The Wrens got screwed, ah the old in-jokes are the best.
A few weeks ago I previewed the longlist of nominees for the New Pantheon Awards and managed to get pretty decent mileage out of it. This week the list was pared down to a final 10 and I get to try to do it all over again.
The 10 albums to make that final list are as follows:
Animal Collective - Feels (Fat Cat)
Antony and the Johnsons - I am a Bird Now (Secretly Canadian)
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (Sony)
Arcade Fire - Funeral (Merge)
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Vice)
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (Atlantic)
The Decemberists - Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars)
Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak (RCA)
M.I.A. - Arular (XL/Beggars)
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
Looking at that list my initial reaction is one of satisfaction. The 3 albums that I tipped first time around as potential winners (Antony, Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens) all survived the cut. Of the remaining 7 the only album that I really object to still being in the running the Arular. Now maybe I just have an irrational hatred of Sri Lankans and don't realise it but I really hate every single note that I've heard from that album.
The only other album that I do really like is the Bloc Party album but find it to be a bit too patchy to be a serious contender. I don't get Death Cab … at all but accept that they might have something I'm missing. I'm not digging The Kings Of Leon or The Animal Collective (apologies to Wednesday news guy Brain Berry but I really do dislike that album) at all and to be honest I haven't heard enough of the Decemberists or Fiona Apple albums to pass judgement.
But who should win? Well as I said before 3 of the nominees stand head and shoulders above the other 3 (in fact all 3 of them made my top 4 of last year) but it'll really be a travesty if Funeral doesn't win this.
That's settled it, I'm there.
Regular readers may be aware of my little ATP dilemma but if you're not then here's a recap.
The All Tomorrows Parties festival takes place a number of times a year at Camber Sands in the UK and typically plays host to some of the best in the world of indie/electro/noise. I've never been but having seen the list of curators for the one in May (6, spread over 2 weekends as opposed to one curator for one weekend) I really wanted to go to it but there was no way I could afford to go to both so I was left in something of a bind.
A number of acts have since been announced as playing and after hearing that one act in particular was on the bill it made my mind up instantly.
Before I say who it is. Here's a list of who has been confirmed thusfar:
May 12 -Mudhoney Day
Mudhoney
Comets On Fire
Black Mountain
The Drones
The Scientists
Country Teasers
David Dondero
Jon Wahl& The Amadans
Total Sound Group Direct Action Comitee
The Flesh Eaters
May 13 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs Day
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Liars
TV On The Radio
Oneida
The Blood Brothers
Ex Models
Celebration
Imaginary Folk
Tall Boys
Magik Markers
Services
May 14 - Devendra Banhart Day
Devendra Banhart
Vashti Bunyan
Vetiver
Espers
Bat For Lashes
Jana Hunter
The Metallic Falcons
Danielle Stech-Homsy
Bert Jansch
The Watts Prophets
May 19 - Dinosaur Jr. Day
Dinosaur Jr.
Dead Meadow
Bevis Frond
Broken Social Scene
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Lilys
Magik Markers
May 20 - Sleater-Kinney Day
Sleater-Kinney
MC David Cross
The Gossip
Spoon
Boredoms
Lightning Bolt
Joanna Newsom
May 21 - The Shins Day
The Shins
The New Pornographers
The Decemberists
Clinic
Big Business
Triangle
Destroyer
That's a really strong lineup for both weekends but the act that is on the list that I most want to see and never have is Joanna Newsom* so it's weekend 2 for me. Despite the first weekend having Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV On The Radio weekend 2 features a stronger lineup in general, I'm really looking forward to The Shins, Broken Social Scene and Dinosaur Jr. and after seeing Dig! I'm interested in seeing if Anton Newcome implodes on stage when the Brian Jonestown Massacre play.
Going to weekend two also means I'll be able to see Final Fantasy when he plays Dublin on May 14th.
* Despite declaring my geeky, fanboyish crush on her last week the reason I want to see her live is that I adore her album and I've been impressed by the bootlegs that I've heard.
Honestly.
By rights Kim Gordon is too old to wear hot pants but if you've still got it then flaunt it.
Sonic Youth recently parted company with multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke and the band have decided that instead of wallowing in self pity and crying into their drinks it's better to throw yourself into your work after a breakup and look to have a very busy 2006 planned.
First up is a new album, their first since 2004's rather good (well, I liked it) Sonic Nurse which is currently being recorded at Sear Sound in New York where the band previously recorded Sister and Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star in addition to Thurston Moore's solo album Psychic Hearts. Current potential song titles include "Pink Steam", "Do you believe in rapture?", "Or" and "Sleepin Around". According to Sonic Youth's official site the album will be released "sometime in 2006".
Another date to pencil into your diary if you're a fan of Sonic Youth is March 7th as a number of previously out of print Sonic Youth rarities will be reissued that day including their self-titled 1982 E.P., the 1988 Ciccone Youth record The Whitey Album and Moore's afore mentioned solo album.
Not very underground no more.
People can't really seem to decide whether or not the Pixies reformation has been a good thing or not. The most anticipated reunion in a decade has really spit the band's fanbase down the middle with some fans just being delighted to get the chance to see them play and others (in the main lucky bastards who got to see them the first time around) claiming that they're tarnishing their legacy as they secure their pensions by playing a string of substandard shows.
One reunion that everyone can agree on however is the Velvet Underground one back in 1993. It was generally perceived as being a travesty. Their European tour was however very well documented and material from it was released on CD and Video.
The video will get the DVD treatment and is set to be released on January 24th. Velvet Redux: Live MCMXCIII features material from the 3 dates they played in the Olympia in Paris (where Jeff Buckley recorded a fantastic live album) on June 15-17, 1993. The performance featured all 4 original VU members but Nico unfortunately couldn't make it as she was dead at the time (and remains so to this day if you were wondering). It was no great loss though as she couldn't sing for shit anyway.
I should point out that being dead never stopped Graham Chapman from attending the Monty Python reunion.
In the words of their fellow New Yorkers, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Karen O was interviewed by the NME last week and told them that title of their upcoming second album (which I'm tipping as a dark horse to be the album of the year) will be Show Your Bones.
In typical NYC art-rocker fashion she then went on to talk crap about the title: "'Show Your Bones' is what happens when you put your finger in a light socket, we'd like to thank nine-year old antigenius wonder-kid Drake Barrett for the insight and the life-saver, titles are hard to come by the older you get.
"Maybe there is some of that electric current flowing through the tracks of our album illuminating us from the inside out for you to laugh at and cry to or fry to, or not."
The album will be out towards the end of March and will be preceded by a single "Gold Lion" a week before.
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Yeah Yeah Yeah's
02-24 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
02-25 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
02-27 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
03-01 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
03-02 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
01-24 Tokyo, Japan - Club Quattro
02-03 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Queens University (Speakeasy)
02-04 Dublin, Ireland - The Village
02-05 Edinburgh, Scotland - Liquid Rooms
02-07 Manchester, England - MDH
02-08 Norwich, England - Waterfront
02-09 Brighton, England - Concorde 2
02-10 London, England - KoKo
02-11 Sheffield, England - Leadmill
02-13 Paris, France - Trabendo
02-14 Brussels, Belgium - AB Club
02-15 Hamburg, Germany - Tanzhalle
02-16 Berlin, Germany - Postbanhof
02-17 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
02-19 Amsterdam, Holland - Max
02-20 Munich, Germany - Ampere
02-21 Bologna, Italy - Estragon
02-22 Milan, Italy - Rainbow
02-24 Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 3
02-25 Madrid, Spain - Arena
03-07 Philadelphia, PA - TLA
03-08 Washington DC - 9:30 Club
03-09 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
03-10 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03-12 Sunrise, FL - Markham Park (Langerado Festival)
03-15 Ft. Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater
03-16 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-17 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-18 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-19 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-21 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
03-22 San Diego, CA - The Casbah
03-23 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater
03-24 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-25 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-28 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
03-30 Lawrance, KS - The Bottleneck
03-31 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
04-01 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
04-03 Chicago, IL - Metro
04-05 Newport, KY - Southgate House
04-06 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
04-07 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
04-08 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
04-10 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
04-11 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
04-12 Boston, MA - Paradise
04-14 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-15 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Tom Dunne's Pet Sounds on Today FM, Monday to Thursday, 19:00 – 22:00 GMT
Arcade Fire – Funeral
The National – Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers
The bit at the end
Reread the opening, replace "intro" with "end" and "we're" with "I'm".
