One of my eternal favorite videos is Jonathan Demme's deceivingly simple "The Perfect Kiss" by New Order. Without concept, actors or trickery, Demme captures the stoic magic of New Order by doing nothing more than filming the band performing in a studio. Holding each shot for several seconds, Demme plays with the viewer's expectations for quick and flashy cuts. This editing style brilliantly pulls back a curtain of mystery, allowing the viewer to witness without pomp the machinations of a band pulling together a song. Of course it helps that said song itself is the quintessence of genius.
"One of my favourite things in watching any performance on film is when there isn't a lot of cutting going on and when you get a chance to become really absorbed in the artist in hand. The same way we do, hopefully, at a concert, when we get a chance to really trip in to something that's happening on stage. Whether the singer's singing, or one of the other musicians is playing, we sort of stay there instead of cutting round with our eyes a lot."
- Storefront Demme has an incomplete list of music videos directed by Demme.
Sebastien Leger - "Take Your Pills (Lifelike Remix)" (MP3) (from the Take Your Pills Remixes 12", released by Blackjack): Is that a doctor kindly commanding us to take our vitamins or a pusherman demanding more nefarious medications? Is that a dumb question? I doubt this song will ever be piped over the Duane Reade hi-fi, but your neighborhood DJ should start spinning it, stat. The first single from Sebastien's new record Man vs. Machine, "Take Your Pills" gets scratched and warped and finally thrown onto a disco dance floor by remixers Lifelike. Leger connects the remix to some fine company like Moroder and OL favorite Lindstrom.
Khonnor - "Burning Palace" (MP3) (from the Burning Palace 7"): A perfect song for outer space carousel rides, if such things existed (and they should). "Burning Palace" spins along gravity free with a shuffling beat, lullaby synths and Khonnor's voice, echoing off moons and planets. Why do astronauts get all the good music? Purchase this and other Khonnor releases from Type Records.
2006 Favorites: Ellen Allien & Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles
Now if I only owned a car, a very fast car. Like light blurring through the window of a speeding car, the electronic textures in Orchestra of Bubbles flow in glistening, diffused streams of energy. It was probably not recorded in the middle of a long drive, but with song titles like "Turbo Dreams" and "Jet", the album seems perfectly tuned to buzzing, tangled freeways. Or so I imagine. Seriously, anyone have a car I borrow for about an hour?
The duo behind Orchestra of Bubbles is Berliners Ellen Allien, artist, DJ, and founder of BPitch Control Records, and Shitkatapult's Apparat. Allien grew up in West Berlin during the warming end days of the cold war. A year in London exposed her to the frenetic Acid House craze, but she returned to Berlin, her "city of possibilities" and entered the city's burgeoning electronic scene. To date she's released three full length albums and an innumerable amount of remixes. Said Pitchfork about Allien's 2003 album Berlinette, "It's a record that German techno enthusiasts and Bjork fans can agree on; it tweaks and thumps and then pulls gorgeous ghostly pop out of it; it's big and solid and lovely." Those are appropriate adjectives for Orchestra of Bubbles, really.
As his bio states ornately, Mr. Apparat's music is sensitively orchestral. Consider it chamber IDM, string arrangements via mouse clicks. I'm only now familiarizing myself with his output by listening to the three excellent tracks he's posted on MySpace (the fourth track, "Way Out" is on Orchestra of Bubbles). Based on these, I will need to hear more from Apparat very soon.
If I knew both artists better, I may be able to better delineate one's approach from another, but is that really necessary? Together Allien and Apparat have put together one of the most consistently enjoyable and endearing albums I've heard this year. I've tried unsuccessfully to pin down the mood that pervades the songs. Is it sad or just realistic? Orchestra of Bubbles' appeal is ineffable and in my opinion, undisputable.
Busy day today, so I only have time to remind everyone that Chris Chinchilla and his Macaca Mulatta crew will be performing their first U.S. show at Cake Shop this evening at 10 PM. Also making their debut in the States and opening the night are some good friends of Chris and Art Brut, Ciccone. Head over to their MySpace page to sample some tracks.
Also don't forget Macaca Mulatta and Ciccone play Sin-e on Friday night at 8 PM (with Nous Non Plus, the Spies and the Handsome Public) and Sunday at Pianos at 10:30 PM.
Please allow me to make some sweeping statements, full of convenient generalizations. Because I will probably never tire of complaining about lackluster crowds at New York rock shows, I offer the following plea: Hey indie fan, abandon your compartmentalized mentality! Please stop thinking: "I'm at the Bowery to see a band, so I can't dance" or "I'm at Don Hill's to see a DJ, so it's ok to dance." You can dance anywhere. You can dance to anything. Even Tiga.
As much as Sexor disappointed me for reasons outside the scope of this article, Tiga's interstitial DJ sets Saturday night were superb. Dropping both The Knife's "Silent Shout" and Erol Alkan's extended rework of Hot Chip's "And I Was A Boy From School" is one easy way to win me over. Not playing your own unnecessary covers of songs like "Burning Down the House" is another. But the rock show atmosphere suppressed attempts at club breakouts down to a few pockets of dancers pre-Scissor Sisters and a handful of plastic cup-mashers afterwards.
Even though Scissor Sisters weren't quite the over-the-top, overtly sexual extravaganza I expected (this was my first SS show), they were as fun as their reputation proclaims. Ironically, between songs Ana Matronic railed against the dying of night life in New York. The Man doesn't want us to dance, she said. The government's heavy handed approach towards clubs vis-à-vis cabaret licenses has dampened the city's dance vibes, but what excuse do we offer for Saturday night's rather timid reactions? How could anyone not at least tap a toe during a scintillating "Tits on the Radio" or the uproarious, show ending "Filthy Gorgeous"? I'm exaggerating of course, but I expected a full on bacchanal to ensue in response to this band, not a loud, but polite observance. Cher was in the audience after all. She deserved better from us kids.
Kelley Polar - "Here in the Night (Long Version)" (MP3), from the Album Sampler Vol. 2 12": By day Kelley Polar plays viola in a chamber group and tends to cows on his bucolic New Hampshire farm. By night this former Julliard student writes silky and orchestral urban disco, both on his own and as the strings arranger for the esteemed Metro Area. This extended take on the smooth "Here in the Night" is taken from the second sampling of tracks from Polar's debut album Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens. The sampler is available for purchase at Environ.
Pierre - "Eva Blunt (Frank Martiniq Remix)" (MP3), from The Eva Blunt EP 12": A foreboding cauldron of dark noises and squishy beats, "Pierre" aims not to destroy through brute and obvious force, but to stalk about the boundaries, waiting for the right moment to strike with stealth. Not recommended for the paranoid.
Brakes - "All Night Disco Party (FC Kahuna Remix)" (MP3), from the All Night Disco Party 12": Taking a break (no pun intended) from writing two minute punk(ish) songs, Brakes spin out an indie dance workout that's already been called the "anthem of the summer" in Italy.
Many eons before "Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce" perplexed the globe, another number sequence was developed, one more fantastical and meaningful than Bono's counting dyslexia. This ordering of numbers, called the Fibonacci sequence, is by my limited arithmetical ability, a mathematical way of expressing patterns in nature.
Its relationship to the Golden Mean (a mathematical ratio also found in nature and applied to the study of aesthetics) and appearance as plot devices in conspiracy stories like the Da Vinci Code has brought the Fibonacci sequence out of the halls of academia and into the limelight of pop culture. But who knew even trance DJs were budding math enthusiasts?
In 1999, Global Underground released its 13th collection, Global Underground: Ibiza. The two-disc set featured the DJ skills of Sasha, the golden god of the trance genre at the time. "It's the culmination of the late-'90s trance movement at its peak," wrote Jason Birchmeier for All Music. "And as a culmination, this zenith is at times impressive, featuring the era's best producers: Breeder, Quivver, L.S.G., Sander Kleinenberg, and Cass and Slide."
The collection also includes BT's "Fibonacci Sequence" (MP3), which layers vocal loops reciting the sequence ("one, one, two, three, five, eight, 13, 21.") and other numerical maxims like "mathematics is the language of nature" over a cavalcade of propulsive techno riffs. The song is so funky and geometric even Tom Hanks in a mullet could rave to it.
Yes, in the end everything comes back to progressive house.
Our collective crush on Art Brut hasn't been a secret around here. Their debut album was Top of the Pops for Rajeev and I (maybe Paul too?) in 2005 and we've tried to attend nearly every show the band has put on in the area.
For me it started about five seconds after I heard "Formed a Band" for the first time. I was won over so completely by this song that I signed up for Art Brut's Yahoo! group, which led to an exchange of a couple emails with then lead guitarist Chris Chinchilla. Like a loyal fanboy, I offered whatever help I could to bring Art Brut stateside. Nothing came of our conversations then, Chris left the band and I assumed that was the end of the story.
However, Chris was kind enough to remember our brief meeting and when he asked for assistance with booking some New York shows for his new band, I jumped at the chance. Long in the making but finally almost here, Chris and his band Macaca Mulata will play three shows here in New York next week: April 25 at Cake Shop, April 28 at Sin-e and April 30 at Pianos.
Chris and I recently sat down for a long friendly chat (well, we actually emailed each other today) to discuss Art Brut, his new band and his multi-pronged plan to rule the world!
Easy questions first: Who is Chris Chinchilla?
Chris Chinchilla: Me... Bit moody sometimes, but generally a good bloke. The name comes from a fanzine / promotions company I used to run when I was about 17, and it kind of stuck...
Tell us your Art Brut days. Why did you leave the band? Are you still friends with them?
CC: They were great, I left because I was running up enormous debt and I had a few personal things I needed to sort out. That's all OK now, and we're all good friends, saw them last week, Jasper [Future, who took Chris's place in the band] was very nervous with me around. Bless ;-)
What have you been up to since leaving Art Brut?
CC: Getting new songs together, slowly. Getting a new band together, slowly. Working on a few other things, like an Arts project and doing quite a bit of DJ'ing (featured DJ in this weeks NME!) and sadly, working :-( Though that will end again soon as it bores me shitless and I want to get back on the road!
Tell us more about your new band, Macaca Mulatta. Who's in it? Where did you come up with the name?
CC: Jim & Arran, who used to be in a London Punk band, Rhesus make up the rest of the band. The name (as far as we're saying...) is the Chinchilla-Monkey that you see on our flyers and publicity. In fact there will be 3 chinchmonkies out and about eventually. It's an amalgamation of my name and a Monkey... The Internet might try to tell you other things, but don't believe that...
OK, time to ask the obligatory influences question. Who helps shape the Chinchilla/Macaca Mulatta sound?
CC: Hmm, well, my influences don't often come out in the music I make, but at the moment I'm kind of aiming at a Jam / Dead Kennedy's crossover, which is more obvious in the newer material than the tracks you can hear so far (which are very, very, very rough demos). Though generally whatever I intend something to sound like is not how it turns out...
Judging from your personal site, you're involved in much more than just being in a band. What are you up to? And is this all part of a plan for world domination?
CC: Yes - DJ'ing, Art Projects, a radio show, music reviews, production, web design, all sorts... World domination would be nice, but it's mainly because I just get bored easily and want to be involved with anything and everything.
CC: Just finished listening to a demo of a band called 'Vacuum Irony' not greatly impressed...
What was your first concert?
CC: Can't honestly remember, I used to go to really tiny gigs when I first started going to gigs, probably something at the Bull & Gate in Kentish Town.
My curiosity piqued by the amazing "The Girl from Botany Bay", I researched Minilogue and found not quite an abundance of information, but at least enough to keep me occupied for awhile. I learned first that Minilogue is the alias of Sebastian Mullaert and Marcus Henriksson. These two Swedes are better known for their psytrance productions, released under the guise of Son Kite. Oh no! Not trance, right? I'll get to that in a moment.
The first stop for information about Minilogue is the exhaustive Discogs site, which lists a number of releases and remixes from the duo, from 2000's Fagel EP through 2006's "The Girl from Botany Bay" single. "Certain Things About Us (Part 2)" (MP3), from the eponymous EP released in September 2005 is built around a sample from Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place". Boomkat describes: "If you've been of the opinion that Radiohead's `Everything in its Right Place' is about as good as it gets, buy [`Certain Things'] without delay."
On "Certain Things About Us (Part 2)" Minilogue tease and frustrate, a burst of apocalyptic climaxes promised but not delivered. You wait, expecting to hear the voice, the one in your head heard so clear and familiar it's like your own: "Everything...Everything...". You wait in vain. Instead, a house diva's voice moans, diffused and warped into a the siren call of a mechanized demon. The track is a bluff, a threat not carried out. It's also brilliant. For a duo who probably know their way around the classic build and breakdown model of trance, Minilogue show remarkable restraint. Yes, there's the trance thing to deal with again.
Is saying you once loved trance music tantamount to admitting a past appreciation for all things Nickelback? You know, I really don't care if it is. I'll stand up right now on a chair, wave a glow stick in the air and proudly whisper "I used to love trance, dammit!" Paul Oakenfold, Sasha and Digweed, Paul Van Dyk, Dave Ralph - I listened to them all. My collection of Global Underground CDs stopped growing around Nick Warren's Budapest set, but I still pull them out every now and then to reminisce.
Somewhere along the way I grew out of enjoying trance, but the classics like Sasha's Expander EP, are still worthy of repetition. As for Son Kite, maybe I should set aside my apprehensions and give them a fair listen. Their site has a number of downloadable DJ mixes and a live show from Tokyo. Grouping them with ATB or other cheesed out trance acts is probably not fair without hearing them first.
One Louder's Juke Box Jury: Round #2 with Warped Reality's Andrea Feldman
Warped Reality was, in its first incarnation, a real honest-to-goodness paper and staples magazine published between 1993 and 1996. In 2005, it was revived online and has continued to be a content-rich resource for a very tailored demographic. Who exactly? Fans of whatever Andrea Feldman or occasional guest contributors are listening to at the time and/or have loved for years. Go get an eyeful (and, more often than not, an earful), won't you?
It's a simple set-up. Andrea was sent six untagged, generically named, mp3s and instructed to simply write a few sentences after listening to each one. Whether she recognized any of the songs or not, I wanted her to comment honestly and succinctly on three currently popular songs and also on three songs from the past. What you see below are Andrea's responses, as well as mp3s of the three older songs for you, the reader.
Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"
This song soars like a great lost '70s soul track. It's not (those canned rhythm tracks give it away) but it's got the spirit. And not in an ironic hipster-pastiche sorta way either—this is graceful, deft, and deeply felt. Where did this come from, and is there more?
James Blunt, "You're Beautiful"
The kind of white-boy soulful earnestness that has zero actual soul and no sense of humor whatsoever (it sounds even crappier next to Track #1). Blander than bland and inoffensive to the extreme, this brand of competent, palatable bullshit is inexplicably more popular than Britney ringtones. This guy's got a Rod Stewart-y rasp going for him, and a kind of sub-par Jamiroquai smoothness, if you like that sort of thing.
Pet Shop Boys, "I'm With Stupid"
I've never really fallen for the Pet Shop Boys. They have many qualities that I admire in theory: Britishness; an unerring sense of pop craft; clever, arch lyrics; and a certain sense of wistful nostalgia offset by cutting wit. I think my real problem with them, though, is that sonically their songs are just too clean and bright-sounding—there's very little to hold onto. I forgot this the second it was over.
This sounds horrifically familiar, like I've heard it on a soundtrack or something. As for time and place, the wanky guitar places us squarely in the '80s, I'd wager. The singer has a strange, marble-mouthed delivery that makes me think she's not singing in her native language. But I could be wrong. Lyrically this is a string of clichés and musically it has no dynamic range. Dull as ditch-water.
(Upon being informed of the artist and the song's actual era [the '60s]: "Oh no, now I feel bad about dissing the Luv'd Ones! It does sound a bit out of time now that I know when it's from. I wish I could figure out what it's reminding me of. Argh. It'll come to me...")
Oh, Lemmy. Or should I say Lëmmy? I'm not exactly a fan, but this has a purity and primalness that I gotta admire. You'll never find Lemmy collaborating with world-beat musicians (unless Wendy O'Williams counts?) or expounding on politics. Fuck that, they're Motörhead! Anthemic punches to the gut are what they do and they do 'em well. Why mess with perfection?
Wow, this has "unhinged '70s high-concept LP" written all over it. (Can we say "double-gatefold"?) Lyrically it seems to be working a fascination with Voudoun, with some vaguely Haitian inflection throughout. But for all the lyrical over-the-top-ness, this slice of overheated gumbo funk is held just enough in check, unfolding slowly with coiled-up, slow-burn tension. It's got an admirable sense of restraint for something that really could have gone off the rails (which it does at the very end, but by then it's earned it).
The subject says it all - Erol Alkan will be playing FIXED on Wednesday, May 10 at Don Hill's. Tickets are $5 in advance at Other Music (available some time next week) or with RSVP to weare138nyc@yahoo.com, or $10 at the door.
The thing about studying for finals is you end up surfing the web a lot before you actually get productive. (It's just like working again!) So let's go:
- Through their email list, Ira from Yo La Tengo reports that their new album will be out in September. In the meantime, we have Yo La Tengo Is Murdering The Classics to keep us busy. That's the new 70-minute compilation of highlights from YLT's annual WFMU all-request sets - each year they take over the station for a few hours in March and play whatever people want. (And the requests are literally all over the map.) The band hasn't published a tracklist for the disc yet, but it should be an entertaining listen if nothing else. (I'll let you know once my copy arrives!) YLT will be playing Prospect Park on July 13 and, according to Brooklyn Vegan, Wilco will also be on the bill. Odds are it'll be a benefit show, but we should still probably get in line now.
- Update your bookmarks - Nick Sylvester is blogging again over at Riff Market. Pretty much all of it is worth reading, but this fantastic Jukebox Jury interview with Juan Maclean is where you should start.
- You don't hear his name as often these days, but Michael Mayer will be at Cielo on April 27. A great 3.5 hour Mayer mix is available here - the bitrate isn't the best, but it looks worse than it sounds.
- Had a great subway moment last week when a guy started playing the sax in my car while I had "Can You Feel It?" by Mr. Fingers going on the iPod. They fell into synch for a couple minutes and the world was right.
- Chris Ott uses a commemorative Jane's Addiction $25 Hard Rock Hotel casino chip to segue into an excellent discussion of Jane's and the first Lollapalooza. I disagree with some of his points - the Relapse tour was fantastic IMO and I thought Strays was forgettable - but the post is a must-read if you ever were a fan.
- Speaking of those days, MTV's 120 Minutes was hugely influential on my early CD collection. The Dave Kendall years predated me (unlike Jason + Paul), but I used to always tape the Lewis Largent shows (back when Belly owned the charts) and watch them habitually after school everyday. My first viewing of the "Cut Your Hair" video was a watershed moment, in retrospect. Anyway, it seemed half those shows had guest hosts, and I've always remembered the episode with Thurston Moore interviewing Beck (circa Mellow Gold) as being one of the best. A couple weeks ago, I finally thought to search YouTube for that episode and, of course, I found it! (Well, clips at least.) It's actually not *quite* as classic as I remembered, but seeing Beck be so deliberately weird is wild in light of everything he went on to do. I had forgotten about Mike D's appearance near the end. If only they kept a Superdrag video somewhere in between.
- Recent obsessions: the Psychic Ills' Dins (my album of 2006 so far), the Fiery Furnaces' Bitter Tea (naturally), Press Play by the Idjut Boys, Minilogue's "The Girl from Botany Bay" (what Jason said), and "Que Belle Epoque 2006" (MP3) by Ricardo Villalobos.
- Oh and before I forget - head over to the Optimo site to grab First Hour, their latest web mix. A little different than what you'd expect, and that's why we love 'em.
Ripped From Vinyl: Depeche Mode, Minilogue, Hot Chip
Depeche Mode - "The Darkest Star (Monolake Remix)" (MP3): One of the best Playing the Angel mixes released so far, Monolake's robotic take on "The Darkest Star" plunges DM's brooding tune into the deep, cold end of pulsing minimalism. Synthesized vocals mimic and wage war on David Gahan's groans. The machines win in the end.
Minilogue - "The Girl from the Botany Bay" (MP3): I'll skip the superlatives and just get to the point: download this track. Even though it's over 10 minutes long, you won't regret the investment.
Hot Chip - "And I Was a Boy From School (Erol Alkan Remix)" (MP3): I still prefer the original, but this mix is slowly gaining ground. Alkan strips away what I like best about the album version - the winsome vocal harmonies and syncopated disco scratch. He replaces it with scorching layers of acid warps, exposing an uncomfortably bitter side to the song's lonely boy soul.
I love EPs and singles. Those little bundles of three or four songs are perfectly sized for my short attention span. Since there's no room for futzing about with instrumental intros or lousy skits, bands get right to the point, side A, track one. The following is an appropriately small list of EPs I've listened to recently and can recommend. Enjoy!
Camera Obscura - Hey Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heart Broken single: Should you need an elegant and witty pop song to herald the coming of warmer days (and really who doesn't), may I suggest trying "Hey Lloyd..."? It's the first single from Glasgow six-piece Camera Obscura's forthcoming album Let's Get Out of This Country, due on shelves May 8 from Merge. Listen to "Hey Lloyd..." on MySpace.
Attic Lights - Shiver the Trees EP: Another Glasgow band, another suite of delicious pop songs. I'm a sucker for pedal steels and slide guitars and by god Attic Lights has got them. Stoner ballad "Marvin" is twang nirvana, sloppy and giddy but not excessive or twee. "Attic Lights defy their Glaswegian heritage and manage to encapsulate everything pleasant about American pop music" writes The Skinny. "The meekness of Grandaddy, the vocal harmonies of The Beach Boys and the country-clinging poppy steel guitar hooks signed by Nashville...More of this please". Attics Lights self-released the Shiver the Trees EP on April 6. You can purchase it on their site. Oh yeah, here's the obligatory MySpace shout out, but their page doesn't contain any songs from this EP yet.
Fuck-Off Machete - What's the Signal? EP: Paul tipped me off to this band, thanks for that sir. Disjointed and neurotic, F.O. Machete stagger towards chaos but hold themselves together long enough to write some devilishly great noise rock. The title track is a start-and-stop workout, two stepping madly around the room while singer Nashii Noramly asks "What's the signal? / If we need to leave?" again and again. It's when the men in white coats get there, darling. Listen to "What's the Signal" and F.O. Machete's cover of Olivia Newton John's "Physical" on, yes, MySpace.
Punknews.org reports that Henry Rollins has reunited with, if not quite the best, at least the most commercially successful line-up of the Rollins Band. Sim Cain, Chris Haskett and Melvin Gibbs (who replaced Andrew Weiss in 1993) have been rehearsing with Henry and plan to tour by August.
Two bands and 26 years later, Psychedelic Furs (and Love Spit Love) frontman Richard Butler will release his first solo album in one week. After hearing streams of three new songs on Butler's Myspace page, I'm sort of happy that earlier reports of a new Furs album turned out to be untrue. I'd hate to have that sacred name attached to this "the-kind-of-crap-Nic-Harcourt-creams-himself-over" garbage.
Gigwise.com spoke to Robert Smith about the next album from The Cure after a recent show with the latest and least populated line-up of the band in over 20 years.
Says Fat Bob: "The idea of playing with this four-piece, without introducing other people, and recreating some of the songs with a pared down sound, is what we are all trying to do with the next record. We have four bits in the song and they all work so well, that we do not want any other bits. That's the point of doing this."
A full album and concert tour from The Cure without keyboards? That pretty much rules out faithful renditions of their entire catalog between 1980 and 2004. I hope you really like "Boys Don't Cry"... they might have to play it twice.
- Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (8-song Sampler): Is this teaser for the highly anticipated collaboration between Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse just "Crazy" and the seven dwarves? Yes and no. "Crazy" is a monumental tune, instantly iconic. The other seven songs don't quite have the same immediate impact, but are still clever and enjoyable. Recommended tracks: "Gone Daddy Gone" (a rollicking Violent Femmes cover), "Storm Coming". Listen to "Crazy" on Gnarls Barkley's MySpace page. St. Elsewhere will be available May 9 from Downtown Records.
- Barbara Morgenstern - The Grass is Always Greener: Like a less melancholic version of The Notwist, Morgenstern deftly combines shimmering synthetics with humanizing vocals and acoustic instruments, creating songs both futuristic and openly emotional. The palette used on The Grass is Always Greener is simple: (mostly) acoustic piano and drums, elegant electronic flourishes and Morgenstern's light and somewhat sad vocals, sung mostly in German. Recommended tracks: "The Operator", "Alles Was Lebt Bewegt Sich" (translated "Everything Which Lives Moves). Listen to Barbara Morgenstern on MySpace. The Grass is Always Greener will be released May 2 by Monika records.
- The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living: Mike Skinner returns with his third record as The Streets and while he's not quite standing still, the best you can say about this album is he's merely running in place. What disappoints most is seeming disappearance of a memorable single or storyline. I listened to the album at least a half-dozen times and nothing stuck in my brain quite like Skinner's past work. Download "When You Wasn't Famous" (MP3), courtesy of addVice. The Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living is released April 25 in the U.S. by Vice Records.
- ¡Forward Russia! - Give Me a Wall: ¡Forward Russia! have all of the qualities you would expect from a band receiving love from the MySpace world and the blogosphere. First, they have the silly name. Second, they're white kids with guitars (with bonus points for being from England), playing an au courant style of funky, aggressive and derivative indie rock that surely get the kids jumping at Pianos. Certainly they must be fun live, but please hold the revolution until ¡Forward Russia! write some better songs. Dance To The Radio will release Give Me a Wall in the U.K. on May 15.
- The Church - Uninvited Like the Clouds: Church fans, feel free to fill in the long-standing blank next to "Best album since..." because Uninvited Like The Clouds is it. For me, it's "since Starfish", which I know is perhaps foolish given I haven't listened to a full Church album since 1992's Priest = Aura. Uninvited Like the Clouds will be released on Tuesday, April 18 by Cooking Vinyl.
Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore appeared Thursday night on Air America's The Marc Maron Show to talk about Rather Ripped, politics, his own musical beginnings and how he arrived in New York City.
Clips of songs from the new album used as bumper music during the interview sound great. Please forgive Maron for his clumsy musical references over the course of their chat, though. He's a brilliant comic, but not necessarily a music geek like some of us.
The segment in which the conversation veers towards the NYC rock underground in the late 1970s really takes a lot of the mythos out of that period. Patti Smith, Joey Ramone, Wayne County... it's strange to think of them now as they would've been way back then. Thurston was there and gives a great first-person perspective.
Before downloading the track offered below, please try to imagine the sound of My Bloody Valentines' Kevin Shields and Emmylou Harris together on an all-night Paris, Texas bender. Howling Bells are that sound: a little bit country and a little bit warped neu-gaze rock 'n roll. This Australian band is gaining acclaim across the internet and will soon release their debut self-titled album on Bella Union. They're deserving of the praise. Hallelujah.
If you fall in love easy, skip listening to "Broken Bones" as you may be smitten incurably by Juanita Stein's bewitching voice. Stein's singing falls somewhere between Hope Sandoval's lazy drawl, Harriet Wheeler's dreamy swoon and PJ Harvey's damaged snarl. That's a sexy combination.
Young People's songs are brief and barren, drought dry but stirred now and then by tiny dust devil guitars. The shudder of drums, pushed to the very back of the production, rise up like distant warnings. Up close to the ear is Katie Eastburn's breathy and melancholic singing.
"The demos were recorded on my computer's microphone, and on Katie hand-held tape recorder," says Young People's multi-instrumentalist Jarrett Silberman about the new album All At Once. "So they sound kind of dark and muffled, which became the sound of the record."
Lasting under 30 minutes, the album passes by quickly and demands repeat plays to fully absorb. Each track is a sketch, the barest outline drawn in minimal shades of emotion. On paper Young People's simplicity shouldn't be as beguiling and rewarding as it is. It shouldn't get under the skin like it does.
Will success spoil Art Brut? Will Eddie Argos shave the moustache and pop some Trim Spa? A rhetorical question for some, a trivial matter for others, but for me a serious inquiry. U.S. record deals, distribution to chain stores, stylists, press junkets and People magazine reviews. Who knows what mass media and Wal-Mart shoppers might think of Art Brut. When you love a band you want them to be loved by others. But will too much love dull Art Brut's spiky edges?
For now Art Brut fans, don't be concerned. The band remain undamaged by their growing popularity. They returned to New York for the first of three shows shows as funny, irreverent and determined to entertain as ever. Art Brut's non-stop touring has paid dividends as their confidence and camaraderie has grown. The Bang, Bang Rock & Roll songs were refreshed with looser endings and updated asides from Argos.
I stick by my original comparison of Eddie Argos to Andy Kaufman's alter egotistic lounge lizard Tony Clifton. Instead of wailing off-key renditions of "I Will Survive", Eddie wandered the Bowery stage trading jokes with the audience, jumping rope with his microphone cord and generally living up the role of gregarious and endering showman. I can forgive him a few scripted banterisms ("Drinking sherry with Brian Ferry" instead of "Hennessy with Morrissey" in "Moving to LA", etc) when he pulls off spontaneous stunts like wandering up into the balcony during "Modern Art" or stopping "Emily Kane" cold in midstream to share a recent conversation he had with the song's subject. Turns out Eddie is not still in love with EK. He's just in love with being love at 15. Aren't we all.
And while the set list generally didn't differ from November, the band's delivery has improved noticeably, especially with the newer songs. No plans have been formally announced for a follow-up album, but the growth of the new material is a positive sign that Art Brut aren't one and done. Like it or not Art Brut may be here to stay. Top of the pops!
One Louder's Juke Box Jury: Round #1 with Are You Familiar's Greg Ipp
Are You Familiar , the blog, is only the tip of Greg Ipp's Familiar music/design/clothing/promotions empire. He's a mogul in the making.
I approached Greg last week with the idea of starting a Juke Box Jury feature here at One Louder. What better way to get to know our fellow bloggers better and give them a chance to wax poetic on music they might not normally write about?
It's a simple set-up. Greg was sent six untagged, generically named, mp3s and instructed to simply write a few sentences after listening to each one. Whether he recognized any of the songs or not, I wanted him to comment honestly and succinctly on three currently popular songs and also on three songs from the past. What you see below are Greg's responses, as well as mp3s of the three older songs for you, the reader.
Pink, "Stupid Girls"
Big up to Pink for trying to portray a positive role-model to the young ladies out there. She's rockin' the irony hard here; but you gotta wonder if the "Die Hipster Scum" shirt she wears in the "Stupid Girls" video was provided by a stylist. From start to finish this song has all the necessary pop cliches to win over the masses on iTunes—and for the dancefloor, the drums are strong and up front, the breakdowns predictable and the lyrics easy to sing along with. It's one big slab of ironic bullshit dressed up in enough tits and ass for the boys to watch, while the girls cop some pop-culture-driven empowerment.
She Wants Revenge, "Tear You Apart"
Remember Interpol's Turn On The Bright Lights? That was a great album. "NYC" was the tune, and the imagery they conjured in the dark name of Joy Division sticks with me to this day. To an extent, hope has been sucked out of the Interpol bubble, and in their image are all kinds of pretenders to the throne. But come on, what's the point with such a mediocre re-hash? This is music for the 18-year-old Myspace generation—the soul is all painted on with cheap black mascara.
Busta Rhymes, "Touch It"
OK, this is the kind of shit I can really identify with. Actually, the intro is hot, the subbass is heavy and the Daft Punk is in effect. But you know, guys, why another song about what it's like in 'da club? Don't we all know by now? We've heard: All the bitches and hoes, and you know, getting dissed by some girl who isn't all that. "I don't think they're ready for this shit," rings the intro, like this is all next-level or whatever. It's not—great production alone isn't enough to carry the song.
This sounds very familiar. Love the drums, the vocal melodies, and simplicity of the whole thing. I have to assume this is genuine '80s synth-pop, although I can't place who sings it. Sounds accomplished—like a marginally less kitschy Gary Numan.
More '80s synth-pop, although it sounds like it was made with far less money than Track 4. The synthetic drums are muddy and the mastering is a bit off. But the song is fun; the girl singing has a strong voice, and all the hooks are really cute. It sports some unique instrumentation, and a tune about printing fake cash is always entertaining, right? I feel like I should know who this is.
'80s rap. This is Run-DMC. You know these guys bring it. This track is the equivalent of an after-school special kicking the shit out of you until you've actually got the message. "You know it's like that—and that's the way it is." RIP Jam Master Jay.
So that's Juke Box Jury's first round. Stay alert, bloggers. I may come after you next.
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
- Andy Warhol
How corny is it to lead off a post with a quote? It's pretty cheesy I know, so please forgive me. Today marks my last day of employment at unnamed media company; tomorrow, a new job awaits. Today is also the first day of another change, one too personal to disclose here. The next couple weeks will be both exciting and painful. New opportunities will arise, while old foundations crack and reshape themselves. "Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change," Lord Tennyson wrote. The spinning leaves me dizzy, sick to my stomach and barely able to breath. But the tumult is also exhilarating and transforming. My feet still find the ground, hope still holds on.
I put together a mix awhile back that now is very appropriate for my circumstances. I was going to discuss it then in the context of the music's subject matter: blues, country and "oldies" rock songs that touch upon the intertwined themes of wanderlust and weeping. But now consider this a memento of the past full of good memories and the herald of a future rich with promise.
Runaway / Del Shannon Crying / Roy Orbison The Wanderer / Dion & The Belmonts Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain / Willie Nelson Goin' Home / Buddy Guy The Sky is Cryin' / Elmore James I'm a Drifter / Johnny Cash The Tracks of My Tears / Smokey Robinson Hobo Blues / John Lee Hooker I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry / Hank Williams Sr. Moon River / Louis Armstrong
I wasn't too discriminating about music at the age of 16, so when Dave Kendall told me O-Positive were great just before playing one of their videos on 120 Minutes, I accepted it as gospel and ran out to buy toyboatToyBoatTOYBOAT at Record Bar.
Another 16 years has passed and, in that time, I've discovered that not everything you learn from television is true.
O-Positive formed in Boston in the mid-'80s, and immediately gained acceptance in the quickly growing college rock scene of the era. In retrospect, the common thread amongst all these bands seems be having bought and studied copies of R.E.M.'s Murmur. Who's going to fault them, though? It's a great record. And, to O-Positive's credit, they did a lot besides simply mimic R.E.M. like several other bands chose to do.
Dave Herlihy's vocals were expansive and clear as his heavily affected Edge-like guitar chimed from all four corners of the studio. Bassist Dave Ingham took his cues from overseas as well, bravely drenching his tones with watery chorus as The Cure's Simon Gallup and New Order's Peter Hook had done.
In fact, every member of the band was more than competent. O-Positive sounded great 100% of the time, but suffered from the affliction that sends most bands to an eternal grave in obscurity—a lack of solid and memorable material. That said, over the course of two EPs and one major-label LP, O-Positive did manage to make worthwhile songs materialize now and again (as you'll find below).
Maybe O-Positive's career should remain an obscure curiosity; not having ever been as great as Dave Kendall led me to believe, but also having had more to offer than a number of the odiously mediocre bands they called their peers. Just remember to pay them a visit from time to time.
Dinosaur L "#5 (Go Bang)" "#7 (Recorded Live at the Kitchen, 1979)"
Not that it takes much, but the trailer for the upcoming Arthur Russelldocumentary got me onto an AR kick the other day, and I headed for Dinosaur L's 24-24 Music. 24-24 is thought by some to be the gem of Russell's dancier material, and it'll hopefully be reissued soon. The Francois K remix of its masterstroke "#5 (Go Bang)" kicks off 2004's The World of Arthur Russell compilation, but I actually prefer the 24-24 original (MP3). When I first heard 24-24, though, the standout for me was far more fleeting. The two-minute "#7 (Recorded Live at the Kitchen, 1979)" (MP3) is a tantalizingly short slice of a session I hope is sitting in full in a vault somewhere. Russell's cello anchors a percussive horn-guitar groove that quickly recalls (or, I should say, previews) !!! and others. And, like much of Russell's music, I love it not only for its sound but also for the era of NYC it instantly evokes.
Sebastien Leger - "Take Your Pills (Lifelike Remix)" (MP3) (from the Take Your Pills Remixes 12", released by Blackjack): Is that a doctor kindly commanding us to take our vitamins or a pusherman demanding more nefarious medications? Is that a dumb question? I doubt this song will ever be piped over the Duane Reade hi-fi, but your neighborhood DJ should start spinning it, stat. The first single from Sebastien's new record Man vs. Machine, "Take Your Pills" gets scratched and warped and finally thrown onto a disco dance floor by remixers Lifelike. Leger connects the remix to some fine company like Moroder and OL favorite Lindstrom.
Khonnor - "Burning Palace" (MP3) (from the Burning Palace 7"): A perfect song for outer space carousel rides, if such things existed (and they should). "Burning Palace" spins along gravity free with a shuffling beat, lullaby synths and Khonnor's voice, echoing off moons and planets. Why do astronauts get all the good music? Purchase this and other Khonnor releases from Type Records.
Now if I only owned a car, a very fast car. Like light blurring through the window of a speeding car, the electronic textures in Orchestra of Bubbles flow in glistening, diffused streams of energy. It was probably not recorded in the middle of a long drive, but with song titles like "Turbo Dreams" and "Jet", the album seems perfectly tuned to buzzing, tangled freeways. Or so I imagine. Seriously, anyone have a car I borrow for about an hour? 
Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore appeared Thursday night on Air America's The Marc Maron Show to talk about Rather Ripped, politics, his own musical beginnings and how he arrived in New York City.
I wasn't too discriminating about music at the age of 16, so when Dave Kendall told me O-Positive were great just before playing one of their videos on 120 Minutes, I accepted it as gospel and ran out to buy toyboatToyBoatTOYBOAT at Record Bar.
