top of the evening! just got done watching this great 9 piece doc on pfork tv on the 80’s music/art scene in athens. definitely worth your time if only for the michael stipe portion admitting that he can smell ants. least.useful.talent.ever.
here is the new video for the gutter twins’ “idle hands.”
athen’s liz durrett is an artist i should be more familiar with, and i am guessing you should be too. everything i have heard pass through her lips has been pretty wonderful. so, what the fuck is my problem? who the hell knows? that’s all about to stop, i tell ya! she’s got a new one out, or at least coming out on 9.9, entitled outside our gates. gates was recorded in athens this past spring with indie rock godfather, eric bachmann handling the producing and arrangement duties. the record also features liz’s uncle vic chesnutt, brian causey of man or astroman?, amanda kapousouz of tin cup phrophette, and members of ham1 and olivia tremor control. first and foremost, she’s got the kinda airy, cigarette stained voice that would make a song about the affects of mad cow disease on the brain sound sexy. secondly, bachmann does a hell of a job on keeping and showcasing liz’s vocals/lyrics at the forefront of the affair but at the same time filling out her songs with violins, ambient white noise, wurlitzers, accorians, pianos, and other organic type of instrumentation. thirdly, and lastly this is a damn fine record and not wanting to draw to many comparisons to chan marshall, this is a cat power record that i wish chan would have made. i only say that cause let’s be honest most of mrs. marshall’s records can be a little inconsistent, gates on the other hand is solid throughout. if you were a fan of bachmann’s to the races this record is like listening to its female counterpart.
wild as them off outside our gates
all of them all off outside our gates
november - waits cover
how can i tell you - cat stevens
liz durrett site / warm records
i am so very happy to report that bret has found his rock of lust, rock of like and rock of love! let it be known that amber was my pick to click from day one. sure, daisy has a great fake rack but after the honeymoon wears off and bret tries to kick her stripper ass to the curb she definitely seemed like the type to be slitting wrists, od’ing or something over dramatic along those lines. i’m calling a rock of love featuring daisy and/or heather from last season is in the works.
hey, jeff mangum is back, kind of, sort of. he makes an appearance, to what degree is unknown, on former circulatory system and japanacakes member, heather mcintosh’s new project, the instruments’ dark småland which is due on 5.13 on orange twin. she, btw, is also the new touring bassist for gnarls barkley, i wont hold it against her though cause i am sure its a decent paying gig. anyway, the instruments are made up of an array of e6 alum. so, if those crazy current and ex-athenites do it for ya, then the instruments will definitely be up your proverbial alley. i am definitely diggin em.
the instruments myspace / orange twin
crossbill records outta davis, ca has got a great sampler available for your downloading/listening pleasure. definitely some cool stuff, that is if you are axin me. check em out….
carve it out - matt bauer w/ jolie holland
mud under my feet - garrett pierce
clothes removed - silver darling
crossbill records sampler or visit their muxtape
my love of liz phair has seen the highest of highs an the lowest of lows. it currently is residing somewhere in the middle of my loving place. since the announcement of the exile reissue via dave matthew’s label, ato, i have been trying to reconnect with her first three. i have kind of given hope on everything post whitechocolate.. even though i have tried repeatedly to make sense of em, but i just cant. i have mixed feelings about the reissue to be honest. it being a record i hold dear and in my top 3 records of all time, i just dont know if it needs anything else for it to be a complete experience. i think its perfect just the way it is, and has been all this time, but out the other side of my mouth i am definitely going to get it the day it comes out or maybe someone will be nice enough to send it to me. check the announcement link for everything that is going on with the reissue.
here is my dear liz on 4.15.95 live @ town hall in ny, ny.
5. ride
6. may queen
7. help me mary
9. crater lake
10. mesmerizing
11. jealousy
12. explain it to me
13. wasted
14. soap star joe
16. chopsticks
17. canary
18. glory
19. strange loop
20. flower
21. supernova
22. divorce song
24. fuck and run
im going to give you three guesses as to what i am not doing at the moment:
1. googling for gisele bundchen topless
2. reporting/twittering from sxsw
3. watching saved by the bell
im going to be real coy and let you figure it out.
from the “since you put it that way” file: i received an email this fine morning with the opening line “hey dickhead.” now, i was treat that email the same way lisa turtle treated screech. but i figured what the fuck, what jesse wanted me to convey to you dear reader, is that the brakes have signed with hyena records. who the fuck are the brakes you ask? well here’s how the well penned press release summed em up…
“On Tale Of Two Cities, The Brakes are captured at an idyllic time in their evolution, transitioning between an intimate neighborhood listening room and a legendary big city rock club. But more importantly, it presents a young and swaggering rock band coming into their own, clearly electrified by the music they’re making. The Brakes seamlessly intertwine infectious indie-pop circa Ram-era Paul McCartney, crunchy California rock in the spirit of The James Gang and starry-eyed British psychedelia akin to Traffic. The resulting breadth of vision belies a band whose oldest member is 23-years old.”
got it? well whatever. still, check em out cause they are pretty cool..
the brakes myspace
i never listened to say hi to your mom. it was the name that just uprooted visions of the classic high school-era jokes that would end inevitabely in “yeah, but your mom didnt think so last night!” i gots issues, no doubt. they recently stopped by woodland studios in spring grove, illinoize for basement tapes session. actually say hi to your mom didnt show up, its actually just say hi, now. i’m actually kind of diggin their stuff and will, if i remember, seek out their latest, the wishes and the glitch. anyone familiar with either moniker’s work? here be the basement tape sessions including a cover of the beatles “im so tired.”
im so tired beatles
zero to love album version
say hi site / myspace / basement tapes
you guys/gals like your rock a little ragged around the edges? i know i freakin do. the more polished a record, the more bored i get, typically. if you answered yes, or better yet “hellz yeah,” then let me introduce you to some men from athens, ga, the brothers gore. in my world shit like this goes a long way. very replacementy, but more coherent, and also kind of big starry, but a little less poppy. either way you slice em, the brothers gore has got yr number if you like your pop with power. check em!
you can download their entire debut, frag, for free cheapasses, via their site.
the brothers gore site / myspace
the first record to actually leave me both cold and indifferent, and yet drunkenly in love was pretty hate machine. i, to this day, cannot name a record, off the top of my head, that doesnt give a fuck what you think about it as much as pretty hate machine. while that was super awesome at 15, at 33 its kinda draining but yet still leaves me cold and indifferent every time i listen to it. which i suppose was its primary goal. i dont know if time has treated pretty hate machine kindly, its still a record that, undeniably, fucked up the system during its time.
here he/they are playing in melbourne, fl on 7.1.90 @ the powerstation.
2. sin
4. sanctified
6. suck
9. ringfinger
10. down in it
11. head like a hole
in case you forgot, like i did, athens pop fest is going on this weekend. the lineup includes the likes of ted leo, birds of avalon, daniel johnston, circulatory system, we versus shark, tullycraft, casper and the cookies and many more. my buddy arunas, who is the manager of darkroom in chicago has been raving about casper and cookies the last couple times we spoke. from all his reports they are pretty killer live and as luck would have it, i got an email from them last night reminding me about athens pop fest and that they have a new ep called 3 and a half stars, which is an un ep like 11 songs, that they will be selling at their upcoming shows. here is one of the songs from said ep. check their site for upcoming dates.
casper and the cookies site / myspace / label
athens pop fest information can be found here
i maybe getting ahead of myself here, but i have a really great feeling about canada’s octoberman’s run from safety. i am hoping its going to be 07’s oneida road, my favorite record from 06. i know something is going to be great when, during the first few bars of the song, i begin praying that the vocals and/or the lyrics dont suck. am i the only one that does that? possible complications avoided cause marc’s lyrics and vocals are both pretty stellar. this is one record i am going to be waiting with baited breath to hear. check it out!
run from safety is being released on 8.21 via whitewhale. click here for pre-order info.
in one of my more boneheaded moves, i shied away from andrew bird for quite a while and for no good reason other than i am stubborn. i have since learned the error of my ways. here he is performing in Bremen, Sendesaal on 5.25.07. this is taken from an fm broadcast. thanks to the guy who taped it.
Continue reading ‘if i’m addicted to anything. its sparklers.’
firstly, if you are in the atlanta and athens area next week my man ted leo will be at whirleyball on 8.8 and then at the 40 watt on 8.9. the show at whirleyball is an all ages and both nights raleigh’s birds of avalon will be opening the nights festivities.
check out ted’s site for upcoming tour dates
birds of avalon sound a little something like this…
their new record, bazaar bazaar, was produced and recorded by mitch easter. it can be streamed on their site.
birds of avalon site / myspace
if there’s one movie i am truly excited to see it is wes anderson’s the darjeeling limited which is out on 9.29 and stars owen wilson, jason schwartzman and adrien brody. like all anderson films before it, the darjeeling limited seems to try and find the beauty in the randomness that is the human condition. atleast, thats what i have always walked away with after experiencing his other works. here is the trailer for the darjeeling limited.
due to my complete and utter laziness, the remainder of the lyle lovett show will be posted tomorrow. in its place is richard buckner with six parts seven at turf club in st. paul on 2.28.07. thanks to dan for letting me share this show.
early concert warning for atlanta! rilo kiley are playing at the variety on sept 29 in support of their new unreleased record under the blacklight. under the blacklight is set to be released on aug 21. check the rilo kiley site for dates and pics of jenny.
if you are not in the atlanta area and are up for a roadtrip next weekend, july 25 -28, you could do much worse than wast your weekend in athens @ the 10th annual summer fest and blue ribbon ball hosted by team clermont. the blue ribbon ball, yeah its sponsored by every hipsters beverage of choice pabst, is an actual prom like event. what would a prom be without some spiked punch, an actual prom photographer, balloons and streamers, and some of the artists doing some cheesy ass covers? sounds like a grand time to me, and i might actually try to make it over there. for 2007, the sexy theme of the ball is james bond. yeah get it? 007. awesome! oh, yeah theres also a kickball game going on sometime during the weekends. i used to kick total ass at kickball. i had quite the leg on me it was pretty well known within my zipcode.
the main headliner is chicagoan and all around character, bobby conn. i never was able to get into any of his records but he is very entertaining in a live setting. shows will be going on all weekend at the 40 watt, caledonia lounge and go bar! a few of the artists taking part this year include starlight mints, summer hymns, ladybug transistor, deerhunter, bottom of the hudson, alina simone and more! heres a sampling of the artists.
pumpkin - starlight mints
going numb - tin cup prophette
spring hall convert - deerhunter
handwriting - bottom of the hudson
start swimming - summer hymns
skeleton key - a northern chorus
king for a day - bobby conn
check the team clermont blue ribbon info page for tickets, show times, etc.
the antlers is 21 year old peter silberman and the music he creates is quite glorious. its damn kids like this that make me sick. only 21 and creating stuff that is way beyond the paltry sum of his years. who the hell does he think he is? why i oughta!!!! anyway, his 5th release in the attic of the universe reminds me of sparklehorse cross bred with chin up chin up and then mated with arcade fire. its being re-released, after initially being offered for free, via fall records sometime this fall. in the mean time you can stream it on his site.
the universe is going to catch you
when you sleep - my bloody valentine cover
the antlers site / myspace / fall records
i was 9 years old in 1983 and on aug 1 of that year the replacements played at fitzgeralds in houston. my age during that time really has nothing to do with anything, just thought i would mention. this particular performance is quite an interesting listen. it sounds as if there are like 5 people in the audience cause there’s alot of interaction between the mats and the audience. this is going to be a two post affair since its 33 tracks long. the remainder will be posted later this evening.
im doing shit, maybe
