Tuesday, August 23rd, 2005
Everyone knows I do love me a good cover song, so I was pleased to see Copy, Right? devote a complete post to covers of The Magnetic Fields. And I have to say I completely agree with Liza that the Arcade Fire cover of “Born On A Train” is uninspiring at best. The arrangement is pedestrian and Win’s voice is absolutely shot (this is in reference to the KCRW radio session version that was circulating – I’ve no idea if there are others). If you’ve not heard it, you can watch a video of their session and judge for yourself.
If I may be so bold, I much prefer the version that my old band did on one of our old EPs (you can listen to the whole thing here, courtesy of Five Seventeen. Though I haven’t heard the finished version of the album we recorded over a year ago (it should be out, uh, someday), I think this was the best-sounding recording we ever did. Take that as you will. Maybe we should have submitted the track to It’s Meaningless, the online Magnetic Fields tribute project. I actually haven’t gone through any of the submissions here – what’s worthwhile?
There’s not too much actual Magnetic Fields news to report on – the promotional cycle for last year’s I is done and Stephin Merritt appears to be devoting his time to stage projects. There’s full details on the MF website, but particularly interesting is the fact that he’s working on a musical adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s children’s book Coraline with an eye towards a Fall 2006 release. That could be quite interesting.
Some bits from the land of Broken Social – Broken Social Scene has leaked and Kevin Drew is philosophical about the fact that it’s out there over a month before its October 4 release date. That’s right, everyone. Scurry to your P2P networks. Scurry! Elsewhere, Stars are interviewed by Incendiary, Gothamist talks to BSS guitarist John Crossingham’s Raising The Fawn and in the “no big surprise” deptartment, Metric have added a second show at the Phoenix on September 28 to go along with the sold-out show there on the 29th. Their new one, Live It Out, is out the day before, on the 27th. Expect it to leak aaaany day now.
Though still untitled and not looking very likely for the originally planned Fall release, Rainer Maria have posted a Quicktime stream of one of their new songs, called “Burn”. Hmm, the album was produced by Malcolm Burn – wonder if the song’s named after him? Either way – it’s nice. Hard to believe this is the same band that made Look Now, Look Again. They’ve… mellowed. It suits them. Aside – I had no idea that in The Sound Of Music, Maria’s maiden name is “Rainer”. Maria Rainer. Weird.
Junkmedia and Pulse Of The Twin Cities have words with Joe Pernice, but no fisticuffs ensue.
I bought a set of these at Ikea last week. They’re brilliant. I’ve never been so excited to grate cheese in my life.
np – Yo La Tengo / Prisoners Of Love
Monday, August 22nd, 2005
New York (and outlying regions’) chamber pop combo Matt Pond PA will release their new album Several Arrows Later on October 11 with supporting tour dates to be announced shortly. The band also reports progress in finding a replacement for cellist/vocalist Eve Miller, who departed the band earlier this Summer. She presumably still appears on the new album, as does appear in the video for “Closest (Look Out)”, the link to which comes courtesy of Prefix.
While rather quiet in the press since their cover of “Champagne Supernova” soundtracked a key scene in The O.C., there has been some press about how that’s affected the band’s fortunes, the recent covers-heavy Winter Songs EP and what to expect from the new record. Pond talked to Ink 19 and 30music (what’s with the numerically-inclined webzines?) while guitarist Brian Pearl took a few minutes with Wheel Kick.
In a bit of an odd pairing but pleasant surprise, the Fruit Bats will be opening for Son Volt on the leg of their Fall tour that includes the October 17 show at the Opera House in Toronto. I have my ticket and am looking forward to seeing Jay Farrar for the first time ever, but still feel a pang of regret that it means missing out on the Mountain Goats show at Lee’s the same night. And speaking of the Goats, thanks to Zoilus for this link to their first-ever music video, a clip for “This Year”, off The Sunset Tree.
JAM! and Billboard have reports from Neil Young’s two-night stand at the Ryman in Nashville last week, which was being recorded by Jonathan Demme for a forthcoming concert documentary and which featured songs from Neil’s new album Prairie Wind, which is due out on September 27. Young recently renewed his contract with Reprise Records, a move which should finally see the release of his Archives, which have been on a burner of some sort for decades now.
The latest issue of Filter Mini is now available to download and peruse. The cover artist this time around is Rilo Kiley.
Sixeyes solicits some recommended listening from John Vanderslice, guaranteed to give you fresher breath and a glossier, shinier coat. His new one, Pixel Revolt, which I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you listening to as well, is out Tuesday.
Incendiary interviews Decemberists. Via Largehearted Boy.
Some rather fruitful record-shopping this past weekend – scored a few House of Love and Billy Bragg 7″s, a neat Dinosaur Jr 10″ EP for “Feel The Pain”, a Luna 12″ single and a near-mint copy of The Chameleons’ What Does Anything Mean? Basically. Mmm, vinyl.
np – Mogwai / Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003
Sunday, August 21st, 2005
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Brakes / Give Blood (Rough Trade)
Brakes could be described as a UK supergroup if you have a very loose frame of reference for “super”. Fronted by British Sea Power keyboardist Eamon Hamilton, Electric Soft Parade principles Tom and Alex White and The Tenderfoot’s Marc Beatty, they’re not exactly Traffic. The 16 tracks clock in at under half an hour and the entire album has an incredibly loose, off the cuff, occasionally country-ish feel with straightforward punky arrangements and goofy, snotty vocals. There’s little doubt the manifesto for this project is to drink, goof off and have a lark, so it’s a little surprising that the results are so listenable. It’s not going to change anyone’s life, but it’s a good, quick bit of fun. The kitchen sink aesthetic is a real departure for the ESP boys, who I’ve always thought failed to realize their potential by falling prey to serious overproduction on their own records. Maybe they’ll take something positive away from this to apply to their day job? Oh, and in case you’re wondering, “Sometimes Always” is a cover but “Fell In Love With A Girl” is not. The album, out in the UK last month, gets a North American release on September 13.
Incendiary has an interview with Brakes. |
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The Perishers / Let There Be Morning (EMI)
The Coldplay-led sensitive rock phenomenon that has been sweeping across the UK now has a standard-bearer in Sweden in the form of The Perishers. Perhaps the only band on the face of the Earth that Coldplay could beat up, The Perishers (whose name inaccurately conjures up images of death metal – for me, anyway) are all about piano and acoustic-y ballads with just enough electric instrumentation to lend some texture or edge. Ola Kluft’s voice is more than a little reminiscent of Travis singer Fran Healy’s, but the songs lack his wry sense of wit – instead, the lyrical content is more naval-gazing and generally simplistic and glum. Think about that for a minute – there now exists music that is Travis lite. Be afraid. Let There Be Morning is delicate, heart on sleeve emotional and utterly unnecessary. |
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Some By Sea (MySpace)
I am well aware that it’s hypocritical of me to rag on one act for being artistically redundant but not do the same for another act that doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, but whatever. I’m capricious like that. Sea-Tac’s Some By Sea sound not unlike the lower-fi offspring of Matt Pond PA’s cello-seasoned chamber pop and Death Cab For Cutie’s earnestly melodic and verbose indie rock. Chris Du Bray’s voice is a little on the thin and nasal side, and the songs benefit when cellist/keyboardist Rachel Bowman adds her harmonies to the mix. The four songs on their MySpace page offer a mix of live and studio tracks and it all sounds quite good. They’ve got an album and EP in the discography and will expand that on September 27 with a new EP, The Saddest Christmas, and a second full-length is in the works for early next year. |
np – various artists / Never Lose That Feeling Volume One
Saturday, August 20th, 2005
Zoilus annotates his review of The New Pornographers’ Twin Cinema for The Globe & Mail. I’m not sure what it is about this band that prompts such analysis and verbosity from critics, but it looks like PopMatters’ guy was getting paid by the word. Metacritic doesn’t have a page for Twin Cinema up yet, but early indications are that it’ll score quite well.
And some more New Porn bits – Carl Newman tells Macleans how his posse nearly threw down West Side Story-style with east coast supergroup Broken Social Scene in New York City. WFMU’s blogged about the band’s appearance in their studios earlier this week, including audio and video archives of their performance. Twin Cinema is out Tuesday and they band is in town at The Docks on October 9.
And on the topic of criticism, Pandas That Won’t Screw To Save Their Species ponders the curious and imprecise science of music reviews.
Dallas’ Old 97’s will release a double-live album this Fall – maybe even as early as September – called Live and Wired, which is culled from a couple of live shows recorded in San Antonio earlier this Summer. Furthermore, frontman Rhett Miller will be putting out his second solo album this Fall.
The Elvis Costello DVD set I mentioned earlier this week, The Right Spectacle, will be out in North America on September 27 courtesy of the good people at Rhino.
And in an effort to help you select something worthwhile at the video store this weekend, Roger Ebert offers up a list of his worst movies of all time.
np – My Morning Jacket / Z
Friday, August 19th, 2005
Does the world really need another Sufjan Stevens post? No, no it doesn’t. But as it turns out, everything I had to post today was related to an artist who’s coming through town in the next few months and are (for the moment, at least) on my “to-do” calendar, and Mr Stevens is up first, chronologically speaking. I can’t resist a good meme, no sir, I cannot.
NY News Day does some lousy prep work in advance of their interview with Sufjan (Via Largehearted Boy). Dear Ms George – Illinois isn’t his second album, it’s his fifth. Thankfully, Sufjan redeems some amazingly banal questions with decent answers. AZCentral offers up a better piece on the man and Illinois. He’s at Trinity-St Paul’s on September 10.
The schedule for Ear To The Ground, going down at Exhibition Place September 15 through 17, is up. Grok the lineups for the Friday, Saturday, Sunday – looks like a helluva thing. Also noteworthy is that Andrew Bird is now appearing as well. Nice.
Seattle Weekly does a quick Q&A with Carl Newman about the new New Pornographers album Twin Cinema, out Tuesday (via LHB). Meanwhile, The East Bay Express ponders the New Pornographers’ place in the power pop firmament. They’re at The Docks on October 9.
Paste kindly reprints the entirety of their cover story on Death Cab For Cutie from the new issue. Death Cab are also on the cover of the new Under The Radar and really, if Plans does nearly as well as it’s expected to, you can expect to see their earnest faces on a LOT of magazine covers over the next while, not to mention at the Kool Haus on October 15.
John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats articulates his vision of a perfect hockey league to PopMatters. The Mountain Goats are at Lee’s Palace on October 17.
Paste draws lines from Son Volt 1 through Jay Farrar’s solo work and back to Son Volt the second and his need to rock out again. Farrar and the (new) boys are at the Opera House October 17.
The Courier-Journal reports that My Morning Jacket were awarded the number 14 spot on Esquire‘s list of the best-dressed men in the world. Anyone who saw that coming, hands up. LIARS. The dapper gents from Kentucky will be at the Guvernment October 20.
np – British Sea Power / Open Season
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