Dancing About Architecture 10.16.07
Posted by Ian Wright on 10.16.2007
Radiohead, Radiohead, Radiohead, Yo La Tengo, Liars, Christmas, Portishead, Nirvana AND video footage of Arcade Fire and Springsteen playing together.
The bit at the start
Well guess what I'm going to lead off with this week?
I really, really like it. To be honest it was highly unlikely that I wasn't going to but I'm pleasantly shocked at how good it is. After just a week of living with In Rainbows 3 songs, "Nude", "All I Need" and "Videotape" having shot straight into my favourite Radiohead songs ever list, 2 of them, the first and last mentioned I had been expecting to impress as I've been waiting for most of a decade for a final studio version of "Nude" to come about and "Videotape" was. for me, the pick of the new songs performed on last year's tour. "All I Need" however has shocked me completely, I know we're talking about post-Kid A Radiohead but I really do think that for what is still ostensibly a "guitar band" it's a remarkable achievement.
As for the rest of the record, there's very little I don't like. The final third of "Bodysnatchers" which features some classic Jonny Greenwood guitar work (What's that? You don't think he's the best of his generation? How's the crack habit working out for you?) sent a chill down my spine when I first heard it, "Faust Arp" with it's nods to Nick Drake and Elliott Smith is wonderful for different reasons. It's early days yet but this could be one of the rare albums that doesn't have a song I don't care for on it.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Yo La Tengo – I Can Feel The Heart Beating As One
A glorious hodge-podge of wonderful and wonderfully different songs.
You news, you lose
After opening with a bit about the new album can I get away with making Radiohead my lead story too?
You bet your ass I can. It emerged on Friday from "sources close to the band" that In Rainbows "sold" 1.2 million download copies on the first few days of release. The "pay what you want" model certainly seems to have piqued the interest of the music public because that dwarves first week sales of the band's previous 3 records by some way. No one has announced what the revenues to the band have been but the recordoftheday website carried out a survey where 3,000 people logged on and said how much they paid. The figure averaged out to £4 sterling per person (about $8), considering that ALL that money goes to the band (as opposed to the 5-10% of what they'd get from a $20 CD sale) last Wednesday was an astonishingly profitable day for Radiohead.
I hate Christmas.
I really really do. In fact 2 years ago I boycotted it. Didn't even watch Die Hard, my favourite Christmas film, that year.
But you know who seemingly doesn't hate it? Chris Walla of Deathcab For Cutie, American Music Club, The Long Winters and Casiotone For The Painfully Alone that's who. More importantly Caleb Palma, who runs the blog Hard To Find A Friend and he's roped all of the above and more into contributing to a download only Christmas Themed EP. Peace On Earth will be released on November 13th with all proceeds going to Toys For Tots. The tracklisting is still being finalised but at the moment it's looking like this …
The Prayers & Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers: "Shepherd's Song"
American Music Club: "You Cain't Always Get Whatchu Want"
Aaron Robinson: "End of the Year"
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing"
Sleeptalker: "A Christmas Song"
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: "Pershing"
T.W. Walsh: "Pawn Shop Guns"
Chris Walla: "Coventry Carol"
The Winston Jazz Routine: "Through the Snow"
The Long Winters (track TBA)
Rosie Thomas: "Christmas Time Is Here"
Great Lake Swimmers: "Gonna Make it Through This Year"
David Karsten Daniels: "In the Bleak Midwinter"
Via Audio: "My Boo"
Quiet Company: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
The Cotton Jones Basket Ride (track TBA)
10 years …
That's how long Portishead fans have been waiting for a follow up to the band's last, self-titled, studio album. Geoff Barrow blogged about the long awaited record recently and had this to say for himself …
"as to the new album , we met the label the other day which was good , i dont think we scared them too much..well mabey a little. going to london to have a listen in a proper studio soon but until then were just mixing the stumps ,stems.whatever. ---------thinking about names ---------films looking really good".
Oh yeah, [sic].
So they're at the mixing point now, which is nice but after a decade long wait I don't think anyone should be holding their breath on this one.
Anyway, I never pass up an opportunity to plug ATP and Portishead are curating this year's Nightmare Before Christmas where they'll join Thurston, Boris, Black Mountain, Aphex Twin, Silver Apples, Sparklehorse and many others in performing in Butlin's Minehead from December 7-9.
Liars, yay.
Dudes, I've got a terrible dilemma. I've never seen Liars play before. I've seen Sonic Youth twice this year but I've never seen a Thurston Moore solo show. Liars and Thurston are coming to Dublin on the same night in December and I'm a little perplexed about which one I'd rather see. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Anyway, Liars are all set to release the second single from their completely brilliant latest and self-titled album at the end of the month. "House Clouds" will be out on Mute on October 29th on 7", CD and download. The download and CD versions will also feature a new song "Red Dirt" and a Tiny Masters Of Today remix of "Clear Island" and the CD will also contain the uncensored video for "Plaster Casts Of Everything", the band's previous single. The 7" will have a new song, "Dear God", on the b-side.
They've also added a bunch of tour dates which you can see below.
Nothing in the way … of this release.
Nirvana's MTV Unplugged appearance is widely regarded as the highlight of the series but well over a decade after it was first recorded it's only being released on DVD now, in fairness a good few of those years were before DVD was a viable option for most people, but it was never released on VHS either.
Well, "now" is a little premature, November 20th would be more accurate, and that's not too long to wait really now is it? The release will feature the band's full 66 minute set including "Oh Me" and "Something In The Way", which weren't seen on the TV broadcast but were released on the CD version of the concert. As for extras, how does previously unreleased rehearsal, soundcheck and documentary footage sound?
Not good? Well tough, that's what you're getting and I'm happy with it.
Tracklisting:
01 About a Girl
02 Come as You Are
03 Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam
04 The Man Who Sold the World
05 Pennyroyal Tea
06 Dumb
07 Polly
08 On a Plain
09 Something in the Way
10 Plateau
11 Oh Me
12 Lake of Fire
13 All Apologies
14 Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
Still don't care too much about them on record but they put on a hell of a gig.
10-13 Chicago, IL - Double Door *
10-15 Seattle, WA - Neumos ~
10-17 Portland, OR - Doug Fir ~
10-19 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine ~
10-20 Pomona, CA - Glass House ~
10-21 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex ~
10-25 Boston, MA - Paradise ^
10-26 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom ^
10-27 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10-28 Brooklyn, NY - Studio B
10-30 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-31 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House
11-09 Lille, France - Aeronef
11-10 Paris, France - Cigale
11-11 Nantes, France - Olympic
11-13 Toulouse, France - Bikini
11-15 Milan, Italy - Magazzini
11-16 Treviso, Italy - New Age
11-17 Bologna, Italy - Estragon
11-21 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia
12-04 Tokyo, Japan - Club Quattro
12-05 Osaka, Japan - Club Quattro
12-30 Victoria, Australia - Falls Festival
12-31 Tazmania, Australia - Falls Festival
01-05 Busselton, Australia - Southbound Festival
* with Cool Kids
~ with Bodies of Water
^ with Matt and Kim
Liars
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 *
10-22 Las Vegas, NV - The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel *
10-23 Los Angeles, CA - The Forum *
10-30 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
10-31 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Waterfront
11-01 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
11-02 London, England - Forum (ATP Release the Bats) ^
11-03 Brighton, England - Barfly
11-05 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
11-06 Malmo, Sweden - Debaser
11-07 Oslo, Norway - John Dee
11-08 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
11-09 Gothenberg, Sweden - Pusterviksbaren
11-11 Leipzig, Germany - Ut Connewitz
11-14 Bologna, Italy - Estragon
11-15 Rome, Italy - Init
11-16 Perugia, Italy - Feedback
11-17 Verona, Italy - Interzona
11-18 Milan, Italy - Transilvania
11-19 Lausanne, France - La Romandie
11-21 Lyon, France - Grrrnd Zero
11-22 Clermont-Ferrand, France - La Cooperative de Mai
11-23 Bordeaux, France - Krakatoa
11-24 Angers, France - Le Chabada
11-25 Kortrijk, Belgium - De Kreun
11-27 Paris, France - Maroquinerie
11-28 Le Havre, France - Electric Cabaret
11-29 Bristol, England - Thekla
11-30 Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms
12-01 Manchester, England - Warehouse Project
12-04 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan's
12-06 Glasgow, Scotland - Stereo
12-07 Barceolna, Spain - Primavera Club
* with Interpol
^ with Deerhoof, Deerhunter, Black Lips, Fuck Buttons
Cat Power
10-13 Fairburn, GA - Bouckaert Farm (The Echo Project)
10-14 Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
10-15 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club (DAM! Festival)
10-16 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10-18 Tallahassee, FL - The Moon at Florida State University
10-19 Savannah, GA - Trustee's Theatre
10-20 Orlando, FL - The Club at Firestone
10-21 St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
10-22 Miami, FL - Studio A
10-25 São Paulo, Brazil - Auditório Ibirapuera (TIM Festival) #
10-26 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Marina da Glória (TIM Festival) (with Dirty Delta Blues) $
11-04 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
# with Antony and the Johnsons, Toni Platão
$ with Feist
Yo La Tengo
10-09 Pittsburgh, PA - Warhol Museum (two shows) %
10-10 Bloomington, IN - Buskirk-Chumley Theater %
10-11 Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theater (two shows) %
10-12 Milwaukee, WI - Discovery World Museum
10-13 Grand Rapids, MI - Calvin College Fine Arts Center %
10-19 Port Washington, NY - Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street %
10-20 Woodstock, NY - Colony Cafe (two shows) %
10-22 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church Sanctuary %
10-23 Alexandria, VA - Birchmere %
10-27 Mexico City, Mexico - Manifest Festival
10-29 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater %
10-30 Seattle, WA - Town Hall %
11-01 San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts Theatre %
11-03 Hollywood, CA - Ivar Theatre (two shows) %
11-04 La Jolla, CA - Museum of Contemporary Art (two shows) %
11-10 North Adams, MA - Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art %
11-11 Ithaca, NY - Cornell University ^
11-15 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts (two shows) %
% as the Freewheeling Yo La Tengo
^ with Broken Social Scene
The Hold Steady
10-21 Providence, RI - Lupo's ^
10-22 Boston, MA - Roxy ^
10-23 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory ^
10-24 Raleigh, NC - Disco Rodeo ^
10-25 Athens, GA - 40 Watt ^
10-26 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre ^
10-27 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall ^
10-29 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom ^
10-30 Chicago, IL - Metro ^
10-31 Chicago, IL - Metro ^
11-01 Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre ^
11-04 Seattle, WA - HUB Ballroom ^
11-05 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom ^
11-06 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater ^
11-07 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern ^
11-08 San Diego, CA - Cane's ^
11-09 Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre ^
11-11 Boulder, CO - Fox Theater ^
11-12 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre ^
11-13 Lawrence, KS - Granada ^
11-14 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom ^@
11-15 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa ^@
11-17 Birmingham, AL - BottleTree Annex ^@
11-18 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse ^@
11-19 Richmond, VA - Toad's Place Richmond ^@
11-20 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club ^@
11-21 New York, NY - Terminal 5 ^@
^ with Art Brut
@ with 1990s
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk Radio
The bit at the end
A moments silence please. My laptop died last week, I may have lost my entire MP3 collection. Not good.
Semi permanent plug for my blog. This week I stuck up some rare Joanna Newsom covers, reviewed Broken Social Scene live and wrote some other stuff.
