Dancing About Architecture 9.11.07
Posted by Ian Wright on 09.11.2007
Radiohead, Neil Young, The Electric Picnic, The Bridge School Benefit, Iron And Wine, The Fiery Furnaces go ballet, Grizzly Bear, The Mercury Prize and more.
The bit at the start
Hello, hello, hello. Miss me? I didn't think so.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty great. The weekend before last was spent at the Electric Picnic Festival down in Laois; great company, great music, great fun. Musical highlights included Final Fantasy (that guy just gets better and better and better), Sonic Youth, Jarvis, The Fall, Unkle (shockingly, shockingly good, I really expected them to be awful for some reason) and The Go! Team (who regular readers might know I've never had much time for but they were excellent, I still hate the redundant and misplaced ‘!'). The highlight however, mainly due to it's uniqueness, was the Final Fantasy, Architecture in Helsinki and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 3 way improve jam session on Sunday night, seriously amazing shit.
General lowlight, that poor guy who died at The Chemical Brothers on the Saturday night. Before I learned what was wrong I must admit to taking some perverse pleasure at witnessing an ambulance with sirens blaring and lights flashing trying to make it's way through a crowd of 10,000 mainly pilled up people at a dance gig. Feel bad about it now as I didn't realise what was going on.
Last weekend I went to the south-west of England. Bath is a seriously gorgeous city, you really should see it if you ever get the chance.
Anyway, there's probably been tons of stuff happening in the 2 weeks I've been gone so lets get started.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
Yeah, it probably is as good as the reviews say.
The Dancing About Architecture MySpace artist of the week.
Recommended song: As much as I'd love to say one of the 2 originals on the page (Pink Star … in particular I'm very taken with) there's a remarkable Joanna Newsom cover. Sawdust And Diamonds
You news, you lose
As ever we lead off with anything vaguely Radiohead related...
Deep breath …
Prepare to cheer …
According to Jonny Greenwood …
Too many ellipses? (…)
According to Jonny Greenwood on Paste.com last week Radiohead have finished recording on their follow up to Hail To The Thief, in fact here's what he said, "We just had a meeting...today. We're very relieved to have finished recording. Now we have to decide what we should do with it."
That "what we should do with it" mainly being how it'll be released and on what label. The band have been without a record deal since the release of the Com Lag EP a couple of years ago and being multi millionaires as they are they funded the (lengthy) recording sessions that they've been engaged in the last couple of years themselves. There's no sign of the band deciding on a label yet (thought the smart money might be on XL who released the Thom Yorke solo album last year) but whoever does get it (and goodness aren't they going to be sitting on a massive cash cow?) won't be putting it out until next year at the earliest. (Well duh, there's all sorts of things like mixing and mastering and planning subversive ad. campaigns that aren't ad. campaigns and "are actually art pieces" to sort out.)
And in other Radiohead News … (always with the ellipses)
Depending on your point of view the work of Paul Thomas Anderson could either be described as a series of touching and complex character studies or a load of boring overwrought bollocks.
No matter what side of the fence you're on there's one thing you can definitely say about his upcoming film "There Will Be Blood" is that the Daniel Day-Lewis starring film about an oil baron will have a score by Jonny Greenwood. So you can infer from that that Jonny's firmly in the touching and complex camp.
But anyway, to summarise, finished recording, yay, no album till next year semi-boo.
Hold me, I feel shaky. II
The tracklisting for Neil Young's new album Chrome Dreams II was announced last week. The album is out on Reprise on October 16th. Young will be on tour around then (dates at the end) and if you buy a ticket to one of the dates on that tour you'll receive a copy of the album which, according to Billboard, "will also be available with a bonus DVD featuring 'super-saturated' high-resolution audio and a moving video image."
So in other words, a video.
Oh yeah, Young is doing that bonus disc/select retailer thing which as ever is complete bullshit.
Tracklisting:
01 Beautiful Bluebird
02 Boxcar
03 Ordinary People
04 Shining Light
05 The Believer
06 Spirit Road
07 Dirty Old Man
08 Ever After
09 No Hidden Path
10 The Way
And in other Neil Young news.
Where can you possibly see Metallica and Tegan And Sarah thread the same boards on the same night?
Why at the 21st Bridge School benefit hosted by Neil Young and his wife Pegi in aid of the Bridge School (no shit) which seeks "to ensure that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities, " of course. Which is nice but what about the important stuff?
Well not the actual important stuff, obviously ensuring "that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities," is the important thing but to John Q. Musicfan who wouldn't usually care about helping to ensure "that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities," the important thing is who is on the line-up at the gig.
And in addition to the aforementioned Napster haters and world's cutest indie twins (don't cry Dessner brothers from the National, I still think you guys are great) the bill also features Tom Waits (joined by Kronos Quartet!), Regina Spektor, Eddie Vedder (joined by Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers), John Mayer. So, aside from one performer (hint: rhymes with blohn blayer) this year's benefit boasts a pretty great line up.
The event takes place at San Francisco's Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 27-28.
Just remember, it's all about ensuring "that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities."
Sit Ubu sit, good dog.
It seems that record labels are trying the carrot rather than the stick when it comes to dealing with internet piracy (and really didn't piracy lose it's appeal for most people when it became less about buccaneering on the high seas and more about selling DVD's from dodgy stalls in markets? Less romantic anyway) and the current trend is to offer bonus discs with new releasese whereas even a few short years ago the policy seemed to be release the album then 6 months later reissue it with a bonus disc to try to attract new purchasers whilst simultaneously pissing off and fucking in the ass the hardcore long-time fan who bought the album as soon as it came out (and yeah usually that second thing also does the first unless you're dealing with homosexual men or a certain type of lady that I wish I'd meet more often but anyway, I digress).
The latest label/act to go with the bonus disc from the off option is Sub Pop and Iron And Wine who will issue the upcoming Shepherd's Dog with a 2 track bonus CD when it's released in the last week of September.
Yeah two tracks ain't much, but it's better than being reamed in the you know what (well, depending on your proclivities, like I said.)
Those crazy Friedburgers.
Sometimes I think the Fiery Furnaces exist in a universe consisting of their own asses, or they're artistic visionaries or something, one or t'other.
Their latest project is a ballet with a rock n' roll theme which incorporates dance based on American Sign Language and something called "American event social gestures," (In other words the "We're #1" and "Devils horn" things, oh and "the hand-dancing in Indonesian and Pakistani (religious-minded) pop music videos.")
Yeah, leaning towards the ass thing again (maybe I'm developing a fixation considering what I wrote regarding the previous story).
But seriously, doesn't he look kinda punchable? I'm sure he's in all likelihood a lovely dude but the chap is talking bollocks about the ballet thing.
Oh yeah, new Fiery Furnaces album (called Widow City) out on October 9th on Thrill Jockey.
"Roar", I'm a bear, a Grizzly Bear.
Warp have really diversified in recent years moving away from the weird electro that was their hallmark in the 90's and into the "generally kinda weird and folkish" genre. Gravenhurst was probably the first act to be signed under this wider scope of genres but by far the most successful of that ilk has been Grizzly Bear (who I don't really like that much but hey, they're better than Autechre for the most part).
Next up on the Warp/Grizzly Bear "We're not all about the weird, barely listenable electro no more" agenda is a 10 track covers EP which sees GB draft in a number of indie luminaries like Bradford Cox (Deerhunter/Atlas Sound) and Zach Condon (Beirut) to help out. Some tracks are Grizzly Bear covering other people's songs, some are other people covering Grizzly Bear songs, some are alternate takes. It's out on November 6th, it's called Friend and here's a list of the songs that appear on it:
01 Alligator (Choir Version) [ft. Zach Condon and Dirty Projectors]
02 He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)
03 Little Brother (Electric)
04 Shift (Alternate Version)
05 Plans (Terrible vs. Nonhorse: Sounds Edit)
06 Granny Diner
07 CSS: "Knife"
08 Band of Horses: "Plans"
09 Atlas Sound: "Knife"
10 Deep Blue Sea (Daniel Rossen Home Recording)
A fucking travesty.
This …
* Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
* Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford - Basquiat Strings
* Bat for Lashes - Fur and Gold
* Dizzee Rascal - Maths and English
* Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future
* Maps - We Can Create
* New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom
* Fionn Regan - The End of History
* Jamie T - Panic Prevention
* The View - Hats Off to the Buskers
* Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
* The Young Knives - Voices of Animals and Men
… was the list of nominees for this year's Mercury Music Prize (the UK and Ireland award which to some degree inspired the Shortlist Prize). It's not a great set of nominees but I really didn't want Klaxons or The View (dear god not the View) to win.
Klaxons did.
There is something wrong with the world.
The YouTube video of the week
Seeing as it's the week that's in it.
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Neil Young
10-18 Boise, ID - Morrison Center
10-20 Spokane, WA - INB Performing Arts Center
10-22 Portland, OR - Keller Theater
10-23 Seattle, WA - WaMu Center
10-27 Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre (Bridge School benefit)
10-28 Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre (Bridge School benefit)
10-30 Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre
11-05 Denver, CO - Wells Fargo Theatre
11-08 Minneapolis, MO - Northrop Auditorium
11-10 Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
11-12 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
11-13 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
11-15 Washington, DC - Constitution Hall
11-18 St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
11-26 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
11-27 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
12-02 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
12-03 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
12-05 Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theatre
12-09 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
12-12 New York, NY - United Palace
12-13 New York, NY - United Palace
Interpol And Liars
09-10 Albany, NY - Palace Theatre
09-12 Boston, MA - Agganis Arena
09-14 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
09-15 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
09-16 Raleigh, NC - Disco Rodeo
09-18 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
09-19 Miami, FL - Bank United Center
09-21 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
09-22 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
09-23 New Orleans, LA - Sugar Mill
09-25 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theatre
09-26 Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q
09-27 Dallas, TX - Palladium
10-10 Kansas City, KS - Uptown
10-11 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
10-12 Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
10-14 Denver, CO - Fillmore
10-15 Salt Lake City, UT - McKay Center
10-16 Boise, ID - Big Easy
10-18 Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater
10-19 Portland, OR - Memorial Coliseum
10-20 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
10-23 Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
* with Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
Animal Collective
09-11 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
09-14 Seattle, WA - Neumos *#
09-15 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom *#
09-16 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater *#
09-17 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore *#
09-18 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater *#
09-20 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater #$
09-21 El Paso, TX - Club 101 $
09-22 Austin, TX - Emo's $
09-23 Norman, OK - Bricktown Ballroom $
09-24 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle Club $
09-25 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom $
09-26 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse $
09-27 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle $
09-28 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club $
09-29 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom $
09-30 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10-01 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10-15 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis
10-16 Oslo, Norway - Jon Dee
10-17 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
10-18 Berlin, Germany - Festaal Kreutzurgh
10-19 Cologne, Germany - TBA
10-20 St. Gallen, Switzerland - Theatre Place
10-22 Hamburg, Germany - Uebel und Gefaehrlich
10-24 Paris, France - Cabaret Sauvage
10-26 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique-Orangerie
10-28 Bracknell, England - Wilde Theatre
10-29 Brighton, England - St George's Church
10-30 Bristol, England - Trinity
11-01 London, England - Astoria
11-03 Manchester, England - New Century Hall
11-04 Dublin, Ireland - Tripod
11-05 Leeds, England - Irish Centre
11-06 Glasgow, Scotland - Ora Mor
* with Eric Copeland
# with Wizard Prison
$ with Tickley Feather
Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew
09-29 Halifax, Nova Scotia - The Marquee Club
10-01 Hamburg, Germany - Fabrik
10-02 Frankfurt, Germany - Brotfabrik
10-03 Heidelberg, Germany - Karlstorbahnhof
10-04 Munich, Germany - Feierwerk
10-05 Vienna, Austria - Flex
10-06 Berlin, Germany - Lido
10-08 Paris, France - La Cigale
10-09 Paris, France - La Cigale
10-11 Leuven, Belgium - Het Depot
10-12 Cologne, Germany - Prime Club
10-15 Glasgow, Scotland - Arches
10-16 Manchester, England - Academy
10-17 Birmingham, England - Academy 2
10-18 Bristol, England - Thekla
10-19 London, England - KOKO
10-25 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Commodore *
10-26 Seattle, WA - Moore Theater *
10-27 Portland, OR - The Aladdin Theater *
10-29 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore *
10-30 Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theater *
11-01 Boulder, CO - The Fox Theatre
11-03 Chicago, IL - Metro
11-04 Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue
11-06 Ann Arbor, MI - The Michigan Theater
11-12 Burlington, VT - Ira Allen Chapel
11-14 New York , NY- Webster Hall
11-17 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of Living Arts
11-18 Washington, DC - 930 Club
* with New Buffalo
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk radio
The bit at the end
The 33 1/3 book on Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is wonderful, the one on OK Computer which I read in it's entirety today, is not. Avoid like it's got the plague with airborne AIDS.
