indierocket!

Tube :: Why?, Band of Horses, Weezer

2008-05-23T10:27:00.004-04:00

Why? :: "Song of the Sad Assassin"
We loves us some Why? here at the 'rocket, and "Song of the Sad Assassin," what with its clunky toy-piano riffs and lurching structure, is one of my favorite jams from Alopecia, one of my favorite records from this year. The video is as brain-melting as some of Yoni Wolf's abstract rhymes, but that's why we like it, innit?

Band of Horses :: "No One's Gonna Love You"
pitchfork.tv has a video up for Band of Horses' "No One's Gonna Love You," the most charming and endearing song from last year's charming and endearing Cease to Begin.

Weezer :: "Pork and Beans"
Sigh. Remember when Weezer was, you know, good?

Musings :: Tokio Hotel: The "Future of Music"?

2008-05-08T11:28:00.003-04:00

This was posted to Idolator this morning under the headline "The Future of Music, Whether You Like It Or Not."

The indierocket! response: Jesus. Fucking. Christ. It's as if someone invented a machine that took the characters from Rock Band — complete and utter lack of charisma and all — and made them real. Then made them start a band. A shitty, dishwater-grey mallternative band.

Seriously. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this. Nothing.

If this is the "future of music," as Idolator posits, then Doc Brown and I need to get back to work on that Delorean.

New Noise :: Capsule: Blue

2008-05-06T10:45:00.005-04:00

Capsule
Blue (Robotic Empire)
Verdict: 9.0.
RIYL: Orchid, Off Minor, Pg. 99, Circle Takes the Square, Cave In

skramz (skrāmz)
- noun
1. Informal A new term for the screamo/emo bands of the 90s, or anything that is REAL screamo/emo. I'm not sure if the term is supposed to be taken seriously or not, but it's there. Possibly created in revolt of the shitty 'new' emo bands and self-proclaimed 'emo' kids.
(source: urbandictionary.)

You see, this is what irks me as a music journo. As much as I enjoy the convenience of ultra-specific genre labels (see: post-metal; baile funk; nerdcore), the names deigned to them rarely, you know, mean anything. Seriously: Skramz? What the everloving fuck is that? Why can't we just say that Miami's Capsule is a hardcore band? And then why can't we just follow that up with a clause like, oh I don't know, "in the vein of '90s screamo titans Orchid and Pg. 99"? Plus: Skramz just sounds (and looks) fucking retarded. Look: Capsule is a screamo band — essentially short for "faster, more brutal hardcore with lots of screaming and/or shouting." Yeah, that's dumbing it down, but at least it means something.

I digress in the interest of keeping things simple. Capsule fucking slays. Blue is an absolute powerhouse from start to finish; it's heavy, it's spazzy and, at times, it's even absolutely gorgeous. It's a monolith of aggression and power. It's a panic attack gone horribly, horribly right. You'll need a helmet so there won't be a mess when Blue blows your mind.

Blue kicks off in high gear with the balls-tighteningly fantastic one-two punch of the dense "True Blue" and the spastic, thrashing "Cobalt Connection." (See the color motif running through here? Yeah? Yeah.) The energy and spirit contained within invoke Orchid and Commander Caterpillar, but the off-kilter tunings and malicious riffs recall the early work of art-core monoliths Cave In. Indeed, it's when Capsule stretches the song lengths past the 120-second mark that things get really interesting. "Determinal" starts off as another exercise in controlled fury before devolving into a beautiful, grungy drone. Follow that up with the sullen, somber "Blue/Green" and you have a nice respite (and a seldom seen change of pace) from the brutal ass-kicking of the rest of Blue.

Blue is a confounding and wonderful conflagaration of brutal blast-beats, shifting time-signatures and galloping punk spirit. Blurry, buried shouts are surrounded by thunderous mountains of guitar and bass, buried beneath the avalanche of melodic onslaught. And yet, for the conscious listener, intricate melodies in bizarre tunings sneak their way into an overall unnerving amalgamation of genres, creating an anxiety-filled album of fevered beauty. Easily one of the most unique and rewarding listens of the year.

Interview :: Pelican

2008-05-01T11:04:00.009-04:00

Pelican is an instrumental band from Chicago that plays a dense, sprawling, heavy brand of instrumental music that often gets the band branded "post-metal." But that doesn't sit well with guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec: indierocket! spoke with Lebec in advance of the band's ~~upcoming show at the New Brookland Tavern~~ about why post-anything is bullshit. An edited transcript is after the jump. More...

The first thing people probably notice about Pelican is the absence of a singer. Was it always the intention for Pelican to be an instrumental band?
Yeah, pretty much. I mean, at the beginning we definitely toyed with the idea of getting a singer; there weren’t that many instrumental bands around at the time, so we really didn’t have much of a point of reference for being instrumental. So we definitely thought at the beginning that we would eventually get one, but it just sort of happened that some songs materialized and it didn’t really seem like there was a need for one. Then we were put in the situation of wanting to play a few live shows and not having a singer to do it, but we kind of couldn’t pass up the opportunities — it was to open for High on Fire and then for Isis.

You don’t pass something like that up.
No, not at all.

My friend Russell has this theory that all music is better with vocals. The idea is that instrumental bands start at a deficit, having to try harder to keep the listener entertained and having to compensate for the tangible emotional connection a singer brings. As an instrumental band, how does Pelican approach its music so that the listener is not only entertained but emotionally invested?
The main way we do that is to keep ourselves entertained and inspired. I think if the performance comes we’re putting comes across as us enjoying what we’re doing and that we’re connecting with our own art, then we’re just looking for an audience to connect with that experience with us.
It’s the same as going to see a jazz band and there’s no singer and somebody says, ‘Well, this jazz band would sound a lot better if they had a singer. And these musicians seem to be lacking an emotional connection.’ And that couldn’t be further from the truth. I think that people are maybe too connected to the presence of a singer in their music and find that, maybe, instrumental music is averse to that. But I don’t think that’s the case; people connect with soundtracks in the same way after they see a movie. I think that our music can be quite emotional.

So is it liberating not having a singer?
It definitely imposes less structure. For us, we’ve found it to be pretty freeing. I think we fill the sonic palette pretty well with just instruments.

Pelican is often lumped in with other bands — usually Isis, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Russian Circles, Mogwai, Tortoise, etc. — often because you’re all instrumental bands. Do you think Pelican’s pigeonholed by being instrumental?
I don’t mind the association with any of those bands — we’re all fans and there’s obviously a degree of inspiration. I think that there is a general pigeonholing that comes from being ... instrumental in general; people feel the need to lump instrumental bands in with other instrumental bands and there’s so much music out there. We’re inspired by everything out there that’s under the sun. It’s all there in our music and we don’t choose to put any titles on it.

So maybe “post-rock” or “post-metal” isn’t the best descriptor, then?
I just don’t think that there’s any post- anything. I think most genres around right now are going to be around for a while. You know, I’m a huge fan of metal and have consistently listened to metal for most of my life, and I definitely didn’t think that, all of a sudden, it was like, ‘Oh, metal is over; there’s a post-metal world.’ I think what there is is with the advent of the Internet and people learning about bands all over the world that are doing things a little bit differently; you find that there’s a lot more cross-pollination of genres, and I definitely think that’s something that happened for us. I definitely come from a punk, power-pop and traditional metal background and our other guitar player Trevor [de Brauw] has much more of a taste for experimental music.
We rarely butt heads about where we’re going musically. There’s not a lot of self-conscious reflection on how we’re crafting our art. It’s evolved alone and with each other, and I think our music has, too. So I’m really not too concerned with what team we belong to or who we should be touring with and what people think of us; I think for the most part we find that we’ve been playing music with pretty much anyone. We’ve toured with High on Fire, Mono, Daughters, black metal bands.

And like now, you’re on tour with Thrice and Circa Survive, and those bands obviously have a different fanbase than, say, Mono or Opeth. Is it difficult to cater to different crowds like that?
We’ve done so much different stuff that it’s pretty easy to feel like we can do anything, you know? And that’s what’s rewarding about playing the music that we do. That’s the challenge and that’s what makes touring really fun. When we started touring on a regular basis — and this is like three years ago — you just find that after a certain amount of time you’re really hitting the same spots.
When you’re playing the kind of music we’re playing, you’re also kind of shooting yourself in the foot in terms of potential for being huge. But that’s not the reward; we just want to build up a community of people who are excited about the directions we’re taking and the chances we’re taking and how we’re growing musically.
The language between each other on stage and the rush we get from playing on stage is what keeps us on the road.

There’s an almost seismic evolution from the self-titled EP to City of Echoes, which is much more complex and dynamic and a lot airier that your earlier works. Was this a natural evolution or a conscious decision?
I definitely think it’s natural. We write and generally the songs we write in batches. The weird songs are always the first few songs for a record. You write one and you’re like, ‘Oh man, this sounds different and we’re just not sure where we’re going.’ And you kind of doubt yourself a little bit and you always have this fear of repeating yourself at the same time; you don’t want to tread the same ground. So we started writing this record [City of Echoes] and just right away with the first song or two found that we were really headed in a different direction. And the rest of the writing went smoothly after that. And a year later, you’ve got City of Echoes.

Are there any unifying themes to Pelican records?
Traditional themes: family, health, falling in love, getting married, the pursuit of happiness in one’s life — it all gets sorted in there.
City of Echoes was a reflection of our own lives. We don’t really look back and try to understand where the music came from. The only moments we sit down and try to assess where something was coming from is if it was going wrong. But if everything sounds on point and everyone’s having a good time, you’re not going to say, ‘Whoa, guys, slow down. What does this mean?’
Any song is a different vignette is a ... little reminder or little triggers to remind ourselves from our times on tour.

Has there been any progress for the new record?
We’ve got four or five songs written. And it’s already shaping up to be really different from [City of Echoes].

Is self-parody something you have to actively try to avoid?
We have to. We’re just that hardwired to do it. If we feel like we’re treading old ground, it just starts to feel comical, and we’re very aware of the parodies of the genres we’re playing in and out of.

Pelican's May 1 show at the New Brookland Tavern has been canceled, but the show must go on: Opening acts Castalia and ...for science! take the stage at the New Brookland Tavern at 8 p.m. Admission is $4 ($6 if you're under 21). Call 791-4413 or visit newbrooklandtavern.com.

april was the cruelest month.

2008-05-01T10:09:00.002-04:00

dear loyal indierocket! readers (hi, mom!):

between new jobs and new situations at old new jobs, indierocket comrade tug and i have been busy. that's no excuse for our neglect, though.

we'll try harder. we promise.

-patrick.

Musings :: Twelve-Year-Old Throws Rocks at Kill Soulja Boy

2008-03-24T12:48:00.002-04:00

This makes me giggle:

"BLOOMINGTON -- A 12-year-old boy was arrested and accused of throwing a rock through a hip-hop performer’s tour bus windshield Thursday night, police said.

Bloomington Police Lt. Pete Avery said the boy told officers, “I hate Soulja Boy.”

I believe the children are our future.

New Noise :: Kaki King, Russian Circles

2008-03-11T13:26:00.003-04:00

I'm a big Kaki King fan; I think Legs to Make Us Longer was one of the best albums of its year, and ...until we felt red is an underrated pleasure. "Pull Me Out Alive," the first single from King's newest longplayer Dreaming of Revenge, released today. It's an interesting mid-tempo indie-pop track, and the mostly strummed (and incredibly jangly) guitar work seems to mark a departure point from her previous textured-guitar work. I'm interested to see how the rest of the record turns out; hopefully, King won't have abandoned the ambient textures that attracted listeners in the first place to fire off more polished pop tunes.

This video for Russian Circles' "Harper Lewis" has been circulating YouTube for seven months now, so crazy obsessive fans (such as yours truly) have been rocking this jam for some time. (Pitchfork posted the studio version of the track, which appears on the forthcoming Station, last week.) While it doesn't explode like "Death Rides a Horse" or evolve as eloquently as "Carpe," "Harper Lewis"'s slow-burning build is still pretty kickass.

Get Out :: 02.20.08

2008-02-20T16:26:00.005-05:00

Get Out is indierocket!'s occasional guide to getting down in the Soda City....for science!, Anthems for Odyssey
New Brookland Tavern :: 7 p.m.
...for science! plays loud, slow, heavy post-rock; Anthems for Odyssey plays tight, fuzzy, gothic shoegaze. It's a nice complement; trust us. Damage: $5 ($7 under 21).

New Noise :: American Gun: The Means and the Machine

2008-02-18T13:28:00.003-05:00

American Gun
The Means and the Machine (Diamond D)
Verdict: 8.3.
RIYL: Whiskeytown, Lucero, Drive-By Truckers, Avett Brothers

In the grand tradition of Southern rock bands — and please note the distinction from Southern-rock bands a la Skynyrd et al — American Gun possesses a hootin', hollerin', carryin-on' spirit that wouldn't feel authentic coming from a band of carpetbaggers. Indeed, much of American Gun's swagger can be traced to old-time country's bigwigs — The Man in Black, The Possum, The Red-Headed Stranger, The Killer and The King — and the parts of which that can't are easily touchstoned — Whiskeytown, Lucero (hell yes, Lucero; the band expertly covers Ben Nichols' "All the Same to Me" on Means), Americana, Brit-rock.

So while such easy sonic references are a music journo's dream, it begs the question: Where are the original bones in the band's body? The bones here come from songwriters Todd Mathis and Donald Merckle, the creative forces behind the band's attractive indie-Americana tunes. Typical dual-songwriter comparisons — Lennon-McCartney or, perhaps more appropriately, Farrar-Tweedy — don't exactly fit, as there's never the sense that one is pulling in an entirely different direction than the other. Besides, both probably fall more toward the Tweedy side of the scale anyhow, though Merckle's tunes tend to be darker, folksier affairs and Mathis' to be edgier, overdriven affairs. And, indeed, the album works its best magic when each sticks to his strengths: Merckle scores a one-two punch with the tongue-in-cheek opener "Drunk Girls" and the roots-poppy "Fight Song"; Mathis sets Means ablaze with follow-up tracks "Horses" and "Neil Young Mood." Those themselves make for an incredibly strong side one, and while it's not that side two is lackluster or disappointing, it's not really again until the tongue-in-cheek closing number, the Mathis-penned "Jesus Gave Us Rock 'n' Roll," that American Gun again hits on all cylinders. Again: There are good tracks — Mathis' longing, lonesome "First Impressions" most of all — but the second half's preponderance of slow-burners and plodding tearjerkers bleeds off a little too much momentum.

I'm not thrilled with Chris Stamey's production of the record — it's a bit airy and dissociated for a band whose live strength is foot-stomping fervor. Stamey's saving grace, though, is introducing the band to pedal-steel virtuoso Al Perkins, whose melodic lines glide with blissful grace. Indeed, it's the steel playing that pushes most of the tracks into the alt-country straosphere; and when you add flashes of mandolin and horn sections, it's that much tastier.

Ultimately, The Means and the Machine is about the same as American Gun's debut, Dark Southern Hearts: A good-not-great, immensely solid outing that, were the band not toiling in relative obscurity, would provide a nice addition to the hallowed catalogs of New West or Lost Highway.

American Gun [MySpace]
American Gun [official website]

New Noise :: Grand Archives :: Torn Blue Foam Couch

2008-02-08T13:29:00.001-05:00

You might remember me posting the demo for this song a while back. Back then, it was just a track on a four-song demo EP that they had thrown together themselves. Now signed to Sub Pop, Mat Brooke and Co. are about to drop their full-length (out Feb. 19th - pre-order and you get a bonus 7-inch), and to whet our whistle, Sub Pop has released the final version of 'Torn Blue Foam Couch.'

To be honest, I'm a little torn with how to feel about the new version. I suppose that's to be expected. For something like ten months, the demo is the only version of the song I had ever heard, and if I would ever get off my lazy butt and post my list of favorite songs from 2007 (soon, I promise), you would already know that this was my favorite song of the year. I have a few problems with the final version (and they really aren't problems, I'm just not used to the new arrangement). First off, I never realized that the chord structure was the same as Pachelbel's Canon (you know, that wedding song), but the new version's intro makes it unmistakable. Nothing wrong with that. It's just a little distracting. Another bother is that the piano is accompanied occasionally with a keyboard of some kind that occasionally detracts from the simple beauty of the piano. It's shorter, so it's build doesn't seem quite as magnificent as the original. There are new things that I do like. For instance, the horns really give it the Beach Boys feel that I think the band is going for, and the drums sound even better than the original, which I didn't think possible.

Anyways, enough of my opinions. Why don't you decide for yourself? Here's both versions. Discuss!

Grand Archives Torm Blue Foam Couch (demo)

Grand Archives Torn Foam Blue Couch (final)

Pre-order The Grand Archives here.

Get Out! :: 02.01.08

2008-02-01T12:10:00.000-05:00

Get Out! is indierocket!'s occasional guide to getting down in the Soda City.

FRIDAY :: 02.01.08
Black Swan :: Hunter-Gatherer :: 11 p.m.
Black Swan's dark, progressive indie rock makes excellent use of post-rock and goth-rock touchstones, creating a moody, atmospheric sound all its own. Reid Hardaway's nimble, heavily reverbed arpeggios counter-balance Courtney Vincent's simple piano structures perfectly, and Hardaway's tasteful use of delay recalls early British shoegazers Ride. And let's not forget the rhythm section, the simple-yet-effective combination of bassist Joe Greene and drummer Daniel Wilson. The most striking of Black Swan's compositional elements, though, is Vincent's voice, which is at once seductively husky and elegantly restrained. Damage: $3.

SATURDAY :: 02.02.08
Colour Revolt :: New Brookland Tavern :: 6:30 p.m.
I say this with the utmost reverence: Colour Revolt blends everything I love about post-Good News Modest Mouse, pre-Worlds Apart ...Trail of Dead, Surfer Rosa-era Pixies and classic Neil Young and distills it into a perfect temper tantrum of indie-rock furor. Call Colour Revolt post-apocalyptic-rock: Drums hit like claps of thunder; bass guitars rattle like earthquakes; guitars twist and flail like whirlwinds; and singer Jesse Coppenbarger encapsulates the lonesome, confused spirit of the last man on Earth. The Oxford, Miss., quintet's new record, Plunder, Beg and Curse, continues in the same urgent vein as its self-titled debut; don't be surprised if most of the set is derived from it. Damage: $7.
Colour Revolt - "Naked and Red" [from Plunder, Beg and Curse]

Josh Roberts & the Hinges :: Headliners :: 9 p.m.
Put simply, there's no such thing as a bad Josh Roberts show. And that's all there is to it. The Hinges' new record, My War Cry is Amor, is a raucous, rollicking riot through the world of alt-country, from the punkish "Atom Inhibitor" to the lugubrious, triumphant "Every Brick of Downtown." Damage: $7.
Josh Roberts & the Hinges - "Every Brick of Downtown" [live at the Five Points Pub [via archive.org]]

Rob Lindsey & the Friendly Confines :: Art Bar :: 10 p.m.
We here at indierocket! love us some Rob Lindsey — I like to say he's a more literate John Mayer or a pop-rock Tom Waits — and we're glad to see he's put together a backing band — featuring members of another indierocket!-beloved local group, Magnetic Flowers — to flesh out his intricate and interesting guitar-pop. Damage: $3.

The Jam Room 20th Anniversary Bash :: Five Points Pub :: 8 p.m.
The Jam Room's a veritable Columbia institution; Jay Matheson's client-list is long and impressive, including The Queers, Kylesa and local heroes Stretch Arm Strong. We're most excited about our boys Death Becomes Even the Maiden, but the night also features some blasts from Columbia's past: Old-timey punks Scary Hand and 49 Reasons play, as do reunited goth-rockers Bachelors of Art. Damage: $5.
Death Becomes Even the Maiden - "Control" [from The Arrangement]

Musings :: Bill Cosby to Release Rap Record

2008-01-31T13:51:00.000-05:00

You SEE, THEEE-oh, the HIP-HOP is a moral sewer, you see, with the suggestive dancing with hippin' and hoppin' and bippin' and boppin'. You see, we had the jazz MU-sic back in my day, THEEE-oh, we didn't have the dope-pusherrrrrs and the soldier boys with their crankin' and their supermen. Why don't you get yourself some JELL-O pud-ding with the flavors and the chocolate and tastes so good in your mouth and tongue, you see. ROOOO-DEEEE!!!

Bill Cosby Working on Rap Album [via allhiphop.com]
House of Cosbys [via Channel 101]

New Noise :: Aloha: Light Works

2008-01-30T12:29:00.000-05:00

Aloha
Light Works (Polyvinyl)
Verdict: 6.4.
RIYL: Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins

Light Works is an astutely appropriate title: The seven tunes on the mini-LP (or really long EP) are profoundly quiet, eschewing Aloha’s trademark prog-rock clamor for plaintive, heart-on-sleeve indie-pop built on pristine, plucked acoustic guitars and pastoral piano figures. Indeed, “Too much of anything is wrong,” which Tony Cavallario muses on “Passengers,” is much less a lyric and much more a statement of purpose; to call Light Works sparse is an understatement. Quasi-prog arrangements and refined architectural elements go out with the old; sad-bastard, Plans-esque sentiment and palpable wuss-pop come in with the new. Indeed, fans of latter-day Death Cab for Cutie will eat this shit up — though, to its credit, it’s much headier and a much more refreshing listen than anything Death Cab’s done since The Photo Album, most especially "Body Buzz," which doesn't aspire to anything more than steady trot, but its end-of-summer-romance aesthetic is at once picturesque and gorgeous in its low-key splendor, making perfect use of piano and organ accents (not to mention yet another brilliant performance from drummer Cale Parks). But Aloha’s greatest strength was its beefy, quadraphonic ornamentation; the adventurous listener was rewarded with the efforts of an adventurous band. Now, the adventure is gone. In short, Light Works isn’t good, but it isn’t bad; it’s decidedly middle-of-the-road. “I must admit, I’ve slipped a bit,” Tony Cavallario croons on “Broken Light.” Maybe you have, Tony. Maybe you have.

Aloha - "Body Buzz" [from Light Works]
Aloha, Light Works [eMusic]
Aloha [MySpace]
Aloha [Polyvinyl]

Musings :: Death Cab for Cutie Name New Album

2008-01-30T12:06:00.000-05:00

Ben Gibbard: "Narrow Stairs — now that is an exciting title! Huh. That's funny. I can't feel my pulse. Shouldn't I have a pulse? Could this have something to do with the bland, watered-down tripe I've been releasing since We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes?"
Chris Walla: "No. You're fine. Now let me get back to my solo record."

Death Cab for Cutie Name New Album [via deathcabforcutie.com]

Tube :: Nada Surf

2008-01-25T12:57:00.000-05:00

Before I even start talking about these videos, I would like to (respectfully) inform Nada Surf bassist Daniel Lorca why he doesn't get too much facetime in these videos. Here's a hint - it rhymes with 'red socks.' Apart from questionable hair decisions, I'm pretty excited about Barsuk releasing the new Nada Surf album Lucky on Feb. 5th. Weight Is A Gift and Let Go are two of the best straight-up pop/rock albums of the Aughts. The few promo tracks released thus far haven't completely won me over, but admittedly, their previous two albums were growers for me, so I expect about mid-February I'll be driving down the road, singing these songs at the top of my lungs like an all-girl road trip.

Two (!) videos from the album have dropped recently, and 'Whose Authority', the first one presented here, is far and away the best. Why, you ask? Because the Jonathan Krisel-directed video features none other than Michael C. Maronna of Pete and Pete fame! Man, I haven't seen that guy since those Ameritrade ads. Thankfully, he's not quite as grody in this video where he bike messengers the hell out of some packages in New York. I dig it. You will too. And can someone please get Maronna more semi-serious work like this? I think he can take it.

The video for 'I Like What You Say' is pretty darn good too but loses huge points with me because of the whole cutesy animated indie rock video virus that's been going around for the past two years. At least it doesn't involve unwashed hair, though.

New Noise :: The Field, Sound of Light

2008-01-16T15:11:00.000-05:00

Here's the thing about music that's designed to fit a purpose: It is (or at least should be) judged against Eno's Music for Airports. Above, you'll see Stockholm's Nordic Light Hotel, the core design element of which, according to its website, is the Northern Lights. And the hotel (or at least the marketing firm the hotel employs) has asked a very strange question, at least for a hotel (or at least the marketing firm the hotel employs):

What does light sound like?

"This question," the hotel's website reads, "inspired our musical concept called 'Sound of Light.' However, the idea of creating music inspired by light was only the starting point for the project. The goal was to portray our entire hotel through music but our main idea was simply to produce a far out record that made great listening. To realize this ambition we decided to invite recording artistes to interpret our hotel experience and express it by making a record. One record for each artiste, to give them the space they need to fully develop their interpretation." The first of such artists was fellow Swede Axel Willner, known to the electronic music community as The Field. In essence, Sound of Light is Music for Hotels, and, moreover, Music for the Northern Lights.

Most, if not all, of Sound of Light falls into a fairly simple pattern, endemic of most electronic musicians: Sample-hold-repeat, with bells and whistles (literally and figuratively) orbiting around the central beat of the song. However, this is an advantage, as it makes the breaking Sound of Light down into four long tracks, each clocking in at or near 15 minutes long and delineated further into particular times of day, more palatable, as Sound of Light is designed almost narratively in structure.

"Morning" kicks off with a stuttering-yet-lock-step synth-and-drum-machine groove similar to Amnesiac-era Radiohead and explodes into what could essentially be called a chorus that recalls the reverent techno of Daft Punk. My only quibble with "Morning" is that, as a narrative element, it seems mislabeled; perhaps it's just my mornings, but "Morning" is far too upbeat and caffeinated, far too sunny. Regardless, there's a gorgeous break around the eight-minute mark where the beat reverses swims against the tide; a remarkable distraction from the relentless dance groove.

"Day," narratively, is much more fitting — another unyielding high-hat beat runs throughout the song, which is accented by clicks and clacks eerily reminiscent of computer keys. The machinic pounding found later builds like a Tinkertoy Tower, eventually crushing itself under its own weight — just like a day at the office. "Evening," then, is its antithesis — playful (with synthesized female cooing) and a loping dance beat. It starts out fairly dull, actually, like background music for "upscale" mall stores such as Express. (Uhh, not that I've ever been in there.) But it, like its three companions, unfolds spectacularly, gradually adding piece upon piece (laser beam synths, hisses of static) without losing itself, ironically maintaining a skeletal minimalism. Not surprisingly, "Evening" is also the most playful — the most fun, if you will — of the four tracks, and the most likely to be found bumping in an actual danceclub.

"Night" is the most explosive, a nearly beatless song that interlopes arrythmic synth tremors and high-hats around its vast interior. Indeed, it sounds almost hollow, like the reverbed echo of a canyon in which every sound is peripheral. Because of that, it's the one that's also the most calming, like staring into a clear night sky on a crisp night.

So is listening to Sound of Light like viewing Aurora Borealis? (Or, for that matter, even staying in the hotel?) Having never seen the lights (nor been to the hotel) myself, I can't say. But I'd imagine that it'd be a breath-taking, awe-inspiring experience. Sound of Light is neither, but it's a damn fine attempt. Each of the four tracks on the EP — and to call it an EP is almost egregious, as it's a hair over an hour long (longer, even, than Music for Airports) — unfolds gorgeously, as if guided by unseen mathematics and programmed to burst into one million tiny pieces of light on a night sky. The Verdict: 7.8/10.

Get Out! :: BJ Barham @ The Whig :: 01.11.08

2008-01-10T09:29:00.000-05:00

Please apologize my recent lack of posts, but holidays + mini vacation + (new job x 2) = Tug has been short on time recently. I did want to take the time, however, to tell you guys about a guaranteed barn-burner going on tomorrow night at The Whig. You've heard me talk about American Aquarium many times before, so it should be no surprise that I'm excited about a solo tour by their lead singer BJ Barham. Now you've heard me extol the virtues of American Aquarium, and how they're a boisterous, hard-drinking explosion of a band, and while that may sound hard to pull off for an acoustic solo act - if there's anyone who can do it, it's Barham. While I've heard it said that all Southerner's are natural-born storytellers, Barham inherited the trait in spades plus the added bonus of being a smooth talker. Look to hear songs from American Aquarium's upcoming record plus some old favorites. The highlight of the night will be that one song that I always forget to ask the name of, but you'll know he's about to play it when he introduces it with, 'This song is about a whore...' Oh, wait. That's lots of his songs.

Head to the band's myspace page to see if Barham's coming near your town. Especially if you're in the Charleston area Sunday and want to swing by and see my boys (and girl) at the Tin Roof. Tell 'em Tug sent you.

American Aquarium Lover Too Late (live in Charleston)

Musings :: Decoding Soulja Boy

2008-01-03T13:30:00.001-05:00

"Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)"
Soulja Boy

Soulja boy off in this hoe / Watch me crank it, watch me roll / Watch me crank dat soulja boy1 / Then Superman dat ho2 / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy)

1. Crank dat Soulja Boy: Verb. 1. Masturbating an erect penis.
2. Superman that ho: Verb. 1. The act of ejaculating on your sexual partner's back and then stick the sheets to him/her; when she wakes up in the morning he/she has a cape.

Soulja boy off in this hoe /Watch me lean and watch me rock / Superman dat hoe / Then watch me crank dat robocop1 / Super fresh now watch me jock / Jocking2 on them haterz, man / When I do dat soulja boy / I lean to the left and crank dat dance (now you) / I'm jocking2 on yo bitch ass / And if we get the fightin, then I'm jockin2 on yo bitch ass / You catch me at yo local party / Yes I crank it3 everyday / Haterz get mad cuz / I got me some bathin' apes4

1.: Robocop: Verb. 1. The act of ejaculating semen into a bucket and then placing it on your partners' head.
2.: Jock: Verb (Intrans.). 1. To attempt to imitate one's particular style. 2. To engage in flirtatious behavior.
3. : Crank it: Verb. 1. Turn up music to an unreasonable volume. 2. Masturbate.
4. : Bathin' Apes: Noun. 1. A ghetto shoe and clothing company originated from Japan.

I'm bouncin on my toe1 / Watch me supersoak dat hoe2 / I'ma pass it to arab3 / Then he gon pass it to the low (low)/ Haterz wanna be me / Soulja boy, I'm the man / They be lookin at my neck / Sayin it's the rubberband man4 (man)

1.: Bounce on my toe: Verb. 1. To attempt to keep one's balance while masturbating.
2.: Supersoak: Verb. 1. To completely cover one's sexual partner with semen.
3.: Arab: Noun. 1. Here, a Soulja Boy collaborator.
4.: Rubberband Man: Noun. 1. A drug dealer. 2. One who is able to perform fellatio on oneself.

Watch me do it (watch me do it) / Dance (dance) / Let get to it (let get to it) / Nope, you can't do it like me / Hoe, so dont do it like me / Folk, I see you tryna do it like me / Man, that shit was ugly

Soulja boy off in this hoe / Watch me crank it, watch me roll / Watch me crank dat soulja boy /Then Superman dat hoe
Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy)

I'm to clean off this hoe / Watch me crank it, watch me roll / Watch me crank dat roosavelt1 and supersoak dat hoe (x10)

1. Crank that Roosevelt: Verb. 1. Perform a typical lean-and-rock dance that involves swinging your hand over your lower stomach while thrusting your pelvis and legs forward in one swift motion. 2. To fornicate.

I'm to fresh up in this bitch / Watch me shuffle, watch me jig / Watch me crank my shoulder work / Superman that bitch

Soulja boy off in this hoe / Watch me crank it, watch me roll / Watch me crank dat soulja boy /Then Superman dat hoe
Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy)

Summation: No matter what it's about, "Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)" blows.

New Noise :: Smashing Pumpkins, American Gothic

2008-01-03T10:40:00.000-05:00

Can we just throw this tripe on Gilmore Girls and be done with it? Verdict: 3.8/10.
Smashing Pumpkins Issue New EP Today [Pitchfork]
Smashing Pumpkins - "Rose March" [via themodernmusic.com]

The Year in Review :: Part Four: Denouement

2008-01-02T12:53:00.000-05:00

In which indierocket! editor Patrick counts down his favorite records of the year. More...

1. Dirty Projectors, Rise Above (Dead Oceans)
Mad genius Dave Longstreth and company rewrite, reimagine and recontextualize Black Flag's seminal classic Damaged, showing that the problems of the past — remember, Damaged came out in '81 — are still the problems of today. But Longstreth — replaying the album essential from (an albeit very damaged) memory — and company turn Black Flag's calls to arms into Baroque meditations, utilizing snaky guitar lines, Dirty South beats and other compositional curveballs to abet Longstreth's beautiful, melodic tenor. The words are the same, but the message is different: Damaged was pissed off; Rise Above is hopeful. That, to paraphrase Frost, makes all the difference.
Dirty Projectors - "Rise Above"

2. The Twilight Sad, Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat)
It's s#!t being Scottish was the grand sentiment of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting (well, that and heroin is bad for you), and no Scottish rock group in recent memory has captured that gloomy sentiment like The Twilight Sad. A Sunny Day in Glasgow it ain't: Anchored James Graham's thick Scottish brogue, The Twilight Sad crafted an epic, guitar-driven and appropriately titeld shoegaze masterpiece filled to the brim with torrents of reverb-washed guitar riffs, subtly powerful drumming and twinkling, hypnotic melodies rooted in Scottish folk. Trust me: When "Cold Days from the Birdhouse" bursts into high gear, you'll get it.
The Twilight Sad - "Cold Days from the Birdhouse"

3. Pillars and Tongues, Protection (self-released)
Sometimes surprises come in the most wondrous of places. It was in a small town in Indiana that I discovered Chicago trio Pillars and Tongues, who expertly mash together three of my favorite musical genres: Stately post-rock, haunting slowcore and challenging Chicago free jazz. Protection's tunes veer back and forth between restrained beauty (a la The Dirty Three) and wild, thrashing, chaotic jazz (think the electric cello work of Fred Lonberg-Holm). Protection is practically perfect in every way.
Pillars and Tongues [MySpace]

4. Love of Diagrams, Mosaic (Matador)
If Kim Deal fronted Wire, the result would have sounded a lot like Love of Diagrams. Mosaic, the Aussie trio's American debut, doesn't reinvent the post-punk wheel, but it doesn't have to: It expertly recalls the pioneering godfathers of the genre (Wire, Burma, Gang of Four) and evokes the skilled blend of malaise and fury of The Pixies. Yet it's no stale period piece, working spellbinding magic with tracks the likes of "The Pyramid" and "The Pace and the Patience."
Love of Diagrams - "The Pyramid"

5. Radiohead, In Rainbows (ATO/XL/self-released)
Forget all the digital release, pay-what-you-want bullshit associated with In Rainbows. You would've plopped down $20 for this at your favorite record shop and you know it. And it's worth every penny — In Rainbows finally does what no Radiohead album since OK Computer has been able to do: Blend the band's electronic tendencies with its three-guitar orientation with absolute aplomb. The record's also Thom Yorke's most lyrically harrowing yet, as evidenced on the absolutely gut-wrenching "Videotape."
Radiohead - "House of Cards"

6. Battles, Mirrored (Warp)
"People won't be people when they hear this sound," Tyondai Braxton — through pitch-shifting manipulation — croons on "Atlas," one of Mirrored's standout tracks. But perhaps he should've said "People won't be people until they hear this sound": Mirrored is possibly the most sonically adventurous record of the year, bringing dinosauric prog rock into the digital age. Nothing on Mirrored — from the precise, kinetic drumming to the intricate guitar loops and phrases to the highly processed vocals — is an afterthought; it's a human exercise in being inhuman, a masterful melding of man and machine. This is the future of music, and the future is now.
Battles - "Race:In"

7. Electrelane, No Shouts, No Calls (Too Pure)
Sure, No Shouts, No Calls doesn't break any new ground, but what's the shame in just recognizing it as an excellent record. No Shouts, No Calls finds Electrelane at its best since The Power Out, blending girl-group soul and Krauty art-rock with ease and grace.
Electrelane - "To the East"

8. Yesterday's Universe, Prepare for a New Yesterday, Vol. 1 (Stones Throw)
Sure, Madlib — nee Otis Jackson Jr. — churns out more music than a vinyl-pressing factory. But his Yesterday's Universe project is the diametric opposite to his Yesterday's New Quintet, looking forward while looking backward, blending the finest cuts of free-jazz skronk, baile funk, thick soul bass, hip-hop beats, post-bop piano, sitar drone and synthesizer solos to create the most groove-conscious record of the year.
The Otis Jackson Trio - "Free Son"

9. The Engines, The Engines (Okka Disk)
Chicago free-jazz is not for the faint of heart. But while The Engines embody some of the hallmarks of the Vandermark sound, they cull the right ones and perform them perfectly. The overblowing and blustery unison horn lines are kept to a minimum, relying on the quartet — each of whom are accomplished composers and Vandermark sidemen — to lock into vicious steamroller grooves. Sure, The Engines can rev with the best of 'em, but like every good engine, it's best when it just purrs along.
The Engines -

10. (tie) Baroness, Red Album (3D)
10. (tie) Boris and Michio Kurihara, Rainbow (Drag City)
The two best heavy records of the year couldn't have been more opposite: Baroness' new-millennium metal meets in the middle ground between Mastodon and Kylesa, amping up its epic, brutal dirge with intelligent, indie-rock-rooted melodic accents. All hail the new lords of smart-metal. Across the Pacific, Japanese sludgelords Boris teamed up with national guitar hero Michio Kurihara to create an unlikely monster: A sludge-metal record filled with psychedelic sunshine; an organic, heat-driven record, the knife-like tones of which cut a shining swath through the din.
Baroness -
Boris and Michio Kurihara - "Rafflesia"

11. Burial, Untrue (Hyperdub)
Burial's danceable grimestep is a little too active for Eno's definition of ambient music, but it still comes pretty close. Untrue is like looking out onto a Minnesota lake in the dead of night in the dead of winter (and we're playing up death only slightly facetiously): Its production is icy, sleek and absolutely gorgeous in its stark simplicity, and angelic voices blow about like snowflakes in the wind. Close your eyes and it's just like December in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Burial - "Near Dark"

12. Ours to Alibi, Beacons (self-released)
Atlanta's Ours to Alibi did something I never thought possible: It out-Explosions-in-the-Skys Explosions in the Sky. From the opening cello riffs of "The Dirt is a Womb" to the resounding coda of "Weary, We Fell Upon Land," Beacons takes the listener on a journey through post-hardcore-inflected post-rock.
Ours to Alibi - "Beacons"

13. Meneguar, Strangers in Our House (Troubleman Unlimited)
Dude, it's Meneguar. I Was Born at Night was retroactively one of my favorite records of 2005 (having heard it in 2006), and Strangers in Our House expands upon its jittery energy expertly. The NYC quartet sounds a little less like Q and Not U and a little more like its own band — and that's a good thing.
Meneguar - "Bury a Flower"

14. Explosions in the Sky, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temporary Residence)
Just because Ours to Alibi beat them to the post-rock punch doesn't mean that Explosions in the Sky aren't still the kings of transcendent, cinematic American post-rock. They made that Smashing Pumpkins tour worth going to. Bonus: The attached remix disc, which contains bang-up remixes of "The Birth and Death of the Day" (by Justin Broadrick of Jesu) and "Catastrophe and the Cure" (by Four Tet).
Explosions in the Sky - "Welcome, Ghosts"
Explosions in the Sky - "Catastrophe and the Cure (Four Tet Remix)"

15. Kickball, Everything is a Miracle Nothing Is a Miracle Everything Is (Houseopolis)
Kickball's ABCDEFGHIJKickball was among my shoula-beens from last year, so it makes sense that this Pacific Northwest trio cracks this year's list with another set of attractively unwieldy indie rock tunes, each of which burst with authentic nervous energy. Everything also wins massive points for having three of the best truisms of the year, each occuring in "Fight": "If you fight / It's automatically a fight"; "If you don't believe in ghosts / You won't see ghosts"; and "If you build / A house on the beach / It's automatically a beach house."
Kickball - "Fight"

16. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)
Everybody's saying it, but it's true: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is the best record Billy Joel never made. While Ga doesn't recreate the absolute magnificence of Girls Can Tell or the strutting glam-rock brilliance of Gimme Fiction, it still showcases frontman Britt Daniel at his leanest and meanest, crooning like he never has before, most especially on "The Underdog," the finest (and, truthfully, the most Billy Joel-biting) of the lot.
Spoon - "The Underdog"

17. (tie) Aesop Rock, None Shall Pass (Definitive Jux)
17. (tie) Ghostface Killah, The Big Doe Rehab (Def Jam)
Aesop narrowly edged out El-P for best indie-rap record of the year; Ghostface takes the mainstream crown.
Aesop Rock - "Keep Off the Lawn"
Ghostface Killah - "We Celebrate" (feat. Kid Capri)

18. Les Savy Fav, Let’s Stay Friends (French Kiss)
Les Savy Fav, we were never not friends. That said, you sound as good now as you did on The Cat and the Cobra. Glad to have you back.
Les Savy Fav - "What Would Wolves Do?"

19. Dinosaur Jr., Beyond (Play it Again Sam)
Fuck it. There's definitely something in the water in Massachusetts. The only post-millennial rock reunions that haven't been utter embarrassments have come from the Bay State (see: Pixies, Burma). Continuing this trend is Dinosaur, which reunites the original lineup of Lou Barlow, J Mascis and Emmett Jefferson "Patrick" Murphy III for the first time since 1988's Bug. Beyond finds Dinosaur in fine, furious form; it's as if they never tried to kick each others' asses on stage.
Dinosaur Jr. - "Been There All the Time"

20. Thurston Moore, Trees Outside the Academy (Ecstatic Peace)
True, this ranking might be a reflection of how little I actually digested the Sonic Youth frontman's first solo release since Psychic Hearts. But you know what? I like Trees Outside the Academy a lot more than I liked Rather Ripped. The unusual chord structures and bizarro tunings are still there, but there's a folksy ruminence that permeates the record; a simple, western-Massachusetts charm that enhances Moore's particular quirks instead of suppressing them. Bonus points for "Thurston @ 13"; I know I wasn't that cool when I was 13, and you damn sure weren't.
Thurston Moore - "Wonderful Witches"

21. Band of Horses, Cease to Begin (Sub Pop)
Again, this falls under the caveat of "Just because it's disappointing doesn't mean it's bad." On the contrary: Cease to Begin is a delightful and logical follow-up to Everything All the Time. The lush, reverbed guitars are still there, and Ben Bridwell still has a knack for ear-catching, easily hummable indie-rock melodies. Whereas Everything All the Time was stricken with themes of death and triumph, Cease to Begin is a darkly romantic record, most especially in the shimmer of "Detlef Schrempf." (I have to say, though, that I was a little disappointed to find absolutely no reference to the German sharpshooter actually, you know, in the song.) Dig that beautiful artwork, too.
Band of Horses - "Detlef Schrempf"

22. Bridge 61, Journal (Atavistic)
Again, Chicago avant-jazz can be a difficult thing to get into. And this Ken Vandermark-led quartet doesn't make it particularly easy. Journal is filled with all the guttural, atonal sax-skronk you'd expect from Vandermark, and while that's all well and good (after all, Vandermark's a legend in his own right and, as you'll recall, a MacArthur Foundation-recognized genius), Journal's strength is found in the supporting players: Jason Stein's bass clarinet work masterfully complements Vandermark's difficult phrasings, and Nate McBride's bass is best when it's in searing, snarling orbit around Tim Daisy's outstanding drum work. And, indeed, it's when McBride (who alternates between acoustic and electric bass) plugs in that the ensemble really soars, most especially on the spy-movie-riff "Various Fires (For This Heat)" and the appropriately hard-hitting "Shatter."
Bridge 61 - "Various Fires (For This Heat)"

23. Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start, Worst Band Name Ever (self-released)
Sometimes somber, sometimes sunny, always earnest indie rock a la American Football (or really early Jimmy Eat World) from this New Jersey quintet. That's all there is to say; one of the most absolutely pleasant discoveries of the past year.
Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start - "Boise"

24. Shellac, Excellent Italian Greyhounds (Touch and Go)
What, you thought Steve Albini was going to put out a record this year and I wouldn't put it on my year-end list? Foolish reader, don't you know that Albini's the smartest man in rock history, and that Shellac's angular angst gets my fists a-pumpin'? (Aside: Albini, as I've learned from the Electrical Audio message boards, is a much better poker player than I am.)
Shellac - "Steady as She Goes"

25. Jesu, Conqueror (Hydra Head)
Sounds like icebergs fucking. “Conqueror” is one of the most achingly beautiful epics in recent history — slow, emotional, breath-taking and destructively heavy.
Jesu - "Conqueror"

26. Menomena, Friend and Foe (Barsuk)
Basically makes it on the strength of "Wet and Rusting" alone, but that doesn't mean the rest of the record — especially "Pelican" and "Rotting Hell" — ain't any good.
Menomena - "Wet and Rusting"

27. Low, Drums and Guns (Sub Pop)
So apparently the biggest thing to happen to Alan Sparhawk between The Great Destroyer and Drums and Guns was a nervous breakdown. Hey, whatever works — Drums and Guns is yet another fine record from the Minnesota slowcore giants. Delicate? Not as much as Things We Lost in the Fire. Austere? Not so much as The Great Destroyer. Hypnotic? As fuck.
Low - "Murderer"

28. Dethklok, Dethalbum (Williams Street)
Call it heavy meta: We know it’s supposed to be a joke, but what does it say when an animated band rocks harder than just about every metal band in existence? There’s more life in these songs than in anything Cradle of Filth’s ever written. And it’s as witty as it is heavy.
Dethklok - "Hatredcopter"

29. Between the Buried and Me, Colors (Victory)
Dude, I hate just about everything Victory Records (which by now has the 15-year-old-girl-into-shitty-emocore market pretty well rogered) has ever put out. But this Raleigh quintet is the exception that proves the rule. Epic sonic-clusterfuck mathcore for the thinking man.
Between the Buried and Me - "Prequel to the Sequel"

30. No Age, Weirdo Rippers (Fat Cat)
Weirdo Rippers absolutely rips, weirdly, even. No Age accomplishes something very few lo-fi duos manage to do: Sound bigger than the sum of its parts. Weirdo Rippers is hardly an album; it's an all-out blitzkrieg of fuzz-rock, filled with chugging chords and fantastic feedback.
No Age - "Everybody's Down"

31. Wu-Tang Clan, Eight Diagrams (Street/Universal Motown)
Dude: Wu-Tang ain’t nothing to fuck with. And even though the Killah Bees have depreciated into a squabbling, O.D.B.-less mess, they can still kick out some sick-ass rhymes.
Wu-Tang Clan - "Wolves"

The Year in Review :: Part Three: Quandary

2008-01-01T15:48:00.001-05:00

In which indierocket! editor Patrick ruminates upon albums he didn’t pay enough attention to this year. More...

Against Me!, New Wave (Sire/London/Rhino)

Hey, signing to a label doesn’t mean you’re a sellout! Just about everything this Florida agit-punk quartet’s put out since ...is Reinventing Axl Rose has been filled with killer, sharp-tongued, fist-pumping anthems, and New Wave is no exception. Mostly, I didn’t listen to this because I gave it to a friend of mine.

Black Francis, Bluefinger (Cooking Vinyl)

Dear Mr. Charles Kitteridge Thompson IV: As a rabid Pixies fan, you know I love you. But I just didn’t get around to listening to Bluefinger. I’m sorry. But it’s not like Bluefinger is Teenager of the Year or anything, is it? No harm, no foul, right?

Bowerbirds, Hymns for a Dark Horse (Burly Time)

No, I don’t like freak-folk. But I like Phil Moore and Beth Tacular. (Plus I was a huge fan of Moore’s other band, Ticonderoga. Plus, Bowerbirds’ freaky folk is married with California sunshine-pop to a delightful degree.

Dälek, Abandoned Language (Ipecac)

I never watched Doctor Who. I also failed to listen to Abandoned Language. Serendipity? Perhaps. But I liked Absence.

Steve Earle, Washington Square Serenade (New West)

Steve Earle is awesome. Jerusalem is badass. ‘Nuff said. That said, I didn’t listen to this.

Earth, Hibernaculum (Southern Lord)

I like Earth. I daresay I love Earth, based on the little I've heard. And, if nothing else, I respect the hell out of the legendary Seattle drone-metal group. But while "Ouroboros is Broken" set the standard for drone-metal in 2007, that was the only track I heard from Hibernaculum.

The Field, From Here We Go Sublime (Kompakt)

Sing me Swedish techno: This made so many year-end lists that I’ll probably regret not listening to it.

Interpol, Our Love to Admire (Capitol)

I wasn’t a fan of Antics, so I avoided Interpol’s third release. But I loved Turn on the Bright Lights, so I feel bad about it. Dig that cover art, though.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, 100 Days, 100 Nights (Daptone)

Chalk this one up to a classic case of “Hey, I loved that one song, but I never listened to the whole record.” The title track is a modern soul tour de force, but that’s all I know.

LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver (DFA/Capitol)

Given its position on just about every year-end list ever, I’m actually ashamed to have not heard this entire record. As such, I have to keep it out of the big list, despite the unquestionable awesomeness of “North American Scum” and “All Your Friends.”

Lupe Fiasco, The Cool (Atlantic)

This one was a lot simpler: It came out in mid-December, and I just haven’t had time to digest it yet. But if it’s anything like Food and Liquor, it’s getting the shaft by being stuck on this list.

Madlib, Beat Konducta Vols. 3-4: In India (Stones Throw)

I’m sorry, I was too busy listening to the Yesterday’s Universe disc.

Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Epic)

Hey, “Dashboard” was pretty cool, wasn’t it? And that guy from The Shins was on it a lot, right? Maybe I just really want this to be good.

The National, Boxer (Beggar’s Banquet)

Another record I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t listened to all the way through, mostly because it topped several of my friends' lists.

Okkervil River, The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)

Ditto. And I really like Okkervil River's first record.

Sigur Ros, Hvarf/Heim (XL)

This mostly good, sometimes boring Icelandic post-rock band kind of pushed me away with Takk... and flew too far under my radar this year, despite a heavy push from my boss.

Stars of The Lid, And Their Refinement of the Decline (Kranky)

Refinement received so many comparisons to Eno and Glass that I’m genuinely surprised that I didn’t listen to this.

Kanye West, Graduation (Roc-A-Fella)

Here’s my theory: Dropout was A New Hope; Late Admission was Empire. Therefore, Graduation is Jedi — not as good as either, but still a nice way to wrap things up.

The White Stripes, Icky Thump (Warner Bros.)

Yet another case of a band with a disappointing follow-up (Get Behind Me Satan) to a record I adored (Elephant). I hated The Raconteurs, too. But the single was banging. Perhaps I gave them one too many A-list sneers this year. Should’ve listened to this one; I generally enjoy The White Stripes.

The Year in Review :: Part Two: Vilification

2007-12-31T16:46:00.000-05:00

In which indierocket! editor Patrick takes on the year’s biggest disappointments and biggest stinkers. More...

A Place to Bury Strangers, A Place to Bury Strangers (Pimp City)
Don’t believe the blog hype. Total Jesus and Mary Chain ripoff.

Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (Merge)
Whereas Funeral was an outstandingly cathartic meditation on death and the hereafter, Neon Bible is too much of a Born in the U.S.A. carbon copy. Sure, Win Butler’s still one of the better songwriters in indie rock, but there’s too much morass here (see “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations,” “My Body is a Cage,” the title track), which drags down the stellar moments (see “Intervention,” “Keep the Car Running”).

Band of Horses, Cease to Begin (Sub Pop)
Just because a record is disappointing doesn’t mean that it’s automatically bad. Au contraire: Cease to Begin is a fine record, far from a sophomore slump, applying a Southern spit-and-polish to the majestic Northwestern grandeur of Everything All the Time. But I said Ben Bridwell would miss Mat Brooke, and I was right — despite the addition of Columbia keybanger extraordinaire Ryan Monroe, Cease to Begin suffers from a ritualistic sameness, not from song to song, but within the songs themselves. While Everything All the Time relied heavily on pristine builds and emotional catharsis, Cease to Begin is too pristine, too precious and a little too tedious.

Bloc Party, A Weekend in the City (Vice)
Now this is a sophomore slump record. Was Kele Okereke too concerned about the rumours that he likes getting buggered by geezers to write good songs?

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Some Loud Thunder (Wichita)
What did I say two years ago? Clap Your Hands Say Meh? I hate to say “I told you so” ... wait, no I don’t. I fucking told you so.

Deerhunter, Cryptograms (Kranky)
Don’t believe the blog hype, part two. Yet another begulingly Pitchfork-loved record that's no good, yet people went absolutely ape-poopy over it. Why?

Lavender Diamond, Imagine Our Love (Rough Trade)
Don’t believe the blog hype, part three. More boring than watching baseball.

The Mars Volta, The Bedlam in Goliath (Universal)
How does one say “Just stop it!” in Spanish?

M.I.A., Kala (XL)
This is what I wrote about Arular back in 2005: “oh, i'm sorry. i didn't realize "galang" was the indonesian word for 'shit.' it's as if every single genre ever known to man took a giant shit into a pot, and said, 'lo, this, too, is music!' it's not. it's the densest, most inaccessible piece of crap i've ever listened to. the only reason indie kids like it is because they think they should, because no one else gets it.” Kala is even worse, taking the worst parts of genres I both love (baile funk, electronica) and loathe (dancehall, dub, dirty house) and turning into an unintelligible mush of yelps, squawks and rattles. Sure, perhaps it’s one of those albums that I’ll never “get,” but that’s what this list is about, innit?

Minus the Bear, Planet of Ice (Suicide Squeeze)
One of Minus the Bear’s strong points has always been its temporary-yet-fleet-footed diversions into King Crimson prog. (See “Women We Haven’t Met Yet,” “Let’s Play Guitar in a Five Guitar Band,” basically all of They Make Beer Commercials Out of This.) But Planet of Ice’s downfall is its all-to-frequent excursions into bloated Floydian butt-prog. An underwhelming record from an extraordinary band with a nigh-impeccable track record.

Panda Bear, Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
Admittedly, I’ve never been able to get into freak-folk. But after seeing this record top so many year-end lists — including the one penned by our dear indierocket! comrade Tug — I wanted to like this. But it just seems like paint-by-numbers ‘60s psychedelia a la The Beach Boys.

Pelican, City of Echoes (Hydra Head)
Disappointing only because Pelican is one of my favorite bands, and City of Echoes just isn’t up to the bar-setting snuff of The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw.

Rilo Kiley, Under the Blacklight (Warner Bros.)
At least Jenny Lewis is still hot.

The Rosebuds, Night of the Furies (Merge)
This hurts. I love The Rosebuds, both as a band and as people; Ivan Howard possesses one of my all-time favorite voices, and Kelly Howard is a keyboard-mashing looker with no peer. But Night of the Furies is bogged down in end-of-the-dance-party melancholy, willful hook-freedom, cheeseball-synth string arrangements and unusually flaccid songwriting. While I reiterate that not all disappointing records are bad — and Night of the Furies is by no means bad — they’re disappointments for a reason. What was wrong with being a garage band people could dance to, guys? Why go all Smiths-via-Human League on us?

Smashing Pumpkins, Zeitgeist (Martha’s Music/Reprise)
You all know how I feel about this. Worst record of the year.

Wilco, Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
Anyone who says Sky Blue Sky is their favorite Wilco record is either a Nels Cline fanboy, a dad-rock apologist or a fucking liar. Sky Blue Sky isn’t bad, just boring, content to twiddle around with flat, second-rate ‘70s soft-rock songwriting. Still, “Impossible Germany” is one of the year’s finest guitar-driven songs, and Sky Blue Sky is at least better than A Ghost is Born.

Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (Republic)
There’s a web site devoted to taking bets on Amy Winehouse’s date of death for a reason. Even rehab couldn’t save this trainwreck.

The Year in Review :: Part One: Perspicacity

2007-12-31T15:51:00.000-05:00

In which indierocket! editor Patrick identifies the albums released in 2006 that should have made last year's year-end list. More...

Cinemechanica, The Martial Arts (Hello Sir)
Speedy, strong, shape-shifting post-hardcore that grabs you by the balls and refuses to let go.

Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar)
The free-jazz master’s best work since Science Fiction.

Colour Revolt, Colour Revolt (Esperanza Plantation/Tiny Evil/Interscope)
While the record doesn’t necessarily do the band the fullest justice, the grandiose nature of this Mississippi quintet’s epic indie rock is on full display. This is what ...Trail of Dead should be sounding like these days.

Gamenight, Simple Starts in the Mind (New Beat)
Nimble emo-prog from Knoxville buoyed by hyperliterate lyrics and acne-scarred broken-heartery.

Kaki King, ...Until We Felt Red (Velour)
Because when the horns come in on “You Don’t Have to Be Afraid,” you finally understand. Because “Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers” is extremely elegant in its simplicity.

Kickball, ABCDEFGHIJKickball (Yoyo)
I went to Nashville with my dear friend Jordan Blackmon in May to record with our dear friend Aaron Graves. I took a bus back to Columbia, and on the way to the bus station, we listened to this wondrous gem of Franco-tinged Northwestern indie pop. After that, “Shoulders” never really exited my head.

Midwest Product, Swamp EP (Ghostly International)
I first heard “Swamp” — the World Series of Love version — in a Hummer ad. True story. This EP remixes that gem and throws in four new tracks of haunting, delicate glitch-pop.

Plastic Little, She’s Mature (Traffic)
She’s Mature is anything but — the Philly-bred raunch-rap ensemble is as nasty as it wants to be, putting Luther Campbell and company to shame. And yet, for all the smut, there’s true street intelligence (“Crambodia”), outrageous satire (see “Rap O’Clock,” “All Y’all Niggas Dead”) and flat-out club-banging genius (see “The Jumpoff”).

This Moment in Black History, It Takes a Nation of Assholes to Hold us Back (Cold Sweat)
The names are meant to be provocative; the music is, too. This Moment in Black History’s raucous trash-punk lays Dirtbombs that explode with Sandanista! fervor.

So Percussion, Amid the Noise (Cantaloupe)
When I saw this acclaimed New York Ensemble perform Steve Reich’s Drumming in Columbia, I was blown away. When I heard its foray into glitchy, percussion-heavy blip-hop, I was eminently pleased. Like any ambient music worth its salt, it adheres to Eno’s requirements to a tee.

Alan Sparhaw, Solo Guitar (Silber Media)
I’m a guitar nerd, OK? I like when guitarists from critically acclaimed slowcore monoliths fuck around with ambient guitar works, all right?

Tube :: Tug's Favorite Videos of 2007

2007-12-17T13:48:00.000-05:00

Well, it's that time of year, folks. I've made my list, checked it twice, and here's my favorite music videos of this past year, with some slight commentary by myself along the way. Feel free to waste an hour or so of time that you're supposed to be working with these flickering images. More...

18. RJD2 - Work It Out
Directed by Joey Garfield

17. Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click
Directed by Randy Bell
I just blogged about this one the other day, but hey, it's still good enough to get on the list. Beware the cuteness!

16. Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches
Directed by Johan Sandberg, Fredrik Skogkvist, Henrik Timonen
Pat posted about this video way back when, and it still makes me laugh almost a year later. Have fun picking out your favorite hip-hop simile. My favorite is 'Count you out like a mathematician!'

15. Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do?
Directed by Dougal Wilson

14. Dizzie Rascal - Sirens
Directed by W.I.Z.
The fox-hunting metaphor in this video makes for some great music video gravitas.

13. Spoon - Don't You Evah
Directed by Hideki Kozima and Marek Michalowski
I'm not sure if this was the 'official' video for this song, but I think the story went that these guys made a video with their Keepon dancing to an older Spoon track, and then Spoon saw it and asked them to do this one. I may be making that up. Oh, and the cuteness threat level (CTL) has just jumped to RED, motherfuckers.

12. Feist - 1 2 3 4
Directed by Patrick Daughters
What can I say? I love it.

11. Final Fantasy - This Lamb Sells Condos
Directed by Stephanie Comilang and Jamie Shannon
Another one that I posted about earlier this year.

10. The National - Apartment Story
Directed by Banner Gwin
There's no real 'trick' or twist that makes this video great. It's pretty straightforward, but I think it's one of those instances where the music and the pictures just fit perfectly together. There's also some very well-composed shots in here.

9. Beirut - Elephant Gun
Directed by Alma Har'el
Whip out your mustache and do mustache-y things with it!

8. Grizzly Bear - Knife
Directed by Isaiah Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch

7. Fionn Regan - Be Good or Be Gone
Directed by Si and Ad
If you haven't heard of Regan yet, do yourself a favor and check this video out. The concept behind the video puts Regan singing the song in various places, all recorded live and blended together so subtly that you can hardly tell. And it's a heck of a song too.

6. Animal Collective - Peacebone
Directed by Timothy Saccenti
This is the first of two appearance by Timothy Saccenti on this list - a feat that no other director managed to do. Could it be that Saccenti is going for total music video domination? Keep reading...

5. Justice - D.A.N.C.E
Directed by Jonas & Francois

4. Malajube - Montreal 40-C
Directed by Louis-Philippe Eno
Another one that I blogged about previously and is also supercute.

3. Menomena - Rotten Hell
Directed by Stephanie Comilang and Jamie Shannon
Yep, I blogged about it before, so catch my comments at the link.

2. Battles - Atlas
Directed by Timothy Saccenti
And Saccenti scores again! Originally released sometime in March, this was a tiny window into the awesomeness that would be Mirrored. The 'mirror room' was built by the band themselves, and well, if you haven't seen it already, just watch the damn thing and be amazed. So if it's so good, how come Mr. Saccenti didn't get the top spot on my list? Well...

1. La Blogoteque

I'm kind of cheating here, but it's my list, and I can do whatever I want. I'm giving my top spot to the guys at La Blogotheque and their incredible Take-Away Shows. It's a combination of live music and film that's quite revolutionary in it's sepia-tinged brilliance. Do yourself a favor and check out a few of my favorites from this year below, and then head to their website and spend days watching all the goodies they have to offer. Here's hoping they make some kind of DVD box set...

#69.1 - MALAJUBE - Montreal -40°C
Uploaded by lablogotheque

#55.1 - Dirty Projectors - Part 1
Uploaded by lablogotheque

#40.3 - The National - Start a war
Uploaded by lablogotheque

#41 - Arcade Fire - Neon Bible & Wake Up
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Get Out! :: 12.14.07

2007-12-14T11:49:00.002-05:00

Get Out! is indierocket!'s occasional guide to getting down in the Soda City.

Descolada :: The 112 :: 7 p.m.
When a band cites such disparate bands as The Dirty Three, R.E.M., Massive Attack, Joy Division, Old Man Gloom, The Jesus Lizard and Isis as equal influence, the immediate, knee-jerk reaction is to call bullshit. But Asheville's Descolada incorporates all make and manner of styles into its unorthodox clamor, boasting a violin-wailing banshee and a heavy-as-fuck, take-no-prisoners rhythm section. It's as if Warren Ellis were playing with Neurosis, equal parts achingly beautiful and cathartically heavy. Highly recommended for the curious and adventurous. Bat-shit tech-metal quartet Sein Zum Tode and bass-driver post-rockers Jacob and I open. This is a house show, so we implore you: Don't do anything in this house you wouldn't do in your own. Damage: Donations highly encouraged.

The Engines :: University of South Carolina School of Music Recital Hall :: 7:30 p.m.
Forget Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Let’s play One Degree of Ken Vandermark, as each member of the Chicago free-jazz quartet The Engines — tromboner Jed Bishop, saxophonist Dave Rempis, bassist Nate McBride and drummer Tim Daisy — have all cut their teeth in one of the modern-jazz titan’s numerous groups. And while there are several hallmarks of the trademark Vandermark sound to be found in The Engines self-titled disc, particularly the blustery, blistering unison horn lines and steadfast-yet-inventive percussion, remember that these men have all distinguished themselves and composers and leaders outside of Vandermark’s realm. Indeed, it’s when The Engines cut loose and let fly with reckless abandon that the quartet shines, settling into ruthless, sometimes Zeppelin-esque grooves, particularly on “Jet Lag” and “Mash Tun.” Sure, these engines can go from zero to 60 in a heartbeat and stop on a dime, but its when set on cruise control — guiding the listener with subtlety and finesse rather than steamroller force — that the ride is most enjoyable. Saxophonist Aram Shelton, another notable Chicago player, opens on reeds and electronic manipulation. Damage: $7.

Los Perdidos :: The Whig :: 10 p.m.
Who says global warming is all bad? Look, aside from that brief cold snap at the beginning of the month, it’s been a relatively temperate winter here in the Capital City. Therefore, you have absolutely no reason not to break out your finest beachwear as our resident surfanistas return to The Whig for their annual yuletide extravaganza. ‘Tis the season, so expect a classic carol or two to sneak into Los Perdidos’ sizeable set of swingin’ instrumental surf-punk originals, which recall everyone from Link Wray to Santo and Johnny to Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. Damage: Free.

Josh Roberts & the Hinges :: Five Points Pub :: 10 p.m.
Put simply, Josh Roberts is one of the finest songwriters the Capital City has to offer. The former helmsman of the good ship Captain Easy recently released his second record with The Hinges — and the first with the current incarnation of the band — My War Cry is Amor, which is chock-full of delectable tunes, from the raucous "Atom Inhibitor" to the sweet "B+1B" to the epic "Every Brick of Downtown" to the tender "The Hardest Part of Winter." And as good as those records — Amor and the debut, The Sugarbird Test — the live Josh Roberts experience is one to behold, as Roberts is a consummate showman and righteous gunslinger. Damage: $7.

Blinded by Underpants :: Hunter-Gatherer :: 11 p.m.
If Tug can blog about his band, I can about mine, dammit. Loud, earnest, riotous post-pop a la 764-HERO, Swearing at Motorists. Good time for all. Plus, the Hunter-Gatherer is a perfect spot for a night-ending nightcap after you've been to one (or all) of the above shows. Damage: $3.

Tube :: Kermit the Frog covers Talking Heads

2007-12-14T11:41:00.000-05:00

Uhh, what else can really be said about this? It's Kermit the Frog singing (and aping the video to) "Once in a Lifetime," admittedly one of favorite Talking Heads songs. Still not as good as this, though. Or especially this.

New Noise :: God Help The Girl :: Perfection As A Hipster

2007-12-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

I had almost forgotten about the movie project God Help The Girl headed up by Stuart Murdoch (of Belle and Sebstian fame) until Pitchfork reminded me. Murdoch is hard at work casting the musical and will head into the studio to record the soundtrack in the spring. This early demo features Ladybug Transistor's Gary Olsen and B&S's own Catherine Ireton in a sweet little diddy about hipster girls. After a trip to Asheville a couple months ago, I started work on a song called 'I Want A Hipster Girlfriend,' but Murdoch beat me to the thematic punch, I'm afraid. And, of course, it's way better than anything I could have done. So while I shake my fist angrily at Stuart Murdoch, you lovely people can enjoy this great song he's written.

God Help The Girl (feat. Gary Olsen and Catherine Ireton) Perfection As A Hipster

Tube :: Bishop Allen :: Click Click Click Click

2007-12-10T12:25:00.000-05:00

Ah! It's just as cute as you knew it was going to be... Cuteness overpowering... Must lie down... Too much... cuuute...

Seriously, this is a great video. It reminds me of those neat camera commercials that were on all the time this summer. Props to director Randy Bell for a job well done.

Obit :: Karlheinz Stockhausen [1928-2007]

2007-12-07T16:05:00.000-05:00

This has apparently ruined indierocket! familiar (and occasional Free Times and Drawer B contributor) Logan's weekend: Karlheinz Stockhausen, one of the great visionaries of 20th Century music, died on Dec. 5. Best known for his avant-garde electronic work, Stockhausen was an experimental musician who utilized tape recorders and mathematics to create innovative, ground-breaking pieces. Electronic Study, composed in 1953, was the first musical piece composed from pure sine wave sounds; Electronic Study II, produced a year later, was the first work of electronic music to be notated and published. Endlessly prolific, whether in fashion or out of it, he composed 362 works, including the world's longest opera, Licht, a sequence of seven pieces — one for every day of the week. Licht, which took him 25 years to complete, will be performed for the first time next year; the whole piece lasts 29 hours. Though rarely embraced by mainstream audiences, diverse musicians such as Paul McCartney, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa and Bjork cited Stockhausen as an influence, and he’s often mentioned in the same breath as Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Morton Feldman as one of the most important experimental composers in the latter half of the 20th Century.

[Ed.'s note: You can find Logan's tribute to Karlheinz Stockhausen here. -p.]

New Noise :: Destroyer :: Foam Hands

2007-12-07T15:51:00.000-05:00

We IndieRocketeers loves us some Dan Bejar. Under his Destroyer moniker, he released one of my favorite albums of 2006, so I was pretty excited when Merge released a promo mp3 of a track off Trouble In Dreams, the upcoming eighth Destroyer album (due out March 18th), I knew I had to share it with you beautiful people.

Destroyer Foam Hands

Scene :: Dewey Cox & the Hard Walkers :: The Cubby Bear [Chicago, IL; 12.06.07]

2007-12-07T12:17:00.000-05:00

Let's just consider this reason No. 174 why your indierocketeers would want to live in Chicago. [via Pitchfork]

Have we mentioned that we're really excited about this movie? Walk Hard hits theaters December 21; the soundtrack is in stores now.

Get Out! :: Carolina Funk CD Release @ The Whig :: 12.07.07

2007-12-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

The South is notorious for its regionalism. Take barbecue, for instance. In South Carolina alone there are three distinct types of barbecue, each holding preference in a different region of the state. Throw in other Southern states, and you’ll find even more types— including that delicious Texas brisket. This regionalism applies to soul music as well as soul food, and Friday, Columbians can get the first taste of a new funk compilation highlighting R&B, soul and lots of funk acts local to the Carolinas from the late ‘60s to mid-‘70s. Out on London-based label Jazzman Records, which has put out other compilations featuring Texas and Florida funk, Carolina Funk: Funk 45s from the Atlantic Coast was put together by Chapel Hill native Jason Perlmutter, a long-time record collector and disk jockey.

The 22 tracks presented here are an assidiuous look at a bygone piece of local music history. According to local DJ Matt Bradley (perhaps better known as SinDoolah), 'Most of this stuff is super-obscure. I don’t think anybody knows about it but Jason.' Indeed, Perlmutter himself had to track down most of the producers or musicians himself to get the details and stories behind the recordings, which are all discussed at length in his meticulous and fascinating liner notes. 'The music isn’t out there,' Perlmutter admits. 'The history isn’t out there. It suggests a need for someone to write a book.'

The songs are just as varied and enthralling as the stories behind them. Rising out of the gospel music tradition and the socioeconomic plight of being African-American in the South during such a tumultuous time of racism and impoverishment, funk artists in the Carolinas definitely had plenty of blood, sweat and tears to put into these songs. With James Brown just down the road in Augusta, these artists also had the inspiration and drive to make some amazing music. There is an enduring nature to it that Bradley explains well: 'It’s desperate music. It comes from hard times, poverty.'

The compilation includes artists such as Asheville’s Innersouls, Florence’s Soul Impossibles, Columbia’s own Paul Burton and Winston-Salem’s Donnie Brown. While all the tracks are incredible, there are a few that stand out above the pack. Burton’s 'So Very Hard to Make It (Without You)' is one of the more soulful tracks on the album and one of the best baby-come-back-to-me songs I’ve ever heard, on par with some of Sam Cooke's stuff.

Female vocalist Sundia’s 'Stand Up and Be a Man' is a raspy funk groove that nears perfection. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, indeed. Frankie and the Damons drive a heavy funk frenzy while extolling the problems behind a 'Bad Woman.' If you’re not a funk fan, this comp has the power to convert you.

Projects like this are the type of thing that collectors, historians and music lovers everywhere hold in high regard, and Carolina Funk is no exception. It’s a collection worthy of the Numero Group Eccentric Soul series that bloggers and funk aficionados have been praising for years, and the fact that it all happened right here in our own backyard gives it even more gravitas. 'There’s people on this thing walking around town,' Bradley says. 'Maybe old dudes who are on here will come forward now.' Perlmutter certainly hopes so. 'I’d like to reach out to people who might have made records like these that I don’t know,' he says.

SinDoolah kicks off the night with some salacious soul and freaky funk, then Perlmutter himself will get on the ones and twos, playing more grooves including some of the tracks from the compilation. As Perlmutter forewarns, 'Tell people to bring their dancing shoes.' And don’t forget to bring $10 with you so you can get yourself a copy of the compilation. Believe me, 45 cents a song is well worth it for this eye-opening look at an important part of our local music history.

The spinning begins at 10 p.m. Admission is free; copies of the compilation will be available for $10. Call 931-8852 for more information.

Paul Burton - So Very Hard to Make It (Without You)

Go to Jason Perlmutter's myspace to hear more tracks, and head to GorillaVsBear to pick up Frankie and The Damons doing 'Bad Woman.'

Stay In! :: John C. Reilly on Fresh Air with Terry Gross

2007-12-04T12:59:00.000-05:00

Stay In! is indierocket!'s occasional guide to what's going on in the blog world.

We've already talked a little bit about how excited we are about upcoming music biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, but last night, I caught star and IndieRocket favorite John C. Reilly and director Jake Kasdan on Fresh Air on NPR. The interview is a lot of fun, but what really caught my attention was the discussion of how the music was written. Apparently, one of my old favorites Dan Bern wrote lots of the songs, including one called '(Have You Heard The News) Dewey Cox Died' where the titular character sings about how sad everyone will be on the day he dies. It's hilarious stuff. They play a bit of 'Royal Jelly,' a brilliant Bern-penned Bob Dylan send-up. And who better to spoof Dylan than Bern? Also, who knew that you could say 'rim job' on NPR?
The soundtrack is out today, and there's a deluxe edition exclusively out through iTunes that includes an extra disc with lots more Dan Bern songs. So check out the interview here and snatch the soundtrack. But you don't have to take my word for it! Here's a bit from Bern's myspace:

i spent well over a year writing songs for this movie, and wrote more songs than i can count, many of them with mike viola. an amazingly cool project. i am in dewey-withdrawal. the movie will have several songs i wrote or co-wrote, and there will be a double-album of dewey cox songs available on itunes, which will have a bunch more that i wrote or co-wrote. so, see these movies! get the soundtracks!

Musings :: Riding the Train

2007-11-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

Chicka-chicka-chicka-chicka-chicka-chicka-chicka-chicka! Why the hell has this song been in my head all day? Perhaps because it's not just any train — it's a choo-choo train.

Stay In! :: Rock Band vs. Real Band

2007-11-28T16:30:00.000-05:00

Stay In! is indierocket!'s occasional guide to what's going on in the blog world.

Ex Sleater-Kinney guitarist and all-around badass Carrie Brownstein dissects Rock Band on Slate, humorously comparing it to a real-life band experience. God bless whip-smart women who write about rock. Swoon!

New Noise :: Battles :: Ddiamondd

2007-11-19T12:22:00.000-05:00

So it looks like Battles have decided to give their fans an early Christmas present. Kinda like when you give your girlfriend that gift-wrapped lingerie a few weeks before Christmas because she's tipsy and, therefore, more likely to wear it and not realize that your 'gift' is just a present for yourself. Anyways, Battles. Sorry, I got distracted thinking about your girlfriend. Battles posted a little thanks-for-being-awesome-fans note on their myspace blog and included the lyrics to 'Rainbow,' 'Bad Trails,' and the impossible-to-decipher 'Ddiamondd.' They also decided to poke a little fun at the recent Prince debacle (Prince is kind of a dick? Shock!) with the picture posted above. Those guys... Anyway, check out 'Ddiamondd' and follow along with the lyrics. Use your mouse as a bouncy ball on speed if you want. You can find the other lyrics at their myspace page.

Battles Ddiamondd

DDIAMONDD

THE DIAMOND THAT WAS STOLEN HELD THE CODE THAT MELTED
WATER INTO LETTERS SPELLING WHERE IT HAD BEEN TAKEN TO
IN FACT I HAD A VISION OF THE NUMBERS CORRESPONDING WITH
THE LETTERS T-H-E-D-I-A-M-O-N-D

THEY'RE SUSPENDED LIKE A PRISM SPLITTING FLOODLIGHT TO
POLES OF PRIMARY COLORS CLAWING THE VEIL OF THE VACUUM
THERE'S A PICTURE OF THIS GIVEN TO AUTHORITIES, THE
SENTENCE "I'M AN ARCHITECT AND HERE'S MY PRISON" WRITTEN
ON IT

WITH SCHEMATICS SO METICULOUS THE MEASUREMENTS OF
SUPERIMPOSITIONS OF A ROOM WITHIN THE WINDOW MAKE A
DREAM THAT ENDS UP BEING SUCH AN ENTITY IN YOUR
REFLECTION, YOU ARE THE DREAM TO IT, YOU ARE IN THE PRISM

THE MIRRORS IN THE CORNER THROWING IMAGES AGAINST THE
OTHER MIRRORS MADE COUNTING CORNERS IMPOSSIBLE THE
BREAKING NEWS HAD COUNTED ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE,
SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN CORNERS OF THE
MIRRORED CORNERS

WHY HAVE YOU DONE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE SOMETHING IS SO
SINISTER WHEN STARRING AT THE DIAMOND SOMETHING YOU
HAVE DONE SO SINISTER WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS AM I IN THE
MIRROR AM I WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN STARRING AT AM I A
DIAMOND?

JUST LIKE A REFLECTION OF A FRIEND OF MINE, I AM A
REFLECTION OF AN ENEMY, AM I A REFLECTION OF AN ENEMY,
JUST LIKE A REFECTION OF A FRIEND OF MINE?

In other news, oh SNAP!

Get Out! :: 11.16.07; 11.17.07

2007-11-16T16:31:00.000-05:00

This weekend marks the release of two new EPs by two of Columbia’s finest bands. First up, dirty rockers The Unawares will be releasing Tooth Dip Friday night at Hunter-Gatherer. Recorded live to analog tape in three days at producer Chris Wenner’s home, Tooth Dip succeeds in catching the blistering live presence of the band. According to Wenner, “It’s about trying to capture the performance and making the band comfortable.” Shunning digital tricks, Wenner believes in the simplicity of his technique. “The tape adds its own saturation,” Wenner says. “Like sonic glue.” His methods certainly seemed to agree with the band, personally and sonically. “It’s minimalist, but definitely caught our authentic sound,” says drummer Rhett Berger.

And what a sound it is. The six tracks on Tooth Dip are a raucous, careening drive on a dark dirt road with the lights off. Vocalist-slash-guitarist John Watkins’s off-kilter lyrics match perfectly with his crooning vocal warble. Berger’s drums crash and crunch just as hard as they did when he and Watkins used to play together in high school, and in bassist James Wallace (erstwhile of The South Holes), they’ve found a perfect blend of technical skill and string-bending fervor. The music itself relies heavily on a garage- rock aesthetic with a dollop of Minutemen speed and a Robert Pollard-esque blend of lyrical absurdity and gravity. For a band a little over a year old, The Unawares have certainly found their groove quickly, making this type of recording possible — and preferable. While their first record, Hey Zeus, is equally satisfying, it was recorded before The Unawares even played a live gig together. “We didn’t have the chemistry that we have now,” Berger says. That chemistry is highly apparent on Tooth Dip — like a kid trying to blow up action figures with some fireworks and a chemistry set. The EP will be available at the show Friday and at Papa Jazz and Acme Records after that. But you can check out one track for yourself right here, and make sure to swing over to their myspace page for even more.

The Unawares Extract Lover

Saturday night at The Whig, Columbia can stop waiting for the new release from local phenoms Death Becomes Even The Maiden. Comprised of bassist-slash-vocalist Eric Greenwood (ex-From Safety To Where), guitarist Heyward Sims (ex-Bolt) and drummer Chris Powell (ex-Haunted Bulldozer), Death Becomes Even the Maiden has already garnered a well-deserved reputation as one of the best bands to come out of Columbia’s music scene in years, and this five-track EP, entitled The Arrangement, only gives that distinction more credence. Recorded at the Jam Room with engineer Steve Slavich, The Arrangement is another example of just how important it is for local musicians to have someone they trust behind the boards. According to Sims, “Steve knows how I work, and he and I just work quickly.” The album is technically brilliant: Greenwood’s vocals are especially impressive as he switches from melodic singing to scorching screams, giving his just-plain-fed-up lyrics weight; Sims’ guitarwork is as dexterous as ever, switching between nimble runs, heavy crunches and various squeals and beeps with seemingly effortless ease; then there’s Powell’s drums, tight and thunderous like the controlled explosions of a demolition crew. Like the band’s live shows, the EP is short and to the point — an ethic the band believes in. “Keep people wanting more,” is Greenwood’s credo, and the band certainly has. Speaking of Sims’ ability to constantly bring new material to the table, Greenwood says, “He’s just got so many ideas going; he’s so musical.” The members’ different backgrounds definitely lend to a unique sound. While not a perfect description, the best this poor music journalist can come up with is that Death Becomes Even the Maiden sounds like Nirvana doing Joy Division covers. But of course, all of Columbia will be able to judge for themselves on Saturday at The Whig, when they get to take home the best local recording of the year. Five bucks gets you into the show as well as a copy of the EP. Be sure to get there early. And bring earplugs.

Death Becomes Even The Maiden Control

The Unawares’ Friday night show at the Hunter-Gatherer begins at 11 p.m.; Glass Gnats (featuring Benoit St. Jacques and members of Grey Egg) open. Admission is $3; call 748-0540 for more information. Death Becomes Even the Maiden’s Saturday night show at The Whig begins at 11 p.m.; Black Swan opens. Call 931-8852 for more information.

(Note: This originally appeared in the Nov. 14 issue of Free Times.)

Travelogue :: Music for Airports

2007-11-15T14:11:00.000-05:00

This is the way the blog world works: Someone posts something; someone else likes it, then links to it. Third person likes it, links it, ad infinitum. And so it went with this video about Brian Eno's Music for Airports, which I learned from friends Drawer B (via the Washington Post) celebrated its 29th anniversary this year. One of Drawer B's curators asked the question if anyone had heard Music for Airports in an actual airport.

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In a serendipitous coincidence, I just so happened to be going on tour with Brave Horatius in a few days. As I don't have a passport, I'd be unable to cross the Canadian border into Toronto — where the tour began — with Jordan. So I'd meet him in New York City, which would require a flight from Charlotte's Douglas International Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. And while I couldn't rig it to where Eno's ambient masterwork would pipe over the airports' public address systems, I figured that I could do the next best thing: Listen to Music for Airports — completely uninterrupted — while within the confines of the airport. At the conclusion, I'd evaluate the piece — both in the context of Eno's intentions and its translation to the modern air travel experience.

I feel that I should mention at this juncture two things. Number one: I've always had a fascination with air travel, in particular airports. And while the 9/11 attacks have certainly made air travel considerably more difficult in recent years, I enjoy flying when I am able to do it. Number two: Prior to this little experiment, my exposure to Brian Eno's work was, at best, limited. While I was aware of his immense reputation, the only things in his ouevre I'd actually, you know, listened to were a handful of Roxy Music cuts and most of Here Come the Warm Jets, which my friend Matt had purchased for me a few years ago (along with, full disclosure, Rapeman's Two Nuns and a Pack Mule) as a Christmas gift. As for his ambient work, I was a blank slate.

Music for Airports: A Travelogue
Preamble

"Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." — Brian Eno, liner notes to Music for Airports.

As part of this little social experiment evaluates Eno's original intention for Music for Airports, it's important to glean exactly what those were.

In the above video, Eno talks about what he feels is, in essence, the duplicitous nature of airports — in particular their music. It's too happy, he says, citing that you shouldn't play happy music given that the possibility of plummeting to your death from thirty-thousand feet is very, very real. (Though unlikely: You're actually much more likely to be struck by lightning or die in a car crash, statistics show.) At heart, Music for Airports speaks to an idealized version of emotionless, disconnected and "ignorable" music that Eno speaks of.

From the above video (and the liner notes to Music for Airports), we can assume Eno's design as the following:

• It musn't interfere with human communication.
• It should last a very long time.
• It should be possible to be interrupted without suffering.
• It must be ignorable, but still be interesting.

We'll discuss this a little later, but it's again important to note the crux of Eno's "ambient" definition: It "must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular." If you do, as I did, listen to it intently at times, you will find true moments of real, human emotion in Music for Airports' synthesized facade. But that's not the point, is it? It's Eno's opus, to be sure, but does it work as he intended it to? Is it truly music for airports?

The parameters: Music for Airports must be listened to in its entirety while in transit to and inside Charlotte Douglas and while inside and in transit from JFK. Stipulations for interruption: Public addresses, and public addresses only, as per Eno's intention. Should the album be completed, it is to be listened to again, ad infinitum, until a stopping point is reached. The starting point was arbitrary; the stopping point(s) serendipitous.

Music for Airports: A Travelogue
Charlotte Douglas International Airport

"1/1" (17:21)
My parents live in Fort Mill, S.C., roughly 10 minutes from Charlotte Douglas, admittedly one of my more favorite airports. The thing about Charlotte Douglas is that it still adheres to the romantic ideal of air travel of Eno's time circa the writing of Music for Airports. Almost everything is immaculate in preparation and presentation — muted, calming colors; lots of brushed steel; intelligent design and architecture. Admittedly, I'm not a nervous traveler, but it's fitting that I'm at ease when I pop in the earbuds on my approach to the airport. I reassure my mother that no, I'm not being rude to her and yes, I will be able to hear any important announcement — so long as Eno accomplishes his goal of doing so, I remark. In turn, my mother reassures me that she thinks I'm kind of a strange bird.

"1/1" is built upon a simple, repeating-yet-not-quite-repeating looped piano figures and fleshed out with warm synthesizer swells. It's early on that I notice: Music for Airports is deceptively warm, breathable music. For all it's machinated tape loops and synthesized trappings, the tones on Music for Airports are remarkably warm and the record has a decidedly open feel to it, which makes the hustle and bustle of the drop-off seem remarkably slowed-down, as if I'm in the slow-motion opening credits to a Wes Anderson movie. (Indeed, as I remark to fellow indierocketeer Tug upon returning from tour, I almost felt as if I were high the entire time.) As I step out of the car and get my bag, a brief, cold wind snaps through the portico, and my eyes scan the horizon. It's a feeling that will return to my mind often.

My least favorite experience — and hey, let's be honest, everyone's least favorite experience — of modern air travel is the hassling, nigh-authoritarian check-in screening process. In that regard, "1/1" is remarkably calming and an interesting contrast to the authoritarian overtones of airport security; its simple loops twinkling and harmonizing in my ears. Then again, with it's dark, low, heavy piano notes, there's a foreboding air about it, and that feeling of the cold snap of the chilly wind comes back again.

I make it through the security checkpoint and into the concourse, itself abuzz with commuter traffic. Whatever usually insipid music the airport plays is blocked out by my earbuds. It's time to test Eno's first key tenant. I walk up to the information kiosk and — without removing headphones — where the ATM machine is. I'll freely admit that she could have been talking louder than usual, but I still heard her loud and clear. I jaunt over to the ATM, pick up some cash and head back to the concourse.

"1/2" (8:54)
Time does not exist in airports — especially not major international hubs. It caters to the idealized comforts of common travelers — were I to, say, fly overnight, yet want a steak when I land, there's a good chance I can get one, more than likely from the national chain that's set up a twenty-four-hour location inside the concourse.

I'm not surprised then, when I am able to walk into a bar circa nine a.m. and order a White Russian. (Full disclosure: While the bartender's name wasn't Gary, he did, indeed, make a hell of a Caucasian. I told him so, but I don't think he got the reference. "1/2"'s effectiveness at soundscaping missed jokes: High.)

I pull up a barstool close to the awning that separates the bar from the concourse and point myself outward. "1/2" is built on soft vocal samples, looped and swelled at incongruous intervals. (The idea, Eno said, was to have the samples impossible to resync with one another in order to explore how the samples interacted. It's a genius idea, really, and it works — the samples repeat, but it's only discernable if you strain hard enough.) "1/2" passes Eno's biggest functional criterion: Several public addresses were made during my resting period, and although I could have, I refrained from pausing or turning down the music, and I was still able to clearly comprehend the announcement. (I was also able to hear the SportsCenter anchors talk about the Colorado Rockies very clearly.)

My flight was in Concourse C, the easternmost concourse. Charlotte Douglas provides moving sidewalks for such trips; I board one and make my way there. While "1/2" is the shortest piece in Music for Airports, I'm still slightly surprised when it ends abruptly. But I suppose that's the idea, isn't it? The last criterion — It must be ignorable, but still be interesting — is satisfied.

"2/1" (12:06)
"2/1" is the piece in Music for Airports that comes closest to having a noticeable key signature. (Ed.'s Note: I haven't actually dissected the notes or the chord structure, so it's inherently possible that "2/1" could be in a major key. Regardless, I think the important aspect is that the minor key is somehow implied in the songs's structure — most notably when it ends on a slow, sad single-note run.) The piano chords and melody lines are decidedly minor and the vocal-loop swells play up the somber mood. Again, Eno plays with the traveler's emotional dynamic — it's soft and soothing, but oddly unsettling in its minor key, subtly reinforcing the ever-present (yet rarely thought about) danger of air travel.

Still, it's strangely appropriate for the trip on the moving sidewalk. Though I'm not a nervous traveler, there is that inherent trepidation felt when making your way toward a plane. As the sun continues its nascent rise to its apex, it alights the taxi area in an warm, golden glow that's as eerie as it is heavenly. I scribble in my notes that I wonder if I'd feel the same if "2/1" weren't so dark.

As I step off the moving sidewalk, I hear the beeps of an airport cart, one of the ones airports use to transport handicapped passengers. Its Doppler swell provides an organic and interesting ambient quality — its unexpected and wholly separate from the musical intention of the track, yet fits snugly as if it were intended.

"2/2" (9:38)
Whatever unsettling feelings — real or otherwise — imparted by "2/1" are washed away by the thirty-five seconds of silence that separates it from "2/2," which begins with a slow droning buzz (a low-frequency note) that gives way to soft, sustained synthesizer notes that individually recorded but sampled into implied arpeggios. If "2/1" is the darket is Music for Airports' four pieces, "2/2" is the lightest — it's stoic and reserved, to be sure, but there's an undeniably triumphant and elegaic quality to "2/2" that's incredibly soothing and uplifting. Its a welcomely reassuring contrast to the doom-and-gloom minor key of "2/1."

I check in at the gate — again without removing my earbuds, which this time gives the ticket taker apparent cause for consternation — and slump down into a seat. The man to my left is a businessman of some sort; he's talking about the price of lumber. The girl on my left is younger, probably a student; she's listening to rap music much louder than I'm listening to Eno. Another beeping cart passes by.

I take a trek to the men's room, pick up a bottle of water in the gift shop and return to the gate to find my seat filled. I plant myself on the window ledge and stare off into the distance. I'm still clearly able to hear the boarding call for my zone — which is apparently how airlines board these days — and I take my seat: Middle of the cabin, next to the window. Even though it's Music for Airports, it's hard to believe that Eno didn't take into account the actual airplane itself, and the last trilling notes of "2/2" mesh well with the constant sigh of the fans, the bings and bongs of the Fasten Seat Belt sign turning on and off and the general clamor of pre-flight preparations. As we taxi, the stewardess taps me on the shoulder, telling me that I must turn my iPod off. As she tells me this, the last arpeggiated notes of "2/2" fade softly yet quickly. I nod, smiling at the pleasant happenstance.

Music for Airports: A Travelogue
John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Airport

"1/1" (17:21)
We touch down at JFK earlier than expected. As I fire up Music for Airports for a second full run-through, the pilot informs us that we are, in fact, half-an-hour early — Aside: Such a feat has never happened, ever, in the history of everything — and that the outside temperature is sixty degrees. The first lilting, reverbed notes of "1/1" seem warmer with the delivery of the good news. I glance outside the window — the skies are completely gray and overcast. "1/1" immediately adopts a gloomier tone.

Terminal 7 at JFK is broken and bruised — it's undergoing a major facelift, and, as such, many things are closed and/or roped off. Still, it's a major internationl wing of the airport — many of the travelers are of East Asian descent. They all look exhausted after a long journey. "1/1" is equal parts calming and depressing music for the experience.

In the interest of full disclosure, I also took a dump while listening to "1/1." As far as I can tell, it neither helped nor hindered my movement.

"1/2" (8:54)
JFK has a number of duty-free airports in Terminal 7. I debate purchasing a bottle of scotch whiskey — you know, just because — but ultimately just wander about the terminal for a few minutes. Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has a song on his Places record called "Airport Sadness"; something about "1/2" makes me think of that phrase here. Perhaps it's "1/2"'s distinctly lonely fell — the soft, swelled vocals loops don't ever sync up again. I could be overwrought and make a half-baked metaphor about the "alone with everyone" air travel experience, but Fight Club did it first and better. I think, rather, that it's a product of the music adapting to the environment. Just a few hours ago, "1/2" was calming and soothing as I was drinking a White Russian in a busy Charlotte airport. Now, alone in a near-abandoned wing of JFK, "1/2" is much colder and much more alien.

My hypothesis of the three most-purchased items in airport shops: Chewing gum, cold medicine, magazines. I buy the first two — again, mostly ignoring "1/2" aside from recognizing its existence — and continue wandering.

"2/1" (12:06)
Admittedly, my notes for the second listen of "2/1" are lacking. I remember, though, being shooed away from a construction site by two JFK employees — one Hindu, the other East Asian, reinforcing the internationality of the airport — and sitting in a small, open coffeeshop, drinking some Airborne-infused water, eating a Snickers bar while staring out of the window at the overcast and watching the employees on the loading docks scamber about.

I remember being calm, yet distinctly ill at ease, which is, again, partly due to "2/1"'s minor key. This is not aided by the fact that my call to Mr. Blackmon reveals that he is nowhere near the city limits, and won't be for some time. I make my way out of the airport — literally alone in the city.

"2/2" (9:38)
JFK is connected to Queens by the AirTrain, an extension of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Not knowing, per se, where I'm headed, I arbitrarily choose the train that takes me into Queens; Jamaica Station in particular.

It's on this brief jaunt that I realize Eno's masterstroke in full. A young Korean family stands toward the back of the car. It's obvious they're new arrivals, and each takes the city in differently. The man gazes in wonder at the not-so-distant skyline; the woman nervously rubs her arms and furrows her brow; the baby is amazed at every little thing. Yet "2/2," in all its resplendent glory, is the perfect musical touchstone for all of their sweeping and dichotomous emotions. Music for Airports, at heart, is music of contrast. It encapsulates both dread and wonder with equal aplomb. It's emotional, yet disconnected; warm, yet entirely disinterested. It is, for lack of a better phrase, entirely and utterly human.

And, seemingly as soon as it began, it's over. As I hit Jamaica Station, the last synthesized swell fades; fittingly, all I'm left with is the whine of the AirTrain as it lumbers toward the city.

Music for Airports: A Travelogue
Appendix: New York City Subway System

As I had some time — and money on my MetroCard — to kill, I decide to take the subway from Jamaica Station to Penn Station, on 42nd Street in Manhattan. Though the title of the work is Music for Airports and not Music for Subways, I figure the gist is the same — it's music for a mass transit system that while once romanticized is now claimed by hustle, bustle and the gripping paranoia of 21st Century terrorism. Unremarkably, the results are the same — "1/1" serves equally well as incidental music for a chatty Latino teen as well as an elegaic background for a sleeping transient. "2/2" is no less triumphant when I exit Penn Station as when I boarded my flight back in Charlotte.

Perhaps Music for Mass Transit could have been the more appropriate title — it's equally suited for the epic mundanity of Gotham's subways as it is the romantic grandeur of air travel.

Music for Airports: A Travelogue
What Have We Learned?

This is all Linda Kohanov of allmusic.com has to say about Music for Airports:

"Four subtle, slowly evolving pieces grace Eno's first conscious effort at creating ambient music. The composer was in part striving to create music that approximated the effect of visual art. Like a fine painting, these evolving soundscapes don't require constant involvement on the part of the listener. They can hang in the background and add to the atmosphere of the room, yet the music also rewards close attention with a sonic richness absent in standard types of background or easy-listening music."

Truthfully, little else can be said about Music for Airports, and little criticism can be lobbied against it. If I were to have one complaint, it's that there's often times too much empty space in between movements. But that's splitting hairs — and, in all fairness, such silence is more than likely deliberate — and Music for Airports is what it is: An absolute masterpiece, and a masterpiece the listenability and impression of which is ultimately dependent on context and listener emotion. Music for Airports isn't Ride of the Valkyries or even "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" — it's music designed specifically to be devoid of casually imparting any emotion on the listener. But I disagree with Eno: Music for Airports can be "happy music"; it can also be markedly sad and at times even incredibly foreboding. It functions perfectly as incidental music for a large, bustling crowd; it can also be a poignant touchstone for painfully alone moments. It wasn't intended to be beautiful music — it just so happened that it came out that way.

That said, one must ultimately evaluate Music for Airports based almost solely on the artistic intentions behind it. It doesn't interfere with human communication; it is, indeed, very long, clocking in at exactly forty-eight minutes (which can't be unintentional); it is able to be interrupted without suffering. Most importantly, though, it passes Eno's ultimate definition of "ambient" music — it's entirely ignorable, but, for the sonically studious, is richly engrossing, unfolding and developing in interesting — and oftentimes remarkably revolutionary — ways. Its greatest strength, ultimately, is its flexibility, as what can sound at one point as the darkest point of the record can at another point sound like the lightest. It's incredible, really, that Eno was able to create music that's one-hundred percent incidental and one-hundred percent contextual.

From Roxy Music to Here Come the Warm Jets to his production credits, Brian Eno's done a lot of things right. But with Music for Airports, it's possible that he's created something nearly perfect. It might not soothe the most cantankerous of travelers, but I think the world would be a lot better — if not a lot calmer — place if Music for Airports was airing where it was intended to.

Backtrack :: Plumtree :: Scott Pilgrim

2007-11-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

So I've been waiting far too long for this day. Scott Pigrim Vol. 4 is here! Undoubtedly one of my favorite comics in years, Scott Pilgrim is one of those perfect pictures of a generation (my generation, in this case). I could go on and on about it, but hey, this is a music blog, right? Why am I even mentioning a comic? Well, first off, it's written and drawn by Bryan Lee O'Mally, who is the brains behind Kupek, a band we've written about before. Not only that, but the titular character is named after a song by all-girl, all-Canadian indie pop group Plumtree. While unfortunately now defunct, Plumtree was one of those groups that emerged from the under the tattered flannel of grunge and made brilliant (and generally happy, gasp!) pop music a lá Matthew Sweet. It's a simple, sweet song that never fails to make me smile as the line 'I've liked you for a thousand years, a thousand years' repeats over and over. Anyway, enjoy the song, and check out the cute Canadian girls who says 'aboot' in the video for the song below.

Plumtree - Scott Pilgrim

Tube :: Radiohead covers Joy Division

2007-11-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

Yeah, yeah. Everyone and their brother has posted this capture of a Radiohead webcast. (Including our friends at Drawer B.)

But damn if this isn't the finest cover of "Ceremony" since New Order's.

Tube :: Klaxons

2007-11-09T12:09:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I've been locked in a week-long battle with Windows Vista that threatens to shake the earth with its fury. Anyways, I've been meaning to post about the video for 'Magick' by Klaxons ever since I saw it on a special Halloween episode of Subterranean. Then I got to thinking about all the other Klaxons videos and realized that they're all pretty darn good. While 'It's Not Over Yet' and 'Golden Skans' both suffer from kinda being the same video ('Oi! Let's break stuff in slow motion, mates!'), they're both still pretty good. I really don't know where I was going with this post except to say that Klaxons do a fairly good job of presenting themselves well in their videos. And 'Magick' is my favorite. It's really creepy. Enjoy. Look forward to more posts next week. Good local stuff is on your way!

Klaxons - Magick

Klaxons - Atlantis to Interzone

Klaxons - Golden Skans

Klaxons - It's Not Over Yet

Musings :: Superdrag

2007-11-09T11:12:00.002-05:00

I've been feeling Nineties-nostalgic these days. Perhaps its the upcoming Smashing Pumpkins gig in Columbia, despite my bitter disappointment with the new record. (Read all about it here.) Perhaps it was the recent WUSC Nineties-themed fundraiser weekend, which reminded me why I loved the Nineties (I heard some of my long-forgotten favorite jams from The Presidents of the United States of America, The Drop Nineteens and a slew of one-hit wonders) and simultaneously hated the Nineties (middle school notwithstanding, a lot of Nineties non-college radio sucked massive dong). Imagine my delight, then, when I tripped over a Daytrotter session featuring one of my all-time favorite Nineties bands, Superdrag.

(Quick aside: To those of you who don't peruse Daytrotter on at least an occasional basis, shame on you. You're missing out.)

My introduction to the totally underrated Knoxville quartet — helmed by John Davis and featuring a rotating ensemble of players, including Mic Harrison, during the band's tenure — was Headtrip in Every Key, the follow-up to the band's other magnum-opus Nineties classic, Regretfully Yours. While the latter featured the MTV Buzz Bin — hey, remember that? — single "Sucked Out" and the anthem "Cynicality," Headtrip in Every Key was the stronger record from top to bottom, filled with everything that appealed to my suburban-white-teenness — well-crafted songs about boredoms, drugs and vampires; acerbic guitars and laconic vocals; and a psuedo-concept-album fell that was well suited to soundtracking listless driving and other teenage-riot miscellany. It didn't start a revolution like Nevermind and it wasn't trying to change the world like Siamese Dream; Headtrip is simply a five-star, A-plus powerpop record. No more, no less. Its beauty lies in its simplicity, but also in its inherent complexity — it's beautifully recorded and masterfully produced, leaving many hidden sonic treasures and sly musical jokes waiting for the attentive listener.

The 'drag (as I'm sure nobody called them) split up in 2002 after the release of Last Call for Vitriol, during the recording of which Davis apparently found Christ. Thankfully, he won't be stuffing the New Testament down our throats, telling I Am Fuel, You Are Friends that "'Christian' anything really is an irrelevant way to approach the Gospel anyway because it is not mean to be under glass." (Note: The I Am Fuel interview also contains several links to Superdrag songs, including covers of "Bastards of Young," "Motor Away" and "Wave of Mutilation.")

"Sold You an Alibi" was (and is) my jam from Headtrip, and Superdrag performed a spirited version of the song on its Daytrotter session (linked below), which came during the middle of its own reunion tour. Huh ... first The Pixies, then the Pumpkins, now Superdrag? Bring back The Presidents and I'll truly feel like I'm in the ninth grade again.

Superdrag: "Sold You an Alibi" (Daytrotter session) (via Daytrotter)

Tube :: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings :: 100 Days, 100 Nights

2007-11-01T16:30:00.000-04:00

The funkiest, soul-iest record label Daptone Records just released the video for '100 Days, 100 Nights,' the title track to the new album by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. The video was directed by Adam Elias Buncher with two vintage TV cameras, a fifty dollar value on eBay, apparently. After watching the video, make sure to check out Binky Griptite's Ghetto Funk Power Hour, a mix of tons of great new music from Daptone Records.

Tube :: Panda Bear :: Comfy In Nautica

2007-11-01T11:45:00.000-04:00

What could be more perfect for a song with lyrics like, 'Try to remember always just to have a good time,' than a hazily-filmed skateboarding video? I think nothing could be more perfect, and so did directors Patrick O'Dell and Sam Salganik when they made this little bit of sunshine for Panda Bear's 'Comfy In Nautica.' It's beauty is in it's simplicity, making it one of my favorite videos of the year so far. Kick back and enjoy the good vibrations, friends!

In other news, I heard Spoon's 'Underdog 'playing in McDonald's of all places while I was enjoying the return of the McRib. After getting over the initial shock, I realized that the tangy BBQ sauce, onions, and pickles went perfectly with the diligent production and bouncy percussion of Britt Daniel and Co. It was a nice moment.

Get Out! :: 10.30.07

2007-10-30T16:45:00.001-04:00

Get Out! is indierocket!'s occasional guide to getting down in the Soda City.
Murder by Death, Due East, Brave Horatius, ...for science! :: New Brookland Tavern :: 7 p.m.
The fact that this is a Murder by Death show should be enough to get your ass out to New Brookland tonight. If'n you don't know, let Wikipedia tell you: "The band plays an eclectic range of music, from eight minute ethereal instrumentals, to driving punk rock, to alt-country. Their earlier releases create an eerie southern gothic sound accented by keyboard and electric cello while their later releases, which still incorporated the cello, but less keyboard, become more guitar driven with a combination of edgy punk sneering and fantastical western woes." Got it? Good.

Due East are up-and-coming local alt-country shit-kickers. We love them dearly.

Brave Horatius is wonderfully somber indie folk. We love him dearly, too.

...for science! is a post-metal trio (think a cross between Mogwai and Pelican) comprised of members of Alaska the Tiger, Sein Zum Tode and The Heist and the Accomplice. This is its second show. Damage: $10.

Scene :: DJ Spooky :: Columbia Museum of Art [Columbia, S.C.; 10.26.07]

2007-10-28T18:13:00.000-04:00

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New Noise/Tube :: Des Ark

2007-10-27T00:51:00.000-04:00

Some of you might recall my absolute love of Aimee Argote (or simply remember that time she played the Art Garage or The Immaginarium), whose songs absolutely gut you like a fucking fish. So you'll understand I'm excited at the above clip, which not only shows Argote fleshing out Des Ark with a full band again, but playing a raucous new jam called, according to one poster, "FTW, Y'all." Damn yeah.

Get Out! :: 10.26.07

2007-10-26T17:13:00.000-04:00

Get Out! is indierocket!'s occasional guide to gettin' down in the Soda City.

DJ Spooky :: Columbia Museum of Art :: 10 p.m.
It's the Halloweekend here in the Capital City — yours truly will be masquerading as Artie, the Strongest Man in the World — and in an odd bit of serendipity, DJ Spooky trots through on one of his many globe-trotting trips to spin the mix fantastic at the wonderful and wonderous Columbia Museum of Art. A true renaissance man with a wireless imagination — in addition to being a revolutionary DJ, Spooky's also a noted writer (appearing in such diverse publications as ArtForum and Raygun), scholar (his book, Rhythm Science deconstructs music theory using the DJ's template) and multimedia artist (his art's appeared at the Whitney Biennal and the Venice Biennial of Art) — Spooky treats the entire media culture as his buffet, celebrating globalization and digital media as an entropic force for the emerging global culture. His mixes are simultaneously intelligent and irreverent, mashing up breakbeats, ethnic instrumentation and pop hits that have been sliced, diced, pureed and pulverized beyond recognition. The live Spooky experience is a feast for all the senses. Go. Now. Damage: $15 ($12 for Museum members).

Sindoolah! :: The Whig :: 9 p.m.
The baddest of badass Columbia deejays, Sindoolah spins "Soul from Cambodia, Go-Go from Laos, Power Ballads from Morocco, Punk from Forrest Hills, Rock from Ann Arbor, Noise from Japan, Funk from Augusta Ga., Pop from France, HipHop from '89, Blues from Clarksdale, Hardcore from DC, showtunes from India, Electronic from NY, Jazz from Philly, Prog from Cologne, Country from Bakersfield, and Field Recordings from outside the Food Lion in 5 Points." Trust us: It's one hell of a time. If you needed any more indication of the hell-of-a-time it'll be, The Whig's throwing a Halloween costume party. With rollergirls. Rollergirls, dudes. Rollergirls. Damage: Free.

Tube :: Aphex Twin :: On

2007-10-22T21:30:00.000-04:00

So here's a nice little surprise. The new Aphex Twin video is directed by none other than Pulp's Jarvis Cocker! It's a neat little stop-motion meets live-action video - Monty Python animation meets an amateur Stan Brakhage, if you will. Check out the cardboard cut-out of Richard D. James a la the Pulp video for 'Disco 2000.' According to Cocker's hilarious Uncyclopedia entry, Cocker 'has a nasty habit of turning whoever he shags into a cardboard cut-out, to keep up the facade he is a lonely wanker.' So does this mean that James could have been one of Cocker's conquests? 'Come to daddy,' indeed.

Get Out! :: 10.19.07

2007-10-19T17:47:00.000-04:00

Get Out! is indierocket!'s occasional guide to getting down in the Soda City.
Vinyl Are My Pants, Bullship :: Hunter-Gatherer :: 11 p.m.
Pictures don't lie: There are but two people in Vinyl Are My Pants. As a huge fan of duos (see: Black Keys, White Stripes, Blinded by Underpants), Jack and Marty Dunn have already scored points by trimming off the collective fat that is a bass player and sloughing the useless fuck that is a lead guitarist (bunch of wankers they are). What scores more points, however, is the fact that VAMP's sound is as thick and attractive as any more-membered combos. Recalling Versus' tougher moments (or perhaps Blonde Redhead, except not sissies), tunes the likes of "Gibbowr," "Ca Plane Moi (Avec Fries)" and "Cold" assault your eardrums with post-modern themes,angular chord progressions and thunderstruck drums. (There's also a heaping helping of glam-rock strut; be sure to request "Queen Bitch.") Your indierocketeers are especially fond of "For the Wire."
Minimalist, camera-shy Charlotte trio Bullship actually recalls Jack and Marty's former band, Slurr, with its penchant for pitch-perfect (or perhaps purposefully pitch-imperfect) no-fi anti-pop anthems. Think of it as math-rock if you must, but Bullship's tangents are so sloped, you might need an degree in hyperbolic geometry to picture the patterns. Damage: $3.

Vinyl Are My Pants — "Cold"; "Your GPS is Broken"
Bullship — "La Cinco"; "Narrow Medicine"

Get Out! :: The Placemats @ Art Bar :: 10.20.07

2007-10-19T17:44:00.000-04:00

So you might have noticed a lack of posts from me lately, and well, here's the main reason why...

Yep, my Replacements tribute band The Placemats is playing for the first time tomorrow night at Art Bar. I'm pretty damn excited, and I think other people are too. Here's what the Free Times had to say about us...

The story of The Replacements is as much about the songs of Paul Westerberg as it is their self-destructive behavior, which was designed to keep them at an arm’s length of greater spoils. Along the way, songs such as “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “Bastards of Young,” “Alex Chilton,” “Left of the Dial” and “Color Me Impressed” typified the band’s knack for making some of the best racket of the 1980s. This show marks the public debut of a Replacements tribute band comprised of five of the most popular guys in Columbia: Bassist David Adedokun (of Courage Riley and Daylight Hours); lead guitarist Mike Schaming (Hot Lava Monster); drummer Mike McCormick (Hungry Models); rhythm guitarist Kenley Young (How to Vanish); and vocalist Tug Baker (Columbia’s answer to Dionysus). Also on the bill are tributes to The Misfits and The Doors. K. Foster

So that's the end of my shameless self-promotion. See you there!

New(ish) Noise :: Cake: B-Sides & Rarities

2007-10-16T12:40:00.000-04:00

Blogging means never having to say you're sorry. Perhaps I'm mixing my metaphors, but my point is that I tell you, dear reader, without any trace of shame that I think Cake is pretty fucking awesome. I think it's unfortunate that the band's sometimes-wistful, sometimes-humorous, always-entertaining twang-pop never really and truly caught on with the American music-listening public — bunch of slack-eared retards that they are — despite two top-five Billboard singles ("Never There" and "The Distance") and two platinum records (not surprisingly 1996's Fashion Nugget and 1998's Prolonging the Magic, which spawned the band's hit singles). The most despicable part is that Cake's existence seems to be relegated, at least among my peer group, to the "Oh, ha ha, remember this band from when we were in middle school?" plane of existence — again, mostly by the slack-eared retards of the yada yada yada. If there have been any constants during Cake's popular — and, yes, I'm using the term loosely — years, one has been John McCrea's deadpan delivery and penchant for snappy wordplay and the other's been cover songs — sometimes sincere (see "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"), sometimes ironic (see "I Will Survive"), but, again, always entertaining.

Though it's disheartening that Cake's first proper release since 2004 is a covers and B-sides records, it does play well to the band's strengths — that is to say, tuneful, toneful and terribly terrific laconically voiced off-kilter country-fried-jazz-infused-funk-inflected-quasi-indie rock. You can order the cleverly titled B-Sides and Rarities on Cake's official website, where you can also hear clips of the tunes. Among the choice cuts: A cover of "War Pigs" that comes off surprisingly well; and a version of "Mahna Mahna," one of this indierocketeer's favorite songs of all-time. (Not surprisingly, Cake knocks that one out of the park.) There's also a swell version of Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night."

Cake — "Mahna Mahna"
Cake — "War Pigs"

Scene :: Free Times Music Crawl [Columbia, S.C.; 10.06.07]

2007-10-11T14:24:00.000-04:00

If you weren't at the Free Times Music Crawl last Saturday, then you missed out big time. It was the probably the best line-up I've ever seen at the Crawl and the most fun I've had at one. I stayed at Art Bar for the most part to catch some of that indie goodness that Columbia has to offer. Here's some pictures I snapped of some of the incredible acts. Apologies to the bands not covered here. It was my first time using this camera for shooting shows, so some of them didn't come out so hot. We'll get you next time around, guys.

Magnetic Flowers
For the Free Times Crawl preview, I wrote this about Magnetic Flowers:

Magnetic Flowers’ last appearance at Art Bar was a revelation. It was one of those shows where afterwards everyone kept saying, “Where did these guys come from?” Well, they’ve been here a while now, but during that show, Magnetic Flowers truly came into their own as one of the best acts Columbia has to offer. The addition of new bass player Albert Knuckley freed up Adam Cullum to play keys throughout the entire set, adding a fullness and vehemence that was missing before. Their subtle blend of indie rock and Americana makes for an energetic yet poignant experience that shouldn’t be missed.

Ah, it's good to be right.

The Gadgets
This was probably my favorite show of the whole night. It was my first time seeing The Gadgets after listening to their MySpace tracks incessantly, so I was glad to finally be able to rock out up front and sing along to a few songs. It's pure pop bliss but done 80s hardcore style... if that makes sense. Anyways, I can't wait for them to play again.

The Heist And The Accomplice
Why aren't these guys on a label yet? Well, I suppose if Chaz's solo project keeps getting this kind of attention, then it's only a matter of time. Their set was the same bouncy, dance-y goodness that we've all come to expect from them. The new songs from their upcoming album sound incredible as well. Can't wait for that one.

Death Becomes Even The Maiden
As usual, DBETM came on the stage, rocked the hell out of the audience, then got off the stage, leaving everyone wanting more. Luckily, you'll be able to get more soon, when their new EP The Arragement comes out. Word is that it'll be sooner than you think. We here at IndieRocket will definitely keep you posted.

More of my crappy photos of amazing bands after the jump if you want to check them out.

Read on, IndieRocketeer...

More Magnetic Flowers...

The Gadgets...

The Heist And The Accomplice

Death Becomes Even The Maiden

New Noise :: The 4am :: A New Podcast by Warren Ellis

2007-10-06T17:47:00.000-04:00

On Monday, British comic scribe, novelist, and Internet Jesus Warren Ellis started a new podcast. Warren's turned me on to lots of good music in the past (including some great Finnish freak folk stuff), and this is no exception. For this particular podcast, he just called for artists to email him a mp3 through his website, and then he picked out his favorites. As he put it, 'I'm podcasting new music by new bands and musicians, because that's what I love.' It's an ongoing series, so if your band wants to submit something to him, just email him at warrenellis@gmail.com (he wants the files at least 128kbps). Some standouts on this first podcast are the ambient pop of Newcastle's Lanterns on the Lake and Albuquerque's Yoda's House who sound something like Godspeed! You Black Emperor doing psychedelic folk. I highly recommend it.

To get the podcast, go here.

Get Out! :: Free Times Music Crawl :: 10.06.07

2007-10-05T15:14:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the Free Times Music Crawl, featuring 24 of Columbia's best acts for only five bucks. You can read all about the individual acts and get showtimes and locations here. I'm pretty much going to be at the Art Bar stage all day, except for a quick jaunt to see my roomie at the Blue Marlin stage. Art Bar seems to be where all the IndieRocket-esque bands are playing, including Brave Horatius, Magnetic Flowers, Black Swan, The Gadgets, The Heist and The Accomplice, and Death Becomes Even The Maiden (and a few I'm sure I'm forgetting). If you're into a more modern rock thing, head to the Headliners stage, and if country, bluegrass, and the like is your basket of biscuits, then Flying Saucer's where you need to be. Either way, great acts are at all the venues, and it looks to be pretty fun. Hope to see you there!

Tube :: Couldn't You Wait?

2007-10-04T14:07:00.000-04:00

In many ways, I was quite the late bloomer. A painfully shy, lilywhite, chubby suburban kid (which, in many regards, I still am today) who put in time on the school's debate team and newspaper staff (versus football and student council), I experienced many of life's firsts past the median age for such things, id est first birthday parties, first growth spurts, first dates, first kisses, first handjobs, etc. It carried into my later high school years (by which time I'm remarkably relieved to tell you that my major firsts — yes, Mom, handjobs both included and surpassed), when I was developing a taste for underground music, indie rock in particular. By the time my senior year of high school rolled around, Pavement had split up, Archers of Loaf were on the verge of splitting (albeit amicably) and Sonic Youth had long since given up any aspirations of playing this Southern shithole.

It's no surprise, then, that it took me at least another year or so, when I was firmly entrenched in the world of college radio, before I'd even hear the name Silkworm bandied about. Perhaps indicative of its criminal underrating, it wasn't even at the radio station where I'd heard of Silkworm — indeed, it was on a short-lived WB-generated-Adult-Swim-aired cartoon series that I heard "Couldn't You Wait?", a poignant and scathingly poetic ditty that hooked me into Silkworm's angularly attractive tunes.

It's fitting, then, that the name for the upcoming Silkworm documentary is entitled Couldn't You Wait? The true definition of a cult band — most especially in the indie rock world — Couldn't You Wait? chronicles Silkworm's eighteen-year existence, from 1987 to the tragic death of drummer Michael Dahlquist in 2005, and features interviews from a damnably large number of indie rock illuminati — Stephen Malkmus makes an appearance, as do Steve Albini, Jason Molina and members of Seam, The New Year and Bush. (Remember: Andy Cohen once toured with Bush. Strange but true.) Filmmakers Seth Pomeroy and Shawn Girvan still have more than two dozen interviews left to do, so go help them in making this needs-to-be-made documentary by visiting the film's MySpace site.

New Noise :: Toro y Moi + Brave Horatius

2007-10-02T21:47:00.000-04:00

Ah, covers... When they're good, they're good. And when they're bad, they're horrendous. Fortunately, I have two really amazing ones for you today, and they're both local Columbia acts. First up is Toro y Moi, the solo project of The Heist and The Accomplice frontman Chaz Bundick. His take on Beach House's 'Master of None' retains the whimsical vocals of the original while throwing in a danceable beat, fuzzed out bass, and wavy keyboards, making the laid back song an indie dance track. Good stuff, that. Check Toro y Moi out at the Savant Guard label release party at Matchless during CMJ.

[Ed.'s note: Check out our boy getting some Pitchfork love. Just remember: You heard it here first, readers. -p.]

Toro y Moi Master of None (Beach House cover)

An admission first: fellow IndieRocketeer Pat played guitar on this track. But don't worry, he did good. I've talked about Brave Horatius before, but when he was stalling for time before his (now) former band Alaska the Tiger's last show, and he started playing Rihanna's summer jam 'Umbrella,' I knew that a match in cover heaven had been made. While there have been quite a few covers of 'Umbrella,' this one slows everything down to the sad, sweet truth that makes it a hit. It's one of those great covers that takes what seems to be a silly pop song and unearths the beauty underneath. There's no sexy beat implying that the song is about a lover (while I suppose it could be), but just a friend who you would do anything for. Look for it on Brave Horatius's new split with Toronto's Free Kisses during their upcoming tour together (dates here).

Brave Horatius Umbrella (Rihanna cover)

Pick Up :: 09.25.07

2007-09-28T12:26:00.001-04:00

Pick Up is IndieRocket's guide to what's awesome out of the week's new releases.

I know this is a bit late, but it's been a busy week over at casa de Indierocket. And after all, you still can (and should) pick up these new releases. First up is Meneguar's highly anticipated sophomore effort Strangers in Our House. Now, I've been known to show up at a certain bar and request for the bartender to play these guys by drunkenly yelling, 'MENEGUAR!' so I might be a little biased, but their new album definitely holds up. Razor's edge vocals, jangly guitars, and must-be-sung-along-to choruses are still the name of the game for these post-punkers, and I, for one, am thankful.

mp3: Meneguar Bury A Flower

Buy Strangers in Our House here.

Next on your buy list should be the self-titled release from Two Gallants. The SF duo with the dirty amalgam of Southern rock, folk, country, and blues hasn't made too many changes here. The self-loathing lyrics, caterwauling vocals, and bombastic drums still stand out. It's loud, mean, and tough, and what else would you expect from these guys? Certainly not a whining 'Don't tase me, bro!' (Sorry. Couldn't help it. Check here for an explanation.) Hearing this record takes me back to seeing them live last year and makes me look forward to hearing these new songs the next time they come around.

mp3: Two Gallants Despite What You've Been Told

Buy Two Gallants here.

Finally, we have the newest from Winnipeg's own The Weakerthans. The Propagandhi-turned-indie popsters are taking a bit more mellow approach on this album, and I think it really works for them. 2007 seems to be the year of the indie rock drummer, and Jason Tait keeps the trend rolling on this album, turning in a great performance. I'm a bit confused about the track I'm posting here. Are they trying to make some reference to REM's 'Night Swimming,' or are they just blatantly ripping it off? Or hell, maybe they never heard it before? I would hope it's some kind of homage/reference that I'm just too dumb to get. You tell me, gentle reader. In any case, it's a great song. Enjoy!

mp3: The Weakerthans Night Windows

Buy Reunion Tour here.

Scene :: Carolina Chocolate Drops :: Columbia Museum of Art [Columbia, S.C.; 09.27.07]

2007-09-28T11:36:00.000-04:00

New Noise :: Bat for Lashes, "I'm on Fire" [Bruce Springsteen cover]

2007-09-25T14:14:00.000-04:00

I generally and genuinely think that I am one of the only people in my generation — especially among my peer group — without any sort of love or reverence for several "critical" bands — i.e. Guns 'n' Roses, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, etc. The most baffling to me, though, is Bruce Springsteen. His workmanlike, wholly American roots-rock has influenced so many bands I'm in to that it would see only appropriate — necessary, even — for me to have a certain degree of love for The Boss. You'd think that, but there's something about Bruce that I find absolutely repugnant. Indeed, I could never see it as William Ruhlmann of allmusic.com does: "When Bruce Springsteen finally broke through to national recognition in the fall of 1975 after a decade of trying, critics hailed him as the savior of rock & roll, the single artist who brought together all the exuberance of '50s rock and the thoughtfulness of '60s rock, molded into a '70s style. He rocked as hard as Jerry Lee Lewis, his lyrics were as complicated as Bob Dylan's, and his concerts were near-religious celebrations of all that was best in music." Perhaps those are even the precise reasons I don't like him — I find The Boss smug, jingoistic and too beat-you-over-the-head-and-cram-it-down-your-throat patriotic for my liking. As it stands, I find Born to Run boring, Born in the U.S.A terrible and Nebraska underwhelming. Odder still: My favorite Springsteen song — indeed, the only one I like (and yes, I know it's on Born in the U.S.A.) — is "I'm on Fire," not generally considered among the "Born to Run"s and "The Rising"s that comprise the best of The Boss' oeuvre. A desperate and harrowing obsessive-love song on par with The Police's "Every Breath You Take," "I'm on Fire" is criminally underrated.

So why is it that I don't like Bat for Lashes' cover? I think it's for the same reasons I didn't like Sun Kil Moon's Modest Mouse tribute piece, Tiny Cities. While I don't particularly have anything against artists taking liberties with cover songs — indeed, sometimes, as in the case of Pavement's cover of R.E.M.'s "Camera," it rewrites the song in an exemplary manner that enlightens and elucidates the listener to a radical interpretation of form and file — there comes a point where disregarding the source material is done at great disservice to performance. Again, I cite Mark Kozelek rewriting Isaac Brock — the former's velvety baritone and gentle picking aren't suited for the latter's jittery caterwaul and staccato fretwork. And so it goes with Bat for Lashes, who not only disregards "I'm on Fire"'s original tempo and ornamentation, slowing it to an ornate Victorian dirge, and The Boss' vocal cadence, but at times even changes the words. I'm not talking simple pronoun replacement — indeed, the song just fine from a female perspective; but the one thing I've always handed to Springsteen was his ability to cogently and masterfully string words together. To fuck with that is egregious. Pitchfork's Mark Richardson might say that "there's something to be said for a cover that transports the original song to another world," but maybe, just maybe, women from Venus shouldn't cover songs written by men from Mars.

Bat for Lashes — "I'm on Fire" [Bruce Springsteen cover] (via Pitchfork)

Get Out! :: Roller Derby Party @ Art Bar :: 09.22.07

2007-09-21T15:32:00.000-04:00

All I should have to say to get you, gentle reader, to come to this show is mention that Columbia’s Quad Squad Roller Derby Girls will be in attendance. But if girls on skates don’t get your immediate attention — you weirdo — I could go on to mention that local gypsy-rock outfit Grey Egg will be playing along with premier surf-rock group Los Perdidos (guaranteed one of the best shows in town), who are working on a surf version of “The Godfather Theme.” And then there’s DJ Mike Jones, a self-described “cross between Max Headroom and the guy that emcees The Himalayan at the State Fair.”

Stay In! :: Bishop Allen + John Vanderslice on NPR :: 09.22.07

2007-09-20T17:55:00.000-04:00

NPR's excellent live concert series features IndieRocket favorites Bishop Allen this Saturday as they open for John Vanderslice at DC's Rock and Roll Hotel. You can stream the concert live Saturday night or anytime after that. And it may be up for download in mp3 format the week after it premiers, if memory serves. Seeing as how NPR was one of the first times I heard Bishop Allen, this is altogether fitting. Just head over here to check it out. Other upcoming shows include Rilo Kiley, Animal Collective (!), Okkervil River (!!), Jose Gonzalez, Spoon (!!!), and The New Pornographers.

Speaking of NPR, did anyone else notice that along with various charitable institutes, big businesses, and centers of learning, they are being sponsored by none other than hipster-beer-of-choice PBR? And in an order to class the joint up a bit, what with their new charitable social position, PBR has just announced the winners of their PBR Art contest (which I still think would be better named 'PB-Art'). Check out the winners and other entries here.

New(ish) Noise :: 09.14.07

2007-09-14T17:14:00.000-04:00

Allow me to indulge myself (and, hopefully, you, dear reader) by letting me tell you what's been rocking my world — in the parlance of our times — lately.

Firstly, we have the brilliant Scot-rock quartet The Twilight Sad. Very reminiscent of the early material of Scot-rockers Idlewild (particularly the fantastic 100 Broken Windows record), Fourteen Autmns, Fifteen Winters also owes a great deal to the swirling, effects-laden shoegaze of Ride and Slowdive, the epic loud-quiet dynamic of post-rockers Explosions in the Sky and the swank, suave indie-garage aesthetic of The Walkmen. Tug's jam is "Cold Days from the Birdhouse," but my money's on "And She Would Darken the Memory of Youth," where singer James Graham's Scottish brogue is in full display, veering from a gentle croon to full-on Hamilton Leithause screeching. And goddamn if Andy MacFarlane can't make enough racket by himself to account for twenty fucking axeslayers.

The Twilight Sad — "And She Would Darken the Memory of Youth"

Then we have Plastic Little. A friend of mine introduced me to the hilarious Baltimore rap group a few weeks ago, and I've been rocking that shit ever since. Now, don't get the wrong impression — Plastic Little is funny in the way that Spank Rock is funny or that De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising is funny. Equally adept at spitting trash-mouth rhymes, utterly un-P.C. obnoxiousness and acute social and hip-hop commentary — often in the same song — Plastic Little is bringing the fun back into hip-hop that all those no-talent hack emcees (yes, I'm talking to you, 50 Cent, Master P, etc.) took out.

~~Plastic Little — "The Jump Off"~~
Bonus: YouTube videos? Them's the Jump Off!

Being a complete and utter guitar-gear nerd, I frequent several gearhead-oriented web sites. Occasionally, I'll check out the music of forum members, usually based on how cool I think his/her rig is. And that's how I stumbled across L.A. indie rock quintet Divisadero. (What can I say: Dudeman plays a Jazzmaster through a Deluxe Reverb. Mmm ... tone.) On its MySpace page, Divisadero says it sounds like "Driving through the desert at 4 a.m.," which is a super-astute observation — Divisadero's worn desert-indie-folk sounds like Neil Young (circa Everybody Knows This is Nowhere) filtered Spiritualized, Stereolab and Yo La Tengo. The result: Absolutely perfect gems such as "Black and Blue" and epic, stunning "I Dreamt of the Apocalypse." Gentlemen (and lady), I beseech thee: Come to the Palmetto State.

http://www.myspace.com/soundsofdivisadero

GoGoIndieCritic :: Animal Collective :: Strawberry Jam

2007-09-13T16:03:00.000-04:00

Tug:
I’ll begin by saying that I’ve never been a huge Animal Collective fan (shock! gasp!). While I definitely think that its past efforts have been well done and commendable, there was always something about its fondness for chirpy, chipmunk-pitched vocals that didn’t appeal to me. What good are psychedelic lyrics if you can’t even make out the words? Never a band to sit still, though, 2005’s Feels saw the band play with less freak-folk and more rock sensibility. Then earlier this year, Animal Collective member Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) released the incredible, Brian Wilson-infused Person Pitch, and I really had to reexamine the band’s past efforts through new eyes. While I’m still not sold on all its old material, Animal Collective’s newest effort, Strawberry Jam, is exactly the direction that I think I’ve been wanting from the band since first hearing it.

The psych-pop and freak-folk are still prevalent, but now lyrics are more distinguishable (even if their content is no less confusing). Much of the album’s lyrics are concerned with food. In the first track 'Peacebone,' Avey Tare (aka David Porter) twangs, 'You’re progressing letters / That you use to cook your broccoli / The other side of takeout is mildew on rice.' So maybe not the most sensible (or savory) of food-centric lyrics, but there are other subjects searched here — living in Brooklyn on the hodgepodge hymn 'For Reverend Green' and just wanting to get done with work so you can smoke some weed and take a walk by yourself on the Person Pitch-esque 'Chores.'

If you’ve ever seen strawberry jam made, you know that it involves a lot of sticky, bubbling mash, and that pretty much describes the almost sickly sweet psych-pop candy that Animal Collective has created on this, its finest record.

4.4 of 5

Patrick:
Yep. It's an Animal Collective record, all right.

6.4 of 10.

Get Out! :: 09.12.07

2007-09-12T12:36:00.000-04:00

Get Out! is indierocket!'s guide to getting down in the Soda City.
Keefe Jackson's Fast Citizens :: The Whig :: 9 p.m.
For those of you who missed the Chicago avant-jazz sextet — and shame on those of you who did — now is the chance to redeem yourselves. Jackson's horn work is very reminiscent of fellow Chicago horner Ken Vandermark — both in tone and compositional approach — and has made him one of the foremost up-and-comers in the modern avant-jazz world. His accompanying players are equally badass: saxophonist Aram Shelton comes from Dragons 1976; bassist Anton Hatwich and drummer Frank Rosaly come from the Rempis Percussion Quartet; cornetist Josh Berman also comes fom Jackson side-project The Lucky 7s. The secret weapon, though, might be electric cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, who fleshes out the ensemble with virtuoso playing and walls of gnarly fuzz. The horns pipe about in unison only to collapse from within and devolve into dissonant skronk; Rosaly's drumming is equally volatile, at times tender on twinkling bells and tom fills, at times as chaotic and violent as an imploding building. Seriously — if you missed them the first time, don't make the same mistake again. (Should you need more incentive, we should remind you that it's $2-pint night at The Whig.)

Tube :: Battles :: Tonto

2007-09-11T18:50:00.000-04:00

So the boys from Battles are back at it again with another amazing music video. While it may not be quite as stellar as the video for 'Atlas,' this one certainly doesn't disappoint. Who knows how much MTV2 Subterranean play it will get since it's almost eight minutes long, so you should definitely check it out right here.

The band also recently posted the lyrics for the ear-confounding 'Atlas' on their MySpace page, and I have to admit that they're much more relevant than I thought they'd be. Watch the video and sing along with your best chipmunk impression!

PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE WHEN THEY HEAR THIS SOUND
THAT'S BEEN GLOWING IN THE DARK AT THE EDGE OF TOWN
PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE, NO
THE PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE WHEN THEY HEAR THIS SOUND
WONT YOU SHOW ME WHAT BEGINS AT THE EDGE OF TOWN

THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE KITCHEN IS THE COOK
THE SCISSORS ARE THE BARBERS
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE CHORUS, FULL OF ACTORS

*THE CHORUS DOESN'T MATTER (LAST VERSE)

Scene + Tube :: The National

2007-09-11T11:43:00.001-04:00

So in case you haven't noticed, The National is my favorite band currently. I loved their Bonnaroo set so much that I couldn't think of anything to write about them without sounding geeky and fanboy-ish. Well, I saw them again this past Saturday in Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse, and while I'm still not going to go into too much detail for fear of geeking out completely, I do have a couple thoughts to share.

First of all, back when I saw them at Bonnaroo, Boxer had only been out for a month or so, and while some people sang along, it was mostly during 'Abel' - the fist-pumping anthem from previous album Alligator. However, given a little extra time in the public consciousness, every track from Boxer was accompanied by most of the crowd quietly singing along. Standing right up front, it was beautiful hearing all that singing floating over my head from behind.

Also, how amazing is Matt Berninger? He was sick with that plague-like end-of-summer cold that's been going around, and he still screamed his lungs out when he needed to while spasming around the stage like Michael Stipe. God, him doing 'Mr. November' was awe-inspiring. The band was in immaculate form as well. While Bryan Devendorf's drums move and shape the album, it's perhaps more apparent in their live show. And the guitars! God, the guitars...

OK, I feel myself starting to geek out a little bit, so I'm going to stop there. But I'll leave you with 'Apartment Story,' the brand new video from The National. Like another of my favorite videos of the year, it ties into the album cover art pretty heavily.

New Noise :: Jens Lekman :: 'A Postcard To Nina'

2007-09-05T23:09:00.000-04:00

So you may have missed Pitchfork flipping out about the new Jens Lekman record Night Falls Over Kortedala (out in Europe now, out here Oct. 9th). While I'm not sure that the record deserves the massive accolades the Pforkers are heaping on it, I've only had a day to process it, and I have to admit that it is pretty spectacular. The most anticipated track on the album for me is 'A Postcard To Nina,' which I had originally heard as a live mp3 from some festival date. On the live track, Jens tells the audience the story behind the song in between verses in one of the most charming 'behind the music' moments I've ever heard. Basically, Jens' friend Nina, instead of telling her German Catholic father that she's gay, tells him that her and Jens are engaged. Hysterically awkward moments ensue.

I thought I would miss the little explanatory monologue from the live track, but the song lyrics tell you everything you need to know (except for the horribly embarrassing part where Nina's father tells Jens that listening to his music is like the first time he heard Elvis). And since I've already told you that part, you can now listen to this sweet little diddy and get stoked about the whole album coming out next month.

Jens Lekman A Postcard To Nina

Pre-order Night Falls Over Kortedala here.

Tube :: Round-Up!

2007-09-04T12:04:00.000-04:00

Here's just a few of the videos that have been on repeat here at IndieRocket this week. Enjoy!

First up is the video for 'The Gold We're Digging' by Parts and Labor. It's directed by Nicholas Chatfield-Taylor, the man behind the adorable Matt and Kim 'Yeah Yeah' video. It's got a very Michel Gondry feel to it that I can get behind.

Next up is 'Peace Bone' by Animal Collective. This repulsive, but beautiful video fits the song perfectly, so I wasn't surprised when I found out that it was directed by none other than Timothy Saccenti who previously directed my my favorite video of the year.

And finally, this is a video of The Replacements in 1986 on a certain sketch comedy show that comes on on Saturday evenings. Notice Paul Westerberg being a pottymouth on live television. I've been watching this because I've been trying to get into character. And that will end the shameless self-promotion portion of this blog post.

GoGoIndieCritic :: Okkervil River :: The Stage Names

2007-09-03T15:41:00.000-04:00

We all want our lives to be like the movies. Overcome some terrible trials with a John Wayne swagger and a wry Bogart grin, kiss Lauren Bacall, and live happily ever after - or at least die a hero’s death trying. Reality is a much more tedious exercise in banality and frustration, which is why we’re so fascinated with films in the first place. On their fourth full-length, Okkervil River explores the disappointment with a life unglamorous in what is perhaps the best-written album of the year.

From the opening track 'Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe,' singer Will Sheff complains, 'It’s just a life story/ Where there’s no climax,' launching an album of indictments of forced mid-level success and the plight of the working class. It’s a familiar subject, covered even by fellow Austin-ites Spoon, but Sheff’s downright poetic lyrics single out this album as one of the best of its kind. The album ends with 'John Allyn Smith Sails,' a look at indie rock’s recent inspiration, poet John Berryman, that eventually steals/rewrites The Beach Boys’ 'Sloop John B,' turning it into a dark but hysterical joke about suicide. The line, 'Well, this is the worst trip I’ve ever been on,' takes on a whole new meaning. It’s something that only a brilliant songwriter like Sheff could pull off.

The band plays their part as well, creating a cinematic musical soundscape with the intimacy of early Elvis Costello and bombastic build and climaxes of Bruce Springsteen. A great deal of credit must go to Okkervil River drummer and founder Seth Warren who drives the album like a halfway broken-down tour van. The music carries such passion through its swells that Sheff can then sing with the conviction that his astoundingly personal lyrics deserve.

4.3 out of 5

Bonus: The new video for 'Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe.'

New Noise :: Band of Horses, "Is There a Ghost?"

2007-08-30T12:16:00.000-04:00

As good sir Tug and I are people who know people, we were fortunate enough to have heard some of the Band of Horses demos that Ben Bridwell and company did in Columbia a while back. (No, we don't have any MP3s.) Even back then — and again seeing it performed live in Charleston — I remember being monumentally underwhelmed with "Is There a Ghost?" It's not that it's a bad song; on the contrary, it has all the soaring vocals and chiming guitars characteristic of Everything All the Time. But "Is There a Ghost?" is a curious lead track from Cease to Begin. I'll ~~look beyond the annoyingly erroneous tense shift in the chorus — "But when I lived alone / Is there a ghost in my house?" (italics ours) — and~~ focus on the fact that "Is There a Ghost" is just plain boring. Much of the reason I enjoyed Everything All the Time was its impressive use of dynamic tension, something entirely lacking from "Is There a Ghost?" Everything has a lifeless quality, from the uninspired, fourteen-word lyrics to the half-assed guitar solo in the coda. Look, I get it; you guys like Crazy Horse. But at least Neil kept it interesting.

That said, I'd like to say that what I've been privileged to hear from Cease to Begin is much, much awesomer.

[Ed.'s Note: An eagle-eared (???) reader notes: "The tense shift isn't erroneous. 'I could sleep / when I lived alone' --past tense because he was alone but now he's not. Now he's wondering if there is a ghost in his house." I had erroneously heard a "but" in the latter line. That said, I still the song kind of blows.]

Band of Horses — "Is There a Ghost?"

edited at 12:41 p.m. on 09.14.07.

Tube :: Smashing Pumpkins, "That's the Way (My Love Is)"

2007-08-30T12:01:00.000-04:00

New(ish) Noise :: Grand Archives

2007-08-18T15:46:00.000-04:00

So I can't believe it's taken me this long to post about Grand Archives. I have this problem with getting nervous about writing about music that I love with a sizable piece of my heart. I want to do it some creative justice, but I eventually just have to bite the bullet and sound like the crazed music geek that I am.

Grand Archives is the new band put together by Mat Brooke (formerly of Carissa's Weird and then Band of Horses). While I was sad to hear that Brooke left Band of Horses, the creation of Grand Archives more than makes up for it. Comparisons to BoH are probably going to plague the Brooke's new band, so I'll go ahead and get it out of the way. If Band of Horses is the first few days of summer, then Grand Archives is those magical days when fall turns into winter - when sucking in the crisp air makes a man feel like he can accomplish anything. There's a certain majesty to the music, and when Brooke croons, 'Hey, darlin', don't you look nice?/The dull look in your eyes/Well, you're terrified', in 'Torn Blue Foam Couch,' it's impossible not to feel a knowing shiver in your spine. And then the song just builds and builds, first adding handclaps over the rising piano, then roaring guitar and machine gun drums. It's cinematic in its beauty.

Download this goodness and then head to their MySpace page to hear the other three songs on their amazing self-released EP.

Grand Archives - Torn Blue Foam Couch

Grand Archives on MySpace

Tube :: Walk Hard Trailer

2007-08-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Today I finally get to see what my mind (for a reason I cannot comprehend) predicts will be the most greatest movie of forever. But not only will audiences finally get their fill of McLovin, they will also get the trailer for the upcoming Judd Apatow/Jake Kasdan film Walk Hard. Why is this of interest to a music blog, you ask? Well, the movie is a spoof of music biopics, specifically the Oscar-sweeping Walk The Line and Ray. And really, what better to spoof? I thought Ray was way over the top, and Walk The Line was a little overly sentimental and twisted the truth around quite a bit. Anyhow, the trailer's hilarious, and you don't want to miss your chance to see Paul Rudd as John Lennon and Jack White (!) as Elvis Presley (!!). I have a feeling he might even top Val Kilmer's turn as The King in True Romance.

Get Out! :: 08.16.07

2007-08-16T11:35:00.000-04:00

Get Out! is indierocket's! guide to getting down in the Soda City.
Chopper, Thank God, Byron House, Halves and Thirds, Oubilette, So-So Death :: 112 Huger St. :: 7 p.m.

Yes, Chopper features Deerhunter guitarist Collin Mee and ex-Blame Game axeman George Asimakos — not to mention the fact that drummer Lamar George comes from Atlanta heavies Devastator — so the band has indie-blog cred in spades. And yeah, I guess that's cool. But what's cooler is that Chopper fucking slays, spitting out sick-ass, skull-splitting psycho-thrash riffs that rock like an art-damaged Motorhead and roll like claps of thunder. It's pure, heavy, unadulterated rock 'n' roll at its finest. And dig those sick-ass shirts! Local yokels should know Thank God by now, as they're easily the most important punk band to come out of Columbia in a while. For the uninitiated (read: lazy), Thank God is equal parts brains and brawn, churning out crushing quickies that are one part kinetic guitars, one part frenetic drumming, one part brutal speak-shout vocals and all parts pure sonic destruction. Transcontinental duo Byron House brings the noise with spazzy, Sonic Youth-inspired junk rock; Oubilette makes noisy mountains out of feedback-laden molehills; Halves and Thirds and So-So Death also play. Damage: $5.

[Editor's Note: Look, kiddos, this is a house show, meaning that it takes place in a place where people, you know, live. indierocket! implores you: Don't do anything you wouldn't do inside your own house. Remember: While this is a rock 'n' roll show, you're still a guest. Behave accordingly.]

Stay In! :: 08.16.07 :: Cory Branan and Lucero's Ben Nichols on Hard-Core Troubadours

2007-08-15T16:47:00.000-04:00

The lovely ladies of Search for the Last of the Hard-Core Troubadours were lucky enough to catch Cory Branan and Lucero's Ben Nichols during their small tour together. The girls sat them down and made a podcast with the troubadours in question, and it's good fun. It's an hour long, and while the music sounds really good, the conversations in between are a little echo-y and require some ear straining. But hey, those guys are funny, so check the whole thing out eventually, but if you don't have the time right now, I've taken the liberty of noting when each song actually begins. Everyone knows by now that I'm a big Cory fan, so of course, my favorite moments are his new track 'Amnesia' and his cover of his (and my) favorite Lucero track 'It Gets Worse At Night.' Ben's stuff is good too, but man, I always could tell from his music that is voice was messed up, but listening to him talk, it sounds like he gargles with hot motor oil.

Anyways, head here to download the podcast, and here's the track list:

01:48 - Cory Branan - Meantime Blues
08:30 - Ben Nichols - Into Your Eyes
16:22 - Cory Branan - Beat It (A snippet of the Michael Jackson hit)
17:00 - Ben Nichols - Easy (Cory Branan)
22:40 - Cory Branan - It Gets the Worst at Night (Lucero)
31:45 - Cory Branan - Amnesia
42:18 - Ben Nichols - Across the River
50:00 - Cory Branan - Little Heartbreaker
53:45 - Ben Nichols - When You Decided to Leave

New(ish) Noise :: Mandy Moore Covers "Umbrella"

2007-08-15T10:43:00.000-04:00

When Tug and I began this humble blog — and Lord, please bless this cybermess — I doubt either of us had anticipated the possibility — or plausibility, really — of having to blog about Mandy Moore. (Well, aside from the ever-possible "I say, sir, Mandy Moore is certainly an attractive woman" comments. I digress.) But life is a funny thing.

Either way, Moore covered the Rihanna jam — and I do mean jam; have you heard this?! Let me pause to elaborate on this for a moment: Much like "Crazy" was last year, "Umbrella" is this year's unquestioned Jam of the Summer. Jam of the Year, perhaps. — on Yahoo! Music last week, and the fine folks at Kevipod Music have the MP3 available. Being Mandy Moore, it's a totally Triple-A, Top-40-pop take on the song, but damn if it's not awesome when the brushed drums and electric piano come in. I dare say it even indie-rocks a little at the end.

Come to think of it, the end makes me wonder what "Umbrella" would sound like if covered by Aloha. Get to it, Cale Parks!

Mandy Moore — "Umbrella" (via Kevipod Music)

GoGoIndieCritic :: Bishop Allen :: The Broken String

2007-08-07T18:24:00.000-04:00

Bishop Allen, indie rock darlings of both bloggers and NPR, followed up their debut pop masterpiece Charm School with an unbelievably ambitious project that saw them independently release an EP every month in 2006, adding up to a total of 58 songs released in a little over a year. Probably the biggest flaw of The Broken String is that ten of the twelve tracks are re-workings of songs from the EP project. However, they are all completely re-recorded, generally with better production value, and generally, sound better. And after such an arduous project, we can hardly blame them for fudging it a bit.

Probably the most disappointing of the re-workings is 'Corazon,' a sweet tune about lead singer Justice Rice finding a used piano on the side of the road and how learning to play it changed his way of writing songs ('So I pulled up the seat/ And I swear, I felt a pulse beneath your keys/ To urge your hammers along, Corazon.') The original recording was driven by the piano, but it becomes something of an afterthought on the new album, only showing up here and there.

Aside from this misstep, the rest of the album finds Bishop Allen doing what they do best - making witty, versatile pop that shifts subtly from whimsical to majestic. For instance, standout track 'Flight 180' starts off quietly droning as Rice sings of the inherent sense of doom and isolation of a plane trip, but then an orchestral build of epic proportions occurs as Rice notices a nervous passenger - 'Now the man in the middle seat/ Recites his times tables audibly/ But I know he means/ "If you feel like dancing/ Dance with me."' It’s moments like this that make the album and remind you just why you like music so damn much.

3.9 out of 5.0

Buy The Broken String here

Bishop Allen's Official Website

Bishop Allen on MySpace

Tube :: 3 Inches of Blood :: Goatriders Horde

2007-07-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

I may actually comment on this later, but for right now, just dig this crazy noise.

Tube :: Menomena :: Rotten Hell

2007-07-29T16:30:00.000-04:00

A busy schedule has kept me from my music video watching lately, but I'm just starting to catch up now. The first video to really catch my eye is the new offering from Menomena. I'm really worried that since their amazing record Friend and Foe came out in January, it'll get skipped over on most critics end-of-the-year lists, where it most certainly deserves a spot. But hopefully this new video will remind everyone just how great Menomena are. The video documents a cafeteria food fight, and while it doesn't sound like it, it's definitely one of the most beautiful videos in recent memory and a definite contender for best video of the year (right behind that Battles video for 'Atlas'). Enjoy!

Bonus! Here's more food fight goodness for you!

Tube :: Kanye West :: Can't Tell Me Nothing (Zach Galifianakis Version)

2007-07-26T15:51:00.000-04:00

This has probably already been on every blog imaginable, but it's too good not to post. Zach Galifianakis has struck again, good children! Head here to check out his new video in which he lip synchs to Kanye West's 'Can't Tell Me Nothing.' And he's brought along special guest Will Oldham (aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy)! It's pretty hipsteriffic. There are tractors, cows, fields, clogging, and chainsaws. And as an added bonus, here are two other Galifianakis synching videos. They have both brought me lots of joy, and I hope they do the same for you.

GoGoIndieCritic :: Spoon :: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

2007-07-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

Since their move to Merge with 2001’s Girls Can Tell, Spoon has been pushing at their own boundaries like a painter who’s created a beautiful portrait but can’t help adding just one more brushstroke every time he passes the canvas, slightly changing the image without tarnishing its appeal. The Austin band’s sixth album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is perhaps the most successful of these attempts even though on a first listen, one prays for a return to the hooks of Gimme Fiction’s 'I Turn My Camera On' or even the recondite lyricism of 'The Beast and Dragon, Adored.' However, this album is the definition of a grower; the blue-eyed soul and roguish hooks sneaking up behind you when you least expect it.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga manages to perfectly encapsulate exactly what Britt Daniel and Co. are all about as well. On the Jon Brion-produced pop gem 'The Underdog', horns blast over jangly acoustic guitar as Daniel kicks against the pricks, crooning, 'You got no fear of the underdog/ That’s why you will not survive.' Their compassion for the middle man striving against the comforting pressure to just be mediocre is again revisited on 'Finer Feelings' where Daniel sings, 'Sometimes I think that I'll find a love/ One that's gonna change my heart/ And I'll find it in Commercial Appeal/ And then this heartache'll get chased away.' Here, the liberal Memphis paper’s name holds an interesting if not immediately obvious double meaning, right before the song drops out and is replaced with untraceable crowd noise and filtered talkback.

This album also cements Britt Daniel as one of the finest frontmen in music today. His sleepy Elvis-Costello-by-way-of-Texas drawl creates an alienating yet alluring dynamic that fits the band perfectly.

4.5 of 5

Spoon The Ghost of You Lingers

Spoon Rhthm and Soul (Live)

Buy Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga here.