Dancing About Architecture 09.19.06

Posted by Ian Wright on 09.19.2006

The Flaming Lips, Mission Of Burma, Elliot Smith, The Bridge School Benefit and Nigel Godrich on TV.

The bit at the start

I usually talk about music here (this is a music column after all) but after yesterday's events I can only say one thing.

HA HA, fuck you Manchester United.

Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.

Arcade Fire – Funeral.



2 years old this month and still incredibly powerful.

You news, you lose

Yay

Last week a number of unreleased Elliot Smith demos surfaced on a number of message boards. The 4 songs are believed to be amongst the 50 that were recorded during the sessions for Smiths last (and ultimately posthumous) album From a basement on the hill and can be heard on the excellent fan-run Elliott Smith: B-Sides & Other Songs.

I haven't got around to downloading the songs yet but I'm really looking forward to hearing them. Elliot Smith was one of the finest songwriters ever and if you haven't heard Either/Or or XO you really need to.

Damn you Wayne, damn you.

Last week I delivered a bit of a diatribe about bands re-releasing special editions of albums a while after they first came out. Well look, one of my very favourite bands are doing just that. Good thing that I've been unimpressed by what I've heard of the album and didn't buy it yet then eh?

The Flaming Lips will re-release an expanded, 2-disc CD/DVD version of At war with the mystics on October 24th.

As well as all the stuff that was originally on the album it will feature outtakes "Why Does It End?", "You've Got to Hold On", "Your Face Can Tell the Future", "The Gold in the Mountain of Our Madness", "Time Travel?? Yes!!" and the Lips cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" as well as a number of radio session songs.

The DVD features videos for "Mr. Ambulance Driver", "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song", "The W.A.N.D.", as well as Wayne Coyne's 2006 commencement address at his Oklahoma City high school alma mater. Is that the one he sold drugs at?

I saw The Fearless Freaks recently, it's very good but the scene featuring Steven Drozd shooting up was hard to watch.

That's when I reach for my revolver.

The greatest New England indie-rock band of the 80's was not The Pixies but rather is was Mission Of Burma, who rocked so hard that their guitarist nearly went deaf. They reformed a few years back and unlike other bands who reformed and have milked the public by touring constantly and playing the same old shite every night they've released 2 albums of new material. On top of that there's now a DVD about the band on the way.

Not a photograph will be released on November 21 and is a 70-minute documentary covering the trials and tribulations of the band's 2002 reunion. Directed by David Kleiler, Jr. and Jeff Iwanicki and in addition to footage from that first tour back together there's also some from way back when including one performance by The Moving Parts, which was Clint Conley's and Roger Miller's (whose a real nice guy and put up with my friends and I asking him dumb questions for far longer than was required at ATP) first band together.

DVD Tracklist:

01 Mission of Burma: "Wounded World" (Boston, MA - Avalon, 2002)
02 The Moving Parts: "Tetracyclin" (Boston MA, 1979)
03 Mission of Burma: "Peking Spring" (Boston, MA - The Space, 1979)
04 Mission of Burma: "This Is Not a Photograph" (Boston, MA - The Paradise, 1981)
05 Mission of Burma: "Secrets" (Boston, MA - Club 608, 2002)
06 Mission of Burma: "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate" (Boston, MA - Club 608, 2002)
07 Mission of Burma: "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate" (Boston, MA - The Paradise, 2002)
08 Mission of Burma: "Trem Two" (New York, NY - Irving Plaza, 2002)
09 Mission of Burma: "Max Ernst" (New York, NY - Irving Plaza, 2002)
10 Mission of Burma: "Academy Fight Song" (New York, NY - Irving Plaza, 2002)
11 Mission of Burma: "All World's Cowboy Romance" (New York, NY - Irving Plaza, 2002)
12 Mission of Burma: "Peking Spring" (Seattle, WA - Experience Music Project, 2002)
13 Mission of Burma: "1970" (Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre, 2002)

A bridge too far.

Way back in 2006 Pegi Young founded the bridge school in Northern California. It's a programme for students with communication impairments. Ever since her husband has been organising benefit concerts for the school and inviting people he knows to play them. Her husband happens to be Neil Young and he knows quite a few musical luminaries. In the past 2 decades the likes of Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, Wilco, Bright Eyes, R.E.M., Thom Yorke and Tom Waits all having appeared in the past.
For the 20th edition of the Bridge School Benefit which will be held at the Shoreline Amphitheatre outside San Francisco on October 21 and 22 they've certainly pulled out all the stops when it comes to the lineup as Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Death Cab For Cutie, Devendra Banhart, Trent Rezner, Dave Matthews band and other special guests are all scheduled to perform.

That's a pretty phenomenal lineup there.

Do you like TV? I like TV.

So does Nigel Godrich apparently. The super-producer has created "From The Basement" a show for British TV that will showcase some of the best music around, including a number of bands that he's worked with in the past.

The first episode features Thom Yorke, The White Stripes and Four Tet. The second, which is still being made, will feature Beck and Jamie Lidell.

Godrich told Rolling Stone "I'm interested in the visual arts side of things, and somehow integrating that into what records have become ... People don't buy albums so much because, as a medium, it's changing, so I'm just trying to figure out what it's changing into, and chasing after that."

It's understood that the show will be available via video Podcast in the next few weeks.

It's understood that when that happens I'll once again curse the country shit hole that I live in because I can't get broadband here.

If you can you should go to these gigs.

Beck

Beck's current live show is phenomenal, I really urge you to go see him if you can.

09-27 Chula Vista, CA - Coors Amphitheatre *
09-30 Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre (Download Festival)
10-07 Los Angeles, CA - 1st & Main Streets (Detour Music Festival)
10-12 Nashville, TN - City Hall
10-14 Chicago, IL - UIC Pavilion
10-16 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh Arena
10-18 New York, NY - Theater at Madison Square Garden
10-23 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre

* with Tom Petty

Regina Spektor

09-17 Atlanta, GA - Park Tavern (99X's "Unplugged in the Park")
09-20 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
09-21 Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
09-27 New York, NY - Town Hall
09-28 New York, NY - Town Hall
09-30 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
10-03 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-06 Boston, MA - Avalon
10-08 Montreal, Quebec - Le National
10-10 Toronto, Ontario - The Phoenix Concert Theatre
10-13 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's
10-15 Chicago, IL - Park West
10-17 Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre
10-19 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre
10-22 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
10-25 Portland, OR - Lola's Room
10-26 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
10-29 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11-02 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
11-05 San Diego, CA - Cane's
11-06 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress

My Morning Jacket

09-14 Bologna, Italy - PalaMalaguti *
09-16 Verona, Italy - Arena di Verona *
09-17 Milan, Italy - Forum *
09-19 Torino, Italy - Palaisozaki *
09-20 Pistoia, Italy - Duomo Square *
09-22 London, England - London Astoria $
10-23 San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts #
10-24 San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts #
10-27 Los Angeles, CA - Wilshire Ebell Theater #
10-28 Santa Barbara, CA - Arlington Theater #
10-29 Las Vegas, NV - Vegoose #
11-09 Charleston, SC - Music Farm %
11-10 Knoxville, TN - Tennessee Theatre %
11-12 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle %
11-13 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium %
11-15 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues %
11-16 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Theater %
11-17 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Theater %
11-18 Austin, TX - Stubb's %
11-20 St. Louis, MO - Pageant %
11-21 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside %
11-22 Louisville, KY - Louisville Gardens %
11-24 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre !
11-25 Indianapolis, IN - Clowes Hall !
11-27 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club !
11-28 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club !
11-30 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom !
12-01 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory !
12-02 Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom !

* with Pearl Jam
$ with David Dondero
# Jim James solo show
% with Wax Fang
! with The Slip

The Rapture

09-12 New York, NY - Apple Soho Store (instore)
09-20 Berlin, Germany - Popkomm
09-21 Hamburg, Germany - Reeperbahn Festival
09-23 Lille, France - NAME Festival
09-24 Milan, Italy - Rolling Stone Red
09-25 Zurich, Switzerland - Mascotte
09-26 Paris, France - Bataclan
09-28 Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
09-29 Marseille, France - Marsatac Festival
09-30 Strasbourg, France - Ososphere Festival
10-01 Reims, France - Magnitude Festival
10-03 Munich, Germany - Muffathalle
10-04 Lohmar, Germany - Stollwerk
10-05 Utrecht, the Netherlands - Tivioli
10-06 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique Orangerie
10-08 Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms
10-09 Brighton, England - Concorde 2
10-10 Norwich, England - Waterfront
10-12 Edinburgh, Scotland - Liquid Room
10-13 Belfast, Northern Ireland - University
10-14 Sheffield, England - Leadmill
10-15 Manchester, England - University MDH
10-17 London, England - Koko
10-18 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg Max
10-26 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
10-27 Toronto, Ontario - Guvernment *
10-28 Detroit, MI - Saint Andrew's Hall *
10-30 New York, NY - Webster Hall *
11-01 Boston, MA - Axis *
11-02 Montreal, Quebec - Club Soda *
11-03 Philadelphia, PA - Pure Nightclub *
11-05 Chicago, IL - Metro *
11-07 Austin, TX - Emo's *
11-09 Phoenix, AZ - Old Brickhouse Theatre *
11-10 Pomona, CA - Glass House *
11-11 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Be the Riottt! Festival) *
11-13 Seattle, WA - El Corazon *
11-14 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards *
11-15 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *
11-17 Las Vegas, NV - Celebrity Vegas *
11-20 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre *

* with the Presets

Cat Power

09-12 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse *
09-13 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre *
09-15 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival *
09-16 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom *
09-17 Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ *
09-20 Mexico, City, Mexico - Venustiano Carranza 25
11-01 London, England - Roundhouse *
11-03 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso *
11-04 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belguique *
11-05 Paris, France - Grand Rex *
11-07 Zurich, Switzerland - Kaufleuten *
11-09 New York, NY - Avery Fisher Hall (The Music of Bob Dylan)


* with the Memphis Rhythm Band

Writing under the influence

Without which this column would not have been possible:

Talk Radio
66e – I died in a movie
Mission Of Burma – A Gun To The Head

The bit at the end

I'll be marshalling at the Ryder Cup all this week. Should I try to slip Tiger Woods a mixtape?

Details are so sketchy at the minute it doesn't warrant a bit all to itself but after 4 fucking years Damien Rice finally has a new record ready to go. It's called 9 and could be out in November.