorn about their day jobs.
Coming to town February 9 for a show at the El Mocambo, Yeasayer and MGMT. The former are appearing on a number of year-end lists for their album All Hour Cymbals while the latter were just in town the other night with The Fiery Furnaces. Pitchfork has full tour dates.
MP3: Yeasayer – “2080”
MP3: Yeasayer – “Sunrises”
MP3: MGMT – “Time To Pretend”
And speaking of year-end lists… rounding up everything out there is a task for one with a heart larger than mine but I will point out a few more noteworthy ones – The AV Club has tallied up their best of the year, Pitchfork picked their 50 favourite videos and 20 worst album covers Harp has their top 50 for 2007, as well as a number of artists’ lists for the year.
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007
Christmas comes early for Okkervil River fans. In the spirit of the season, the band has made a special “mix tape”, consisting of eight cover songs and one Okkervil original recorded whilst on tour over the last couple years, available to download for free off their website.
Featuring songs by John Cale, Jimmy Webb and Serge Gainsbourg, if you don’t know the originals – which I’m not too proud to admit I don’t – Will Sheff has provided detailed liner notes explaining why these songs were worthy of reinterpretation. Yes, liner notes. And CD art. Because after you download MP3s, you burn them to CDs and listen to them on your hi-fi, right? That’s what the kids do these days, right?
Further, as Sheff says in a message board post, the only press he’s doing about the release will be responding to questions sent in via email with the composite final “interview” to be posted online on Friday. No word of lie, this is probably the best holiday surprise I’ll be getting this year.
Download: Okkervil River / Golden Opportunities (.zip)
Billboard talks to Jeff Tweedy about plans to explore every corner of Wilco’s discography during a five-night stand in Chicago next February. Even if you can’t be there – as I can’t – it’s exciting news as it hopefully means that more older material will seep into the band’s repertoire during future tours. But if you CAN be there… you have my envy, a fluorescent shade of green.
So the final show for the Horseshoe’s 60th anniversary has been announced and as implied repeatedly over the past couple weeks, it’s Blue Rodeo next Monday, December 17. Tickets are $30 with all proceeds going to the Parkdale food bank, going on sale at 1PM the day of the show at the ‘Shoe’s front bar with the band will be playing three sets over the course of the night starting at 9PM. I’m planning on queuing up to try and get one – if I succeed, would anyone want the second? There’s a limit of two per person.
Also announced – Steve Earle will be playing Massey Hall on March 4 with the presale starting this morning at 10AM. Everything I’ve read implies that this tour will be Dukes-less and in the same configuration as I saw at the Rehearsal Hall taping last month – namely Steve, Allison Moorer and a DJ. A bit undersized a crew for a venue like Massey Hall, but that’s how Steve’s rolling this time around. Full tour dates here.
Ra Ra Riot is coming to the El Mocambo on January 26 with The Coast and The Virgins. Tickets for that one are $8.50 in advance.
Kim Deal tells NME why a new Pixies album didn’t – and probably won’t ever – happen.
Harp and City Pages talk to Nellie McKay. She’s offering a free seasonal song for download but soliciting donations for the “Nellie McKay Disaster Fund” via her website and The Current has also got a radio session available to download. She’s currently on tour with Aimee Mann, who talked to the Northwest Herald about her own Christmas album from last year and her new record due out in March.
MP3: Nellie McKay – “A Christmas Dirge”
The AV Club interviews Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.
Check out footage of St Vincent performing “Marry Me” at Hot Freaks! in Austin this past September, courtesy of Le Blogotheque
Video: St Vincent – “Marry Me” (live at Hot Freaks!)
Aaron Dessner of The National talks to Drowned In Sound about the trials and tribulations behind making Boxer.
Dirty On Purpose don’t release their new Like Bees EP until January 15, but they’ve got a new song available to download for free over at RCRDLBL that’s going to be part of a digital-only EP called Dead Volcanos. But let me just say that Like Bees is a real treat, highlighting the wide breadth of the band’s abilities, and bodes very well for the their next album whenever it hits.
The Denver Post chats with Voxtrot’s Ramesh Srivastava.
Both Salon and The Village Voice have things to say about Brit Box. And not especially nice things, either. Which reminds me – congratulations to Pedro on winning my Brit Box contest but thanks to everyone who entered – thems was some good reading.
Wired chats with Charlatans UK frontman Tim Burgess – yup, they’re still around – about their decision to give away their latest single online. A strategy, the piece points out, that was announced hours before Radiohead revealed their In Rainbows strategy.
MP3: The Charlatans UK – “You Cross My Path”
And with regards to Radiohead, NME talks to Colin Greenwood about the lengths the band went to to prevent the record from leaking in advance, The Guardian solicits interview questions from the band’s fans and The New York Times ran an extensive feature on the band this past weekend.
Any excuse to post some Lucky Soul… like the band performing “Lips Are Unhappy” live on sub.tv. Oh come to North America, please come to North America.
Video: Lucky Soul – “Lips Are Unhappy” (live on Sub.tv)
Richard Hawley gives Harp a guided tour of Sheffield which ends not in a pub, but a relish factory.
The AV Club lists off 23 songs that could stand to never be covered again.
Arrested Development: The Motion Picture?
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
So I was going to be all clever and iconoclastic this year and not do a year-end list. Year-end post, yes, but itemized list – perhaps taking advantage of HTML’s <ul> and <li> tags for quick and easy formatting? No. I was just going to write and write and be done with it.
But then I realized that as long as I talked about any specific albums – be it one or ten or a million – then that’s what I’d be doing. Making a list. Just less easy to scan. And so I relented and now we have a list. A list of ten albums that I would put down as my favourites of the year. I found 2007 to be a very good year for music, both in terms of solid to excellent releases from old favourites and new discoveries. Few out and out disappointments. After my top three picks – no, once again I’ve elected not to rank them but that doesn’t mean I haven’t done so in my head – it was a pretty wide open field with cases to be made for a lot of records but in the end, I whittled it down to those that spoke to me the most, that kept me coming back for more and acted as musical anchors in the barrage of new music that has become my existence. Ten records that soundtracked, reflected and defined my 2007 and will hopefully remain staples of my musical diet well into the future.
Observations – sometimes people worry that records released early in the year will be forgotten by list season, but in my case it seems the opposite. The older records are the ones I’ve had the most time to listen to and fall for and have also proven their shelf life whereas I regard my affection for more recent releases with a bit of distrust. More than half the releases are from acts that I’d essentially never heard before this year, which I find comforting in affirming that I’m still doing alright in seeking out new music. Sure, stylistically they all dwell fairly closely to my established musical tastes but that’s why they’re my tastes, right? I also find the comparison with last year’s list interesting. Whereas 2006 was dominated with American acts, mostly of the rootsier and/or downbeat variety, this year’s list is much more Commonwealth-friendly with most of the releases being either Canadian or British. I know I’ve made a conscious effort to explore more homegrown music this year as well as reconnect with my Anglophile roots so I guess we can call that a success. And, I suppose it means I’ve stopped moping quite so much.
Anyways, if you’ve been a regular visitor over the past year then there’s probably not too much in the way of surprises here, so we may as well get to it.
Read the rest of this entry »
Monday, December 10th, 2007
All of the local media articles commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Horseshoe Tavern (officially celebrating its birthday yesterday) have run off a list of the unforgettable shows that have earned the Queen West institution its adjective “Legendary” – Golden Smog, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Rolling Stones”, to name a few. And while I’ve seen my share of great shows there over the years – hell, over the past week – the venue’s own birthday party on Thursday night was one for the ages.
Though the performers were kept secret when the invite-only party was announced, it got out pretty quickly that it was going to be Chicagoan country-rock shitkickers The Waco Brothers – an outfit beloved by the Horseshoe owners – and the closest thing the ‘Shoe has to a house band, Toronto’s own Sadies. And, of course, where go The Sadies, special guests are sure to follow.
And follow they did. Their set could well have been released as the follow-up to their In Concert: Volume One live set as they called friends and family onstage to play with them including the Good brothers’ parents, Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor, The Skydiggers’ Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson, Waco Brothers (from different mothers) Jon Langford and Tracy Dear – all of whom came as no huge surprise – and one who did: The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie. I wouldn’t say I’ve been any sort of Hip fan for over a decade but there’s no denying the band – and especially their frontman – hold a special place in Canadiana so you could feel the energy levels in the bar, already well into the red, soar when he bounded onstage.
In hindsight, it probably shouldn’t have been a shock to see him – he had played with the Sadies just last month in a performance for CBC’s Fuse and here they reprised some of that set, opening with “Fire In The Hole” from 1994’s Day For Night and closing with an absolutely searing cover of The Stooges’ “Search And Destroy” (a reasonable-quality video of which you cans see below). Maybe it’s been a while since Downie’s played a stage as small and intimate as this one but he absolutely tore it up. It’s not often that it’s the audience that needs to take a breath after a performance while the band just won’t stop.
Calling The Sadies a tough act to follow is the very definition of understatement, but the Waco Brothers are no slouches in owning a stage. I was only minimally familiar with the Wacos before this night – basically I knew who they were and what they did, on paper anyways – but thankfully there’s not that much to get. If you can appreciate the magic of country and old-school rock’n’roll welded together by sweat and margaritas, you can appreciate the Waco Brothers. With an all-request set list made up of originals and covers, they were the perfect band to play a birthday party for a bar with the musical pedigree that the ‘Shoe has. I had to bail at 1AM but have no doubt they kept their word to keep the music and beer flowing till 2AM.
Happy 60th, Horseshoe.
Glide and The Vancouver Sun have interviews with The Sadies, who will once again be at the Horseshoe for their annual New Years Eve celebrations. And the final show of the Horseshoe’s 60th anniversary celebrations, scheduled for next Monday December 17, is set to be announced today. I’ve already basically told you who it is, but when the official word is out I’ll update accordingly.
Photos: The Waco Brothers, The Sadies @ The Horseshoe – December 6, 2007
MP3: The Sadies – “The Horseshoe”
Video: The Sadies – “The Horseshoe”
Video: Gord Downie with The Sadies – “Search & Destroy” (live at the Horseshoe)
MySpace: The Waco Brothers
MySpace: The Sadies
And after a pretty packed week of ‘Shoe shows, I capped things off with Jose Gonzalez’s in-store at Sonic Boom on Friday evening. I’ve no doubt his show that same night at the Mod Club was good but I found the intimate atmosphere of the in-store, with its wood-paneled rec room vibe and polite and attentive audience, to be the perfect setting for Gonzalez. Cross-legged on the floor is the right way to enjoy his music, which was hypnotically lovely over his short set.
JAM! and The New York Daily News have conversations with Gonzalez about the political and religious undertones of his music.
Photos: Jose Gonzalez @ Sonic Boom – December 7, 2007
MP3: Jose Gonzalez – “Teardrop” (live)
MP3: Jose Gonzalez – “Crosses”
Video: Jose Gonzalez – “Teardrop”
Video: Jose Gonzalez – “Down The Line”
Video: Jose Gonzalez – “Killing For Love”
MySpace: Jose Gonzalez
Spinner interfaces with Jens Lekman
CMJ talks a bit to The Acorn’s Rolf Klausener about Glory Hope Mountain, which is set for a US release on March 4 of next year and will apparently feature a bonus track, presumably not tied into the narrative thread of the rest of the record.
The New Pollution features Plants & Animals, in town Friday at the Mod Club opening for Patrick Watson. Their debut full-length Parc Avenue is out March 25 and you can check out an MP3 from said record below.
MP3: Plants & Animals – “Faerie Dance”
Win Butler of The Arcade Fire tells The Australian that getting hit in the head with a shoe can really put a damper on one’s evening.
Stay Thirsty gives Feist some travel tips for Japan.
Losing Today talks to Owen Pallet of Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy, along with Laura Barrett and The Blankket, will be performing at the Gladstone on January 9 as part of a release party for Carl Wilson’s contribution to the 33 1/3 series of books, the much-anticipated tome Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey To The End Of Taste. And yes, all the performers will be doing Celine covers. Of course. The book is out this week.
Crawdaddy talks to author Jim Walsh about his book The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting: An Oral History.
The Boston Herald chats with The Fiery Furnaces, in town at Lee’s Palace on Wednesday night.
Jonathan Richman will be in town February 28 for a show at the Phoenix – quite a step up from his usual digs at the Lula Lounge. Update: Never mind – Pollstar was wrong, Jonathan Rice opening for Matt Costa, which is more logical but less interesting.
The new Harold and Kumar film has a new title – Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay – and a new, decidedly non-PG trailer. It’s in theatres April 28.
Trailer: Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
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