Another Friday, another session. Another fantastic band, another lousy excuse for an interview. Seriously, don t they have seminars or something to coach these people?
Even if it means drowning the world in a couple thousand fewer JOIN AOL NOW DAMMIT discs next month, it s worth it. Then again, the whole thing does kinda reek of rote, seminar-style training, so perhaps that s just the problem.
Irate ranting aside, if you can look past all the attendant muckery, you have a frequently charming, humorous, and insightful (here represented by Tunde Adebimpe, Kyp Malone, and Dave Sitek) spinning some blah questions into quotable gold.
We learn that was the least dumb-sounding album name the band came up with (narrowly edging out, among others, Stu-Stu-Studio-- we kid you not), how whoever leaked the early version of the record made a dick move , and why TVotR have no qualms about selling their music for advertisements. There s also chatter about Voltron, cassingles, and pumpkin porn , whatever the hell that is. Can t decide which is more annoying, though: the interviewer s forced, nervous asides or Dave Sitek.
But first, get your lighters ready, because TV on the Radio begin the Interface plunge by performing some stripped-down and mind-numbingly beautiful renditions of Cookie Mountain classics Wash the Day and Province , as well as the Young Liars EP s title track. In the end it is, after all, all about the music. It s nice to be back in our second hometown, began in a gentle voice.
It was hard to reconcile that cautiously introductory tone with the subsequent power that leapt from Carter s vocal cords, even though I knew it was coming. But there it was. With the live lineup consisting of only Christina and her former husband , the skeletal arrangements of their latest record ( ) didn t make the grade at 1 a.
m. on a Wednesday night at , even though half the set came from that album. Christina s voice soared over Tom s ferocious rhythm guitar work, which he looped and supplemented with near-bluesy picking and further noisy experimentation.
Rocking back and forth on his heels, Tom exhibits a passing resemblance to J. Mascis, but there was no guitar-hero moments here, only a fleshed-out platter of layered chords and effects. Fortunately, he left the wailing to Christina.
This is not to say that Tom kept it low-key. Juggling the loops and other rising swells of guitar required constant intensity, and to conclude a particularly rowdy closing number, he cathartically tossed his guitar to the ground, spun around, and kicked a small amp over on its back. He approached the mic and said, Thanks for stickin around, I m pretty sure that s it.
And sure enough, the house music cued up. More Charalambides photos and tour dates below. Just in time for the sunny summer months to hit.
..er, Australia, Athens atmospheric folk-rockers have returned with another round of thoughtful balladry.
The brainchild of one Zachary Gresham (formerly of Tooth Nail act Joe Christmas), the Hymns have repped for since the 2000 release of their debut, Voice, Brother and Sister, and the respected Austin label will also deliver their latest, Backward Masks, on November 22.
The band recorded much of Backward Masks at its own studio, which Gresham and Riser recently opened just outside Athens in Lexington, Georgia. If you re in a nearby band and seeking a place to lay down hot traxx, the place would love to have you.
Not content just to work on for the benefit of our health, James Murphy has staged the full-on return of his moniker with the release of his second full-length, out March 20 on DFA/Capitol Records. The album is titled Sound of Silver, and, as , Murphy will tour Europe in March in support of it. Oh, and in case you missed it, the new signing Prinzhorn Dance School, who we wrote about like two hours ago.
Built to Spill, Notwist, Sparklehorse Play Fan ATP The second festival of 2007 will take place May 18-20 at Butlins Minehead in Somerset, England, and the first bands on the lineup are Built to Spill, the Notwist, Sparklehorse, Echo the Bunnymen, Akron/Family, Do Make Say Think, Brightblack Morning Light, and Death Vessel. ( , the first ATP is the , happening April 27-29, and featuring Dirty Three, Low, Nick Cave s new band Grinderman, Bill Callahan [formerly Smog], Shannon Wright, Papa M, the Drones, Faun Fables, Devastations, A Silver Mount Zion, Magnolia Electric Co., and many more.
)
The biggest announcement, however, is the curators of the festival (or half of it, anyway): the fans. When festival-goers purchase their tickets, ATP will give them directions to a where they will list the ten bands they would most like to see play. ATP will tally the votes and list them on their website in order of popularity.
The bands at the top of the list will receive invitations first, which means earlier votes will have more impact than later ones. If these bands accept their invitations, they will form half of the festival s lineup. The other half will be chosen by ATP (as in the case of Built to Spill et al.
).
Voting begins on November 24, and because they do such a good job of explaining the specifics themselves, here are the official rules, via the ATP :
released by in May. The concept multimedia troupe will self-release Dazzle s Island adventure, coined D.
I. by D.D.
, on November 20. D.D.
developed roughly 30 new beats for L-D, the best of which made their way onto the CD. other news, select images from the D.I.
Collection-- which are pretty much chopped n screwed portraits of rain-worn statues and stonework-- are still on display at New York City s gallery, as part of the exhibit, which runs through November 22.
Single out Monday, album out next year When adds an artist to its flawless roster, we pay attention. After all, the production duo/record label seems to have impeccable taste: LCD Soundsystem, the Rapture, Black Dice, Hot Chip, Delia Gonzalez Gavin Russom, Shit Robot, the Juan Maclean--not a dud in the bunch.
The latest finding from James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy is the Portsmouth, England group . The duo of Tobin and Suzi Horn make sharp, stripped-down post-punk recalling the best of Young Marble Giants, only without any hint of cuteness. (Of course, I ve only heard two songs so far, so the rest of their repertoire could very well consist of epic psychedelic symphonies.
) Those two songs, You Are the Space Invader and Eat Sleep , will be released on Monday, November 20 on 7 vinyl and as a download via DFA. Prinzhorn Dance School will record their debut album with Murphy and Goldsworthy in New York City next year. For now, hear snippets of the two songs on the single .
Tobin and Suzi are in the middle of a brief UK tour, which ends on Monday in Newcastle.
have a lot of cool stuff going on right now. The band s eighth album, Friend Opportunity, is due out on on January 23, 2007.
They just finished tours with the Flaming Lips and the Fiery Furnaces. They picked up a , given out by the San Francisco Bay Guardian to honor the best in local arts, and have been nominated for a for Live Act of the Year. And they recently finished work on the score for Justin Theroux s film Dedication, due out next year.
But, far and away, the coolest thing that s happened to Deerhoof lately has been the Milk Man Ballet, a production by the in North Haven, Maine featuring participation from both students and community members and based on Deerhoof s 2004 album . (See and from the performance.) Earlier this week, Pitchfork spoke to Deerhoof guitarist John Dieterich about the ballet, the new album, and the band s constant barrage of side projects.
Ex-Velocity Girl vocalist may have decelerated a bit musically since the quiet demise of that much-loved D.C. band in 1996, but that doesn t mean she hasn t been busy.
Gal s just turned her attention to the finer things in life: love, marriage, house-buying, baby-making, and idle strolls down city streets. I know it sounds very domestic and mundane, quoth Shannon in a press release, but to me it feels very rich, and that perspective informed these new songs.
New songs, eh?
That s right: Sarah, who issued her self-titled solo debut via Casa Recording Company in 2002, will follow-up it up at last come February 20 with new LP City Morning Song. Cosmopolitan pop mecca has kindly offered to deliver the 12-song set, which was produced by (Mark Lanegan, Crooked Fingers, Rosie Thomas).
While Sarah no longer traffics in lush noise, she does still have a honey of a voice and a keen ear for pop, both of which feature prominently in City Morning Song s opener and title track.
Download it exclusively by clicking the mp3 link below.
I hated disappointing everybody. The pain and frustration hurt so much, it was scary .
Last night, was supposed to play a triumphant show at Los Angeles El Rey Theatre. Her new album, , debuted at number 48 on the Billboard Top 200 in its first week of release, she s , and she s in the middle of a huge North American headlining tour. However, as soon as she hit the stage, everything, it seems, went to shit.
According to her publicist, Sov had been diagnosed with a chest infection, and performed despite doctor s orders to rest. She was clearly ill as she spit, kicked, and cried her way through two songs, according to an email from a Pitchfork reader who attended the show. The reader continued, She then left the stage abruptly a few times.
..she tried going through her songs 9 to 5 and Blah Blah but stopped in the middle of both.
She then completely broke down...
bawling hysterically and falling to the ground...
They practically dragged her off the stage as the crowd went insane. She never came back. Today, Lady Sovereign released the following statement: I hated disappointing everybody.
The pain and frustration hurt so much, it was scary . To make it up to her fans, Sov will schedule another Los Angeles performance in December, following the end of her tour. The date will be announced next week.
According to a press release, Lady Sovereign will not miss any of the rest of the shows on her tour, as she has two days to rest up before the next one, which will take place in Las Vegas on Saturday.
and both stopped by Austin City Limits a couple of weeks ago to play sets and talk about their craft, and now some clips of their performances, as well as brief interviews, are online .
Sufjan and his band-- dressed in those damned bird/butterfly wings-- turn in a competent version of Casimir Pulaski Day that is most notable for its completely false introduction: This next song is about a famous Polish-American Revolutionary War hero.
(Yes, we know Casimir Puaski was a famous Polish-American Revolutionary War hero. But the song isn t acutally about him.)
In his interview, Sufjan talks about his writing process, those sacred moments of creativity, his relationship with the music and city of Detroit (his birthplace), and the possibly of getting out of songwriting for a while to write pieces, symphonic works.
Keep in mind that he says all this while wearing the wings, so it s kind of hard to take any of it seriously.
Calexico play the instrumental El Picador from 2000 s Hot Rail, and Joey Burns talks in his interview about the band s origins, evolution, and influences. Beware, Burns shirt is hypnotic when listening to this interview!
Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover?
Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.
News RSS