Kieran Hebden (AKA Four Tet) Remixes The Kills

From 4rthur.com comes word about this apparently "secret" Four Tet remix of "The Good Ones" by The Kills. Click here to download "The Good Ones: the Kieran Hebden Edit".

Newsletter registration is required to get the track.

OPTIMO - T MINUS FIVE

JD Twitch and JG Wilkes of Optimo will be at the Tribeca Grand this Saturday and the Llano Estacado on Monday. It's their first visit to NYC in over a year. I am psyched. You should be too. I've never read a bad review of their eclectic, wide-ranging sets, so all signs point to this visit being a real treat. The Tribeca Grand party is free, but RSVP's are a must - send your name to weare138nyc@yahoo.com to get on the list. I'd also recommend getting there early, as they're expecting it to be packed. Tickets are $5 for Monday and only available at the door.

As for what to expect, here's what they played during their Breezeblock set a few weeks ago:

TV On The Radio - Staring At The Sun / I Wolf - Fallin (Lo Soul Mix) / Mu - Paris Hilton / Code 6 - C.O.D.E.S. / Midnight Mike - Hot In The Kitchen / No Smoke - Koro Koro / Delta 5 - Mind Your Own Business / Gang Of Four - At Home He's A Tourist / The Sonics - Have Love Will Travel / Simple Minds - Theme For Great Cities / Acid Test - Acid Test 1 / The Step - Yeah You / M83 - Don't Save Us From The Flames (Superpitcher Mix) / Mount Florida - Dingered / Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Heard It Through The Grapevine / Misc - Flow Control (Basteroid Mix) / LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations / 808 State - Cubik / London Posse - How's Life In London? / Gang of Four - I've Found That Essense Rare / Surgeon - British Murder Boys Learn Your Lesson / Orbital - Satan / Boards Of Canada - In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country

... which is not to say any of this will get played this weekend. It seems the whole point with Optimo is that anything goes when it comes to the music. The free mixes on their website suggest as much. The current one, Slightly Spaced, is good but Jamaica Street, a dub/reggae mix, is probably my favorite. (And the krautrock mix Sour Kraut wins for best name.) The best starting point is their two disc set How To Kill The DJ [Part 2]. Or, just check out one of this weekend's events.

Luna - Bowery Ballroom, 2.27.05



It was Oscar night, so it was fitting that multiple cameras rolled as Luna took the Bowery stage yesterday evening. On hand to film the final shows of the band's career, the cameras were a frequent subject of jokes both from the band and the audience. Catcalls for casting ideas abounded, ranging from the odd (Morgan Freeman) to the oddly on-the-money (Crispin Glover as Dean Wareham).

Humor, in fact, overwhelmed any sense of sadness or loss that either the performers or their appreciating fans may have felt about the end of this band. If it weren't for the cries of "we'll miss you" or "four more years" from the crowd, you might have easily forgotten that tonight Luna will play their last show and then disband.

With the pressure of promoting a new album or planning future moves removed from their shoulders, Luna languidly perfomed a summation of their 14-year history, choosing favorite songs from each of their seven albums. They graciously took and performed requests, hilariously turned some down (hasn't yelling "Freebird" gotten old yet?) and dropped in a down-tempo cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine" in the first encore. There were no speeches, no tears and no farewells. Surely this is not the last we'll hear from these musicians.

The first I heard from Luna was back in the winter of 2000. I was drawn solely on pedigree: any band that descended from Galaxie 500 was worth investigating in my mind. Despite knowing none of their songs, I came away from my first show completely hooked: hooked by Dean Wareham's weird and witty drawl; hooked by Sean Eden's curlicue guitar licks and spastic facial tics; and finally, mesmerized by bassist Britta Phillips and her dazed, almost too-stoned demeanor.

But of course, it was songs like "23 Minutes in Brussels", "Bewitched", "Bonnie and Clyde", and the Galaxie classic "Fourth of July" that instantly converted me. These songs were all performed again last night, reminding me why I love this band and will miss their presence, even if they seemed relieved to have it over with.



Set List (Courtesy of A Head Full of Wishes) :

Superfreaky Memories / Rhythm King / Slash Your Tires / Cindy Tastes of Barbecue / Lovedust / Speedbumps / Black Postcards / 1995 / Bobby Peru / Four Thousand Days / Moon Palace / Bonnie and Clyde / Bewitched / Freakin' and Peakin'

ENCORE 1: Sweet Child O' Mine / Fourth of July
ENCORE 2: 23 Minutes in Brussels

MONDAY SHORTS

- I opted to pass on Friday's Kid 606/Pixeltan show at Rothko, scared off by the $15 ticket when an equally tempting $5 alternative was just a block away. Look for details on Sammy Dee's appearance at the Tonic later on - for now, check out Amy's review of the Rothko show at More in the Monitor. She missed Kid 606 but was unimpressed with Pixeltan. Aside from the free DFA schwag, I think I made the right call. (I didn't realize, BTW, that Hisham from Black Dice is Pixeltan's drummer.)

- Jason at PSNYC was pretty disappointed with Ian Brown's Saturday night show at Webster Hall - check out his video clip of Brown doing the Stone Roses classic "I Wanna Be Adored" to decide for yourself. Brown played a few other Roses tunes along with his solo material.

- PSNYC also mentions rumors of an NYC New Order show in early May. They'll already be over here for Coachella, and they're playing Oakland on April 29 at a 5,000 capacity venue. Maybe we'll get something at the Hammerstein?

- I've never been to Germany, but Geeta's descriptions and pictures of Berlin - all the graffiti, the insane club Berghain/Panoramabar, and more - have me curious to make a visit. I'd be sure to check out Cologne as well, even though I'm not quite sure if Kompakt's Total Konfusion club is still going strong. All in due time - in the short term, it'll be easier to seek out the Franz & Shape + LCD Soundsystem mash-up that Geeta mentions. I am definitely intrigued.

- Autechre's new album Untilted is due out on Warp on April 18, and they'll be making a rare live appearance at Webster Hall on May 8. This might be the one time I actually don't mind a show being at Webster Hall. I'd love to see the club's regular clientele wander into the wrong room and freak out to "Rpeg."

- NYC locals The National have a new album called Alligator due out on April 11 on Beggars. They're touring the Midwest and South in March, with more US dates to follow in the summer. I hear they're good live, and I definitely enjoyed their last album. Matt Berninger's voice always reminds me of Stuart Staples from the Tindersticks, but the music's a bit noisier.

- Tiny Mix Tapes tells us that - for now, at least - the only place to get Deerhoof's new Japanese EP (entirely in Japanese) will be at one of their upcoming spring shows. I'm psyched to be going on May 22, which I didn't realize will also be the tour finale.

FRIDAY SHORTS

- A couple of hot links from one of the bestest sites I've been reading lately, Goldenfiddle. First, here's a link to download one of Beck's recent secret L.A. shows. You'll need a torrent program to grab the files. If you like the songs, buy the new album.

- The second Goldenfiddle link is a synth heavy cover of the Arcade Fire's "No Cars Go" by Vitaminsforyou. You can download the MP3 from the New Black.

- Datawhat, another mega-cool site, points us to Rock and Roll Confidential's Hall of Douchebags. This is my particular favorite:



- Via More Cowbell comes the news that Low is returning to New York, June 7 at Webster Hall. Opening for Radiohead proved Low could still connect in large venues, but I'd still prefer the Bowery Ballroom or Irving Plaza any day.

- Is it too early to get excited about the 25th annual CMJ Music Marathon in September? Here's the goods, from the CMJ site:

CMJ has announced dates for the 25th anniversary of the CMJ Music Marathon. From September 14 through 17, CMJ will return to Lincoln Center in New York City for the biggest music party of the year. Early registration is now open, with huge savings available to those who come on board before March 10. Especially key are the group discounts offered to college radio. Send 10 or more and get in for just $100 each. Bands are also encouraged to submit music via mail immediately or via the web through SonicBids.com beginning February 28. For details and updates, check www.cmj.com/marathon.

Ecstatic Four Tet News

Perhaps foreseeing my reaction to hearing his new material, Four Tet has titled his new album Everything Ecstatic. He announced the news today, along with the full track listing (see below). Rounds was my album of the year in 2003 so I have high expectations for Ecstatic. It's released on Domino Records on May 31 in North America.

Don't forget, Four Tet will be joining Caribou and Junior Boys at the Bowery Ballroom on May 4. Tickets are $15 and on sale now. He will not be with these two acts at Northsix as was originally thought. Rather, he's hooking up with Prefuse 73, Battles and Beans at Northsix on May 6. Wow. Tickets for this date are available now as well, for the same price.

Here's the track list for Everything Ecstatic:

A joy (3:07) / Smile around the face (4:30) / Fuji check (0:23) / Sun drums and soil (6:14) / Clouding (1:43) / And then patterns (4:42) / High fives (5:06) / Turtle turtle up (2:09) / Sleep, eat food, have visions (7:43) / You were there with me (5:52)

Michael Mayer + Jake Fairley - Canal Room, 2.23.05

I'm really glad Michael Mayer's visits to the US are becoming regular, especially since he always finds new ways to impress me, but you Europeans have it good. Mayer's NYC visit to Volume last March was 2004's best party in my book, and even people in Boston are still talking about it. His October trip found him at the Bowery Ballroom and APT on back-to-back nights, and I still hate the fact that I missed the second night. Naturally then, Wednesday's Kompakt party with Mayer at the Canal Room (and run by We Are Robots) was a must for me from the moment it was announced.

Wednesday is a horrible day for a party like this though. The Bowery Thursday show wasn't ideal, but worked out fine - Mayer went on around 10:00 (starting mellow), and rough Fridays are easier to deal with. He didn't take the decks on Wednesday until about 12:15. Though the opening DJ's were good, it instantly picked up when Mayer went on. I didn't recognize too many songs - just a remix of Touch's "Lovefood" and a Superpitcher mix - but pretty much all of it was enjoyable. Yet before I knew it, Jake Fairley's live set had started. I was actually very impressed with what I heard of him, harder and edgier than Mayer's set and definitely banging. (The word on his record Touch Not The Cat is very good.) But then it was pushing 1:30, and my alarm clock beckoned. Sigh.

Word is the rest of it was excellent, especially near the end. I heard Mayer dropped a double shot of Justus Kohncke - "Elan" from the new Doppelleben mixed into Kohncke's remix of the classic "So Weit Wie Noch Nie." Hopefully Mayer's next NYC visit will be on a weekend so I can make it to last beat again. Or maybe I'll finally sense up and use a sick day.

Mayer's tour continues for another nine dates, listed below. If you like the Kompakt sound and live near one, you should not miss out. And if you don't know it, go and be converted. Mayer's Peel Session (MP3) is mainly schaffel (shuffle-tech), which he doesn't really spin now, but it's still a good taste.

2-25 Minneapolis, MN - Defiant
2-26 Detroit, MI - Bleu
2-27 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
2-28 Cleveland, OH - B Side Liquor Lounge
3-01 Boston, MA - The Phoenix Landing
3-03 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
3-04 San Francsisco, CA - Mighty
3-05 Portland, OR - Holocene
3-07 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey

MORE THURSDAY SHORTS

- Rolling Stone profiles The Arcade Fire, proclaiming them as "the hottest indie band in America"

- I've wasted some serious time on What Goes On, a site that compiles every flub, squeak, vocal tag, error, joke and more found in Beatles songs. In case you have troubles hearing some of the more buried anomalies, the site provides a lengthy list of audio clips as well.

- More from Rolling Stone: an interview with The Mars Volta

- If you've ever wanted to write up a business proposal using the Slayer font face, now you're in luck. Check out Rock Rage for a host of True Type fonts used by bands such as Pantera, Whitesnake, AC/DC, and Radiohead.

Music (For Robots) is right: this song really doesn't need any description: "Kick Out The Chairs" by Monk, featuring James Murphy and Nancy Wang of DFA. Download it now!

Dead Meadow - Supreme Trading, 2.22.05
Feathers Release Party

The fact that I almost passed on Dead Meadow's Feathers release party on Tuesday was, in retrospect, sheer lunacy. I was mainly hung up on whether it'd be worth a trip on L train to see a "short set" - what I figured would be just 2 or 3 songs - but the free admission, free Red Stripe, and chance to check out Supreme Trading convinced me it'd be worthwile. Well, Supreme Trading is a great space, the Red Stripe was free as promised and plentiful, and Dead Meadow's "short set" just happened to be about 80 minutes long - not only a full show, but actually the longest set I've ever seen them do!

Dead Meadow's bluesy psychedelic rock works best live. Their last record Shivering King and Others is good, but I don't think I would have become nearly as big a fan had I not seen them a few times on that tour. Shivering King's sound isn't great relative to the live show - on stage, the drums hit a little harder, the guitars have a crisper edge, and you can count on losing yourself in the solos. Feathers does a much better job of capturing that and Dead Meadow played almost the entire album on Tuesday, starting with album opener "Let's Jump In." They fit in a few older cuts as well - the fact that "Dusty Nothing" was one of them made my night.

The show was all about Feathers though, and rightfully so. One big change with this album is the addition of guitarist Cory Shane to the band. They were just as tight with an extra person in the mix (save for a couple false starts), and they all had more freedom to do their own things. The sound wasn't always perfect, but that seemed more a function of Supreme Trading being a bar/club over a proper venue. Two songs really stood out on Tuesday - "At Her Open Door" (studio MP3) and "Through the Gates of the Sleepy Silver Door." The latter is a 13 minute epic that closes Feathers - the version that ended the show was even more epic, with drummer Stephen McCarty making John Bonham proud for most of it.

Dead Meadow will be at the Mercury Lounge on March 24 and 25. The fact that I'll be out of town for both made Tuesday's show all the more satisfying. Especially since it was free!

THURSDAY SHORTS

- As much as I admired Hunter S. Thompson, I really wish I was familiar with more of his writing. Perhaps his death will be the unfortunate push I needed to read more of his work. I have to agree with M.Matos - lots has been written about HST this week, and Tom Wolfe's Wall Street Journal piece (via Geeta) and Yancey's piece are amongst the best I've seen.

- Joanna Newsom is going to be on the Jimmy Kimmel show tonight at midnight on ABC.

- Gang of Four will be at Irving Plaza on May 17 and 18. Very cool! No details on tickets yet. [via Brooklyn Vegan]

- Two listens in, I'm really digging the new self-titled album from Jesu. It's way heavy and very thick, but slow and epic with great melodies - imagine a shoegazey cross between Helmet and GY!BE. The guitars are killer on headphones so I imagine they'd knock me over live. Alas, no word on a US tour yet - just these UK dates with Isis - but 20 Jazz Funk Greats has album opener "Your Path To Divinity" available for download. Check it out.

- Billboard talks to Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo about Prisoners of Love, their best-of 2CD set due out on March 22 on Matador [via Coolfer]. I already have my advance order in with Matador for the deluxe version, which will have an extra disc with 16 outtakes and rarities (tracklist here). Ira mentions that YLT wrote soundtracks to two films that just played at Sundance - Game 6 and Junebug. Hopefully we'll get to hear both in time. In the meantime, tickets are available now for YLT's woefully underpublicized performance of The Sounds of the Sounds of Science - their excellent instrumental score to Jean Painleve's underwater documentaries - on May 18 at the Rose Theater.

- This has nothing to do with music but is too great to not pass on - an archive of every Calvin and Hobbes strip. [via PSNYC]

2005 Favorites: Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs



Andrew Bird's previous album, Weather Systems is one of my favorite albums from the first half of this decade. My love for it was almost instant; songs with such sincere melancholy and longing usually do that to me. This will probably sound very melodramatic, but there are some albums, some songs that connect with me in an organic way. It's almost as if they were written in my own DNA. That's how I felt after listening to Weather Systems for the first time.

It's with these high expectations that I listen to Andrew's new album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Would it produce the same sacred response from me? While it doesn't match the synergies I have with Weather Systems, Mysterious Productions evokes a different, but equally positive set of emotions. There's more joy and whimsy in this album. Hope replaces futility; mystery and opportunity replace inevitability and decay. Bird's strength is his emotional sincerity. The playfulness of this album never becomes meaningless frivolity and the seriousness never becomes overwrought angst.

The Mysterious Production of Eggs is available now on Righteous Babe records. Click here to download an MP3 sample.

Devendra Banhart - Tonic, 2.21.05



Simply put, Devendra Banhart has an amazing voice. While I certainly enjoy it on record, I didn't truly grasp how uniquely expressive it is until his Sunday benefit show at the Tonic. Devendra literally throws his body into his voice, sometimes even doubling over to hit notes. It's almost as if his voice takes him over, except he has incredible control over it. Listening to his last two albums now, I can literally picture him singing the songs and they're sounding better than ever.

Sunday's show was really loose, feeling more like some sort of a campfire jam session than a formal performance. Devendra started things off solo with "A Sight to Behold" but quickly started to be joined by a large and revolving cast - first just an extra guitarist, but then all three members of openers Tarantula, half of CocoRosie (thanks to Brooklyn Vegan for the ID), a guy on flute, and a few others. The setlist was equally loose, focusing more on covers and new songs than Devendra's own music. "The Body Breaks" and "Little Yellow Spider" were both great, but my favorite songs were two that he sung beautifully in Spanish. One was a traditional song popularized by Caetano Veloso - perhaps "Cucurrucucu Paloma" - and the other was a brand new song. Devendra said he has trouble remembering new songs until he cuts them in the studio, but noted the one he played as an exception. A cover of Antony's "Fistful of Love" (thanks again to BV for the ID) was also great.

Specific songs were naturally the highlights, but dwelling on them too much seems to miss the point with Devendra - he didn't even plan to perform them all when he walked on stage. Not only was show closer "Be Kind" a request, but he also showed the guitarist how to play it before they started. Though some artists might struggle with such a loose set, it seemed perfect for Devendra. He's a natural performer, the kind that could walk into a room with just his acoustic guitar, invite anyone to join him, and drop a full set without even blinking.

Brooklyn Vegan and Brass Bonanza were also there - check them both out for great reviews and pictures. (Brass Bonanza's shots are similar enough to mine that I think we may have been next to each other without realizing it!)

It's been a very busy work day so far, but we should have some new posts up this afternoon. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this sad, but true news event: Someone has stolen Slash's hat! From television station WHAM in Westchester, NY comes the story:

Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash was left devastated after his trademark top hat was stolen at this month's Grammy Awards.

The former Guns N' Roses rocker had worn the same headgear for 15 years, but is now looking for a replacement after the hat was taken from the back of the band's limousine.

A source says, "Slash was livid. There's no amount of money that can replace it."

This is extremely short notice, but Dead Meadow are playing a short free set tonight at Supreme Trading in Williamsburg. They're celebrating the release of Feathers, their excellent new CD that came out today but owned my stereo all weekend thanks to the Matador presale. Their live show rules, and they're on at 9:00 (with free Red Stripe from 8:00 to 9:30).

Thanks to FreeWilliamsburg for reminding me about this.

Lots to report on from this weekend between Devendra Banhart at the Tonic and a fascinating panel on disco at the New York Public Library, but things are crazy hectic for me right now. More on those later ... for now, I'll just let you know that Central Village has news on a bunch of new shows. Two in particular jumped out at me - 1) Caribou (formerly Manitoba), Four Tet, and Junior Boys at the Bowery Ballroom on May 4, saving me a trip on the L train the next night, and 2) Built to Spill (yes!) at Irving Plaza from May 11-13. The BTS news is great, I always love to see them live. I believe they have a new album on deck for later this year, but their last swing through NYC was a five-night stand at Irving with no new album to support - so these might just be shows for the sake of shows. And I don't have a single problem with that.

New Videos: Big Beats, Cat Feats and Indie Kids Under Sheets



- Chris Milk directs the video for "Golden Path" by The Chemical Brothers (with The Flaming Lips) [via Screenhead]

- Despite what I think of his music, Fatboy Slim continues to release interesting videos. This one for "The Joker" has lots of pussy cats. [via Q Online]

- Almost not safe for work: "Krafty", the video for the first single from New Order's Waiting For The Sirens Call. [via Indie MP3]

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings @ Tower Records, Tomorrow Night!

As my 'check it' post attests, I'm a big fan of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Unfortunately for me I discovered Ms. Jones a little too late and missed her record release party at Southpaw back in January. With no upcoming dates scheduled in or around the area, I'd given up on seeing her live for awhile. But good news comes via email: Sharon and the band will be at the Lincoln Center Tower Records tomorrow at 6 PM to perform and sign copies of Naturally, their new album. This may the only chance to see Sharon live at least until summer, so I plan on being there.

In the meantime, check out a video of the band's recent performance on Conan O' Brien.

Thanks to Jacqueline for emailing us about this event.

While most took a the day off from posting (like ourselves, almost), a few sites kept it going on President's day. So if you're coming back to work on Tuesday from the long weekend, here's a part of what you may have missed:

- Based on what I'm reading, it looks like I should have gone to see Bloc Party at the Motherf*cker party at the Roxy on Sunday. Brooklyn Vegan was there and came away quite impressed, as did Central Village. Hope you have your tickets for Bloc Party's Bowery Ballroom shows in April. You might also want to say some prayers that these shows aren't move to Webster Hall.

- If you don't have Bloc Party tickets, get the next best thing by downloading (.shn) a live performance the band did for French radio station Studio 105 on February 7. Registration is required.

- Sadly, Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide on Sunday. I'm not familiar enough with Thompson's work to offer any personal comments, but Rolling Stone magazine, a publication which Hunter frequently contributed to, has a in-depth obituary. ChartAttack lists the "top 10 reasons why Hunter S. Thompson was cool", the Guardian picks some of Thompson's choicest quotes, and the Washington Post writes an appreciation.

- And finally, the White Stripes are about to start recording a new album.

Menomena Coming Back to NYC

It's all about upcoming shows this week around here. First I got excited about a second chance to see Phoenix live. Then we learned that Prefuse 73 had forgiven us for stealing from him and will play a couple shows in our area. Now it's time for the muppet-loving Menomena to get us all excited about some live rock and roll!

Yes, Menomena are coming back to New York, March 11 at Northsix, and March 12 at the Mercury Lounge. Pit er Pat are actually headlining both shows. I really don't know much about Pit er Pat, but they're on Thrill Jockey Records and have a web site. Also on the bill for the Mercury Lounge show are Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Metallic Falcons. Tickets are not on sale yet.

For those of you not familiar with Menomena, you should do your homework quickly:

- Go to their deliciously bizarre site.
- Buy their amazing debut album, I am the Fun Blame Monster.
- Check out this muppet video that inspired their name.
- Read our review of Menomena's New York debut at Sin-e in November.

Prefuse 73 Loves Us, He Really, Really Loves Us
and will come to the NYC in May to prove it!

When Scott Herren learned that his upcoming Prefuse 73 album, Surrounded By Silence had been leaked to the Internets, he flipped. Posting on his web site last week, he sarcastically thanked the downloaders and leakers for essentially stealing money from his pocket. Read our post about it here.

Well, Scott's had some time to think and now he's cooled off a bit. He's posted a new message on his site. Check it out:

"Ok people, it's time to for me stop bitching, explaining, running my mouth and show all of you love. i've been on the defense because i know this album runs a bit varied, hard to swallow and without knowing what the hell i'm getting at, it's the first record i've done where i had to listen to it and go; "what the fuck?"- you know? This music is for me, for you, for the next person. i'm trying to connect with you as personally as time allows and let you fans and supporters who have been down and got them edit records back in the day and don't hate for the sake of hating to say; I LOVE ALL OF YOU!..." [more]

As I mentioned in the headline of this post, Prefuse 73 has booked his return to NYC for May 6 at Northsix and May 7 at the Bowery Ballroom. These dates are just a part of his Spring 2005 U.S. tour. Despite Scott's kiss-off, I'll be sure to buy my tickets as there will likely be many interesting special guests at each gig.

Here's the full itinerary:

4.28: Orlando - The Social
4.29: Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
4.30: Carrboro, NC - Local 506
5.1: Baltimore - Ottobar
5.2: Philadelphia - First Unitarian Church
5.4: Boston - Paradise
5.5: Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
5.6: Brooklyn - Northsix
5.7: New York - Bowery Ballroom
5.8: Montreal - Cabaret Music Hall
5.9: Toronto - Lee's Place
5.11: Cleveland - Grog Shop
5.12: Chicago - Empty Bottle
5.13: Chicago - Empty Bottle
5.14: Grinnell, IA - Grinnell College
5.17: Seattle - Chop Suey
5.18: Portland - Berbati's Pan
5.19: San Francisco - Great American
5.21: Los Angeles - Knitting Factory
5.22: Los Angeles - Knitting Factory
5.23: San Diego - Cashbah
5.24: Phoenix - Brinkhouse
5.26: Denton, TX - Hailey's
5.27: Austin, TX - Mercury

FRIDAY SHORTS

- Matador's policy is not to comment on these things, but Time Out New York is reporting that they have dropped the Prosaics from their roster - which bums me out. I think the "Interpol Lite" reviews of the Aghast Agape EP were more a product of circumstances (sharply-dressed NYC post-punk band on Matador) than the actual music (which I really liked), and I hope the middling critical reaction wasn't a big factor in Matador's decision. Either way, I'm still looking forward to a Prosaics full-length. I wish it was on Matador (since I'm sort of a Matadork) but I'll survive.

- Ever wonder who the random people are on all those Smiths and Morrissey covers? Wonder no more - this site explains it all. The cover of Meat is Murder, for example, is from Emile de Antonio's 1969 film In the Year of the Pig. [Via TMN]

- Noel Gallagher's reaction to Oasis selling out MSG in an hour is nothing short of classic. [Via Coolfer]

- X-Wife's lead singer Joao Vieira answers 20 questions on Cokemachineglow this week, and throws me a nice shout-out. I'm definitely blushing.

- Earlier this week, Pitchfork reported that M.I.A.'s Arular is no longer being released on Tuesday as planned. Instead, it's been postponed indefinitely due to a legal issue over a sample on the record. I don't know if "Bucky Done Gun" is the song in question, but S/FJ has an interesting note from Diplo about the samples on that song (and baile funk in general). Semi-related, Fluxblog has a great baile funk-inspired tune by the Brazilian group Funk Cruel available today.

- Continuing this week's leak theme, Spoon's new record Gimme Fiction is now also making the rounds. I've been cooling off on leaks lately, and all the talk this week is only pushing me further down that path. As I mentioned to MMM yesterday, I feel like I'm already done with the new Daft Punk and it's not even out yet! But it will be tough to hold back with the new Spoon when they haven't spoken out against it (yet) and it's piling up positive mentions on the Rub, Stereogum, Daily Refill, MOKB, ILM of course, and elsewhere. I'll try, but I get tempted easily.

Stream the New Kills Album

Just a reminder, the excellent second album from The Kills, No Wow, is released March 8. To promote the album, they've set up a mini-site with streams of the new songs, a gallery of photos and best of all, two live videos.

What strikes me the most while watching the videos is singer Alison Mosshart's gregarious and sensuous personality on stage. When we interviewed the Kills a couple weeks back, she was very demure. Content to let Jamie Hince do all the talking, Alison was friendly, but shy. The stage clearly brings out a most appealing side of her personality.

The Kills play the Bowery Ballroom on April 11. Tickets are on sale now.

Three great shows popped up this morning:

- Nouvelle Vague at Joe's Pub on April 12. (Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan for the tip.) They took what could have been a novelty cover album and made it into something way more real, and this'll be their first-ever NYC appearance. Tickets are on sale now. You can stream their takes on "Love Will Tear Us Apart," "Guns of Brixton," and "A Forest" here.

- Caribou, Four Tet, and the Junior Boys at Northsix on May 5. Two weeks back I was lamenting the lack of an NYC JB's show. We can now strike that. Personally, I'd flip the line-up and have Caribou start things off and the Junior Boys headline - but this is a very solid bill regardless. I heard somewhere that the JB's are now only Jeremy Greenspan - I don't know if that's true though, or what that means for their (his?) live show. Four Tet usually just mans his laptop, but he chops and tweaks his tunes considerably live. Caribou have two drum kits and wear masks on stage, and also put on a good show. Tickets are on sale now.

- Dizzee Rascal at Irving Plaza on April 24. I wasn't a huge fan of Showtime and his new single "Off 2 Work" is just OK, but he's a great performer that's even better live than on album IMO. The one thing with Dizzee is that he set the bar exceedingly (and perhaps impossibly) high for himself with his amazing NYC debut on a flatbed truck at Volume (a venue I still miss). It's the kind of thing Irving Plaza can't really compete with. Tickets just went on sale at noon.

Felix Da Housecat at Avalon on Saturday

Back when Avalon was still called the Limelight, it ruled the hedonistic NYC nightlife of the 90's. Frank Owen documented the rise and fall of that scene in the fascinating book Clubland. The anything-goes pharmacy on 21st + 6th is now home to $350 bottles of Ketel One, though I've never experienced either. By the time I started noticing NYC clubs, Limelight was mostly quiet and Twilo was king. These days, I avoid velvet ropes and bottle service like the plague - and Avalon falls squarely into that category. Yet I must admit to being tempted by Felix Da Housecat's appearance there this Saturday.

Felix's Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever was an underrated record last year - an excellent (though not entirely cohesive) collection of songs that I listened to with surprising frequency. If you tallied things up, I'm sure I averaged close to one listen a day with "Ready 2 Wear." I've heard he's a lot of fun live, unafraid to drop the big hits but sensible enough to keep them spaced out for maximum effect. The question is if Felix is fun enough to warrant diving into Avalon. We shall see.

If you're interested in going, send an email to retoxnyc@yahoo.com to get on the list.

Phoenix Returning to New York

I missed them last time and regretted it, but I don't plan on making that mistake again. Today Phoenix announced their Spring 2005 US tour dates, including an April 4 stop at Irving Plaza. Tickets are not yet on sale and no date has been announced. Stay tuned...

Here's the full itinerary, via the Phoenix web site:

3/26: Louisville, KY - Phoenix Hill Tavern
3/28: Columbus, OH - Little Brother's
3/29: Newport, KY - Southgate House
3/31: Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
4/1: Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of The Living Arts
4/2: Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
4/4: Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
4/5: New York, NY - Irving Plaza
4/8: Toronto, ON - Opera House
4/10: Chicago, IL - Metro
4/11: Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe
4/13: Lawrence, KS - Granada
4/14: Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
4/17: Portland, OR - Doug Fir
4/18: Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe
4/19: Vancouver, BC - Richard's On Richards
4/21: San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
4/22: Los Angeles, CA - Avalon

Elkland, The Information, Other Passengers
Moveable Hype 2.0, Knitting Factory, 2.16.05

I really hate to be a downer, but I was almost completely underwhelmed by the bands at the Moveable Hype 2.0 show last night. While the music disappointed, I must give respect to the Gothamist team for putting together a fun party. I'm sure a lot of work goes into it that is not appreciated or understood. I hope there will be at least a Moveable Hype three point oh, if not more. Anyhow, on to the music.

In case you're not already aware, Moveable Hype 2.0 was the confab organized by the indispensable New York Blog Gothamist to celebrate its second birthday. Four bands were on hand to rock the Knit: The Cloud Room, Other Passengers, The Information and headliners Elkland.

While I arrived too late for The Cloud Room, Elkland were easily my least favorite of the four. There wasn't a whiff of sincerity in the singer Jon Pierce's jerky, robotic dancing. He looked like a combination of Bez and Ian Curtis, who aren't exactly the right role models for rhythmic body movement. The others in the band were statue-stiff and bore that painful "take us seriously because we write serious music" look on their faces. The music wasn't half-bad, but their artifice just really turned me off. Maybe I was just too tired at that point?

The Information, on the other hand, looked like they were actually happy to be there and were having fun. However, their set was hit and miss. Some songs had their moments, while others bordered on or were outright generic. Rajeev and I agreed that a six-piece, as The Information are, should be able to do more with their parts. You could easily achieve the same sound with three or four members.

Unfortunately I missed most of Other Passengers, but the little I heard intrigued me enough to want to know more about them. Aeki Tuesday was there for the whole set and has posted some photos.

For more on the night, read Gothamist's summary, along with photographs.

Leaks seem to be the theme of the week. Prefuse 73's new record Surrounded by Silence is out on March 22 but circulating now, and Scott Herren (AKA P73) has weighed in on things on his site:

To all you wonderful people that have downloaded my fucking album. thanks!! To you fantastic people responsible for posting my fucking album = an extra thanks to you!! I should shelve this album, let the computer have it, quit Prefuse and start a hand clapping orchestra. If I could afford to give this album to everyone - i would do it, but instead i fucked up and forgot i was wearing a sign around my neck that says; "I work for free!", my bad... Alright - big up yourselves. Gracias...!

I think Scott's music as Prefuse is pretty amazing, but I wish he had just asked nicely like Sleater-Kinney.

Mia Doi Todd, The One AM Radio, The Wind-Up Bird
Mercury Lounge, 2.15.05

I'd seen Mia Doi Todd five or six times before last night and, save for one exception, her shows had been strictly solo affairs. I think that's a big part of why they'd been consistently great. Vocal melodies and inflections are at the center of her older music, and the spare accompaniment at the shows - usually just quiet acoustic guitar or piano - let her voice carry everything live. It worked quite well. When a band entered the picture on The Golden State and its release party at the Fez, it felt forced. The instruments were getting in the way of her voice on the older songs, recast for TGS.

Last night was the second time I've seen Mia play with a band, and it was much better. Her set focused on the just-released Manzanita and the extra musicians feel much more natural on the new songs. Though the vocals aren't as ambitious, the songs are more fleshed out with little details like the handclaps on "Tongue-Tied" going a long way live. The older songs were stripped down as usual, with Zeroone's "Merry Me" and "Poppy Fields" ending the show beautifully. Overall I didn't find myself as consumed by the live show as usual, but I sense the new approach may make for more interesting studio efforts.

I was really impressed with The One AM Radio's opening set. The rich sound of Hrishikesh Hirway's guitar really hangs in the air live - lots of reverb perhaps, but don't quote me - and he also sings a good distance away from the mic. The net effect would be to give it all a very "far away" sound - except that the rest of band (stand-up bass, 1-2 violins, the occasional saw) feels very immediate. The contrast works really well, especially with glitchy laptop beats also in the mix. 33.3's old drummer Steve Walls joined in for a couple songs, which was a nice surprise. I've seen The One AM Radio a few times, and each has been better than the last. I'm excited to see where they go next.

The Wind-Up Bird (AKA Joseph Grimm) started the night with what was actually my favorite set. Grimm also used to play in 33.3 and Arcaro (who could ROCK), and The Wind-Up Bird sounds nothing like either of them. In this Stylus interview, he mentions Fennesz and early Oval as influences and you could definitely hear it. His set was basically one long laptop piece, slowly building from a few slight sounds to a dense web of noise with live vocals throughout. He was set up in the center of the floor, and everyone was sitting around him. I'd never seen anything like it at the Mercury Lounge, but it was essential to hear his quadraphonic setup - speakers were mounted in all four corners of the room. With the sounds swirling around, it was pretty damn cool. I've listened to his 2003 full-length Whips three times today, and I like it a lot. I'll be at his next NYC show for sure.

Somehow I just can't imagine George W. Bush doing something like this:

Jam Showbiz is reporting that the Prime Minister of Canada, Paul Martin, is going to join a drive to bring U2 to Ottawa during the band's upcoming Vertigo tour. Apparently the PM has a friendly relationship with Bono and is planning on asking him personally. Quoth Martin in said article:

"I'll make sure that Bono knows that many of the federal employees who worked on our original debt relief program (for Third World countries) are fans of the band. Ottawa has a high concentration of U2 fans."

Perhaps Mayor Bloomberg could help out all the New York U2 fans who got shut out of the lone Madison Square Garden show in May? Someone should start a petition.

Catching Up With 2004, Part 2: The Marlboro Chorus

I think I can safely say I've probably heard most of the "big" albums released in 2004: Fiery Furnaces, Arcade Fire, Interpol, Wilco, etc. And I'm confident that I listened to enough '04 albums to come up a respectable, if obligatory, top 10 list. But I continue to discover other great 2004 releases that I passed over for one reason or another or just discovered recently. A few days ago I wrote about Engineers and their excellent Folly EP, released in September. Today I'm listening to The Marlboro Chorus and their highly enjoyable second album Youth Medium.

Marlboro Chorus are a four-piece from Davenport, Iowa who've released a couple of EPs and two full-length albums. In almost every article I've read about them, the sound of Elephant Six collective is dropped as a reference point. So if you're a fan of that sound, you should check these guys out.

While I often struggle to describe a band's sound without resorting to comparisons (as I did above), bands themselves often skip the whole attempt and venture into free association rambles. Marlboro Chorus's record label, Future Appletree has a particularly interesting example of this:

Pop springs...from the most unlikely of places. Under cushions, under chairs, in stories from old women and dogs.

Pop finds these four gentlemen on the prowl for crafty songs, materialized from wood and electric power (120 vac). B. Patric, "The Emperor" Justinian, Rudie Reyhons, and Rick. Guitaring, drumming, tinkling pianoesques, and crooning. See ourselves, our silly lots, our sad story. Slice together, mix, and seperate. Together they sing and bang, wax and waxer, travelling the amateur sailing circuit in search of inspiration. From canvasses full of wind to the drunken captains everywhere, the song is the song...pop springs...The Marlboro Chorus

I don't know what this tells me about the band, but it sure sounds fun. I'm into anyone that sails, bangs and waxes!

Listen to The Marlboro Chorus here.

For all my talk about LCD Soundsystem, their long awaited full-length finally came out yesterday and I didn't even mention it. It frankly felt like a non-event since the MP3's have been around for months. Instead, and somewhat appropriately, I posted on Sleater-Kinney asking their fans to avoid the leak of The Woods. I've got mixed feelings on leaks. If I like a band enough to seek out a leak, odds are I'll end up buying their record when it comes out. My conscience is clear on that front - but what always nags at me is losing the excitement that used to come with the release of a much-anticipated album. The last time I looked forward to a record as much as LCD Soundsystem was probably Kid A. I was definitely thrilled to hear it early (in case you couldn't tell with the flurry of posts), but I miss running to the record store to absorb the whole package all at once for the first time, to finally hear songs I've only read about. For comparison, I remember my mom driving me to the record store the day Pearl Jam's Vs. came out after weeks - months! - of anticipation, and skipping chemistry class so I could have the second Portishead album the morning it was released.

Lots has changed since Vs. (obviously), and curiosity will almost always win me over when I hear an album's out there in advance. I lose the release date excitement, but I hear it sooner - it's a fair trade. That said, I absolutely see where Sleater-Kinney are coming from, and I'm not sure where I stand on The Woods yet. I love their music and I respect what they've written - I think it makes a pretty compelling case. But waiting 3+ months when it's out there now? It'll be a tough call.

Low to Destroy Set of Last Call with Carson Daly

Hey, do you need something to do on March 2? If you like Low and you got nothing to do on that night, you're in luck. Our favorite Mormon speed metal freaks are gonna be on Carson Daly's Last Call. Here's the details, from Sub Pop:

As improbable as it may seem, Low will soon be performing on TV's Last Call with Carson Daly. It's crazy, I know! This will all take place on Wednesday, March 2nd, and you should totally go. Want to know how? You do? Great! Read through the below info, courtesy of our buds at 1iota Productions:

"Here's an amazing opportunity to be a part of LOW's performance on LAST CALL with CARSON DALY show on Wednesday, March 2nd. Our friends at 1iota Productions are looking for diehard fans to be a part of this performance. The show will take place in New York City. If you are one of the lucky fans we ultimately and exclusively invite, know that you are an integral part of the show!

There's a bunch of other stuff about the show in that Sub Pop story, but what you really need is this link. Click it, sign up for tickets and be one of the fortunate ones to witness Duluth's finest rawk out!

Robert Christgau Eats Peruvian With Buck 65

One of the most unusual albums I've listened to this year is Buck 65's This Right Here is Buck 65 compilation. Is it Country Western hip hop? Tom Waits and a turntable? It's certainly not 50 Cent plus a dollar fifteen in change hiding out under the couch pillows of gangsta rap.

No, as John Bush writes on All Music, Buck 65 "occupies a neglected middle ground between underground rap, indie/electronic, and country-folk; he paints skewed slice-of-life portraits closer to Alan Jackson than 50 Cent"

As the title of this post mentions, Village Voice music writer Robert Christgau recently sat down with Buck 65 over Peruvian food in the East Village and filed this story. It serves as an excellent primer for someone like me who is unfamiliar with Buck 65. I'll certainly be listening to This Here is... more as well as any other releases I can chase down. I recommend you do the same.

UPDATE: Obviously I have a lot to learn when it comes to Buck 65, judging from the lengthy review of This Here Is... written by Aaron Newell on Cokemachineglow. There's even more from Aaron on the subject over at Razorblade Runner. Thanks to Mr. Newell for pointing these out to me.

Sleater-Kinney's new record The Woods is hotly anticipated in these parts and due out on Sub Pop on May 24 - but thanks to reviewers' copies and the like, it's already surfacing on the P2P networks more than 3 months in advance. The band addressed this matter on their site yesterday - here's an excerpt:

We know that most people who download indie songs/albums for free find other ways of supporting the bands they love. And we acknowledge that it is a new era and that many people discover music through file sharing. We feel lucky to be a band that has grown organically over the years and we realize that technology has changed the entire process of growth and awareness of music. (We love, for instance, that bootlegs of our live shows are traded on the Internet.) It's scary to imagine that this leak might actually affect our livelihoods, but ultimately this isn't about the fear of people not supporting us financially as indie artists. We don't think of 'The Woods' as some product getting out there early, we think of it as our art and lives and dreams. For us it's about respect and about people supporting us by being aware of our artistic intent. We ask that you please respect our wishes to present this record the way we intended. We're certain that you would want the same for your own endeavors, artistic or otherwise. [...]

The most honest thing we can say is that it breaks our hearts to think of this being out there early. It actually just feels awful. The release date is 3 months away. We have worked for so long on this record. It's not real for us until May 24th; that is the moment when we get to share this piece of our lives that we are so proud of, to share it with you the way we intended; please wait until then to share it with us.

If you have put this record up on the Internet, please take it down now.

Read the entire statement here.

Mia Doi Todd will be playing the Mercury Lounge tonight to promote her new record Manzanita, just released on Plug Research. Early word on the album has me excited to hear it, but I wouldn't be nearly as big a fan of Mia's music if not for her live shows. Though her studio efforts are certainly good, only sometimes have they captured the magic that runs through her music live - 1999's Come Out Of Your Mine and her Dntel collaboration come to mind. Her uniquely beautiful voice is amazing to hear in person, especially with her stripped-down arrangements. You can stream excerpts of Manzanita here, though the sound quality seems a little shoddy. This MP3 of Come Out Of Your Mine's "Spring" sounds better, but it can't match the real thing. Mia goes on at 10:30.

The One AM Radio (AKA Hrishikesh Hirway) will be one of the opening acts tonight. I'm not sure if he will be playing with his band or not, but Hrishi's recent music has married the hushed balladry of Iron and Wine with glitchy beats - as you can hear on "Untied" (MP3) from his great last record A Name Writ In Water. He's currently promoting On the Shore of the Wide World, an EP of remixed songs from that album. It features an impressive cast of collaborators, including Daedelus, John Tejada, and Caural. He goes on at 8:30.

MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY

- Bloc Party continue to win high praise all around with Silent Alarm. Today they get an 8.9 Best New Music rating from Pitchfork and an A+ Album of the Week from Stylus. Nick Southall of Stylus even wrote "Bloc Party are the first band in eight years that I feel I can care about." Though I don't feel as strongly as Nick, I do like Silent Alarm a lot - yet I wonder if all this praise will turn into a backlash. (First, let's worry about the album actually coming out.)

- Pitchfork interviewed Win Butler from the Arcade Fire today. It's certainly worth a read, though Ryan Schreiber seemed to push PFM's connection with the band's success way too hard. I think I've read more AF articles that don't mention Pitchfork, but whatever. Also on PFM today, Nick Sylvester interviews Deerhoof. They talk about touring with Wilco, recording a Peel Session, and more - good stuff.

- Though I love Wilco's Summerteeth, I'll admit that it has a bit of fat on it and is therefore a good candidate for this Playing God feature over at Stylus. Of course, I should have stopped paying attention when they dropped "She's a Jar." Instead I saw they also cut "When You Wake Up Feeling Old" - scandalous!

- Stereogum drops a big batch of "Valentines for your iPod" on us today in the form of 23 MP3's, including X-Wife's "Eno." I was plugging X-Wife pretty hard last year and will likely keep at it this year, so it's nice to see them pop up elsewhere. Soviet Panda has 10 MP3's today as well - DFA79, the YYY's, and eight other bands I can't abbreviate as easily.

- Last week I was talking some smack about Oasis's decision to play MSG. Well, Todd informed me in our comments that this show has already sold out. I stand corrected.

- The Grammy Awards were last night, and Coolfer ran a great play-by-play of the festivities. I mostly missed them, but I was glad to hear that the Basement Jaxx won for Kish Kash. Considering the circumstances, I figured Jokenfold had 'em beat with his mix CD.

- Jim O'Rourke (of solo fame, Sonic Youth, Wilco, etc.) will be doing a benefit show at the Tonic on February 23. Tickets are on sale now. I imagine he'll be playing his solo material, though I could see this show going in a number of musical directions.

- In case the Tonic's trouble wasn't enough, the Village Voice informs us that CBGB's may be next when their lease ends in August. Their relevance is almost entirely historical these days IMO, as it's rare a show there grabs me. Still, it's CBGB's.

- Mega Mega Mega tells us about a new line of Adidas sneakers designed by famous folk including some musicians of note, including Run DMC (naturally), Missy Elliott, and Underworld. The Underworld shoe actually looks pretty sweet and glows in the dark as well.

- Billboard reports on the new Sleater-Kinney album The Woods, teasing with promise of a "space jam" among other things. S-K's MSG set on New Year's Eve was 100% new material and ruled. This should be a great record.

- Central Village gives high marks to Saturday's Kaiser Chiefs show at Northsix. They're also playing the Mercury Lounge tonight with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, who I keep on hearing more and more good things about. Tonight is officially sold out, so be prepared to work your way in if needed.

Further Weekend Listening

Engineers- Folly EP



On the Folly EP, Engineers have created a perfect soundtrack for staying in on a rain-soaked day, or as the band suggests, getting high in the dark of your room. Even without pharmaceutical aid, listening to Folly is a head trip: currents of white noise rush in and out; layers of vocals float in forlorn atmospheres.

The ambient experiments of Eno are cited by the band as an influence, but they don't stop at crafting incidental backgrounds. Rather their sound is more psychedelic haze, part Pink Floyd with dashes of Cocteau Twins and Slowdive. "Coming In Out Of the Rain" floats upon a pain-killing Cocteau-like beat. "If I Were A Carpenter" hints at a folk anthem, building but never quite exploding. "Nature's Editing" will induce a complete dream state. Last, the instrumental "Pictobug" drifts through noise before giving way to a beautiful violin finale.

It's a tantalizing preview of their upcoming full-length CD, due March 7th in the UK.

Reviews for the Folly EP:

- 75 or Less
- Contactmusic
- Stylus Magazine
- Indie London

My Weekend Listening

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: B-Sides and Rarities

This weekend I was lucky enough to get my hands on the forthcoming Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 3-CD compilation, B-Sides and Rarities. I'll never quite understand why more people don't appreciate Cave's work. I'm always amazed at his abilities to both mine the darkest veins of humanity and serenade the beauty and redeeming power of love.

The discs I received were promo copies; no art work, song titles or credits. When I tried to get the song data via Gracenote, nothing was found. Fortunately, Soundgenerator.com has the running order, plus comments on each song and quotes from Bad Seed Mick Harvey. I'm still working my way through the 56-song set, so here's some highlights from disc one (comments via Soundgenerator):

- "Black Betty" - Cover of the Leadbelly song, 1986. From the Kicking Against The Pricks sessions. B-side of The Singer (A.K.A The Folksinger) 12 Inch single, 1986.

- "God's Hotel" - KCRW radio session previously released on Rare On Air Volume 1 CD, featuring other KCRW sessions by various artists (including x, John Cale, Beck, Tori Amos) on the US label Mammoth Records, 1992. (Note: Amazon states that this CD actually came out in 1994.... ).

- "What Can I Give You?" - Believed to have been issued as a promo only release in France. This music of this song was originally recorded with the lyrics of Far Away, So Close for use in the Wim Wenders' motion picture. The origins of this second version, with a new set of lyrics by Cave, recorded during the early 90's (possibly 1993) but from sessions unknown, are now lost in the mists of time.

Here's the full track listing. The album will be released in April:

DISC ONE
Deanna (Acoustic Version) / The Mercy Seat (Acoustic Version) / City Of Refuge (Acoustic Version) / The Moon Is In The Gutter / The Six Strings That Drew Blood / Rye Whisky / Running Scared / Scum / The Girl At The Bottom Of My Glass / The Train Song / Cocks 'N' Asses / Blue Bird / Helpless / God's Hotel / (I'll Love You) Till The End Of The World / Cassiel's Song / Tower Of Song / What Can I Give You?

DISC TWO
What A Wonderful World / Rainy Night In Soho / Lucy (Version #2) / Jack The Ripper (Acoustic version) / Sail Away / There's No Night Out At The Jail / That's What Jazz Is To Me / The Willow Garden / The Ballad Of Robert Moore And Betty Coltrane / King Kong Kitchee Kitchee Ki-Mi-O / Knoxville Girl / Where The Wild Roses Grow / O'Malley's Bar Pt.1 / O' Malley's Bar Pt.2 / O' Malley's bar Pt. 3 / Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum / O'Malley's Bar Reprise / Red Right Hand (Scream 3 Version)

DISC THREE
Little Empty Boat / Right Now I'm A-Roaming / Come into My Sleep / Black Hair (Band Version) / Babe, I've Got You Bad / Sheep May Safely Graze / Opium Tea / Grief Came Riding / Bless His Ever Loving Heart / Good Good Day / Little Janey's Gone / I Feel So Good / Shoot Me Down / Swing Low / Little Ghost Song / Everything Must Converge / Nocturama / She's Leaving You / Under This Moon

FRIDAY SHORTS

Late Thursdays make for sluggish Fridays, but let's go:

- Conor Oberst hates Texas. In fact, he told the crowd just that during a Fort Worth Bright Eyes show. "I don't know if you know this, but I hate your [expletive] state," he said, according to the Dallas Morning News. "I'd put a [expletive] gun to my head before I'd live in your state." Nice one, Conor. The DMN site requires registration, but the full text of the article is also here.

- I couldn't get the stream of the live Underworld broadcast to work yesterday, which made for a frustrating half hour, but Mega Mega Mega scored links to MP3's of the three new songs they played - "TT," "Ancient Fat Farm Coat," and "020202" (which he thinks might be an older song). MMM also reports that the Richard Dorfmeister project Tosca will have a new album called j.a.c. out in June.

- 20 Jazz Funk Greats has had a great run of downloads recently. First they gave us the Earl Shilton remix of Alter Ego's "Rocker." Lots of people compare "Rocker" to a heavy metal tune but Shilton actually walked the walk - the synths are guitars, the beats are drums, and if you know the original you'll love this remix. More recently, 20JFG gave us Soulwax redoing Daft Punk's "Teachers," changing up the lyrics to reference rock n' roll legends vs. Daft Punk's selection of DJ's. (They spell out the lyrics of both to make it easy.) There are bunch of good selections in between too - Jersey Devil Social Club (who I believe are connected with Morgan Geist's Environ label), a Jason Pierce (AKA J. Spaceman) remix, and plenty more.

- Erol Alkan is a fantastic DJ that runs the Trash party in London but is surprisingly unknown over here. His set at the Tribeca Grand last January was one of my favorites of '04 though - he opened his set with "Yeah" (this was *right* when it had come out) and blew the roof off the place. Melody Nelson has an MP3 of Erol remixing (or more specifically "re-editing") Death From Above 1979's "Romantic Rights." Good stuff. DFA79 are at the Bowery on March 10 and I'm excited to see them. Who knows when Erol Alkan will be back. Hopefully soon.

- The April 9 Fiery Furnaces show at the Bowery Ballroom is now at Webster Hall and like Central Village, I'm struggling to think of anything positive about that. Thankfully I have the Furnaces Northsix gig to fall back on. Let's just hope Bloc Party's shows don't move as well - the fact that they sold both out before even releasing their album here is just crazy.

- Yancey pointed me to Gang of Four bassist Dave Allen's tour diary. My favorite excerpt:

Julian Baggini, an English philosopher, interviews me. We had agreed to meet and finish up an interview that began about a year ago. We have an interesting but contentious discourse on his views of how "success" can or should be measured for artists working within their chosen disciplines.

Showtime. My idea of Gang of Four's current level of success is measured as follows: If you can't begin to play the opening song of your set because the crowd is screaming so loud, that's success; if you don't have to sing the chorus of your songs because the crowd sings it for you, that's success; if you are 49 years old and still play and leap around the stage in front of a sellout crowd that calls you back for three encores, that's success. Julian 0, Dave 1.

GoF are touring the UK now and playing Coachella in the spring. No NYC dates yet, but we're smack in between the two and that's an awfully long flight to be making in one shot...

I had heard the rumors, and now it's confirmed - Devendra Banhart will be at the Tonic on Monday February 21. Tickets are on sale now.

Other upcoming Tonic benefits:

Feb 19 - Yoko Ono + Sean Lennon
Feb 22 - Sleepy Doug Shaw + Mira Billotte of White Magic
Feb 24 - Sean Lennon + Vincent Gallo
Feb 26 - Sex Mob

More information is available on their site for these and other shows.

MIDNIGHT SHORTS

- What's on Beck's Gameboy? Stream Bad Cartridge (the Paza remix of "E-Pro"), from his new CD Guero and find out. Now, pull out the bootleg version of "E-Pro" and compare. These sound nothing like each other. Perhaps all the naysayers jumped the gun on this album?

- Remember The La's? They released one amazing album, wrote that "There She Goes" song that got murdered by Sixpence None The Richer, and then disappeared into legend. Check out their 1986 demo, via Torr (who found them on LHB). I recommend downloading the Demos + Live FLAC files from Easytree rather than the MP3s. And last, from the Kevin Shields file: rumors of a La's reunion are swirling.

- Rolling Stone gets it right and drops four stars on M.I.A's Arular, describing it as "like Bow Wow Wow shooting bottle rockets into a vintage Ms. Pac Man machine to scare the quarters out." RS also comes through with a four star review of LCD Soundsystem.

- Good reviews continue to pile up for Bloc Party's Silent Alarm.

- The Times Online check out The Kills's recent show at London's Electric Ballroom and come away rather non-plussed.

The new Cass McCombs record PREfection is one of the additions to the 2005 favorites section today. There's something about McCombs's music that makes me listen to it a lot in the winter. It started with his first record A after I saw him open up for the Shins early last year. A pulled me in with its lazy swagger and subtly memorable melodies - one after another after another. It was a perfect soundtrack to the snow, just like this one seems made for the 6 train. The melodies are still there on PREfection but McCombs's sound is much bigger and more assertive now, closer to 80's British rock - the Cure, the Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen - but still swimming in a muddy reverb that gives it a distinctly distant, almost timeless sound.

The reviews I've read all name a different song on PREfection as the best - first single "Sacred Heart" (MP3), "Equinox," "City of Brotherly Love." I can't argue with any of those, yet I see no reason to stop the trend when "She's Still Suffering" is my favorite. Its swirling "Thieves Like Us" synths and haunting melody never fail to get me. For McCombs, that seems to be par for the course.

Underworld - Live Webcast at 1 PM TODAY

Just a quick heads up - Underworld will be doing a live webcast at 1 PM EST today from their studios in Romford. I've never listened to one of these before, but I'm told new material often ends up in the mix. Details and a link to the stream are available at Dirty.org.

Dead Meadow's new record Feathers is out on February 22, and they'll be at the Mercury Lounge on March 24 and 25 to support it. Their last album Shivering King and Others was good and sometimes great, but it frankly pales next to their ferocious live shows that won me over during and after their stint opening for Stephen Malkmus. I recently discovered that the older Howls From The Hills does a much better job of capturing Dead Meadow's dirty, epic live sound in the studio. It was that sound that got me into the band - especially since I'm a sucker for all those solos.

Matador's sample MP3 of "At Her Open Door" has me excited for Feathers. They're a quartet now with a new second guitarist and - dare I hope - extra solos. Check their site for the venues as they get confirmed for their spring tour itinerary. Some, like the Merc, are already on there. I'm bummed I'll be out of town when they come through NYC.

3/23 - Philadelphia, PA
3/24 - New York, NY
3/25 - New York, NY
3/26 - Boston, MA
3/27 - Portland, ME
3/29 - Montreal, QB
3/30 - Toronto, ON
3/31 - Cleveland, OH
4/1 - Chicago, IL
4/2 - Minneapolis, MN
4/3- Fargo, ND
4/7 - Seattle, WA
4/8 - Vancouver, BC
4/9 - Portland, OR
4/12 - Berkeley, CA
4/13 - San Francisco, CA
4/14 - Visalia, CA
4/15 - Los Angeles, CA
4/16 - Los Angeles, CA
4/20- Salt Lake City
4/21- Denver, CO
4/22 - Kansas City, MO
4/23 - Louisville, KY
4/25 - Columbus, OH
4/26 - Pittsburgh, PA
4/27 - Baltimore, MD

In case you can't make it to the Tribeca Grand on March 5 to see Optimo, you'll have a second chance two days later. Twitch and Wilkes will be at Llano Estacado on March 7, with Tim Sweeney, Dan Selzer, and Doug Mosurock also on the bill. Yes, that's a school night, but Tuesday mornings aren't good for much anyway and this is Optimo's first visit to NYC in over a year. I'm a recent convert but haven't looked back since getting How To Kill The DJ [Part Two] in November. Simply put, I've never heard anything quite like them - imagine 2manyDJ's but with way more eclectic taste.

Llano Estacado, BTW, is what you may know as Todd P's new space on the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and River Street in Williamsburg. In his own words:

The Llano Estacado is pronounced law-no ez-tuh-caw-doh, it's named after a region of West Texas, where the desert meets the Great Plains, and also a place where they willfully mispronounce Spanish words - hence the "L" sound at the beginning rather than a "Y" sound. The name was given by the conquistador Coronado, it translates as "the staked plain," referring (by legend) to the fact that the Spanish drove stakes into the ground to mark where they were, for lack of any natural landmarks.

I hear it's a great space. The opening party is on February 24 with Animal Collective but there's plenty else going on, including shows this weekend. Check here for the full schedule.

Exposing the Jim Henson + Indie Rock Connection

Because we do plenty of research (also called slacking off) around here, we often turn up some rather useless bits of music trivia. Today I present you with what might be the source of inspiration for a particular Portland rock band. Check out the proof here, courtesy of Screenhead.

New New Order Songs Appear Online
Now there's no waiting for Waiting For The Sirens Call

If hasn't leaked in its entirety, at least four songs from the forthcoming New Order album Waiting For The Sirens Call have been leaked onto the interweb. Check 'em out, while supplies last:

- Download the title track, "Krafty" and "Working Overtime" from Scenestars and "Hey Now What You Doing" from Torr.

- Torr also reports that the U.S. release of Sirens Call will be moved up to April 12, now only two weeks after the UK/ROTW drop date.

- Here's the full tracklisting: Who's Joe / Hey Now What You Doing / Waiting For The Sirens Call / Krafty / I Told You So / Morning, Night, and Day / Dracula's Castle / Jetstream / Guilt Is A Useless Emotion / Turn / Working Overtime

The Magic Numbers

I first heard the Magic Numbers through Not Your Usual Bollocks's excellent podcast series (show #3 to be exact). I was immediately interested in hearing more from this new group. Well, it turns out the Magic Numbers are opening for Doves at the Bowery Ballroom on March 15.

I was able to track down their extremely limited four-song EP and I would advise you not to skip their set. I'll let the band's own words describe their sound:

The sound of The Magic Numbers revolves around the brilliant songwriting and guitar playing talents of singer Romeo. Born and raised in Trinidad (where his mother had her own opera show on TV) the family moved to New York when he was teenager and later moved again to Ealing in London.

Drawing inspiration from many sources, singer songwriters (Cohen, Dylan), 60's harmony groups (Mamas & Papas, Lovin Spoonful), epic rock or such mavericks as David Axelrod. The band craft a sound which like Flaming Lips or Beck, is coming from everywhere but is uniquely theirs.

- Listen to a sample of the EP here

- The Magic Numbers are also playing SXSW as part of a MTV2 UK showcase on March 19 at La Zona Rosa.

- Read Drowned In Sounds's live review of TMN's September 9, 2004 show at the Infinity Club in London

Save the date - LCD Soundsystem will be at the Bowery Ballroom on April 2. Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan for the news. Their last show in NYC was at the Tribeca Grand for Halloween. I liked it. A lot. (Surprised?)

One week in April now gets me LCD, Bloc Party, the Fiery Furnaces twice, and Opening Day against the Red Sox, and the rest of the year may never catch up.

TUESDAY SHORTS

- We can officially close the books on year-end polls now that Pazz & Jop 2004 is out. No big surprises at the top - Kanye West and Franz Ferdinand took album and single of the year, respectively - but I'm happy to finally have a poll take my side on "Chewing Gum" being the Annie single of choice. That the same poll put Rilo Kiley's record at #16 for the year - well, we can ignore that. (For the record, I liked The Execution of All Things and was legitimately disappointed by More Adventurous.) What I can't ignore is David Fricke putting R.E.M.'s Around the Sun in his top 10. People were ragging on that record without even hearing it, but top 10? Come on now.

The World of Arthur Russell (#183) came in behind the two other Arthur Russell releases - Calling Out Of Context (#76) and World of Echo (#173). Have I been obsessed with the wrong one? Oh, and props to Matthew for being the lone supporter of X-Wife's Feeding the Machine! (He'd have been joined by others if more people had heard the record - soon enough.)

- Nouvelle Vague did it better IMO, but this song seems to work in any incarnation - the disco act Crispin J. Glover covered PiL's "This Is Not A Love Song" and Fluxblog has it available for download today.

- I missed this originally, but Bettie Serveert put out a live album of Velvet Underground covers in 1998. The title leaves nothing to the imagination and even starts you on the tracklisting - Bettie Serveert Plays Venus In Furs And Other Velvet Underground Songs. Chromewaves tipped me off and has "Rock and Roll" available for download - has anyone heard the rest? "European Son"?!

- Bloc Party's two April shows at the Bowery Ballroom are already sold out! Crazy, but deserved. After a few quiet weeks, Silent Alarm has been in my rotation all week and I'm liking it better than ever. Tickets are still available for their February 20 MF appearance. Velvet ropes and rock shows should never mix, but here they unfortunately will - make sure you "work a look" or the dress code will keep you out. I haven't decided yet if I want to deal.

- Torr has some early Stone Roses demos available for download.

- Though I'm sure I'm not alone in loving the first two Oasis albums, I think we can all agree that they are shooting way (WAY) too high with this MSG show on June 22. I have to think they're banking on Jet filling some seats (at up to $75 no less).

- Asobi Seksu start a 12 date tour tomorrow in Boston - they'll head down south before coming back up to finish in Philly on the 21st. Full dates are here.

An Interview with The Kills



Volvo wants them, but The Kills aren't interested. They're more concerned about being confused with The Thrills or The Killers than cashing in.

This minimalist indie duo are not here to resurrect Robert Johnson or Charlie Patton. There's no agenda to save ROCK. No, the Kills are camped out in the Chelsea Hotel to promote their new record, chain smoke some cigarettes, and work on their other hobbies: writing in their diaries and taking photographs with their digital camera.

We found The Kills, Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, ensconced around a table littered with cigarettes, water bottles, an iPod, and a worn copy of Gunther Grass’s The Tin Drum, a book about an "the eternal three-year-old drummer" that Jamie claims to have read dozens of times.

They were in New York doing interviews to promote their follow-up to 2003's amazing Keep on Your Mean Side. Alison and Jamie graciously sat down with us to discuss their music, those nagging White Stripes comparisons, and touring with Franz Ferdinand. Jamie is unpretentious and outspoken. He smoked a lot. Alison is beautiful, articulate, and a bit shy. She smoked even more. Their platonic affection for one another was obvious and endearing. Their chemistry will delight fans on their fantastic new record, No Wow.

**************************************

How long were you in the studio with No Wow?

Jamie: We did in two parts. We wrote it in Benton Harbor, Michigan. We were there for four weeks. We then took a week off and then recorded the album in three weeks in New York.

So you guys have a quick process then? Are you working a new album already?

Alison: Well, we didn't know that we did. That was part of the challenge because we've been on the road for so long and we don't write while on tour. It's not what we're drawn to doing. We just do art on the road. We take loads of photographs. We draw and do collages and paint and film and write constantly.

So we went to the middle of nowhere and spread out all of this stuff we rounded up. It was our inspiration. Really, we panicked because we only had two months to write the new album so we gave ourselves only a month to do it to make it even scarier. We sat down and spent about 80% of our time talking and about 20% talking and it worked.

Jamie: If you don't set yourself any themes or restrictions, it can be really hard to come up with something creative. Naturally we were drawn to set up boundaries so that we could operate within one area and explore that as much as we could.

The boundaries we set were the lack of time we had to make the record. It became the theme of the record. We didn't have time to think about what we were doing. We thought let's make a record purely from our guts and our heart and not over-think anything or rework anything. I was really fascinated by the possibility of making a record of 11-12 songs that represented 10 minutes of inspiration. Even if it meant sitting around day dreaming for two days and then getting up and writing something for 10 minutes and then sleeping for a day.

Do you find American audiences are more or less willing to accept a band that plays with a drum machine and backing tracks?

Jamie: It's pretty similar the world over. Lots of people love it and it pisses so many people off.

Alison: A lot of people demand their money back. We do have a drummer; you just can't seem him.

Jamie: The drum machine is a massively integral part of our sound. It is an anti-rock thing for me. Rock music always has these tempo changes and these explosions; you know "FEEL THE ROCK" as it explodes in the chorus. With a drum machine it's like a metronome that keeps you from doing that. We found early on that it made us tense up when we played and we liked the sound of that tension.

But it really pisses people off.

It seems there were a lot more electronics on this record. Was that intentional?

Jamie: I'm attracted to things that look good so if the recording equipment looks old and weird, I like it. There were these weird drum machines in the studio we wrote in so we used them. That's the gut instinct version of what happened.

There's an academic explanation as well. Our first record was mistaken as a celebration of the "BIRTH OF ROCK" or "PRIMITIVE BLUES ROCK." I felt like our set up and our dynamic has a bit more in common with the birth of electronic music. The drum machine is the heart of it. We're more affiliated with stripped down electronic music, like Suicide or Cabaret Voltaire as much as I did with Charlie Patton. I'm a white, middle class bloke from England. I don't quite have the blues in me [laughs].

Well Eric Clapton did.

Jamie: Yeah, he's terrible and that's why.

What are you listening to these days?

Jamie: TV on the Radio

Alison: Fiery Furnaces

Jamie: TV on the Radio is a stunning band. They have such an amazing dynamic musically. I love that they have such an unorthodox set up, both musically and racially. They're coming from a very different angle. We met them in Iceland. It was weird. We were playing the same festival in Iceland and we were introduced to them a couple years ago. Meeting TV on the Radio in Iceland is really bizarre.

Do you guys like the White Stripes? You guys get compared to them a lot. Do you think it's a valid comparison?

Jamie: Yeah, we love them. They kicked the door open for a lot of other bands. It's a good comparison. That's how people write. Validity is not necessarily what you want or pleasing. It's relevant and that's what people write.

So you guys were formally married as well?

Jamie: I don't really mind it. It gets in the way of what we want to do. I'm sure there's a ton of people who write us off because of the comparison. I'm sure there are people who listen to us because of the comparison and then are disappointed. People like to compare bands to other bands. It's hard to describe music. It's always "a cross between 'blah blah' and 'blah blah blah', mixed with a little bit of Pink Floyd." Or "it's Patty Smith and Richard Hell's love child."

Your voice often sounds a lot like PJ Harvey, which is wonderful. She's one of my favorites. Are you a fan of her? Is there anyone you don't like to be compared to?

Alison: PJ Harvey is amazing and so is Patti Smith. If anyone said that I sound like Patti Smith, I would die because I think she's incredible. I'd like to think that I could stand apart, like any band wants to.

Jamie: I think it's always easier getting compared to bands that are way in the past than it is getting compared to bands that are around now.

Alison: Right, because people will say "You're the new PJ Harvey" but she's still alive. So I can't be.

Jamie: PJ Harvey is one of the reasons I ruined my life with music. When I heard the first PJ Harvey record I knew that's what I wanted to do. She turned me on to a lot of music I listen to now. Listening to her made me listen to [Captain] Beefheart, which made me listen to Howlin' Wolf, and then back to Charlie Patton. Then she brought out "To Bring You My Love" and I thought "What the fuck? This is unbelievable." It made me interested in Suicide.

What was it like playing with Franz Ferdinand? Any crazy stories come out of that?

Alison: The tour was really good, actually. It was really fun getting to know them. It was a long tour so we went through all kinds of things. We had this bus problem - someone's bus would break every day. We'd end up being on the same bus with Franz.

Jamie: We had a single-decker bus and it kept breaking down so the company sent us a double-decker bus, which is insane for a band of two people. So we had this double-decker bus and we said "look at all this room!" Then Franz called us and told us their bus had broken down. They said ask if they could stay on our bus and we said "of course, we have a double-decker."

Alison: Paul [Thomson] would bring his portable record player everywhere so we'd have these little parties every night. It was really, really fun. It was strange playing to an audience that had never heard of us and were quite young. They were really waiting for Franz to come out on stage. It was like they were looking at their watches waiting for the band they came to see.

It was so challenging. You can easily become depressed think there's just no way to handle it because people do not care about you. Something happened to us, something evolved. We started to play very intensely - redirected our energy at the audience because you get lost in a room full of people who aren't supporting you. That tour made us so strong. We learned how to cope with that. We learned how to make it ours and make it fun. We got stronger and stronger and stronger.

Do you guys often get mixed up with the Thrills or the Killers?

Alison: That's one of the most irritating things actually. It drives me crazy, especially with the Killers. I want to hit and punch anyone who makes that mistake.

Jamie: We received treatments for the video for our song The Good Ones and we were sent one that said "THE GOOD ONES BY THE THRILLS!" It was in the bin immediately. I like those bands; well I don't know those bands too well. The Thrills are really good songwriters, but it's not my thing. The Killers are one of those things I just don't get. This seems to be one of those times when there are these really huge bands that no one will admit to liking.

Alison: We were talking about that the other day. In America it seems like music isn't really for the public. It's so corporate and over the top. People end up not getting what they want, but what corporations think they want.

Jamie:America is the hardest country to just be a great band. It's hard for people to love your band and for you to do well because of just that. It requires so much more than that. It seems so mathematical and calculated here. It seems to operate outside of kids going to shows and freaking out.

Most of the bands I've interviewed recently have a totally different perspective on the music industry than bands used to. I can't imagine that Sonic Youth would have agreed to be on The O.C. back in the 80's. But now it seems like pretty much any band would do it. It seems bands today are more busy savvy. Is there anywhere you would draw the line?

Jamie: I don't think playing on a TV show is wrong, but commercials are different. We get offered commercials all the time, in fact we were offered a commercial yesterday by Volvo.

Are you going to do it?

Jamie: No, we're not.

Alison: We've been offered insane amounts of money. It's funny. I think the last thing you want as an artist is to be branded with a product. It's really a horrifying thought. I love the idea of being on film soundtracks, even TV shows. That doesn't bother me. I don't find myself offended by that.

Jamie: I don't really feel offended by music in commercials. The only time you know where your priorities are is when you get offered something like. We thought about it for about five minutes and said no. We thought what we could do with the money, but my instincts told me no. But if Sonic Youth played on the O.C., I wouldn't say "oh they sold out!" Things have really changed. We live in a world where gossip magazines are the new pop art. You can't apply the same rules or politics that applied to music about 10 years ago.

**************************************

This interview was conducted by Jason Bell from One Louder and Robert Lanham from FREEWilliamsburg. Check out FREEWilliamsburg for more interviews, reviews, opinions and more.

MONDAY SHORTS

- So now Kompakt is getting in on the Italo craze? Well, not quite - but they did a night at London's Fabric this weekend and word is Michael Mayer's early set featured a brief Italo interlude. Only the lucky Londoners in attendance know if it was Italo with a Kompakt flair, but maybe he'll do the same at the Canal Room on February 23. Tickets are $10 in advance at Other Music, or $15 at the door. DJ Koze and Superpitcher spun the headlining sets at Fabric and last I heard, Superpitcher's mix CD is due in March and Koze's artist LP in May. Both are eagerly anticipated in these parts.

- Check out this conversation in the Guardian between Bloc Party and New Order's Peter Hook - he tells his story and gives the Bloc Party lads some advice, and it's a good read. Hook talks about Joy Division getting compared to the Doors, and doing a gig with only two girls in the crowd - both of whom thought they were seeing the Frantic Elevators. Classic. [Via Catchdubs]

- If you tried to go to AllDisco at subTonic on Saturday, you discovered that the Tonic was flooded and the party had been moved to Brooklyn. (I didn't find out until Sunday, otherwise I would have posted a warning.) I'm not sure if things are cleaned up yet, so you may want to call ahead if you're heading there in the next day or two. All looks well on their site though. The Tonic is now accepting donations via Paypal on the site, and it looks like they're about a third of the way to having the $20K they need to fix their sewer. I'm not sure what the other $80K is to cover, but I really hope they find the cash. Not only is it a great space, but I want to see Triple R and Daniel Bell there in March!

- To stay with the negative - the Rah Bras unfortunately had all their equipment stolen outside the new Secret Project Robots space on Friday. Check their site for more information on how to help. [Via PSNYC]

- Wilco's A Ghost Is Born will finally be getting released on vinyl in March. The double LP set will actually have new cover art which you can see here.

- Lindstrom and Prins Thomas are two Norwegian DJ's with their own label (Feedelity) and an impressive run of singles under their belts, or so I've heard. I didn't know their names until my friend Roy tipped me off last night, but this January Shibuya FM set of theirs definitely has me impressed - they drop a great remix of Liquid Liquid's "Flextone" early on. The Feedelity site also links to a December Shibuya set. Both are worth a listen.

LOW - BOWERY BALLROOM, 2.4.05

As a rule of thumb, bands are always better on the second night when they stay in a city - no rushing, no stressed travel, etc. At the very least, the sound is perfect because the crew has everything worked out from the night before. Not that any of this matters when you're at the Bowery Ballroom and the sound is naturally pristine. Right?

Well, Low surprisingly bucked the trends with a spotty set at the Bowery on Friday that never seemed to gel. To be fair, my standards for a Low live show are high - their consistently excellent sets are a big part of my love for them. It was surprising, then, to see two false starts on "Death of a Salesman" to start the show - it seemed like the monitors were off. "Monkey" was up next and saw another false start when Mimi Parker couldn't hear herself. It was not a good start, and you could tell the band wasn't happy with things.

"California" and "Everybody's Song" were up next and both sounded great, with Alan Sparhawk actually playing his guitar with his teeth during the feedback-laden breakdown on the latter. Mimi's drums were what she normally plays live - they sounded a little too quiet, though, for some of the new Great Destroyer material. Part of what makes "Everybody's Song" is great is the pounding metallic beat; with brushes, it's not the same. Still, the band had some momentum - until Zak Sally broke a bass string. I don't think I'd ever seen a bass string break on stage before, and Low is the last band I'd expect to see it with, but it happened. They even apologized for being "unprofessional."

My favorite part of the show was the end. "Broadway (So Many People)" was outstanding to finish up the main set, and they came back to do a couple requests. I tried my best for "Violence" and even had some others with me, but "That's How You Sing Amazing Grace" and a shortened "Over the Ocean" (with its own crew of supporters) won out. I was fine with that though, as both versions were great. A typical Low show would have matched that high right at the beginning and never let up. Friday's show never came together and was pretty unsatisfying in comparison. I'll be back next time though - everyone could tell (including the band) that this was just an off night.

MORE ON M.I.A. + DIPLO

For more on Saturday's M.I.A. show, head over to Tale of Two Cities for a review that captures the night well. More in the Monitor recognized way more people than me. Aziz was there too, and he even met M.I.A. afterwards. (Well, sort of...)



I made a beeline to the merch table after the show to grab a proper copy of the now-hard-to-find Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1, and I picked up Diplo's baile funk mix Favela on Blast while I was there. So far, I like it a lot. It turns out I'd actually heard some baile funk before without realizing it, but this stuff is very fun and catchy and (I believe) big in Brazil. All the percussion and the brass and synth flourishes remind me of the Nortec Collective's excellent Tijuana Sessions from a few years ago, but this has a slower, funkier sound that's rooted more in hip-hop than techno. (It's got lots of vocals too, and some nice nods to Western music - that "Rock the Casbah" mash-up especially.) I wish it was longer than 30 minutes - especially with the $10 price tag - but I guess Shins albums are that long so I can't complain. I'm also not sure how else I would have heard this stuff. You can get Favela on Blast here.

I also really like the design of the mix, done by Nick Catchdubs. If you like well-designed flyers, you'll love Nick's excellent portfolio. I particularly dig the work he did for CMJ, Wilco, and Pete O'Connell.

What? Does Entertainment Weekly Read Pitchfork?
EW Hearts Dungen, Annie and Erlend Oye in this week's issue

While not tragically behind the curve, Entertainment Weekly's music section is usually not one of my sources for information about the unknown and under-the-radar. Nor do I think it tries to be; its target readers are not exactly Pitchfork devotees or ILM regulars.

So all credit must be given to EW for running a feature (Issue #806, pg. 64) on Scandinavian acts Dungen, Annie, Jens Lekman, and Erlend Oye. EW writer Leah Greenblatt nicely encapsulates the appeal of each artist: Dungen is "a loopy Candy Land psych-rock trip"; Annie's the "equivalent of pink champagne"; Lekman's a "winsome troubador"; and Erlend Oye is crowned a "Renaissance man" for his DJ mixes and Kings of Convenience work. I think it's great to see these deserving artists get props in such a mainstream magazine.

Elsewhere in the same issue, EW urges us to download some M.I.A. (legally), creates some funny new genres (Brian Emo, Flock Rock and Blinger-Songwriter) and reveals that Neko Case's great aunt was a professional wrestler. Good stuff!

M.I.A. + DIPLO - KNITTING FACTORY, 2.5.05

I didn't realize quite how hyped last night's M.I.A. show at the Knitting Factory was until I saw someone offering $70 for a ticket on Craigslist - a bit of a hike from the $12 face. Then again, this was her first show in NYC and third in North American (following Toronto and LA) and Arular is the kind of record that deserves the hype. I would have been pretty disappointed had I paid that much though - the Knitting Factory was way, way too packed for its own good. It felt full early and as Diplo's opening set progressed it just got fuller and fuller, pressing everyone up against each other with no space to move. That's to be expected if you want to be up close at a festival, but it makes for a sweaty mess at the Knitting Factory. It did have the nice side effect of pushing me into a great view of the stage, and Diplo was great - he was spinning a great mix of hip-hop with other tunes like "The Love Cats" and "Bittersweet Symphony." I'd heard about his skills on the decks before, and I wouldn't hesitate to see him again.

M.I.A. and a backing MC joined Diplo on stage just after midnight, and they launched into "Pull Up The People." M.I.A. definitely had a wide-eyed enthusiasm to her, like she's getting used to all the attention and having fun with it. The first half of the set was just OK though. I'm an amateur with hip-hop, but she didn't seem to be rapping with confidence that seems essential for good live hip-hop - though it might have just been that the vocals were too low in the mix.

M.I.A. retreated backstage midway through for a wardrobe change, and the show really took off when she came back. Either they got the mix right, or she found her groove, or both, but it was pretty hot (in both senses of the word). "URAQT" was great but "Galang" was the high point - the last minute or so was nuts, a huge singalong. "Bucky Done Gun" was just as strong. Diplo was mostly spinning Arular versions but he snuck in some Piracy Funds Terrorism at the end with "M.I.A." What would have really killed was if he dropped Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" for the PFT version of "Bingo" - ah well.

All in all, a good show. But if I had never heard M.I.A. before, I probably would have left the show wondering why she gets so much hype. She's a good performer, but I think the studio is where she really shines.

SETLIST (via ILM):

Pull Up The People / Fire Fire / Hombre / Sunshowers / 10 Dollar / Amazon // URAQT / Galang / Bucky Done Gun / M.I.A.

M.I.A. Photos - Knitting Factory, 2.5.05







EDIT: Rajeev's review of the M.I.A. show.

Check out more M.I.A. photos over at Brooklyn Vegan.

Last Night We Got Low, Tonight We Go M.I.A.





Pardon the puns! Here's a couple pictures I took from last night's Low show at the Bowery Ballroom.

Lots is going on this weekend, so let's dive in:

FRIDAY

Low plays their second night at the Bowery Ballroom. Low's live shows are a big part of why I love them, and I'm psyched to see The Great Destroyer songs live. Hopefully they'll throw in a good cover or two - I'm pulling for Pink Floyd's "Fearless" or (even better) Spacemen 3's "Lord Can You Hear Me." This show is sold out but I bet you'd be able to get a ticket outside.

Wheels Instead of Hooves is supposed to be one of the best electronic parties in London, and it's making its first visit to NYC tonight at Rothko. Jega, Datach'i, and Shadetek are on the bill, which means you can't do much better tonight if you're looking for glitchy breakbeats and thick basslines.

Matador's newest signing The Double plays the new Mighty Robot space in Williamsburg, on the corner of Kent and Metropolitan. I'm really curious to hear these guys. Aside from my general affection for all things Matador, everything I read about the Double makes me think I'd dig 'em. Rah Bras, The Occasion, and Soft Sax are also playing.

Sasha and James Lavelle are "spinning" at Crobar. I use quotes because Sasha has given up the decks and now mixes with Ableton Live - which happens to be the software that Monolake wrote. Lavelle, of course, is the main man behind UNKLE. The $40 cover is steep though.

SATURDAY

M.I.A. and Diplo take over the Knitting Factory for a late show. This show couldn't have better timing for me - Arular is ruling my world right now. I've heard that she's mostly playing Arular versions of her songs (vs. those from Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1), though I've also heard Diplo has been cutting it up before and after the show. Nick Catchdubs is also spinning, and there's a free afterparty afterwards with both of them. It looks like M.I.A., though, will be heading to Luke and Leroys for Misshapes, where she'll be spinning along with none other than Jarvis Cocker - I have to think this will be mobbed.

It's the first weekend of the month, which means the excellent AllDisco party will be taking over subTonic on Saturday. This party is well worth checking out without the special guests, but it'll be even better this week. Tim Sweeney - the man behind One Louder fave RVNG PRSNTS MX3 and the mixed disc of DFA Compilation #2 - will be joining residents Dan Selzer, Jeremy Campbell, and Rob Uptight. Make sure you drink a lot if you go - the Tonic needs the money.

SUNDAY

I'm obsessive about baseball but pretty fair-weather with football. That said, go Eagles!

FRIDAY SHORTS

- Hey LA people - Beck is playing a "secret" show tomorrow night at Club 1650 in Hollywood and tickets aren't on sale until 6 PM tomorrow at the door. It's just $10. [Via More Cowbell]

- Why can't New York have a radio station like this? 89.3 FM is all the rage in Minneapolis right now, which has a history of good radio. A friend of mine lives there and used to rave about the eclecticism of Rev-105 - those folks are now running 89.3. I was just listening to the stream and heard TMBG, Cibo Matto, some French lounge tune, and Bloc Party.

- Just announced - The Fall will be at the Knitting Factory next Thursday for a midnight show. The two disc best-of 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong is available on the cheap at Virgin right now, in case you need to get "educated-uh."

- Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys played a rare solo gig at the Tonic last night - check out Statute of Frauds and Mega Mega Mega for reviews.

- The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (at Lincoln Center Plaza, not 42nd and 5th) is currently running an exhibit on the history of disco - by all accounts, it's well worth a visit. I definitely plan to check it out, and I might time my visit to see the panel discussion on February 19.

- I saw Louis XIV's name pop up on Mystery and Misery and Brooklyn Vegan recently, but the Rub finally pushed me to action yesterday. I like what I hear in "Louis XIV" (MP3) and "God Killed The Queen" (MP3), so I'll be seeking out the rest of their album for sure. Usounds also has "Finding Out True Love is Blind" available - good stuff.

- I used to be pretty active in my distaste for Microsoft, but I let my guard down and gave up Netscape and WordPerfect many years ago. Still, this article makes me smile.

Kings of Convenience on Carson Daly

While in town for a couple performances at the Bowery Ballroom (Feb. 7 & 8), Kings of Convenience will also appear on Last Call with Carson Daly on February 7th. If you act now, you might be able to be in the studio for the taping. That's right, 1 Iota (the same group who managed U2's Brooklyn Bridge Show) is offering a limited number of seats for the show.

I tried to reserve a couple tickets a few minutes ago and so far haven't received a confirmation, so it may be too late. Or perhaps it's because I planned on wearing a light-blue jump suit and beige hard hat to the taping. I've got a ticket to KoC's Bowery show on the 8th, so I won't be too disappointed if I'm rejected.

Here's 1 Iota's rules, if you make it in:

- You must be at least 16 years old.

- You must be available Monday Evening, February 7th.

- You must have a valid photo ID (sorry Al-Qaeda KoC fans)

- Please do not wear white, light blue, biege or logos; does not come across well on camera.

- Please do not bring large handbags or knapsacks.

- No cameras or recording devices

The Junior Boys put out one of my absolute favorites of last year in Last Exit, but I sadly missed them live - twice! First I had something else going on when they played the Bowery with Mouse on Mars, then I got sick when they played Joe's Pub. I was bummed, but I figured I'd just catch them next time around.

Well, the JB's will be touring with Caribou (formerly Manitoba) in the spring and right now there are no NYC dates in the mix - it figures. Note two things though - these dates may not be complete, especially with the five day gap between Cambridge and Chapel Hill. Also, this is the Caribou tour, so the JB's may do something on their own in between dates. I'd love to see them both though - I caught Manitoba a couple times after Up In Flames and they were fun to watch.

Anyway, here are those dates (via ILM):

4/26 - Elixir Night Club, Kingston ON
4/30 - Noyes Community Center, Ithaca NY
5/2 - Iron Horse, Northampton MA
5/4 - Middle East, Cambridge MA
5/9 - Local 506, Chapel Hill NC
5/10 - Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta GA
5/11 - House of Blues Parish, New Orleans LA
5/12 - Mary Janes Fat Cat, Houston TX
5/13 - The Parish, Austin TX
5/14 - Haileys, Denton TX
5/27 - Berbatis Pan, Portland OR
5/28 - Chop Suey Presents, Seattle WA
5/29 - Lucky Bar, Victoria BC
5/30 - Richards on Richards Vancouver BC
6/1 - Broken City, Calgary AB
6/2 - New City Liqwid Lounge & Suburbs, Edmonton AB
6/7 - Empty Bottle Chicago IL
6/9 - Magic Stick, Detroit MI
6/10 - The Casbah, Hamilton ON

Hey Guero, Buy Three Version of the New Beck CD!

I didn't mean to hurt Beck's feelings when I posted a couple of MP3s from the bootleg of his new album, Guero a few weeks ago. But it looks like Beck's pain will be our gain. Billboard reports that Mr. Hansen will release three versions of his new album on March 29: a standard CD, a double disc with videos and 5.1 audio, and an extra special version with four remixes. Take that, pesky bootleg pirates!

He's brought Boards of Canada, Octet, Dizzee Rascal and Royksopp on board for the mixes. The videos on the double disc will be for "E-Pro" and "Black Tambourine."

I know that the general opinion of the new material was rather negative, but I liked what I heard and will be purchasing Guero when it comes out. Sorry, you will not find any MP3s of it here for download.

Are you a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds fan? Do you want to help save Tonic? If so, you're in luck. Tomorrow night, Bad Seeds drummer/percussionist Jim Sclavunos will bring his band The Vanity Set to Tonic for a benefit to save the endangered club.

NME describes The Vanity Set:

"Many have tried to epitomize NY, but the efforts of locals The Vanity Set, where a suited loon rants poetry in a dumpster behind Broadway, is up with the best."

Sounds very interesting. The show begins at 8 PM and also features The Dime Store Dance Band. It's only $8.

THE ARCADE FIRE - IRVING PLAZA, 2.2.05



You already know the highlight of last night's Arcade Fire show at Irving Plaza, but it was already a fantastic show by then - David Byrne getting on stage just made it unforgettable.

I haven't mentioned the Arcade Fire on here much because, well, frankly I don't think Funeral is all it's cracked up to be. It's a good album with a few great songs, but I think it drags in spots. The almost mythical status it's achieved seems a bit much to me. The live show, though, is a totally different story. I'm far from the first to say this, but the Arcade Fire are a tremendous live band.

With 8 people on stage going nuts, their songs take on a visceral energy that can't always be captured in a studio. The density of their sound can just floor you. You feel the band - the violins, all the percussion - much more when they're all spilling over each other, even off the stage. Lead singer Win Butler ended up in the crowd at the end of an intense "Neighborhood #3," and the two guys on stage left were banging pretty much everything in sight with their drumsticks - even climbing up onto the PA. It's a lot of fun to watch, and even more impressive to hear. My favorite songs were my favorites on the album - "Neighborhood #1," "Wake Up," and "Haiti" - but pretty much all of it was great. Oh, and that's before David Byrne entered the picture.

I knew that the AF covered the Talking Heads classic "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" from time to time, so I was hoping they'd pull it out last night. It's hard for me to name a single favorite Heads tune, but "Naive Melody" would make any short list. Though I've seen Byrne live once, he didn't play any Talking Heads. So when I saw him walk out on stage for the last song, I knew what was coming and I just couldn't believe it. To be honest, the Arcade Fire version doesn't match up to the original. As SoF pointed out, it was missing the bouncy groove that makes the original "Naive Melody" so essential. But with David Byrne singing it, and with all that energy on stage - what a moment.

I enjoyed the openers as well. I know Central Village doesn't dig Man Man, but I quite liked them. Their sound was something like Black Dice meets Liquid Liquid with some Tom Waits and a lot of instruments thrown in. Weird stuff, but I dug it. Final Fantasy is just Owen Pallett on violin - he also joined the AF on stage. He'd sample himself playing to stitch together some good songs, like Andrew Bird but a bit edgier. He also covered Joanna Newsom's "Peach, Plum, Pear" which was pretty cool.

For more on this show, check out Brooklyn Vegan, Central Village, Daily Refill, Statute of Frauds, and I Rock I Roll. (Plus plenty of others I haven't gotten to yet, I'm sure.)

Here are some more pictures that Jason shot:

I just saw David Byrne sing "This Must Be The Place." DAVID F'ING BYRNE. NAIVE F'ING MELODY. He joined the Arcade Fire for their last song at Irving Plaza tonight. Unbelievable.

More to come on this show tomorrow. In the meantime, check out a video clip (!) of the song over at Daily Refill. Central Village has a picture too.

EDIT - here's the full review.

Arcade Fire, Four Tet, The Kills, and Stephen Malkmus

At this point, I don't think there's any way I can review the Arcade Fire show I'm going to tonight at Irving Plaza. If I'm absolutely, genuinely blown away by the performance, what is one more pat on the back from a blogger? If it honestly sucks, will hating on them come off as arrogance? Perhaps I'll just go to the show, try to be objective and keep my opinion to myself, good or bad.

I'm not trying to knock the number of other sites that have posted glowing reviews of Arcade Fire at Webster Hall last night. I've enjoyed reading them today (See here, here, here and here). I particularly liked More In The Monitor's diary approach. Unless I can come up with something clever like that, I'm going to keep my mouth shut.

In other news, I'm very excited about the prospect of a new Four Tet album this year. It's unnamed at the moment, but should see the light of day this May. Four Tet will be at Coachella 2005, on April 30. Kieran's also completed some remixes for Madvillian, Bloc Party and Cyne.

Also good news: The Kills at Maxwell's on April 9. Hopefully there will be shows scheduled in Brooklyn or Manhattan too.

Finally, some more Stephen Malkmus news. Rolling Stone spoke to Stephen about his new album and turned up some interesting information. For example, the track "No More Shoes" is an eight-minute jam with sitars and "flinty rock chords" that is "more rocking that a late-period Sonic Youth song," Malkmus claims. Read the whole piece here.

Bloc Party at Happy Ending?

If it hasn't already, let the Bloc Party hype officially begin! Billboard gets on board today with an article about the imminent arrival of Bloc Party on our fair shores. Here's their take on Silent Alarm, BP's debut album:

"...the 14-track album seems primed to attract the kind of listener enamored with the '80s-influenced rock purveyed by Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat and the Killers, with whom Bloc Party is currently touring in the United Kingdom."

Billboard also lists Bloc Party's U.S. tour dates, including a February 22 show at Happy Ending in NYC. Huh? Anyone heard about this one already?

UPDATE: Alex point out that Vice Records lists the Feb. 22 gig at Happy Ending as a DJ set only, just as was speculated in our comments. Thanks Alex!

Here's those dates, in full:

Feb. 20: New York (Roxy)
Feb. 22: New York (Happy Ending - DJ Set Only)
March date TBA: Austin, Texas (South by Southwest Music Festival)
March 21: Pomona, Calif. (Glass House)
March 22: Los Angeles (Troubadour)
March 23: San Francisco (Bottom of the Hill)
March 24: San Francisco (Pop Scene)
March 26: Seattle (Neumo's)
March 27: Vancouver (Richard's on Richards)
March 30: Minneapolis (First Avenue)
March 31: Chicago (Metro)
April 1: Detroit (Magic Stick)
April 2: Toronto (Lee's Palace)
April 3: Montreal (Cabaret)
April 5: Boston (Paradise)
April 6: Philadelphia (First Unitarian Church)
April 7-8: New York (Bowery Ballroom)
April 9: Washington, D.C. (Black Cat)
April 30: Indio, Calif. (Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival)

NEW STEPHEN MALKMUS!

Matador has announced the details of the new Stephen Malkmus album - it's called Face The Truth and will be out on May 23. From their site:

On May 23, Matador will be releasing the 3rd post-Pavement album from Stephen Malkmus, 'Face The Truth', on the every popular compact disc and phonograph long player configurations. 'Face The Truth', Stephen's first bona fide solo recording, captures our favorite singer-songwriter at the height of his creative powers. We can say with total confidence that some of SM's wittiest moments to date are found on this album, along with many of his most heartfelt. An album of staggering lyrical and musical range, 'Face The Truth' is unlikey to be supported by heavy touring (what with Stephen's pending dad-to-be status), but selected US dates are planned, along with a headlining appearance at Matador's SXSW event (March 18, The Parish, Austin).

Aside from that bit about SM having a kid, what's interesting is that it seems he plays everything on Face The Truth - which, BTW, is leagues better as a title than Hamburger Serenade. Here's the tracklisting:

Invisible Bodies / Baby C'mon / Horslip / Mmmmm... / Loud Cloud Crowd / No More Shoes / Mama / Malediction / Pencil Rot / It Kills / I've Hardly Been

This is one of my most anticipated 2005 releases, no question. I'm also looking forward to hearing The Double, whose Matador signing was officially announced today as well. (Time Out New York leaked it a couple weeks ago, along with Matador's Early Man signing.) Their reviews sound great, and they've got a few local shows coming up - Mighty Robot on 2/4, Lincoln Center (for a fashion show) on 2/5, and the Knitting Factory on 2/28.

New Prefuse 73 Leaks

I just realized that I've never written about hip hop here. It's not that I don't listen to it or respect it. Most likely it's because I lack the knowledge to offer a credible opinion or analysis. To paraphrase a cliche about art appreciation: I don't know much about hip hop, but I know what I like. And as you can tell from previous posts, I like me some Prefuse 73.

Prefuse 73 is releasing a new album, Surrounded By Silence, on March 22. If you're unscrupulous like me, you don't have to wait that long to hear it. Yes, it's leaked online already and I've given it a few listens. Here's a couple quick thoughts:

- The first single "Hideyaface" is just sick. I can't stop listening to it. If I had better command of the genre I would dissected the beats and flow, but I'll have to leave that to the experts.

Download an MP3 of "Hideyaface", courtesy of Music (for robots).

- When I saw the full tracklisting for the first time, I was most intrigued by the inclusion of Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead on the track "We Go Our Own Way". I've swayed back and forth between loving her voice and hating it, with the latter winning out lately, but this track is amazing. Easily the best use of her unusual voice to date.

- If you're expecting a sequel to One Word Extinguisher, don't. Says Mr. Prefuse 73 himself:

"It is not One word extinguisher pt.3, it is what it is.... Go buy Linkin Park vs. Jay-Z if you can't get with this and that's all fine..."

TUESDAY SHORTS

- Spoon put out one of my favorite albums of 2003 with Kill the Moonlight, so I'm psyched to hear that the follow-up will be out on May 10 on Merge. It's called Gimme Fiction and here's the tracklisting, courtesy of Pitchfork:

The Beast and Dragon, Adored / The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine / I Turn My Camera On / My Mathematical Mind / The Delicate Place / Sister Jack / I Summon You / The Infinite Pet / Was It You? / They Never Got You / Merchants of Soul

- Are we on the verge of an acid house/techno revival? Probably not, but I'm noticing the 303 pop up more and more these days. Adam X spun an acid set at APT a few weeks ago, Kid 606 will be playing a live acid set on February 25 at Rothko (a night that also features DFA's Pixeltan playing their first show in four years), and now I just stumbled onto Eats Tapes. Their three MP3's available here run together to form a nice suite of squelchy, noisy acid techno. They might be a little dissonant for some in spots, but I'm really enjoying them - "Supreme Master" and "Knightress" especially.

- This is nothing more than a rumor right now, but I hear Sonic Youth and Devendra Banhart may be lending their performing skills to the very worthy cause of saving the Tonic. Which, needless to say, would be awesome. More to come as I hear it...

- "It's For You" is not nearly as creative a title as some of Out Hud's other work, but the music itself (available on Fluxblog today) has me thinking Let Us Never Speak Of It Again! (out on 3/21) will be an excellent follow-up to 2002's S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D. It actually features vocals, which were part of Out Hud's live shows but not their last album. A full tracklisting and clips are available here.

- Everyone else is already mentioning these, but I'll jump in - the Coachella line-up is out (and great), and tickets are on sale now for the Fiery Furnaces and Bloc Party at the Bowery Ballroom. And yep, the Arcade Fire are set to take over the blogosphere with their two shows at Webster Hall and Irving Plaza this week. I have to think some of tonight's Webster attendees are slightly peeved that their tickets say "Bowery Ballroom" on them. As for me, I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow night at Irving.

- M.I.A. talks to the New York Times about what she's currently listening to - "reggae riddims and the sound of London grit" according to the headline. Slowly but surely I am figuring out what baile funk is.

- If you're like me and got shut out with U2 MSG tickets, be glad that you can have your mind blown by Deerhoof on that same weekend for $150 less. I've tried before to explain why Deerhoof is so amazing live, but Pitchfork's David Moore did a much better job when reviewing their live album:

Few bands are as worthy of in-concert canonization as Deerhoof, whose live show is equal parts low-key spectacle and exploratory jam session. Many of these live recordings convey a ferocity rarely found on the band's studio-recorded material. Onstage, lead vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki is commanding rather than coy, drummer Greg Saunier has a crazed intensity yet unfailingly musters the band's challenging time signatures, and guitarist Chris Cohen subtly reshapes complex arrangements in a manner that feels improvisational but sounds precise and calculated.

They'll be at Northsix on May 21 and 22. Tickets are $10 and on sale now.