Band: Tapes 'n Tapes
From: Minneapolis, MN
Sound: Jittery, fuzzy, intoxicating rock anthems for those who don't necessarily like "rock anthems"
Similar Artists: Wolf Parade, Modest Mouse, Pixies, Wire
Listen Now: "Hang Them All"
The gents of Tapes 'n Tapes touched down in New York last Monday night to commence the kind of week most bands could only dream of: Virgin Megastore in-store performance on Tuesday (album release party to follow), appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien on Wednesday (flight back home to Minneapolis to follow), hometown tour kickoff show on Thursday (everyone back on the bus now), and interview with EAR FARM on Friday (of course, we may have taken liberties as to where this last activity fit within the hierarchy of events).
Such weeks in a band's career don't miraculously materialize from thin air; you know the saying...no guts, no glory. In this case, the "guts" were the months of brainstorming, writing, rehearsing, recording, and prepping that produced Walk It Off, the band's sophomore album and follow-up to 2005's immensely popular The Loon.
The "glory" part is well deserved. Walk It Off finds the band - singer/guitarist Josh Grier, bassist Erik Applewick, keyboardist Matt Kretzmann, and drummer Jeremy Hanson - at their most viscerally aggressive, amplifying the joyous energy and infectious melodic push-and-pull that made The Loon into such a breath of fresh air and streamlining it into a big, loud, dirty, ROCK album.
We've had the pleasure of spending quite a bit of time with Tapes over the last month: eating BBQ and kicking it down in Austin, celebrating the album release last week, and even catching the Conan performance from the studio audience. Throughout all the fun and games, we talked constantly and informally about everything and anything related to music. Of course, when I sat down to begin working on this piece, I realized that none of it was "on the record" so I did what any hard-hitting muckraker would do...woke Josh up with a phone call the morning after the first show of their tour while they headed towards Chicago. Check out our Q&A after the jump...
EF: How was the show last night?
JG: It was so much fun man. It's so nice to be able to play now that the record’s coming out, and it was the first show we’ve had in town where we’ve had Drew (Malamud, sound engineer for tour) doing sound and that was pretty cool, all our friends were like, “whoa, it sounds so much better!”
EF: I wonder why, funny how that “magically happens”
JG: (joking) Oh I forgot, I brought the pixie dust and sprinkled it everywhere (laughs)
EF: Exactly. I guess let’s start, if you don’t mind, after The Loon and before Walk It Off. When did the writing process start? Was it when you were on the road supporting The Loon or after, when you were back home and settled in?
JG: Yeah it happened back in January, there were probably two or three songs that we had the ideas for - or had pretty much worked out beforehand - but I had then forgotten about them. But everything else really was something that came after we had gotten back from Australia, which was in mid-December of 2006, and then we took a month off and during that time I started writing. I basically wrote seven or eight new songs between January and April and then we went on another tour last year and filled in the gaps when we got back, from June through to August.
EF: And then recording started then, in August?
JG: In September, yeah in mid-September we went out for 12 days to Dave (Fridmann's) place
EF: So was everything written by the time you got out there or were there some last second things that came together in the studio?
JG: No, it was basically all written. There were a few little changes that were made to the songs when we were out there, I think like the end of “Blunt” we added another time through that we played the last part or something, and I think we made two or three little changes like that, nothing that was too major but something little that Dave or someone else would be like, “Hey what about this?” but for the most part, the songs were done. Except for “The Dirty Dirty” which I had made a demo of and we had talked about once, and then I had every intention of trying to record it late at night, just to see if we could get a B-side out of it, you know?
EF: Right, so was that an example of a song you had made a demo of and showed it to Dave ahead of time and said, “This is how I want the album to sound”? An advance you sent him?
JG: For “The Dirty Dirty”?
EF: Yeah
JG: Oh no. I recorded a demo on an acoustic guitar and it was only like a two-minute idea that I played for the rest of the guys and we talked about it for a little bit...We never played it as a band together or anything. But I think it was over a weekend there (at Dave’s), Dave always left everything on and open for us after he left the studio in case we wanted to mess around. So one night, we drank a couple of beers and started messing around and recorded some drums, guitars, and some keyboards, then we played it for Dave a couple days later and he was like “oh that sounds great, let’s work on that” and we had a couple hours left on the last day we were there and worked on it and finished it up.
EF: Awesome, so it was like a last minute thrown-together thing? Because there’s a lot of energy coming through...
JG: Yeah, it just kind of came together the last day. The last morning I remember Dave came in and said, “So what do you guys want to do today?” because we pretty much finished up tracking on all the songs and so I was like, “Well, there's that one song that we had messed around with so what about working on that little?” Then there was another song that really didn’t go anywhere, and he wanted to work on "The Dirty Dirty" so I was like, “Well I better go write some lyrics...”
EF: So you just wrote them that day and put them on tape?
JG: I had some lyrics, but not much, but yeah that morning it was like, “Better come up with something!”
EF: Yeah, time to go to work
JG: Yeah, I don't know, I thought it turned out pretty well considering all those things. I definitely don’t feel like it came out half-assed, we were like, “Wow, this turned out pretty fucking cool.”
EF: It's funny that that’s the one that – more than the others –was built in the studio because that’s the song, when you hear it live, it sounds born from a jam session, like it all came together live.
JG: Yeah, we definitely had to “learn it” after in order to play live (laughs)
EF: Right. So, I know we’ve talked about this a few times, but how again did you end up working with Dave?
JG: We basically decided we were either going to make the record on our own or we were going to try and work with an outside producer we haven’t worked with before. So we kind of went through a list of people we were excited to work with and Dave’s name was at the top of the list, but we definitely didn’t think we’d be able to work with him; we figured he’d be out of our league (laughs). Basically we talked to him on the phone a couple times and we got along really well, and we thought it would be really cool and somehow it just ended up working out. He had some time free and it worked out. I’m just really glad it did.
EF: Yeah absolutely. The album just has a nice rawness to it, it's not some huge polished studio album, it's got balls...
JG: (laughs) Thank you
EF: I mean, but that’s hard to do though, you go bore yourself up in a studio, the best thing that could come out of it is to have something with energy and urgency.
JG: Yeah totally. That was definitely a huge issue for me. We recorded it all and took it home and listened to it for a few weeks and I was kind of freaking out a little bit. I was like “This doesn’t sound like it’s live like I was hoping for.” I mean you can get really neurotic about stuff, having recordings and being able to mess with them. I was at home doing all these overdubs and shit in the extra bedroom (laughs). I was definitely freaking out a little, calling Dave probably twice a week and he was just like, “Josh these are rough mixes, its going to be fine” and then of course we went back in and started mixing and it was like, “Ohhh yes, yes, the live energy is so there.” They were just rough mixes...
EF: And so you guys went back out to the studio again for the mixing process?
JG: Yeah we had two weeks off after we recorded then we went back out for a week and mixed it that week.
EF: And then all your fears were put to rest…
JG: Yeah definitely. I mean, there was definitely a lot of thought as to how it sounded and I think, you know, some people may be into how it sounds rocking and live and some people may not be into that. Hopefully it won’t turn too many people off, but it's definitely how I was hoping it would turn out, you know?
EF: Yeah, and it’s a pretty faithful representation of how you guys sound live, which is good.
JG: Right, well that’s what we were going for so, like it or not (laughs)…
EF: What about sequencing? That’s always a huge part of the finished product. Was that something that was always in the back of your mind, like “This should go here, this should go there”?
JG: Well, there were a few things I had in mind early on as to where things should go but sequencing the record was a bit of a clusterfuck, not in a way that was bad but for some reason on The Loon there was a definite sense of where things should go; we did a couple different track orders and it all fell into place. For this record, I felt like things had to be in certain spots, but I mean we must have gone through like 50 or 60 different track orders.
EF: Jesus
JG: Oh yeah it was very frustrating. But you know, in the end I think we got it right. But a lot of thought was put into the pacing of the record. You know, it’s totally a personal thing, like “This is how I want to feel at this point in the record”…
EF: And its also how you’re presenting it to the listener too, kind of important...
JG: Right, you don’t want to put too much rock next to each other, certain other songs can’t go next to each other, it would just be too weird.
EF: Yeah. Well Matt and I have a theory - when we saw you guys at SXSW, Matt in particular thinks that you were listening to a lot of 70s metal riffs when writing the album. Like the hooks on “Blunt” or even “The Dirty Dirty"....are you a closet Sabbath listener?
JG: (laughs) Probably listening more to Black Mountain and stuff. Listening to that, and then going on tour with Ladyhawk, they’re pretty rocking, and seeing Black Mountain live and a lot of other bands that are playing more “heavy rock”, I was like, “That’s just a lot of fun”. And the two songs from The Loon that were like that, like "Jakov’s" or "10 Gallon", those songs are just so much fun to play live. So I think touring a lot and kind of all those things also led to that (the heavier sound).
EF: Talking about Black Mountain, Ladyhawk, and other contemporary bands, you mentioned to me the other night to watch out for Vampire Hands, who are playing the two shows in New York with you guys. Who else is on your radar right now of other contemporary bands that you guys are really feeling?
JG: Um, I don’t know...White Denim, they were awesome last night, I’d never seen them before. They were great, and they’re super good guys.
EF: Right, that was the first show you guys played with them, so that’s all working out?
JG: Yeah, they’re really good dudes, I’m excited to play with them. Yeah, I don't know, it’s weird, I always freeze up and forget who I’m excited about. I think those New York shows with Vampire Hands will be awesome because they’re just really rocking and it will be fun to be able to play with another Minneapolis band out there. And you know what’s funny? The White Denim dudes looked them (Vampire Hands) up because they heard we were playing with them but apparently Vampire Hands had made some post that their drummer had broken his hand and Iggy Pop was going to be playing drums with them at those New York shows…
EF: Iggy Pop?!
JG: Yeah, there’s no way. I mean maybe I’m stupid and I have no idea and they’re not lying but it seemed like the greatest thing ever, like “Oh my god, you guys are hilarious." That would be the most amazing thing ever, I still think that’s a great story. It’s a great thing to come up with, to say Iggy Pop is going to be drumming?
EF: Totally, and you could just prop an old shirtless guy up there…
JG: (laughs) Yeah totally
EF: Let's talk a little bit about Conan: how was it the second time around on national TV (ed note: the band played Letterman in July of '06)?
JG: It was less nerve-wracking for sure. It was a lot of fun. I think on Letterman, well I’ve seen the video of it and I look like a deer in highlights and on Conan at least for me I was having fun. I think part of it has to do with the vibe of playing there, everyone there was very laid back. Letterman was fun but it was very rigid, everything happens to the second…
EF: And its like the Planet Hoth on that set too.
JG: Oh my God yeah, Conan was a little cold but not anything like Letterman. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I actually remember a little more about playing Conan, Letterman was just a complete blur….
EF: And did you get to talk to Conan at all?
JG: briefly, he came up afterwards and shook our hands and he was nice. He was talking to Jerry about his drums. He came up to me and made some comment like under his breath like “Yeah, the guitars sounded right, that’s the only thing that ever needs to sound right, isn’t it?”
EF: Awesome
JG: He didn’t have the bear claw of Letterman though; Letterman’s hands are huge, he crushed my hand...
EF: Right, and of course you can’t make eye contact with him. So, any particular stops on the tour that when you’re looking at the itinerary you’re like, “Yes, I cant wait for that one!”?
JG: New York’s gonna be a lot of fun, it's always a lot of fun. San Francisco, pretty much everywhere in general, just being able to go on tour and play new songs; we’re just having a lot of fun.
EF: At this point, there’s gotta be a few songs from The Loon that you’re like “Eh, I’d rather play the new stuff by now.”
JG: (laughs) Yeah, and we can too! We can be like, “Tonight we’re not going to play “blah”, we’re going to play a bunch of new songs." Yeah, last night was the first full show, you know, and it was cool to choose to not play some of those (from The Loon).
EF: Well, are you excited at the prospect of writing more songs for the next album? I mean is that even on your mind at all?
JG: You know, just in the past couple weeks I’ve started to think about it and I’m definitely getting excited. I think it’s been long enough now since we’ve done the record and it's actually out now and I’m starting to think about songs and so I think I’ll be writing this summer.
EF: Well, thanks for taking the time to speak with me in a professional journalistic setting.
JG: (laughs) Anytime man, it's always fun.
Listen:
"Hang Them All"
"Demon Apple" (from TnT Daytrotter session)
Watch:
"Conquest" by Tapes 'n Tapes live (from Emo's - 13 March 2008 SXSW 2008) on YouTube | download QT
See also:
See Tapes 'n Tapes Live:
16 April - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
17 April - Boston, MA @ Paradise
18 April - New York, NY @ Filmore Irving Plaza
19 April - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
22 April - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
23 April - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
24 April - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
25 April - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
26 April - St. Augustine, FL @ Cafe 11
28 April - Orlando, FL @ The Social
29 April - Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds
30 April - Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
02 May - Austin, TX @ Antone's
03 May - Denton, TX @ Hailey's
06 May - Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
07 May - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
08 May - West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubador
09 May - West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubador
10 May - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
12 May - Eugene, OR @ Wow Hall
13 May - Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards
14 May - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
16 May - Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
17 May - Denver, CO @ Bluebird
28 May - London, UK @ ULU
30 May - Birmingham, UK @ Barfly
31 May - Glasgow, Scotland @ Stereo
01 Jun - Manchester, UK @ Club Academy
03 Jun - Paris, France @ Nouveau Casino
04 Jun - Brussels, Belgium @ Recyclart
05 June - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
06 June - Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Doornroosje
07 June - Berlin, Germany @ Bang Bang Club
09 June - Hamburg, Germany @ Logo
10 June - Cologne, Germany @ Gebaeude 9
Visit Tapes 'n Tapes on MySpace
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In the recent past, the following bands have been featured as EAR FARM's Band of the Week:
White Hinterland
Man Man
We Barbarians
The Dodos
Hey Hey My My
Amy LaVere
Beach House
Computer Perfection
See the entire list of bands featured as EAR FARM's Band of the Week HERE.
16 April 2008
Band of the Week: Tapes 'n Tapes ('n EF Interview)
Smashing Pumpkins: loads of concert MP3s/video at livepumpkins.net
A while ago I pointed out the fact that Smashing Pumpkins are pleased to give away live recordings of their shows (dating as far back as 1988) right HERE on their official site. Awesome.
Well, turns out they've recently teamed up with the Pumpkins fansite livepumpkins.net to double/triple the fun. Livepumpkins.net offers the very same bootleg audio you'll find on the official site, and then some. However, they've also very nicely curated some fan generated live show photos and videos too. It's tops. The world would be a happier place if all bands worked with their fans to create sites like this. Check out some sample MP3s posted below.
Listen:
"Disarm" live @ Columbiahalle, Berlin, Germany - 6 June, 2007
"Never Let Me Down Again" (Depeche Mode cover) live @ Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA - 12 December, 1998
"Siva" (acoustic) live @ Studio 105, Paris, France - 29 June, 1993
*above photo from HERE.
Visit Smashing Pumpkins on MySpace.
OPP
Sub Pop's 20th Anniversary Festival lineup revealed
Wilco scheduled to play McCarren Pool on August 13
Ticketmaster may have created fake Facebook friends
WuChess.com, an online chess and hip-hop culture community, to be launched by the RZA
Motley Crue releasing their new single as a playable track on "Rock Band"
Mental Floss rounds up 8 classic songs inspired by real women
Record Store Day "Foosball Challenge" issued by Menomena in Portland
Los Lobos badmouths Paul Simon
15 April 2008
I Want My MTV - Morphine
Morphine: a few dudes from Cambridge, Mass who combined jazz, blues, and rock (via ghostly vocals, fretless bass, bari sax, and drums) to create one of the unique sounds of the '90s. Know them, love them. I do. Videos below and after the jump...
"Buena" by Morphine (above)
"Super Sex" by Morphine (above)
"Thursday" by Morphine (above)
"Early To Bed" by Morphine
"Mile High" by Morphine
Three for Free - Matthew Dear
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week - three from Matthew Dear's 2007 album Asa Breed (Black Edition). Click on the song name to listen to the song.
Listen:
"Neighborhoods"
"Deserter"
"Don and Sherri (Hot Chip Version)"
Today's NEW Releases
Kinda so-so compared to last week's offerings:
- Black Francis - Svn Fngrs
- The Brian Jonestown Massacre - My Bloody Underground
- Does It Offend You Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into
- Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
- Joseph Arthur - Crazy Rain
- The Kooks - Konk
- M83 - Saturdays = Youth
- The Plastic Constellations - We Appreciate You
- The Silver State - Cut and Run
14 April 2008
Hit-or-miss: "Dangerous" by Frente!
Listen:
"Dangerous" by Frente! from Marvin The Album
View:
Image search results for Dangerous - above image is from the second page of results (and was originally from HERE).
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In the recent past these songs were featured in Hit-or-miss posts:
"Keep Their Heads Ringing" by Dr. Dre
"At It Again" by Sublime
"The Day I Tried To Live" by Soundgarden
"I'm Comin' Down" by Primal Scream
"I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes" by The Boy Least Likely To
"Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)?" by Buzzcocks
"I Would Work If I Could" by Brian Michael Roff And The Deer
"My Last Kiss" by The Durutti Column
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EAR FARM's Hit-or-miss is a weekly feature (every Monday) wherein the EF music library is put on shuffle, the song that plays is then searched (using the song title) on Google images and a resulting photo (plus an MP3 of the song) is posted. You can see all of EAR FARM's Hit-or-miss posts thus far right HERE.
Paul Simon "Under African Skies" @ BAM - 11 April 2008
In imagining ways to describe Friday night's BAM production, it's difficult to avoid summoning the whole "universal language of music" cliche. It almost sounds like the setup to a bad joke...quick, what do you get when you put two pop icons, a legendary South African vocal group, a Cameroonian chanteuse, and two Brazilians - one percussionist and one singer - into a room with an amazing backing band?
A bad joke at band camp nonetheless, but the point remains: "Under African Skies" was a two-hour case study in the universality of amazing melody, exquisite musicianship, and the shared love of music. It was also one of the more incredible shows I've seen.
The evening began with Ladysmith Black Mambazo - a world-renowned 10-piece vocal group from South Africa - emerging unaccompanied onto the sparsely lit stage to perform two songs. Specializing in a traditional form of music originating in the mines of South Africa called Isicathamiya, the group's combination of imaginatively playful vocal harmonies and carefully choreographed "tip-toe" dance steps - dating back to the mines when workers would dance lightly so as not to disturb security guards - set a celebratory tone amidst feverish expectation for what else was to come.
What came next was the voice. Vusi Mahlasela, known in his native South Africa simply as "The Voice", led Simon's backing band onstage and launched into a wonderful rendition of "The Boy in the Bubble", the first of many selections from Graceland. Then, finally, as not to surrender any of the production's irresistible momentum, Simon emerged to delirious applause and officially commenced the evening...
With Simon at the helm, the band launched into a muscular "Gumboots" before then transitioning into "Under African Skies". For this song (and the next several), Simon ceded the floor to the amazing vocals of Cameroonian singer Kaissa in a move that characterized much of the evening; he would play a song and then sit the next few out, lending the whole performance an informal vibe of good friends getting together and swapping songs back and forth. It was an effectively humble way for someone as legendary and iconic as Simon to celebrate his own song catalog, and it clearly inspired each guest performer to give their all in his presence.
Transitioning to the equally rhythmic material of 1990's The Rhythm of the Saints, Kaissa gave stand-out track "Proof" new life and swagger while guest Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista grooved on a daunting assortment of drums, chimes, and auxiliary percussion pieces. Most interesting among these was the cyrimba, a glockenspiel-like instrument made from an assortment of enormous PVC pipes and played with what looked like Dr. Scholl's insoles. Baptista put this piece to work on an amazing version of "Can't Run But", providing an enchantingly melodic rhythmic backdrop upon which guest Brazilian singer Luciana Souza added soaring lead vocals.
With each progressive song, the energy and momentum continued to build until reaching a palpable climax as David Byrne took the stage, first shimmying alongside the backup singers before moving front and center to deliver two of the evening's highlights: utterly unbelievable, transcendent, magical, and perfect versions of Graceland's "I Know What I Know" and "You Can Call Me Al".
The buzzing crowd responded in kind with the realization of having witnessed something unique and special, coaxing Simon back onstage after singing "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes" alongside Ladysmith Black Mambazo (and in characteristic fashion of the evening, allowing them to finish the performance with a final reprise) before summoning all of the evening's participants to join him for a group bow in recognition of the frantic standing ovation.
This same rabid applause should be extended to BAM as well, whose scope of effort and creative ingenuity in making a month-long Paul Simon concert series more than just a simple fantasy (not to mention some of the other recent concerts they've hosted) is nothing short of remarkable.
*above photo courtesy of Nadim Issa
See also:
8+ (David Byrne)
The 5 Sides of Paul Simon You Won't See At The BAM Retrospective
The National @ BAM - 23 February 2008
Joanna Newsom @ BAM - 1 February 2008
See Paul Simon perform "American Tunes" from April 23-27 at BAM
Visit Paul Simon on MySpace
OPP
The A.V. Club lists 20 respectable rock and pop acts that peaked with debut albums
Check out the Bowerbirds do a Take Away Concert over at La Blogotheque
Pitchfork interviews Spoon
Prefix has pics from Friday's Man Man/Yeasayer show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple
The Washington Post examines the new (formerly CBGB's) John Varvatos store
Consequence of Sound compiled their top ten album openers of all time
Central Park's Summerstage 2008 has been announced
Download Sweet Beats, Troubled Sleep, a free Rosebuds remix EP from Merge
Deerhoof works on new LP
11 April 2008
EAR FARM's Muxtape #3: Fank Fod it's Friday and Finally Fpring!
Ya'll know what time it is? Muxtime baby! EAR FARM's third mix mux is all about applauding the arrival of Spring (at least here in NYC) and celebrating the weekend. It's a menagerie of like-minded songs/artists that should make for a swell listen as you begin your weekend and enjoy the nice weather. Check out the songs featured in this mix listed below and listen to the mix itself HERE.
EAR FARM's Muxtape #3: Fank Fod it's Friday and Finally Fpring!
1. "Hold Tight!" by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
2. "Surprise, Surpise" by The Rolling Stones
3. "Grass" by Animal Collective
4. "Jody" by The Dodos
5. "Wash Jones" by Squirrel Nut Zippers
6. "Never Tell" by Violent Femmes
7. "Mister Jung Stuffed" by Man Man
8. "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" by The Blues Magoos
9. "Candy And A Currant Bun" by Pink Floyd
10. "Gods And Gentlemen" by Drink Up Buttercup
11. "With A Girl Like You" by The Troggs
12. "Chick Habit" by April March
See also:
EAR FARM's Muxtape #1: 12 Songs For A Cat Named Joe
EAR FARM's Muxtape #2: April Fools Edition!
--
What's this Muxtape business? A Muxtape is a quite genius, very simple, way to create and share mixtapes. Please share your own ridonkulously themed mix in the comments. Or ELSE.
*above photo of Spring in NYC taken by me in April 2005
David from Goes Cube interviews Jaymay and others
Goes Cube recently thundered their way across the States on another successful tour to and from South by Southwest. In the midst of touring, Goes Cube's David Obuchowski (above, far left) took some time to interview a few of the bands/artists they shared bills with. The results are fantastic - listen below.
Interviews:
- Jaymay talks about her Japan-specific malady - LISTEN
- Aaron from The Giraffes talks about greasy food and crying bros - LISTEN
- The drummer from The Counterlife lived in a van down by the river... NOT - LISTEN
Man Man @ Bowery Ballroom - 10 April 2008 (pics, live video/MP3)
Man Man owned Bowery Ballroom last night. Marking their territory early by commandeering the house speakers with a continuous loop of Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” as they set up, the message was clear: you’re in our world now, New York City. And what a wonderfully bizarro world it is…
Clad in signature "off-white" duds and warpaint, the band - Honus Honus, Pow Pow, Chang Wang, Sergei Sogay, and Critter Cat - gleefully bashed and thrashed their way through a frantic nonstop set, drawing heavily from their latest ramshackle masterpiece Rabbit Habits while also culling favorites from their first two albums. When we spoke to Honus last week, he revealed why playing a show straight through was a strategic choice: “Better to punch someone in the face and then get off the stage,” he said. “And if you’re constantly playing, you don’t hear the heckling.”
Not to worry; the sold-out crowd was far more content to dance, mosh, crowd-surf, pump their fists, spill their beers, and shriek sing-alongs than heckle. And Man Man worked them to such a frenzied level of bliss it seemed they’d be more than happy for a punch in the face too. Check out loads of video, pics, and MP3s from this show after the jump…
Listen:
"Banana Ghost" (live, from this show)
"Mister Jung Stuffed" (live, from this show)
"El Azteca" -> "Engwish Bwudd" (live, from this show)
Watch:
"Banana Ghost" (live, from this show) on YouTube | download QT
"Mister Jung Stuffed" (live, from this show) on YouTube | download QT
"El Azteca" -> "Engwish Bwudd" (live, from this show) on YouTube | download QT
See also:
See more pictures from this show (and many others) HERE.
Visit Man Man on MySpace.
--
*words by Mike, pictures, video, and audio by Matt.
OPP
Guns N' Roses delivers a completed Chinese Democracy to Geffen amidst conspiracy
NME reviews the first of Paul Simon's "Under African Skies" shows at BAM
Bret Michaels accused of wrecking Rock of Love house to the tune of $380,000 worth of damage
The Chicago Tribune profiles Yeasayer
R.E.M.'s Accelerate debuts at Number 2, but still falls behind George Strait
Interpol to head back into the studio soon
Watch Tapes 'n Tapes on Conan
Margot & The Nuclear So & Sos' Richard Edwards does an NFL Pre-Season report over at MOKB
10 April 2008
8+
"Happy Suicide" by David Byrne which clocks in at 9:45
Last night marked the premiere of "Under African Skies", the second of three programs comprising Paul Simon's month-long residency at BAM. As you most likely know by now (or at least can guess by its title), "Under African Skies" focuses on the Afro and Brazilian-tinged pop sounds that informed Simon's immensely popular 80s albums Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. For these performances, Simon is joined by most of his Graceland-era backing band in addition to other special guests, most notably fellow World Music aficionado David Byrne.
In Byrne's well-known personal blog, he recently chronicled the experience of working with Simon for these shows. Apparently, the two started meeting up a few months ago to casually discuss the songwriting process, and while Byrne candidly admitted that Simon's writing techniques didn't necessarily jive with his own, he still found these "meeting of the minds" quite helpful, writing:
Our discussions yielded more about what might drive an artist to continue creating than they did songwriting advice. What does one do when confronted with a problem? And how can an artist remain passionate and interested in writing little songs?
What does one do when confronted with a problem? Needless to say, this question transcends the songwriting process and could well have been in reference to any number of fields or professions. And in the most literal sense of "fields" (awful segue alert), here I want to bring up the well-chronicled and publicized problems the food vendors at the Red Hook ball fields have faced - and seemingly conquered - over the past several years.
A big leap here, yes, and you're probably wondering how this even begins to relate to David Byrne?
Well, on a personal note, I happened to see Byrne at the Red Hook fields last August. Now, I'm not one to get star-struck** but seeing one of my favorite artists in such a casual and relaxed setting - he had on shorts and flip-flops and was casually sampling a pupusa - was incredibly surreal. This revered figure I had built up seemed so....normal.
Sure enough, a few days later I check his blog and noticed that he had written about the whole experience. He also took some tasty food shots:
What I learned from this blog post - in addition to the fact that Byrne and I have similar taste in pupusas - was the constant trouble the city of New York have given the Red Hook vendors.
For those not living in New York or unaware of the Red Hook fields (though by now it seems everyone knows about them, my rationale being that if I know about them, the secret's long been out), definitely check out The Porkchop Express' incredibly illuminating piece from August 2006, aptly titled "Everything you always wanted to know about Red Hook, but were afraid to ask".
In the meantime, allow me to give the abridged version of the fields' genesis: over 40 years ago, a Guatemalan soccer league began playing weekend games at the then-remote Red Hook ball fields. Impromptu barbecues and concessions gradually sprang up, first to feed the players and in time to cater to onlookers, and over time other Central American teams (and subsequently other Central American vendors) joined the festivities and added to the fields' diversity (and growth). By the 90s, the fields were a veritable weekend destination, with foodies and soccer fans alike crowding the premises and downing tacos, papusas, ceviche, grilled corn etc etc, all while drawing attention to the vendors from the watchful eye of the Department of Health.
Lax regulations became increasingly tightened, and in 2000 a Dominican vendor named Cesar Fuentes stepped up to assume the voice of all the vendors in dealing with the City (the Jimmy Hoffa of Red Hook?). Under Fuentes' leadership, the vendors became more organized and scored permit renewals, which allowed them to continue operating until the Fall of 2007. By this point though, Johnny-come-latelies like myself had descended upon the fields like locusts, drawing even more attention from various bureaucratic arms of the city. As the Porkchop Express piece put it:
All of which raises a logistical problem: how to maintain what makes this such a great spot (Latin flavor, low-key familiarity, under-the-radar appeal), while encorporating new patrons into the fold. Josh (Fuentes' half-brother) expressed mild (and justifiable) concern with a possible turista effect, an over-saturation of folks jumping on a new fad. But at the same time, he (like even the most skeptical of vendors I spoke with) welcomed the growth, and relished the untapped potential of an exciting future.
Indeed, the Red Hook fields seemed poised for a "Happy Suicide" of their own, foiled by the exposure their own success had brought. In Byrne's piece about the fields, he mentioned how the Parks Department wanted to open the fields up to concession bids once the hard-fought permits had expired, a dicey proposal that would in effect give these coveted vendor spots to the highest bidder. Of course, this move would destroy the very ethos of the fields - to offer authentic homemade cuisine in a festive atmosphere at a reasonable price - but the City undoubtedly had dollar signs in its eyes.
So, for much of the winter it seemed as though the Red Hook fields wouldn't even be allowed to open this summer; their permits had expired, they had drawn increased ire from both the Departments of Health and Parks, and a massive new Ikea would be opened just down the street by then, increasing the "value" of these vendor lots if a bidding war were to ensue.
Then last month came some fantastic news, which I (naturally) first saw in Byrne's blog: the City granted the vendors a reprieve! And according to the blog Save Soccer Tacos, this reprieve comes in the form of a six-year extension on their permit. Hooray, right?
Well, not entirely. As Byrne also noted in his bulletin, the vendors now must raise an estimated 30k among themselves in order to meet the stricter health code measures imposed upon them. Until then, they will not be allowed to open. Fuentes addressed this in a recent email (here lifted from Save Soccer Tacos), writing:
It is important to understand that while this is a tremendous victory for us, we are still facing tremendous challenges ahead before we can consider an official opening date this summer. These challenges affect every vendor as he\she needs to be in full compliance with DOHMH standards & be able to afford costly equipment in order to operate legally. I intend to keep you updated on this.
Add to that the insane traffic that will undoubtedly materialize upon Ikea's opening and it becomes clear that the vendors' struggles are far from over. Another excellent local blog, The Gowanus Lounge, put it best in a post from last fall:
When the season rolls around next year, however, Red Hook will be a very, very, very different place. The Ikea will be open, attracting up to 50,000 cars to the neighborhood every week and the parks where the vendors work will be in the middle of thousands of cars going to and from Ikea every weekend[...]That part of Red Hook won't so much be a community as a place that people from all over the city drive through to get Ikea furniture.
And yet, with the sun shining brightly this afternoon (it is beautiful in Brooklyn today), a new six-year permit in place, and the fervent support of everyone from David Byrne to Senator Schumer, I can't help but get excited for the re-opening of the ball fields this Spring. Here's to another six-year reprieve from a "Happy Suicide".
*above photo from HERE
**Okay, that's pretty much a lie, I get star-struck very easily. I almost walked into a pole after spotting Gob Bluth (Will Arnett) in Midtown a few years ago and even more recently became disproportionately excited at the prospect of seeing Mikey from Season 2 of Top Chef down in Austin (and it wasn't even him).
Buy the Blue in the Face soundtrack on Amazon/on iTunes.
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+:
Fleetwood Mac - "Oh Well"
Phish - "You Enjoy Myself"
Green Day - "Homecoming"
Billy Bragg - "Joe Hill"
Van Halen - "Year to the Day"
Kraftwerk - "The Telephone Call"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Oh Comely"
George Gershwin - “Rhaphsody in Blue"
To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.
White Hinterland @ Mercury Lounge - 9 April 2008 (pics, live video)
White Hinterland played Mercury Lounge last night and the chatty talkers were out in full force. During each intimate song there was a certain portion of the back of the room that was full of people talking over the music. It was frustrating, not only as an audience member who'd been looking forward to hearing songs from Phylactery Factory played live, but also very clearly to the band. And why not? When there's a separate bar area in a venue, why stay where the live music is to tell your harrowing tale of dinner at Katz's "that place from the movies"? Oh I get it, it's your world; it's all about you.
In fact, regardless of the rudeness of a few garrulous people in the crowd, it was Casey and crew's "world" last night as they delivered an excellent, if too brief, performance focusing on songs from White Hinterland's 2008 release Phylactery Factory. Perhaps because of the extra noise in the room, White Hinterland's most successful songs were the more rousing songs from the record, "Dreaming of the Plum Trees" and "Napoleon At Waterloo". Which makes sense, but is a real shame. Because the mood set by the candle lanterns and white Christmas lights in lieu of stage lighting could have delivered something extraordinary if the entire audience was intent on listening. Next time I'm thinking The Living Room, Rockwood Music Hall, or Joe's Pub... someplace where there are people who appreciate the lovely balance of dark/light, loud/quiet, catchy/thoughtful, that is White Hinterland.
If you'd like to experience the loquacious losers at this show for yourself, or would like to see more pictures, there's lots waiting for you after the jump...
Listen:
"Dreaming of the Plum Trees" (from Phylactery Factory)
"I Miss You" (originally by Björk, from Stereogum's tribute to Post)
Watch:
"A Beast Washed Ashore" (live from this show) on YouTube | download QT
See also:
Band of the Week: White Hinterland (Exclusive EF Interview)
See more pictures of White Hinterland (from this show) HERE.
Visit White Hinterland on MySpace.
OPP
Axl Rose to have his own reality show on the making of Chinese Democracy???
Philly.com reviews Man Man's hometown tour kickoff show
The Dodos' Meric Long and Logan Kroeber visit Pitchfork's Guest List
Watch Bret Michaels on last night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Prince to headline day two of Coachella
Meanwhile, Beck, STP, the Walkmen, and many others confirmed for Seattle's Bumbershoot
Prefix has photos from Monday's Big Sleep show at Webster Hall
The Baltimore Sun: Expert air guitarist searching for the perfect air backing band
Can record stores sell MP3s?
09 April 2008
Band of the Week: White Hinterland (Exclusive EF Interview)
Band: White Hinterland
From: Jamaica Plain, MA
Sound: Summer and winter combined as one: light and dark, complex yet playful... dense and lyrical and jazzy with classical undertones.
Similar Artists: Joni Mitchell, Lavender Diamond, Rufus Wainwright, Vincent Guaraldi, Sufjan Stevens
Listen Now: "Dreaming of the Plum Trees"
If you participated in the world of indie music in 2006 you may remember a charming record title Wind-Up Canary from a young singer-songwriter named Casey Dienel. Her debut album was (rightfully) widely adored; however, Casey wasn't content to just stop there and keep doing the same old thing all over again for her second record. Instead, she wrote a slew of entirely new, more complex, and different songs - put together a band - and renamed her musical efforts White Hinterland. A daring move, perhaps, for an artist already reaching a core audience of people who'd grown comfortable with the songs on Wind-Up Canary.
Unlike her first album, White Hinterland's Phylactery Factory does not offer immediate comfort. Instead it eats away at you like a great novel might. Listen once and you'll be intrigued, but you'll perhaps miss a lot of the nuance. Listen again and again and the record will climb inside your mind and stay there, perhaps until list season, perhaps forever... Frankly, it's an astonishing record that truly rewards repeat listens; and, to say that it's been playing a lot in the EAR FARM headquarters lately would be a bit of an understatement. "Can't stop listening!" would be much more accurate.
We were fortunate to be able to speak with Casey recently about her recent musical efforts... about Phylactery Factory, and about food, and cats, and music in general, and favorite restaurants, and her recent work covering Björk for Stereogum, and, well, food...
EF: So I read somewhere that your van recently got broken into... that was in New York?
CD: Yeah, that was in Bed-Stuy.
EF: Sadly that tends to happen here...
CD: Yeah, we actually had another one happen in San Francisco too. But that time we only lost merch, they just stole CDs and t-shirts and stuff.
EF: I wonder what they did with that stuff?
CD: I'm sure that they thought, like, "aw yeah dude this is going to be great!" and then they opened it and were probably so disappointed and were like "shit man, what the fuck is this White Hinterland stuff?" I can just see all the CDs and they were probably like "well, let's just dump this at the bottom of the bay"... But who knows, maybe there was this big free inundation of White Hinterland LPs in San Francisco.
EF: Right, like an indie-music Robin Hood? Well, speaking of free White Hinterland... recently you contributed to the (free) Stereogum Björk tribute. What was that process like? I assume they contacted you, did you get to pick your song?
CD: It was fun... (a pause - and then a crashing noise and some shuffling and a strange animal sound) #@*! my cat is crazy! Sorry.
EF: Ha! How old is your cat?
CD: She's 10 months. She's a really peculiar cat.
EF: Wait, is that your big white cat in the pictures??
CD: Noo, that actually is my friend's cat... Shawn, who does the artwork with me.
EF: It's a cat model?
CD: Yeah, it's a cat model. I have extreme privacy issues and I don't want anyone to see what my cat really looks like! No, but what were we... oh yeah, Stereogum. No, they requested that we do that song. And I really like Björk, but I've never really listened to her extensively and initially I wanted to say no because I felt like, well, whenever I cover something I don't really want to offend. Like, that I'll take the song and approach it ignorantly I guess?
EF: Sure.
CD: So instead I sat with it and I really liked the record a lot - you know, I got Post and listened to it - and that was one of my favorite songs on it, so it just kind of worked out that I got to cover it.
EF: That's cool. And who else played on the track with you?
CD: It's just me and Matt. Matt plays drums. And I have this Rhodes, this suitcase Rhodes, and we hooked it up to a distortion pedal because we had seen someone with a farfisa that had a distortion pedal on it and I thought that was so neat so we were just playing around with it and also running it through another sort of delay pedal, and then also he has a Casio keyboard...
EF: I saw that - an SK1? Nice.
CD: Yeah, very classic. And it has that organy sound on it that we like so much and then also a little bit of my horribly out of tune piano. And then the rest was all pots and pans. We just took a bunch of cast iron skillets and things and wooden spoons - that was in February and we had the deadline and it was a week after Matt's drums got stolen. And I feel like every time I tell this story it sounds sort of pitiable, but it actually was really fun because it's nice to approach things playfully with a sense of curiosity about things and to and not take it tooo seriously.
EF: Absolutely, and I think all of that really came across clearly in your version, in a successful way. I guess that could go bad too, approaching something like Björk.
CD: I'm sure there are some people who thought we just were dancing on her grave or something. But I think, also looking at it too, I think Björk is a person who approaches things in a very curious way, in a very playful way. I think Björk probably takes her job very seriously, but she takes risks and I think that was what was exciting when we found out who else was working on the cover album. Some of our favorite bands are on it and the reason that they're our favorite bands is because they're all kind of, like, risk takers.
EF: And probably why all of you guys, ultimately, were chosen for the project.
CD: Yeah, for me I'd rather be someone who failed but failed flamboyantly and kind of interestingly than to play it safe. You know, you can have an acoustic guitar and play anything but it wouldn't be a very adventurous thing to do.
EF: Well, speaking of adventurous, one thing that came up a couple of times, that someone from Dead Oceans mentioned to me, is that you like to cook. I noticed a picture of blueberry pie on your blog (pictured above); and, I'm actually friendly with Olga Bell...
CD: Oh my God, you know Olga?!
EF: Yeah! Yeah, I first saw her play quite a while ago here and really loved her music and then got to know her and we became friends and so I asked her before speaking to you, when I noticed that you went to the same school as her, if she knew you and one of the first things she said was "that girl can COOK!"
CD: Haha! Olga's great...
EF: So, tell me about that - when did you first start cooking? What got you interested in it?
CD: Well. My uncle was a caterer and I started cooking when I was 10 or so and I think cooking really suits me, the kind of improvisational aspect of cooking... but also, I bake a lot too. So baking has the discipline, and doing both is really fun. And, I think I woke up to cooking, in a big way, because I lived in France for a while.
EF: Where did you live in France?
CD: I lived in Normandy... and Paris. I graduated from high school and then I went to France for the first time and, you know, I'd never eaten like that before. And not only did we eat, but we would really eat. It wasn't like a microwave meal or anything I was used to growing up.
EF: Well, are there any regional New England specialties from your childhood that you're particularly fond of eating or cooking? Or, do you have a "signature dish"?
CD: Hm. Okay, well I really like chowder actually, you know... classic. And "signature dish"? Well, I have a fennel apple salad that I make all the time. It's really good. It's really lemony and it has pistachios and olives in it. And, I also really like celeriac a lot so I'll cook with that all the time when it's in season. I think my favorite thing is to go to the market and see what looks the best, you know, even if it's something I've never cooked with, just try to take it home and work with it.
EF: Stepping outside of your comfort zone often...
CD: Yeah, I just got an ice cream maker for Christmas so I made a really good vanilla bean custard and I have this plum brandy someone gave me and I put that on top of the ice cream and it's so good. Sooo good!
EF: Wow, sounds like it.
CD: And I made taro ice cream the other day, Dirty Projectors were in town so I made them some ice cream.
EF: That sounds really good too... have you gotten into any crazy ice creams, like Iron Chef stuff?
CD: Um... haha, I haven't done any, like, salmon roe ice cream or whatever, but I wouldn't be opposed. I'm totally the adventure eater, I'll eat anything. I really like sweetbreads and terrines and things that most people would maybe not like. I like things not going to waste. Or... do you like oysters?
EF: I LOVE oysters.
CD: Yeah, oysters are my weakness. They have great oysters around where I grew up.
EF: Oh man, actually, I'll have to pass along this place I went to when I was in Paris last fall - Huiterie Regis - they were the best oysters I've ever had. It was amazing, it was just oysters and white wine... anyway, are they famous oysters around where you grew up?
CD: Yeah, Duxbury?
EF: Oh sure, those are very well known.
CD: Yeah those are from the town right next door. And then Marionports and things like that. They're so good, they're so briny. I think, my last meal, the first course would probably be oysters. I think they're, like, my favorite thing.
EF: Favorite thing in the world? Ever?
CD: If I had to eat oysters, if I had a whole day where I could just eat oysters... that would be a pretty phenomenal day.
EF: Yeah, you know, I can't argue. So, do you have a favorite restaurant in Jamaica Plain or in New York?
CD: Oh there are a few places. There's a bakery called Joyce in Prospect Heights and I think that's my favorite bakery. It's really French-style, and they have these little upside down plum cakes and they're so good. And they have macaroons, which I really like. But the place I really want to go to eat, that I usually try to go to if I can afford it, is Franny's. They always have really good salad and pizza and wine. In Boston there's a restaurant called Ten Tables and it's in Jamaica Plain where I live, it's like right around the corner, and it's the best. It's so good, they use a lot of local ingredients and it's just really good, really neat, food. What is your favorite restaurant?
EF: My favorite? Oh, I can't really say a favorite - too many - but in my neighborhood I really like Momofuku.
CD: Yeah! I almost said that, that's one of my favorites.
EF: Oh boy, I really really like that place. Because, well obviously their menu changes seasonally and is a lot of fun, but literally anything I've had there has been pretty amazing. Including their sweetbreads actually...
CD: Yeah I heard their sweetbreads are very good.
EF: They are! Especially, like, after a show you know, they're open late which is nice, so especially after a concert - if you've been drinking - you go there and get their pan fried veal sweetbreads with cucumbers and chili sauce and then the pork ramen...
CD: Ohh, that sounds really good.
EF: So good. And actually, their music they play in the dining room is generally pretty good too... do you listen to music as you cook? Do you write songs in your mind as you're cooking at all?
CD: Sometimes. I never write songs at the piano. I go on a lot of walks... but sometimes I listen to music while I cook. I usually put on my LPs... I don't know if it's my latent adolescent upsurge but I got this Joy Division record that I really like to listen to - it sounds so depressing...
EF: Well, they're actually one of my favorite bands. What record is it?
CD: I think it's called Still, is that what it is?
EF: Yep. Oh that's a good one.
CD: It's soo good! It's so good. Like, I never listened to Joy Division growing up and then I got the record and went and saw the movie, which was really great. But... it's really good to cook to, Joy Division. And, what else? Warren Zevon...
EF: Haha! Wow. I don't think I've ever listened to Warren Zevon intentionally.
CD: It's not bad! "Rolling the Headless Thompson Gunner" is a good song, it really is. But I have that, I have some Dolly Parton records...
EF: So, when you put your iPod on shuffle it's often going from "Werewolves of London" to Stravinsky to...
CD: Yeah! And then to like, well I really like Wu Tang Clan. I really like them right now for driving.
EF: Sure, that's because they're really good driving music!
CD: It's really good!
EF: Well, how about plans for you for the future... are you planning any more tours for this year or are you writing anything currently?
CD: I'm writing a lot. I'm probably going to stay home for most of April and I'll be writing. And I'm pretty sure we're going to go to Europe in the fall, which is pretty exciting because I've never toured there. And, I really want to make another record before the year closes so we'll see, we'll see what happens.
EF: And would you go back to Portland for that?
CD: I'm debating it. I'm thinking about that and then there's a couple of other people I'm talking to to figure out what would be best because the songs are really rhythmically dense and so I'm trying to find someone to work with that's really good with percussion and kind of go from there. But, the hardest part about making records is that you make the record and then a year later it's released finally... but now with Dead Oceans I have it set up so that I can record a record and then release it within six months; which, sounds like a long time, but it's not really. So, it's pretty special and I'm excited to do something different.
EF: Well I'm definitely looking forward to whatever comes next. And, I haven't yet seen you live so I'm looking forward to that as well.
CD: It's going to be fun!
EF: Yeah, it's going to be like, you know, Wu Tang except less violent maybe? I don't know though, I don't know what to expect. Might be all hard and like "BROOKLYN WHAT!?"
CD: Ha! Yeah, where I lived in Bed-Stuy was right around the corner from ODB's memorial mural, so I've got much Brooklyn love. It should be fun.
**If you live in New York, you can see White Hinterland TONIGHT at Mercury Lounge**
Listen:
"Dreaming of the Plum Trees" (from Phylactery Factory)
"I Miss You" (originally by Björk, from Stereogum's tribute to Post)
Watch:
"Vessels" live at the Bryant Park Project (from NPR)
See White Hinterland Live:
09 April - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
19 April - Bloomington, IN @ Culture Shock Music Festival
Visit White Hinterland on MySpace
--
In the recent past, the following bands have been featured as EAR FARM's Band of the Week:
Man Man
We Barbarians
The Dodos
Hey Hey My My
Amy LaVere
Beach House
Computer Perfection
Goes Cube
See the entire list of bands featured as EAR FARM's Band of the Week HERE.
Advice to Olympic Torch Bearers - Listen to Torche
85,000 miles: the total distance of the daunting global trek currently being undertaken by the Olympic torch bearers. Thanks to China's egregious record of human rights violations - particularly with regards to Tibet - these bearers have faced far more pressing concerns than blisters or fatigue. As you're probably well aware, fierce resistance and demonstrations have met the torch along nearly every stop of its global route thus far.
And as the torch descends upon San Francisco today in its only stop in the U.S., these bearers probably should ask themselves if the fleeting glory of running with an iconic symbol is worth being associated with the horrors China has inflicted. Hell, even angry nudists are patiently waiting along the parade's route to protest a return to the way the ancient Greeks played the games (ie in the buff). Point is, if you're carrying the torch, you're unpopular, and probably rightfully so. If you're in the band Torche, you're popular, and rightfully so. Especially after listening to "Healer", the lead single from the band's new album Meanderthal out now on Hydra Head.
So, obviously, EF's advice to the torch bearers: you need Torche to get through what's ahead. It's going to be a loooong day, and only METAL can help you now.
Listen:
"Healer"
"Fire" (of course we had to post this one given the context)
See also:
Torche @ Red 7 - 14 March 2008 (SXSW Day 3, pics, video/mp3)
*above photo from HERE
Visit Torche on MySpace
OPP
Islands announce new album tracklist, tour
Venue alert: happy hour at Music Hall of Williamsburg and rooftop garden at Studio B
Dave Brubeck wins medal for spreading jazz around
Watch the trailer for the National's new documentary, A Skin, A Night
The Ting Tings singer turned down a shoot for FHM
Pete Doherty jailed for 14 weeks
The Guardian listens to Madonna's new album, Hard Candy
La Blogotheque reviews a recent White Denim show in Paris
Adult Swim darlings Dethklok to tour?
08 April 2008
I Want My MTV - Pitchfork.tv and Videogum
Alright. So it seems Pitchfork and Stereogum want their MTV too... already this week, both sites have unveiled brand new sister sites (Pitchfork.tv and Videogum respectively) that are solely concerned with video, rather than audio-related content. While Pitchfork.tv seems happy to fill the void left by MTV (ever since 1992/the end of the music video era) by showcasing all manner of music related programming; Videogum seems content to dish out pop culture obsessed TV-lite posts relating to anything and everything that will draw visitors. Frankly, I'm extremely pleased with Pitchfork.tv. Loads of original content, decent quality encoding on the videos, some embeddable stuff, easy to use interface - I give this early version of the site an 8.2 on the Pitchfork scale. A surprisingly solid debut with room for improvement. And shoot, that Radiohead exclusive makes the trip over to Pfork.tv worthwhile on its own. As for Videogum... uh, well... there's uh... I liked it better the first time when it was called Best Week Ever? Yeah. I think. Wait, I don't actually have any idea what the 'gum is going for over there. Do you? Do they?
I suggest skipping Videogum for now. Instead, head on over to Pitchfork.tv. Below are a few choice videos I found over there if you need convincing.
"Blood Visions" by Jay Reatard (above)
"Homecoming" by The Thermals (above)
"Plaster Casts of Everything" by Liars (above)
Man Man: Daytripping (above)
Three for Free - Wye Oak, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, and Peter Morén
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week - three from bands with new records out today. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.
Listen:
Wye Oak - "Warning"
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - "Think I Wanna Die"
Peter Morén - "Social Competence"
