Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The National's Bowery Residency on Sale 3/2

In what qualifies as the best music news of the week, The National have announced the title, the tracklist, and the release date for their new album. As a bonus to all New Yorkers, they also announced 4 shows at Bowery Ballroom, which go on sale Friday, 3/2 @ noon ($18/adv).

05-28 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom w/ The Broken West
05-29 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom w/ Doveman
05-30 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom w/ My Brightest Diamond
05-31 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom w/ Elysian Fields

Boxer
is out on May 22.

Tracklist at P'fork.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

On the T.V.

So what's the verdict on The Black Donnelly's? I gave it a chance last night and thought the debut episode was pretty good. This spring is the final season of The Sopranos so maybe it's time for network tv to give this genre another shot. Shit, it is Paul Haggis after all; the dude is a proven commodity. Starting the show off with almost 30 commercial free minutes was refreshing but playing Snow Patrol's "Open Your Eyes" during the show's pivotal moment seemed a bit lazy (although it is my favorite song on that album). I wouldn't be surprised if the time slot changed either because I hardly think this is a show that NBC wants to compete with Monday Night Football.

Last night, I finally saw the Major League Baseball 2K7 commercial that, as Pitchfork reported last Friday, is set to Nirvana's "Breed". I remember being slightly indifferent about this when I read the article but after seeing the commercial, it didn't sit well. Like or dislike Nirvana, I think most would agree that the way, and the manner in which, this has transpired is wrong for so many reasons. I will say, however, that 2K Sports did manage to put together a very solid soundtrack that, in addition to Nirvana, includes Editors, Tapes 'n Tapes, The Thermals, The Walkmen, Death From Above 1979, Wolfmother, and others.

The soundtrack is streaming here.

Last thing, Pearl Jam's insanely great cover of "Love Reign O'er Me" is up on their MySpace page if you want to hear a better version than the MP3 we previously posted.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Glimpse New Tunes from The Bravery

Remember the Bravery? Seems like just yesterday (actually, it was almost two years ago) that New York Mag called them "New York's next really big thing." This could have very well been the last nice thing said about these guys. I'm not joining the shitstorm of blogger hate (it's dormant now but sure to return near the album release) but I'll admit to being bitter. "An Honest Mistake" and "Unconditional" were such incredibly great pop songs, how could the album fail? But it did - and InMyTree is entitled to disagree with me on this - I thought the album was a major disappointment. I'm an equal opportunity blogger and now, they're back with a slightly different sound and samples of 3 new songs on their site. So, I'll leave the door open a crack and we'll see if these dudes have some more good music in them.

Listen at thebravery.com

The Sun and the Moon will be released on 5/22. More here.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Reminder: DC Tickets for Arcade Fire On Sale 2/24

Tickets for the DAR Constitution Hall show go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. on ticketbastard.

If sales for the other shows on this tour are any indication, this will be another tough ticket so you best be on your game. There is also a random message on the Ticketmaster site for DC:

Additional Information:
The first 7 rows of the orchestra seating have a two ticket limit and are WILL CALL ONLY! These tickets can only be picked up on the day of the show, and only by the credit card holder. The credit card holder must show both a valid photo ID and the credit card used to purchase the tickets. The credit card holder MUST be the one to use the tickets and NO second party WILL CALL or name changes will be allowed.

Tickets are 30 bucks which apparently will put you in any seat in the place.

MP3: Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) August Session

UPDATE: Just did a ticket search at 10:10 and it looks like only single tickets are still available. Capacity is 3700. Not surprising but still pretty impressive.

Stream the new Kaiser Chiefs album

As posted Monday, the Kaiser Chiefs somehow managed to keep their new album Yours Truly, Angry Mob from leaking for an unprecedented amount of time. The album is out on Monday in the UK and you can stream it now on NME.

Yours Truly, Angry Mob

I have to say that after the first couple of listens, I'm not very impressed. It seems to be missing all of the fun elements that made their debut enjoyable (not necessarily great, mind you). There are a handful of good songs such as "Ruby" and "The Angry Mob" but also some really bad ones like "High Royds" and "Thank You Very Much."

Kaiser Chiefs Tour Dates

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Checking in with Maxïmo Park

Maxïmo Park's Our Earthly Pleasures is THE album that I'm looking forward to the most at the moment. "Our Velocity" is a beast of a first single and I'm keeping close tabs on any upcoming shows (they are an excellent live band). Due in the States on 4/2, the band has begun the requisite interview process and there are a couple decent ones out there right now.

[Drowned in Sound]
[Belfast Telegraph]

"Our Velocity" Video:

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Download 2/17 Arcade Fire Show

The mp3 for the 5th and final Arcade Fire show at Judson Memorial Church in NYC is now up on on NPR. You can download the concert in full. The sound during the first song ("Wake Up") is a bit shaky since it was done in the crowd.

Setlist:
"Wake Up"
"Black Mirror"
"Keep The Car Running"
"No Cars Go"
"Haiti"
"Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son"
"Black Wave/Bad Vibrations"
"The Well And The Lighthouse"
"Ocean Of Noise"
"Rebellion (Lies)"
"Intervention"
--
"My Body Is A Cage"
"Neon Bible"
--
"Neighborhood#2 (Laika)"

UPDATE: On a related note, there is an excellent (albeit gushing) article on Arcade Fire in the New Yorker. [More]

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81

Ultra8201 has a tracklisting and more details. The first single "Weapon of Choice" is a killer track. I'm looking forward to this one. And Radiohead. And Interpol. 2007 is shaping up nicely.

Albert Hammond, Jr.: Tour Dates


Albert Hammond, Jr. Tour Dates
3.02 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe #
3.03 - Portland, OR - Roseland Grill #
3.05 - Solana Beach, CA - Crocodile Cafe #
3.06 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre #
3.08 - San Francisco, CA - Popscene #
3.10 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre #
3.13 - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room #
3.14 - Houston, TX - Meridian #
3.15 - Austin, TX - SXSW New Line Showcase
3.17 - Atlanta, GA - Roxy Theatre #
3.18 - Nashville, TN - Exit Inn #
3.23 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre ^
3.24 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Theatre ^
3.25 - Toronto, ONT - Koolhaus ^
3.27 - Montreal, QUE - Metropolis ^
3.28 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre ^
3.30 - New York, NY - United Palace Theatre ^
3.31 - New York, NY - United Palace Theatre ^
4.02 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
4.03 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Theatre of Living Arts
4.05 - Washington DC - 9:30 Club Washington DC,
4.06 - Late Night with Conan O'Brien

# Headlining w/ The Mooney Suzuki as support
^ Supporting Bloc Party

Bonnaroo: The Poster

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Asobi Seksu is Kicking Their Tour Off Tonite


Asobi Seksu Winter/Spring Tour Dates
Feb 20 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts*
Feb 21 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom*
Feb 23 Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights*
Feb 25 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground*
Feb 27 Portland, ME @ The Station*
Feb 28 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East*
Mar 01 Providence, RI @ The Living Room*
Mar 02 Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre*
Mar 03 Washington DC @ Black Cat*
Mar 04 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom*
Mar 06 Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theatre*
Mar 07 Buffalo, NY @ The Icon*
Mar 08 Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues*
Mar 09 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts*
Mar 10 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall*
Mar 12 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall*
Mar 13 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre*
Mar 15 Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mar 16 Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mar 17 Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mar 18 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
Mar 19 Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
Mar 20 Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light

*w. The Ataris & Wax on Radio

Bonnaroo Possibilities - John Butler Trio

This is a pretty beast cut from the frontman/guitarist of the John Butler Trio. I love the sound of 12-string guitars. Absolutely beautiful.

John Butler - "Ocean"

Kurt Cobain Would Be 40 Today

Nirvana - "Lithium"

I miss him terribly and wonder what he would be creating now if he were still with us. I don't think we will ever have another one like him. Rest in peace.

Interpol - Moderation | Remotely Related Story: "Honey, I Shrunk the Pizza"

Big year for me: new Bloc Party, new Radiohead, new Interpol and hopefully, grad school.

The Music Slut has the rundown on Interpol's album details. Here is the short stack: dropping June 5, no tour dates other than Coachella, titled Moderation.

I'm looking forward to another tour from these guys...

Cue flashback, voice-over:

"Honey, I Shrunk The Pizza"

I last caught them in Baltimore with Blonde Redhead on one of the more disgusting nights of my life. Me and Callo got shellacked at Sonar, stumbled back to Federal Hill around 3 or 4, put a frozen pizza in the oven (any port in a storm), forgot about it and I passed out with a Girl Scout thin mint cookie (chocolate coating) in each hand. When I woke up I had chocolate melting my fingers to each palm and that pizza was the size of bagel. We proceeded to pick my parents up at BWI (after I washed my hands and turned the oven off) where we ran into the entire flight's worth of Miss USA contestants. I think we snapped a pic with Miss Rhode Island and Miss Ohio. Miss RI actually went to my high school and I knew her brother. Weird. Were we talking about Interpol? Where am I?

Setting the Record Straight for Amp Camp & Insound

I just read the e-mail traffic between JK and Amp Camp GM, Andy, from a week ago. That INBOX is so inundated with bullshit e-mail blasts from random record companies and PR departments that it is easy to see why so much slips through the cracks between JK and I. It's no excuse. I should have been aware of how professionally Andy handled the situation. He explained the entire deal in regards to the who, what, when, where and why and you can't really ask for anything more than that. Some of it was record company snafus and some of it fell on them. And he admitted that. He was completely fair and we respect that.

I think the knee-jerk reaction for us is to write and post as soon as we think about it instead of doing the right thing, which, in the case, would be getting in touch with these guys. That's fucked up, especially concerning a place like Amp Camp, which is the only resource for someone like me getting a hold of Boris' Rainbow double-disc. We fucked up by blasting them a second time, when they were so polite and honest the first time around. I hope this sets the record straight and we will be more professional about this kind of thing in the future. Here we are bitching about Pitchfork being responsible and we aren't taking the same strides.

On the Insound tip, I just talked to them and it was sent out weeks ago, the stuff just got lost in the mail. They are taking care of me. Time to crawl back into my little hole and try and get the foot out of my mouth. Elsewhere in my world: my iPod died today (it was resuscitated) and I got a flat tire on my way home from work (I threw the ol' ghetto wheel on there and we are good to go). This all took place minutes after I posted about Amp Camp and Insound. Karma's a bitch.

Tool: Tour Dates

From BVegan.

03/15 Las Vegas, NV Pearl @ The Palms
03/16 Las Vegas, NV Pearl @ The Palms
03/18 Reno, NV Reno Events Center
03/20 San Diego, CA Cox Arena
03/21 Tucson, AZ Tucson Convention Center
03/23 Albuquerque, NM Tingley Col. @ New Mexico State Fair
03/24 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center
03/26 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
03/27 Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center
03/29 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center
03/30 Southaven, MS DeSoto Civic Center
03/31 Baton Rouge, LA Baton Rouge River Center
04/02 Pensacola, FL Pensacola Civic Center
04/03 Tallahassee, FL Leon County Civic Center
04/05 Tampa, FL USF Sun Dome
04/06 Orlando, FL Amway Arena
04/07 Coral Gables, FL BankUnited Center
04/10 Duluth, GA The Arena At Gwinnett Center
04/11 Winston-Salem, NC Lawrence Joel Complex
04/13 Pelham, AL Verizon Wireless Center Birmingham
04/14 Greenville, SC Bi Lo Center
04/15 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum
04/17 Reading, PA Sovereign Center
04/18 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
04/20 Albany, NY Times-Union Center
04/21 Atlantic City, NJ Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
04/22 Portland, ME Cumberland Co. Civic Center
04/27 Quebec City, QC Colisee Pepsi
04/28 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
04/29 Hamilton, ON Copps Coliseum
06/14-17 Bonnaroo Festival, Manchester, TN

Monday, February 19, 2007

Taking Me Back (Thank You Kaiser Chiefs)

I have to say that I'm impressed. Kaiser Chiefs' Yours Truly, Angry Mob is out in the U.K. next Monday, that's February 26th (3/26 in the U.S.), and there is no sign of it anywhere on the internet. No leak to speak of. As far as music goes in the mid-00's, this has to be some sort of record right? And I think this is great, a total throwback to the days when we didn't hear an album until it hit shelves. Now of course, this isn't quite a perfect scenario since there is a month lag between the U.K. and U.S. release dates but I have to give the band's management credit for keeping this one under wraps.

Right now, at least from what I can tell, the only place to preview some additional tracks is at AOL Spinner.

Kings of Leon and Dinosaur Jr. are slightly less fortunate. Both Because of the Times and Beyond have hit the WWW. The albums won't be available until 4/5 and 5/1, respectively. I've taken an early look at both and the new Kings of Leon seems a bit uneven at times but they have a knack for coming up with sick stand-out tracks and right now, that's "Knocked Up" and "McFearless." As for Dinosaur Jr., I'm not as familiar with their past work as I should be but if this album doesn't conjure up memories of the guitar-infused rock of 15-20 years ago, then nothing will. And it's glorious...

Download two songs at P4K.

Mew: Tour Dates

If you frequent BrooklynVegan as much as we do, then it's been pretty hard not to notice the Mew excitement. Coming down from my Mastodon high, I started giving this Danish crew a look over at their MySpace page. I rarely feel motivated to buy everything and anything from an artist after just hearing one of their tracks, but "156" is a song of just that caliber. And every other song on there is pretty legit. Time to buy all the albums and get ready for that show at Black Cat on March 20. Life is good.

03.14 Austin, TX - SXSW [KEXP dayshow]
03.15 Austin, TX - SXSW [Brooklyn Vegan dayshow]
03.16 Austin, TX - SXSW [Under the Radar dayshow]
03.17 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa [w/ The Polyphonic Spree, Satellite Party & Eisley]
03.20 Washington, DC - Black Cat
03.22 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
03.23 Boston, MA - Paradise
03.26 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
03.28 Chicago, IL - Double Door
03.31 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre

04.02 Seattle, WA - Neumos
04.03 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
04.04 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre
04.06 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
04.07 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Video: Witch - "Seer"

One of the best songs from the past year.

Turning Peace Into Political Force

Steven Tyler performed three songs at The Peace Alliance Presents: Turning Peace Into Political Force, a night of education and support for legislation to create a U.S. Department of Peace at The George Washington University Lisner Auditorium on February 5th. If I read my e-mail I would have known all about tickets, etc. Oh well. Here's Joaquin Phoenix introducing Steven Tyler, and Steven performing "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing":

And here's Steven doing a bare bones version of "Pink" and "Dream On" to close it down.

DVR: Ben Harper on Last Call Tuesday Night

From their newsletter:

LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY AIRS LATE TUESDAY NIGHT!
Watch Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals perform live on NBC's "Last Call with Carson Daly" with the song "Dressed In Black," featuring blues harp legend Charlie Musselwhite. Check local listings for the time in your area. We're going to offer a limited amount of benharper.net edition "Both Sides of the Gun" box sets featuring the track at The Official Ben Harper Store starting that night. We'll also have it playing in the BHIC Radio Jukebox and MySpace. Finally, you can get to know a little more about Charlie in an exclusive interview just posted at www.benharper.net.
-----
BHIC RETURN TO BONNAROO IN SUMMER 2007
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals will make their third appearance at the massive Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on Saturday, June 16th. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 23, 2007 at 12:00 PM EST through BonnarooTickets.
-----
BEN TO PLAY TIBET HOUSE BENEFIT & WITH PETE TOWNSHEND
Ben will join Michael Stipe, Patti Smith, Sigur Rós, Lou Reed and more at the 17th annual Tibet House Benefit on February 26th at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Call 212.247.7800 or visit the Carnegie Hall Box Office (57th St. & Seventh Ave.) for tickets.
He will also appear at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on March 3rd with the legendary Pete Townshend. Ticket info is not available at the present time. Please check the venue's website frequently for details when they become available.

Overheard @ 9:30 Club Last Night

In reference to DC's new non-smoking policy in bars and clubs:
"This place is weird without the big cloud of smoke hanging in the air."
-----
Crowdmember: "Play the first song!"
Converge frontman: "We did play the first song. It was the first song."
Crowdmember: "Play the fourth song."
Converge frontman: "We played the fourth song, too. We played 8 or 9 songs. I don't know...I can't count, I went to fucking art school."
-----
The last song to play before Mastodon took the stage was The Mars Volta's "Tetragrammaton". Some knucklehead next to me to his knucklehead friend (these kids were like 16, 17 tops):

K #1: "Is this off Amputechture?"
K #2: "Yeah, fuck The Mars Volta."
K #1: "Is this fucking "Tetragrammaton"? Uggh."
Kids these days. At least they had the sense to be catching Mastodon. Maybe they weren't up to speed on the fact that two members of The Mars Volta helped out on tracks on Blood Mountain. Or maybe they truly hate The Mars Volta. At any rate, "Tetragrammaton" had me in prime shape for Mastodon.

Mastodon, Converge & Priestess @ 9:30 Club, 02.17.07: More Pics

Mastodon









Converge









Priestess


Arcade Fire: Tour Dates, Ticket Sales, Saturday Night Live, NPR

04/26 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre (On-Sale 2/24)
04/28 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella) (On-Sale Now)
05/01 Atlanta, GA - Civic Center (On-Sale 2/23)
05/02 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (On-Sale 2/23)
05/04 Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall (On-Sale 2/24)
05/05 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre (On-Sale 3/2)
05/07 New York, NY - TBA
05/08 New York, NY - TBA
05/09 New York, NY - TBA
05/10 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre (On-Sale 2/23)
05/12 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard (On-Sale 3/2)
05/13 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard (On-Sale 3/2)
05/15 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall (On-Sale 2/23)
05/16 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall (On-Sale 2/23)
05/18 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre (On-Sale 2/24)
05/19 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre (On-Sale 2/24)
05/20 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre (On-Sale 2/24)
05/27 Portland, OR - Schnitzer Concert Hall (On-Sale 2/24)
06/01 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre (On-Sale 3/4)
06/02 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre (On-Sale 3/4)
-----
Re: Saturday Night Live, from their site, Us Kids Know: "New York City, you can't get rid of the Arcade Fire just yet. The band will be the musical guest on next week's (February 24th) Saturday Night Live on NBC! The guest host for the show is Rainn Wilson, otherwise known as Dwight Schrute from NBC's 'The Office'. Personally i'm a bit surprised that they couldn't get Scrantonicity to be the musical guest, but i guess this is the next best thing."
-----
Setlist and thoughts from their show this past Thursday here.
-----
Available this coming Tuesday (the 20th), at NPR, will be a downloadable version of their set at Judson Church originally webcast live on NPR.org on February 17. You can currently stream it in Real and Windows Media formats. Get some.

Mastodon @ 9:30 Club, 02.17.07






As 9:30 Club excellence goes, nestled somewhere behind Ben Harper's 3.5 hour epic and somewhere in front of everything else, lies the show I just witnessed. Mastodon exceeded all of my expectations. Fucking phenomenal.

They haven't changed the setlist up much during the tour, and I just pulled this off the forum. Let me know if it is jacked up - I don't know a lot of their songs by name. I am trying to replay all of them and remember where and when, but for the most part, this looks good.

Setlist:

"This Mortal Soil"
"The Wolf Is Loose"
"Crystal Skull"
"Capillarian Crest"
"I Am Ahab"
"Sleeping Giant"
"Circle Of Cysquatch"
"Iron Tusk"
"March Of The Fire Ants"
"Where Strides The Behemoth"
"Mother Puncher"
"Aqua Dementia"
"Bladecatcher"
"Colony Of Birchmen"
"Megalodon"
"Blood And Thunder"
"Hearts Alive"

Saturday, February 17, 2007

The Wrens Are Coming Back...

02-17 London, England - ULU
02-22 Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw (Charles Bissell solo) *
03-10 Athens, OH - Baker University Center, Ohio University
04-28 Washington, DC - Riverside Lounge, Georgetown University
04-29 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
06-09 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe #

* with Takka Takka, Other Passengers, the Forms
# with Young Galaxy

Anyone know what the deal is with Riverside Lounge at GU? Do I need to make a fake student ID? I've Googled that thing 15 ways to Sunday and I still can't find any info. Let me know. Please. I'm still kicking myself for missing The Wrens late last year. Fucking grad school applications....doh! Maybe I'll just do the Ottobar show on that Sunday and kick the week off with busted ear drums and a hangover.

Tonight: Mastodon, Converge & Priestess

The info over at 9:30 Club:

This show is sold out.
Doors 7:00
Priestess 7:45
Converge 8:30
Mastodon 9:40

Friday, February 16, 2007

Bloc Party Performance Streaming @ NME

Go here. It is their show from Carling Academy in Bristol on February 7. You can play any song from the set or watch the whole thing. Hot, hot version of "Banquet" in there. The setlist from the show follows...

"Song For Clay"
"Like Eating Glass"
"Blue Light"
"Hunting For Witches"
"Banquet"
"Waiting for the 7.18"
"The Prayer"
"This Modern Love"
"Uniform"
"Two More Years"
"So Here We Are"
"Helicopter"
"Kreuzberg"
"She's Hearing Voices"
"Sunday"
"Pioneers"
It is all part of a weeklong Bloc Party celebration at NME. Other features include: Kele's favorite video, Russell's favorite track, and Gordon's favorite band.

Coachella: Staying Put & Sold Out. Bonnaroo: On Sale 2.23.07.

Coachella 2007
From Billboard.com:

In a first, the 2007 edition of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival is officially sold out in advance, more than two months prior to its April 27-29 engagement at Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif. And despite rumors to the contrary, Coachella will remain at the palatial desert venue for the foreseeable future, according to Goldenvoice co-founder Paul Tollett, who books the festival.

One of the key reasons: Goldenvoice committed to a second event at the Polo Field, the country festival Stagecoach, which will launch the weekend after Coachella. "There are rumors about that whole area being developed for houses and golf courses," he tells Billboard.com. "We said we'd make this commitment to them, but please don't make houses here, and it worked."
Bonnaroo 2007
[Photo Credit: Bonnaroo @ MySpace]

The fact that Tool is playing an additional live date at a venue that encourages long, big performances will bring in a lot of their fanbase, particularly those that missed their most recent run. The fact the Police are reuniting and this may be the easiest way to get a reasonable ticket outside of the Ticketbastard feeding frenzy and subsequent outrageous scalping means that Bonnaroo tickets are going to go quick. Note that the prices gradually increase. Early bird gets the worm. The following info is straight from Bonnaroo.com.

Tickets for the 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival go on sale Friday, February 23, 2007 at 12:00 PM EST through BonnarooTickets.com.

TICKETS
Tickets for 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival are priced at three levels.
The first tickets will be priced at a special rate of $184.50 each. There is a limited allotment of tickets at this price. When the first allotment is sold out, ticket prices will increase without notice to $199.50 and then again without notice to $214.50.
*All tickets are 4-day weekend passes, which include camping and parking (except for RVs, and other oversized vehicles, which will require an additional pass, see below).

*Prices do not include service and shipping charges.

*Service charges are $21.85 PER TICKET. This includes a $3 fee for Coffee County, $6 Facility Fee, and $1 for charity.

*You will be offered two shipping options: UPS 2nd Day Air- No Signature Required for $10.00 per order OR UPS Second-Day Air Signature Required for $12.00. Shipping costs for International Orders vary based on the country to which the order is being shipped.

*There is a limit of 10 tickets per order.
IMPORTANT: ALL TICKETS WILL BE SHIPPED ON Wednesday, May 30, 2007. PLEASE REMEMBER TO HAVE YOUR TICKETS SHIPPED TO AN ADDRESS WHERE YOU OR YOUR AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE WILL BE IN EARLY JUNE.

Guard your tickets carefully - just like cash! There will be ABSOLUTELY NO REISSUES for lost or stolen tickets! These tickets are like your children, except they won't ask you to put them through college. Please visit the website regularly for updated information about 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please visit your dentist regularly for updated information about your incisors.

The ticket will be a specially designed souvenir ticket, unique to the 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Incidentally, your ticket will also make you more popular with the opposite sex and appear seven years younger. You will be notified via email as to precisely when the tickets will be shipped.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL. The 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will take place RAIN OR SHINE. All acts advertised have confirmed their appearance at the 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival; however, acts are subject to change without notice.

Lefsetz: Sales, Fall Out Boy, Bloc Party & Sarcasm

The Lefsetz Letter is always interesting because of its spin towards the money-making end of the music industry. I'm not really sure what this guy does or used to do, but his angle is always ripe with sarcasm when it comes to record sales. For more, head here...

On Fall Out Boy (#1: 259,674):

"As for Fall Out Boy itself, the band has built an audience. By going positively mainstream. I wouldn’t quite call it selling out, but it’s not like they’re absent from the media circus. And said circus resulted in this total. But in a few years (months?) the circus will move on to a new act, and Fall Out Boy’s sales will tank, the band will be irrelevant.

"In other words, Fall Out Boy is flavor of the month. Just marginally better than Panic At The Disco! It’s kind of like hula-hoops, but worse. At least everybody knew what a hula-hoop WAS, most Americans are still clueless as to the music of Fall Out Boy, and many have never even heard of the band. As for identifying a member of the act? Impossible except for those truly diehard."
Something really turns me off about Fall Out Boy and I don't know what it is. Oh, wait. Yes I do. I remember seeing them live on SNL and it was completely flat. Dull. Dead. Granted, many a band have been struck down by SNL, but nothing about these guys do it for me. There seems to be something very artificial about their whole makeup/songs/following.

Now Bloc Party, on the other hand...now we are talking. Not bad to bring the opening week in at #12, but Lefsetz raises some interesting points...

On Bloc Party (#12: 47,726):
"Doesn’t smell like a hit, does it?

"Where do you get airplay/mindshare for an act like this, such that you can sell tonnage?

"Nowhere I know of.

"Oh, maybe you can get a song in a commercial or on a hot TV show, but then you alienate all the hard core fans and really, the newbies are only in it for the track.

"If you don’t make Top Forty music and you want to make money, take to the ROAD!"
He's right about Bloc Party and the road. Matt Tong getting hurt definitely hurt their ability to pump this album drop, but what gives? Can we get some more American dates or what? I'm standing by, debit card in hand.

Arcade Fire, Judson Memorial Church 2/15

This morning, I woke up well before my alarm was set to go off and that perma-grin was still on my face. I couldn't fall back asleep and I couldn't get the songs out of my head.

I had read many comments on the BV comment threads regarding poor crowds at the last two shows. Given all of the new material, that was absolutely not the case last night and the band completely fed off of it. Really, anyone who feels differently, send me an email because I would like to discuss. It was an amazing show, far exceeding my already high expectations. One of my favorite live experiences from, what is becoming clear to me now after hearing the new songs performed, the finest band to form this decade (this, I suppose, is debatable). The night capped off with the band walking with their instruments off the stage and into the crowd to the exact spot where I was standing to form a circle and perform "Wake Up." I'm pretty sure even Lou Reed was impressed.

Setlist (8:55 - 10:15):
"Black Mirror"
"Keep the Car Running"
"Antichrist Television Blues"
"No Cars Go"
"Haiti"
"Black Wave/Bad Vibrations"
"My Body is a Cage"
"Windowsill"
"The Well and the Lighthouse"
"Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"
"Rebellion (Lies)"
"Intervention"
------------------
"Neon Bible"
"Wake Up"

UPDATE: I forgot to include "Keep the Car Running" - one of my favorites on the new album.

Chris Cornell Announces Departure from Audioslave

Audioslave - "Show Me How To Live"
[Rolling Stone Interview w. Chris Cornell]

I'm really excited about this for several reasons:

1. I am pretty excited to hear some Chris Cornell solo work, which is the direction he seems to be headed.

2. I am not going to Coachella this year so I will miss the Rage Against the Machine reunion. But, with Audioslave broken up perhaps there is a chance for a full blown Rage Against the Machine tour. Perhaps.

3. Audioslave had run its course. I remember watching the "Cochise" video for the first time. It sounded and felt great. It was exciting - a supergroup with a bona fide superstar frontman, with one of the great guitarists of all time. It came at a point where there was somewhat of a lull in quality, mainstream hard rock. But, the last two albums lost me. In the end, or at least, at this point, I think the creative possibilities of the two factions (ex-Ragers v. Cornell) that made Audioslave, are far greater apart than they are together.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Elliott Smith: Rarities CD, Tracklisting

The info from Filter Magazine:

Kill Rock Stars will release a collection of unreleased music from deceased singer-songwriter Elliott Smith on May 8th. The two-CD collection titled New Moon rounds up 24 tracks recorded between 1995-1997 and will also be available on double vinyl. Some of the material is understood to have been produced by longtime collaborator Rob Schnapf, while final mixing was by Larry Crane.

The album includes an early version of his Academy Award-nominated "Miss Misery" as well as an alternate take of "Pretty Mary K," which was first released on 2000's Figure 8. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Portland, OR based social service organization Outside In which aids homeless youth. Elliott Smith died Oct. 21, 2003, in Los Angeles due to knife wounds to the chest. His death is thought to be a suicide and the LA County Coroner's Office's investigation into Smith's death remains technically open, although it has not been active for several years and will likely remain this way indefinitely.
Filter Magazine also has the tracklisting:
Disc 1
"Angel in the Snow"
"Talking to Mary"
"High Times"
"New Monkey"
"Looking Over My Shoulder"
"Going Nowhere"
"Riot Coming"
"All Cleaned Out"
"First Timer"
"Go By"
"Miss Misery" (early version)
"Thirteen"
Disc 2
"Georgia Georgia"
"Whatever (Folk Song In C)"
"Big Decision"
"Placeholder"
"New Disaster"
"Seen How Things Are Hard"
"Fear City"
"Either/Or"
"Pretty Mary K" (other version)
"Almost Over"
"See You Later"
"Half Right"

Peter Bjorn And John: Spring Tour Dates

Via Filter Magazine.

April
28 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field [Coachella]
30 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
May
01 New York, NY - Webster Hall
02 New York, NY - Webster Hall
03 Philadelphia, PA - TLA
04 Boston, MA - Paradise
05 Montreal, QC - Le National
06 Toronto, ON - Phoenix
07 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
08 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
09 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
12 Vancouver, BC - Commodore
13 Seattle, WA - Neumos
14 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
15 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
16 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's

A Weekend in the City Debuts at No. 12

A respectable first week of sales for Bloc Party's second album but unfortunately, nowhere near the success of the Shins' Wincing but considerably better than Silent Alarm.

From Billboard:

Hipster favorite Bloc Party sees its second album, "A Weekend in the City," debut at No. 12 on The Billboard 200 with 48,000 units. It also plants the flag at No. 3 on Top Tastemakers and Top Rock Albums. The U.K. band's last effort, "Silent Alarm," topped out at No. 114 in 2005. It spent 16 weeks on the chart, and has sold 291,000. That set was supported by the hit single "Banquet," which has sold 106,000 downloads and reached No. 34 on the Alternative/Modern Rock chart. The new album's single, "I Still Remember," climbs 35-32 on the Alternative/Modern Rock chart in its fourth week on the tally. Only five monitored radio stations aired the song more than 20 times last week -- KUCD Honolulu; KJEE Santa Barbara, Calif.; WEQX Albany, N.Y.; XTRA San Diego; and KNXX Baton Rouge, La.

Bonnaroo 2007 Lineup


Bonnaroo 2007
The Police · Tool · Widespread Panic · The White Stripes
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals · Wilco · The Flaming Lips
Manu Chao Radio Bemba Sound System · The String Cheese Incident
Franz Ferdinand · Bob Weir & Ratdog · Damien Rice · Ween
Gov't Mule · Ziggy Marley · The Decemberists · Kings of Leon
Michael Franti & Spearhead · Wolfmother · Regina Spektor
The Black Keys · Galactic · The Black Keys DJ Shadow
Gillian Welch · Spoon · Keller Williams (WMD's)
Sasha & John Digweed · STS9 · Old Crow Medicine Show
The Hold Steady · North Mississippi Allstars · Fountains Of Wayne
Hot Tuna · Feist · Hot Chip Lily Allen · John Butler Trio
Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys · Aesop Rock
The Richard Thompson Band · Dierks Bentley · Xavier Rudd
Gogol Bordello · Junior Brown · Tortoise · T-Bone Burnett
Mavis Staples Clutch · Cold War Kids · Dr. Dog · Paolo Nutini
Brazilian Girls · RX Bandits · The Nightwatchman · The Slip
Girl Talk · Railroad Earth · Martha Wainwright · Rodrigo y Gabriela
Annuals · Tea Leaf Green · Sam Roberts Band ·
Elvis Perkins in Dearland · Charlie Louvin · Sonya Kitchell
Mute Math · Apollo Sunshine · Uncle Earl · James Blood Ulmer
The National · The Little Ones · Black Angels · Ryan Shaw

Comedians:
Lewis Black & Friends
Dave Attell
David Cross

...on it like Gin on Tonic, kid...

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Deerhoof Live Review @ DCist

Peep it here.

The Shins: Tour Dates

For some reason I was completely missing ALL of this. Tickets for the DAR date go on sale this Friday at 10:00. I'm sure there was already a pre-sale, etc. Oops. $29 before Ticketbastard, if you were wondering. I can't remember what I paid for those Strokes tickets at DAR...

Feb 13 Liberty Hall Lawrence, Kansas
Feb 15 Fillmore Auditorium Denver, Colorado
Feb 16 In The Venue Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 17 Egyptian Theater Boise, Idaho
Feb 18 Paramount Theatre Seattle, Washington
Feb 20 Paramount Theatre Seattle, Washington
Feb 21 Crystal Ballroom Portland, Oregon
Feb 25 Astoria London
Feb 26 Bush Hall London
Mar 5 Palladium Ballroom Dallas, Texas
Mar 6 Verizon Wireless Theater Houston, Texas
Mar 7 Backyard Austin, Texas
Mar 9 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 10 The Millennium Center Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Mar 12 DAR Constitution Hall Washington DC, Washington DC
Mar 13 Electric Factory Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 16 Metropolis Montreal, Quebec
Mar 17 Kool Haus Toronto, Ontario
Apr 14 Gibson Amphitheatre Universal City, California

Arcade Fire: Tour Dates

More good news...From BrooklynVegan. No word on presales, tickets, etc.

02/13 New York, NY Judson Memorial Church (No Opener)
02/14 New York, NY Judson Memorial Church (No Opener)
02/15 New York, NY Judson Memorial Church (No Opener)
02/16 New York, NY Judson Memorial Church (No Opener)
02/17 New York, NY Judson Memorial Church (No Opener)

03/05 Dublin, Ireland Olympia
03/06 Dublin, Ireland Olympia
03/08 Manchester, England Apollo
03/09 Manchester, England Apollo
03/11 Glasgow, Scotland Barrowlands
03/12 Glasgow, Scotland Barrowlands
03/14 London, England Brixton Academy
03/15 London, England Brixton Academy
03/16 London, England Brixton Academy
03/17 London, England Brixton Academy
03/19 Paris, France Olympia
03/20 Paris, France Olympia
03/23 Stockholm, Sweden Circus
03/24 Oslo, Norway Centrum Scene
03/25 Copenhagen, Denmark Vega
03/27 Berlin, Germany Postbahnhof
03/28 Munich, Germany Elserhalle
03/31 Lyon, France Transbordeur
04/01 Cologne, Germany E- Live Music Hall
04/02 Utrecht, Netherlands Vredenburg
04/04 Brussels, Belgium Halles de Schaerbeek
04/05 Lille, France L'Aeronef

04/26 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre
0428 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
05/01 Atlanta, GA - Civic Center
05/02 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
05/04 Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall
05/05 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
05/07 New York, NY - TBA
05/08 New York, NY - TBA
05/09 New York, NY - TBA
05/10 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre

05/12 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard
05/13 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard
05/15 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05/16 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall

05/18 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05/19 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05/20 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05/27 Portland, OR - Schnitzer Concert Hall
06/01 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
06/02 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre

06/22-24 Pilton, England - Glastonbury Festival

Patrick Wolf opens from 3/5 thru 3/15
Electrelane opens from 3/16 thru 4/5

Monday, February 12, 2007

Cloud Cult Coming to Black Cat

WED APR 11
EXIT CLOV, CLOUD CULT
$10 mainstage 9:00 (on sale Feb. 16)


Fuck yeah! So pumped. Cloud Cult's latest, The Meaning of 8, did not stop playing today at work. Top to bottom, perfection. Here is an updated list of their dates/info/prices/etc.

FEB 10: Ashland, WI- Northland College Alvord Theater (all ages) 8pm
MAR 3: Middlebury, VT - Middlebury College McCullough Social Space (all ages) 9pm
MAR 14-17: Austin, TX - SXSW ()
MAR 15: Austin, TX - SXSW - Daytime Brooklyn Vegan Show
MAR 15: Austin, TX - SXSW - Showcase on 3/15 at 10pm Emo's
MAR 16: Austin, TX - SXSW - Daytime Fader Magazine Show
MAR 17: Austin, TX - SXSW - Daytime WOXY.com Show
MAR 17: Austin, TX - SXSW - 6pm Denver Post Show
MAR 30: Minneapolis, MN - "Meaning of 8" CD Release and tour kickoff - Varsity Theater TWO SHOWS: 5pm (all ages - order tickets) and 9pm (21+ - order tickets) $13
APR 3: Atlanta, GA - Smith's Old Bar
APR 4: Athens, GA - Tasty World (18+) $5
APR 7: Elkins, WV
APR 11: Washington D.C. - Black Cat
APR 13: Philadelphia, PA
APR 14: New York, NY - Mercury Lounge (21+) $12
APR 16: Boston, MA
APR 18: Chicago, IL
APR 19: Madison, WI
APR 24: Bozeman, MT - The Filling Station (21+) $5
APR 25: Missoula, MT - The Loft (18+) $8
APR 26: Portland, OR - Fez Ballroom (21+) $10
APR 27: Seattle, WA - Neumos (all ages) $10
APR 28: Salem, OR - Willamette University (Brown Field)
APR 29: Eugene, OR
MAY 4: San Francisco, CA
MAY 5: Los Angeles, CA
MAY 6: San Diego, CA
MAY 10: Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
MAY 11: Omaha, NE
MAY 12: Kansas City, MO

Sports Guy @ The Grammys

I know why I don't live-blog. Because the Sports Guy is better. Funnier. Fitter. Happier. Last night he watched the Grammys and had more fun than I did.

ALIVE!

This was not on last night. Nothing remotely close to this caliber of performance aired last night. It aired three years ago, the Grammys, 2004. I was somewhere else. Not watching. Wherever I was, I was probably spinning Elephant wishing I could see Jack White, in all of his badness, rip through it live. What little residue of displeasure that may have remained in my mind regarding Jack White's Coca-Cola ad has kindly left my body, and the building.

PLUG Awards

Congratulations to BrooklynVegan. They are the shit and we visit daily. You should too. BV has the list with pics and links, but here is a quick rundown.

Amazon.com probably won best online music store because they actually ship shit in a timely manner. Amp Camp: where the fuck is my Boris w. Michio Kurihara CD? I ordered it three weeks ago. Insound: where the fuck is my Bloc Party pre-order with bonus 7"? The album dropped almost one week ago. I'm the dumbass that actually buys music. Shame on me. Guilty as charged.

Album of the Year: Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
New Artist of the Year: Arctic Monkeys
Female Artist of the Year: Neko Case
Male Artist of the Year: Sufjan Stevens
Indie Rock Album of the Year: Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
Metal Album of the Year: The Melvins - (A) Senile Animal
Hip Hop Album: Spank Rock - Yoyoyoyoyo
Americana Album: Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
Punk Album of the Year: CSS - Cansei De Ser Sexy
Electronica/Dance Album of the Year: Thom Yorke - The Eraser
DJ Album: Girl Talk - Night Ripper
Avant Album of the Year: Xiu Xiu - The Air Force
Artist of the Year: J Dilla
Live Act of the Year: Broken Social Scene
Song of the Year: Band of Horses - "The Funeral"
Record Producer of the Year: J Dilla
Music Video of the Year: Wolf Parade - "I'll Believe in Anything"
Album Art: Hot Chip - The Warning
Record Label of the Year: Sub Pop
Live Music Venue of the Year: Bowery Ballroom
Music Festival of the Year: South by Southwest
Music Website of the Year: Pitchfork Media
Music Blog of the Year: Brooklyn Vegan
Magazine of the Year: Paste
College/Non-Comm Radio Station of the Year: KEXP, Seattle, WA
Record Store of the Year: Amoeba Music
Best Music DVD of the Year: The Pixies - loudQUIETloud
Zine of the Year: Wax Poetics
Speciality Show of the Year: Sirius Left of Center - Blog Radio
Podcast of the Year: WOXY.com Lounge Acts
Internet Radio Station of the Year: Woxy.com
Online Radio Station of the Year: KEXP
Online Record Store of the Year: Amazon.Com

Guns of Brixton

There is a new video on the Neon Bible web site of The Arcade Fire performing the Clash cover, "Guns of Brixton." This was taken from their 1/31 show at St. John's Church in Westminster (London). You need to wait until the song starts to see anything but once there, it's pretty bad ass.

The countdown is on, I'm 3 nights away from the 2/15 show in NYC. I'm also starting to get into the album now. There was some initial disappointment after my first listen but I'm loving it right now. "Keep The Car Running" is an awesome song. With this album, Cloud Cult, 22 songs of Bloc Party, and the Klaxons, I've got a ton of new music swirling around in my head. No complaints.

The Grammys in 100 Words or Less. Or not.

I thought about live-blogging that bullshit (that bullshit being the Grammys), but I spent the majority of my weekend writing and I was a little cashed out. I want to touch on a few things. I found myself watching because it was a chance to catch - possibly - some of that Frusciante magic on national television. It didn't happen. John was good. Just good. And he didn't come on until around 11:00, which meant I had some time on my hands. I wasn't moved - as in, remotely inspired in some way shape or form - until two hours in when Chris Brown got on stage and did exactly what a lot of people told me he was capable of doing at an extremely high level: performing. The kid can flat out dance. And yeah, there wasn't a lot of singing involved in his performance, but he was dealing with a knockout catchy song (in the vein of Usher's "Yeah!") that served as a perfect backdrop while he showcased his other, perhaps greater talents: dancing, performing, wowing and impressing. The kid is a monster talent. I'm not about to go out and buy the CD, but fuck, was that impressive.

Chris Brown capped off a three spot of performances from three different generations of artists. It started with Smokey Robinson doing "Tracks of my Tears". That is one of my all-time favorite songs from that era, but Smokey, shit, take it easy on the Botox. Tracks of my tears? I'd be surprised if the guy has tear ducts...he blinked once. Tops. I know, I know. He's like 80. Lionel Richie...nice performance. Chris Brown? Blew the doors off. What came next was a complete surprise. I like Christina Aguilera as much as the next guy. And I have always respected her vocal ability. So I'm expecting something solid (her camp and the Grammy people were very hush-hush on her performance) on what is shaping up to be an all-too tepid night of performances. What I didn't expect was her to come out and throw down on a James Brown track ("It's A Man's Man's Man's World") as hard as she did. Unreal. But that was it. Three and a half hours and that's the only two worthwhile performances. Her and Chris Brown looked like they were the only people that came to play. Scratch that. The only ones that even suited up for the game. Everyone else was on cruise control (to include Red Hot Chili Peppers).

This is a direct reflection of this award show. Does anyone care? No. Has it become so outdated and out-of-touch that it is all just a formality? Yes. The Police were abysmal. Something was going on with Sting's vocals and it wasn't good. A chance to capitalize and create a moment? Sure. But do they really have to? That tour will sell out before it goes on sale. The Eagles give-and-go thing between Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood was empty. Don't do Don Henley like that. Don't do the Eagles like that. There's too much going on. People are on the Red Carpet and they already have awards. They've already won. John Mayer's speaking Japanese. The Dixie Chicks are up on stage. The fat one is speechless. I'm speechless. I pour another drink and wish I was watching another DVRed episode of "The Wire". Because it makes me fucking think. The founder of Stax Records is getting an Honorary something or other. She's about the size of a coffee mug on the lower right hand side of my screen. No one's hosting. The Grammy Ticker is naming off who won for best album packaging: Adam Jones, from Tool, I barely catch it. The Dixie Chicks are up on stage. The fat one is running her mouth. I'm cussing her out and I don't. Know. Why. I haven't listened to the album. I don't want to. Rick Rubin produced it? That guy really is everywhere.

Pretty soon, all I can think about is being at that Boris (not nominated) show and hearing the first bar of "Electric". There wasn't a place on the fucking planet I wanted to be, but five feet from Wata, getting my world rocked. That is fucking music! Visceral, blood-pumping, heart-pounding emotion. An experience! WE'RE FUCKING ALIVE! This is something I will tell the kids about. Not the time I saw Ludacris half-ass his way around stage rapping some song with no bite (no bark, even) about runaways. Is there any feeling in all of this? Yeah, I see the pictures flashing, but this - this is going to beat out Clipse? Lupe Fiasco? There's no heart in it.

I was in fucking tears at Coachella the first time I saw TV On The Radio (not nominated). Tears. They were that fucking good. I was visibly shaken when they were done and I hadn't even heard the second album yet. My first listen was right there. They were affecting. They left an impression. And in turn, made me a fan for life. You know why? Because its in their makeup. They are artists. No one's telling them that they need to do this or do that or wear Dolce and drink a Heineken. They come out to fucking blow your mind because it is art and they are artists. Art! Where is the art in a song called "Jesus Take The Wheel" (nominated x3)? Fuck, if the Grammys were a bus we would need Jesus driving it - get him behind the wheel quick! - because it's going off the road into a deep ravine next to the wreckage that is mainstream radio, major label record companies, and hair bands.

Inhale. Exhale. Breathe.

I'm going to lunch. Gonna listen to some Cloud Cult (not nominated, never going to be nominated, and they don't care). This new album is so good I don't know what to do with myself. I don't even know what genre it is. It's just Cloud Cult. Two classic albums one after the other. Talk about a fucking band that rocks. Live. In the studio. Just fucking rocks. And they do it all themselves. Write. Record. Produce. Ship. Shit, I wouldn't be surprised if they weave their t-shirts by hand. I don't know, maybe there's some person out there that flipped out when Beyonce performed. Maybe it literally ripped them to shreds inside to hear her hit every note. I was sitting there wondering if Jay-Z cheats on her. If he actually cheats on her. I was that non-plussed, unimpressed, unengaged. I was daydreaming, I was somewhere else entirely. I could, simply, care less about what was beaming through the cathode ray matrix of death.

The really fucking scary thing is that a lot of people watching the Grammys that actually enjoyed it, were probably just as numb to it. Just as unengaged. Because that is what we do. We sit down in front of the TV and grow numb. We don't know what's good or what's bad. Because someone's going to make that decision for us. Fuck the war. Fuck the news. Fuck my job. Fuck the bills. Let's fucking disassociate through reality TV. Let's severe all ties with the living through sloth. If the shoe fits, your epitaph reads: "I heard it's Hollywood Week on American Idol. I'll watch. I've got nothing better to do."

Radiohead: August 6

Maybe?
Via Gigwise.
Circumstantial evidence @ Amazon.co.uk.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Do Work, Son.

I'm so productive it hurts right now. Writing like there is no tomorrow. It feels good. Life awaits. Here's the soundtrack to my life at the Mac Battlestation over the past three hours plus.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Before Kaki King There Was Preston Reed

I really need to find another topic to discuss, but after watching this video about ten times, I just had to post it. Redonkulous.

At last. The 20.

Via Frat, because I couldn't locate the magazine during my lunch break. In no particular order. Because that is the way that David Fricke did it. And I love him for that. This list is Metro D approved. At least from my half. Without further adieu, the Top Twenty New Guitar Gods...

Tom Morello

John Mayer

Derek Trucks

John Frusciante

Luther Dickinson

Nels Cline

Warren Haynes

Jim James & Carl Broemel

Adam Jones

Kaki King

Mike McCready & Stone Gossard (are those the guys in Pearl Jam?)

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (and my subscription is saved)

Ed O'Brien & Johnny Greenwood

Chuck Garvey & Al Schnier

Matt Pike

Jack White

Bloc Party; Seriously, Amp Camp

Most of us have been listening to A Weekend in the City since November but that doesn't mean that I don't want to get my cd delivered on time. I pre-ordered the album almost 4 weeks ago and I still haven't received it in the mail. What's the point of pre-ordering an album if I won't get it on time? I also picked up Peter Bjorn and John in the same order and THAT arrived yesterday. Are they out of AWitC? Mind you, these guys are based in NYC. I want to like Amp Camp, their prices and shipping rates are great but I've come to expect more after the demise of Tower (which had locations blocks from my office and my apt.)

On the subject of Bloc Party, I'm loving all of the buzz around the b-sides currently floating around the internet. It was obviously planned by the band since they've chosen different b-sides for various special editions and retail outlets. The greatest part about this is that there are 11 fucking songs to go around. This scavenger hunt, as it's been called, for Another Weekend in the City (coined by IGIF?) is a great way for the band to remain relevant for the release of their album. What a concept...

Saying these 11 songs are better than the 11 on the album is crazy talk but as with most of their b-sides, I'm definitely enjoying them. "Secrets" is one of my favorites and admittedly would have been a nice replacement over "Sunday" or "SRXT."

MP3: Bloc Party - "Secrets"

Here is the full tracklisting (according to Wikipedia):

1. "We Were Lovers" (Japanese Edition)
2. "England" (Japanese Edition)
3. "Cain Said To Abel" - 3:24 (iTunes US only)
4. "Atonement" (iTunes US pre-order only)
5. "I Still Remember [Video]" (iTunes download only)
6. "The Prayer (Does it Offend You, Yeah? remix)" (iTunes UK only)
7. "Version 2.0" - 3:19 (Best Buy version only)
8. "Emma Kate's Accident" - 5:38 (Best Buy version only)
9. "Secrets" (Canadian version & Target version only)
10. "The Once And Future King" (Canadian version & Target version only)
11. "Rhododendron" (eMusic US only)
12. "Selfish Son" (Napster and Rhapsody)
13. "Vision Of Heaven" (Free Purevolume exclusive)

An Interview With Mr. Frusciante @ RS

I still haven't tracked down the list or picked up the magazine, but as soon as I know who Rolling Stone's Top 20 New Guitar Gods are...you will know.

And I have no idea why I am obsessing over a list from this magazine on this topic as much as I am. But I am. I think part of it is finding out where the current greats (in my mind) stack up on a list from a guy with the knowledge and access that David Fricke has. I respect the intelligence and opinions he brings to the magazine. At any rate...a list is a list. In the end it's an opinion. But, I am interested.

In the meantime there is some John Frusciante love over at Rolling Stone's website. David Fricke interviewed John Mayer, Derek Trucks and closed the article with his talk with John. As is often the case with John, the quick chat is interesting: "Luckily, I've always thought of myself as a musician more than a guitar player. Since I'm always changing as a person and my tastes are always changing, that is reflected in the ways I approach my instrument. I never feel like I'm running out of ideas, because it is clear to me -- music is infinite."

Thursday, February 08, 2007

The Latest Lefsetz

The latest "Lefsetz Letter" had me rolling from the jump. It is fucking fantastic. He's discussing the sales from last week and there is as much humor in there as there is truth. Naturally, this is par for the course, but it is well worth the read. I'm not saying I agree with everything he says, but I will say that it all makes me think. Investigate. And discover. And I really don't ask for anything more than that when it comes to shit that I shove in my brain.

Smashing Pumpkins Update

Put down that Silversun Pickups album, this from Pollstar:

"So far, the reunited Pumpkins are scheduled to play a slate of festivals in Europe in June including Germany's Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, Austria's Nova Rock Festivaland Switzerland's Greenfield Festival Specific dates for the Pumpkin's performance will be available on each festival's web site in the near future.

"Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan also dropped hints about a full-scale world tour on the band's MySpace page saying, 'This year for us will see a new album of songs and a world tour of tears, and we truly look forward to playing again for fans young, old, and missed.'

"Staying true to his um, quirky reputation, Corgan also announced that the Pumpkins' new album, Zeitgiest, will break with industry tradition and drop on 7/7/07, a Saturday. New albums are typically released on Tuesdays."

RS: The New Guitar Gods

This will hit newstands on Friday. The 25 people on the list were selected by David Fricke and are bound to be hotly contested. Head here to check out a jam session between the cover boys. A special thanks to Emily, wherever you are, for the head's up. The omission of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez will be a sin I will never forgive. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Muse Opening for My Chemical Romance: Filed Under "I Just Threw Up In My Mouth"

I don't know if this is worse than Bloc Party opening for Panic! at the Disco. The dates follow the official word from Market Wire. I will keep my memories of Muse at Hammerstein Ballroom and opt out of this little mess at MPP.

BURBANK, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- February 06, 2007 -- MUSE, one of Britain's biggest bands, have secured the Special Guest slot with label mates My Chemical Romance this Spring. Dates have been confirmed for April and May and are listed below. Prior to the U.S. Spring tour, MUSE will perform in Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong later this month. A tour of Japan will follow in March leading up to the American dates. As reported previously, MUSE will also headline a pair of shows in California prior to the tour. At press time, the Los Angeles date at the Forum is now sold out. [Market Wire]
Tour Dates
April 9 Bill Graham Civic, San Francisco, CA*
April 10 The Forum, Los Angeles, CA*
April 14 Reliant Arena, Houston, TX
April 16 AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
April 18 Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, FL
April 19 St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
April 22 Bank Atlantic, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
April 24 Gwinnett Center, Atlanta, GA
April 25 Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN
April 26 Cricket Arena, Charlotte, NC
April 27 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Washington, DC
April 28 William and Mary Hall, Williamsburg, VA
April 29 Bryce Jordan Center, State College, PA
May 1 Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
May 2 Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA
May 6 Cumberland Civic Center, Portland, ME
May 8 DCU Center, Worcester, MA
June 16 Wembley Stadium, London, ENG*
June 17 Wembley Stadium, London, ENG*
June 23 Parcs Des Princes, Paris, FRA*

* - Muse Headlining Dates