Here's a quick update for this Sunday's Schooled in Song Festival. Highlights for me include Blank Blue (pictured), Paperplanes, The Year Zero, Crystal Antlers and Free Moral Agents, which includes Ikey Owens of Mars Volta/Look Daggers fame. There's also an artist who calls himself 'Jameson' -- it's gonna be mighty tough to live up to that name.
Not to be confused with Crystal Antlers, Crystal Castles or Crystal Gayle, Crystal Stilts are bringing back moody garage pop to the indie kids. It's also fitting that the band will release its forthcoming album Alight at Night, dropping October 28, on the influential Slumberland Records -- whose early roster boasted similar sounding bands like the Ropers, Velocity Girl, and the Lilys.
Let's face it, any new media tagged with Marnie Stern's shredding is going to get posted here. Ms. Stern drops the first video from her forthcoming album This Is It And I Am It And You Are It And So Is That And He Is It And She Is It And It Is It And That Is That. And that is the album title.
No matter how this year's election turns out at least I can go into 2009 knowing that Caribou won Canada's Polaris Music Prize. Dan Snaith's psychedelic/pop/electronica wonderland known as Andorra beat out some tough competitors this year; Black Mountain, Stars, Holy Fuck, Plants and Animals, the Weakerthans, Basia Bulat, Kathleen Edwards, Two Hours Traffic, and Shad. Congrats to Snaith.The annual award given for artistic merit and overall badass musical prowess includes $20,000 and a 20-minute back massage from Jessica Alba, actually that last part is false.
Caribou's "Yeti" from 'The Pink Room' series:
Straight from our pals Paperplanes comes news of Long Beach's Schooled in Song Festival on October 5. The mini-fest happens from 11am-10pm and features Long Beach's finest pop/rock bands, plus some other up and coming indie acts. And guess what? It's FREE!
New York noise-poppers Asobi Seksu announced that they will tour much of North America next month. The plan is to debut new material that will appear on the band's forthcoming album, which is due early next year via Polyvinyl.
Another new discovery, another free slice of music -- courtesy of Ghostly International. Many of you may know Ghostly as the label that provides excellent low-fi hip-hop, glitch and ambient electronica to those segments on Adult Swim, or maybe you're just a big fan of Brad Laner or School of Seven Bells like I am. Regardless, there's something for everybody. The Sight Below (Seattle) snuggles in tightly with blankets of guitar sound coupled with minimal techno beats. The label describes it as "sonic gloom, " which I think fits perfectly. But, the sounds also have an uplifting vibe/warmth. Grab the debut EP for free below.
|||The Sight Below: No Place For Us EP|||
Got to hang out with Bill Ross for quite a bit during All Tomorrow's Parties in Monticello, NY last weekend. Go check out his photos of Wooden Shjips, Harmonia, Fuck Buttons, Mogwai, Shellac, Lilys, Dinosaur Jr. Polvo, My Bloody Valentine and plenty of scenic/lifestyle shots from the event.
The much hyped about Vivian Girls, who do a decent job at channeling Black Tambourine and Tiger Trap, will return to Los Angeles in November. The purpose? To support the re-release of In the Red, the trio's debut album which quickly sold out of its limited run earlier this year.
Same place, same hotels, new bands; All Tomorrow's Parties is returning to Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, New York next year. The three-day festival will take place September 4-6 and will follow the same schedule as this year's event (ATP's 'Don't Look Back' on Friday, ATP-curated bands on Saturday, and a band chosen to curate Sunday's lineup).
When I was about ten years old I discovered girls, but back on some other blog I used to write for I discovered Women. The Canadian quartet has been championed by just about every respectable music blog on the planet in the past three months. So it's no surprise that Jagjaguwar picked up the group and will re-release their self-titled debut album in two weeks.
Those zany kids from Deerhoof just released their brand new video for "Get Born," taken from the forthcoming album Offend Maggie (dropping 10/7 on KRS). The song is typical Deerhoof fare with interesting chord changes, guitar acrobatics and Satomi's 'Speak and Spell' vocal stylings. There's also an added value-bonus stuffed gorilla hanging out in this clip-- wearing a cap, wtf?
All Tomorrow's Parties (NY) was a success on every level...well, they could have had a few more food options, but who eats anymore? There's talk that the Kutsher's resort in Monticello, NY will also become the permanent spot for ATP fests in the United States. Not sure how they're going to beat this year's lineup, but the experience alone is worth the ticket and flight cost alone. I hope this 'talk' becomes a reality.
Spiritualized is playing a 'MySpace secret show' this Friday at The Echo. It's first come, first served -- good luck people.
Anyone else brave the stink bomb at the Silverlake Lounge last night? I would have loved to stay and watch Tweak Bird tear shit up, but the 'special guest' of the evening took care of that, literally.
Tweak Bird: Reservations (Volcom)
Nathan Gammill of Orange's finest rock band Aushua got jumped by two shitheads the other night, both of whom were just released from jail. Sounds like he's gonna pull through, but I imagine he was just a few kicks away from some severe brain damage...or worse. According to the band's MySpace page it sounds like he's pulling through:
Pink Floyd's founding member, keyboardist/vocalist and legendary rocker Rick Wright has died from cancer, according to a report from the Press Association. This is a sad day for music lovers as many of you know how important and influential Pink Floyd's music is. "Richard Wright, a founder member of Pink Floyd, has died at the age of 65 after battling cancer, his spokesman said.
Wright played the keyboard with the legendary band and wrote music in classic albums such as Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here.
"The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness, that Richard died ... after a short struggle with cancer. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."
Wright's spokesman did not say from what form of cancer the star had been suffering.
The self-taught keyboardist and pianist met fellow band members Roger Waters and Nick Mason while at architecture school.
He was a founder member of The Pink Floyd Sound in 1965, and the group's previous incarnations, such as Sigma 6."
From All Tomorrow's Parties: "We're sorry to have to announce that Autolux will not be performing next week. They've had to pull out due to personal reasons." FRIDAY, SEPT. 19 – DON’T LOOK BACK:
STAGE 1
BUILT TO SPILL - 11.20PM - 12.50AM
THURSTON MOORE - 9.15PM - 10.30PM
TORTOISE - 7.45PM - 8.45PM
MEAT PUPPETS - 6.00PM - 7.00PM
BARDO POND - 4.30PM - 5.30PM
STAGE 2
PATTON OSWALT - 10.30pm – 11.15pm
EUGENE MIRMAN - 10pm 10.25pm
MARIA BAMFORD - 9.30pm –9.55pm
JOE DeROSA - 9.00pm – 9.25pm
SATURDAY, SEPT. 20 - CURATED BY ATP:
STAGE 1
LIGHTING BOLT – 12.45am – 1.30am
SHELLAC 11.30PM – 12.30AM
LES SAVY FAV 10PM – 11PM
POLVO 8.45PM – 9.30PM
EDAN with Guest Dagha 6.05PM – 7PM
FUCK BUTTONS 4.45PM – 5.35PM
THE DRONES 3.30PM – 4.15PM
APSE 2.15PM – 3PM
STAGE 2
THEE SILVER MOUNT ZION 9.45PM – 11.15PM
LOW 8.00PM - 9.00PM
OM 6.45PM – 7.30PM
HARMONIA 5.30PM – 6.15PM
WOODEN SHJIPS 4.15PM – 5.00PM
GROWING 3.00PM – 3.45PM
ALEXANDER TUCKER 1.30PM – 2.15PM
SUNDAY, SEPT. 21 – CURATED BY MY BLOODY VALENTINE:
STAGE 1
MY BLOODY VALENTINE - 12am - 1.30am
DINOSAUR JR. - 10.00pm - 11.00pm
MOGWAI - 8.15pm - 9.15pm
YO LA TENGO - 6.45pm - 7.30pm
MERCURY REV - 5.30pm - 6.15pm
EPMD - 4.15pm - 5.00pm
ROBIN GUTHRIE - 3.00pm - 3.45pm
STAGE 2
BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE - 10.45pm - 11.45pm
BOB MOULD - 9.15pm - 10.00pm
TRAIL OF DEAD - 7.30pm - 8.15pm
SPECTRUM - 6.00pm - 6.45pm
GEMMA HAYES - 4.45pm - 5.30pm
LILYS - 3.30pm - 4.15pm
WOUNDED KNEES - 2.15pm - 3.00pm
LE VOLUME COURBE - 1.00pm - 1.45pm
I've been anticipating this event for a long time. While I've been a fan of Scott Hansen's music and print work for years, I've always missed his Tycho performances when he's in town. Not this time. Tycho plays Terrabyte 3 tomorrow at the L.A. County Arboretum. The event is $7 and runs from 5:30 - 10 pm. If you're a fan of Boards of Canada or Ulrich Schnauss then you don't want to miss him.
|||Tycho: "The Daydream" MP3|||
Japanese artist and director Nagi Noda passed on September 7. Apparently, she died after surgical complications from injuries sustained in a traffic accident. She was only 35 years old.
Last week we feasted on Stern's finger-tapping montage "Shea Stadium." Today we found the intentionally leaked via iLike application "Ruler," kudos to MFR. If you listen all the way through then you get extra does of rock a la "Shea Stadium." 
Film School played "Compare" live on Fuel TV's consistently awesome music showcase The Daily Habit about a month ago. Next, the band will venture off to the U.K. as the supporting act for British Sea Power. Check out the video below:
It's no surprise that Matador has been downgrading its indie status, and roster, since Interpol jumped ship post-Antics. I can't think of one band that has signed to the label in the past four years that I would give a rats ass about. Thankfully, Sonic Youth has signed a worldwide deal, sans Japan, to release its 16th album sometime next year.
So, Noel Gallagher recently announced his top ten favorite bands of all time to NME. His rules: no solo artists, no female artists (que?) and no collectives. Aren't all bands technically collectives?1. The Beatles
2. The Rolling Stones
3. The Who
4. Sex Pistols
5. The Kinks
6. The La's
7. Pink Floyd
8. The Bee Gees
9. The Specials
10. (Peter Green's) Fleetwood Mac
Don't think I'm into Noel's rules, but it's sure hard to disagree with most of his picks, except for maybe The Specials and The La's (really?). I'm feeling like I could live with these guys:
1. The Beatles
2. The Beach Boys
3. The Velvet Underground
4. The Who
5. Brian Eno
6. The Smiths
7. Sonic Youth
8. My Bloody Valentine
9. The Pixies
10. Pavement
Weren't we just talking about Broadcast taking their sweet time? It appears that Trish Keenan has filmed, and stars in, this new David Lynch-inspired video for "Black Cat," taken from 2006's Tender Buttons. This video should have been made two years ago, but I'll take it. At least they're letting the world know they're moving, living and thinking about music. Now, about that new album ...
I wanted to get this up sooner rather than later. There are very few new-ish L.A.-based bands that I find interesting or worthy of a blog post these days. Just seems like there's a big lull in talent -- most of the stronger local artists have released their debuts already, or are about to by the end of the year. Tweak Bird are not one of those groups. The duo will play the Silverlake Lounge next Wednesday, September 17. If you like heavy, smashing, fuzzy rock, and sugary tap-beer, then you should go. Also, buy their debut EP Reservations (Volcom) tomorrow.
Belong's 2006 debut, October Language, was met with critical adoration and loads of praise. The album bleeds through your speakers using treated swells of white noise and fuzzy sheets of guitar wash/melody that would sweep fans of Fennesz and Lovesliescrushing right off of their feet. Earlier this year, the band released the 4-song covers EP Colorloss, a limited vinyl-only affair that eventually became available as a free digital download. Even though it's a covers effort, Colorloss demonstrated how two guys from New Orleans can turn any song into an emotionally charged and hypnotic vacation from reality. It features renditions of Tintern Abbey’s “Beeside,” Billy Nicholls’ “Girl From New York,” July’s “My Clown” and a mad cover of Syd Barrett's "Late Night."
Jenny Lewis is playing Spaceland this Thursday and The Echo on Friday. These recently announced shows precede her North American tour and album release. The Echo gig is all ages for you kids who never acquired a fake ID, so get on it. YSTS posted this news bit yesterday.
Deerhoof has become increasingly poppy, and more listenable, on its last two full-lengths. This new video of "The Tears and Music of Love," taken from a recent performance in Tokyo, continues in that tradition. The song is simple, attacking and flowery like some of their older material but easy to digest like most of Friend Opportunity and The Runners Four. And how about that sound quality, damn good.
Broadcast's career looks a little something like this: release a new EP preceding the album (containing amazing non-album tracks), album release, critical acclaim, tour, wait two years, repeat, rinse, spin. I like consistency and all, but how about a new jam already. According to Broadcast's manager, here's the latest update on the Birmingham, U.K. space-pop duo:
You, me and Swervie frontman Adam Franklin all have one thing in common, we all dig Xu Xu Fang. Which is why peeps across L.A. should make the trek out to Club NME tonight. That is all.
So...I'm watching the new version of 1990's classic sitcom/teen drama Beverly Hills 90210 and I see a folder slapped with a Division Day sticker --Awesome. For the next twenty minutes, scenes come and go; polluted with poor dialog and references that make Juno look like The Godfather. Aside from all things Division Day, this show is pretty fucking horrible.
Marnie Stern's sophomore album,This Is It And I Am It And You Are It And So Is That And He Is It And She Is It And It Is It And That Is That, drops October 17 via Kill Rock Stars, but it's this new Stereogum-premiered track for "Shea Stadium" that's got my panties in a bunch. Stern's 2007 debut, In Advance of the Broken Arm, was a top 25 record for yours truly. After listening to this brand new track I can't help but think how amazing this follow-up could be, and how her older material sounds so small in comparison.
Stereogum has the goods right here.
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