Dancing About Architecture 06.19.07
Posted by Ian Wright on 06.19.2007
Sonic Youth, Radiohead, The Shortlist Prize, Johnny and the Moon, The Go! Team, Unkle, Devendra Banhart, The Besnard Lakes, Aussie teen rockers and the best Theremin song ever.
The bit at the start
At some point in the next week an interview with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore will go up on pitchfork. The interview was mainly supposed to be concerned with the upcoming release of the Daydream Nation Deluxe Edition (which, unsurprisingly the fork gave a perfect 10 to, once again, it's not my favourite of theirs) and the Don't Look Back tour which will see them play the album in full around the world (well, Europe and North America anyway) but in the middle of the conversation Moore mentioned that he had to do something for "… this Starbucks record that's coming out."
The Starbucks thing in question is a compilation of Sonic Youth songs chosen by various musicians and celebrities to be sold in Starbucks and is to be the second release on the Starbucks Records label following the recent Paul McCartney album. Kinda a minimal effort endeavour on the part of the band no?
I don't really care if a band is on a major label or not, my favourite band of all time spent the entirely of their careers on a major up until the release of their last album and most indie labels use the majors for distribution anyway.
But this idea about not buying your music at a record store is something that does bother me a little. Whenever possible I try to buy as much of my music as I can at independent record stores. Often it's the only place that I can find the stuff that I like and so I can continue to buy my obscure shit with relative ease I buy a lot of my more mainstream shit there too. Stuff that I could occasionally be able to find at my local video shop or supermarket or whatever. The thing is, those places only stock CD's (and lets not get into the fact that they only stock CD's, which means they don't really satisfy my new found vinyl habit) that they know will sell quickly and easily, my local Xtra-Vision won't be stocking any Swan Lake anytime soon and if more and more big acts sign chain exclusive deals with companies like Starbucks it can't be good for people like me who goes looking for new good music, who regularly buys a couple of albums a week and who doesn't want to have their choices limited to Coldplay or other such hugely selling tripe.
I won't be buying the Sonic Youth Starbucks release, and not just because I disagree with the principal of the thing, but also because I probably already own the albums any songs likely to be on it are on and if I don't I'll probably get around to buying the album one day.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Sonic Youth - Evol
One of my "I prefer it to Daydream Nation" albums.
The Dancing About Architecture MySpace band of the week.
While the world goes nuts about Los Campesinos this summer this bunch of Aussie kids pretty much blow them out of the water.
Recommended song: Just a song about ping-pong.
You news, you lose
FUCKING YEEEEEESSSSSS
Ed O'Brien posted the following on Radiohead's Dead Air Space blog last week, though I didn't know that he did it when he did I came a little at the moment the post went live, I was walking by a school at the time, it was unfortunate …
a word from the studio
Yes I know its been a while ..... but we've been working on this album for a while ...... BUT WE ARE NEARLY THERE .....
Ed
*insert celebratory exclamation here*
On top of that producer Nigel Godrich posted a bunch of snippets on Dead Air Space over the weekend. Some are reversed, and they're all mashed together but it's a good chance to see how things are shaping up for the album.
Meh
What do Tom Waits, Joanna Newsom, Beirut, Band Of Horses, Hot Chip, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Girl Talk, Regina Spektor and Spank Rock have in common?
Well for starters they all had their asses handed to them by Cat Power in the Shortlist Prize. The Greatest was chosen by a panel of "listmakers" including Sufjan Stevens and members of Franz Ferdinand and the Flaming Lips as well as KT Tunstall who demonstrated that you can have taste even if you make shit music by saying that the album was "an immediate classic that will never age."
So congrats Chan, obviously I thought that Joanna Newsom should have won but I do like The Greatest so I can live with it winning.
Don't Go (! Team) Don't Leave me now now now.
The Go! (fuck you and the "!" you rode in on) Team have recently inked a North American record deal with Sup Pop to release their forthcoming second album Proof Of Youth on September 11th and a day before in Europe via Memphis Industries.
The album will be preceded by a pair of singles on Memphis Industries; "Grip Like A Vice" on July 2nd and "Doing It Right" which is out on September 3rd which will both be available on CD, download and 2 different 7"s. The b-sides for the singles include "A version of myself", a cover of Sonic Youth's "Bull In the Heather" and a remix of "Grip Like a Vice" by Black Affair (The Beta Band's Steve Mason).
I sometimes doubt that there'll ever be another Wolf Parade release.
You can add Johnny And The Moon to a list of reasons that includes Sunset Rubdown, The Handsome Furs, Islands, Swan Lake and (probably) Frog Eyes for the hold up in Wolf Parade's second album.
Dante DeCaro's other project (and thank fuck he's only got one) hits the road in the next couple of month in support of last year's self titled album.
He'll then take a little break before heading out on the road with the band I give a shit about.
Guys who I've never heard.
06-16 Vancouver, British Columbia - Hawks House
06-17 Seattle, WA - Comet Tavern
06-19 Portland, OR - Towne Lounge
06-21 San Francisco, CA - The Knockout
06-22 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
06-25 Phoenix, AZ - Paper Heart
06-29 Dallas, TX - The Cavern
06-30 Austin, TX - Mohawk
07-01 Oklahoma City, OK - Opolis
07-04 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
Guys who I've heard and love.
08-11 Kingston, Ontario - Wolf Island Festival
08-18 Boston, MA - Tweeter Center (Download Festival)
08-19 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
08-20 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
08-21 Washington, DC - Black Cat
08-22 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
08-24 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
08-25 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
08-26 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
08-27 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
09-02 Milwaukee, WI - Alpine Valley (Download Festival)
09-06 Victoria, British Columbia - Sugar
09-07 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
09-08 Seattle, WA - Neumos
09-09 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
09-10 Eugene, OR - W.O.W. Hall
09-12 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
09-13 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
09-14 San Diego, CA - Cane's
09-15 Pomona, CA - Glass House
Kool Unkle.
Unkle may never again reach the heights they managed with Psyence Fiction a decade or so ago but that album does mean that whenever James Lavelle + whoever put something out it's worth at least a cursory glance.
Following up from May's Night's Temper EP Unkle will release War Stories on Lavelle's Surrender All label on July 24/9/20 depending on where in the world you live.
The album will feature contributions from Josh Homme (QOTSA), Ian Astbury (the Cult), 3D (Massive Attack), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), David Catching (Eagles of Death Metal), Autolux, the Duke Spirit, and Jeordie White (aka Marilyn Manson bassist Twiggy Ramirez, also of Goon Moon). This album will also feature Lavelle's vocal debut.
Chris Goss (QOTSA producer) helped out with the production on the album and 3D helped to keep things in the family by painting the album's artwork. As is the fashion at the time (i.e. now) the album will be released as a super special limited edition in addition to the normal version. The special edition will feature the album (no shit) as well as a second disc of instrumentals and a 50 page booklet with tons of photos. The regular version will just feature a 32 page booklet. The album will be preceded by the single "Burn My Shadow" on June 25th.
Tracklisting:
01 Intro
02 Chemistry
03 Hold My Hand
04 Restless [ft. Josh Homme]
05 Keys to the Kingdom [ft. Gavin Clark]
06 Price You Pay
07 Burn My Shadow [ft. Ian Astbury]
08 May Day [ft. the Duke Spirit]
09 Persons & Machinery [ft. Autolux]
10 Twilight [ft. 3D]
11 Morning Rage
12 Lawless
13 Broken [ft. Gavin Clark]
14 When Things Explode [ft. Ian Astbury]
Devendra, you so crazy.
It's been 2 years since Devendra Banhart put out his last album (and 3 since his last good one, oh SNAP!) so it might be time to update you on things relating to the follow up to Cripple Crow maybe? Well he did just that on his MySpace recently by posting the following…
Dear Freinds! its a beautiful day in California , we began Mixing the record today, lets see....... its about 16 songs, some very unexpected guests , the main band is Me, Noah, Luckey, Pete, Greg, and Andy, Rodrigo will be playin some shows here and there with us until duty with Los Hermanos beckons and/or the Saudade kicks in.
no titles yet , but tentative who knows Maybes are:
Milk the wind
Shes a hot dog
Mountaneous Confunktion
Greatest Hits
Hubba Hubba Planet
Electric Pizza Cops
Foreskin Sword (what it is & how to use it)
Mama, mujhe mall se jeans lenee hai
Porkin' the broken Knee (Electroxtensial chop!)
Who is Kadamon?
The Burnt Frizbee
Abhor the coagulator (1964 version)
Koala Mans Return to Pineapple temple
ihop ihop
Bacchanalian Beat Box
Thrice the phat Magus
Gaga blood & the balls of .......
Rich Gals Shampoo n' Conditioner Blues
Talkin Weleda Haushka Bronners Blues
Military Massengill
Cyber Christ and the Gnostic Titi-Slap part deux
you who are familiar with grandmas Hyacinth
......... ................ ............. ......... ............ ........ ..........
thats about it right now ! we are just starting to mix today , we will keep ya posted as new ones arise!
on and Onward and Love Above All!
oh , i almost forgot, we still dont have a band name, at least not one thats made it past a couple shows, if anyone has a suggestion , we would LOVE to try it out!
How about "Dude, go easy on the herb". Anyway, he's an ultra talented guy but I prefer him on his own so if I wish real hard maybe the mix will involve turning the faders down on everything that isn't Devendra's mic and guitar. Tour dates at the end.
Why did you have to be so shit live?
Despite making me want to slam my head into the wall during their set I still have tons of love for the Besnard Lakes and their second album The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse.
The band's next release is the "Casino Nanaimo" 12" out on September 11th on Jajaguwar and features the title track on the A-side with "Devastation (alternate version)" on the flip side.
You can take "alternate version" to mean "really long and jam bandy."
The YouTube video of the week
Gotta love the theremin.
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Antony And the Johnsons
06-21 Cork, Ireland - Live at the Marquee
06-24 Milan, Italy - Teatro dal Verme
06-26 Warsaw, Poland - Kongresowa Hall
06-28 Rouen, France - Zenith
06-30 Lyon, France - Grand Theatre Romain de Lyon - Outdoor
07-01 Belfort, France - Eurockennes - Chapiteau Stage
07-04 Riga, Latvia - Dream Factory
07-05 Moscow, Russia - B1 Maximum Club
07-08 Istanbul, Turkey - Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theatre
07-12 Bologna, Italy - Piazza Santo Stefano
07-14 Turin, Italy - Parco Della Pellerina
07-16 Sesto al Reghena, Italy - Sesto al Reghena Abbey, Castello Square
07-18 Barcelona, Spain - Grec Ampitheatre
07-20 Benicassim, Spain - Benicassim Festival
Devendra Banhart
08-10 Oslo, Norway - Øya Festival
08-17-19 Brecon Beacons Powys, Wales - Glanusk Park (Green Man Festival)
09-01 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
09-02 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09-10 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
09-22 Montreal, Quebec - Le National
10-13 Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
Gruff Rhys
06-09 Devon, England - Lynton and Lynmouth Festival
06-30 Stockholm, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
07-27 Liverpool, England - Picket (TrocaBrahma Festival)
07-28 Glasgow, Scotland - Fruit Market (TrocaBrahma Festival)
07-29 London, England - KOKO (TrocaBrahma Festival)
08-11 London, England - Field Day Festival
08-12 Leicester, England - Summer Sundae Festival
08-19 Brecon, Wales - Green Man Festival
09-19 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09-20 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
09-21 New York, NY - Hiro Ballroom
09-22 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
09-23 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts *
09-25 Toronto, Ontario - Rivoli
09-27 Chicago, IL - Schubas
09-29 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café #
09-30 Portland, OR - Doug Fir #
10-02 San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall #
10-03 Los Angeles, CA - Rec Center Studios #
10-05 Mexico City, Mexico - Lunario
* with Ulrich Schnauss
# with Her Space Holiday
Super Furry Animals
06-14 Cardiff, Wales - Clwb Ifor Bach
06-19 London, England - ICA
06-22 Glastonbury, England - Glastonbury Festival
07-13 Canterbury, England - Merton Farm (Lounge on the Farm Festival)
07-14 Coventry, England - Godiva Festival
07-21 London, England - Lovebox Festival
08-25 Cardiff, Wales - Get Loaded in the Park Festival
08-31 Glasgow, Scotland - Connect Festival
09-02 Jersey, Channel Islands - JerseyLive Festival
09-15 Dorset, England - End of the Road Festival
11-23 Somerset, England - Tunnel Vision Festival
Slint
07-13 Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival ~
07-14 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub *#
07-16 Toronto, Ontario - The Phoenix *
07-17 New York, NY - Webster Hall #
07-18 New York, NY - Webster Hall #
07-19 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle *
07-21 Seattle, WA - Showbox *^
07-22 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's *$
07-23 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre $
08-18 Tripod - Dublin
08-20 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands
08-22 London, England - Koko
08-23 London, England – Koko
~ with Sonic Youth, GZA
* non-Spiderland show
# with Minnow
^ with the Drift
$ with Phantom Family Halo
Tortoise
06-14 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center *
06-15 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
06-16 Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre #^
06-17 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room ^
06-18 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre ^
06-19 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge ^
06-20 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room ^
06-21 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre $ (West Coast Fonk Bumps Tour)
06-22 San Francisco, CA - Independent $ (West Coast Fonk Bumps Tour)
06-23 San Francisco, CA - Independent $ (West Coast Fonk Bumps Tour)
06-25 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater $ (West Coast Fonk Bumps Tour)
06-26 Seattle, WA - Neumos $ (West Coast Fonk Bumps Tour)
06-27 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom $ (West Coast Fonk Bumps Tour)
06-30 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center &
07-01 Chicago, IL - Metro *&
07-02 Ann Arbor, MI - The Blind Pig *
07-03 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace *
07-04 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis !
07-05 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts
07-06 Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe ~
07-07 Washington, DC - Black Cat ~
07-08 New York, NY - Webster Hall !
* with David Daniell
# with Hot Chip
^ with Lichens
$ with Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dudley Perkins
& with Make Believe
! with Kieren Hebden & Steve Reid
~ with the Notekillers
The Flaming Lips
07-03 Cork, Ireland - Live at the Marquee
07-06 Turku, Finland - Ruisrock
07-08 Brugge, Belgium - Cactus
07-13 Barcelona, Spain - Summercase Festival
07-14 Madrid, Spain - Summercase Festival
07-15 Glasgow, Scotland - Victoria Park (Indian Summer Festival)
07-27 Tulsa, OK - Diversafest
08-02 Gergen, Norway - Lost Weekend
08-04 Haldern, Norway - Down on the Farm
09-07 Chicago, IL - TBA *
09-09 Minneapolis, MN - TBA *
09-12 Kansas City, MO - TBA *
09-14-15 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Monolith Festival)
09-18 Vancouver, British Columbia - TBA *
09-19 Portland, OR - TBA *
09-20 Seattle, WA - TBA *
* with Black Moth Super Rainbow
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Los Campesinos – Sticking fingers into sockets
The Hold Steady – Live at Fingerprints
The bit at the end
Despite falling in hate with Zach Condon at Primavera I shall be heading down to see Beirut play Dublin on Friday. Hopefully the fact that I'm not in the middle of a breakdown this time will mean that I enjoy it a bit more.
If you are going to Glastonbury this weekend I am insanely jealous and I hate you.
