Tuesday, October 19th, 2004
Saturday Looks Good To Me the studio band and Saturday Looks Good To Me the live band are two very different propositions.
Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan (is it bad form to call Ann Arbor Detroit?), the former is a massive collective effort (the last two albums featured 27 and 19 different credited players and singers, respectively) masterminded by Fred Thomas, creating massively ornate, unapologetically retro-sounding pop in the spirit of Motown, Brian Wilson and Phil Spector. The use of a large cast of singers makes the records sound more like long-lost mix tapes found in the back seat of a 1969 Chevelle.
The live experience, on the other hand, varies depending on who can come out on the road with them. Their show last July at Rancho Relaxo was as bare bones as could be, with Thomas fronting a three-piece unit that rearranged the songs into highly-charged fuzzy pop blasts that while entertaining, didn’t do the recordings justice. To their credit, they did the best they could and did put on an entertaining show, but if you’d heard the albums you couldn’t help but be a little bit disappointed.
This time around, however, they got it totally right. The six-piece touring band comprised all the main players who recorded Every Night and the difference they made was night and day. The most key addition was of Betty Marie Barnes to handle all the female vocals on the album (as well as provide some nice visual benefits… read: she’s a cutie) – I couldn’t imagine numbers like “The Girl’s Distracted” or “Underwater Heartbeat” without the boy/girl duets. In addition, the saxophone and separate bassist and keyboardist (last time it was one guy, the saxophonist, ironically, who handled both duties) really filled out the sound and brought the album arrangements to life.
The turnout was pretty meagre, to be expected for a Monday night, but the band put on a terrific show regardless – my butt was bopping pretty much the whole night. Thomas was oddly charming as frontman, though not as hyperactive as last time around, and full props to Scott DeRoche who, despite breaking the e-string on his bass three-quarters of the way through the set, still managed to finish the show by tuning the a-string down a fifth and playing everything on one string. That’s impressive. I highly recommend anyone who can catch this tour while it’s still going – they’re in Canada for the next few days:
Oct 19, 2004 @ Irene’s Pub – Ottawa, ONT
Oct 20, 2004 @ El Salon – Montreal, QBE
Oct 21, 2004 @ The Underground – Hamilton, ONT
Oct 22, 2004 @ Call The Office – London, ONT
I only arrived in time to catch the second opener, Picastro. Their PJ Harvey/Cat Power-esque droney narcolepsy-core was an odd match for SLGTM’s buoyant retro-pop, but they kept their set short so it didn’t throw off the mood too much. Don’t get me wrong – I like some of what Picastro does, but it just wasn’t the sort of thing I was in the mood for last night.
Photos from the show here.
…So I missed The Daily Show last night, on account of being at the aforementioned concert. Anyone know where I can find a downloadable copy of it? It hasn’t shown up on bit torrent yet.
Comic book fans will be pleased to know that the Miracleman drama is apparently finally over. While on the road, Neil Gaiman confirmed that the series would be returning to stores within 18 months or so courtesy of Marvel, presumably in the form of trades collecting both Alan Moore and Gaiman’s legendary runs on the title, and the conclusion of “The Silver Age” storyline. There’s some question as to whether it will return as Miracleman or Marvelman, seeing as how the latter was the character’s original name and it was only changed when Marvel – the same company who will be publishing it – complained in the 80s.
Hamsters piloting giant robot hamsters to combat evil make me happy. From Gizmodo.
There is a courtyard of naked men at the club/lounge outside my office window. They appear to be shooting something. It’s like 6 degrees Centigrade out there – not very flattering weather. The girls in my office have gone to take pictures regardless. A very perplexing way to start the morning.
np – Charlotte Hatherley / Grey Will Fade
Monday, October 18th, 2004
Comic blog The Beat is reporting that the title role in the next Superman film has finally been cast. According to their sources, Some dude named Brandon Routh will be donning the tights and leaping tall buildings in a single bound, and unnamed Warner Bros execs have confirmed the casting. There’s even pics of him dressed up like the big blue banana for a costume party of some sort circulating – though how these got out so quickly, I don’t know if I want to know. I realize those big black plastic National Health-type glasses were supposed to make Clark Kent look extra nebbish, but nowadays they just make him look like some hipster or emo kid. But I suppose that’s offset by the fact that he sometimes wears his underwear on the outside. Interesting bit of trivia – Mr Routh’s birthday is October 9 – the same day that the last Superman, Christopher Reeve, died. Last movie Superman, anyway. Dean Cain is still alive, even if his career isn’t. Zing!
And not to be outdone by his Metropolis rival, Gotham City’s Batman today released additional cast photos from the his upcoming film, Batman Begins, including a shot of Ken Watanabe as Ra’s Al-Ghul.
I’m quite excited about the release of Pavement’s Crooked Rain Crooked Rain in its expanded L.A.’s Desert Origins double-disc format next week. In addition to the original album, there’s an additional 37 (!) tracks filling out the set – as much as I liked the Slanted & Enchanted deluxe set, I think I’ll prefer this one simply because it collects material from an era where they were arguably at the peak of their powers. I like scratchy, lo-fi recordings with noisy, hamfisted guitar as much as the next guy, but the extra bit of refinement and polish that the CRCR material should have in the production, performance and writing departments will be quite welcome. Anyway, until the reissue hits the stores, both their North American and European labels are doing what they can to further whet peoples’ appetites – Domino Records is streaming 21 of the new tracks, one per day, through the rest of October. They’re already a cou[le days in so you’ve missed a wee bit of it. Meanwhile, Matador is letting you have only one track for the time being, but they’re letting you download it and keep it and rename it “Skippy” and build it a little house out of a matchbox if you so desire. Cause they’re just those kind of guys. Thanks to Catbirdseat and Stereogum for the tip-offs.
Spin gets Jeff Tweedy to list off the records that changed his life. Link from For The Records. Update: Odd, link doesn’t seem to be working anymore…
Stylus handicaps the Shortlist of Music finalists.
The Modern Age has come back out of hiding in her /temp directory.
Note for anyone else who’s planning to hit the Saturday Looks Good To Me at the Silver Dollar tonight – doors at 9, openers are locals The Don’t Be Shys and Picastro and the headliners should be on at approximately 11:15. Cover will be approximately $7. Approximately.
So I’ve been going through my Chromewaves email inbox and seen there’s been a number of emails that I haven’t replied to or have otherwise gotten lost in the shuffle – if you’re waiting for a response to something, I apologize. I am utterly slack sometimes. Um, but don’t necessarily interpret this as a sign that you WILL get a response back any time soon – I’m just apologizing.
np – My Bloody Valentine / Loveless
Sunday, October 17th, 2004
The Pernice Brothers have revealed a little more info on their upcoming live album/DVD. On the audio side, it’ll have a show culled from two nights at the Mercury Lounge in New York from this past January and the DVD will contain live footage from all over combined with wacky ‘on the road’ hijinks and the music videos for “Baby In Two” and “Weakest Shade Of Blue”, which you can also see on the website. They’re shooting for a Thanksgiving release (late November, for non-Americans) and it’ll be available almost exclusively through mail order domestically – it may get proper distribution overseas.
And on a Boston-related note, I found this as a search string in my referer logs yesterday: “odds of red sox winning from three nothing defecit”. Oh you poor, poor bastards.
Caught The Manchurian Candidate at the Bloor last night. Some interesting bits of political commentary, especially in the current climate, but the main story was too absurd to really consider as social commentary. I didn’t think Denzel Washington was nearly paranoid enough considering the scope of the conspiracy he was beginning to unravel, but that’s neither here nor there. Meryl Streep was suitably over-the-top hammy as Liev Schrieber’s manipulative Senator mommy though also creepy where the film demanded it. And in the ‘just odd’ department were Robyn Hitchcock’s brief appearance as a bad guy and having the film’s climax play out over Fountains Of Wayne’s “Better Days”. Overall it was just alright, nothing really special. Though I think John Kerry should keep a sharp eye on that John Edwards fellow. He looks a little shifty.
Jon Stewart is on the cover of the new Rolling Stone. Excerpt from the cover story here. I haven’t bought an issue of Rolling Stone in many many years, but I *may* have to put aside my general disdain for it this week.
Craploads of Calexico downloads available here. Don’t forget their World Drifts In DVD just came out and it’s supposed to be excellent. From Sixeyes.
Rolling Stone runs a brief piece announcing the dissolution of Luna. From LHB.
Cause you all know I’m a covers whore – Stylus compiles a list of ten cover versions that altered the meaning of a song.
Tickets for the December 2 Feist show at The Phoenix will run you fifteen bones, on sale now. Ah, hell – I think I’ll go to this.
np – Tift Merritt / Bramble Rose
Saturday, October 16th, 2004
I don’t ever watch CNN’s Crossfire, so I can’t say that I just happened to miss Jon Stewart’s appearance on the show – I didn’t know about it and never would have… if it hadn’t ended up being such a remarkable piece of television. In a nutshell, the show had wanted Stewart to come on, make some jokes and shill The Daily Show‘s new book but instead Stewart wanted to be dead serious (as much as he can be) and tear them a new one for their journalistic failings in regards to their political guests. He calls them “partisan hacks” and singles out host Tucker Carlson as “a dick”, and when Carlson tries to stop his screed by saying, “Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny”, Stewart retorts, “No. I’m not going to be your monkey”. So fucking good.
It’s truly fascinating to watch. I think it’s one of the rare times that Stewart seems 100% sincere about what he’s talking about – and I don’t mean that he usually seems insincere, far from it, but here he’s not using irony or “we’re fake news” card to cover his position. When he’s pleading with them to “Please stop” as they’re cutting him off to go to commercial, there’s a real desperation there. I didn’t think it was possible for me to respect Stewart more than I already did, but there you go. Whether he admits it or not, he’s got tremendous influence right now and to see him actually take a serious position on an important issue was heartening. The Big Ticket has a good synopsis of the incident and a slew of links for your further edification, and you can grab a torrent of the segment here – it’ll be a super-fast download ’cause I’m sure EVERYONE is trying to download this as well – download it in non-torrent form here or here, or read the official transcript of the episode here. But really, you have to see it.
Keeping on a political angle, Mother Jones talks to longtime political activist Steve Earle about his activities over the current election season and The Nation talks to newbie political activist Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie about taking part in the Vote For Change tour. Both links from Largehearted Boy.
And in a completely apolitical story, Billboard gets an update on the status of the new Broken Social Scene record, now due out in late March or early April.
The Guardian takes a nostalgic look back at the great British indie-pop C86 boom of the mid-80s and how it’s making a comeback in the sounds of today’s hot new artists. And as a primer for the curious, they offer a list of their top 10 indiepop singles.
You know how last week I posted a couple covers of Wire’s “Outdoor Miner”? If you liked that, you’ll LOVE this – A Houseguest’s Wish isn’t just a tribute album to Wire – it’s a tribute album to Wire’s SONG. You get nineteen – yes, that’s IXX for you Romans out there – different versions of the classic tune. And you know what? I’d actually like to hear this – it’s a great song. The Luna track I posted is NOT on the comp, while the Lush one is. I also hear there’s a Ted Leo cover kicking around – anyone have it?
np – Scud Mountain Boys / Massachusetts
Friday, October 15th, 2004
The tank is empty. I have nothing. Now most bloggers would simply not post on days on which they have nothing to say. Not me, though – my weird obsessive compulsive streak simply won’t allow it. So instead, I’ll just take a little wander through the media that’s keeping me occupied right now.
Reading: For periodicals, I’m about halfway through new Magnet, which is always an enjoyable if brief read. After that I’ll take on the new Filter, which I got as part of my complimentary subscription for putting up that little banner dealie up in the corner. I’m once again an issue behind on TapeOp – rather sad that I can’t stay on top of a slim bi-monthly magazine.
When I get back to the books, there’s Milk It!, a collection of essays and articles by Jim DeRogatis on the alternative music explosion of the early to mid ’90s – it’ll be interesting to read about the decade of music I grew up in with the benefit of hindsight. I’ve also got Ways Of Seeing from the library – it’s a slim book of essays about art and the perception of art. It’s based on a BBC television series from the early 70s so it’s a little dated, but still interesting.
Finally, the only comics purchase this week was issue 5 of Ex Machina, by Brian K Vaughan and Tony Harris. This one wrapped up the inaugural story arc and I have to say I was a little let down with the resolution. However, the series still has an excellent premise (ex-superhero becomes mayor of New York City) and the creators have a proven track record for great stories, so I’m sticking around for the long haul. The series also has a neat-looking website which would be even neater if it actually worked. I also finished the massive one-volume edition of Jeff Smith’s Bone. Soooo good. I got burned out on fantasy as a genre some time ago, but even though Bone didn’t necessarily offer any groundbreaking twists to the formula, it was so well-executed and epic in scope that I had to love it. And the single-volume 1200+ page edition is a total bargain – I paid $36 from Amazon.
Listening – getting back into a shoegaze mode right now. Lots of Ride on the (figurative) turntable at the moment, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine — you know, the staples. Looking to draw some inspiration for future musical endeavours… Right now, I’m thinking LOUD.
I’ve also been spinning the new Saturday Looks Good To Me, which I had originally pegged as a disappointment but which has been growing on me. They’re at the Silver Dollar on Monday and I hope they bring a slightly larger band than they did last time when there were just three of them. They were entertaining but the songs really deserve to have a fuller presentation.
Also been listening to a lot of American Music Club/Mark Eitzel and Mojave 3. Threw The House Of Love’s BBC Sessions disc in the player last night. Terry Bickers = God. On a related note, the House of Love’s new album – their first in about a decade – has been recorded and is being mixed, they’re looking at an early Spring release. And the Alejandro Escovedo tribute album Por Vida is also quite good.
I got the Doves DVD Where We’re Calling From the other day – used, so it was nice and cheap. Only taken a quick skim through it but there seems to be a lot of decent material on the disc. They’re one of the few new British bands who genuinely excite me these days – I’m looking forward to their new one, which should be out in February of next year. I’ve been trying to find a used copy of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, but have only turned up the fullscreen editions so far. Why on earth do they still make fullscreen DVDs? Surely no one actually wants these things?
I’m not really much of a video gamer, but I got Deus Ex: Invisible War a couple weeks ago and am very slowly working my way through it. It’s not especially addictive, but it’s a good time killer. I really enjoyed the first one, but can’t say the sequel is really grabbing me yet. For some reason, my copy only came with French instructions, so I don’t really know all the controls yet. Interestingly, eye ran an article on the game in this week’s issue, even though the game is over a year old.
And there you go – a post completed simply by looking around my living room. That was easier than I thought it’d be. Maybe next time I’ll blog about the contents of my kitchen cupboards.
…And as it turns out, there is some news to report. Bits and pieces, like.
In an exclusive interview, Pitchfork finds out why Dean Wareham is disbanding Luna.
“We’ve been around a long time, and I think it’s different in your twenties than when you hit forty. In your twenties you don’t have a care in the world, and you’re out there sleeping on someone’s floor, but you’re like, ‘Hey, isn’t this great!’ And after awhile…”
Sniff. For the record, Dean, I’d have let you guys have the bed and couch and *I* would have taken the floor.
Gary sent me this item about iTunes coming to Canada very soon. I don’t know, man. Downloading music makes baby Jesus cry.
np – Sugar / Copper Blue
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