Since the dearly departed Cosby Show went off the air in 1992, actor, comedian, and Jell-O pudding pusher Bill Cosby has become a popular talking head, appearing most recently on MSNBC's Meet the Press to discuss the state of African-American culture in the 21st century:
The much-loved television comedian (and one of the finest positive fatherly role models on any channel, now or then) has been subjected to a plethora of backlash in response to his very public criticism of young African-American males, and in particular to the statements he has made about gangsta rap.
Cosby has been the subject of heavy Internet ridicule as well, and multitudes of videos have been posted on YouTube that depict Photoshopped images of the actor rapping.
But now, Cosby is responding.
The Internet exploded yesterday with the news that a rap album is in the works from the former Ghost Dad himself. The album, entitled State of Emergency according to AllHipHop.com, will focus on social issues like drug abuse, high school dropouts and teenage pregnancy.
Response so far has been unquestionably unpleasant, and it seems that poor Bill is on his way to becoming an Internet joke. Here's to hoping that love for Dr. Huxtable runs deep enough to quash at least some of those critical voices.
Legendary British songwriter Billy Bragg will release his new album Mr. Love & Justice April 22 on Anti- Records. And while his fans may have grown a little impatient over the last six years since the release of Bragg’s last album England, Half-English, they’ll have to forgive him when they hear the schedule he’s been keeping.
After collaborating with Wilco in 1998 and releasing an album of unpublished Woody Guthrie songs in 2000, Bragg was commissioned to write new lyrics for Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” The new lyrics were unveiled during a 2007 performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall attended by the Queen herself. Q magazine honored Bragg with its Classic Songwriter Award later that year.
Bragg also celebrated several significant milestones outside of the music world over the past few years. His book The Progressive Patriot was published by Bantam in 2006, and he founded the Jail Guitar Doors, a charity that supplies free guitars to prison inmates, soon after.
Mr. Love & Justice will feature 12 new songs penned by Bragg, backed by his band The Blokes. The Small Faces’ Ian McLagan plays organ and piano, and Robert Wyatt contributes vocals on the album’s first single “I Keep Faith.”
Bragg will be performing several songs from the upcoming album during an Anti- Records showcase March 13 and another showcase at Smokin' Room on March 14 during the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas.
The album’s tracklist is below.
Mr. Love & Justice tracklist: 1. I Keep Faith 2. I Almost Killed You 3. M For Me 4. The Beach Is Free 5. Sing Their Souls Back Home 6. You Make Me Brave 7. Something Happened 8. Mr. Love & Justice 9. If You Ever Leave 10. O Freedom 11. The Johnny Carcinogenic Show 12. Farm Boy
Atlanta hip-hop staple Brian Knott announced today via Creative Loafing's "Crib Notes" blog that the city's annual A3C festival has confirmed several acts.
Among them are Del the Funky Homosapien (who Paste recently caught up with - Q&A coming soon), fellow Californian Aceyalone, the Cool Kids (who just finished up a national tour with M.I.A.), Guilty Simpson, and Blu & Ta’Raach (aka C.R.A.C.). The festival will take place over a three-day stretch at the CW Midtown Music Complex (AKA: The Loft, Center Stage and Vinyl for you non-ATLiens out there) from March 20 to 22.
Discounts are currently available on three-day passes at TicketAlternative.com, but if you head over to the A3C main page, you can enter for a chance to win the URB magazine ticket giveaway, and score yourself a pair of three-day passes for free. And, as Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross so aptly informed us back in the mid-'90s, the best things in life are free.
The 2007 A3C festival, which took place last April, included both national acts like Strange Fruit Project and 9th Wonder, as well as Atlanta hip-hop favorites Collective Efforts and Psyche Origami. The line-up that Knotts has secured this year further raises the bar on the quality of acts, and boasts not only live music, but fashion shows, panel discussions, art installations and more.
To gear up for the extravaganza, head over here to take a peek at the documentary that Rick Foy produced on the festival last year. Meanwhile, Atlantans can make their calendars on Feb. 16, when The EARL will host the A3C 2008 Preview Night & Dumpsterdive Reunion.
Eight years since her last full-length album, Erykah Badu returns with her next project, New AmErykah. As previously reported, this album will be released in two full-length parts, the first of which hits stores on Badu’s birthday, Feb. 26.
Until then, this video for “Honey” should bate fans’ appetite with yet another story from the books of Baduizm. Following her calling card of amazing concept videos, this one pays homage to local record stores. The video is a series of reverse cameos, with Badu singing through the album covers of classic artists such as Diana Ross, Ohio Players and the Beatles. The concept lovingly spoofs favorites, as well as Andre 3000 in “Hey Ya” and the infamous John Lennon and Yoko Ono 1981 Rolling Stone cover.
Alicia Keys has teamed up with Seattle based media sharing company Treemo to start the As I Am contest to benefit the Keep a Child Alive charity. The contest is going to donate one dollar for every user who signs up, with a limit of $10,000. Based on the Alicia Keys song “Superwoman” off her third studio album, the contest encourages fans to upload a video, picture or text about someone they know as a “Superwoman.”
Aside from being a multiple Grammy
winning singer/songwriter, Keys is also the Global Ambassador for KCA, the mission of which is to provide aid to the AIDS-stricken masses in Africa. Currently, KCA is providing care to 20,000 afflicted people. Aside from helping patients directly, KCA also provides care for thousands of children who have lost their parents to AIDS.
Treemo has launched similar contests with Velvet Revolver, Sony Pictures and the non-profit Diamond Empowerment Fund. Unlike other media sharing sites such as YouTube or Flickr, Treemo is based around users’ content from all mediums, including cell phones.
Warner Music Group subsidiary Rykodisc is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and will release five free downloads from its catalog each month to commemorate the occasion.
Rykodisc made a name for itself in the early '80s as the first label to release music exclusively in a compact disc format. Founder Jac Holzman was well-known throughout the music industry, and promoted the label as an artist-driven haven for creativity. Today, the label is home to artists including Frank Zappa, Joe Jackson, Morphine and Elf Power.
The label had made strides in the digital and environmental world over the past year by merging digital music developer Cordless Recordings into its operations and announcing the release of several albums this year packaged in eco-friendly “green” packaging.
Five free downloads will be added to Rykodisc.com on the 25th of each month. The first five downloads, available now, highlight the label’s history of international music. Featured artists include Nigeria's King Sunny Ade, guitarists Ali Farka Toure & Ry Cooder, and Toumani Diabate.
Reviews of Bass Cathedral—the fourth installment in Nathaniel Mackey’s apparently endless series of epistolary novels of the avant-garde jazz world—will surely compare the 2006 National Book Award-winning author’s writing to the free-form musical genre that’s its subject.
This would be tiresome if it weren’t so clearly Mackey’s intent.
With bursts of alliteration, clusters of compound nouns, dangling prepositions, and the personification-by-apostrophization of a host of abstract concepts, Mackey succeeds in doing with language what his narrator N.’s favorite musicians—Coltrane, Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman—do with sound.
With jazz positioned as a kind of ur-text (the foundation for all other forms of expression), Mackey uses the recent adventures of his fictional sextet, Molimo m’Atet, to describe a world where “wholeness finds fault with itself” and “a part is more than a part.”
The debut short-story collection by Australian writer Cate Kennedy—first introduced to Americans in a New Yorker story last year—exudes melancholy. You can almost see her characters’ preferred grey tones as they meander through various states of isolation, confusion and loss.
Stories frequently unfold with a lethargic tenor and a recounting of daily routines that lead to alarming decisions (murder, poisoning a spouse). Kennedy wishes these eruptions to seem logical and inevitable, a device that works well in “A Pitch Too High for the Human Ear.”
At her best, the English-born Kennedy allows us to peak into one side of an unraveling relationship—a disintegrating marriage, a deflowered lesbian affair, a May-December romance, and a refugee woman thrust into and out of motherhood.
Dark Roots could use a few more highlights like “Habit” and “The Testosterone Club,” where Kennedy’s understated humor and sarcasm seem like rays of light in her unrelenting greyscapes.
With all the hubbub around this year's Sundance, it's easy to forget that some of the most critically acclaimed films from Sundance 2007 still haven't made it to theaters, despite getting picked up by studios. The best example of this is Son of Rambow, the second film by the British director/producer team Hammer and Tongs, aka Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith. Despite a warm reception in festivals throughout 2007, the film seemed destined to be forgotten.
Luckily, though, the feature will finally see a release through Paramount Vantage later this year. While it's Hammer and Tongs' second feature, they in fact began working on it years ago and put the project on hold so they could shoot The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Check it out in high-definition here or see it below:
The film follows two children making their own film inspired by the original Rambo, as opposed to a review of the new Rambo like one of their peers. Son of Rambow hits U.S. theaters on May 2.
We don't usually write these things until they are 100%, set-in-stone facts, but this story just seems too good to wait. Earlier this week, it was announced that Guillermo del Toro, whose Pan's Labyrinth both frightened and moved audiences in 2006, is in talks to direct The Hobbit and its sequel. A film clip translated by fansite TheOneRing.net then announced that Toro had moved beyond that phase, saying, "Today it is our pleasure to announce something that everyone was hoping for, Guillermo will direct The Hobbit." Fanboys worldwide, commence rejoicing.
Toro's name had been previously thrown around, as well as Sam Raimi and Toro's friend Alfonso Cuaron, but up until now nothing had been made official. Granted, it still technically isn't, but the facts are coming closer to fruition. According to "an insider" who spoke with TheOneRing.net, things are 99% done and it's just the actual contract signing that's being delayed by the WGA strike.
As previously reported, Peter Jackson will be producing the two films, which cover The Hobbit and the time leading up to the Lord of the Rings series. Toro, in fact, spoke with Jackson previously and said, ”I met Peter and Fran [Walsh, Jackson's wife] when we were trying to do Halo. I think what they’re doing in New Zealand is amazing. What they’re doing, in terms of the way they approach filmmaking — the way I see it is, it’s Hollywood the way God intended it." With Toro and Jackson working together on The Hobbit, it sounds like it'll be Tolkien adapted the way God intended it as well.
By
Kasia Galazka
on January 30, 2008 9:56 PM|Permalink
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photo by Lane Coder
As if we haven't covered Brooklynites Grizzly Bear enough in the past week or so, more news has flown in via a little bird (that we fondly call "Press Release") that the quartet will co-headline a show with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on March 1.
Although they won't play together at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Philharmonic will perform pieces chosen to mirror what has inspired Grizzly Bear, and the band will play a regular set with songs from Yellow House.
Tickets are $24-$34 and went on sale here last Saturday (Feb. 2). Not too shabby for a genre-crossing show, eh?
By
Sara Miller
on January 30, 2008 5:46 PM|Permalink
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photo by Richard Foreman for Miramax
Looking for a way to numb your butt somewhere other than on the couch and be the only person in your office and/or circle of friends who can pontificate authoritatively about all five of this year's Best Picture nominees?
Well, AMC Theatres has a seat waiting for you on Saturday, Feb. 23, when they'll screen Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, Atonement, Juno and No Country for Old Men one after another during the chain's annual Best Picture Showcase. (Speaking of those five specific films, take a gander just to the left of this parenthetical aside to cast your vote in Paste's latest poll, please and thank you.)
If this sounds too good to be true already, peep the deets: Showcase attendees get a collectible pass that allows them to leave the theater and return at any point(s) during the day, plus a free large popcorn (complete with unlimited refills)...all for $30.
Of course, this year's nominees aren't exactly the sunshiniest films and you might get a heart attack at some point during the third movie from consuming all that faux butter, but, but...thirty dollars! That's barely even three regularly-priced movies—not counting snacks!
Visit the official AMC Best Picture Showcase page for the marathon schedule and a complete listing of participating cities, and thanks to Entertainment Weekly's Popwatch for tipping us off about this wondrous way to blow 12+ hours of our respective lives.
For as impressive as Conan O'Brien and David Letterman’s furry faces were, in these dry days it's refreshing to see striking writers channeling their energies into less hirsute, more directly entertaining endeavors. Take one Mr. B.J. Novak, for example. Better known as temp-turned-corporate-shill Ryan from NBC's The Office, Novak recently announced a smattering of (read: four) college campus tour dates via his MySpace page. (By the way, his Top 4 friends are way funnier than yours.)
On the heels of his recent appearance at Boston's Northeastern University (you go, Kappa Sig!), he’ll make stops at the College of William and Mary (tonight), George Washington University, Georgia Tech and Northwestern University throughout the month of February. Although we're hoping the appearances will be less awkward than Michael Scott's visit to Ryan's business class, we certainly will not begrudge him the use of candy bars for gratuitous instructional tools.
Event details vary by school, so you’ll want to check specifics for yourself. It’s likely that some, if not all, of the events will be students-only. But just like Kelly Kapoor, true Dunderheads will likely stop at nothing to get with Ryan(/B.J.)—especially as the strike drags on into infinity.
February: 1 – Williamsburg, Va. @ College of William and Mary 8 – Washington, DC @ George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium 14 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Georgia Tech 16 – Evanston, Ill. @ Northwestern University
From one of the happiest countries in the world comes a rather melancholy album. Peter Morén sheds his two partners to bring a much more low key and acoustic sound than he did as part of the widely acclaimed Swedish indie trio Peter Bjorn and John. A product of more than two years' worth of recording and mixing in U.S. and Swedish apartments and studios, The Last Tycoon will come out April 8 on Quarterstick Records. When asked about the album's lyrics, Morén—the same lyricist of Peter Bjorn and John's breakout hit Writer’s Block—described it as “the usual lyrical psychobabble, but with a direct and honest approach.”
Director: John Sayles Writer: John Sayles Cinematographer: Dick Pope Starring: Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Stacy Keach, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Gary Clark Jr., Yaya DaCosta Studio/Running Time: Emerging Pictures, 123 mins.
"I want you to bring along your rockin’ shoes
Cause tonight I’m gonna rock away all our blues
I heard the news, there’s good rockin’ tonight."
-Roy Brown “Good Rockin’ Tonight”
Take a bigoted white sheriff (Stacy Keach) who is at odds with an independent minded black man (Danny Glover), put them in a small town in 1950s Alabama with the ironic name of Harmony, and you might expect some dramatic conflict. But Honeydripper turns out to be quite tame. The film makes up for it, however, with some fascinating characters and brief insights into the transition from southern blues music to early rock 'n' roll.
Glover plays Tyrone “Pine Top” Purvis, proprietor of the failing Honeydripper Lounge. Pine Top makes one last stand by hiring popular recording artist Guitar Sam in hopes of packing the house and saving the club. While making preparations, a drifter named Sonny (real life blues guitarist and singer Gary Clark Jr.) shows up with a guitar but is intercepted by the sheriff and railroaded into picking cotton to pay off a trumped-up charge of vagrancy.
Writer/director John Sayles, who penned two of the pioneering independent films—Passion Fish and Lone Star—of the nineties, shows his adept eye for colorful characterization in Honeydripper, and the performances from his outstanding cast are what make the film so engaging. Clark’s screen debut is especially impressive considering that he doesn’t truly show his prowess as an entertainer until the end of the film. And Yaya DaCosta, who plays Tyrone’s daughter China Doll, is absolutely charming. In another brilliant casting decision, the great bluesman Keb’ Mo’ appears periodically as a blind, slide guitar playing ghost who offers up advice to Tyrone and Sonny.
Unfortunately, every time a potentially volatile scene gives this great cast an opportunity to let loose, Sayles’ script reins them in. The relationship between Tyrone and the sheriff, for example, could have exploded into a period representation of Southern racism. Instead, Sayles chooses to play down the bigotry, giving the sheriff more bark than bite. At times, the film feels more like a movie of the week. In fact, it would make an interesting series, picking up where the acclaimed I’ll Fly Away left off. But in spite of its harnessed drawbacks, the character-driven Honeydripper is a sweet little treat.
Click here to read the Film Clips article about Honeydripper from issue 39, featuring an interview with director John Sayles.
Hometown: Chicago, Ill. Fun Fact: With multiple members holding college degrees in math, Mahjongg has composed music in every time signature that is a prime number, up to 23. Why It's Worth Watching: The post-post-rockers unite organic and cutting-edge technological elements to create eminently danceable sounds that are unlike anything else. For Fans Of: Can, Gang of Four, Remain in Light-era Talking Heads, Battles
The back cover of Mahjongg's latest album, Kontpab, doesn't deliver much immediate information. There is no tracklisting, no band member names, not even a copyright date—just a monochrome graphic that resembles TV static.
Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, writers of last year’s Beatles-inspired musical Across the Universe, are working on a new animated film. This time, though, they’re setting their sights on the music of another legendary 60’s rock band – the Rolling Stones.
The film, titled Ruby Tuesday, tells the story of a single mother searching for happiness in New York City. Clement and La Franais finished writing songs for the film well before the Writers Guild of America strike began last November, though plans to start production on the film next month have been put on hold until the writers return to work.
Like most animated films, the duo said that Ruby Tuesday would probably take several years to complete. The film will feature a “pretty hip” style of CGI animation, and will be made in Paris, La Frenais told MovieWeb.com. While the film will not be rated R, he said that it will not be marketed toward children. “Obviously, this is not just a kiddy film,” he said. “You can’t do the Stones and think it will just be for kids.”
Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger signed on to produce the film back in 2006, and 12 of the band’s songs will be featured in the project. Brothers Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi (Walt Disney’s Enchanted and Fantasia 2000) are slated to direct.
By
Sara Miller
on January 30, 2008 1:40 PM|Permalink
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photo by Shervin Lainez
Bet Travis Morrison is sick of his name always being preceded or followed by the words "former Dismemberment Plan frontman." Unfortunately, that's what happens when you're part of the best band of the '90s (sorry, every other band).
Morrison's second solo album (and his first with new band The Hellfighters), All Y'all, is still streaming on his website, long after last year's Aug. 21 release on Barsuk.
After last April's D-Plan benefit reunion shows, Morrison quietly shoved All Y'all into the world with just a tiny East Coast tour behind it. He'll remedy the situation by cutting a wide swath across America this winter, letting his "Freak" (as in "You Make Me Feel Like A...") flag fly in every region but the Northwest.
"Catch Up" with Morrison on tour:
February
23 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Union Hall (Brooklyn Next Festival) !
March
7 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Garfield Artworks 9 - Chicago, Ill. @ Subterranean 10 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 7th Street Entry
11 - Lawrence, Kan. @ Jackpot Saloon 12 - Denver, Colo. @ Larimer Lounge 13 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Kilby Court 14 - Boise, Idaho @ Neurolux 20 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Rickshaw Stop * 22 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ Beauty Bar 25 - Austin, Texas @ The Mohawk 27 - Tallahassee, Fla. @ The Beta Bar
! - w/A Sunny Day in Glasgow
* - w/Facing New York
Yesterday, the Eels announced via both their Myspace blog and their website that their winter/spring tour has been extended to include dates on the shores of the continental United States.
Now Eels fans in the U.S. no longer have to be jealous of people in Europe. (Well, at least not for their ability to see the Eels in concert. Depending on what happens come November, we may have plenty of other reasons to be jealous of them, outside of music. Sigh.)
This announcement comes on the tail of not one, but two releases, put out by the band on January 15, Meet the Eels: Essential Eels, which was their first greatest hits compilation, and Useless Trinkets, a DVD/CD collection complete with essays, photos, and lead singer Mark Oliver Everett's track notes, as well as his commentary on each of the Eels videos.
Get ready for the upcoming tour with the following video. The production quality is truly astounding! (OK, so maybe it's not.) However, it does feature Bobby Jr., Everett's awesome singing dog!
Three cheers for the red, white, and blue:
March 28 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ First Unitarian Church 29 - Washington, D.C. @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue 31 - Boston, Mass. @ Somerville Theatre
April 1 - New York, N.Y. @ Highline Ballroom 2 - New York, N.Y. @ Highline Ballroom 4 - Toronto, Ontario @ The Mod 5 - Detroit, Mich. @ Majestic Theatre 6 - Chicago, Ill. @ Park West 7 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Pantages Theatre 9 - Boulder, Colo. @ Fox Theatre 11 - Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox Theatre 13 - Portland, Ore. @ Wonder Ballroom 14 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Palace Of Fine Arts 16 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theater
Rootsy garage rock plus cheerful irreverence equals big fun
It takes nerve to cover a Kinks classic and make it your own, but Atlanta’s Anna Kramer meets the challenge with audacity to spare on her terrific second album, belting out “Got My Feet on the Ground” with the same defiant exuberance Dave Davies displayed more than four decades ago. That unsinkable spirit also informs her bracing originals, which employ everything from smoldering power-trio noise (“When You See Him”) to spiffy Bo Diddley beats (“Da Da Rock”) and a spooky banjo/organ tandem (“Death Comes Knocking at My Door”). Supported by bassist Shannon Mulvaney (Magnapop) and drummer Adam Renshaw (The Forty-Fives), Kramer is a charismatic yet down-to-earth bandleader whose clear, forthright voice and concise guitar playing rely more on taste and finesse than pure power. While Kramer may well go on to weightier achievements, she couldn’t be much more engaging than she is here.
Former Jayhawks frontman releases first-ever solo album
Gary Louris is one of the unsung heroes of contemporary roots music. His band The Jayhawks made one of alt.country’s landmark albums, 1992’s stately Hollywood Town Hall, and since then he has collaborated with a range of artists including Jeff Tweedy, Rhett Miller, The Sadies and the Dixie Chicks. Strangely, Vagabonds is his first solo album, shuffling onto shelves some 20 years into his career and three years since the (permanent?) dissolution of The Jayhawks. All of the Louris hallmarks are present: the low-key choruses on “Omaha Nights” and “D.C. Blues”; the dusty harmonies of “True Blue” and “Meandering”; the country-rock hooks of “She Only Calls Me On Sundays” and the title track. Certainly, Vagabonds sounds warmly familiar, but over 10 tracks, the album settles into a genial lull that even the punchy “I Wanna Get High” can’t rouse. Too low-key to rival his best work, the album nevertheless serves as a reminder of Louris’ continued relevance.
Haunted Ouija boards, Byzantine chord changes, all sullied by the funk
Since the splitting of At the Drive-In’s emo-atom into the separate components of Sparta and The Mars Volta, the latter has proven the more radioactive and unstable element. Comprised primarily of guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and belter Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band has been prolific in the 21st century, emitting four sprawling full-lengths, two EPs and a live album. But The Mars Volta is nothing if not maddening—a starburst of modern-rock effulgence buried under wankery and overindulgence.
While previous albums were riddled with questionable genre infatuations, tours with the Red Hot Chili Peppers have added a new bad habit: The Mars Volta now revels in the funk. The band bursts out of the gate on The Bedlam in Goliath with the fast and furious “Aberinkula,” but it’s not long before slap bass derails all momentum. The band locks back in, though, with an incandescent guitar solo at song’s end leading into “Metatron,” a dizzying rock whorl.
Overstuffed with glitches, vocal falsettos and field recordings of bazaars and mosque prayers; rubbery bass and processed horns, Bedlam has certain stretches that are exhilarating—with a furious lead from Rodriguez-Lopez, a soaring vocal line from Bixler-Zavala or a thunderous drum roll all collating into something exquisite. But even the highest highs soon crash and dissipate, wallowing once more in a proggy bog.
By
Julia Reidy
on January 30, 2008 10:41 AM|Permalink
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photo by Esther White
Slip on those boat shoes, duck under that chandelier, and dash to your record store! (Careful, don't get your shirt all wrinkly.) Vampire Weekend, that collection of smartly-dressed, Afro-pop-playing Columbia University kids, finally released its debut album Tuesday via XL Recordings.
To celebrate this momentous and long-awaited occasion (we've christened it Vampire Week), Paste offers you a video tribute to Vampire Weekend:
Second, watch decidedly the most charming video from the new album, "A-Punk." (Hats, scarves, fish gloves, flashing lights...what more could you want in a video?)
And last, but certainly not least, La Blogotèque's Take-Away Shows recently gave Vampire Weekend a prestigious spot among the laundry list of enviable musicians they've featured with their beautiful Vincent Moon-directed videos. The three live performances they filmed on buses, strolling sidewalks and turning courtyards to concert halls, can be watched here. Songs performed include "Mansard Roof," "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance," "Walcott" and "One" in their entirety, but the videos also include snatches of other songs in between, like "Oxford Comma."
As if that wasn't enough, the quartet also appeared on NPR's World Cafe with David Dye Jan. 24. You can listen to the show at NPR.org.
A flurry of press has surrounded the pointy-fanged and Oxford-shirted group as they've toured solo and behind some impressive headliners over the past year. The roar has reached a new pitch with the band's self-titled debut. With several rave reviews (including ours) under the band's collective belt, Vampire Weekend is riding the hype waves to a couple dozen North American and U.K. cities leading up to Coachella in April.
Dates:
January 30 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom 31 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Popscene
February 1 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Amoeba Music 4 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Amoeba Music 6 - Washington, D.C. @ The Rock and Roll Hotel 7 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ First Unitarian Church 8 - Willamstown, Mass. @ Willams College 9 - Boston, Mass. @ Museum of Fine Arts 11 - Toronto, Ontario @ Horseshoe Tavern 12 - Ann Arbor, Mich. @ The Blind Pig 13 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Gypsy Hut 14 - Columbus, Ohio @ Wexner Center for the Arts 15 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Andy Warhol Museum 21 - London, UK @ ULU 22 - Wolverhampton, UK @ Wolverhampton Civic 23 - Oxford, UK @ Oxford Academy 24 - Brighton, UK @ Audio 27 - Manchester, UK @ Academy 2 28 - Glasgow, Scotland, UK @ Classic Grand
March 6 - Orlando, Fla. @ The Social * 7 - Clewiston, Fla. (Big Cypress Indian Reservation) @ Langerado Festival 8 - St. Augustine, Fla. @ Cafe Eleven * 9 - Atlanta @ The Earl * 10 - Birmingham, Ala. @ The Bottletree * 19 - San Diego, Calif. @ The Casbah 20 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey 22 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Independent 23 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Rickshaw Shop 25 - Portland, Ore. @ Doug Fir Lounge 26 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumos 27 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Richards on Richards 29 - Missoula, Mont. @The Badlander 30 - Boise, Idaho @ Neurolux
Last night, Death Cab for a Cutie announced via its MySpace blog that the band's new album, slated for delivery onto the shelves of your favorite local record store (and the Internet, of course) this May, has been christened Narrow Stairs.
Last December, when the then-untitled album's existence was announced to a multitude of obsessive Death Cab fans via the band's official website, not much more was released other than the release date. Pasterecently had the opportunity to further discuss the record with Chris Walla, who called it "kind of…damaged."
Damaged or not, Death Cab fans have been champing at the bit since 2005 to get a listen of some new material, and come May, their appetite will finally be satiated.
Last we heard from Born Ruffians, they were getting chummy with Caribou on his latest tour and covering Band of the Week Grizzly Bear's "The Knife." Now with the fluttery upbeat Hummingbird EP to their name, the Toronto threesome is co-headlining a North American tour in support of their upcoming
release, Red, Yellow and Blue (Mar. 4).
The primary-color aficionados will join Cadence Weapon for an East coast jaunt and later head up to their native Canada. Feel bad about divorce rates with this MP3 for "Foxes Mate for Life," fresh off the new LP.
And lest your eyeballs feel a bit left out, here's the video for "Hummingbird."
The dates:
February 28 - Northampton, Mass. @ Iron Horse*
29 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East Upstairs*
March 1 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Union Hall*
2 - New York, N.Y. @ Mercury Lounge*
4 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Johnny Brenda’s*
5 - Baltimore, Md. @ Ottobar*
6 - Washington, D.C. @ DC9*
7 - Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506*
8 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The Earl*&
10 - New Orleans, La. @ One Eyed Jack’s*
11 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Spanish Moon*#
12 - Houston, Texas @ Mink*
15 - Denton, Texas @ Hailey’s*
17 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Rhythm Room*
18 - San Diego, Calif. @ Casbah*
19 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Echo*
20 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bottom of the Hill*
21 - Portland, Ore. @ Holocene*
22 - Seattle, Wash. @ High Dive*
25 - Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
26 - Vancouver, BC @ The Media Club
28 - Edmonton, AB @ The Velvet Underground
29 - Calgary, AB @ The Hi Fi Club
30 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo's Café
31 - Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre
April 1 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 7th Street Entry$
2 - Chicago, Ill. @ Empty Bottle*
3 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Grog Shop*
4 - Pontiac, Mich. @ Crofoot Ballroom - Pike Room*
11 - Brantford, ON @ Ford Plant
12 - London, ON @ Call The Office
17 - Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod’s
18 - Kingston, ON @ Grad Club
19 - Montreal, QC @ Casa
24 - Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
25 - Guelph, ON @ Vinyl
26 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
* w/ Cadence Weapon
# w/ Black Moth Super Rainbow
$ w/ Acid Mothers Temple and Danava
& w/ Deathset
If you’re the son of the founder of Benihana, even the onion volcano stops being impressive after awhile. So what do you do? Well, you step away from the hibachi and become a world-famous DJ and club promoter. Perhaps you even start a record label.
It turns out that that’s exactly what happened to one Steve Aoki, who occasionally DJs as Kid Millionaire. But even a childhood exposure to dangerous, flying knives could not help Aoki run his own record label as successfully as he wanted. Aoki told the Los Angeles Times that Dim Mak, the label, wasn’t where he wanted it to be: “There was a lot of talk around the industry the past couple of years that Dim Mak was looking for more money, but what I needed was infrastructure.”
Now, Aoki’s got it in spades. Dim Mak is partnering with Downtown Music, which has released albums by some little-known, commercially unviable acts like Gnarls Barkley (don’t forget to read Paste’s April issue for lots of Gnarls gnews) Cold War Kids, Mos Def, and the soon-to-be Madame Président herself, Carla Bruni. (All of these artists are, for the record, nether little-known nor commercially unviable.)
Dim Mak will look for new and exciting artists that will then get the full Downtown treatment (complete with Warner Music Group distribution). Aoki told the Times that “our artists have the potential to write big songs and not ones limited to a certain indie scene. Now they will get the support they need.” And best of all, no sharp objects involved.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here at Paste, we're not in the business of validating clichés, but we are more than happy to let the above picture speak for itself.
All right, fine; we’ll give you a little more. The picture illustrates the camaraderie between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who are starring in Step Brothers as Brennan Huff and Dale Doback. It’s the pairs’ first outing together since an obscure, independent film that you probably didn't see called Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Talladega’s director, Adam McKay, is back for Step Brothers, which also stars Mary Steenburgen as Brennan’s mother, Nancy, and Richard Jenkins as Dale’s father, Robert.
What hijinx and capers and tomfoolery are in store? Here’s the official plot summary: “When Robert and Nancy marry and move in together, Brennan and Dale are forced to live with each other as step brothers. As their narcissism and downright aggressive laziness threaten to tear the family apart, these two middle-aged, immature, overgrown boys will orchestrate an insane, elaborate plan to bring their parents back together. To pull it off, they must form an unlikely bond that maybe, just maybe, will finally get them out of the house.”
The greatest film ever made? Perhaps. For a behind-the-scenes look at all the potential genius, click here. Step Brothers hits theaters on July 25.
Late Beach Boys middle child Dennis Wilson’s 1977 solo album Pacific Ocean Blue is getting the expanded re-release by Caribou/Epic/Legacy (two-CD set) and Sundazed (double LP vinyl) on May 13. This is convenient, because it's just in time to carry it down to the pre-summer seashore and relax to the sound of crashing waves mixing with the music of the only Beach Boy who actually surfed.
Wilson has always been a source of unusual trivia like this. He dated Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac. He befriended Charles Manson one year before the Tate/LaBianca murders. And he met a tragic end by drowning at Marina del Ray.
As for his musical legacy, Wilson was initially regarded as the group’s least gifted. However, the All Music Guide notes that Pacific Ocean Blue charted higher than two Beach Boys albums that came afterward, M.I.U. and L.A..
Having been out of print for more than 15 years, the record in its new form will include the original 12 tracks plus unreleased material originally intended for Wilson's follow-up-that-never-was, Bambu.
The original Pacific Ocean Blue tracklist went as follows:
1. River Song
2. What's Wrong
3. Moonshine
4. Friday Night
5. Dreamer
6. Thoughts of You
7. Time
8. You and I
9. Pacific Ocean Blue
10. Farewell My Friend
11. Rainbows
12. End of the Show
Once upon a time, the music video was an innovation. “What do you mean by 'music video,'” asked incredulous old-timers. “Do you mean footage of bands performing their songs live?” When told that music videos could actually have plots and other creative, cinematic elements, those same old-timers lost touch with the modern world, daunted by the infinite speed of progress. And then they died*.
Now, it’s time for a whole new generation of old-timers to experience shock and awe, because Missy Elliott is about to screen the world’s first-ever 3-D music video. Missy worked on the “Ching-A-Ling” video with longtime collaborator Dave Meyers, and the clip promises to be as audacious and crazy as her earlier visual experiments. The video features, among other things, a Japanese dance troupe called the Woomin Crew.
“Ching-A-Ling” will premiere on MTV in 3-D during this coming Monday’s TRL, and the 2-D version will follow later in the day on BET’s 106th & Park. For the full viewing experience, glasses are available at some FYE and Adidas stores, and via radio giveaways in cities screening the new movie Step Up 2 the Streets. Coincidentally enough, “Ching-A-Ling” appears on the Streets soundtrack, as well as Missy Elliott’s forthcoming album.
In case you didn’t know, Paste is your 3-D headquarters, so be sure to check out our continuing
coverage of another multi-dimensional project, this one from U2.
Starz Entertainment announced Monday that the film Crash will be made into a 13-episode, one-hour series come August.
No, not 1996's Crash, the high drama starring James Spader as a car-crash victim who discovers an underground culture of individuals who have a fetish for car crashes. (Although, come to think of it, television series idea!)
The Crash we speak of here is the film that shocked millions when it beat out Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture at the Academy Awards back in 2005, the film that touted a superstar cast of actors and actresses (Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Terrance Howard, Brendan Fraser, and the thespian otherwise known as Ludacris all starred), and the film that examined the Issue of Racism with an extremely heavy hand.
Although the television version won't have quite the same star power behind it, it's been rumored recently that Don Cheadle (named as one of the "People Behind the Movies We Love" in the Paste's 2008 Art House Powerhouse 100) may appear in a few episodes. He's already signed on as one of the producers of the series, and has allegedly been in talks to recruit some of the other stars of the film.
One can only hope that Dillon reprises his role as the horrifically misogynistic, racist, generally unlikeable cop, whose character (allegedly) redeems himself in the following scene:
While it remains to be seen whether any of Cheadle's co-stars will actually reprise their roles on the small screen, it has been announced that Paul Haggis and Bobby Meresco, the co-writers of the original film, have signed onboard for the series, as have most key members of the film's production team. There is also no word at this time whether the WGA strike will affect the shooting of the script.
At the beginning of this week the long-awaited Qtrax was supposed to finally launch. The peer-to-peer downloading site has boasted legal means for music lovers to access their favorite artists. With an advertised catalogue of over 25,000,000 songs and a partnership with four major record labels (EMI, Warner, Sony/BGM and Universal Music Group), Qtrax seemingly had the potential seriously rival iTunes in 2008.
Unfortunately, the too-good-to-be-true MP3 source is proving to be just that. First off, these alleged cooperatives with the recording companies are turning out to be a marketing farce, seeing as that all four of them have denied any sort of involvement with Qtrax. This also begins to reveal the site's biggest attraction, free—and, more importantly, legal—downloading, as a form of false advertising.
The music provider has responded to such reports with a press release stating that the site is still pushing forward. In fact, Qtrax is continuing full speed ahead, now claiming that as of April 15 the site will boast software that will enable the server's downloaded tracks to be transferred on to an iPod, side jumping Apple’s Fairplay DRM. But, for the record, similar companies have made the same claim. None have actually been able to deliver the goods.
Still, despite the media slam that Qtrax has been getting, and the fact that the server has yet to yield any music, the company stands. When Qtrax CEO, Allan Klepfisz, was asked if he was worried about getting slapped with some major lawsuits, he merely stated that “nobody has threatened us with a thing.”
The 50th Grammy Awards will air Feb. 10, despite the tension as the writers’ strike continues to keep artists and execs at arms.
On Jan. 15, Grammy producers made a formal request to the Writers Guild of America Board of Directors for an interim agreement that would contract writers for the awards.
Just last week, the WGA announced that it would, in the least, not picket the event. The Recording Company has hence begun to coordinate acts for the show. The lineup includes a gospel segment featuring Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige and the Clark Sisters. The Time will reunite, performing with Rihanna. The Foo Fighters head up the “My Grammy Moment” this year, creating a pseudo-orchestra comprised of three doe-eyed fans, John Paul Jones and the Foos that we know and love.
One difference between this and other awards shows is that the event raises funds that contribute to music in the classroom programs and career days for musicians, among other philanthropic endeavors. This seems to be one of the biggest selling points to the WGA.
“Professional musicians face many of the same issues that we do concerning fair compensation for the use of their work in new media,” WGAW President Patric M. Verrone said in a recent statement. “In the interest of advancing our goal of achieving a fair contract, the WGAW Board felt that this decision should be made on behalf [of] our brothers and sisters in the American Federation of Musicians and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.”
As for progress on the strike itself, reports of informal negotiations have covered the topics of web revenue and home video sales, but the picket lines continue to be an ever-present tactic. Reportedly 500 members of the Screen Actors Guild showed their support of the strike by joining forces outside of Fox Studios.
Regardless, so long as the awards aren’t hit with another soy bomb, things should go smashingly.
Glen Hansard had already established himself as a man of musical integrity before 2007. As the singer and guitarist of The Frames, he forged his way into many independent music loving hearts. But the release of a little film called Once (Paste's #2 of the year) blew his fanbase wide open. The support has been so momentous that he and his co-star, Markéta Irglová, have been able to take the music that they wrote and performed in the film and tour on it as The Swell Season.
It sure seems like the mysterious, mustachioed Australian known as Nick Cave is trying to take over the planet via an endless onslaught of new (and awesome) material. After a year in which he released the well-received, self-titled Grinderman debut and scored an acclaimed film, the prolific quinquagenarian is strutting into 2008 armed with a new album and his first European tour in over three years.
As we reported earlier this month, the 11-track album—the group's fourteenth studio release—emerges in the U.K. on March 3 and, on a Mayflower-esque schedule, lands on U.S. shores about five weeks later, on April 8. Mute, the band's U.K. label, is releasing a series of droll, appetite-whetting teaser videos in anticipation of the album. Here's the third one, "Is There Spirits in the Room?":
Cave's not just infiltrating global consciousness through his own bands, soundtracks and short films, though. Yesterday, British music mag NMEreported that legendary one-man-blues-band Seasick Steve "has already laid down a track with Grinderman—possibly for his new album which is due out later this year."
If it's true that the reign of Cave is imminent, at least we know we'll be marching behind the man in style, if the video for the title track/ first single off the new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, is any indication.
Help Cave establish his dominance at any of these European tour dates (tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 1):
April
21 - Lisbon @ Coliseum
22 - Porto @ Coliseum
24 - San Sebastian @ Polideportivo Anoeta
25 - Barcelona @ Razzmatazz
26 - Marseilles @ Docks Du Suds
28 - Amsterdam @ Music Hall
29 - Paris @ Casino Du Paris
May
1 - Brussels @ Forest National
3 - Dublin @ Castle
4 - Glasgow @ Academy
5 - Birmingham @ Academy
7 - London @ Hammersmith Apollo
16 - Oslo @ Spektrum
17 - Stockholm @ Annexe
19 - Copenhagen @ KB Halle
21 - Berlin @ Tempodrom
24 - Prague @ Sazka Arena
25 - Vienna @ Gasometer
June
3 - Zagreb @ IN Music Festival
4 - Belgrade @ Arena
6 - Salonika @ Mondayi Lazariston
7 - Athens @ Lycabetus Theatre
Julianne Moore starts work this spring on her starring role in a supernatural horror film. Nala Films will produce the movie, called Shelter, which is based on a script by Michael Cooney.
Swedish directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein will be at the helm when filming begins in Pittsburgh late March. The producers on the project are Darlene Caamano Loquet, president of Nala Films, and Emilio Diez Barroso, chairman and CEO of Nala Investments, which is funding the $22 million budget. Also producing will be Mike Macari and Neal Edelstein (Amusement, The Invisible).
Shelter should play to Moore’s sensible chic, as in the noteworthy Freedomland and Children of Men, though the logline has not yet been released to confirm the plot. Recently, Nala has produced In the Valley of Elah, The Air I Breathe and Dan in Real Life.
Good news for people who love television. According to a TV Guide report, Lionsgate Entertainment has announced that it has signed an interim agreement with the Writer's Guild of America allowing popular shows Weeds and Mad Men to go back into production.
Lionsgate is the latest independent film company to sign a deal with the WGA following The Weinstein Company, RKO and Marvel Entertainment. However, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is neither happy nor hopeful about the group of independent production companies, as they recently stated:
“These one-off agreements are meaningless because the companies signing them know they will not have to abide by their terms for very long, since they'll be superseded by whatever final industry wide accords are reached. If companies truly had to live by the terms of these one-off agreements, we are confident none would ever be signed."
The strike has been going on for three months now and has suspended production on most television shows and stopped most movie development. Award shows have been particularly hard hit, and the Golden Globes have been the biggest casualty so far.
Remember The Bends? At the time of the album's release (1995), back before Kid A or "pay what you want," Radiohead was a great rock 'n' roll band with serious guitar chops and a knack for hooks. Nothing super fancy, though still quite good.
Now, remember "Just" from said album? It was that gloriously anthemic track that begin unassumedly enough with acoustic strumming before exploding into a wall of noise—the kind that just begged for air guitar theatrics. Basically, it's one of the most badass songs ever written. If your memory is still not appropriately jogged, try this video refresher:
Mark Ronson remembers "Just." In fact, that long-winded introduction was merely leading us to the point where we could post his video version, released only just recently. His less-rock-more-funk rendition of the song has been featured on a couple albums already and one video before this one, but consider this the official visual counterpart. The video stars Alex Greenwald from Phantom Planet on vocals, and Ronson on all instruments (a conceit we've seen used before to fine effect, but one that's still fairly entertaining), and pays homage to the original Radiohead clip with some humorous subtitles. Example:
Sassy Street Cleaner: And why don't you try writing your own songs? Pair of Mark Ronsons: *smirk*
At the very least, it's an enjoyable way to spend a few minutes.
Along with the free single Widespread Panic released in October, the band has also made the track “Boom Boom Boom” available for streaming and another single, “Walk on the Floor,” available with a $10 donation to the Make it Right foundation. Now, the Panic is hitting the road in support of Free Somehow, which hits record store shelves on Feb. 12.
Dates:
April 1-2 - D.C. @ Warner Theatre
4-5 - New York, N.Y. @ United Palace
6 - Albany, N.Y. @ Palace Theatre
9 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ US Bank Arena
11-13 - Chicago, Ill. @ Auditorium Theatre
16 - Murfreesboro, Tenn. @ Murphy Center
18-20 - Orange Beach, Ala. @ The Amphitheater @ The Wharf
22-23 - Savannah, Ga. @ Johnny Mercer Theatre
25-26 - Raleigh, N.C. @ Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
27 Richmond, Va. @ Landmark Theater
29 - Columbia, S.C. @ Township Auditorium
May 1 - New Orleans, La. @ New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
2 - Houston, Texas @ Showgrounds @ Sam Houston
3 - Dallas, Texas @ Nokia Theatre
Upcoming documentary Let Me Be Fictional follows the members of Canadian rock band Ladyhawk as they record their latest album, reflect on society’s definition of adulthood and return to the town where they grew up together – all while consuming large quantities of alcohol. You weren’t really expecting Ken Burns, were you?
Ladyhawk is the latest in a recent surge of indie rock bands to announce its foray into film. The band's entry comes hot on the heels of White Rabbits and The National, both the subject of documentaries in the works.
The film begins with the members of Ladyhawk returning to their hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia, to record their album Shots. The guys rent an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of the town in order to strip back down to the basics (which evidently means living for 10 days without modern plumbing) and focus on their music.
Filmmakers Mona Mok and Rob Leikner also follow the band members on tour, at a Pride Tiger concert, and walking away from a frightening car accident unharmed. (Please at least partially disregard the author's previous comment doubting the artistic merit of this film.)
For a sneek peek at Let Me Be Fictional, check out the trailer on the film's official site.
Bon Iver, otherwise known as Justin Vernon, recorded his debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, in his father's north Wisconsin cabin where he lived alone for three months in the dead of winter, and it reeks of the cold Midwest: low temperatures, foliage blanketed with snow, and solitude.
Already shortlisted as a contender for Best Album of 2008 (although technically it was released by Vernon in 2007 before he signed with indie label Jagjaguwar, a midwestern resident itself), For Emma, Forever Ago will be supported by an appropriately seasoned tour, which begins mid-February in Vernon's hometown of Eau Claire, Wis., and ends March 26, just six days after spring begins.
Jagjaguwar will formally release the debut album on Feb. 19, but the label has made available for download the first single, "Skinny Love," on its website for those who just can't wait three more weeks. And some exciting news for the uber-fan was annouced today via Bon Iver's MySpace page: the band members promise they'll be posting on their blog, which Vernon created back in December.
Watch Bon Iver, performing "Skinny Love" in Minnesota:
Upcoming Bon Iver tour dates, and the most confusing key ever:
February 10 - Eau Claire, Wis. @ The Nucleus 15 - Bloomington, Ind. @ Bear's Place ! 18 - Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506 + 19 - Washington, D.C. @ The Rock and Roll Hotel # 20 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Johnny Brenda's # 22 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom # 23 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Glasslands # 24 - Boston, Mass. @ Middle East Upstairs # 25 - Portland, Maine @ The Space Gallery # 26 - Muncton, N.B. @ The Manhattan ^ 27 - Halifax, N.S. @ The Marquee Club ^ 29 - Montreal, Q.C. @ La Sala Rosa "
March 5 - Toronto, O.N. @ Lee's Palace " 6 - Cleveland, Ohio @ The Grog Shop ^ 7 - Louisville, Ky. @ Headliners # 8 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Southgate House # 9 - Knoxville, Tenn. @ The Pilot Light^ 10 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit/In^ 11 - Little Rock, Ark. @ Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack^ 18 - Tucson, Ariz. @ Plush* 19 - San Diego, Calif. @ Che Cafe* 20 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Echo* 21 - Santa Barbara, Calif. @ Muddy Waters* 22 - Visalia, Calif. @ Cellar Door* 23 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Independent* 24 - Portland, Ore. @ Holocene* 25 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Media Club 26 - Seattle, Wash. @ Nectar
! - indicates w/ The Hollows
+ - indicates w/ Megafaun
" - indicates w/ Black Mountain + Quest for Fire
# - indicates w/ Black Mountain
^ - indicates w/ Black Mountain + Nordic Nomadic
* - indicates w/ Phosphorescent
By
Julia Reidy
on January 29, 2008 12:00 PM|Permalink
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photo by Robert Clark
From Graceland to South America to Africa, Paul Simon has traversed the songwriters' world more thoroughly than most. Now, Paste's #13 Best Living Songwriter is taking his experience and talent to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a month-long residency, and he isn't traveling alone. Throughout April, Simon will put on three series of performances, each time joined by special guests best able to lend their specific musical abilities to the portion of Simon's extensive catalogue they'll be exploring.
The first series, "Songs from The Capeman," takes place April 1-6 at the BAM Harvey Theater. Oscar Hernández and The Spanish Harlem Orchestra will perform, as well as Simon himself, Claudette Sierra, Oble Bermudez and Ray De La Paz.
The second series, April 9-13 at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, is entitled "Under African Skies." Comprising selections from Simon's Southern-hemisphere-inspired work like Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints, the series will feature performances from the legendary David Byrne (who enjoys sharing stages with people), Luciana Souza, Hugh Masekela, Milton Nascimento and Kaïsa.
Last, "American Tunes" returns home April 23-27 at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House. Simon will be joined by Olu Dara and the harmonic songstresses of The Roches, as well as Paste's current Band of the Week, Grizzly Bear. (Apparently, Simon doesreally like the group.)
Tickets go on sale Feb. 11. For more information, visit BAM.org.
Neil Young’s long-waited Archives series is being pushed back. Again. The box set is being held up because Young, long an opponent of digital music, has decided to release the material via DVD and Blu-Ray. The format change will allow the set to more closely adhere to the songwriter’s multimedia vision.
"I know it's in technical production now, but it's only coming out on Blu-ray and DVD," Young told Billboard.com. "There won't be CDs. Technology has caught up to what the concept was in the first place [and] how we're able to actually present it. But there's no doubt it will come out this year."
In addition to the music Young recorded with his early band The Squires and plenty of unreleased studio cuts, the set will include the previously released concert recordings Live at the Fillmore East and Live at Massey Hall. In addition to music, Archives Vol. 1 will include never-before-seen film footage, photos, letters and a 150-page book.
In the meantime, we do know that the premiere of the rock opera adaptation of Young’s Greendale will premiere at the Undermain theater in Dallas, Texas on March 29. Greendale, which in previous incarnations has been an album, a film, and a tour, will be performed onstage with the help of some of the Dallas music scene’s biggest names, including Kenny Withrow of New Bohemians, Paul Semrad of Course of Empire, and Alan Emert of Brave Combo. The production will run through May 3. By then, who knows, there might even be a Greendale graphic novel. Oh wait, that's right, there will be.
In a shocking move, Beyoncé Knowles has signed up to play a singer in a feature film!
(We kid because we love.)
Cadillac Records, the forthcoming Darnell Martin movie depicting the 1950s Chicago music scene and already boasting a cast featuring the likes of Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Cedric the Entertainer, has added another star to its musical ranks. Knowles has reportedly signed up to fill the shoes of multiple Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Etta James.
James is best known for her #2 R&B chart hit single "At Last," which has itself, along with a slew of her other songs, been featured in many movies. She released her latest album, All The Way, in 2006.
Production on Cadillac Records is slated to start in New Jersey and Mississippi this spring, according to Cinematical.
Robert Redford announced this weekend that he has decided to move forward with his film adaptation of A Walk in the Woods, a venture that has reportedly been on the books for a while.
Redford plans to star in the film as well as produce the project. Barry Levinson is slated to direct.
Bill Bryson’s bestselling novel of the same title recounts the adventures of Bryson and a friend from his native state Iowa as they attempt the Appalachian Trail, the legendary mountain pass that runs from Georgia to Maine. Bryson had just returned from spending 20 years in Britain at the onset of the journey, and the book is a delightful commentary on life back in the States.
“I don't know when I've read a book that I laughed so loud,” Redford told the Associated Press. “Also it's a chance to take a look at the country. The backdrop is pretty terrific, if you stop to think of all the visuals that are possible as they go along that trail.”
Following this project, Redford intends to produce a film about Jackie Robinson making it to the major leagues with the help of Branch Rickey, who propelled him beyond the racial barriers that existed in 1947 baseball.
By
Alison Fensterstock
on January 28, 2008 4:07 PM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Shannon Brinkman
In September, The Blind Boys of Alabama gathered at St. Augustine’s Church in the New Orleans neighborhood of Treme, a historically African-American enclave once home to Jelly Roll Morton. St. Augustine’s has long been a community nexus for the jazz- and brass-band artists who live nearby. In traffic, it’s still common to see bumper stickers protesting the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ threat to close it after Katrina for lack of parishioners. And it was there, at a special mass, that the Blind Boys performed “Free At Last”—the “old Negro spiritual” quoted by Martin Luther King Jr. in his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech and recorded by the Blind Boys on their new album Down In New Orleans. “Everyone knows the speech, of course,” Blind Boys manager Charles Driebe says, “but hardly anyone knows the song.”
After the mass, the Hot 8 Brass Band—who lost snare drummer Dinerral Shavers to gunfire last December—led a second-line to Congo Square, the plaza where, pre-emancipation, slaves could gather on weekends to play music and dance. The parade was rife with symbols and emotions in a city that has no shortage of either. And if any band was capable of channeling the spiritual energy of the moment, it was the Blind Boys—who, with more than 60 years of performing to their name, make the Rolling Stones look like greenhorns.
The group, which specializes in booming gospel-soul, formed in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. In recent years, the Blind Boys have enjoyed a new popularity on the hipster circuit—not to mention four Grammys—due to inspired collaborations with contemporary purveyors of hip-hop, rock and R&B. For their latest, Down In New Orleans, they installed themselves at New Orleans’ Piety Street Studios (where Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint recorded their 2006 Katrina-inspired masterwork The River In Reverse). For their main backing band, the Blind Boys used a New Orleans jazz combo—pianist David Torkanowsky, bassist Roland Guerin and drummer Shannon Powell—and were also joined by the Hot 8, Toussaint and the venerable Preservation Hall Jazz Band on several tracks.
“It was a New Orleans rhythmic concept on a Southern gospel vibe,” Torkanowsky says, adding that the songs were worked out from scratch in the studio. “We didn’t go in there knowing, but we went in believing.” Most of the tracks are traditional spirituals, spiced up with New Orleans-style brass and beats, except for “Make A Better World,” made famous by legendary New Orleans pianists James Booker and Dr. John.
“We sing songs that carry a message, and ‘Make A Better World’ carries a good message, I think,” says founding member Jimmy Carter. “Because the world needs to be better.”
Release the stars: A rave-worthy debut from a brainy, rangy band
When a record has not only no bad songs but no bad moments, when basslines bounce like rubber, when drums do more than keep time—when they roll and tumble in hypnotic patterns—and when vocals glide between the mannered crooning of an over-privileged indie boy and the spastic yelping of a shocked dog, well, what are we supposed to do? Not love it? Vampire is Anglo-Afro fusion on par with Graceland. It sounds like David Byrne fronting Orchestra Baobab. It sounds like The Strokes with a sense of humor. It sounds like indie rock simultaneously gentrifying and miscegenating—despite rumors to the contrary, the neighborhood’s getting better, more interesting and more colorful. These days, it ain’t just surly white dudes playing shitty guitar for other surly white dudes. Indeed, this cosmopolitan quartet has streamlined ska, post-punk, chamber music and Afropop into a glorious ultramodern groove.
Anyone who frequents PasteMagazine.com knows that our hearts were stolen last year by a certain Ohio-cum-Brooklyn, patriotically named indie-rock band that features two pairs of brothers and a gravel-voiced lead singer.
Not only did we declare The National a Band of the Week last May, but the group also graced our December/January cover. We did all this with good reason, though. After all, The National did make the #1 album of 2007.
Good news, then, since it was announced recently that the band has not only added more tour dates for the spring (and made thousands of fans jealous of those living in the U.K.), but that this May and June they will be touring as support for none other than R.E.M. Oh, yes. The National, R.E.M. and Modest Mouse will conduct a late spring/early summer tour across the United States and Canada, starting in Vancouver on May 23 and ending in Atlanta on June 21.
Also in the works is A Skin, A Night, the Vincent Moon film that was announced in 2006. Shot during the making of Boxer, the almost-documentary will be shown at San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival in March.
Tickets to the upcoming super-tour have yet to be released. In the meantime, enjoy this sneak preview of the upcoming documentary:
On the heels of an opening slot for Queens of the Stone Age, metalhead-cum-bluesman Dax Riggs will return to the road with a string of U.S. dates throughout the month of February, kicking off in the longstanding rock haven of Toledo, Ohio.
After the demise of his former band, deadboy & the Elephantmen, Riggs went on to release his solo debut last summer, We Sing of Only Blood or Love, on Fat Possum. Even before that, he spent time fronting the seminal Southern sludge-metal band, Acid Bath. Drummer Andy McLeod will join Dax once again, with other touring members to be announced shortly.
We sing of February tour dates:
February 1 - Toledo, Ohio @ Frankies Inner City 2 - Akron, Ohio @ Barfly 4 - Lexington, Ky. @ The Dame 5 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit/In 7 - Oxford, Miss. @ Proud Larry's 8 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Varsity Theatre 9 - Austin, Texas @ Continental Club 10 - Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues/Cambridge Room 12 - Little Rock, Ark. @ Sticky Fingerz 15 - Denver, Colo. @ Larimer Lounge 16 - Denver, Colo. @ Larimer Lounge 18 - Omaha, Neb. @ Slowdown, Jr. 19 - Iowa City, Iowa @ The Picador 20 - Chicago, Ill. @ Double Door 21 - Pontiac, Mich. @ The Pike Room 22 - New York, N.Y. @ The Mercury Lounge 23 - Hoboken, N.J. @ Maxwell's
By
Julia Reidy
on January 28, 2008 12:03 PM|Permalink
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photo by Autumn De Wilde
After years of holding it down as the guitarist and producer for Death Cab for Cutie, not to mention lending his ear to numerous other production endeavors, Chris Walla releases his full-length solo debut, Field Manual, this week. Despite the much-publicized detainment of the hard drive containing the album’s masters at the U.S.-Canada border in October, the record has found its way to shelves via Barsuk. Layered, clear, and alternately ethereal or driving, the record bears the trademark tapestry-of-sound quality found on many of Walla's projects.
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo has already completed about 400 pages of an upcoming memoir, according to Gigwise.com. That's one book down, and another seven to go, if he sticks with the current treatment planned for his work.
We first reported on the reclusive singer’s literary intentions back in August, when he shared his plan to write a book based on the contents of diaries he had written during his Harvard days. Cuomo wrote on his MySpace blog that the book would be “just as much musical in nature as literary,” and was definitely not a memoir.
Well, the times they are a-changin', and so to are both the subject and scope of Cuomo’s project. Perhaps influenced by Don McLean’s Buddy Holly-inspired ballad “American Pie,” Cuomo has already completed the first 400 pages of what he says will be an 8-volume memoir. The epic collection will span from Cuomo’s childhood to the present, with the first volume focusing on the early days of Weezer, roughly from 1992-1994.
No publishing deal or release date for the books has been announced, though Cuomo says a publishing deal for the first volume is on the table. But take heart, Weezer fans – you can catch up with Cuomo and the rest of the band when the new Weezer album drops April 22 on Geffen Records.
Brooklyn songwriter Luke Temple is set to release, Brain, a limited edition vinyl 7-inch, on Feb. 26. It's the fourth volume of the Seven Inch Project, a series of limited edition vinyl collectibles, each by a different artist. Created during a late November recording session (right around the time when he was a Paste Artist of the Week), the 7-inch will be available through SevenInchProject.com and at Temple's shows. Previous contributors to the Seven Inch Project include Agent Ribbons, June Madrona and Half-handed Cloud.
Recording untraditionally and adhering to D.I.Y. philosophies as always, Temple laid down tracks for Brain in his apartment using two microphones.
He garnered praise for the 8-track recordings that made up Snowbeast, his most recent album (Mill Pond Records), but has turned to a new tactic for the material leading up to a new full-length release. After traveling solo for a while, he's recruited three bandmates, Tyler Woods on keys, Parker Kindred on drums and Mike Bloch on guitar, who have toured with him in the past and will collaborate on the next album.
You can hear two of the songs from Brain, "They're Gonna Land" and "You Could Be Anywhere", on Temple's MySpace (a taste of the digital versions that come with every vinyl purchase from the Seven Inch Project). Toting his new 7-inch and new bandmates along, he has a few upcoming live shows, including an appearance at SXSW.
Dates:
February 26 - London, UK @ The Paradise
March 1 - Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie 12 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW
April 5 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Brooklyn Public Library
It wasn’t that long ago that the Brit boys of Air Traffic were rocking out in the U.S. In fact, Paste has the privilege of saying that we hosted their first show ever on this side of the Atlantic at CMJ this past October.
Having christened a whole new continent with its brand of hard-hitting melodramatic tunes, the band can now usher in another first-timer to America. On Feb. 5, Air Traffic will be releasing its long-awaited debut album, Fractured Life.
Although there is no news on when Air Traffic is set to land back over here for a tour, you can get a titillating sneak peek/free download of the could-be lead single from the new record, “Come On,” courtesy of XFM. In the meantime, the band will be performing a few shows throughout Europe.
Dates:
February 26 - Paris, France @ La Flèche d’Or
27 - Utretch, Holland @ Tivoli
28 - Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
Remember when we asked you to vote for a lucky Paste-approved artist to come sail away (sorry) on the Cayamo singer-songwriter cruise? Well, the results of the Rock ‘n’ Reel at Sea contest are in, and the winners are…The Bowmans!
Thanks to your votes, the band will perform at sea along with some very big names, including Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris and Patty Griffin. Cayamo: A Journey Through Song will take place between Feb. 4 and Feb. 10. The weather will probably not be very good where you live, and almost certainly, legendary and up-and-coming singer-songwriters will not be performing at your house. Those are only two reasons dive right in (sorry again).
Here at Paste, we likewritingaboutJohn Doe. But that doesn’t mean that we’ve forgotten about X, Mr. Doe’s legendary punk band. To prove just how much we haven’t forgotten about X, we offer you the following tour dates for the band’s “13-31” Anniversary Tour. After all, we’re all about inclusiveness.
X on tour:
March 19 - Chicago, Ill. @ Metro/Smart Bar
21 - Madison, Wis. @ Barrymore Theatre
22 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ The Cabooze
25 - Denver, Colo. @ Bluebird Theater
26 - Aspen, Colo. @ Belly Up
28 - Boise, Idaho @ Big Easy Concert House
29 - Portland, Ore. @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
30-31 - Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox
April 9 - Solana Beach, Calif. @ Belly Up
10 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Henry Fonda Theatre
By
Austin L. Ray
on January 27, 2008 4:37 PM|Permalink
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screenshot by Andrew Droz Palermo
[Above: screenshot from Andrew Droz Palermo's forthcoming White Rabbits documentary]
Fresh off a stint of tour dates with The Walkmen, White Rabbits are back home in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Nevertheless, there is no rest for those weary leporids, as they already have a few new tracks floating around as well as a documentary in the works.
White Rabbits played one of the new songs, currently untitled, during their visit to the Paste Culture Club studio this past November. While a future podcast episode will feature both recordings and videos from the band, you can stream a startlingly pristine mix (props to Paste A/V gurus Jared Wells and Stephen Spana) of "Untitled" in its entirety below:
Meanwhile, filmmaker and friend of the band, Andrew Droz Palermo, is working on a White Rabbits documentary. After growing up in Missouri with bassist Adam Russell and guitarist Alexander Even, and realizing that his friends' band was "actually really good," Palermo began filming. He says he considers Fort Nightly, the band's debut, a very visual record, but also derived documentary impetus from the fact that the guys in the band are simply genuine dudes.
"It certainly helps that they are all handsome, charismatic gents," Palermo admits. "They love their mothers and are friendly to people who don't always warrant it on tour. In addition, they are all artists. They are serious about their work and are all self-driven, and I think that's special. But they don't take themselves too seriously. I've always appreciated artists who aren't afraid to take themselves down a notch."
Having traveled for over three months with White Rabbits already, Palermo says he has enough footage for the film, which will be his debut. However, filming continues, and rather than focusing on a singular aspect of the band (touring, interviews, the recording process, etc.), Palermo is instead opting for a little bit of all of the above.
"I knew I didn't just want a behind-the-scenes thing," he says. "Or even just concert footage. I'm not really interested in putting them up on screen arguing (which happens rarely, anyway), or drunkenly partying. It's more of a tonal visual and aural thing. My goal is that at points it will hit you hard with sound and image, and other times it will be quiet and meditative. I want it to have a definitive mood, just as Fort Nightly has its own. I think of it more as a feature film than a documentary where you might learn what sort of snacks they like in the green room."
No release date is set for the film, though Palermo says there is a possibility that the documentary will coincide with the band's second album, which is currently in the writing stages. In the meantime, he's posted a number of beautiful screenshots and one short clip of the band performing another unreleased track called "Sea of Rum" at WhiteRabbitsDoc.com.
By
Kasia Galazka
on January 27, 2008 2:49 PM|Permalink
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photo by Patryce Bak
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y. Fun Fact: Grizzly Bear covers “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)” on the Friend EP, which was originally recorded by The Crystals and soon waned from radio station airwaves because of its alleged endorsement of domestic abuse. Why It's Worth Watching: An oft-covered band, Grizzly Bear's delicate, textured songs have put it in cahoots with artists like Beirut, Final Fantasy and Dirty Projectors. For Fans Of: Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Panda Bear
Paul Simon likes Grizzly Bear. At least that’s what drummer Christopher Bear deduces from Simon staying for the entirety of one of the band's recent New York City sets, which wrapped up with a cover of the legendary songwriter's jaunty “Graceland.” The schoolboy nervousness of meeting the legend dissolved amidst a half-hour conversation about the Beatles. “It's just funny talking to someone like that who has probably met and played and hung out with them a number of times,” says Bear, whose name is merely coincidental.
By
Austin L. Ray
on January 25, 2008 5:41 PM|Permalink
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photo by Mark C. Austin
You've probably heard the tale of Robert Johnson's alleged deal with Satan wherein the legendary bluesman exchanged his soul for the ability to "play that guitar like nobody ever played it before" as well as "all the whiskey and women" he could handle. Now, we don't encourage rumor mongering here at Paste News HQ, but we are stone-cold positive that My Morning Jacket has been trafficking in some similarly shady business dealings.
As previously reported, MMJ will perform at Radio City Music Hall on June 20. Tickets went on sale last Friday (Jan. 18) and sold out in an astounding 22 minutes. Don't get it twisted. We love those Louisvillians as much as the next publication, but the seating capacity of Radio City pushes 6,000. This means that tickets were going at a rate of about 272 per minute. That's just silly. And by "silly," we mean "indicative of a deal with the devil himself."
We know what you're thinking. "Geez, Paste, that's a wonderfully half-baked argument you got there." Well, hold up a second, naysayer! It was announced today that My Morning Jacket's (also previously reported) forthcoming album will be titled Evil Urges.
By
Tiago Moura
on January 25, 2008 5:19 PM|Permalink
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photo by Todd Dyum
Following a well-received EP in 2006 that left critics wanting more, Tokyo Police Club has announced that it will release Elephant Shell in late April via Saddle Creek. The band started its tour late last week in Ontario.
Dates:
January 30 - The Ale House @ Kingston, Ontario 31 - Algonquin College @ Ottawa, Ontario
March 1 - Forwell Hall @ London, Ontario 2 - Sleeman Centre @ Guelph, Ontario 18 - Call The Office @ London, Ontario 19 - Birdy's Bar and Grill @ Indianapolis, Ind. 20 - Jackpot Saloon @ Lawrence, Kan. 22 - Kilby Court @ Salt Lake City, Utah 24 - The Independent @ San Francisco, Calif. 25 - The Glass House @ Pomona, Calif. 26 - Troubadour @ Hollywood, Calif. 28 - Soma @ San Diego, Calif. 29 - The Clubhouse @ Tempe, Ariz. 31 - Meridian Red Room @ Houston, Texas
April 1 - House of Blues @ Dallas, Texas 3 - Club Downunder @ Tallahassee, Fla. 4 - Studio A @ Miami, Fla. 5 - Backbooth @ Orlando, Fla. 8 - Exit/In @ Nashville, Tenn. 9 - The Spot @ Cleveland, Ohio 18 - Barrymore's Music Hall @ Ottawa, Ontario 19 - Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire @ Montreal, Quebec 20 - Bowery Ballroom @ New York, N.Y. 21 - Music Hall of Williamsburg @ Brooklyn, N.Y. 24 - Paradise Rock Club @ Boston, Mass. 26 - Pearl Street Night Club @ Northampton, Mass. 28 - First Unitarian Church @ Philadelphia, Pa. 29 - Black Cat @ D.C. 30 - Big Orbit's Soundlab @ Buffalo, N.Y.
Apple pie. The stars and stripes. Ironically, French fries. Thinking about how great America is? Football. Rock 'n' roll. How 'bout now? Is your patriotic blood all astir? Let's get a little more specific: SUPER BOWL. TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS. FEBRUARY 3. Immediately followed by the tickets for Petty's recently announced 2008 North American tour going on sale (although fan club members can wiggle in early on some pre-sale action if they so desire). It almost sounds too American to be true!
Luckily, the May-Aug. dates are all fact (except the to-be-determined venues in Denver and San Francisco), and Petty's performance at the Super Bowl XLII halftime spectacular is just one of the latest lightning bolts in a flurry of activities recently checked off of the blond rocker's to-do list.
In 2006, Petty & the Heartbreakers celebrated 30 years together on a sold-the-heck-out anniversary tour. Last November saw the release of Runnin' Down A Dream, a four-hour-long documentary directed by Hollywood legend Peter Bogdanovich.
Just last week, L.A. Weekly published a beautiful, extensively researched chart of Tom Petty's Los Angeles, an annotated guide to Petty's rise from a Florida ex-pat placing his demos in the hands of every record exec in town to one of the city's most faithful chroniclers.
Catch Paste's 29th best living songwriter along with The Heartbreakers and "very special guest" Steve Winwood on one of these summer stops (and check below the tour dates for a little something to tide you over in the meantime):
May
30 - Van Andel Arena @ Grand Rapids, Mich.
31 - The Palace of Auburn Hills @ Auburn Hills, Mich.
June
3 - Air Canada Centre @ Toronto, Ontario
5 - Wachovia Center @ Philadelphia, Pa.
8 - Nissan Pavilion @ Bristow, Va.
10 - Post-Gazette Pavilion @ Burgettstown, Pa.
11 - New England Dodge Music Center @ Hartford, Conn.
13 - TD Banknorth Garden @ Boston, Mass.
17 - Madison Square Garden @ New York, N.Y. (date/time subject to change)
18 - Prudential Center @ Newark, N.J.
21 - Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center @ Darien Center, N.Y.
22 - Blossom Music Center @ Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
25 - Hollywood Bowl @ Los Angeles, Calif.
July
2 - United Center @ Chicago, Ill.
3 - Verizon Wireless Music Center @ Noblesville, Ind.
8 - Riverbend Music Center @ Cincinnati, Ohio
9 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park @ Atlanta, Ga.
11 - Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Charlotte, N.C.
12 - Walnut Creek Amphitheatre @ Raleigh, N.C.
15 - BankAtlantic Center @ Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
16 - St. Pete Times Forum @ Tampa, Fla.
19 - TBD @ Denver, Colo.
20 - Quest Center Omaha @ Omaha, Neb.
22 - Sprint Center @ Kansas City, Mo.
23 - Target Center @ Minneapolis, Minn.
August
7 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Maryland Heights, Mo.
9 - MTS Centre @ Winnipeg, MB
11 - Pengrowth Saddledome @ Calgary, AB
12 - Rexall Place @ Edmonton, AB
15 - The Gorge @ George, Wash.
16 - The Gorge @ George, Wash.
20 - Jobing.com Arena @ Glendale, Ariz.
22 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Irvine, Calif.
23 - TBD @ San Francisco, Calif.
26 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Selma, Texas
27 - American Airlines Center @ Dallas, Texas
29 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion @ Woodlands, Texas
Although Dizzee Rascal's third album, Maths+English, has been available for several months online, the CD and digital formats of the 2007 Mercury Music Prize winner will be making their way stateside April 29, with the help of Definitive Jux.
Those who have already downloaded the U.K. version of the album take note: this version not only includes all 14 original tracks, which feature British music mainstays Lily Allen and Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys), but also includes two new studio tracks, as well as a remix of the song "Where's Da G's," by former Company Flow MC El-P.
But Dizzee (née Dylan Mills) hasn't just been busy in the studio. He's also been hard at work planning a collaboration with Scottish electroclash artist Calvin Harris, several upcoming tour dates in his home country, and his future progeny. It seems the 22-year-old hip-hop revolutionary plans to keep himself quite busy in the near future, and not just in the studio. (Wink, wink.)
View the video for Rascal's first single, "Flex":
Maths+English tracklisting:
1. World Outside
2. Pussyole (Old Skool)
3. Sirens
4. Where's Da G's
5. Paranoid
6. Suk My Dick
7. Flex
8. Da Feelin'
9. Bubbles
10. Excuse Me Please
11. Hard Back (Industry)
12. Temptation
13. Wanna Be
14. U Can't Tell Me Nuffin'
15. G.H.E.T.T.O*
16. Driving*
17. Where's Da G's (El-P Remix)*
* indicates new tracks
For British Eyes Only:
February 15 - Preston @ 53 Degrees 16 - Newcastle @ Newcastle Academy 17 - London @ Shepherds Bush Empire (NME) 18 - Sheffield @ Leadmill 19 - Manchester @ Manchester Academy (NME)
23rd Feb - Portsmouth @ Pyramid
By
Alexander Brown
on January 25, 2008 4:30 PM|Permalink
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photo by Mitchell Zachs
Danger Mouse has seemingly made it his goal to embarrass every other producer in 2008 based on work ethic alone. NME reports that he is soon to be collaborating with the legendary Van Dyke Parks and Martina Topely-Bird, in addition to starting on a new Gnarls Barkley album (look for more on this in Paste's April issue). This comes after wrapping up The Shortwave Set’s album, Replica Sun Machine, and The Black Keys’ Attack & Release.
It was while working on Replica Sun Machine that Danger decided to record an album with Parks, who was adding his touch to the album using a twenty-four piece orchestra he conducted. Further cementing Danger’s Sesame Street-esque “I can work with everybody” attitude, Parks' album also features John Cale. For those keeping score at home, that means Danger gets to add members of both the Velvet Underground and the Beach Boys to his list.
Danger Mouse made national headlines in 2004 with his seminal mash-up project, The Grey Album, after which he became a much sought-after producer. There has been no word yet on whether he is considering Stephen Colbert’s album challenge.
The members of Morning State will be hitting the road in February to play a handful of shows before locking themselves in the studio to re-record their debut album.
It seems the Atlanta rockers are finally back on track after an unpredictable year of highs and lows in 2007. The band signed to a new label last fall and recorded its debut album. Next, the band headed to New York City’s CMJ Music Marathon to perform with the likes of the Black Kids and Peter and Bjorn (of Peter Bjorn and John) and was warmly received by attending fans and critics alike.
(SPOILER ALERT: those were the highs.) Shortly after the guys returned home, they found out their record label had collapsed. The album seemed doomed to languish in musical purgatory while the band went back and forth with the now-defunct label's management, trying to buy the master rights for the recordings but unable to agree on a price.
The guys finally opted to cut all ties with the label. Instead of buying the original recordings, they decided to re-record the album early this year at Downtown Athens Recording Studio in Athens, Ga., for release via Indie Outlaw.
In the meantime, Morning State will play a small number of shows across the southern U.S., beginning February 27 in Lexington, Ky., and wrapping up at this year’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. The confirmed tour dates are listed below.
Considering that they're our pseudo-progeny, it should come as no surprise that we at Paste are constantlykeepingtabs on the Avett Brothers. Restraining orders be damned! It's imperative that these impressionable young men not fall in with the wrong crowd - you know, those wholesome types. So every time the Avetts dispatch a tour update, we're there to let you know.
Regular Paste news junkies might recall a TRL-style Avetts tour item that ran last month with fresh show dates included. Alas, we didn't list every single venue that the folk-stomping trio would be demolishing this spring. So, for the sake of (obsessive) thoroughness, here's the complete itinerary, with the newly-announced engagements in italics:
February 28 – Urbana, Ill. @ The Canopy Club 29 - Bloomington, Ind. @ Bluebird Nightclub
March 1 – Kent, Ohio @ Kent Stage 2 – Huntington, W.Va. @ V Club 6 – Tallahassee, Fla. @ The Beta Bar 7 – Gainesville Fla. @ The Venue 8 – Langerado, Fla. @ Langerado Music Festival 11 – Baton Rouge, La. @ Manship Theatre 15 – Columbia, S.C. @ St. Patricks Day in Five Points 19 – Clinton, S.C. @ Belk Auditorium 27 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ The Rhythm Room 28 – Tuscon, Ariz. @ Rialto Theatre 29 – Solana Beach, Calif. @ Belly Up Tavern 30 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theater
April 1 - Anaheim, Calif. @ House of Blues 3 – Santa Cruz, Calif. @ Rio Theatre 4 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Slim’s 5 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Slim’s 8 – Chico, Calif. @ Big Room at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. 9 - Grants Pass, Ore. @ Rogue Theatre 10 – Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom 11 – Seattle, Wash. @ Neumos 12 – Seattle, Wash. @ Neumos 17 - Huntsville, Ala. @ Crossbroads 19 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Variety Playhouse 25 – Wilkesboro, N.C. @ Merlefest 26 – Oxford, Miss. @ Double Decker Festival 27 - Mobile, Ala. @ Soul Kitchen 29 - Baton, Rouge, La. @ Manship Theatre
May 2 - Henderson, Tenn. @ Freed-Hardeman University 8 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ The Cabooze 9 - Madison, Wisc. @ High Noon 10 – Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Turner Hall Ballroom 16 - Newport, Ky. @ The Southgate House 17 - Nelsonville, Ohio @ Nelsonville Art @ Music Festival 18 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Beachland Ballroom 20 - Ann Arbor, Mich. @ The Ark 22 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ The Intersection
June 5 – Scottown, Ohio @ Appalachian Uprising 6 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Vogue 8 - Lawrence, Kansas @ Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival 20 - Alexandria, Va. @ The Birchmere
July 27 – Floyd, Va. @ FloydFest
August 30 – Camp Mather, Calif. @ Strawberry Music Festival
By
Rachael Maddux
on January 25, 2008 4:07 PM|Permalink
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translation help by Tiago Moura
Earlier this week, a fellow known only as Kravis17 uploaded the latest in a series of most likely illegal (as opposed to barely legal) movie trailers to his YouTube account. Featuring Steve Carrell, Dwayne “No Longer The Rock” Johnson, Anne “The Girl Who Turned Down Knocked Up” Hathaway, Alan “Steve Carell’s Co-Star In Little Miss Sunshine” Arkin and Ken "The Naked Guy From Borat" Davitian, the most recent trailer is for a film titled Agente 88. And if it sounds a suspiciously like the Get Smart movie that’s coming out this June…
...well, that’s because it is the Get Smart movie that’s coming out this June! Just with Portuguese subtitles. And also a Portuguese title. Basically, it's the Portuguese Brazilian (props to Rodigo for the catch!) trailer.
Given that the name of the movie itself couldn’t quite scale the language barrier, we wondered if the film’s dialogue suffered a similar fate. Quite conveniently, Tiago, one of our editorial interns, happens to speak fluent Portuguese, and was thus tasked with reviewing the trailer for any potentially comedic lost-in-translationisms. The following verdict was delivered approximately two minutes later, via Instant Message:
tiago: It's all correctly translated rachael: ohh ok tiago: they make a portmanteau even with shoephone rachael: whoa!
Oh well. The English-language version looks funny enough, and is set to hit theaters on June 20.
If the executives at Hasbro had thought to put Simon's colored buttons on the neck of a guitar, they would surely have enough money by now to build a toy store on the outer rings of Saturn. In the mere two years since its debut, the Guitar Hero franchise has sold a mind-pretzling 14 million units in North America, which amounts to over a billion dollars in revenue (and that's not counting the money they've made from selling five million downloadable tracks for Guitar Hero III).
Question: How many more times will I use the suffix "-illion" in this news item? Answer: Three.
Developed by MTV Games and Harmonix (the shop that originally designed Guitar Hero), Rock Band hasn't been doing too shabby either. The newcomer game has sold in excess of one million units and two and a half million downloadable tracks. Even though it's kind of interesting to think about all that cash and how many countries you could buy with it, the encouraging thing is that artists are making a percentage, however small. Maybe plastic discs won't be replaced by MP3s after all. Maybe they'll be replaced by playable Guitar Hero tracks. Maybe the major record labels will be bought out for millions by Activision.
Music is fun. It's nice to know that it's at least being used to further its core purpose and not for something strictly educational.
If anything, Lightspeed Champion doesn’t hold back. Case in point would be his last-minute UK release party for Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, where instead of tracks from the album, Devonte Hynes opted to play indie favorites with a few of his musician friends. The album will be released Stateside Feb. 5.
“Late Monday night I decided that maybe I did want an album launch,” Hynes wrote on his blog. “I called my friend Matty who runs the club White Heat, and asked if the next night I could play on the bill under the name of Pun Lovin' Criminals. Well needless to say, he said yes!”
Now Hynes has announced a stint of North American dates, which serve as somewhat of a break from his European tour. All of these shows will be acoustic sets, with just Hynes and violinist Mike Siddell, and includes a showcase at SXSW.
Catch him while you can:
March 1 - Chicago, Ill. – AV-aerie 4 - Toronto, Ontario – Horseshoe Tavern 5 - New York, N.Y. – Mercury Lounge 7 - Philadelphia, Penn. – World Café Live Upstairs 8 - Brooklyn, N.Y. – Pete’s Candy Store 10 - Boston, Mass. – TBA 12 - Austin, Texas – Antone’s (Domino Records SXSW Showcase) 15 - Austin, Texas - French Legation Museum (SXSW)
Release Date: January 25 Director: Sylvester Stallone Writers: Sylvester Stallone and David Morrell Cinematographer: Glen MacPherson Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Michael Burnett Studio/Running Time: Lionsgate, 93 mins.
"I been livin' like a star cause it’s gettin’ me high
Forget the hearse cause I never die
I got nine lives, cat’s eyes
Abusing every one of them and running wild
Cause I’m back! Yes, I’m back!"
-AC/DC “Back in Black”
“Heroes never die. They just reload,” reads one of the advertisements for Rambo. If this is truly the case, will somebody please take away his bullets already? Sylvester Stallone has returned as the anti-social war mongering loner John Rambo. In his quest for tranquility, Rambo chooses this time to live near the site of a violent Burmese civil war, a contradiction matched only by the film's title. After all, the last entry in the franchise, Rambo III, was 20 years ago. But in this film, reason and originality are replaced by body counts, and these counts are extremely high.
While living in Bangkok as a snake-hunting boatman, Rambo is convinced to take an attractive missionary (Julie Benz) and her husband (Paul Schulze) upriver to administer aid to villagers who are being systematically killed and tortured by a sadistic army. Before long, the missionaries are captured and the church hires Rambo and a group of mercenary soldiers to perform another type of rescue.
The best parts of Rambo are also its most disturbing ones. The incredibly realistic shots of automatic weapons and land mines annihilating human bodies are violently impressive. They are also continually on display, just in case you miss the first several times a head or limb flies across the screen. If just a fraction of that effort had been used for the film’s tired storyline, the once-Academy-nominated screenwriter Stallone might have earned some small sense of credibility. Turns out what we've learned is actually half true: action heroes never die, they just rewind.
Shortlisty, swing my way! If you're experiencing year-end-list withdrawal now that January's almost over, the Los Angeles-based Shortlist Organization has just the panacea—the 10 finalists for the 2007 Shortlist Music Prize, whittled down from the 54 long-listed nominees announced in December.
2007 Shortlist Music Prize Top Ten:
Arcade Fire
Burial
Feist
Justice
LCD Soundsystem
M.I.A.
Spoon
Stars
Wilco
Working for a Nuclear Free City
The Shortlist, which began in 2001, is more or less the American equivalent of the Mercury Music Prize, a 15-year-old British institution that was recently renamed the Nationwide Mercury Prize in honor of the cash money that comes with sponsorship.
While Mercury judges choose finalists solely among British and Irish performers, Shortlist listmakers could nominate any band or artist that released an album in the U.S. between Jan.-Nov. 2007—as long as that album hadn't been certified Gold (Gold = 500,000 or more sold domestically). Previous Shortlist winners include Sigur Rós, N.E.R.D., Damien Rice, TV on the Radio, Sufjan Stevens and Cat Power (don't forget to vote for your favorite Cat Power album in this week's Paste poll!).
Although Shortlist hosted concerts featuring the nominees every year from '01-'04, after a controversy in 2005 between original founders Greg Spotts and Tom Sarig, MTV reported Spotts' reasoning behind eliminating the annual shows: "It's hard to put on the concert, because there are logistics and things beyond your control ... which is why I want the Shortlist to be more fluid. I don't want it to be handed out at some fancy, dress-up gala held just for people in the music industry. I don't like the idea of it being some sit-down, rubber-chicken affair."
Prepare to throw your own affair—free of rubber fowl, hopefully—when the winner is announced in February.
For the Mountain Goats fan who has everything: the group’s new album, Heretic Pride, debuts Feb. 19 on 4AD, and lead singer John Darnielle’s 33 1/3 book on the Black Sabbath album Master of Reality will be available on April 15.
You shouldn’t be special enough to have either one yet, though you can download a track from Pride ("Sax Rohmer #1"), or request a sample from the book at sabbathsampler@yahoo.com (hat tip, Pitchfork).
According to the book description, "John Darnielle describes Master of Reality in the voice of a fifteen-year-old boy being held in an adolescent psychiatric center in southern California in 1985. The narrator explains Black Sabbath like an emissary from an alien race describing his culture to his captors: passionately, patiently, and lovingly. This album has a genuinely remarkable historical status: as a touchstone for the directionless, and as a common coin for young men and women who felt shut out of the broader cultural economy."
Amazon.com says it's 114 pages long, and should be bought with Nick Drake's Pink Moon for a discounted combined price of $17.52. Or, you could use your extra money for shows.
Here are some dates to coincide with the new material:
March 1 - San Francisco, Calif. @ the Independent
2 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bottom of the Hill (matinee)
4 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ the Troubadour*
5 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ the Troubadour*
13 - Northampton, Mass. @ Pearl Street^
14 - Boston, Mass. @ Museum of Fine Arts^
15 - Boston, Mass. @ The Middle East ^
18 - New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall ^
19 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ^
20 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ First Unitarian ^
22 - Washington, D.C. @ The Black Cat^
By
Sean Gandert
on January 24, 2008 9:14 PM|Permalink
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photo by Francois Duhamel
While Sam Mendes is still finishing up Revolutionary Road, his next project has already been announced in Variety. This is a nice change of pace for Mendes, who has released only two films since his stunning debut (1999's American Beauty). Better still, his next film was written by Dave Eggers and his wife Vindela Vida.
Originally titled This Must Be the Place, the film will focus on a couple's search for a place to settle down and raise a family. Unlike Mendes' previous films, the movie appears to be a lighthearted comedy. The film will also have a relatively small budget and will be released by Focus.
This does mean at least a postponement of Mendes' planned project, an adaptation of George Eliot's Middlemarch. It's reported that he switched projects because he wanted to do something a little less dramatic for once, but it's unknown whether the film has been canceled altogether or if he will get to it eventually.
Eggers is best known as the author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and the editor of McSweeney's, while his wife co-edits The Believer. Eggers also co-wrote Spike Jonze upcoming adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, which will see release later this year.
RECORDING: The History of Recorded Music—a documentary currently under production by LRSMedia—will soon explore the history of music from Thomas Edison’s phonograph cylinders to Steve Jobs’ iPod. To narrate this eight-part series, LRS enlisted Phil Ramone, a producer for various well-known artists including Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Elton John.
Ramone will join fellow music industry veterans Larry Rosen and Ramsey Lewis in an in-depth analysis of the technological advances that have revolutionized how audiences approach popular artists. Delighted to sign on to the project, Ramone said in a statement, "(The) story of American music and the story of music technology go hand-in-hand. What we hear, alone and as a society, is very much influenced by the technology of the day.”
The series' expected finish is tentatively set for early 2009.
It's been an exhilarating week for Portishead fans far and wide, and in particular for those located on the West coast of the United States, the island of Great Britain, and on the great continent of Europe. Not only were we able to recently report that Portishead will be headlining the mystical festival of Coachella, but yesterday Portishead announced via its blog that more show dates have been confirmed in its home country and on the Continent, and that the band's third full-length studio album, appropriately titled Third, will be released on April 14.
Not much has been heard from the trip-hop group in the past 10 years, apart from singer Beth Gibbons' well received collaboration with Rustin Man (entitled Out of Season), Portishead's appearance at the Tsunami Benefit Concert in 2005 (where Geoff Barrow announced for the first time that the band had reentered the studio) and the performance in December at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in England.
After the ATP festival, where the band played a few songs from the upcoming record, rumors swept the Internet, some claiming that this image, allegedly the set list for the festival show, contains some of the working titles of songs on Third: "Wicca", "Hunter", "Machine Gun", "Mystic" and "Peaches." The authenticity of this gossip is unsubstantiated (which is why it's called gossip), but nevertheless shows just how excited rabid Portishead fans are about their first fix since 1998's remix album Glory Times.
Here, to aid just such a fix, is Portishead performing "Roads" at ATP:
Complete tour dates:
March 26 - Porto, Portugal @ Coliseum 27 - Lisbon, Portugal @ Coliseum 30 - Milan, Italy @ Alcatraz 31 - Florence, Italy @ Sashall
April 2 - Munich, Germany @ Tonhalle 3 - Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle 4 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ KB Halle 6 - Cologne, Germany @ Palladium 7 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ HMH 9 - Manchester, England @ Apollo 10 - London, England @ Hammersmith Apollo 11 - Edinburgh, Scotland @ Corn Exchange 13 - Wolverhampton, England @Civic 26 - Indio, CA @ Coachella
May 5 - Paris, France @ Zenith 29-31 - Barcelona, Spain @ Parc del Fòrum (Primavera Sound)
Partially a response to the writers’ strike that has brought Hollywood to a screeching halt over the past 11 weeks, NBC has announced that it will be producing a very limited number of pilots this season, if any at all.
"I think there were a tremendous number of inefficiencies in Hollywood and it often takes a seismic event to change them, and I think that's what's happened here," Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal, told the Financial Times.
Curtailing this process is estimated to save the network about $50 million a year, according to the New York Times. The average cost of producing a pilot has more than doubled in the past three years, increasing from $3 million to $7 million per show. According to C21 Media, typically only about one out of 10 pilots are developed into a full season.
Officials at NBC assure they will continue to try new material as it becomes available for series development. After all, so many programs only see a single-season run anymore. This seems to be the new proving grounds, rather than testing every pilot in front of a sample audience.
Zucker told the Financial Times that pilot season was beginning to be an unnecessary step in production—an antiquated part of the process. Media buyers have reportedly been asking for a change as well. And when a network’s primetime viewership has been down over the past few seasons like NBC’s has, an alteration like this might be exactly what it needs.
This is just one of several industry changes that could result from the strike. Variety reports that other ideas include extending the regular season into June, breaking from the September to May status quo. With discussion open between the two parties of the strike, questions abound. Can viewers expect to see their favorite shows again this season? Will companies wait until next season? Will episodes resume this summer?
"If all we can do is four more episodes, there are pretty substantial amortization costs in order to go back into production," one network executive told Variety, referencing shows in their first season. "Each of those episodes will cost a lot of money. And my guess is the networks won't be generous in helping with that."
For the first time since 2005, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is returning to its full 7-day schedule, April 25-27 and May 1-4. Heavyweight leaders of the freshly-announced lineup include...(deep breath)...Stevie Wonder (Paste's #14 Best Living Songwriter), Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw, Santana, Sheryl Crow, Widespread Panic, The Neville Brothers, John Prine, Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, Randy Newman, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, The Raconteurs, Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, O.A.R., Galactic, Tower of Power, Cowboy Mouth, Bettye LaVette, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Buckwheat Zydeco, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dr. John, Keyshia Cole, Diana Krall, Irma Thomas, Al Green and more. Phew!
Needless to say, the festival schedule packs a serious artistic punch, and can be viewed in its entirety here. There are exactly one gazillion more artists slated to play this year at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. The event should have an estimated impact of approximately $300 million on the state of Louisiana and serves as a hallmark of the area's recovery after Hurricane Katrina. Festival organizers boast the most diverse and "deepest" mix of artists to ever play in its 39-year history, and they ain't lying.
The festival draws tens of thousands of visitors each day, and this time around features several performers who make it a habit to play year after year, like Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, and New Orleans legends The Neville Brothers.
Tickets are on sale at NOJazzFest.com and through Ticketmaster. Single day purchases go for $40 in advance and $50 at the door, except for Thursday, May 1, which is $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Children (ages 2-11) are $5.
By
Alexander Brown
on January 24, 2008 2:05 PM|Permalink
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photo by Dan MacMedan
The Writers Guild of America Strike has led networks into dealing with the quickly disappearing television viewership in some interesting ways. Dexter is about to hit network television, the brawn versus brawn classic American Gladiators is back, and some late night shows are airing once again sans writers. But unexpectedly, as Variety reports, CBS has decided to air The Price Is Right (complete with new host, Drew Carey) during primetime hours.
The Price is Right is no stranger to evening airings considering CBS first put the iconic program up against The Cosby Show and Family Ties in 1986. It has since aired primetime specials of the game show on special occasions. The last episode of Price shown in primetime aired as a lead in to the Emmy Awards in 2007, and was the last episode in which longtime fixture Bob Baker hosted.
The Price is Right first aired in 1956, but had trouble getting to its feet and was retooled in 1972 when Barker made his debut as host. He remained on the show an astounding 35 years, retiring in June of 2007. As the longest running game show in North America, The Price is Right may serve as the shake up CBS’ Friday night rotation needs, airing at 8 p.m. EST and bumping reruns of the Ghost Whisperer to 9 p.m EST.
By
Alex Smith
on January 24, 2008 11:26 AM|Permalink
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photo by Chris Crisman
Hometown: Athens, Ga.
Members [L-R]: Parker Gispert, Tim Deaux, Julian Dorio
Fun fact: To record their first album, The Whigs bought all of the recording equipment off of eBay, and then sold it all back once they’d finished.
For fans of: The Replacements, The Strokes, My Morning Jacket
"Rock is probably as unpopular as it’s ever been right now—I can’t really see a small band like us really getting involved in any roller-coaster ride, but ya never know.” Modest talk from Parker Gispert, lead singer of one of the more hotly touted bands of the moment, The Whigs. Since releasing their self-recorded debut Give ’Em All A Big Fat Lip in 2005, the trio has toured incessantly and garnered the kind of kudos most bands dream of. Specializing in a blend of brash garage rock with a heartfelt Southern charm, the band has earned comparisons to everyone from Guided By Voices and Elvis Costello to alt-rock underdogs The Replacements. Flattered but unfazed, Gispert doesn’t take the comparisons seriously. “We’d never listened to The Replacements,” he says.
Barely into their mid 20s, Gispert and his bandmates all took to music at an early age. “I started playing guitar early in high school,” Gispert says, “and I took piano when I was super young. We all just like to play things, and if there’s an instrument sitting around, you kinda find yourself sitting down and trying to figure out how to make a specific noise. We can all pick up stuff and play it.” As such, the band’s high-decibel bluster is somewhat deceptive. Beneath the chunky riffs and Gispert’s endearingly unpolished vocals are lushly produced tunes with complex arrangements. So complex, in fact, that drummer Julian Dorio was cited as “Drummer of The Year” by Esquire. “They’re going to do a thing on him in Drum magazine,” Gispert laughs, “which we find pretty hilarious. It’s not like we’re Rush.”
Released on Dave Matthews’ ATO label, The Whigs’ sophomore album, Mission Control, finds the band upping the rock ante and cranking the volume. Their future looks promising. “Who knows what’ll happen?” Gispert muses. “I’m young and in a band. We get to play every night, and as long as I can keep that lifestyle going, it seems like a much more fun idea than working a desk job.”
By
Kristina Feliciano
on January 24, 2008 11:16 AM|Permalink
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photo by Ophelia Wynn
Hometown: Born in Houston, raised in Essex, England
Fun fact: Lightspeed Champion is 21-year-old Dev Hynes, former guitarist of short-lived, much-loved band Test Icicles. His debut full-length, however, is miles from the Icicles’ spiky post-punk sound, thanks in part to veteran Saddle Creek producer Mike Mogis. Why he's worth watching: Hynes’ moping autobiographical lyrics are balanced by his truly unusual sense of humor. The goofy, puppet-filled video for his first single, “Galaxy of the Lost,” was inspired by an R.E.M. Sesame Street appearance.
For fans of: Bright Eyes, Shout Out Louds, Belle & Sebastian
Dev Hynes, a.k.a. Lightspeed Champion, has suffered from stomach ulcers since the age of 15, so he really should avoid stress. And yet stress always seems to find him. When Paste rings Hynes in Dalston, the East London district where he lives, Hynes reveals that he’s lost the keys to his apartment and that his cellphone service has been restricted, so he can only receive calls, not make them. “I just don’t know what I’m gonna do,” he says.
And somehow, unintentionally, our questions to the amiable young musician only seem to ratchet up his anxiety. Why did he name Lightspeed Champion’s debut LP—a country-influenced, anti-folk set featuring lots of strings and pedal steel—Falling Off the Lavender Bridge? “God, it sounds like a Rush album,” he says, laughing anxiously. “I mean, there was a song called ‘Lavender,’ but I didn’t put it on the album, so now it doesn’t make any sense.” Hynes mentions that he’s creating the cover art himself, so we ask if the image contains allusions to the album’s title. “There’s actually none,” he says. “Yeah. Fuck.”
Okay, here’s an easy one: How did he find Lavender Bridge guest singer Emmy the Great, whose euphonious vocalizing on “Galaxy of the Lost” could allay even the most fretful guy’s fears? “Oh, fuck, I need to call her! But I can’t call her. Shit.”
At least we didn’t prod him as to why his new music is so different from Test Icicles. He gets that question a lot, and he’s well aware that journalists are pathologically inclined to categorize artists. This is why he chooses not to record under his own name. “People get the misconception that that’s the real you,” he says. “But it’s like, ‘Why can’t there be a lot of real yous?’”
By
Kate Kiefer
on January 24, 2008 11:03 AM|Permalink
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photo by Noah Culver
Hometown: Oxford, Ala.
Members [L-R]: Jeremy Byrd, Natalie Byrd, Brittany Painter, Isaaca Byrd, Stacey Byrd
Fun fact: The entire band lives together in the same house, with a practice room in the basement.
Why they’re worth watching: The Bridges have already caught the ear of Matthew Sweet, who recorded several songs with them last year.
For fans of: The Cardigans, The Bangles, Fleetwood Mac
In the past, AAA (Adult Album Alternative) has too often stood for: middle-aged adult who eats at Ruby Tuesday and TiVos Everybody Loves Raymond; uninteresting, frequently sucky album; and decidedly unalternative, even anti-alternative. But Oxford, Ala.’s The Bridges—along with bands like The Magic Numbers and The Weepies—are doing their best to re-invigorate the genre. This is how alternative music for grownups should sound: interesting and approachable songs you can listen to in the car with your mom (or your daughter).
“I don’t know if anyone would call it rock ’n’ roll, but I’ll say ‘rock/pop’ instead of ‘pop/rock,’” jokes singer/keyboardist Natalie Byrd from L.A., where The Bridges spent the Thanksgiving holiday finishing their debut full-length and adding an edge to their polished songs.
The band’s three-part harmonies are catchy every time, and their straightforward lyrics fit comfortably with the sunshine-pop vibe ("Take a hit / Take a swing / You’re the one I love / Let it all / Balance out / I’m the one you need”). The Bridges deliver their material with exuberance, creating a country-tinged sound that’s not specific to 2008—but it’s not cheesy nostalgia rock, either. And their story is as charming as the music.
All the band members are siblings, except lead singer Brittany Painter, who’s their first cousin. (“She’s basically like our sister,” Byrd says. “You’ll catch her saying ‘my sister’ or ‘my brother’ about us.”) See The Bridges perform once, and it’s clear that their charisma comes from a unique closeness.
This is a vintage-style family band, even down to the name. “It comes from a club called The Bridge, a place our dad used to go to see bands play when he was younger,” Byrd says. “And we couldn’t be The Byrds, for obvious reasons.”
By
David Mead
on January 24, 2008 10:48 AM|Permalink
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photo by Andy Lai
Hometown: Denton, Texas
Fun fact: Burr wrote much of the material for his sophomore effort, On Promenade, after reading Greil Marcus’ Mystery Train, which he describes as the perfect companion for “dread and redemption.”
Why he's worth watching:
Burr was up for four Dallas Music Awards earlier this year.
For fans of: Will Oldham,
Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Mahalia Jackson
"I’ve always loved old fashioned phrases and wording. Especially in poetry and music.” Doug Burr, fresh in from pulling his two-year old son around their back yard in a wagon, is dissecting the bones of his exceptional sophomore release, On Promenade. “Not sure exactly where that came from. Maybe growing up on the old hymns.”
Burr speaks in a clipped Texas accent that belies the long, languid tones of his music. Exquisitely detailed, slow and deliberate, his songs have as much in common with the literature of Eudora Welty and Cormac McCarthy as with the work of the Americana dimmerati to whom he is often, and somewhat shortsightedly, compared.
The singer and songwriter set a very particular path for himself with the release of his debut, 2003’s The Sickle and the Sheaves, a conceptual gospel album created with immortality in mind. “I had a friend in the death-throes of cancer who identified so thoroughly with one of the songs that he requested I sing it at his funeral,” Burr explains. “At that point, I realized I needed to record it for his and his family’s sake—for my sake.”
On Promenade elaborates on these themes of birth, death and renewal, beginning with the quietly vesperal “Slow Southern Home” before patiently building into the quickened heartbeat of “In the Garden.” The cycle ends with a trio of songs capped by the gorgeous “Blood Runs Downhill,” a eulogy for the rest of the album—it’s part gospel, part Alex Chilton at his most ethereal.
“I had a dream one night,” Burr says. “I was in a hearse with Johnny Cash, and June was in a coffin in the back. He looked at me and said ‘Love is fear,’ the opposite of ‘Love casts out all fear’ from the Bible. But I immediately knew what that meant. The more you have, the more you will one day lose.”
By
Jeremy Goldmeier
on January 24, 2008 3:07 AM|Permalink
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photo by Doug Seymour
Let's make something clear: once a solo artist or band earns a meritorious Paste 4 To Watch designation, that's just the beginning of our publication's relationship with them. We're in their corner all the way, even when the fickle blogosphere moves on to some new buzz sensation.
In the case of 42W alums Hoots & Hellmouth, theirs is a sound that may not garner as much play in certain, elitist scenes. And that's just one reason why we love 'em. Stomps, handclaps, heavy twang, church revival backing vocals, mandolin: we'll take all of that, please.
Comprised of reformed rockers-turned-backwater-preachers Sean Hoots and Andrew "Hellmouth" Gray (plus the uncredited Rob Berliner), the group takes a very conscious anti-hipster approach in its music.
"We were tired of the whole rock ethos, where image and what's hip are larger than the music," Hoots told The Chicago Tribune in a recent feature.
Dates:
February 14 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Tin Angel
15 - Vienna, Calif. @ Jammin' Java
17 - Charlottesville, Va. @ Gravity Lounge
19 - Chattanooga, Tenn. @ Rhythm & Brews
22 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The Basement
23 - Louisville, Ky. @ Headliner's Music Hall
24 - Lexington, Ky. @ The Dame
26 - Knoxville, Tenn. @ World Grotto
27 - Greenville, S.C. @ The Handlebar
28 - Charlotte, N.C. @ The Evening Muse
29 - Mt. Pleasant, S.C. @ Village Tavern
March 1 - Columbia, S.C. @ Five Points Pub
3 - Black Mountain, N.C. @ Town Pump Tavern
4 - Athens, Ga. @ The Melting Point
5 - Decatur, Ga. @ Eddie's Attic
6 - Dahlonega, Ga. @ Crimson Moon
9 - Big Cypress, Fla. @ Langerado Music Festival
11 - Birmingham, Ala. @ WorkPlay Theatre
12 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Chelsea Cafe
13 - Dallas, Texas @ Bend Studios
21 - Denver, Colo. @ Soiled Dove
25 - Lawrence, Kansas @ The Bottleneck
26 - Omaha, Neb. @ Mick's Music Bar
27 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ The Cabooze
29 - Ashland, Wisc. @ Alvord Theatre at Northland College
31 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schuba's Tavern
May 17 - Tampa, Fla. @ Tampa Cuban Club
22 - Greenville, S.C. @ Downtown Alive
August 2 - Clarendon, Ontario @ Blue Skies Music Festival
Tapes 'N Tapes are set to release their second album, Walk it Off, on April 8. A follow-up to The Loon—critically acclaimed for guitarist/volcalist Josh Grier's consistent Feelies-esque riffs and Stephen Malkmus-like growl—this album may breathe extra life into the band's already lively sound.
An invaluable asset (and possible catch) for Walk it Off is its producer, Dave Fridmann, who has mastered several notable albums such as Sleater-Kinney's The Woods, Mogwai's Rock Action and Come on Die Young as well as the bulk of The Flaming Lips' discography. If nothing else, it will be interesting to hear how the comparably polished sound in Fridmann's earlier gems mesh with the addictive lo-fi flavor of Tapes 'N Tapes' debut.
Look forward to a review of Walk it Off in the April issue of Paste.
She & Him is not merely an annoyance for all the self-appointed grammar policemen out there. It's also the name of the new M. Ward/Zooey Deschanel music project with the forthcoming album Volume 1. The first release of the duo's work will arrive March 18 on Merge Records. We first reported on Deschanel's transition into music back in December, noting that though this was her first foray into the life of a recording artist, she has been singing for years in If All The Stars Were Pretty Babies, a cabaret act based in Los Angeles.
What we didn't mention was her performance in the film Elf (2003), where she thrilled viewers with both her shower scene (which, of course, refers to her duet with Will Ferrell, sung while Deschanel's character is showering at work—c'mon pervs!), as well as her rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."
But Deschanel really got her start in the music business in 1999 in The Offspring video for "She's Got Issues," in which she sports awesome super-florescent red hair and blue spandex pants under what appears to be a skort. Ah, '90's fashion...
Matt Ward is an indie darling much like Deschanel herself, and one of today's finest singer-songwriters to boot. He's collaborated with Conor Oberst, covered the reclusive Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home," and co-produced the first solo album from Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley and Troop Beverly Hills fame). Now, he's playing the part of backing musician and producer of Volume 1.
Although there's no word yet whether the duo will tour any time in the near future, they will make an appearance at both Noise Pop out in San Francisco and SXSW, where they'll play the Merge Records showcase.
And now for some Paste trivia!
Name at least 10 artists who, like M. Ward, publicly go by names that begin with an initial (that's one initial for those who were going to throw k.d. lang, et al., into the mix.)
Answers after the video below.
Deschanel's Elf performance (with shower scene!):
And...a little preview of what to expect from She & Him:
Answers:
N. Lannon
B. Fleischmann
J. Tillman
R. Kelly
G. Love
P. Diddy
T. Rex
J. Geils Band
R. Carlos Nakai
B. Baker Chocolate Co.
K. Juno
J. Moss
J Stalin
J Mascis and the Fog
J. Russell Robinson
T Lavitz
J. Taylor Streiff (Pianist)
(Disclaimer: Not every artist or band in the known universe whose name begins with an initial appears on this list. If you thought of many that didn't, perhaps you should apply for a internship at Paste.)
Volume 1:
1. Sentimental Heart
2. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
3. This Is Not a Test
4. Change Is Hard
5. I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
6. Take It Back
7. I Was Made for You
8. You Really Got a Hold on Me (Miracles cover)
9. Black Hole
10. Got Me
11. I Should Have Known Better (Beatles cover)
She & Him festival dates:
March 2 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Noise Pop 14 - Austin, Texas @ The Parish (Merge Records SXSW showcase)
By
Christina Hansen
on January 23, 2008 4:59 PM|Permalink
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photo via CanSong.ca
Legendary songwriter Leonard Cohen and his band will be touring the U.S. and Canada in May, according to a post made on the singer’s official online forum on Jan. 13.
The upcoming tour may seem like frosting on the cake for fans of the poetic Canadian, who has recently celebrated several significant career milestones. Last year, Legacy Records commemorated the 40th anniversary of the release of Cohen’s first LP by reissuing his first three records in a deluxe digipack. And in March, Cohen will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The upcoming tour will be Cohen’s first major outing since 1993. No tour dates have been announced, but the forum post promised more details to come in February.
After a sold-out 2007 tour in support of their latest album, In Our Bedroom After the War, the poppy Canadian heart-tuggers known as Stars will cross the border again this spring, just in time for their special brand of rain (that looks like love) to fall upon crowds and newborn flowers across the East Coast.
Stars are a part of the wonderfully incestuous Arts & Crafts label, home to Broken Social Scene (with whom Stars share a few upcoming international dates—see below), Feist, Apostle of Hustle and countless other genre-defying acts.
As part of the ongoing Arts & Crafts commitment to offering creative rewards to their loyal listeners (like the early online release of Bedroom), tickets for the just-announced U.S. dates are available now through a pre-sale that includes a free limited-edition A&C sampler with ticket purchase. And. AND! Pre-sale ticket buyers are also entered in a drawing to win an autographed poster—they'll be giving one away at each tour stop.
Variety's "The Set List" blog reported yesterday that Bedroom made the final 2007 Shortlist, but the distributors of the Shortlist Music Prize have yet to update their website with the info.
Hopefully the overdue kudos won't deter Stars singer Torquil Campbell from his crusade to return emotionalism to indie rock, which he touched on in a recent Onion A.V. Club interview: "I'm trying to make music and to write words and to operate as an artist in the public world by inciting feeling in people—inciting love, inciting hatred, inciting laughter. I feel like Stars gets criticized a lot for this aspect of who we are, that we are so forward in our wish to communicate..."
Let Torq (and Amy and Evan and Pat and Chris) communicate with you on these U.S. dates:
April
1 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ The Tralf
25 - Indio, Calif. @ Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
Or these non-U.S. dates:
January
24 - Dublin, Ire. @ Tripod 26 - Aberdeen, Scotland @ Moshulu 27 - Glasgow, Scotland @ Oran Mor 28 - Birmingham, Eng. @ Barfly 29 - London, Eng. @ Koko 30 - Bristol, Eng. @ Thekla Social 31 - Manchester, Eng. @ Academy 3
February
2 - Nottingham, Eng. @ Rescue Rooms 3 - Sheffield, Eng. @ Leadmill 4 - Brighton, Eng. @ Concorde 2 6 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg 7 - Hamburg, Ger. @ Knust 8 - Brussels, Belgium @ AB Box 9 - Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie 10 - Frankfurt, Ger. @ Mousonturm 11 - Cologne, Ger. @ Gloria 12 - Berlin, Ger. @ Kesselhaus 13 - Vienna, Austria @ Flex 23 - Adelaide, Australia @ Laneway Festival * 24 - Melbourne, Australia @ Laneway Festival * 27 - Sydney, Australia @ Spectrum 28 - Melbourne, Australia @ East Brunswick Club 29 - Brisbane, Australia @ The Zoo *
March
1 - Brisbane, Australia @ Laneway Festival * 2 - Sydney, Australia @ Laneway Festival * 5 - Osaka, Japan @ Club Quattro * 6 - Tokyo, Japan @ Liquid Room *
PastelovesGusVanSant. Seriously*, that dude owes us a round for all the publicity we give him. But his work is just that good and we can’t get enough of it, so news that he decided to travel south for the winter for his newest film Milk to start production in San Francisco has us excited. We hope that Fred Phelps is too busy to try and protest filming.
Milk stars Sean Penn as San Francisco gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk who is known as being the first openly gay politician in California (some posit in the United States) and “The Mayor of Castro Street.” Milk was assassinated along with then mayor George Muscone by Dan White. Milk’s story doesn’t stop there, though, as White’s trial yielded only a conviction in voluntary manslaughter due to what is known as the legendary “Twinkie defense.” Punk aficionados may also recognize the trial as the topic of the Dead Kennedy’s cover of “I Fought the Law (And I Won).”
Van Sant has put together a strong cast in this biopic with Josh Brolin starring as White and additional talent including Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna. Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen of American Beauty fame are producing with Focus Features set to release the film. Dustin Lance Black (Big Love) wrote the screenplay. That’s a lot of serious movie making talent for one film, but many Bay Area residents will likely agree that Milk’s life deserves no less than the best Hollywood has to offer.
In related news, there is no word yet on Bryan Singer’s Milk biopic which is rumored to be in development hell until the WGA strike ends.
The buoyant popsters of Nada Surf have scheduled North American tour dates to follow the imminent Feb. 5 release of their latest and most fortunate LP, Lucky. After sold-out stops on the West Coast and in New York, followed by a short stint in Europe over the next couple months, the band will return to play SXSW and tour our own fair continent at length.
Lucky, Nada Surf's fifth release, will street via Barsuk Records, and is the follow-up to the band's acclaimed 2005 album The Weight Is A Gift. You can sample new songs and get a free download of "See These Bones" at the band's MySpace. The label also invites you to watch a fan video of "Whose Authority" here, as performed at the Apple Store in Chicago this past October.
The album was co-produced by the band and John Goodmanson (Death Cab for Cutie, Blonde Redhead, Sleater-Kinney). It features guest appearances from several others in the Barsuk family, including Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie), John Roderick (The Long Winters) and Phil Wandscher (Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter). A fortuitous combination, hopefully.
The Lucky cities:
March 17 - Tempe, Ariz. @ Clubhouse Music Venue * 18 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues * 19 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Henry Fonda Theatre * 21 - Pomona, Calif. @ Glass House * 22 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Fillmore * 25 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Harlow * 26 - Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom * 28 - Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox * 29 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Commodore Ballroom *
April 1 - Denver, Colo. @ Gothic Theatre % 2 - Omaha, Neb. @ Waiting Room % 3 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue % 4 - Chicago, Ill. @ Metro % 5 - Detroit, Mich. @ St. Andrews Hall % 7 - Toronto, Ontario @ Opera House % 8 - Montreal, Quebec @ Club Soda % 10 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club % 11 - New York, N.Y. @ Terminal 5 w/ Superdrag 12 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club % 13 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Trocadero %
* - w/ The Little Ones
% - w/ What Made Milwaukee Famous
Two thousand eight will be a big year for a lot of constituencies: politically engaged individuals, politically frustrated individuals, and individuals who really like to see the number 2008 in print. But you can now add two more groups to that list: people who like the word "dung" and people who are fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Both constituencies will be pleased by a recent update to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ website, which recently announced that the band is “currently writing and recording another record. A chunk of December was spent on a musical farm in Mass throwing cow dung at each other, making music makes us do strange things.” Strange and wonderful things, more like it.
There are no details about a release date or tracklist, but there are, however, plenty of news about the activities of Nick Zinner, Brian Chase and Karen O, who have put their time off to good use. Zinner has been working on a second book of photography, Chase has been collaborating with many a band and is working on a solo album inspired by the brilliant La Monte Young, and Ms. O “is piddling around on various top secret projects.” Could this be one of them? Stay tuned.
In November, we brought you a brilliantly titled news story that reported on Band of Horses’ then-upcoming tour, and in December, we gave you a generically titled story about a particularly notable date in Louisville. Well, the future is now, the tour is underway, and there are some more dates to add. The band will be playing with Cass McCombs until Feb. 12, and on the following day, it will perform at the Tibet House Benefit in New York with Sufjan Stevens and Philip Glass, amongst others.
After its inevitably meditative performance at Carnegie Hall, the band will head to Europe for a month, before returning for a couple more dates in Florida. Wherever you see Band of Horses perform, be sure to congratulate the boys on their Top 10 placement in Paste’s 100 Best Albums of 2007.
Band of Horses on tour:
January 23 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club *
24 - State College, Pa. @ State Theatre *
25 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Beachland Ballroom *
26 - Louisville, Ky. @ Headliner's (Halfway to Forecastle) *
27 - Newport, Ky. @ Southgate House *
29 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit/In *
30 - Memphis, Tenn. @ Hi Tone Café *
31 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Gargoyle *
February 1 - Norman, Okla. @ Meacham Auditorium (U. of Oklahoma) *
2 - Dallas, Texas @ Palladium Ballroom *
3 - Austin, Texas @ La Zona Rosa *
4 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Spanish Moon *
6 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Bottle Tree *
7 - Tallahassee, Fla. @ Beta Bar *
9 - Orlando, Fla. @ Social *
10 - Orlando, Fla. @ Social *
12 - Mt. Pleasant, S.C. @ Village Tavern *
13 - New York, N.Y. @ Carnegie Hall (Tibet House Benefit) #
20 - Dublin, Ireland @ Button Factory
21 - Glasgow, Scotland - ABC
23 - Birmingham, England @ Academy
24 - Manchester, England @ Academy
25 - Bristol, England @ Thekla Social
28 - Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
29 - Cologne, Germany @ Gebäude 9
March 1 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
2 - Hamburg, Germany @ Knust
4 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
5 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Sticky Fingers
6 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser
7 - Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller
8 - Stavanger, Norway @ Folken
10 - Berlin, Germany @ Columbia Club
11 - Frankfurt, Germany @ Mousonturm
12 - Milan, Italy @ Garage
13 - Zurich, Switzerland @ Abart
14 - Lausanne, Switzerland @ Le Romandie
15 - Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
21 - Orlando, Fla. @ The Social
22 - Tampa, Fla. @ The Cuban Room
* w/ Cass McCombs
# w/ Sufjan Stevens, Philip Glass, and others
Take a shower and shine your shoes, you’ve got no time to lose, because Dispatch is releasing its DVD Dispatch: Zimbabwe – Live at Madison Square Garden this very Tuesday (Jan. 29). The DVD features footage from the band’s three-night reunion at MSG in New York. Dispatch donated all the proceeds from the shows to its very own Dispatch Foundation, which helps fight famine, disease and social injustice in Zimbabwe.
The DVD features two hours of footage from the band’s first performances since its 2004 farewell show, and will be packaged in eco-friendly material. In addition, the set comes with a 10-track bonus CD featuring some of the best songs from the shows, as well as a 30-minute documentary on Zimbabwe. Part of the profits from the sale of the DVD will go to benefit the Dispatch Foundation.
Although the prizes at Sundance are nice, the festival's ultimate goal for filmmakers is to get their movies picked up by distributors. The first couple of acquisitions have happened and, while there will certainly be more, let's take a moment and look at some of the films that will be hitting the arthouse circuit in the next six months:
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired was picked up on Sunday (Jan. 20), which is extremely fast considering the festival began last Friday (Jan. 18). The feature is a documentary by Marina Zenovich, focusing on the director's rape case and the effects this has had on both Polanski and Samantha Grier. The film was acquired by HBO Documentary Films.
Another highly anticipated film, Clark Gregg's adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's Choke, was acquired by Fox Searchlight for $5 million. The film centers on Victor Mancini, a sex-addict who runs a scam where he chokes himself nearly to death only to be saved by wealthy citizens who feel entitled to help him out in life. While Gregg's adaptation is supposed to be very different from Fight Club (not surprising considering it cost only $3.4 million to make), early reviews have been very positive.
What both films have in common is their extremely controversial nature, each taking on topics that studios would likely be afraid to touch. Other films that have been bought up so far include Nanette Burstein's Hamlet 2 and Henry Poole Is Here, though so far it's been a relatively slow year for acquisitions.
Ever wanted to watch you favorite short film backdropped by Antarctic tundra or the cobblestone streets of Andalucian Spain? How about the vibrant, curved spires of Moscow? The Independent Exposure Film Festival is a media source that has committed itself to doing just that, bringing the best of their entries to over 600 cities in over 44 countries.
Supported by Microcinema International and Asthmatic Kitty (label home to Sufjan Stevens and My Brightest Diamond) the festival focuses on showcasing all the cultural, the political, and the aesthetically jarring footage that independent shorts have to offer. Most films dabble in some brand of visual effect or animation, pushing past the brink of status quo film making. Just check out one of the Best of 2007 winners to see what we mean.
As the festival enters its 13th year of existence, you too can have a chance to display your techno-colored dream of a movie short. Deadline is Feb. 29 and the entry fee is a nominal $5 to get your miniature work of art into the running. For more information click here.
As for all you adoring spectators, an exact date for Independent Exposure’s kick-off has not been announced, but with plenty of stops along the way, there will likely be a good chance for you to catch a screening.
On February 5, Roxy Music fans in the U.S. will have the ability to once again view (for their pleasure, of course) performances by the English art-rock band.
Roxy Music: The Thrill of It All - A Visual History 1972-1982 will be released stateside that day, and will feature live performances, promotional music videos, television appearances and more on a double-disc DVD. Disc one of the set spans the years 1972-1976, and the second skips three years into the future, covering 1979-1982.
Although it's likely that 1977 and 1978 were omitted because Roxy Music was on an extended hiatus, one might posit another theory: that Ferry just isn't comfortable reliving 1977, otherwise known as the year the world turned on the band's frontman.
That was the year that Ferry was jilted by his one-time fiancee, supermodel Jerry Hall, in favor of her future husband, Rolling Stones' frontman Mick Jagger (surely a traumatic event at the time, but one that thankfully prevented the world from being subjected to the awful, awful name Hall would have married into: Jerry Ferry).
It was also the year that many point to as the birth of the punk movement in New York and London, a movement that Ferry was not only not welcomed into, but one that he was explicitly rejected by when Malcolm McLaren (former manager of the Sex Pistols and later a top ten recording artist in the U.K.) designed his first t-shirt.
McLaren described the shirt in the book Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, stating, "To me the establishment's notion of bad needed to be redefined. And the notion of good meant to me things that I felt absolutely needed to be destroyed. At the beginning of the seventies when I had left art school, that meant to me Bryan Ferry... The first T-shirt I designed was purely about trying to determine...a list of either 'good' names or 'bad' names..."
These two events, along with the solidification of former bandmate Brian Eno's position as the new king of the avant-garde, propelled Ferry to reform Roxy Music with a slightly modified line-up in 1979, where the DVD set picks back up.
From this new line-up came the top 10 single "More Than This," from the group's final album Avalon. The upcoming DVD features the music video for the single, as well as the video of the band's cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," recorded as a tribute in response to his 1981 death.
Also included on the disc are the band's first ever filmed performance at the Royal College of Art in 1972, Brian Eno's last on-camera performance as a member of Roxy Music, and music videos of "Same Old Scene," "Angel Eyes," "Trash," and "Avalon," featuring Ferry's disarming, '50s-style looks.
What all of this amounts to is that you won't need much more than this (zing!) to fulfill your yearning for Roxy Music.
For those rabid fans who just can't wait, check out Roxy Music's official YouTube page here, and the video below.
Roxy Music: The Thrill of It All - A Visual History 1972-1982:
Disc one, 1972-1976:
1. Re-Make/Re-Model (6/72 @ Royal College of Art)
2. Ladytron (6/20/72 @ Old Grey Whistle Test)
3. Virginia Plain (8/24/72 @ Top of the Pops)
4. For Your Pleasure (11/25/72 @ Full House)
5. Do the Strand (4/3/73 @ Old Grey Whistle Test)
6. In Every Dream Home a Heartache (4/3/73 @ Old Grey Whistle Test)
7. Editions of You [live] (4/29/73 @ Golden Rose Festival)
8. Pyjamarama (1/23/74 @ Musikladen)
9. Amazona (1/23/74 @ Musikladen)
10. Psalm (1/23/74 @ Musikladen)
11. All I Want Is You (10/04/74 @ Top of the Pops)
12. Both Ends Burning (10/75 @ Empire Pool, Wembley)
13. Love Is the Drug (10/9/75 @ Supersonic)
14. The Thrill of It All [live] (1/23/76 @ Stockholm, Sweden)
15. Mother of Pearl [live] (1/23/76 @ Stockholm, Sweden)
16. Nightingale [live] (1/23/76 @ Stockholm, Sweden)
17. Out of the Blue [live] (1/23/76 @ Stockholm, Sweden)
18. Street Life [live] (1/23/76 @ Stockholm, Sweden)
Disc two, 1979-1982:
1. Dance Away (4/16/79 @ ABBA in Switzerland)
2. Manifesto [live] (5/-7/79 @ Manchester Apollo)
3. A Song for Europe [live] (5/-7/79 @ Manchester Apollo)
4. Still Falls the Rain [live] (5/-7/79 @ Manchester Apollo)
5. Ain't That So [live] (5/-7/79 @ Manchester Apollo)
6. Angel Eyes (8/79 - promo video)
7. Trash (1979 - promo video)
8. Over You (5/15/80 - Top of the Pops)
9. Oh Yeah! (On the Radio) (8/7/80 @ Top of the Pops)
10. Same Old Scene (11/80 - promo video)
11. Rain, Rain, Rain (12/19/80 @ Rockpop in Concert)
12. Flesh And Blood (12/19/80 @ Rockpop in Concert)
13. Jealous Guy (2/81 @ promo video)
14. The Main Thing [live] (8/27/82 @ Frejus, France)
15. While My Heart Is Still Beating [live] (8/27/82 @ Frejus, France)
16. Avalon [live] (8/27/82 @ Frejus, France)
17. My Only Love [live] (8/27/82 @ Frejus, France)
18. More Than This (4/82 - promo video)
19. Avalon (6/82 @ promo video)
20. The Main Thing [bonus track] (82 - promo video)
Actor Heath Ledger was found dead Wednesday afternoon in his SoHo apartment, the New York Times reported. He was 28 years old.
According to the NYT, a masseuse arrived at the SoHo apartment at about 3:30 p.m. for an appointment with Ledger. A housekeeper led the masseuse upstairs to Ledger’s door, where the two knocked repeatedly but received no response. Upon entering, they found Ledger lying unconscious on the bed.
They shook him and immediately called emergency authorities when he did not wake up. Although the cause of death has not been confirmed, police suspect a drug overdose. Prescription sleeping pills were found nearby Ledger in the apartment.
A New York Police Department spokesman announced this morning that an autopsy had been performed, but the results were inconclusive. Additional tests will be performed, and the spokesman said the investigation will probably take about ten days to complete.
The actor's father Kim Ledger spoke to reporters in Perth, Australia, calling his son "down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving, unselfish" and said that his death was tragic, untimely and accidental.
The Australian actor received an Oscar nomination in 2005 for his role in the critically acclaimed Western drama Brokeback Mountain. He appeared last year in Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, and recently completed shooting Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Batman prequel The Dark Knight, in what many anticipated to be a star-making turn as the Joker.
Ledger met actress Michelle Williams on the set of Brokeback Mountain and the two began a relationship shortly after. They moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., and welcomed their daughter Matilda Rose in October of 2005 before separating last year.
Our best wishes go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.
Allow us at Paste to introduce you to Jay Reatard. As you can see from the photo above, he's a real charmer.
One has to imagine that most of the little Reatard's formative years were spent in the crushing headlock of some schoolyard bully. That unfortunate surname must have earned him more than his fair share of abuse. But each insult and jab surely hardened him, toughened him, molded him into the punk-rock savior he is today. Even back then, he knew that his tormentors would live to regret their disrespect when he someday rocked their leering faces off.
OK, so Reatard was actually born Jay Lindsey. That the man would voluntarily adopt his present mantle, however, says a fair deal about his innate chutzpah. For those who haven't yet had the chance to hear this Memphis miscreant's punk squall, well, there's a MySpace page for that. As for everyone else, you already know why it's worth reporting that Reatard and his band are out on the road this spring. He's playing opener for the previously reported Black Keys tour, along with a few other scattered dates in Chicago, Australia and SXSW. Now on Matador Records, Reatard plans to drop a salvo of singles beginning in March. His 2006 effort, Blood Visions, was his first solo outing, but damned if he doesn't have a mess of past side projects to his name.
Dates:
February 22 - Chicago, Ill. @ Reggie's Rock Club
March 6 - Sydney, Australia @ The Annadale
7 - Melbourne, Australia @ E Brunswick Club
8 - Brisbane, Australia @ Club Phoenix
9 - Meredith, Australia @ Golden Plains Festival
10 - Melbourne, Australia @ The Tote
12-15 - Austin, Texas @ South By Southwest
27 - Tucson, Ariz. @ Rialto Theatre *
28 - Tempe, Ariz. @ Marquee Theatre *
29 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues *
30 - Pomona, Calif. @ Glasshouse *
April 1 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Wiltern Theatre *
2 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Warfield Theatre *
4 - Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom *
5 - Seattle. Wash. @ Showbox SoDo *
6 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Commodore Ballroom *
9 - Denver, Colo. @ Ogden Theatre *
11 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue *
12 - Chicago, Ill. @ Riviera Theatre *
13 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Vogue *
15 - Royal Oak, Mich. @ Royal Oak Music Theatre *
Josh Groban, Michelle Branch, Jason Mraz, and Eisley are a few of the many acts that the will perform at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The event "Where Music Meets Film" will take place alongside the three-day independent film festival. Fuse.tv will be streaming behind-the-scenes footage of the event as well.
The festival's schedule is as follows:
Jan. 24, 2008 5 p.m. - Jeremy Lister @ The ZonePerfect Bar 6 p.m. - Mêlée @ The ZonePerfect Bar 7:20 p.m. - Missy Higgins @ The ZonePerfect Bar 8:30 p.m. - Josh Groban @ The ZonePerfect Bar
Jan. 25, 2008 5 p.m. - MoZella @ The ZonePerfect Bar 6:10 p.m. - The Honorary Title @ The ZonePerfect Bar 7:20 p.m. - Tyler Hilton @ The ZonePerfect Bar 8:30 p.m. - Michelle Branch @ The ZonePerfect Bar
Jan. 26, 2008 6 p.m. - Eisley @ The ZonePerfect Bar 7:10 p.m. - Jack's Mannequin @ The ZonePerfect Bar 8:20 p.m. - Jason Mraz @ The ZonePerfect Bar
Catching Up With... Jonathan Coulton
Wilco - "Wilco (the song)"
Cory Chisel - "Born Again"
12 Patriotic Songs Better than Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A."
Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons- "Born Again"
