Audience members clapping along with a song. Look people, it never works out. Ever. Understand this and resist the urge to join in when others start clapping. In fact, when someone next to you starts clapping along (even if the band seems to want clapping), look at them like they're ruining the concert by doing what they're doing. Because they are.
Bloggers. What else do I have to say? They (meaning we) have this certain air about them (us)... a holier-than-thou mixed with superfan mixed with uber-nerd mixed with stalker kind of vibe... that makes me wonder when, not if, a couple of music bloggers are going to up and go all King of Comedy on some unsuspecting member of Cold War Kids.
Camera phones. Cameras are bad enough, and yes in that regard I'm part of the problem sometimes, but camera phones are like little hate-me beacons that everyone in the audience has at their disposal and has no problem holding up thus destroying the view for minutes at a time. Don't you know that that picture is going to suck anyway?
Douche bags who yell out "insider-like" things to the band in between songs. Hi, I've done this. It's awful. I'm sorry.
Expensive beer. I'm a realist, but seriously. The more beer the audience drinks the better the show is going to be. So why doesn't each venue have a super cheap beer option? I'm thinking the lowest priced beer should be two to three dollars. It doesn't really even matter what this cheap beer tastes like. It's a rock show. Why was the cheapest beer (Coors) at Hammerstein $6 for 12 ounces?? Stupid and greedy.
False endings to songs. I don't really hate false endings in songs, I love them. I just hate what they do to people in a live setting. Nothing makes the casual fan more immediately embarrassed than to be one of very few who applauded too early, before the real end of the song. And nothing makes those 'superfans' more smug than to sit on their hands until the false ending has passed. It's at this point that they proceed to clap even louder, as if to say "see? I know this song SO well!"
Girls who climb onto shoulders. I know you couldn't see very well, and that stinks. And hey - bravo to you for being resourceful enough to have come to the show with a big strong guy. BUT. But, you have to know one of the fundamental unwritten laws of concerts. I think it's known as the Mötley Crüe Addendum. It states that "any girl who climbs onto shoulders, thus blocking the view for a massive amount of audience members, must remove her shirt while screaming and yelling and turning around to give everyone in the audience a clear view of her bare breasts." Piggish I know, but I didn't invent these rules. You can always avoid having to Mardi Gras it up by, oh I don't know, NOT climbing onto shoulders.
Heat. July and August are the hottest months in our part of the world. Everyone knows this, right? So then WHY do people consistently schedule outdoor concerts/festivals for these two months rather than, say, April or October? Here's a guideline for would-be festival schedulers: if you have to have an area dedicated to spraying water on people so they don't die from heat exhaustion then it's TOO HOT FOR A CONCERT.
Insanely early starting times for headliners. This happens a lot at clubs that like to double up on their weekend dollar. See Webster Hall for example. They'll schedule a big name band on a Saturday night and have them start at 7:30 just so they can clear everyone out and bring in the dance crowd. Ugh. Concerts should not start before 9pm.
Jack asses who stand there the entire time with their arms folded. It's music. Hello? No, I mean it's MUSIC. So let it move you fucker. Stop standing there like you're looking at art at a museum. I hate you. If the music does nothing more than inspire you to stand there like a snob, how about you do us all a favor and just leave.
Knowing the stage banter of the band. Don't bands understand that a good number of their fans will come to each show when they play multiple nights in one city? Hearing the same setlist twice in a row is pretty bad. Hearing the band tell the same terrible jokes, go through the same lame schtick, well that's just appalling.
Lead singer induced singalongs and/or clapping. Man this sucks. I don't know if it's because they're too tired/lazy to sing the well known chorus again and again, or if it's simply an ego inflating device, but it rarely works out well. And when it fails, well, the audience ends up butchering what is usually one of the better songs in the band's catalog.
Music that's played before the show. It should be so easy. The pre-show music should be good and set the mood. Too often it sucks, or is something "obscure" for the sake of being obscure. Blah.
Not starting anywhere near when the show should. Nothing kills audience enthusiasm more than having to wait 45 minutes to a few hours longer than expected for a headlining band. Yes, the time on the ticket is meaningless, but we all have an idea, give or take 20 minutes, of when the show is supposed to start. Not starting within half an hour of this time is inexcusable.
Opening bands that aren't worth a damn. Hello booking agents and talent buyers. I know some bands might be too insecure to let you book a really good opening band, but I don't think that's the real problem. You're the real problem. Wake up and start pairing well-matched GOOD opening bands with your headliners. Everyone will be happier for it.
People who touch, or grope, just because they feel safe in a large crowd. I've seen this done to girls quite a few times at shows. I've even encountered it myself once before. You know what I'm talking about. It's really crowded, people are moving with the music and bumping into each other, then suddenly hands start grabbing, touching, and feeling. NOT okay.
Quieting efforts done by self righteous fans during shitty slow songs. "Shhh." Awesome. That's what I wanted to hear at a rock show. You telling me to be quiet. No really. Give me that 'evil eye' again. It's making me want to stop telling my friend how horrible this slow song is. I swear.
Really loud talkers. "Blah blah I SAW THIS BAND FOUR TIMES blah blah MY GOLF GAME IS GETTING BETTER blah blah THIS SLOW SONG SUCKS blah blah..." Hey you. Yeah you, you loud fucknut. Why don't you shut up and stand in the way back, yeah?
Short bitches who complain about "tall dudes". First rule of going to a general admission show: get there early to guarantee the spot you want. If you're short, find a way to weasel past the taller people who are in your way. But do NOT come up behind me after I've been standing there for 35 minutes and complain about biology. There's nothing I hate more than this. Actually - that's not true. Even worse is when I've been in a spot for a very long time only to have to go to the bathroom or bar and then when I return the wankers behind me start bitching and... Ugh. I could go on and on.
Tall dudes. I'm one. Let me speak from my point of view. When I go to a show I'm extremely well aware of the fact that I'm 6'5" plus in my boots. Because of this I do what I can to stand against a wall or column, or off to the side of the stage. I always make sure to not walk up and stand in front of people shorter than me. If there's a guy taller than me nearby I'll stand next to/behind him so as to minimize the tall dudeness of my general area. I'm very accommodating with people behind me if they'd like to get in front of me to have a better view and I slouch so that I'm quite a few inches shorter at shows than I really am. This is uncomfortable - I'm trying to be considerate. All of that being the case, if you're a tall person and you don't do these things when you're at a concert then you're part of the problem.
Umbrellas at outdoor concerts. Whether for blocking the rain or sun, these towers of self-importance have NO place at a live show.
VIP seating. Nothing makes people more entitled than being allowed into the VIP area. You've seen them. Sitting there at their tables all smug like first-class passengers on an airplane. I'll tell you, it's even worse on the inside of these VIP zones. With everyone subtly, sometimes not so subtly, jockeying for prominence... wearing a certain air that states "I know the band, and I'm important." Disgusting.
Waiting forever to go to the bathroom so as not to lose your place. This can be so painful. But you just know that the jerk behind you is going to steal your place as soon as you move. Agony!
Xenophobes who are at shows alone and stare hatefully at your group the entire time as if you're a jerk just for going to a show, and having fun, with your friends. Enough said.
You. You know who I mean. YOU. The three asshats in the fourth row who can't seem to stop talking to each other the entire time. Move to the back. The two girls to my right with the squeaky voices - STOP singing "every" word to every song. Oh and by the way, you DON'T EVEN KNOW the actual lyrics.
Zenlike levels of patience required to deal with the overcrowded bar in between sets. Most places don't have enough bars or bartenders. It's blatantly obvious. I know the barkeeps want to earn tons of cash, and that's why there's one bartender per 300 people, but it doesn't make for a fun time to have to Indian balance and push wrestle your way around people just to wait for 20 minutes to get the chance to spend $7 on one plastic cup of beer. It's annoying.
29 June 2007
A to Z: EAR FARM live show pet hates
28 June 2007
8+
"Hearts Alive" by Mastodon which clocks in at 13:39
Just so you're very well aware of how thoroughly my mind, and overall taste in music, is nothing more than a pile of twisted metal lately, I'd like to declare the following: Mastodon is the greatest active American band. Period. (I already typed an actual period there, I know, but I wanted to write out the word as well for extra emphasis.) Greatest. Active. American. Band. Period. (According to current internet typing trends it seems that the more periods I use. To break up. My thoughts. The more clearly. My. Point. Comes. Across. Yeah?)
If you're unfamiliar with Mastodon, this song is as good of a place as any to start. Just know what you're in for ahead of time. This is a band developing into the rightful heir to the throne once held by legends such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Rush, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. In the past few years they've delivered two of the very best albums of the '00s. Don't believe me/disagree? Have a listen to "Hearts Alive" and get back to me. Even if metal isn't your thing, denying the greatness of this song is impossible. Listen. You'll get a perfect taste of their mind blowing instrumental wizardry - from melodic noodling to chugging thunder riffs to blazing solos to more than enough rhythm section ridiculousity to sate your appetite for destructive aural nerditude. The vocals shift attack strategy from being gentle to growling and back again. Time changes come at you in a similar manner - like storm waves crashing into The Pequod. One moment you've got your sea legs under you in a nice and easy 4/4 - BANG. Suddenly you're off your feet, on the deck and coughing up water, with your head swirling in the eddy of an 11/8 or something. I don't know, I got caught up in my own predictable metaphor and lost count. Listen closely for copious shout outs to the music of bands like Rush, Iron Maiden, Bathory, Slayer, and more. Bathe in the song's epic thirteen-plus minutes of metal perfection. Greatest. Active. American. Band. Period.
Do you disagree? Who's better? Let's fight in the comments.
*picture from HERE
Buy Leviathan HERE on Amazon.
EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Frog Eyes - "Bushels"
Slint - "Washer"
Martin Eagle Trio - "The Hipster"
Battles - "Rainbow"
Nirvana - "Scentless Apprentice"
Jesu - "Weightless and Horizontal"
Nuh Uh - "This Is Embarrassing"
The Cure - "Carnage Visors: The Soundtrack"
To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.
OPP
Chromewaves on The Verve's reunion
Py Korry has a guest mix from Taylor T-Sides - “Rap…For People Who Don’t Like Rap”
The Stereogum Interview: Paul McCartney
Heartonastick has some nice pics from the 2007 Mermaid Parade
Peel Session: Electrelane (2004)
MOKB: Seymore Saves The World Live on MOKB SIRIUS Blog Radio
Nerd Litter returns with The best 10 singles of the mid-year
NYC Taper has Wilco's recent show at Hammerstein (June 25, 2007) in FLAC format for download
27 June 2007
Interpol videos
Straight from the PR email to your eyes: Interpol has released a new music video for "The Heinrich Maneuver" and also has made available some video previews of new songs from their upcoming album Our Love To Admire (out July 10th on Capitol Records).
Watch the video for "The Heinrich Maneuver" HERE.
Check out video clips previewing other songs from the new album HERE.
Guitar Hero 2: David Cross vs J. Mascis
Love Guitar Hero as much as the rest of the world? Then the DL got what you need. Check it: Guitar Hero 2 Challenge: David Cross vs J. Mascis.
26 June 2007
Three for Free - Don Caballero, Mastodon, Pig Destroyer
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week, three from Relapse Records. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.
Listen:
Don Caballero - "Savage Composition"
Listen:
Mastodon - “Hail to Fire"
Listen:
Pig Destroyer - “Thought Crime Spree"
Today's NEW releases
This week:
25 June 2007
snip·pets
The Cure Touring North America, Wrapping New CD
20 Essential Songs of Summer '07
Julian, Sean Lennon end 8-year feud
'Lion Sleeps Tonight' singer dead
Stylus on/with Vampire Weekend
NME: Glastonbury Festival 2007 photos
Rolling Stone: The Fall of the Record Business: What Next?
IGN: Top 10 Greatest Band Names Ever
Orchestras look to indie-rock to draw younger audiences
iTunes was 3rd biggest music retailer by units sold in 1Q
21 June 2007
8+
"Bushels" by Frog Eyes which clocks in at 9:13
I like pears. I like Yorkshire Terriers, music that pushes boundaries, and women dressed up in business suits. I like fast cars. I like the planets Jupiter, Neptune, and Mars, and I still like to think of Pluto as a planet so its feelings don't get hurt. I like playing games. A lot. I like batteries, smooth flat rocks, and other small well-weighted things one can throw fairly far and/or skip on bodies of water. I like pretending that I don't like sports as much as I do. I like saving the lives of insects that invade my home. I like calendars and Kelly Clarkson and teeny-tiny colorful frogs. I like 5th Avenue candy bars and mint flavored ice cream. I like to think that a good reason not to kill that pesky ant you found inside of your cabinet is because his family is going to worry about him and wonder why he never came home. I like red. I like ascribing feelings to inanimate objects and/or plants, animals, and insects. I like Destroyer and Wolf Parade, but not that much. I like to think of Frog Eyes as "Destroyer meets Wolf Parade, but better." I like Ito En tea. A lot. I like Tears Of The Valedictorian a lot more than I'm letting on to - so much so that it could even appear in my Tops of '07 list at the end of the year. I like eMusic, and that's where I got Tears Of The Valedictorian from. I like to imagine that EAR FARM is the first site to post this song. It's not. Not even close. I like to pretend that I didn't just listen to Tears Of The Valedictorian for the first time last night. I like buying movie soundtracks again. I like horror movies. A lot. I like to act like I know what you're talking about even when I have no clue. I like football on TV, baseball in person, and basketball any time or place. I like ponies and boxing. I like ballet, but I like opera more. I like that my neighbor across the street enjoys being naked all the time while never closing her blinds and always having the lights on at night. I like that I'm forced to close my blinds just to avoid feeling like a peeping perv each night. I like sarcasm and hyperbole. I like using EAR FARM as a confession booth.
I like this song. A lot.
*picture from HERE
Buy Tears Of The Valedictorian HERE on Amazon.
EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Slint - "Washer"
Martin Eagle Trio - "The Hipster"
Battles - "Rainbow"
Nirvana - "Scentless Apprentice"
Jesu - "Weightless and Horizontal"
Nuh Uh - "This Is Embarrassing"
The Cure - "Carnage Visors: The Soundtrack"
Aphex Twin - "Ziggomatic V17"
To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.
OPP
Check out Borough Underground for some live videos from NYC clubs
Crackers United announced their next Friction lineup
Information Leafblower links to a YouTube video of the events leading to Oceanic Flight 815's crash, in succession (as in the flight from the TV show Lost)
Marathonpacks with a very fine post-mortem post on the Sopranos finale
The Punk Guy's ABC’s of LIVE MUSIC is already on S&T
Some Velvet Blog continues the fun Blogger Summer Reading Club series, this time with Music Is Art
Stereoactive has live video of a new song by The Secret Life Of Sofia called “Dead Trees”
You Ain't No Picasso has some damn fine pics from this year's Bonnaroo
20 June 2007
Live music downloads from Archive.org
Archive.org has always had a bunch of live music available for free (and legal) in MP3, Flac, and Ogg Vorbis formats. It was often a source of shows back when EAR FARM used to feature Weekend Live Music on Saturdays, and is a site worth checking out if you haven't yet. Want proof?
Here are some shows that recently caught my attention:
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead Live at Emo's on 2005-09-16There are many many more to be found over at Archive.org. Browse them by artist HERE.
Addison Groove Project Live at Mercury Lounge on 2007-03-01
Alex Skolnick Trio Live at the Knitting Factory on 2005-06-17
Andrew Bird Live at Crawdaddy on 2007-03-21
Animal Collective Live at Tavastia on 2006-07-03
Beirut Live at McCarren Park Pool on 2006-08-13
Billy Bragg Live at The Barbican on 2004-03-29
Cracker Live at Maxwell's on 2007-05-25
The Decemberists Live at Meymandi Concert Hall on 2007-04-03
Electrelane Live at Bottom of the Hill on 2004-04-08
Explosions in the Sky Live at Metro on 2007-03-28
Fugazi Live at 9:30 Club on 1988-06-15
Liars Live at Cabaret on 2006-06-22
Low Live at Gebäude 9 on 2007-05-01
Mission of Burma Live at The EARL on 2007-01-13
Mogwai Live at Gothic Theatre on 2006-05-03
Pelican Live at Metro on 2006-06-10
Spoon Live at Greek Theatre on 2006-08-12
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Live at South Street Seaport on 2006-08-25
Two Gallants Live at The Independent on 2005-02-25
Ween Live at Bonnaroo Music Festival on 2007-06-16
19 June 2007
Three for Free - Kevin Drew, Ray's Vast Basement, Copperpot
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week, three (of the many) tracks that came to me via email from PR people-types. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.
Listen:
Kevin Drew - "Listened On"
Listen:
Ray's Vast Basement - “How Through Sacrifice Danny’s Friends Gave A Party” (inspired by Tortilla Flat)
Listen:
Copperpot - “Let It Go” (feat. Truth Enola)
Today's NEW releases
This week:
- Art Brut - It's a Bit Complicated
- Arthur & Yu - In Camera
- Chromeo - Fancy Footwork
- Goes Cube - Beckon The Dagger God
- Man in Gray - I Can't Sleep Unless I Hear You Breathing
- Minus Story - My Ion Truss
- The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
- Various Artists - Nouvelle Vague presents New Wave
- The White Stripes - Icky Thump
18 June 2007
snip·pets
'Lost' Johnny Cash Performance Breaks Free Of Universal's Vaults
Ornette Coleman Hospitalized After Bonnaroo Collapse
Radiohead: new material appears online
Kelly Clarkson nixes tour over slow ticket sales
The Young@Heart Chorus sings Sonic Youth, Radiohead
Essential prog-rock albums (via LHB)
NY Times: A Festival With More Than Just Jam-Bands
EMI cashes in on unprotected music sales (via Coolfer)
After The Jump Music Festival - 25 August 2007
www.afterthejumpfest.comaugust twenty-fifth, two thousand and seven
line-up to be announced shortly
curated by the people behind:
themusicslut . batteringroom . disconap . earfarm . ryspace . irockiroll . musicsnobbery . merryswankster . softcommunication . theunderratedblog . sitdownstandup . watercoolergossip . bumpershine . themodernage . productshopnyc . yetidontdance . slapyouinpublic . subinev . punkphoto . poptartssucktoasted . stereoactivenyc . fingeronthepulse
for more information, please email:
booking: booking@afterthejumpfest.com
charity: charity@afterthejumpfest.com
sponsors: sponsors@afterthejumpfest.com
publicity: publicity@afterthejumpfest.com
15 June 2007
Umami
Who is Umami? What the heck does umami mean? Here's what they have to say for themselves:
we are:One wants to be able to take bands at their word when reading bio statements such as the above. Dear Umami: we'd like to believe what you say, but can you be trusted? We hardly even know you... Fear not loyal readers, I shall dig deeper.
all from chapel hill, north carolina
all live in new york city
all play rhythm instruments
guitars are for pansys
we look like this
I can say for certain that they're not lying about the first three statements. I know they live in New York, they played a show with two of Ear Farm's NYC favorites (Limbs & SUSU) and they also played a Todd P show recently. I know they're from Chapel Hill, we've got some NC friends in common. I know they all play rhythm instruments, the syncopated bang bang slam of their Shinhoto-Chi-Ha bass-bass-drums attack is driving me crazy right now as I listen to "Honeysmack" and try to type. Crazy in a good way. The bass... the other bass... the melodic rhythm-ness of it all... shit! There's SO much of it! Must. Move. Body. Dance. Head dance. Mini-headbang. Damn I bet these guys are a kick ass live band.
Where was I? So, okay, after listening to "Honeysmack" a few times in a row, maybe they're right to say "guitars are for pansys". This band sure doesn't need no stinkin' guitars (I'd just like the record to show that I looooove "stinkin' guitars", and that's perhaps the best evidence yet of why you should pay attention when I say that this band, sans guitar, is a force to be reckoned with). Umami has found a guitar-less happy place for their music to live. An in between zone where they've combined the low end growl of Death From Above 1979 (I also hear a certain Trans Am-itude at work, and, to be frank, quite a bit of Peter Hook in the bass playing) with the understated rhythmic vocal grace of Pinback. I just call 'em like I see 'em. Or, hear 'em rather.
Which is why I'm going to call out Umami on the one lie in the above "biographical" statement. Hello sirs, excuse me, I'm sorry but you do not look like this. That's just a cartoon drawing of two woodlands creatures drinking and playing cards and I've met at least one of you before. And THAT Umami member was neither cartoon rabbit nor squirrel. Whatever, I'll let that one slide. It is, after-all, kind of an adorable little picture. And hey, maaaaybe the other two Umamis do in fact look like that picture. If so, those little critters sure do kick out the jams.
Listen:
"Honeysmack"
"Congo"
See Umami live.
Visit Umami on MySpace.
14 June 2007
8+
"Washer" by Slint which clocks in at 8:50
I'd like to share something with you. It's incomplete, but it's worth taking a look at. To me it is anyway, it's a time capsule. A window into 19 year old Matt's mind - a fraction of a short story that was never finished and barely even begun. I ran across it a few months ago when I was cleaning out my desk drawer and I found an old CD of data from my old old OLD computer. Many olds ago. Or more than that even, who knows, I barely even remember it.
Point is, I found this CD of old documents, and on that disk was a folder containing a series of short stories I was working on at the time. Most of them were things I'd write while listening to a certain song or album. All of them were intended to be made into films of some kind, none ever were. Such is the way things go. Anyway, here is one that I had forgotten entirely but remember writing very well. I was alone in the basement of the house I lived in during college. The year was 1995. I had my notebook, black fine-point pen, and the song "Washer" by Slint playing very loudly on repeat. I wrote...
He always took the stairs, always. Mother used to tease him and say it was because he didn’t like people. The friends he used to have would tell each other that he had claustrophobia. It made them feel better about themselves. Once, his doctor had remarked “it doesn’t really matter anyway because stairs are more healthy than elevators.” Though this was a body doctor, and not a mind doctor, that professional opinion alone was reason enough to justify the stairs. But strangely, the stairs had always seemed to justify themselves. Friendly stairs.Soon after writing this I left it (and everything else in that notebook) for dead. Two years later I came across the notebook and remembered writing these stories. I typed up everything that was in the notebook and saved it on CD. Two months ago I found the CD of old writings and remembered again - forgot. Yesterday I finally purchased Spiderland for the first time (in college I always seemed to have a roommate who owned it), and last night I listened to it over and over as I fell asleep. I remember.
It wasn’t so much that he remembered everything (but he did - he remembered even the very first time the darkness swept over him as a small boy, it was like ten thousand thirsty candles sucking the air right out of his lungs)... nor was it that he dwelled upon everything already passed (the past, after all, was malleable in ways the present could only dream of)...
It wasn’t the voices he heard at night, alone in bed (though if he was honest, now looking back, perhaps that is exactly what it was). He clearly understood who they were and what they wanted (he didn't).
No, strangely, the haunting stemmed from the fact that all memories for him were pleasant ones. That is to say pleasant, nice, or at least melancholic. Nothing was painful in his mind. Pain and happiness were one and the same in memory; nay, pain from the past dulled into pleasure through the filter of memory. Was it that he forgot the bad things? Honestly he couldn’t remember.
He begged to remember. Nothing. That which once had inspired him to action was now soft-blue whispers told to ghosts minutes old. The pain would be his, unknowingly, forever.
“Think about that when you send him to the electric chair” the voices whispered.
Nobody heard them, not even the ghosts.
Buy Spiderland HERE on Amazon.
EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Martin Eagle Trio - "The Hipster"
Battles - "Rainbow"
Nirvana - "Scentless Apprentice"
Jesu - "Weightless and Horizontal"
Nuh Uh - "This Is Embarrassing"
The Cure - "Carnage Visors: The Soundtrack"
Aphex Twin - "Ziggomatic V17"
Agalloch - "In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion"
To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.
OPP
An Aquarium Drunkard on the Piper at the Gates of Dawn reissue
Brooklyn Vegan: Franz Ferdinand @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - pics
CYSTSFTS: The songs of the cicada
Chromewaves gushes over Nicole Atkins
TWO Neon Lights Presents... shows in a row in July (and I'm in a DJ battle with Danny from The Big Sleep at one of them)
MOKB - What I Was Listening To 23 Years Ago: Rockwell
Great Northern gets the robotinev treatment
LICpop is hosting an excellent show this Friday night
13 June 2007
M.I.A. to perform at 2007 Siren / new video for "Boyz"
The very recent addition of M.I.A. (along with Cursive and White Rabbits) to the Siren Festival makes the annual concert's 2007 lineup slightly more appealing. I just want to know how she's going to convey (in person) this new 'blast your eyes with wicked craziness and colors' look that's currently populating her new site, cover art for upcoming album Kala, and video for "Boyz".
Just saying... I hope she's headlining the show, playing at night, and that the audience needs to wear sunglasses because the stage is so damn bright and vibrant in an NES menu screen meets early DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince kind of way.
Watch:
"Boyz"
Visit M.I.A. on MySpace.
See M.I.A. live:
Jul 21 - Siren Festival Brooklyn, New York
Aug 3 - Lollapalooza at Grant Park Chicago, Illinois
Aug 5 - V Festival Baltimore, Maryland
Aug 16 - Pukkelpop Festival Hasselt, Belgium
Aug 17 - Gloria Theater Cologne, Germany
Aug 18 - Lowlands Festival Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
Aug 21 - Nimes Arena w/Bjork Nimes, France
Aug 23 - Nimes Arena w/Bjork Nimes, France
Aug 24 - Rock En Seine Paris, France
Aug 26 - Get Loaded Festival London, England
Sep 1 - Electric Picnic Dublin, Ireland
Sep 2 - Connect Loch, Scotland
Sep 8 - V Festival Toronto, ONT, Ontario
Sep 9 - Oshega Festival Montreal, QC, Quebec
Sep 14 - Austin City Limits Festival Austin, Texas
Liars - "It Fit When I Was A Kid" (Crystal Castles remix)
Liars have a new album due out on Mute on August 28th. While this isn't a track from this new record, it's a very fine remix worth checking out. Enjoy.
Listen:
"It Fit When I Was A Kid" (Crystal Castles remix)
SO!
SO! came to my attention by way of a MySpace friend request and immediately caught my ear with their heavy instrumental post-rock that falls in line with things you might have heard from Mogwai and Tortoise. Actually, SO! goes many steps beyond that. At times their songs are almost a study of American indie rock of the past twenty years with nods to bands such as Slint (clearly a defining influence), Sonic Youth, Fugazi, June of '44, and many more. So much so, in fact, that it came as a bit of a surprise to find out that they're from Tuscany and not Chicago or Boston or El Paso or something. With a bit of touring, and some refinement in the studio, SO! would fit in very well with the rest of the roster over at Hydra Head.
I've posted three songs below for a taste of what SO! is all about. "Mammoth's Step" will offer the most immediate impression as the band wastes no time in exposing their love of blending melancholic distorted dissonance and chugging steam locomotive riffs. "Experimental Man With Horse" and "Florence '66" both wander more towards heady, introspective, Explosions in the Sky territory - never straying very far from the darkness always bubbling under the surface while somehow managing to invoke shoegaze along the lines of Ride. SO many obvious influences and somehow SO! has managed to create an identity for themselves that makes their songs better the more you listen to them.
If you live in Italy, be sure to see SO! live, I'm guessing they put on a great show.
Listen:
"Mammoth's Step"
"Experimental Man With Horse"
"Florence '66"
Visit SO! on MySpace and check out the song "Let Godt", it's my favorite of the four songs of theirs and would've been posted here if MySpace wasn't always slightly broken.
A note on submitting music to EAR FARM
I just want to take a moment to speak to bands that have submitted things to EAR FARM in the past couple months. It has always been my personal belief that there are literally tons of excellent unknown, underrepresented, bands out there and I've always made it a primary mission of this site to have EAR FARM feature many talented lesser-knowns who haven't yet appeared on the radar of the "bigger" PR-puppeteered blogs. However, I've been busy with many projects lately and have gotten behind/lost track of many many submissions. If you've sent something to EAR FARM recently, please feel free to send again as I'm trying to play catch up. I am making an honest attempt to return to my original intent to listen to every single submission sent directly from a band/musician and to post about the ones that really stand out.
You can send your music to EAR FARM via EF's MySpace profile or by emailing earfarm-at-mac-dot-com.
12 June 2007
Three for Free - Lightning Dust, Minus Story, Okkervil River
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week, three tracks from upcoming Jagjaguwar releases. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.
Listen:
Lightning Dust - "Listened On"
Listen:
Minus Story - "Stitch Me Up"
Listen:
Okkervil River - “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe”
NEW music video for Goes Cube Song 34
Posted above is a brand new music video for Goes Cube Song 34. The video was shot (on Super 8mm film obviously) and edited by me using some of the footage I got while on tour with the band in March. Expect to see this footage, and much more just like it, when I've finished cutting the tour documentary sometime in 2025.
In related news: next Tuesday the 19th of June will see the official Cordless Recordings release of Beckon the Dagger God (it will also be available on iTunes). And word is that Goes Cube is heading back in the studio very soon to record new material. YES.
EDIT/UPDATE: I'm rather unhappy with all of the artifacts and compression bits that showed up in the YouTube version posted above. Therefore, I've uploaded a larger QT version of this video and am bumping this post back to the top and suggesting you download a quicktime version of the music video for Goes Cube Song 34 via one of the two links below.
Download:
- medium sized quicktime of Goes Cube Song 34 HERE (19.3 MB)
- large sized quicktime of Goes Cube Song 34 HERE (39.5 MB)
Visit Goes Cube on MySpace.
Today's NEW releases
This week, lots of re-releases:
11 June 2007
snip·pets
NY Times: Analyzing Conor Oberst
Traveling Wilburys CDs reissued
Yoko Ono speaks on "Desert Island Discs"
Bon Jovi To Bundle Digital Album, Presale Tickets
NY Times: A Small Strategy for Selling Concerts
20 Rockin' Gay Moments
LA Times on royalty rates for streaming music
TimesOnline: your iPod could decide what goes into your make-up bag
08 June 2007
Spoon - "The Underdog"
Spoon has a new album called Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga set to be released by Merge Records on July 10th. Here's a song to whet your appetite.
Listen:
"The Underdog"
07 June 2007
8+
"The Hipster" by Martin Eagle Trio which clocks in at 9:06
The other day I was shopping at Urban Outfitters, buying some flip-flops if you must know, and found myself in a bind at the register. It was one of those extremely momentary situations where I went to swipe my ATM card and had positioned the card upside down. Oops. The clerk attempted to make light of what happened with a "joke". She proudly declared, "You know, I have a joke for times like these - hipsters and technology don't mix!"
Hi. Hello. Okay, I'm only going to ask once. Can we please agree to stop using the term "hipster" to apply to every person in the world under the age of 35? Please?? No seriously. Even if it's a person who acts like everything they own is the coolest thing on Earth, but only until they see that ten other people own the same thing at which point they throw away their used-to-be hip belongings in favor of some new "underground" hotness. This isn't a hipster. Don't dismiss this person with a lazy euphemism, call them what they are. Hip? Hell no. A person like that is just a fucking fool. Besides, these types don't do justice to the original hipsters, aka "hepcats", aka "characters who like hot jazz."
Don't you see how over-using terms such as this strip them of any potential meaning they once might have had and turn them into nothing more than branded monikers? Do we all really want to be associated with the generation that continued the tradition of labeling anyone and everyone according to their preferred style of consumerism (or lack thereof)? Hipster, beatnik, hippie, stoner, preppie, yuppie, slacker, soccer mom, etc etc, and now hipster...again. But come on - how lazy are these slang classifications? Isn't each one of us a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal?
Let's be honest, even though you'd expect true hipsters to be so "up" on the times that they'd realize that the very term hipster is no longer "hip", much more than half the time this label is applied it's hipsters calling each other hipster. But don't laugh this off so quickly as a victimless crime. What they're doing by doing this is buying into the paradigm of a much larger group. The puppetmasters who dictate which slang is fit to stereotype which certain slightly definable collection of similar people.
Well. Here's what I've decided. All of you people out there who can't resist using corporate marketing slang to sum up your fleeting thoughts in a one-word easy-to-digest statement have a new name: slangster. You're all slangsters.
Die slangster scum!
*photo from HERE
Buy The Hipster HERE on CD Baby.
EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Battles - "Rainbow"
Nirvana - "Scentless Apprentice"
Jesu - "Weightless and Horizontal"
Nuh Uh - "This Is Embarrassing"
The Cure - "Carnage Visors: The Soundtrack"
Aphex Twin - "Ziggomatic V17"
Agalloch - "In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion"
Explosions In The Sky - "It's Natural To Be Afraid"
To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.
OPP
Stereogum: Interpol @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC 6/5/07
Some Velvet Blog: Sgt Pepper's Cover Love
Skatterbrain: A Mix for Sea Otters to Listen to With Their Ears
StG: The Wrong Trousers - "Video Killed the Radio Star (live)"
Part 3 of a 3 part series: 5 songs and 6 reasons Iron Maiden is the best!
MOKB has Marilyn Manson covering Justin's "What Goes Around, Comes Around"
RollingStone recaps the seven recent Bright Eyes shows in NY
False 45th rates the mainstreaminess of music bloggers based upon their Last.fm profiles
06 June 2007
I Want My MTV
Below are five music videos for five songs from five of this year's finest albums. Finest? Five of EAR FARM's favorites for sure. Fink you can say that five times in a row very fast-like?
1. Below are five music videos for five songs from five of this year's finest albums. Finest? Five of EAR FARM's favorites for sure.Yyyyyeeeehaw. Anyway, click on the artist name to go to their site and on the song name for an MP3 of the song. Something tells me you could put together a nice little mix with these five MP3s...
2. Below are five music videos for five songs from five of this year's finest albums. Finest? Five of EAR FARM's favorites for sure.
3. Below are five music videos for five songs from five of this year's finest albums. Finest? Five of EAR FARM's favorites for sure.
4. Below are five music videos for five songs from five of this year's finest albums. Finest? Five of EAR FARM's favorites for sure.
5. Below are five music videos for five songs from five of this year's finest albums. Finest? Five of EAR FARM's favorites for sure.
!!! - "Must Be The Moon"
Deerhoof - "The Perfect Me"
Cornelius - "Fit Song"
Battles - "Atlas"
Mancino - "Hetchie Hutchie Footchie"
05 June 2007
Three for Free - Benji Cossa, Man In Gray, Kickstart
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week, three tracks from upcoming Serious Business Records releases. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.
Listen:
Benji Cossa - "Sunset”
Listen:
Man In Gray - "Stranded"
Listen:
Kickstart - “Kickstart Theme Song”
Mancino (and many other fine bands) featured on MTV's Band in a Bubble
If you've watched MTV at all since 1993 then it should come as no surprise that the best part of the second episode of MTV's new show Band in a Bubble were the music tracks hidden in the background.
HERE is a list of the music that appeared in the second episode (FOUR songs by Mancino):
Mancino, "Circus Scabs"
Mancino, "Hetchie Hutchie Footchie"
Mancino, "L'Amour (Or Less)"
Mancino, "People We Meet"
Infidels, "7 and 7"
Lansdowne, "Amidst the Gray"
Lansdowne, "Can't See"
The Appreciation Post, "I'm No Sure Thing"
Discover America, "Shifty Eyes"
Discover America, "The Day You Were Born"
Mike Errico, "Something New"
Native Tongue "Sacred"
The Bosch, "1776"
The Bosch, "Counting"
The Safes, "Everyone In the World"
The Scarlet, "Maria:"
The Subjects, "Hounds Of War"
The Subjects, "Seems To Me"
Up the Empire, "Volcano"
Today's NEW releases
This week:
04 June 2007
snip·pets
'Smoke on the Water' strikes world record chord
CBS buys Last.fm
Google signs EMI YouTube deal
Paris dropped from label
Wired: Why Is DRM-Free Music Tagged With Name and E-Mail?
R.E.M., Bowie Set For Cobain Film Soundtrack
Ra Ra Riot drummer found dead
Stewart Copeland: So far, we're 'lame'
25 rockin' soundtracks
01 June 2007
Die Romantik news/new album out soon!
Die Romantik has a new album called Narcissist's Waltz coming out on the 5th of June. Expect more about this album in the future, for the time being I wanted to be sure to share some MP3s from the record because I've been waiting anxiously for this one for quite some time. Also, check them out live tomorrow night!
Listen:
"Another Round"
"Narcissist's Waltz"
Visit Die Romantik on MySpace
See them LIVE - Saturday the 2nd of June @ Mercury Lounge: Record release show/party...Mancino, La Laque, Die Romantik, and The Big Sleep.
Man in Gray news/new album out soon!
Man in Gray has a new album called I Can't Sleep Unless I Hear You Breathing coming out on the 19th of June on Serious Business Records. Expect more about this album very soon, for the time being I wanted to be sure to share an MP3 and a live video of one of the top songs from the record. Also, check them out live tomorrow night!
Listen:
"Stranded"
Watch:
"Stranded" (live @ Luna Lounge)
Visit Man in Gray on MySpace
See them LIVE - Saturday the 2nd of June @ Union Hall: Record release show/party...The Gang, Screaming Females, The Lisps, Man in Gray, and The Music Slut DJs
Schooner news/new album out soon!
Schooner has a new album called Hold on Too Tight coming out on the 7th of August on the Michigan label 54º 40' or Fight!. Expect more about this record, and Schooner as they prepare to return to NYC, very soon. Until then I just wanted to pass along two excellent songs from this upcoming release.
Listen:
"There's Enough To Do"
"They Always Do!"
Visit Schooner on MySpace
See them live - dates HERE.
