Friday, October 29th, 2004
Merge has been extraordinarily tight-lipped about what we can expect from the Dinosaur Jr reissues it’s putting out next year. They’re giving the deluxe treatment to the three SST albums – Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me and Bug, and it’s known there will be bonus material but no info on what exactly that will entail. B-sides? Demos? Videos? Expanded liner notes? Photos of embaressing fashion crimes like this one? Apparently, yes. It’s encouraging that J and Lou are at least on civil terms these days. If they’re cooperating on assembling the materials, that’s good news for the fans. While we await further details, there is at least a finalized release date to report – all three albums will be coming out on March 22 of next year. Write it down.
I’ve been a big Dino Jr fan for ages, after all – any band that calls it’s best-of compilation Ear Bleeding Country is a-ok in my books. I don’t know if I’ll replace my copies of Bug and Living, though. Depends what the bonuses turn out to be. Personally, my favourite albums are from the tail-end of the Barlow years and the start of the Warner years. Bug through Where You Been, though “Feel The Pain” is still one of my favourite tunes to play really loud.
Back in the present, J Mascis and his Fog have been busy with some touring on both coasts (but not up here – don’t think I haven’t noticed, J), but no news on when we can expect the follow up to 2002’s Free So Free, and Merge will also be releasing Lou Barlow’s next solo record, Emoh, on January 25.
Glorious Noise takes a peak at Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing, the new biography of the late musician.
Tilly & The Wall justify their existance to The Onion AV Club. I would think their almost sickening cuteness would be reason enough.
Click here for live rarities from Leonard Cohen. If you were ever looking for the, uh, ‘circumcised’ version of “Chelsea Hotel”, you’re in luck. His latest album Dear Heather came out this past Tuesday.
Subpop is running a “Take photos of Subpop artists” contest to win a digital camera. Hmm, I’ve only got Rogue Wave and Iron & Wine pics to choose from, and there’s nothing really good in either gallery. Grumblecakes. Not that I need another digital camera, I just like to feel like a winner.
At a loss for what to dress up as for Hallowe’en? The Stranger has some timely suggestions.
np – Drive-By Truckers / Southern Rock Opera
Thursday, October 28th, 2004
Just in time for Hallowe’en, Geekent brings us the first good look at Christian Bale’s outfit for Batman Begins. Hrmm. Well, it’s probably a good thing he’s a creature of the night and all that. And I don’t see any nipples. Click here for the full-size pic, courtesy of Joblo.
Canadians are well-represented on MTV’s post-CMJ list of bands who live up to the hype – Four out of ten, not bad at all. Arcade Fire, Controller.Controller, Death From Above 1979 and The Dears all get shout-outs from the channel that still likes to pretend it has anything to do with music. From For The Records.
eye introduces Augie March to Toronto. The Aussie outfit will be at The 360 next Monday. I’ve heard very little of their stuff but will be in attendance, hoping to be impressed. Locals The Old Souls support.
NOW presents the winners of their annual “Best of Toronto” poll. The results for these things are always disappointing – the readers poll is inevitably predictable and depressingly lowest common denominator (HMV as best music store? Weep), but the critics picks are at least editorialized and rationalized. Their music picks are a nice little shout out to various personalities in the local music scene.
Congratulations to the Red Sox Nation on being World Champions. It’s been a long time coming. So does that officially make the Leafs the most pathetic team in sports?
Yeah, running a little late today. Going to be all over the GTA at meetings for the rest of the day. Sometimes work happens.
np – Luna / Bewitched
Wednesday, October 27th, 2004
I have no John Peel story. I have no anecdote about a defining moment in my life when I heard the band that would alter reality for me on his radio show. In fact, I’ve never listened to his show. It wasn’t an option through the 80s or most of the 90s, and even if it was, I likely wouldn’t have known who he was. His name only started cropping up when I was university and actively broadening my musical horizons, particularly as I began discovering music coming from the UK.
The phrase “John Peel Sessions” became more commonplace as I sought out the more esoteric releases for the bands I was discovering. At first it didn’t even occur to me that it was in reference to a person – I thought it was a studio, or a place, like Maida Vale, a brand name or some sort of industry. It just seemed to be far too ubiquitous and pervasive to be an individual – but I was wrong. It turned out it was all of the above, but more than that, it was one man. A veritable institution who has left a legacy that’s awe-inspiring.
It’s impossible to try and concieve of what the independent and alternative music worlds, even the mainstream, would have looked like without his influence. So no, I have no stories. I only know that it’s impossible to overstate his importance in the history of all music that I hold dear, and now that he’s gone I just want to salute him and thank him and wish him safe journey.
Not surprisingly, tributes have been rolling in from everywhere:
- BBC1 has his official obituary
- NME, The Guardian, XFM and ITV gathered memorials from the artists who likely wouldn’t have had careers without him, whether directly or indirectly
- Chart has assembled on of their usual “Ten Reasons…” obit, but this is one of the rare occasions that only ten seems so inadequate
- The London News also goes the ‘top ten’ route
- Pitchfork puts the snark away to remember the man
- The message board for his radio show has naturally been overflowing with testaments from his listeners
- And there’s just too many more to list – check out the Google News citations for more
The blogosphere has been paying tribute to the man – amongst the following links you’ll find essays, links to songs from his radio show, more articles trying to articulate his importance and his legacy and just some general tributes. Try to take the time to read through some of them if you can.
There are some archive sites dedicated to his show at Radio Plus and Peel Sessions.
Man.
Thanks to Eugene for sending me this bit of news from the merry land of Gedge, whose Wedding Present and Cinerama projects were both great favourites of Peel. In addition to a tribute to Peel from Dave Gedge, they mention the first Wedding Present single in seven years, Interstate 5, will be coming out in the UK on November 8 to be followed by a new album, Take Fountain, in early 2005. The Cinerama DVD Get Up And Go will also be getting a North American release on November 16.
Chart finds out why The Delgados have ratcheted up the happy on Universal Audio.
Ask and thou shalt receive – iTunes is coming to Canada in November. I wonder how much tracks will cost?
Sterogum caps off the Ashlee Simpson madness with a brilliant Photoshop contest. You have to see it to appreciate it. Now please God let this be the end of Ashlee Simpson mentions on my site – I’m getting far far far too many references from Google for search strings like “Ashlee Simpson” and “Saturday Night Live”. Not that that last sentence is going to help matters any. Urrrrgggh.
Oh, and I was right yesterday – no one in town had Luna’s Rendezvous.
np – Ted Leo & The Pharmacists / Shake The Sheets
Tuesday, October 26th, 2004
Strange environment at Rachael Yamagata’s Toronto debut last night, not least of all because it got started at the wee hour of 7:15 in the evening. Presented as a ‘showcase’, it certainly didn’t feel like a regular concert. The audience was probably split pretty evenly between devoted fans and indifferent industry types – and maybe a few like me, just curious and taking advantage of a free show.
The buzz on Yamagata is that she’s the new Fiona Apple, but without the psychosis – this is based mostly on their vocal ranges (low), their instrument of choice (the piano) and their preferred songwriting subjects (girl done wrong by boy). I’m not really familiar with Ms Apple’s work, nor do I especially like what I’ve heard, so I can’t comment on the accuracy of the comparison. Last night was my first real exposure to Ms Yamagata, however, and I was fairly impressed. She spent about equal time on both the keyboard and the guitar, singing her songs about love gone bad and guys who were dicks to her (her words) in her soulful, raspy voice. There were a few really standout tracks (I had “Be Be Your Love” in my head all day) but there was a definite consistent level of quality across all the material. I wonder how long she can continue working that particular wellspring of inspiration, but that’s her problem, not mine. If she wants to keep getting involved with unsuitable men for the artistic inspiration, more power to her.
Though she seemed a little nervous at first – perhaps the ‘showcase’ atmosphere had her spooked as well, she loosened up as the set went on and engaged the crowd, telling stories about her band with whom she was completing a six-week American tour. I was initially a little skeptical/suspicious of her band, who looked a little too note-perfect hipster/Hot Topic for my tastes but that was probably just the cynical indie kid in me talking. They were fine musicians and the song arrangements were nice and lush, but I will maintain they’re trying a little too hard with the wardrobe choices. Anyway, it was an enjoyable show (Pics here), especially since it didn’t cost me anything and I didn’t have to stay up late. She seemed uncertain as to whether her record Happenstance was available in Canada – well it is, and I’ll probably be keeping an eye out for it. She’s not doing anything revolutionary, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still good listening.
Luna’s final album Rendezvous, comes out today, and if there’s one thing that’s as certain as me hoofing it to Soundscapes after work today to pick it up, it’s that they won’t have it in stock yet. This is one of the few occasions in which I curse the unreliable independent label distribution system. Curse you! To dull the inevitable tang of disappointment, we’ve got a couple pieces on the band from The Japan Times and The New York Post, wherein it’s revealed that a film crew will be accompanying the band on their final tour for a future documentary. Pitchfork and Metacritic are also on the case with reviews of the last record.
Nerve interviews Interpol about suits and groupies. Y’know, I still don’t have Antics. And that doesn’t bother me. From Largehearted Boy.
Anyone who missed Jon Stewart on 60 Minutes this past Sunday night (like me) can read a pretty thorough summary of the segment here.
Acid reflux. Who in the Ashlee pool had ‘acid reflux’? Damn, I said ‘terrorists’. I was going to go with acid reflux but figured that the terrorists had sabotaged her performance because they hate freedom. But no, acid reflux. I don’t think any of us expected them to say that.
Update: Legendary British DJ John Peel has died at age 65. The man’s influence on independent music was incalculable. Respect.
np – Elliott Smith / From A Basement On The Hill
Monday, October 25th, 2004
Comic artist extraordinaire Alex Ross expresses his deep regard for George W Bush in the best way he knows how for The Village Voice. Here’s the accompanying article.
A live Steve Earle album and DVD dating way back into the Skinny Steve Earle (Mark 1) era is coming out on November 2. Live From Austin Texas is taken from a show in, uh, Austin, on September 12, 1986. Fast-forwarding back to the future, Skinny Steve Earle (Mark 2) talks to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about – shocker – his politics. I wonder if he ever wishes someone would ask him about, I don’t know, his thoughts on extra-terrestrial life or something.
The Guardian challenges one of their music writers to listen to every CD released in October and try to take the temperature of the musical zeitgeist at what it considers to be “a critical juncture in the history of pop music”. Their conclusions? I’m not actually sure, but the writer did apparently end up with a bad haircut.
Achtung Baby discovers a running meme amongst several sites casting a fond eye back on the music of 1994 in list format. We’ve got ‘best albums of 1994’ lists from Listology, Mojo and Alternative Rock Review. I was in my last year of high school/first year of university in 1994, and I’d say it was a pretty key juncture in the development of my musical tastes. It’s interesting to note the number of albums on these lists that mattered to me then (six, two and thireteen respectively) and now (seven, five and six, respecitvely), and how much overlap there is between the two lists (Pavement and Neil Young are about it). There’s hindsight for ya.
The Mazzy Star Anthology, which has been pushed back almost an entire year now, has yet another release date – April 26. In an attempt to make up for the endless delays, the compilation will be available in both a standard edition and a deluxe one, complete with DVD.
I bought season one of Arrested Development this weekend, and have been having a grand time wading through this terrific show. I think I got turned onto it about halfway through last season (I haven’t seen a familiar episode yet, about a third of the way through) but couldn’t find an appropriate jumping-on point so I decided to just wait until the inevitable DVD set and get ready for season two, kicking off next Sunday. Update: I mean the Sunday after next. November 7. I’m not good with dates. Or time. Or math.
davidartemiw.com follows up on my observations last week about ex-Jays in the ALCS with some interesting numbers on former Blue Jays in the World Series since the glory days of 1992 and 1993.
I wasn’t going to talk any more about the Ashlee Simpson debacle, but there’s just so much worth commenting on. Here’s a random hit list – you can probably click anywhere on my blogroll to get more scathing commentary:
- Lipsync.us is a blog dedicated to the whole incident – I imagine it will be the top resource for everything Ashlee-gate. From LHB
- Pop (All Love) claims to have the party line on the ‘microphone malfunction’
- The Modern Age has a comment from someone purporting have been work ing at SNL on Saturday
- Tiny Mix Tapes zings Saturday Night Live with, “This performance, ironically enough, was the funniest thing SNL ever broadcasted”)
- This would be my new wallpaper if I wasn’t certain it’d cause a seizure (The AP graciously describe it as “some exaggerated hopping dance moves”)
- The “remixed” performance had me peeing myself. Seriously, Ashlee Simpson has made me incontinent.
Surely this sort of fiasco was inevitable – it’s the laws of thermodynamics, baby. Ashlee is like a 20th generation copy of someone with a modicum of talent. She’s riding on the coattails of her sister, herself a b-list pop diva who needs to be propped up by a reality TV show while stealing the ‘rocker’ schtick from Avril. I think she’s just lucky that she didn’t spontaneously combust on stage. Literally, not just figuratively. I would have been satisfied if she should be eaten by wolves. Again, literally – not just figuratively.
np – Suede / Sci-Fi Lullabies
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