Friday, October 19th, 2007
While Todd Haynes’ Dylan pseudo-biopic I’m Not There isn’t out until late November – the 21st in the US in limited release and the 28th in Canada, presumably also in limited release – the soundtrack will be out on October 30. And while the concept of having different actors “cover” a single figure in the same film, as Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Christian Bale and others do in I’m Not There is far more novel, the soundtrack of Dylan covers is just as star-studded.
You’ve got the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Karen O, Cat Power, Yo La Tengo and Calexico all over the place across two CDs and 34 tracks and Dylan himself shows up on the title track. They’ve got four of the tracks – the contributions from Tweedy, Cat Power, Sufjan Stevens and Jim James streaming off the record’s MySpace and I gotta say, the way Cat Power wraps her voice around Dylan’s words on “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again” as though each syllable were a delicious morsel is particularly sumptuous. If that’s where the bar for this record is set, then hot diggity dog. But then, I love Dylan, I love most of these artists and I love covers – It’s probably mathematically impossible that I’d dislike this collection.
And so I’m pleased to be have, courtesy of Filter, two copies of the soundtrack to give away. If you want to take a shot, I want you to leave a comment below telling me what your dream Dylan cover would be – who doing what song and why. Because even though he may well be the most oft-covered musician in history (save maybe the Beatles and even that I won’t say is a gimme), there’s surely far more interesting potential permutations out there. I want to hear em. Make sure to leave an email address you’re contactable at – spamproof it if you need – and I’ll pick two winners on October 29, so get entries in before midnight the eve of October 28.
Random thought – anyone dressing up as one of the Dylan personas for Hallowe’en? No? Too dorky? Gotcha.
And to celebrate the release of the film – and to celebrate Dylan in general – they’re holding a special concert in New York City on November 7 that will feature many of the artists on the soundtrack as well as others singing the songs of Bob. I’m sure tickets would be nigh impossible to score even if you did live in New York, but you can be certain that there’ll be something – webcast, DVD, concert album – released to allow the rest of us to sit in on the show.
And finally, while the film got mixed reviews when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, the Rotten Tomatos rating is a little more promising. And even if it does turn out to be a failure, it’ll at least be a spectacular one. Either way, I can’t wait. Check out the just-released second trailer to the film and I’ve dug into my own vaults for a few Dylan covers that I’ve posted over the years. Just to get you in the mood. Update: Here’s the New York Times interview with Todd Haynes that Aimz mentioned in the comments – thanks!
Trailer: I’m Not There (trailer 1)
Trailer: I’m Not There (trailer 2)
MySpace: I’m Not There
MP3: Billy Bragg – “Positively 4th St”
MP3: Yo La Tengo – “It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry”
MP3: Mojave 3 – “Girl From The North Country”
MP3: Drive-By Truckers – “Like A Rolling Stone”
While we’re discussing tribute albums to living legends, let’s talk Neil Young. In 1994 an all-Canadian double disc entitled Borrowed Tunes was released with one disc dedicated to his acoustic work (Out Of The Blue) and one to his electric (Into The Black). I was then, as I am now, a raging Neil-o-phile so I had it on cassette and played it to death but in hindsight, I didn’t really care for a lot of the artists on it. But when you’re working with material as good as Neil’s, even the most uninteresting performer can sound decent. Except for Our Lady Peace’s “Needle And The Damage Done”. That was just abhorrent. ANYWAY the point is that 13 years later, they’ve released a sequel album – Borrowed Tunes II and honestly, it makes the lineup from the first one look like the ’77 Canadiens. Who wants to hear Finger Eleven butcher “Walk On”? No one, that’s who.
More interesting is the Cinnamon Girl compilation, which is accurately subtitled “Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity”. It’s two discs of, well, women artists covering Neil Young and the proceeds are going to Casting For Recovery, a foundation for breast cancer recovery. It’s not exactly and all-star cast but the presence of Tanya Donelly and Britta Phillips is certainly enough to get my attention. There’ve been a number of delays in the album’s release but they’re promising that pre-orders will ship this December, well before the formal retail street date of February 2008. You can stream a few of the songs on the album’s MySpace page.
MySpace: Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity
And a little while ago I pointed to the first part of an ongoing piece at Stylus that was trying to inventory every Neil Young cover ever recorded. Obviously it’s nowhere near comprehensive, but it’s still an impressive body of work they’ve put together. And while not striving for authoritativeness, The AV Club’s Neil Young primer is a good intro to the man’s long and fascinating career. The next chapter in said career, Chrome Dreams II, is out on Tuesday and he plays three nights at Massey Hall on November 26, 27 and 29. The first 18-minute single is still available to download and you can preview four of the songs from the new record with these sorta-videos.
MP3: Neil Young – “Ordinary People”
Video: Neil Young – “Dirty Old Man” (YouTube)
Video: Neil Young – “The Believer” (YouTube)
Video: Neil Young – “The Way” (YouTube)
Video: Neil Young – “Spirit Road” (YouTube)
Lastly, we’ve got some Springsteen. No, not that Arcade Fire video (which, if you don’t know what I’m talking about you probably don’t care), but a cover of “The River” by Josh Ritter that’s been released to the internets. It’s a live performance from Berlin and it’s okay, but only reminds me of how much better Crooked Fingers did it on the Reservoir Songs EP. When it comes to rough, raw and emotive vocals, Ritter can’t touch Eric Bachmann… but not many can. Also worth reading are eye‘s cover story from last week looking at how Springsteen became the ubiquitous name-drop in indie rock references that he is today and Radio Free Canuckistan’s interview with Mac McCaughan of Merge/Portastatic/Superchunk about the same (it was conducted as research for the eye piece). And The Idaho Statesman has an interview with Ritter, MPR a session.
MP3: Josh Ritter – “The River” (live)
MP3: Crooked Fingers – “The River”
Okay, no more classic rock tributes? Fine.
NME is premiering the video for the new Bloc Party single. The song isn’t anything exceptional but the video is goofy fun.
Video: Bloc Party – “Flux” (WMV)“
Maximo Park talks to PopMatters about their adventures in touring around the world.
Both Maximo Park and Bloc Party are involved with the Love Music Hate Racism organization in the UK and have contributed tracks to a free awareness CD released in the UK this week. Maximo’ Paul Smith talks to XFM and Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke to NME about why they participated in the project.
BeatRoute talks to Jason Tait, drummer of The Weakerthans while frontman John K Samson answers five questions from The Detroit Free Press. They’re at the Phoenix November 7 and 8.
Also doing a mutli-night stand at the Phoenix later that month (November 26-28) are Stars. Frontman Torquil Campbell has an interview with The AV Club.
Thursday, October 18th, 2007
When I talked about Doveman’s set opening for The National last week, by no means did I want that to be my final word on Thomas Bartlett or his new record With My Left Hand I Raise The Dead. While I don’t doubt that at least some of those in attendance who weren’t familiar with Doveman enjoyed the set, they’d only need to listen to the record once to appreciate why it didn’t do the compositions justice.
Hand is built on skeletal frames of piano and acoustic guitar, dressed in gossamer garments of horns and electronics and given the breath of life by Bartlett’s strained whisper of a voice. A voice that’s sometimes barely there, and yet seethes with an emotion so raw that it can’t be ignored. It feels so inward and private that it’s a bit uncomfortable being privy to it but while you may not understand what he’s feeling, you know you’ve felt exactly the same way before and so you’re welcome. Uncertain and unsettling yet beautiful and serene, Hand‘s nine “proper” songs drift in and out of extended instrumental bridges like a transistor radio caught between a classical music station, white noise and the afterlife.
And this is why, no matter how they tried to arrange it, it just couldn’t translate in a sold-out, 1000-capacity concert hall.
To celebrate (and promote) the release of the album, Doveman filmed a video for each song on the record and have been doling them out to various sites around the internet to premiere. It’s my pleasure to present the one for the leadoff track, “The Sunken Queen”. The rest are available to view on the Doveman website and Stereogum has some annotations for each part of the singularly strange video project.
MP3: Doveman – “…& Sunrise Medley”
Video: Doveman – “Chasing Clouds” (YouTube)
MySpace: Doveman
The Boston Globe touches base with Spoon’s Jim Eno.
Patterson Hood talks about the new Drive-By Truckers record Brighter Than Creation’s Dark with The Free Times. The new record is out in late January, I’m guessing the 22nd since the third week of the year is usually stacked with big new releases. But that’s just speculation on my part.
Minnesota Public Radio offers up a session with The New Pornographers, in town at the Phoenix this Sunday.
eye talks to Adam Olenius of Shout Out Louds, in town at the Mod Club on Monday night.
John Stirratt of Wilco tells the The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he wants to keep rocking forever.
And finally, a survey of some 600 Canadian musicians has named Neil Young’s Harvest “The top Canadian album”. The full results are being published in a book creatively titled The Top 100 Canadian Albums and The Toronto Star has an interview with the book’s author as well as a list of the top 20 albums, according to it.
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007
Slow news day plus a general dearth in free time equals a brief, dog’s breakfast of a post. Or cat’s breakfast, as the case may be.
The most interesting thing to come up yesterday were details about Cat Power’s forthcoming second covers album which is no longer called Covers Record 2 because it’s no longer strictly a covers record. Jukebox will be out on January 22 and in addition to ten cover songs, there will be two of Chan Marshall’s own compositions – a revisit to (or cover of?) “Metal Heart”, which originally appeared on 1998’s Moon Pix, and “Song For Bobby”, a tribute to Bob Dylan. Matablog has the cover art for the new record as well as the complete track list.
Drowned In Sound checks in with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine.
eponymous, the new blog from the folks that brought you and then abandoned Good Hodgkins and Wolf Notes, has an interview with Fred Thomas from Saturday Looks Good To Me about their new album Fill Up The Room. It’s out next Tuesday.
Spinner has got the premiere of the new Weakerthans video for “Civil Twilight”. They’ve got two dates at the Phoenix on November 7 and 8.
Video: The Weakerthans – “Civil Twilight” (Spinner)
QRO talks to Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club about the progress on their new album. In the meantime, they’ve just issued the Smith EP to tide you over until the full-length is done next year.
Glenn Kotche tells The Columbus Dispatch he hates it when Wilco is called “mellow”.
Reveille offers up an interview with Shout Out Louds frontman Adam Olenius. They’re in town at the Mod Club next Monday evening, October 22.
The New Yorker bemoans the lack of soul in today’s indie rock while The Village Voice offers commentary.
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007
When I caught Toronto’s Sunparlour Players opening for Elliott Brood, they were a rip-roaring duo belting out a potent blend of gospel, country and blues from behind a small fortress of musical gear, seated all the while. They were celebrating the release of their debut full-length Hymns For The Happy and now, a year later, they’re playing a CD release show to celebrate the release of… Hymns For The Happy.
The difference is that it’s been remixed, remastered, re-recorded (some of it, anyways) and generally redone for the re-release, there’s label support behind it and the band’s also now a three-piece. The album maintains some of the band’s live intensity (but not all – that’s simply not possible) while putting their gentler, quieter side on display as well. And it sounds a hell of a lot better as well (two of the MP3s below are from the original version of the album). For more insight, check out this extensive interview at Exclaim! with head Player Andrew Penner. Chart also has a chat.
The aforementioned CD release show is going down this Thursday, October 18, at the Rivoli with Bry Webb of The Constantines as support and courtesy of the band I’ve got one prize pack to give away consisting of a pair of passes to the show along with a two copies of the CD and two jars of the band’s famous preserves. Yes, they’re famous for their preserves. And yes, both the winner and their guest will go home with a CD and jar of preserves. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see the Sunparlour Players” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest will close at 8PM tonight (October 17).
MP3: Sunparlour Players – “If The Creek Don’t Rise”
MP3: Sunparlour Players – “Talk It To Death”
MP3: Sunparlour Players – “Shake & Bake For Goodness-Sake”
MySpace: Sunparlour Players
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
I’m sometimes completely arbitrary in what I choose to listen to or not listen to. Case in point – The Raveonettes, who had the misfortune to arrive on the scene around the same time as the White Stripes and who thus fell victim to my ban on garage-rock duos. Don’t bother explaining to me how that’s irrational and unfair – as I said, completely arbitrary. But that’s how it was that I went into Sunday night’s show at Lee’s Palace almost completely unfamiliar with the band. I’d heard the elevator pitch – Jesus & Mary Chain meets ’50s girl groups, recorded an album written completely in b-flat minor – but aside from the samples on their MySpace, they were a complete tabula rasa. But then, I wasn’t there to see them. It was the presence of tourmates Nicole Atkins & The Sea that got me out of the house and while any excuse to have them play is a good one as far as I’m concerned, they did seem an odd match for the headliners.
Gliss, on the other hand, were a perfectly logical fit. The trio reminded me more than a little of fellow Los Angelenos Autolux with their lumbering, psychedelic dream-rock. Obviously an outfit that believes in instrumental socialism, each of them took turns behind the drum kit and occasionally handling lead vocals from back there while the others handled guitar and bass. They gave full effort for their whole set despite being obviously dismayed at the sparse and only mildly interested crowd. They have my sympathies there, but it was early on a Sunday night and I think that if you have to explicitly ask the audience to come up front and dance, you’ve already lost.
I’d like to say that Nicole Atkins’ set won over everyone in the club as it was good enough that in a perfect world it would have, but considering that Atkins’ aesthetic is almost a polar opposite from the Raveonettes, that band’s fanbase might not be the most inclined to take to her unabashedly BIG songs. And with The Sea coming out with the most energy of the three times I’ve seen them this year (and none of the other shows was wanting for energy), they delivered the songs in a big way. And considering the long, winding road that’s been leading up to the release of Neptune City in two weeks, it figures that they’d be in top shape as a live outfit. Playing almost all of the album and throwing in a cover of The Doors’ “Crystal Ship”, Atkins sounded marvelous and… you know what? I’ve run out of ways to praise her so I’ll just stop trying, though I’m going to have to try at least one more time as she’s back – again – on November 18 at Lee’s opening for The Pipettes.
Which brings us back to the Raveonettes. The club was nearly full by the time they took the stage, which was obviously heartening for the band considering that they were a few years removed from their last album and while their new one, Lust Lust Lust, is going to be out in Europe next month there’s no North American release scheduled until early next year. As such, I was probably one of the few curious in attendance as opposed to the converted. With the band consisting only of principals Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo on guitars and vocals and a drummer on two-piece kit (tom, snare), skeletal was the word of the day though they did dress it up in a billowy coat of fuzz and reverb.
I think the problem with having such a strongly defined aesthetic is that while if you love it, you’ll love all of it, if you aren’t convinced there aren’t a lot of different angles from which you can approach it. And so for the duration of their hour-long set, there were moments that caught my interest – the Stereolab cover came with a most welcome increase in BPM – but for the most part, it all sounded very samey and wasn’t especially engaging. But the fact that the material introduced as being from the new album sounded most interesting to me could be a good sign and there still a future for me and the Raveonettes. Just not yet.
eye was also in attendance and offers some thoughts on the Raveonettes’ set with many more words than I, some of them bigger.
Photos: The Raveonettes, Nicole Atkins & The Sea, Gliss @ Lee’s Palace – October 14, 2007
MP3: Nicole Atkins & The Sea – “Party’s Over”
MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Bleeding Diamonds”
MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Carouselle”
Video: The Raveonettes – “Attack Of The Ghost Riders” (YouTube)
Video: The Raveonettes – “That Great Love Song” (YouTube)
Video: Nicole Atkins & The Sea – “The Way It Is” (MySpace)
Video: Nicole Atkins – “Neptune City” (YouTube)
Video: Gliss – “Kissing The Blvd” (YouTube)
Video: Gliss – “Halfway Gone” (YouTube)
Stream: Nicole Atkins & The Sea / Neptune City
MySpace: The Raveonettes
MySpace: Nicole Atkins
MySpace: Gliss
I mentioned that I was pleased to hear that Nicole Atkins was opening for The Pipettes next month – here’s some other support act news that helped perk up my Monday. Ohbijou’s November 9 show at Lee’s went from a “must-see” to “really must see” with the news that in addition to Bruce Peninsula, who were terrific at Dog Day Afternoon, Basia Bulat is now also going to be performing. Additionally, Bruce Peninsula will be opening for The Acorn at the Horseshoe on November 24 along with kalimba queen Laura Barrett. Also one to file under “really must see”. Factoid – Ohbijou’s Casey Mecjia provides the vocals on the final track of The Acorn’s Glory Hope Mountain.
And Basia Bulat is currently on tour out west with Final Fantasy. The Globe & Mail has a nice little feature on Basia while The Torture Garden and Vue have interviews with Owen Pallett and Trendwhore has the audio from his Pop Montreal showcase from a couple weeks ago.
The Cornell Sun talks to New Pornographer John Collins, So Much Silence has an MP3 of the band playing “Myriad Harbour” at KCRW last month and the video for the title track from the new album is now available. They’re at the Phoenix this Sunday night.
Video: The New Pornographers – “Challengers” (YouTube)
The New Pollution documents The Besnard Lakes’ adventures in America.
Feist tells Metro.co.uk she didn’t get a free iPod out of the Apple commercial. Just bags of money.
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