Tuesday, September 4th, 2007
I’ve always been largely indifferent to Brooklyn’s We Are Scientists but the fact that they had the cojones to cover a Sigur Ros song acoustically – and do a decent job of it – earned them my respect. And happily, I now have an excuse to post it and share it with you, because as much as I like it it’s kind of way down the queue as far as getting a Cover Of The Week honours.
And that excuse is this – courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away to their show at Lee’s Palace on Thursday night (that’s September 6), which they’re playing with Entire Cities. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to be a scientist too” in the subject line and your full name in the body. And since there’s such a short turnaround for this one, the contest will close at 5PM tomorrow (September 5).
Also check out the video, which sounds like a different recording of the cover over top the original Sigur Ros video.
MP3: We Are Scientists – “Hoppipolla”
Video: We Are Scientists – “Hoppipolla” (YouTube)
MySpace: We Are Scientists
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007
Marissa Nadler would probably be happy to have you believe that her music was unearthed in a time capsule underneath the floorboards of a coffee house from the tail end of the ’60s and that she was a contemporary of the likes of Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake. And listening to her third album, Songs III: Bird On The Water, you could almost be convinced – her gently trilling voice, simple guitar accompaniment and ethereal production values give her gentle folk songs an air of timelessness that could almost as easily come from medieval times (the historical era, not the restaurant) as modern days.
But there are signs, telltale signs, that root it in the here and now – the reverbs on “Dying Breed” that come straight out of Radiohead’s “Subterranean Homesick Alien” or the intertwining electric lead guitars of “Bird On Your Grave” and “Rachel” that could be lifted from any ’90s college rock radio playlist. However, these are points of interest – not “gotchas”. There’s no faux-retro affectation here – just a collection of songs that may not have the same gravity as their spiritual forebears, but make up for it with a delivery that sounds like a flock of birds in a grey winter’s morning.
Nadler is in town this Friday night for a show at Sneaky Dee”s with Tradition, The Saffron Sect and Castlemusic. Tickets $8 at the door.
MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Diamond Heart”
MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Thinking Of You”
MySpace: Marissa Nadler
Bootlog is sharing some recordings of Basia Bulat’s set at the Wolfe Island Music Fest last month. Her Oh My Darling is out September 18 and will feature a bonus track that wasn’t on the European version. The two-part CD release party will take place at the Music Gallery on September 22.
CMJ features Feist.
The Toronto Star interviewed Alison Sudol of A Fine Frenzy during her stop in town last Tuesday.
The Times talks to Emma Pollock on the eve of the release of her solo debut, Watch The Fireworks, next Tuesday. The Herald also ran an interview last month. There’s a new MP3 and video from the album available. Emma is in town October 21 at the Phoenix opening for The New Pornographers.
MP3: Emma Pollock – “Adrenaline”
Video: Emma Pollock – “Acid Test” (YouTube)
The Guardian looks at the current wave of solo artists finding success in the UK music scene including Patrick Wolf, who’s at Lee’s Palace on October 6, and Bat For Lashes, the odds-on favourite for this year’s Mercury prize. If she wins later today, expect her September 28 gig at the El Mocambo to become a VERY hot ticket. The Independent previews the awards and Drowned In Sound looks at the Mercury-equivalent music prizes from around the globe including Canada’s own Polaris, for which they like Patrick Watson’s chances.
Couple interesting releases in the Spinner.com complete album preview jukebox thing this week – Autumn Of The Seraphs, the new one from Pinback, and the Guilt By Association covers comp which is definitely worth at least a background listen – or just put the Superchunk cover of Destiny’s Child on repeat.
Stream: Autumn Of The Seraphs
Stream: Guilt By Association
Saw Live Free Or Die Hard over the weekend, a sequel that while totally unnecessary was actually pretty enjoyable. Nice to see an action film that does it old school with guns and punching and car chases (and wrecks) and generally wanton destruction. Of course, there’s reaches in logic – John McClane’s superhuman ability to avoid traffic, the bad guys using Palm Pilots to take down the power grid of the entire east coast – that would make Jack Bauer go “oh, come on!” and Timothy Olyphant is possibly the least menacing villain ever, but it was certainly not an unpleasant way to while away an evening.
Trailer: Live Free Or Die Hard (YouTube)
Also watched this weekend – Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain which was as strange and fascinating as I’d expected but also much more emotionally affecting. I also finished watching season one of Dexter, which I didn’t really like at first – the whole “I’m a monster, I feel nothing blah blah blah” monologues put me off but as the storyline progressed and the whodunit became more of the focus, I got a lot more into it. And finally, thanks to Information Leafblower for pointing out this Washington Post dispatch from the set of the final episode of The Wire, aka the show that has ruined me for all other cop TV shows (including Dexter). The fifth and final season premieres on January 6, 2008.
Monday, September 3rd, 2007
I was very pleased to see that moderately buzzy Brooklynites The Jealous Girlfriends are coming to town for a show at the Drake on October 9. I’ve only heard the samples of their self-titled full-length on CD Baby, from whence you can also buy the CD-R as I just did, as well as the smattering of full tracks available here and there, and while they cascade from style to style, they maintain a home base of pop hooks, ‘gazey guitars and atmospheric production to match but their secret weapon is singer/guitarist Holly Miranda, whose riveting voice can range from blues growler to dreampop chanteuse and also sounds great in harmony with he-singer Josh Abbott.
In addition to the Toronto show, they’re also in Montreal on the 7th, but I’m not sticking around for that last night of Pop Montreal so I’ll catch up with them down the 401 a couple of days hence. Check it out – I am betting you will dig. L Magazine declared them one of “8 New York Bands You Need to Hear” and Sentimentalist has an interview.
MP3: The Jealous Girlfriends – “Something In The Water”
MP3: The Jealous Girlfriends – “Machines”
Video: The Jealous Girlfriends – “How Now” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Jealous Girlfriends
Also making the trek down the Montreal-Toronto corridor that weekend is Patrick Wolf, who in addition to the October 6 show at Lee’s Palace I mentioned the other day will be playing the lovely Cabaret du Musée Juste Pour Rire, really the perfect setting for Wolf’s theatrics. Pitchfork has all his North American Fall tour dates.
Liz Powell catches Chart up on a very busy and somewhat tumultuous Summer 2007 for Land Of Talk including losing drummer Bucky Wheaton and renouncing the band’s Canadian citizenship – musically-speaking – in a two-part interview with QRO Magazine. Land Of Talk are at the El Mocambo tomorrow night.
Welcome Voxtrot to the day one lineup of V Fest, a perk of their new status as opening act for the Arctic Monkeys on their Fall North American tour. The schedule for V Fest is supposed to be out tomorrow and with it, presumably, the last of any lineup changes. Unless the Smashing Pumpkins break up between now and Sunday which, let’s be honest, wouldn’t be that big a surprise.
Monday, September 3rd, 2007
Stars released their new album In Our Bedroom After The War digitally over a month ago and will release it in physical form on September 25. This record is not relevant to this contest. Instead, I’m turning the clock back a couple years to 2005’s Set Yourself On Fire and this past May’s remix collection of said album, Do You Trust Your Friends?.
The former was the band’s big breakthrough album, making them one of the bigger-profile act in the country and abroad while the latter was a self-curated record of remixes and covers by friends and associates that garnered reviews ranging from faint praise to raging vitriol. I myself haven’t heard it but suspect my opinions would fall more towards the “interesting, but unnecessary” end of the spectrum.
But I’m pretty sure no one will complain about the existence of the record when taken in the context of a free, autographed slab of vinyl. Or plastic. As the case may be. Ahem. Anyways, courtesy of Arts & Crafts, I’ve got a bundle of Stars stuff to give away, “a bundle” being the scientific term for “five”. Specifically, the following:
- 1 copy of Set Yourself On Fire on vinyl LP, autographed by the band
- 1 copy of Do You Trust Your Friends? on vinyl LP, autographed by the band
- 3 copies of Do You Trust Your Friends? on CD, autographed by the band
You can have a look at the goods here.
To throw your proverbial hat into the proverbial ring for one of these very literal prizes, read the following fine print (actually rendered in exactly the same size as the not-so-fine print):
- You must leave me a comment on this post answering this rather cryptic and yet direct question – “Do you trust your friends to set you on fire?”. Ponder it and reply as you see fit. Winners will be selected on creativity and/or dementia.
- Also note, in your entry, your order of preference for the prizes if you do win.
- You must be a resident of North America.
- You must use a valid email address – spambot-proofed is fine. Even if it doesn’t show up properly in the comment, I will have it in the email notification.
- You must submit your entry by midnight, September 9 – the same day Stars play V Fest.
That should about do it. If I come up with any new conditions, like the next entrant must bring me a cheeseburger, I’ll post that as we go.
MP3: Stars – “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” (Final Fantasy remix)
Video: Stars – “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” (YouTube)
Video: Stars – “Reunion” (YouTube)
Video: Stars – “Ageless Beauty” (YouTube)
Video: Stars – “Sleep Tonight” (YouTube)
MySpace: Stars
Sunday, September 2nd, 2007
A look back at last year’s post from this same day made me realize that there’s not a helluva lot new to say. But seeing as how chromewaves.net is a half-decade old as of today, I feel compelled to take the time to say something if not profound, then at least pretentious. And though my brain really does hurt a lot most days, I’m still here, you’re still here, and we’ve lasted longer than the Carter administration. Yay us.
When this date appeared on my short-term horizon a few months ago, I had fanciful ideas of doing some sort of proper celebration or something to mark the occasion – after all, if I was a retail outlet of some kind, I’d probably be having a sale with clowns and balloons. But then things got busy, as they always do, and instead I’m making a quick post with just me, a lolcatz and whoever’s accidentally reading this because of random Google search in the dead of the last long weekend of the Summer. Truly the very definition of auspicious.
I suppose the most significant thing to happen in the past years was celebrating my 1000 consecutive days of posting streak and the end of said streak at 1050 days. And I got a cat. Otherwise, it’s been pretty much business as usual.
I’ve just deleted two or three paragraphs of trying to soothsay the future of this site but have decided against it because, really, it’s just talking out of my ass. Some days I want to just hang it up, other days I want to write up fifty reviews in a day. Someday there will come a reckoning when I weigh the ongoing existence of this site versus my own sanity, but it won’t be too soon – I’m already committed to about six weeks of chaos starting, oh, Tuesday that simply allows no time for such navel-gazing.
But eventually I’d like to find a way to better deal with all the music that I’m sent or all the potentially interesting bands playing in and around town which surely don’t get a fair shake, either because I’ve no time to listen properly or simply because it falls outside my particular tastes. I’ve some ideas on how to tackle this but to execute properly, I fear they’d end up requiring an even greater time commitment than this site already demands. I do have a day job, y’know.
But anyways, I’ll figure that out later. For now, I – and you – should get out of doors and enjoy this glorious Labour Day weekend (assuming it’s glorious where you are).
Thanks for coming by, I appreciate it.
MP3: Arcade Fire – “Five Years”
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