Dancing About Architecture 02.12.08

Posted by Ian Wright on 02.12.2008

Radiohead, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, ATP, SXSW, Bonnaroo, Deerhoof, The worst idea in history and Charles Thompson IV gets arrested.

The bit at the start

Yo, running late again. Slammed in work today, got a gig to go to tonight (Los Campesinos!) onto the news in a sec but first.

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

Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea



Ten years old this week. Still sounds fucking remarkable and unique.

You news, you lose

Big deal, I already own all the albums.

The latest piece of fallout from Radiohead's decision to leave EMI is perhaps one that was pretty obvious and always going to happen. Here comes the "greatest hits" (is it possible to have greatest hits when your biggest hit was top 5 in the UK? I dunno, semantics are fun). Talking to The Strombo Show on Canadian radio last recently Ed O'Brien said "They're planning to do a greatest hits for April, May to coincide with our tour. That's an interesting one. We won't be doing any promotion for that, obviously."

Phil Selway commented on the situation a few months ago in Dublin's excellent free mag Analogue (and I'm not just saying that because I've got friends that write and shoot for it) saying, "It's well within [EMI's] rights to do it [sigh]. So we'll have to see." The interviewer then nailed him with a question about the rip off price of tickets for the bands pair of Dublin gigs in June.

The compilation, possibly entitled Creep, plus 11 others will be out in a couple of months. Don't buy it, buy the proper albums.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor breaks up, no wait they don't.

Well if you're a hardcore GY!BE fan this may have been a stressful weekend for you. The band have been on "indefinite hiatus" for half a decade or so now but have never officially called it quits always leaving the door open for a follow up to Yanqui U.X.O.

Word broke last week thanks to an interview Effrim Menuck conducted with Drowned In Sound and which was picked up on by the NME that took place to promote the really rather good new Silver Mt. Zion album 13 Blues For 13 Moons (out March 25th). In the piece (Headline: "Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Iraq war made it impossible to continue") Menuck spoke about the pressures surrounding the band which led them to decide to take a break for a while. The piece reads as follows …

"The last American tour that Godspeed did was in the run up to the current war in Iraq. For what Godspeed did, it was very difficult for us to work out a way for us to communicate directly with the audience about what was going on. We would talk to people after the shows, or we could make announcements from the stage but so much what Godspeed was, was one-way communication. And I had an existential freak-out about that. That those tactics aren't valid anymore. People didn't need a rock band pointing in the direction of [how the world was at that point]. Maybe what they needed is some clumsy words, a presentation that was a little more human."
"On a personal level I now find [Godspeed You! Black Emperor] to be inappropriate [to do]. There's a complicated back story. I reached a point whereby I was no longer willing to contribute to the steering of the ship; it was like, 'Okay now, someone else point the direction, I love all of you, but I need to ride shotgun for a while'. I think that bands do have a short shelf life... they should be able to ply their trade 'til they no longer want to."
Word quickly spread that this meant the Menuck had put the final nail in the Godspeed coffin and to be fair it's easy to infer that from the interview. However pitchfork contacted Effrim for comment via Silver Mt. Zion's press folk and he responded with, "The Drowned in Sound thing is a misquote, I'm in the middle of dealing with it now. It's true, Godspeed hasn't existed for years, we've been on permanent hiatus since 2002. If and when we do call it quits permanently, it won't be because of the Iraq war."

So there you have it, they're not done … yet. But by the sounds of it they pretty much are. Like I said earlier, semantics are fun.

By the way, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is a brilliant record, you should hear it if you haven't.

ATP ATP ATP.

My goodness, if you'd asked my to make up a list of some of my currently favourite bands and put them on at a festival I wouldn't be do better than Explosions In The Sky have with their picks for May 16-18's ATP Festival taking place in Butlins Minehead in the South Of England. The latest round of additions were made last week and when I read it I made a little in my pants. I'm not ashamed of that. Added to the already impressive lineup were personnel favourites Okkervil River along with The Field, Atlas Sound, Raekwon, The Pale Gallery and The Octopus Project. So that means that the current lineup looks like this …

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY »
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE »
IRON AND WINE »
DINOSAUR JR »
ADEM »
....AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF THE DEAD »
POLVO »
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE »
A HAWK AND A HACKSAW »
ELUVIUM »
OLA PODRIDA »
LAZARUS »
THE PAPER CHASE »
FOUR TET »
GHOSTFACE KILLAH »
WESTERN KEYS »
SILVER JEWS »
JENS LEKMAN »
MONO »
TONY TEARDROP »
THE DRIFT »
THE NATIONAL »
LIARS »
SUNSET RUBDOWN »
LICHENS »
STARS OF THE LID »
BATTLES »
DE LA SOUL »
SAUL WILLIAMS »
RAEKWON »
THE FIELD »
OKKERVIL RIVER »
ATLAS SOUND »
THE PALE GALLERY »
THE OCTOPUS PROJECT »

I just know that there's going to be some horrible clashes that will fuck my shit up entirely.

In other festival news.

If you live in Austin I think I hate you. Not only do you get to live in a city with one of the world's finest and most vibrant scenes but you also get 2 fantastic festivals on your back door. I'll get to hating you for Austin City Limits in a few months but at the minute my ire is mainly caused by SXSW, the annual industry "pigfuck" which attract roughly 90% of the bands in the world that are worth a damn and have something to plug and can afford the airfare to Texas, which is a shame for the totally awesome Paupers' Industrial Marching Symphony Orchestra who as the name might suggest* fall down on one of those counts. However those that are appearing includes …

Jim James (My Morning Jacket) solo, Yo La Tengo, Destroyer, Okkervil River, Atlas Sound, Annie, Thurston Moore, Diplo, Be Your Own Pet, Los Campesinos!, the Tough Alliance, Peter Morén, Tapes 'n Tapes, Black Mountain, Bon Iver, No Age, Akron/Family, Times New Viking, the Blow, Yeasayer, El-P, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Madlib, Tokyo Police Club, N.E.R.D., Evangelicals, Simian Mobile Disco, Handsome Furs, Fuck Buttons, Castanets, the Cool Kids, Flosstradamus, Jason Forrest, MSTRKRFT, Jay Reatard, Asobi Seksu, Fucked Up, Jandek, the Slits, the Concretes, Mark Kozelek, Cadence Weapon, Bodies of Water, HEALTH, Crystal Castles, Phosphorescent, White Rabbits, Constantines, Elf Power, High on Fire, Holy Fuck, Ghislain Poirier, Eugene Mirman, Half Japanese, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Richard Hawley, the Black Angels, Dälek, Pissed Jeans, Shining, the Russian Futurists as well as a number of worthwhile Irish bands like Channell 1, Delorentos, Oppenheimer, as well as the fucking brilliant Fight Like Apes and Cathy Davey.

The whole thing takes place from March 12-16. March 12 is my birthday, just sayin'. One of you fuckers must be a multi millionaire that loves wrestling and indie rock.

* This band doesn't exist. But it's a super name.

Worst Idea Ever.

Hey guys, you know Daydream Nation? Epoch defining, hyper influential album by Sonic Youth that came out 20 or so years ago?

No, not the TV show of the same name.

"What TV of the same name?" you ask.

The forthcoming one starring Hayden Panettiere from Heroes and possibly Kieran Culkin. The one which, according to the Hollywood reporter, "the producers are hoping to reinvent the coming-of-age story for the 21st century, calling the film an intellectual comedy a la Juno and Election." That one.

I should point out SPOILER WARNING …






















Juno hated Sonic Youth, but that's probably not relevant.





















This is such a stupid idea, it's nearly enough to make me stop wanting to nail that Heroes chick. What? She's 18 now. Kieran Culkin would definitely get it though regardless.

Power Power Power.

Deerhoof announced last week that they were once again a 4-piece with the addition of former XBXRX, the Flying Luttenbachers, Sicbay, Iceburn, Colossamite and Gorge Trio member Ed Rodriguez.

So that's nice.

Wow that guy has been in a lot of bands.

Bonnar, HAH.

The initial just of acts playing this year's Bonnaroo festival was announced last week and as usual it blends the awesome and the hippy shit with consummate ease. The festival takes place from June 12-15 in Manchester Tennessee and will feature performances from Pearl Jam, Metallica, Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, Kanye West, Death Cab for Cutie, M.I.A., My Morning Jacket, Broken Social Scene, Sigur Rós, Vampire Weekend, the Raconteurs, Iron and Wine, Mastodon, Battles, Rilo Kiley, Lupe Fiasco, B.B. King, !!!, Ladytron, the Fiery Furnaces, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, José González, Black Kids, Talib Kweli, Drive-By Truckers, Minus the Bear, Tegan and Sara, Ben Folds, and Gogol Bordello.


The YouTube video of the week

Black Francis getting busted by the Guards outside St. Stevens Green in Dublin on Saturday.



If you can you should go to these gigs.

Radiohead

06-06 Dublin, Ireland - Malahide
06-07 Dublin, Ireland - Malahide
06-09 Paris, France - Bercy
06-10 Paris, France - Bercy
06-12 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Fòrum
06-14 Nimes, France - Arenes
06-15 Nimes, France - Arenes
06-17 Milan, Italy - Civica Arena
06-18 Milan, Italy - Civica Arena
06-20 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
06-22 Scheeßel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-24 London, England - Victoria Park
06-25 London, England - Victoria Park
06-27 Glasgow, Scotland - Glasgow Green
06-29 Manchester, England - Lancashire County Cricket Club
07-01 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Westerpark
07-03 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-04-05 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-06 Arras, France - Main Square Festival
07-08 Berlin, Germany – Wuhlheide

Tapes n' Tapes

03-12-16 Austin, TX - SXSW
04-10 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
04-11 Chicago, IL - Metro *
04-12 Detroit, MI - The Magic Stick *
04-14 Toronto, Ontario - The Opera House *
04-15 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret Music Hall *
04-16 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground *
04-17 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club *
04-18 New York, NY - Irving Plaza *
04-19 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
04-22 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church *
04-23 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
04-24 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 *
04-25 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *
04-26 St. Augustine, FL - Café 11 *
04-28 Orlando, FL - The Social *
04-29 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds *
04-30 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree *
05-02 Austin, TX - Antone's *
05-03 Denton, TX - Hailey's *
05-06 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress *
05-07 San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
05-08 West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour *
05-09 West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour *
05-10 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore *
05-12 Eugene, OR - W.O.W. Hall *
05-13 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richards on Richards *
05-14 Seattle, WA - The Showbox *
05-16 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue *
05-17 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater *

* with White Denim

The Twilight Sad

02-23 Stirling, Scotland - The Tolbooth
03-20 Edinburgh, Scotland - The Liquid Rooms
03-21 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tuts
03-22 Aberdeen, Scotland - Moshulu
03-24 Manchester, England - Night and Day
03-25 Nottingham, England - Bodega
03-26 Reading, England - South Street England
03-27 London, England - 100 Club
03-29 Inverness, Scotland - The Ironworks

The Breeders

03-07 Buffalo, NY - Club Infinity
03-08 Toronto, Ontario - Canadian Music Week
03-15 Austin, TX - Waterloo Park (Mess With Texas Party)
04-07 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
04-08 Glasgow, Scotland - ABC
04-09 Leeds, England - Metropolitan University
04-10 Nottingham, England - Trent University
04-12 Sheffield, England - Leadmill
04-13 Birmingham, England - Academy 2
04-14 Manchester, England - Academy 2
04-16 London, England - Koko (Camden Place)
04-17 London, England - Koko
04-18 Paris, France - TBA
04-19 Hasselt, Belgium - Polsslag Festival
04-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands - TBA
04-22 Cologne, Germany - TBA
04-23 Berlin, Germany - TBA
04-25 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
04-28 San Diego, CA - Cane's
04-29 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
04-30 San Francisco, CA - Slim's
05-02 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
05-03 Tempe, AZ - Clubhouse
05-05 Austin, TX - Emo's
05-06 Dallas, TX - House of Blues
05-07 Houston, TX - Meridian
05-09 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
05-10 Sauget, IL - Pop's
05-23 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
05-24 George, WA - The Gorge (Sasquatch)
05-25 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
05-27 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
05-28 Denver, CO - Ogden
05-30 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
05-31 Chicago, IL - Metro
06-01 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
06-03 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
06-04 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
06-05 Boston, MA - Paradise
06-07 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
06-08 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
06-10 New York, NY - Webster Hall
06-11 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
06-13 Atlanta, GA - The Loft

Writing under the influence

Without which this column would not have been possible:

Tom Waits – Franks Wild Years
Los Campesinos! – How On Now, Youngster
Guided By Voices – Alien Lanes

The bit at the end

So I didn't get the column done by the time I had to go out. Los Campesinos! Were very good. Loads of fun.

Semi permanent plug for my blog. Stuff about Vampire Weekend and more up this week.