Dancing About Architecture Indie Music News 01.05.10
Posted by Ian Wright on 01.05.2010
A preview for the coming year, two sad passings, Soundgarden reform, Radiohead back in the studio and more!
The bit at the start
Annnnnnddd
…
we're back.
Happy new year all. I know that I said that I'd have something up last week but considering that I was on my Festivus holidays I think you'll excuse the absence. By the way, nobody pinned my dad during the feats of strength so technically the holiday is continuing. Now I could take him no problem y'all understand, but I enjoy the family time that is the holiday.
I had intended on having my top 50 of the decade/30 of the 2009 albums list done by now but things got in the way (mostly me playing GTA IV if I'm honest) but hopefully at least one of them will be ready to go next week.
This year promises to be a good one for music with new albums likely from Arcade Fire, The National, Joanna Newsom, LCD Soundsystem, Titus Andronicus,Final Fantasy Owen Pallett and Wolf Parade and other possible releases coming from The Wrens and you never know, 2-3 other non WP releases from Spencer Krug. It's also the year that I get to see Pavement live for the first time ever, and the second time, and the third, plus I'll be releasing an album of my own in the summer time hopefully (but none of you care about that I'm sure). There'll probably be something from a brand new band that'll blow my socks off too. Even though I'm turning 30 this year I've gotta say, 2010 is looking good.
So lets kick of with an album for you to listen to and then a total drag of a news story to kick things off with, but generally we'll ease ourselves into the new year gently.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Owen Pallett - Heartland
Leaked over Christmas, Final Fantasy's debut under his own name.
You news, you lose
Vic Chesnutt RIP.
Athens, GA singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt passed away on Christmas Eve. According to tweets from his friend Kristin Hersh his death was the result of suicide.
Chesnutt, who had been in a wheelchair following a car accident aged 18, released over a dozen albums since the early 1990's and over the course of his career has had a stellar cast of collaborators to work with in that that time including Michael Stipe, Lambchop, and Elf Power, Widespread Panic, Van Dyke Parks, and A Silver Mount Zion (his last gig in Dublin featured a packing band including member of that band and Fugazi) and a 1996 tribute album to him included contributions from Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins, Sparkelhorse, Garbage and Indigo Girls.
Tributes have been flooding in to Chesnutt and Brooklyn Vegan collected some of the more poignant comments from the likes of Patty Smith who said "He possessed an unearthly energy and yet was humanistic; with the common man in mind. He was entirely present and entirely somewhere else. A mystical somewhere else," Michael Stipe who produced Chesnutt's first two records who said "We have lost one of our great ones," and a very touching tribute from Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum who said "in 1991 i moved to athens georgia in search of god, but what I discovered instead was vic chesnutt. hearing his music completely transformed the way i thought about writing songs, and i will forever be in his debt."
Hersh has also set up a website where fans can make donations to help Chesnutt's family with the medical expenses involved in the ultimately fruitless attempts to save Chesnutt's life.
This is terribly sad news obviously, he was a very talented man. This song of his seems very appropriate at a time like this ...
And another one unfortunately.
Roland S. Howard, who played guitar with Nick Cave in The Boys Next Door and most notably The Birthday Party, died on December 30th of liver cancer. He was 50 years old.
Since The Birthday Party broke up in 1983 Howard collaborated with the likes of Lydia Lunch, Nikki Sudden of Swell Maps, and Henry Rollins. His final album Pop Crimes was released last October.
Radiohead back in the studio.
In a post on Radiohead's Dead Air Space blog on December 15th Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien wrote, "The vibe in the camp is fantastic at present, and we head off into the studio in January to continue on from the work we started last Summer. I am so genuinely excited about what we're doing, but for obvious reasons I can't divulge anything more...anyway we all love surprises don't we? 10 years ago we were all collectively (that's the band) in the land of Kid A...and although hugely proud of that record, it wasn't a fun place to be...What's reassuring now, is that we are most definitely a different band, which should therefore mean that the music is different too and that is the aim of the game...keep it moving."
O'Brien also spoke to Rolling Stone recently saying, "We feel way more empowered in terms of our art and what we're doing. We have been rehearsing for the last four weeks, for this new record. And we are in a very different place, a very new place. I don't know if this is relevant, but I was talking with [drummer] Philip [Selway] three days ago about this. We were saying, 'What's different?' And one of the things is we do things without fear. [...] The thing that is different about In Rainbows is that it was an album from the heart. It was a lot warmer. And from what I'm making out in the rehearsal room now, there are still elements of that. [...] I'm an eternal optimist, but I truly believe we can shift massively on this [next] record. That's the thing we all know, that we feel in our bellies as we're rehearsing-- we're on a big move here." Good things happen when this band makes big moves."
It all sounds very exciting. Can't wait.
And the latest 90's reunion is ...
SOUNDGARDEN
"The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!"
So proclaimed Chris Cornell on Twitter on New Years night. Details are a bit sketchy right now but Billboard are reporting that the band are currently fielding festival offers for the spring and summer. Soundgarden haven't performed together since 1997 but the last 12 months did see various members of the band perform together in various configurations. The big stumbling point at the minute when it comes to a major tour is drummer Matt Cameron who is currently in Pearl Jam and that band have a pretty busy 2010 booked.
The YouTube video of the week
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Wilco
02-07 Missoula, MT - Adams Center *
02-09 Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Hall *
02-10 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre *
02-12 Victoria, British Columbia *
02-13 Vancouver, British Columbia - David Lam Park (2010 Olympics free show) *
02-15 Edmonton, Alberta - Northern Jubilee Auditorium *
02-16 Calgary, Alberta - Southern Jubilee Auditorium *
02-17 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - TCU Place *
02-19 Duluth, MN - DECC Arena *
02-20 Madison, WI - Overture Hall *
02-21 East Lansing, MI - Wharton Cobb Great Hall *
02-23 Hamilton, Ontario - Hamilton Place Theatre *
02-24 London, Ontario - Centennial Hall *
02-26 Quebec City, Quebec - Imperial de Quebec ^
02-27 Montreal, Quebec - Olympia de Montreal ^
03-01 Ottawa, Ontario - National Arts Centre ^
03-03 Halifax, Nova Scotia - Halifax Forum Multipurpose Room ^
03-22 Miami, FL - Jackie Gleason Theater
03-23 Clearwater, FL - Ruch Eckard Hall
03-25 Savannah, GA - Johnny Mercer Theatre
03-26 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
03-27 Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
03-29 Richmond, VA - The National
03-30 Bethesda, MD - Strathmore
03-31 Scranton, PA - Scranton Cultural Center
04-02 Montclair, NJ - The Wellmont Theatre
04-03 Montclair, NJ - The Wellmont Theatre
04-04 Providence, RI - Lupo's
04-06 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
04-07 Concord, NH - Capitol Center for Arts
04-09 Hartford, CT - Bushnell Center
04-10 Philadelphia, PA - The Electric Factory
04-11 Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall
04-22 Osaka, Japan - Big Cat
04-23 Tokyo, Japan - Zepp Tokyo
04-27 Auckland, New Zealand - Civic Theatre
04-28 Wellington, New Zealand - Wellington Town Hall
04-30 Brisbane, Australia - The Tivoli
05-01 Sydney, Australia - State Theatre
05-02 Marrickville, Australia - Factory Theatre
05-05 Melbourne, Australia - Forum
05-06 Melbourne, Australia - Forum
* with Califone
^ with Bahamas
Joanna Newsom
01-16 Brisbane, Australia - The Tivoli
01-18 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House
01-20 Melbourne, Australia - The Forum Theatre
01-21 Canberra, Australia - The Playhouse (Canberra Theatre Centre)
01-23 Thirroul, Australia - Anita's Theatre
01-30 Christchurch, New Zealand - The Harbourlight
01-31 Wellington, New Zealand - The Paramount *
02-02 Auckland, New Zealand - The Dorothy Winstone Centre *
02-06 Osaka, Japan - Sunsui
02-07 Tokyo, Japan - Unit
03-12 Grand Rapids, MI - Calvin College Chapel
03-15 Montreal, Quebec - Ukrainian Federation
03-17 Cambridge, MA - Sanders Theatre
03-19 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
03-20 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
03-22 Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
03-26 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03-27 Knoxville, TN - Big Ears Festival
04-02 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
* with Bachelorette Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk Radio
The bit at the end
Well that wasn't so bad now. It's good to be back. See ya in 7.
Stephen Baldwin looks like a lobotomised Alec Baldwin
You can follow me on twitter, I'm endlessly fascinating.
Semi permanent plug for my blog the year and decade best of countdowns continue in earnest.
