After a cancellation, and a bit of date-shifting, Van Halen finally played the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC last night. I was there with three of my best friends and we hit up Char-Grill before the show for a quintessential Raleigh meal. From there we headed straight for the RBC parking lot where we pumped out the old school jams on the car stereo and enjoyed a Cinco de Mayo tailgate celebration with a big huge cooler full of Mexican beer and limes. Big ups to John for the beer coordination.
Now, if you're beginning to conjure up mental images of Heavy Metal Parking Lot, don't. It was an entirely different -but expectedly so- scene in this parking lot. Mostly, it was a bunch of people our age (read: old) either recapturing their youth, or inflicting their musical past on their children. Which is to say, not many people were tailgating. But, my crew wasn't exactly in a hurry to see opener Ryan Shaw, so we took our time and made it into the arena minutes before Van Halen took the stage.
The band opened the evening with a boom, playing their cover of the Kinks classic "You Really Got Me" before moving into shredful versions of "I'm The One" and "Runnin’ With The Devil". From the moment they walked onto stage it was obvious that David Lee Roth was going to do whatever the hell he wanted (including mangling lyrics and melodies); and, no matter how much DLR tried to make it otherwise, the real stars of the evening were going to be the three Van Halens (Eddie on guitar, his brother Alex on drums, and son Wolfgang on bass).
Frankly, David Lee Roth's smiley the clown abrasive/fake personality very well could have ruined the show, but it didn't. So let me just cut to the chase and tell you the top three reasons why this concert RULED...
#1 - Eddie Van Halen is the greatest guitarist I've ever seen play live. By a long shot. And here's why: he plays his Bach-esque licks and solos with the greatest of ease. Beyond that even. His ten minute guitar solo (a modified/updated "Eruption") was otherworldly. And this is coming from someone (me) who plays Expert level on Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Yeah, he's that good. You heard it here first.
#2 - Again, the other two Van Halens held their own (even if Wolfgang was a bit too 'awkward emo teen' to rightfully share the stage with this band). The drum solo by Alex was nearly as amazing as Eddie's guitar solo.
#3 - "Jamie's Cryin'" + "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" + "Hot For Teacher" + "Panama" + "Jump" = FUCK YES, RRRROCK! Let's face it, Van Halen's got the back catalog to fill up and energize any 20,000 seat arena anywhere. Anytime. This show contained far too much filler (album cuts, obviously appreciated by many of the fans in attendance), and a couple of choice covers (such as "Magic Bus" and "Crossroads"), but the true stars of the evening were the 10 or so Van Halen über-classics. To see these songs performed live and sung by David Lee Roth (even with all of the flaws he brought to the table) was a real treat. To do so with some of my best friends in the world, the whole time looking up to the rafters at all of the NCSU banners hanging from the ceiling, made it the best 7 out of 10 concert I've ever seen.
Watch:
part of Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo from last night HERE
*above picture from HERE.
06 May 2008
Van Halen @ RBC Center - 5 May 2008
Lamar Odom's new record label should sign the '87 Lakers
Occasionally, we like to get our jock on by delving into the world of sports, though we always try to justify these indulgences by at least some connection - however tenuous - to music.
Well, we just did it again! Turns out Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom will be starting his own record label this summer. Named Rich Soil Entertainment (a wink wink nudge nudge to his past perhaps?), the LA-based imprint’s first signing will be Ali Vegas, a talent Odom described by saying, "I mean I think he could take off right where Jay-Z and Nas left off. I think he's that talented."
That may be the case Lamar, but may we suggest another signing for your label roster? You may be unaware, but your own team has a rich history of musical talent. Witness the above anti-drug rap message delivered by the 1987 championship team for proof. Bonus credit if you can spot current NBA Coach of the Year Byron Scott (it’s actually easy, he introduces himself before his verse).
The '87 team had moves both on and off the court, unseating the Boston Celtics (bias alert: my hometown team) in 6 games in the NBA Finals that season. Guess what? The 2008 NBA playoffs rage on as we speak with 8 teams battling it out for the championship, including both the Lakers and the Celtics. Could an '87 Finals rematch await?
The Lakers play Game 2 of their series with the Utah Jazz (whose franchise name is the most oxymoronic in all of professional sports) tomorrow while the Celtics begin their series with the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in Boston. Of course, before the Celtics made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs they faced a surprisingly tough opponent in these guys:
Now if we could only find a Celtics team video that featured Larry Bird lip-synching to "Jump Around"...
Today's NEW Releases
Not counting NIN's release of The Slip yesterday, voila: this week's new releases:
- Animal Collective - Water Curses EP
- Elvis Costello & the Imposters - Momofuku
- Four Tet - Ringer
- The Last Shadow Puppets - Age of the Understatement
- The Long Blondes - Couples
- Lykke Li - Little Bit EP
- Matmos - Supreme Balloon
- No Age - Nouns
- Pattern Is Movement - All Together
- The Republic Tigers - Keep Color
- Russian Circles - Station
- Shy Child - Noise Won't Stop
- Tim Fite - Fair Ain't Fair
OPP
Matt talks about Bombadil in the latest installment of Blog Fresh Radio
XLR8 details the making of Portishead's Third
Is the new Danger Mouse-produced Beck album coming out in a few weeks?
Beulah's Miles Kurosky releases his first new song from a forthcoming solo album
De Novo Dahl covers the Speed Racer theme
Gross, but what the hell: the top 15 memorable music moments from The Hills
First massively multi-user online music festival in the works in Vancouver
Buzznet continues to buy smaller music sites
Win tickets to this Saturday's Adam Green show at Town Hall over at 'Sup Magazine
05 May 2008
Hit-or-miss: "Pump up the Bass" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Listen:
"Pump up the Bass" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince from He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper
View:
Image search results for Pump up the Bass - above image is from the third page of results (and was originally from HERE).
--
In the recent past these songs were featured in Hit-or-miss posts:
"Jet City Woman" by Queensrÿche
"II. In Taberna: Estuans Interius" by Carl Orff
"Dangerous" by Frente!
"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
--
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.
Man Man, Yeasayer @ Cat's Cradle - 4 May 2008 (pics, live video/MP3s)
It's always nice to be back home and it was an extra special treat to return to the Cat's Cradle last night, for the first time in eight years, to see Man Man and Yeasayer. After all, this was the club that raised me. I wondered, having spent the last seven years seeing shows in New York clubs, what would it be like now? And how would the audience differ from NYC crowds?
My questions were answered before I even made it into the venue as I waited in line for half an hour. A line! The posted time for doors was 8:30pm, they didn't open the doors until 9pm. Funny, but I take it for granted that doors always open on time at the shows in New York. Whatever. Once inside a second difference: HOT. 80 degrees outside and no AC! But hey, that just added to the atmosphere. Which, I must say, was awesome. The Cradle looked, more or less, as I remember it. The bar was in a different spot, the walls were setup differently (they have always enjoyed shifting around the interior of the place), but ultimately it was the same old faithful venue I'd been to a hundred times before.
The room was refreshingly packed by the time Yeasayer started and the band played their final show on tour with Man Man with obvious appreciation and extra intensity. Once again, they blew me away live in a manner completely contrary to the way they come across on their album All Hour Cymbals. They're soo freaking New Wavey yet organic and rock-your-body awesome... Talking Heads circa Fear of Music mixed with Gary Numan's Telekon. I'm very very much looking forward to Yeasayer's next record and hoping it better captures their live show. Man Man blistered their way through another stellar performance, whipping the crowd into a frenzied sing along/large mosh pit within a few measures. The audience involvement, and the band's furious performance, were strikingly similar to the last time I saw them at Bowery Ballroom. Made me happy to see that the Man Man army is not solely a New York phenomenon.
Check out pictures and a live video/MP3 from each band after the jump...
Listen:
"No Need To Worry" by Yeasayer (live, from this show)
Watch:
"No Need To Worry" by Yeasayer (live, from this show) on YouTube
See more Yeasayer pictures (from this show) HERE.
Visit Yeasayer on MySpace.
Listen:
"Big Trouble" by Man Man (live, from this show)
Watch:
"Big Trouble" by Man Man (live, from this show) on YouTube
See more Man Man pictures (from this show and many others) HERE.
Visit Man Man on MySpace.
New Nine Inch Nails Album Is Free and Out NOW
As payoff to the two weeks of speculation following Trent Reznor "leaking" new single "Discipline" to radio stations, the announcement came early this morning (late last night depending on your perspective) that NIN was releasing an entirely new album - The Slip - for FREE.
And just like that (and with a valid email address), it's available for free download right NOW. As though Ghosts I-IV wasn't enough material to digest, The Slip offers 10 new tracks (with a TRT of 43:45). Here is the tracklisting:
1. 999,999
2. 1,000,000
3. letting you
4. discipline
5. echoplex
6. head down
7. lights in the sky
8. corona radiata
9. the four of us are dying
10. demon seed
Also worth noting from the band's site:
the music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options - all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits.
for those of you interested in physical products, fear not. we plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in july. details coming soon.
And finally, the album has been licensed under a Creative Commons license, meaning you can basically do whatever the hell you want with it - remix it, share it, perform it, distribute it - so long as it's not for commercial purposes. Taking full advantage of said license, enjoy a few tracks after the jump...Now about a little NIN with your Cinco de Mayo margaritas today?
Listen:
"Discipline"
"Demon Seed"
See also:
- NINE INCH NAILS: Ghosts I-IV - new album available now(ish)
Visit Nine Inch Nails on Myspace
OPP
Mann's World interviews Steve Popson from Polvo
MTV is finally bringing music back to prime time?
Yo La Tengo to soundtrack Superbad director's latest film Adventureland
Check out pics from Friday's Arcade Fire/Superchunk Obama rally in Carrboro
Radiohead's "Nude" contest generates over 2,200 remixes
Mark Ronson pulls Amy Winehouse from working on the latest James Bond theme
The New York Times examines Katrina's shadow on New Orleans' Jazzfest
Watch Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings' video for "Tell Me"
Models can make music, but do we need to hear it?
02 May 2008
EAR FARM's Muxtape #6: Songs that used to live in my TV set
by Shel Silverstein
I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet --
And you know what I tell you is true.
He loved to watch his TV set
Almost as much as you.
He watched all day, he watched all night
Till he grew pale and lean,
From "The Early Show" to "The Late Late Show"
And all the shows between.
He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,
And his bottom grew into his chair.
And his chin turned into a tuning dial,
And antennae grew out of his hair.
And his brains turned into TV tubes,
And his face to a TV screen.
And two knobs saying "VERT." and "HORIZ."
Grew where his ears had been.
And he grew a plug that looked like a tail
So we plugged in little Jim.
And now instead of him watching TV
We all sit around and watch him.
You can listen to this mix/mux right HERE.
EAR FARM's Muxtape #6: Songs that used to live in my TV set
1. "Scooby Doo"
2. "Airwolf"
3. "Tales From The Crypt"
4. "The Muppet Show"
5. "Dr. Who Theme"
6. "Who’s The Boss?"
7. "Growing Pains"
8. "Wonder Woman"
9. "Looney Toons"
10. "Fraggle Rock"
11. "Knight Rider"
12. "Theme From The A Team"
*above picture of Jimmy Jet from HERE.
See also:
EAR FARM's Muxtape #1: 12 Songs For A Cat Named Joe
EAR FARM's Muxtape #2: April Fools Edition!
EAR FARM's Muxtape #3: Fank Fod it's Friday and Finally Fpring!
EAR FARM's Muxtape #4: Rock Band Setlist
EAR FARM's Muxtape #5: 2:42
--
A Muxtape is a simple way to create and share mixtapes. That's all there is to it. Feel free to share your own mix in the comments.
The $360 Billion Record Company
Perhaps inspired by Asthmatic Kitty's rash of artist signings, or maybe Thrill Jockey putting the moves on High Places, or hell, even Columbia Records' inexplicable signing of Black Kids, 21-year-old Charles Ray Fuller recently decided he too wanted a piece of the action and put the wheels in motion to start his OWN record label.
But instead of writing a business plan or securing funding the old-fashioned (boring) way, Chuck decided he'd hit his girlfriend's mother up for a loan. Except he didn't tell her. And instead stole a check from her. And then wrote the inconceivable amount of $360 billion on said check (a pittance, really). And then attempted to cash it. And then got caught.
As the Dallas Morning News reported:
Police responded to a report of a man attempting to pass the check about 4 p.m. that day at the Chase bank in the 8600 block of South Hulen Street, Fort Worth police Lt. Paul Henderson said.
The personal check was not made out to Mr. Fuller and when the bank contacted the check owner, the woman said she did not write a check for $360 billion.
Amazing. This one's for you Chuck...
Listen:
Alice Cooper - "Billion Dollar Babies"
Above image found HERE
OPP
The Village Voice has an article on the Brooklyn DIY scene and its infiltration into Manhattan via Less Artists More Condos
The Cure to release new single each month leading up to their new album's release in September
Scott Weiland: "I'm not so sure it was all Axl's fault"
JellyNYC confirms '08 Pool Parties!
American Idol suffers from Paula Abdul judging mishap
Butthole Surfers to play Webster Hall on July 29th, tickets on sale today at 10am
High Places sign with Thrill Jockey
Looks like Whole Foods is trying to fill the musical void left by Starbucks
01 May 2008
8+
"Blues For The Barbecue" by Count Basie which clocks in at 10:28
"Where's the f#@*ing sauce?!"
The first time I ever tried North Carolina-style barbecue that's all that kept going through my mind. That and the question "why": Why did these people hand me salad dressing (vinegar sauce) when I asked for some barbecue sauce? Why was everybody drinking "sweetea" by the half gallon? Why did our neighbor suggest this particular restaurant? (It was a local fast food spot, not unlike McDowell's excepting that they served really terrible and cheap pulled pork and spoiled cole slaw instead of ripping off McDonald's.) Why did I feel like I'd just landed on another planet? Wasn't this still America?? All I wanted was some barbecue!
And that's precisely what my folks and I were having, we just didn't know what Carolina barbecue was back then. At the time, it didn't even occur to us that there might be different regional variations of barbecue. Heck, to us barbecue was an event, not an entrée. "Come over to our barbecue for some burgers and hot dogs!" What did we know? We were new to the area - carpetbaggers - and I was but a wee child with minimal knowledge of the art of North Carolina barbecue. And, it is an art form. In time I'd learn.
Growing up in North Carolina offered me a barbecue education second to none. The catering for my high school baseball team events was always done by Wilber's out of Goldsboro. The best. In college my friends and I used to go to any of a number of Raleigh barbecue spots for family-style dinners - cheap, delicious, and a helluva lot better than Top Ramen. And I'll tell you what, I've been to more pig pickins than I can remember. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats a pig pickin' with your family and friends.
Not long ago I wondered how, then, to best express, rekindle, revisit, and inflict my love of barbecue - and of Carolina barbecue above all others - upon the world of independent music? How to mix music and barbecue?? Why... with an EF BBQ Road Trip! Duh.
Conceived by Mike and I as a perfect way to better shape our itinerary to SXSW, EAR FARM's BBQ Tour '08 started with us talking to members of the bands Tapes 'n Tapes and The Rosebuds to see if they might like to go out for barbecue with us in Austin and Raleigh respectively. The goal was to hit up the four US barbecue meccas (North Carolina, Memphis, Texas, Kansas City) with a band in tow at each location. When the first two bands we asked jumped at the opportunity, we realized there might be a chance to create something larger than a simple EAR FARM story out of the whole thing. Enter CHOW, two more bands, and a barbecue loving music nerd's dream travel itinerary...
Click HERE to see the published piece over on CHOW, click through (below) to see pictures not used in the CHOW story and to read a bit more about our adventures.
(ABOVE: North Carolina BBQ slideshow)
The first spot we hit up was Allen & Son in Chapel Hill, NC with The Rosebuds. I'd never been here before but I know quite a few people who swear by it. The first sign of a good barbecue spot was delivered as soon as we sat down - the sweet tea was excellent. Not quite Bojangles level, but very good. So were the hush puppies. Which generally means you're in for some good barbecue. And it was very good, if a bit on the extra-smoky side. I had the pulled pork sandwich (w/ slaw, obvs) that you see bitten into in the above slideshow. Note, as Kelly did, the coquettish pig on the menu and the large pink pig lounging in the corner as decoration. Classic. This was probably my favorite of the four places we went on the trip; which, given that it tasted, smelled, and sounded like home, should come as no real surprise.
(ABOVE: Memphis BBQ slideshow)
Next stop: Tops Bar-B-Q in Memphis, TN for lunch with Amy LaVere and her bandmates Steve Selvidge and Paul Taylor. Smoke was billowing out of the chimney as we drove up and I found a pedestrian overpass to grab that super-wide crane shot published on CHOW. Inside, the decor hasn't been updated since they opened (I'm sure of it). The food was served very quickly and was easily the most inexpensive meal on our trip. Once again I got a pulled pork sandwich and fries (w/ slaw, obvs); but this one didn't compare - at all - to the one I got at Allen & Son. If I'm being honest, this was my least favorite of the four places we went. However, the company was great and we got to sit outside. Can't really complain about that.
(ABOVE: Texas BBQ slideshow)
Austin during SXSW is kind of crazy. Fucking nuts actually. So much beer and music and people and stuff to do and so little time... Which is as good a reason as any as to why we went to Iron Works with Tapes 'n Tapes rather than drive 45 mins out to The Salt Lick. I hear that that's the place to go in Austin for BBQ, but I've been very pleased with Iron Works two years in a row now. I got the Flintstone-sized beef ribs pictured above and they were outstanding. This ranked as my third favorite place we went to - a close call. But ultimately, we're talking beef barbecue here. So it's just never going to be as good as slow cooked pork.
(ABOVE: Kansas City BBQ slideshow)
The final stop on our tasty tour of gluttony was at Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue in Kansas City with rap duo Skatterman & Snug Brim. After having been to three other BBQ joints, and having countless plates of free barbecue offered to us at SXSW, we were the tiniest bit BBQ'd-out by the time we got to KC. In addition, we'd already started dealing with THE FLOOD. But that all faded away very quickly when we entered Fiorella’s Jack Stack, sat down in a huge comfy wooden booth, and ordered up some Long Island Iced Teas with barbecue chicken wings. Amazing! Maybe even the best wings I've ever eaten. I followed this with a pork rib combo plate that included (without a doubt) the best BBQ baked beans I've ever had. Dessert came in the form of tequila shots purchase by Kutt Calhoun, another rapper/friend of the band who was also eating lunch at Jack Stack that day. Fun, delicious, and rather extravagant, it makes sense that Mike called this "possibly the best barbecue we ate during the trip". But it ranked a close second for me in terms of overall personal favorites. What can I say? My heart is forever with the "f#@*ing sauce" in North Carolina.
*above slideshows created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR
Buy Farmer's Market Barbecue 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+:
The Besnard Lakes - "You've Got to Want to Be a Star"
M83 - "Couleurs"
David Byrne - "Happy Suicide"
Fleetwood Mac - "Oh Well"
Phish - "You Enjoy Myself"
Green Day - "Homecoming"
Billy Bragg - "Joe Hill"
Van Halen - "Year to the Day"
To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.
Iron Man: The Marvel & Sabbath Debate Rages On
Second only to casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Marvel’s big-screen vision of Iron Man (opening tomorrow) was the marketing department’s tactful decision to anchor the film's trailers with the sweeeet sounds of Black Sabbath’s 1970 classic "Iron Man".
The pairing was obvious, natural, and completely fitting; watching the trailer (catch it after the jump and listen for the music coming in at 1:27), it just feels so right. And to many, the intersection of Iron Man the comic book with "Iron Man" the greatest heavy metal song ever validates a particular (and vehemently upheld) school of thought regarding the origin of the Sabbath song: it was based on the comic.
Yet for others (picture warring tribes of comic book nerds and metal nerds with Matt caught in between), the song's genesis is not so transparent. While Marvel's Iron Man character clearly predates the track by seven years, Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler himself once stated that the song was a sci-fi story he came up with as the means for addressing themes of pollution and nuclear war.
So, what's it going to be? Was Sabbath’s “Iron Man” based on the comic book or not?
Well, lucky for me someone else has already done all the research...I strongly recommend you read Joshua Glenn’s excellent April 2nd Boston Globe piece, a systematic appraisal and untangling of the complicated history amongst the two Iron Men, Marvel and Ozzy. After reading this, there are very compelling arguments for both sides; go check it out and report back.
And who is EF siding with on the debate? Uh, well all we can say with certainty is that Ghostface Killah's 1996 solo album Iron Man was inspired by the comic book. The fact that he refers to himself as Tony Stark (and even has a cameo in the upcoming film) kinda tipped us off....
*above photo taken from Glenn's article
Listen:
Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"
Watch: Iron Man Official Trailer
OPP
The New York Times was at Madonna's special Roseland show last night
Damon Albarn's Monkey opera to have 17-show run in South Carolina later this month
NIN's opening acts for upcoming tour include A Place To Bury Strangers, Deerhunter and Crystal Castles
Del the Funky Homosapien wrote an essay about funk vs. hip hop for IMPOSE
6-year-old girl reports on Coachella for in-flight magazine
New Coldplay single downloaded by 600,000 people in 24 hours
Brooklyn Vegan has pics from Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks' Coachella set
Pitchfork has pics from Menomena's Record Store Day Foosball Challenge
The Boston Globe has a Q&A with the reunited Was (Not Was)
Farewell to Beggars Banquet
30 April 2008
Band of the Week: I'm From Barcelona (slideshow, interview w/Emanuel Lundgren)
Band: I'm From Barcelona
From: Jönköping, Sweden
Sound: Uplifting, joyous bedroom pop to the 29th power
Similar Artists: Polyphonic Spree, Beulah, Bodies of Water, Architecture in Helsinki
Listen Now: "Oversleeping"
You wouldn't think a song detailing the joys of stamp collecting could whip a room into such a commotion as to cause overhead stage lights to come crashing down, now would you? Well, neither would we...that is, until we saw the gleeful force of nature that is I'm From Barcelona blow the roof off Maxwell's last Friday evening.
Seeing is believing. Led by charismatic frontman Emanuel Lundgren, the 29-member ensemble have made considerable strides since "accidentally" forming a few years ago. As the now-famous origin story goes, Lundgren decided to record some songs in his apartment over a month-long vacation from work. To flesh out the tracks, he invited his friends to come over and record various vocals, hand claps, and whatever spare instruments happened to be lying around.
It just so happens that he has more friends than you or I, and the result is a blissful debut album - 2006's Let Me Introduce My Friends - that balances the earnest songwriting and subject matter of someone composing from their bedroom (as was the case) with the insta-party vibe of having your 29 best friends on hand (as was the case).
To truly experience the band though, you MUST see them live. It's as though a stadium-sized show somehow got crammed into a much smaller space, causing a technicolor explosion of goodwill, balloons, smiles, and frantic sing-alongs (and broken lights) in the process. Your last chance for the foreseeable future comes tomorrow at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. EAR FARM joined Lundgren and a few of his fellow Barcelonians as the band (17 out of 29 of them for this particular tour) prepared for Friday evening's show. After the jump, check out our exclusive Q&A with Lundgren as well as a slideshow of the night's activities AND live video from their insane performance...
(ABOVE: I'm From Barcelona slideshow, created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR)
EF: It must be an absolute logistical nightmare to have to coordinate everyone’s schedules
IFB: Yeah, I like to torture myself, so we don’t have a tour manager.
EF: So who’s responsibility does that fall to?
IFB: (Emanuel points to himself and laughs) Me, I’m the booking agent and everything...I’m so eager to play now because it’s been such a long time planning, and it's been all about everything else except playing so far; I’m so glad we’re here right now and we can finally play some music!
EF: How many shows are you guys doing this tour?
IFB: It’s a small tour because we cant do a four piece band to go on a tour for 2 months. So we do 6 gigs, it’s a 10 day tour.
EF: And you’re heading out to Coachella after this?
IFB: Yeah tomorrow. But I’m kind of sad because I think we’ll probably miss the Prince concert. I love Prince and I’ve never seen him live. We’ll probably be sitting in the parking lot in the bus and hear Prince in the desert.
EF: You could probably still make it, commandeer a golf cart or something...
IFB: Yeah, like “Prince, wait for me!”
EF: (looking at IFB bandmates blowing up balloons) So these are the stage props for tonight? What have we got here, some balloons?
IFB: Yeah we try and entertain the crowd, it's good to have something to do so you don’t stand here like this (stands with arms folded and blank look on his face)
EF: Right, which of course is exactly what New York audiences are known for.
IFB: Yeah but not from my experience, not from last time; they didn’t stand like this (resumes arms folded), it was a wild bunch of people.
EF: Well I think I read somewhere that part of the beauty of your live shows is that there’s a thin line between audience and performer...
IFB: Yeah, yesterday in Philly was extreme, it was very much like a punk rock gig because there were so many people up on stage for half the gig. It was a bit too crazy but I like it like that. But it’s a good contrast with that and tonight and then with Coachella, it's like two different vibes, but I like it like this (small shows), it's easier to communicate with the crowd.
EF: Sure, and you guys have so many members in your band that it must be an advantage when you go and play these enormous festivals, I’m sure you all feed off of each other on the stage.
IFB: Right, when you see a three-piece band on stage, after having been in this band for awhile, it always feels like “doesn’t it feel lonely up there? It's so empty, so much space..." But we often play small stages, and it feels good to play bigger stages so we’re not hitting each other with instruments and everything.
EF: Explain how the band started, it was basically you and your friends, right?
IFB: Exactly, the first record was all about friends. I just invited all the people I hung out with, I didn’t care if they were the best musicians in Sweden, it wasn’t about that, it was just about having fun. And now this next record is all about strangers - I can release that news - I haven’t found the perfect title yet but it will be about strangers.
EF: Is “Britney” (new single released on MySpace) an example of that?
IFB: I guess so, because it’s about the strangers I read about and see on TV; I’m a biography junkie, I love to read biographies about people so I guess I’ve read a lot of them the last two years and the new album is influenced by that. It's more about walking in someone else’s shoes for a change.
EF: So how much of that material is written?
IFB: All the songs are ready and we’re mixing them right now. We’re planning the cover and the video so this fall it will be out, probably September.
EF: Awesome, and do you think there will be another stateside tour to support it?
IFB: I hope so I really hope so[...]And we’ll have to do the thing we’re worst at: we’re so bad at rehearsing, but we have to rehearse new songs. When you’re like 20 people, it always ends up as a party, it's hard to focus.
EF: Well that’s good too though, to always have a party...
IFB: It is good, but you don’t get anything done. We’re playing some of them tonight, we’ll see how it goes.
EF: And then you guys are playing the Brooklyn Masonic Temple next Thursday...
IFB: Yeah, I’m kind of excited about it. As I told you I like to read about stuff, brotherhood and societies, it's always fascinating, I’ll probably sneak around finding weird symbolic stuff and building my own conspiracy theories. We did the pool parties with the same promoter last year and it was amazing[...] Another thing I’m looking forward to is we’re doing a show Yo Gabba Gabba, it’s a children’s program on Nickelodeon, it's an amazing music program (ed note: see recent Shins performance on the program HERE). They want to pick good music for young people, they write their own music and we did a cover of it and are going to perform it there. I think it's going to be amazing because I’ve been thinking of doing a children’s record.
EF: And your music just has that playful vibe to it too...
IFB: Yeah, and I’ve noticed we have a lot of three-year-old fans actually. I think kids are honest, they don’t care, they just feel what’s good; for me, it’s a compliment that a kid would like it.
EF: So what do you have in store for the Brooklyn show?
IFB: I think the theme will be pink….
EF: Pink...so we should tell everyone to dress accordingly?
IFB: Yes, think pink! That’s the concept. So come to Brooklyn and we’ll have a good time together.
Listen:
"Oversleeping"
Watch:
"Collection Of Stamps" (live from this show, YouTube)
unknown new song ("Paper Planes"?) (live from this show, YouTube)
See I'm From Barcelona Live:
01 May - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
09 May - Brussels, Belgium @ Nuits Botanique
10 May - Diksmuide, Belgium @ Ten Vrede
03 July - Kristiansand, Norway @ Quartfestivalen
04 July - Oystese, Norway @ Bygdalarm
18 July - Poupet, France @ Les Arts a La Champagne
Visit I'm From Barcelona on MySpace.
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In the recent past, the following bands have been featured as EAR FARM's Band of the Week:
Bombadil
Tapes 'n Tapes
White Hinterland
Man Man
We Barbarians
The Dodos
Hey Hey My My
Amy LaVere
See the entire list of bands featured as EAR FARM's Band of the Week HERE.
Coldplay Blows MTV's Mind
Pardon our lateness to the Coldplay listening party.
By now I'm sure you know the narrative: Coldplay dabbles in Radiohead/NIN online altruism by making the the first single from their upcoming Brian Eno-produced album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends available for download (upon surrendering your email address) from their official site yesterday. And yet, by the time our morbid curiosity got the best of us, it took three different email submissions before we finally got the goods.
And that anecdote is about as exciting as it gets. Granted, we've never been huge Coldplay fans, but who could possibly mistake "Violet Hill" as a dynamic and interesting song? MTV!
And seeing as their gushing "review" of "Violet Hill" is far more engrossing than the actual song, let's train our curmudgeonly glare upon it instead. Thanks to this piece, historians will one day be able to pinpoint the exact time and date when music journalism died: April 28, 2008 at 4;47 pm EDT. It was at that moment that this review appeared online and actually pleaded with MTV readers to read a - gasp - written assessment of music instead of just listening to it...the horror!!!
And no, we haven't swung some sort of streaming deal with Capitol Records. Rather, this is a written preview of the track[...]And while we realize that reading about a song doesn't compare to actually hearing it, what else are you gonna do for the next 15-odd hours?
So very sad. And after apologizing to their readers for...making them read, our besotted MTV scribe then attempts to describe the revolutionary song structure of "Violet Hill"; and there doesn't seem to be enough words in the English language to talk about a song that starts quietly, gets loud, and then ends quietly. But at least MTV tries, detailing the "wall of gauzy, all-encompassing white noise" before the "breakneck shifts" or "sudden shifts from spacey to stomping" that cue "some of Queen's most garish moments" and a "curling solo", all of which "is strongly indicative of the breadth of song structures you'll hear on the Brian Eno-produced album".
I honestly couldn't pick this song out of a police lineup based on that description. Really, "Violet Hill" is about as dynamic as the Subway "Five Dollar Footlong" jingle. So much for the goodwill we thought MTV built based on yesterday's I Want My MTV.
But of course, don't take our word for it, and PLEASE don't take MTV's word; go HERE and judge for yourself.
OPP
WIRED interviews Justin Oullette, the man behind Muxtape
Watch Morrissey perform on the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
Or, watch Scarlett Johansson's video for "Falling Down"
Roger Waters' giant pig found!
Radiohead takes on sweatshops, won't repeat In Rainbows-style release again
Robert Pollard to publish coffee table book
Nicole Kidman to play Dusty Springfield in upcoming biopic
Bloc Party announce small summer tour, New York shows
29 April 2008
I Want My MTV - videos actually seen on...... MTV!?!
Or, on MTV2 actually. Same difference. What I'm saying is that last night, on Subterranean, I saw multiple videos I'd never seen before and I loved them. And I discovered a new band too (The Buddy System). It was amazing. Just like old times. Check out a few favorites from last night's show below...
"Clap Paws" by The Buddy System (above)
"Fireworks" by Animal Collective (above)
"The Air We Breathe" by Figurines (above)
"Polite Dance Song" by The Bird and the Bee (above)
Three for Free - Boris, Wolves in the Throne Room, OM
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week - three songs from artists on Southern Lord Records. That's right... METAL. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.
Listen:
Boris - "Flower, Sun, Rain"
Wolves in the Throne Room - "I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots"
OM - "Unitive Knowledge Of The Godhead"
Locally Grown: an April Mix Tape from Brooklyn Based and EAR FARM
It's a well established fact: I love making mixes. It's an art form, it's a game, it's like my Sunday crossword puzzle; or, it's like baking a cake for someone except the cake is made out of ingredients you can listen to. Mmm!
So, when Nicole Davis from Brooklyn Based (an essential newsletter focusing on Brooklyn's best food, art, services, shops and people - subscribe HERE) got in touch and asked me to curate a mix of Brooklyn-based artists I jumped out of my seat and screamed "fuggedaboutit"! Then I set my sights on putting together a choice selection of songs from bands in some way associated with Kings County. All of the songs are ones that have been offered for FREE by the corresponding bands - in other words, this mix is 100% legal and entirely free. Aw yeah. Look for another Brooklyn Based/EAR FARM mix in the near future. For now, click through to listen, download, and read a bit about each song...
1. “Opposite Sides” by The Epochs - Formed by two brothers, electro-rock hybrid band The Epochs could fall into the familiar trappings of trying to add too many layers to their Pro Tools projects (see TV on the Radio), but they don’t. And that’s precisely what makes this band successful: plenty of space for harmony, melody, and ever-shifting beats.
2. “Fuck and Run” by Cassettes Won’t Listen - Last year Cassettes Won’t Listen, aka Jason Drake, released a free EP of covers of songs from the ’90s that featured favorites from Pavement, Butter 08, Blind Melon, Sebadoh, and the Liz Phair classic, “Fuck and Run,” that’s posted here. All of the cover versions from that EP are worth checking out, as is Drake’s most recent effort Small-Time Machine, but none flowed better into the next song than “Fuck and Run.”
3. “The Mule” by Z-Ro, Devin The Dude & Juvenile, remixed by Ratatat - This song, originally a Z-Ro joint, has been masterfully Ratatat’d and is a shining example of two things. #1 - Ratatat Remixes Mixtape Volume 2 is worth seeking out (note: it’s free). #2 - Ratatat should do an album full of songs featuring guest vocalists and rappers. Shit, that would be the shit.
4. “Golden Prize” by Apes & Androids - I was told by a friend in early 2006 that Apes & Androids was a “must see” band, but I didn’t listen. Stupid me. What, I didn’t want a bit more Beck/Queen influence in my life?? Well, now I’m listening — you’re listening — and Androidery abounds as the band continues to build upon their reputation as having one of Brooklyn’s top live shows. See them in person to find out for yourself. Trust me.
5. “Sunrise” by Yeasayer - This is Yeasayer: cerebral tribal rock that rises above flavor of the week status by offering layer upon layer for listeners to peel back and enjoy with each repeated spin. Scrobble. Whatever. Yeasayer’s album All Hour Cymbals has gotten lots of critical attention lately but I still stand by my assertion that their recorded output has yet to fully capture what the band does live. Which is simply another way for me to say “don’t miss them live.”
6. “Plea Bargain” by Beat the Devil - Beat the Devil is easily one of NYC’s top “unknown” bands. By a long shot. They’re unique, visceral, and instantly memorable. If you long for sultry dark dirgey folk rock that climbs into your mind and never lets go (”wow wow, a WOW WOW”), then this is the band you’ve been waiting for. I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t fall in love with this song after hearing it once.
7. “Buy My Product” by Mancino - EAR FARM writer Mike Grimes plays guitar and sings in the band Mancino, so we’ll leave the dissecting of this track to you. But I can tell you this much: it’s included here for the most honest and transparent of reasons, I love the song and I’m willing to bet you will too.
8. “Monolith” by Hopewell - Hopewell literally reaches for the stars with their soaring, anthemic, psychedelic-infused rock. They blend the romantic ambition of Bowie with the spaced-out snarl of Spiritualized and what comes out is pop-rock that’s, in a word, immense. In some ways slightly out of time, Hopewell would’ve been a huge success in the ’70s. Like, sold-out arena huge.
9. “What Would Wolves Do?” by Les Savy Fav - People “know” vocalist Tim Harrington but the real superstar of this band is guitarist Seth Jabour, who alternates between understated rhythms lurking at the back of the mix to insanely catchy lead lines. On last year’s Let’s Stay Friends he helped bring Les Savy Fav out of postpunk-by-numbers and into the realm of truly great.
10. “No More” by Dirty Projectors - This song is taken from the most recent record by Bed-Stuy’s own Dirty Projectors. The record, Rise Above, was Dave Longstreth’s re-imagining of the entire Black Flag album Damaged, apparently from memory and without any revisiting of the original. Which, I suppose, explains the absence of T.V. Party and Life Of Pain. Regardless of what was forgotten, Rise Above is fantastic.
11. “On A Neck, On A Spit” by Grizzly Bear - Grizzly Bear has blown me away, literally, with every step they’ve taken, from Horn of Plenty to Yellow House to the Friend EP to their outstanding cover versions of Paul Simon songs at BAM. “On A Neck, On A Spit” is as fine of an example as any other song as to why myself, Radiohead, and everyone else who hears the band, are such big fans of Grizzly Bear. The sky’s the limit for these guys.
12. “Something of an End” by My Brightest Diamond - My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden who has been seen performing with Sufjan Stevens. If you like Antony and the Johnsons and/or Joanna Newsom, you’ll love the unique blend of cabaret, chamber music, rock, and opera that is My Brightest Diamond.
Listen to the Locally Grown muxtape.
Download the entire mix as a ZIP.
Print the front cover above; back cover below. Enjoy!
Today's NEW Releases
Kicking off May, behold this week's new offerings:
- Awesome Color - Electric Aborigines
- Bombadil - A Buzz, A Buzz
- Boris - Smile
- Constantines - Kensington Heights
- Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves - Roll With You
- Heloise & The Savoir Fare - Trash, Rats and Microphones
- Jamie Lidell - Jim
- Joy Division - The Best of Joy Division
- Langhorne Slim - S/T
- Madonna - Hard Candy
- Mudcrutch - S/T
- Portishead - Third
- Robyn - S/T
- The Roots - Rising Down
- Santogold - S/T
- South - You Are Here
- Zappa Plays Zappa - S/T
OPP
The Walkmen will release their new album on August 19th on Gigantic Records
Damon Albarn also has a new album in the works for a July release
Ting Tings soundtrack the latest iTunes commercial
Annie Leibovitz and Miley Cyrus spar over racy photo
Coldplay announces free single and 2 free shows (one at MSG) for release of their new album
$10,000 reward offered for the safe return of Roger Waters' prop pig
The New York Times wrote about it so it's okay for us to: Vivid Entertainment to release a Jimi Hendrix sex tape?
Wolf Parade announces revised title to their sophomore album - At Mount Zoomer
28 April 2008
Hit-or-miss: "Jet City Woman" by Queensrÿche
Listen:
"Jet City Woman" by Queensrÿche from Empire
View:
Image search results for Jet City Woman - above image is from the tenth 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:
"II. In Taberna: Estuans Interius" by Carl Orff
"Dangerous" by Frente!
"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
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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.
Insound: New Site, "Give More! Get More!" Campaign
Online indie superstore Insound has just upped its game considerably, unveiling a sparkling new website (Insound 4.0) along with some refreshingly altruistic news....behold the "Give More! Get More!" campaign:
Every time you buy an MP3 album from Insound (not EPs or singles), Insound will donate $.25 of our take to a touring band. We choose 6 lucky bands that we like, but you get to select the actual artist to earmark your quarter to. Furthermore, should you wish to "tip" additional funds to these great artists, you can add your own tip during checkout. 100% of these funds will do to the band you choose. If you do not choose a specific band, we will distribute the funds equally to all of the bands. We will add new bands 2-4 times each year. All funds are to be used by bands to support the next national tour. In short, their tours will be made possible by you – Insound customers!
Pretty awesome. And the six lucky bands stockpiling your quarters to buy a few ounces of gasoline on the road? Check out the roster (alongside MP3s from each band) after the jump...
- The Big Sleep - "Bad Blood"
- Russian Cirlces - "Death Rides A Horse"
- The Twilight Sad - "And She Would Darken The Memory"
- Headlights - "TV"
- Epsilons - "Snap Crackle Pop!"
- Videohippos - "Bear Fight"
Also worth noting, Insound is instituting a free mixtape program, whereby each digital album order (full albums only, no EPs or singles) gets you a free MP3 sampler of 10-15 hand-selected tracks updated each month. Which just leaves the following questions: a) what do you think about the "new Insound" and b) are such moves the answer to the death of the physical record store? It's certainly not a bad start...
*above image found HERE
Wakey!Wakey! @ Maxwell's - 25 April 2008
Wakey!Wakey! played Maxwell's this past Friday night in an opening slot for the twenty nine member Swedish pop sensation I'm From Barcelona. EAR FARM was at the show to interview IFB's Emanuel Lundgren for our Band of the Week feature this week - expect to see tons of content related to I'm From Barcelona's incredible performance at Maxwell's (including an exclusive interview, live videos, and pics) on Wednesday - thankfully we got there early enough to see Wakey!Wakey! warm up the crowd with their happy-sad songs and supremely friendly demeanor.
Lead singer/pianist Mike Grubbs held court for the length of the band's set, moving from humorous between song banter to blowing the roof off the tiny venue with remarkable vocals in a single bound. There's a roaring strength that exists in the vulnerability of Wakey!Wakey! and behind that, much potential to appeal to larger audiences. We'll definitely be keeping our eyes on these guys, you can check out more pictures from the show, and a couple of MP3s, including a Wakey!Wakey! cover of a Weezer song, after the jump...
Listen:
"Get Away (Here We Go Again)"
"Say It Ain’t So" (Weezer cover)
See Wakey!Wakey! live:
17 May - New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall
21 May - New York, NY @ Parkside Lounge
23 May - Bryn Mawr, PA @ Milkboy Cafe
24 May - Wilmington, NC @ WE Festival
25 May - Wilmington, NC @ WE Festival Showcase at the Soapbox
Download the Wakey!Wakey! cover album for free HERE.
See more pictures of Wakey!Wakey! from this show HERE.
Visit Wakey!Wakey! on MySpace.
OPP
Reuters recaps Coachella, and gives MVP honors to Prince
And The Los Angeles Times agrees, Prince reigned at Coachella
...but don't forget The New York Times' praise of Prince's set also
Rolling Stone gets in on the Prince love and also recaps the rest of day two as well as day one at Coachella
And at the tail end of the Prince-love comet, blogs really latched onto the video of Prince covering Radiohead
Spin catches up with Les Savy Fav at Coachella and coaxes acoustic song from them
Guitar Hero IV rumors are already swirling, and Activision CEO promises new instruments
Midlake's guitarist launches his own brand of coffee
NYC Taper has live audio of the April 26th Fiery Furnaces show at Southpaw
Eddie Van Halen: "I'm healthier than I've ever been"
Luna Lounge was shut down by the Department of Health?
25 April 2008
EAR FARM's Muxtape #5: 2:42
Joshua Allen recently wrote a piece in The Morning News claiming that the perfect song length is precisely 2:42, and after going through the exercise of putting together the following mix, I'm inclined to agree. The quality of songs in my library at the 2:41, 2:42, and 2:43 marks is rather outstanding. So how was I able to whittle down this week's mux to a mere 12 songs? Because I rule. Also because I made rules.
Even though the length of songs gets a bit screwy sometimes upon import, I stuck to tracks that registered as exactly 2:42 in my library. This ruled out a lot of great songs I've noticed on other peoples' 242 lists. For example, "California Dreamin'" shows up on a ton of 242 lists but in my music library it's listed at 2:43. Sorry Charlies. Also, I decided to avoid picking any of the songs already posted on the following 242 muxes I stumbled upon: author Joshua Allen's 2m42s mux, contrabandwidth's 2:42 is the magic # mux, and Wired's listeningpost242 mux.
If it seems as though everyone has made a 242 mix, it's probably because they have. The way I see it, it's like Spike with all of his ruminating about how you can quickly judge a chef by the soup they make - one can tell a lot about the talent/resources of a given mix-maker by their ability to put together a proper 242 mix. I decree. So listen to mine, make your own, and let's fight over whose is better!
You can hear EF's 242 mux right HERE.
EAR FARM's Muxtape #5: 2:42
1. "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)?" by Buzzcocks
2. "If You Hate Your Friends, You're Not Alone" by Pretty Girls Make Graves
3. "School" by Nirvana
4. "Me-Jane" by PJ Harvey
5. "Sheila Take A Bow" by The Smiths
6. "Leah" by Roy Orbison
7. "Sway" by Dean Martin
8. "The Next Episode" by Dr. Dre
9. "Michelle" by The Beatles
10. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" by Jerry Lee Lewis
11. "A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off" by The Magnetic Fields
12. "Center Of Gravity" by Yo La Tengo
*above Front 242 record photo from HERE.
See also:
EAR FARM's Muxtape #1: 12 Songs For A Cat Named Joe
EAR FARM's Muxtape #2: April Fools Edition!
EAR FARM's Muxtape #3: Fank Fod it's Friday and Finally Fpring!
EAR FARM's Muxtape #4: Rock Band Setlist
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A Muxtape is a simple way to create and share mixtapes. That's all there is to it. Feel free to share your own mix in the comments.
