Dancing About Achitecture 02.19.08

Posted by Ian Wright on 02.19.2008

Primavera, The National, The White Stripes, Scarlett Johannson, The Constatines and more.

The bit at the start

Some quick thoughts on a pair of albums that recently leaked online ...

She And Him – Volume 1: Despite my initial reservations this turned out really, really well. The more I hear Zooey Deschenal's voice the more I like it and Matt Ward's old timey production aesthetic suits the material down to the the ground.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band – 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons: All overbearing and gloomy. Good stuff but not a patch on Godspeed! … .

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

Wilco - Summerteeth



Overshadowed by it's follow up. Still a super record though.

You news, you lose

It's almost enough to make me want to go back to Barcelona.

But not quite …

The full lineup for this year's Primavera Sound festival was announced on Monday and it's a fairly impressive collection of bands that'll be playing by the seaside to throngs of ultra-cool, leather clad, record bag toting Spanish indie kids who don't seem to have fun with music. The festival takes place from May 29-31 in the Parc Del Forum in Barcelona.

This is who is playing …

808 State, A Place To Bury Strangers, Alan Braxe, Animal Collective, Apparat Band, Dj Assault, Atlas Sound, Autolux, Awesome Color, Bill Callahan, Bishop Allen, Bob Mould Band, Bon Iver, Boris, Buffalo Tom, Caribou, Cat Power, Clipse, The Cribs, De La Soul, Deerhunter, Digital Mystikz, Dinosaur Jr., Dirty Projectors, Dr. Octagon aka Kool Keith + Kutmasta Kurt, Edan & MC Dagha, El Guincho, Ellen Allien, Enon, Eric's Trip, Fanfarlo, The Felice Brothers, Fuck Buttons, Dj Funk, Gentle Music Men, The Go! Team, Grande-Marlaska, Health, Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs, It's Not Not, Kavinsky, Kinski, Les Savy Fav, Lightspeed Champion, Madee, Man Man, The Mary Onettes, Mary Weiss, The Marzipan Man, Menomena, Messer Chups, Midnight Juggernauts, Mission Of Burma, Mixmaster Mike, Model 500, MV & EE with The Golden Road, Nick Lowe, No Age, The Notwist, Okkervil River, Om, Para One, Pissed Jeans, Polvo, Port O'Brien, Portishead, Prinzhorn Dance School, Public Enemy performing It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Robert Hood, Rufus Wainwright, The Rumble Strips, Scout Niblett, Sebadoh, Shipping News, Silver Jews, Simian Mobile Disco, Six Organs Of Admittance, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Strange Death Of Liberal England, Subterranean Kids, Supermayer, Surkin, The Swell Season, Tachenko, Tarántula, Throbbing Gristle, Tiefschwarz, Tindersticks, Träd Gräs och Stenar, Vampire Weekend, Vórtice, Voxtrot, White Williams, Why?, Young Marble Giants.
Més Noticies

I really hope someone brings Bon Ivor over to play Ireland.

As you know by now I love the National.

Were it not for the fact that they're all a few years older than I am I'd love them like they were my kids. Anyway, they've headed out on tour with R.E.M. and Modest Mouse soon enough but before that they're putting out a digital live EP on Rhapsody. All the material was recorded at last years' CMJ and is taken from my favourite album of last year Boxer which is a bit of a shame because "About Today" from the Cherry Tree EP has developed into a monster of a tune in recent years and I'd love to have a really well recorded version of it's current incarnation. You can get the EP now.

Tracklisting:


01 Mistaken for Strangers
02 Brainy
03 Slow Show
04 Fake Empire

The White Stripes are pretty awful, and have been for at least 2 albums.

But if you like them you might be interested in this. Back in November the duo put out a series of singles featuring b-sides with folk like Beck which were only available on 7" and digital download. If you're not into vinyl (I am) or paying for downloads (I'm not) you were pretty screwed. Until now.

This week Best Buy will start selling the singles/b-sides, collected into a 5-track EP called Conquest. If you buy a copy of Icky Thump from them you'll get the EP free of charge or you can buy the EP separately.

A short list of 2 pieces I'd sooner listen to before I listened to Jack and Meg play music.

- Handsome Furs.
- The Black Keys.
- Dresden Dolls.
- Giveamanakick.
- My parents fucking.

Bad sex symbol, BAD!

Conquest, War, Pestilence and Death are saddling up in preparation for the May 20th (Islands' new album is out the same day, only they can save us now) on Atco/Rhino of Scarlett Johannson's album of mainly Tom Waits covers albums Anywhere I lay my head.

The collection will also feature one original song "Song for Jo" in addition to the Waits songs.

Tracklisting:

01 Fawn
02 Town With No Cheer
03 Falling Down
04 Anywhere I Lay My Head
05 Fannin' Street
06 Song for Jo
07 Green Grass
08 I Wish I Was in New Orleans
09 I Don't Want to Grow Up
10 No One Knows I'm Gone
11 Who Are You?

In fairness to her she hasn't picked really obvious songs to cover, "I wish I was in New Orleans" off of Small Change is probably the most famous Waits composition there.

Perhaps I'm being a little unfair. I turned my nose up at the whole She And Him thing but having heard that album I must admit that Zooey Deschanel did a decent job with M. Ward so I'll approach this with open ears when I do hear it.

Oh yeah, David Bowie does guest vocals on "Falling Down" and "Fannin' Street", thought I should add that.

Constantines new record details.

I've never really been into them but Constantines have a new record out on April 15th in their home nation of Canada and 2 weeks later in the US via Arts And Crafts. It's called Kensington Heights and here's the names of the songs that are on it.

01 Hard Feelings
02 Million Star Hotel
03 Trans Canada
04 Shower of Stones
05 Our Age
06 Time Can Be Overcome
07 Brother Run Them Down
08 Credit River
09 I Will Not Sing a Hateful Song
10 New King
11 Life Or Death
12 Do What You Can Do

I've heard it already and to my ears it's a little pedestrian with a couple of excellent songs thrown in for good measure. A friend of mine who is a fan says I'm a dick who can't appreciate good straight forward rock songs (this is not true) and that it's the best thing they've ever done. It's up to you to decide who to believe.

The YouTube video of the week

Missing these guys' EP launch on Wednesday unfortunately. Stupid holiday.



If you can you should go to these gigs.

Radiohead

The dates for the first leg of the North American tour are out.

05-05 West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre
05-06 Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
05-08 Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheatre
05-09 Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
05-11 Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
05-14 St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
05-17 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
05-18 Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center
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

Atlas Sound

02-16 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club #
02-19 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn #
02-20 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 #
02-21 Washington, DC - Black Cat #
02-22 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's #
02-23 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge #
02-24 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall #
02-26 Boston, MA - Middle East #
02-27 Montreal, Quebec - Casa del Popolo #
02-28 Toronto, Ontario - Horseshoe Tavern #
02-29 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick #
03-01 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle #
03-02 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club #
03-05 Vancouver, British Columbia - Pat's Pub #
03-06 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe #
03-07 Portland, OR - Holocene #
03-08 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill #
03-11 Los Angeles, CA - Echo #
03-12-16 Austin, TX - SXSW

# with Valet, White Rainbow

Cat Power

02-29 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
03-04 Auckland, New Zealand - The Powerstation
03-07 Cairns, Australia - Tanks Arts Centre
03-08 Brisbane, Australia - The Tivoli
03-09 Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre
03-10 Adelaide, Australia - The Gov
03-12 Castlemaine, Australia - Theatre Royal
03-13 Melbourne, Australia - The Forum
04-10 Vancouver, British Columbia - Vogue Theatre
04-11 Seattle, WA - Showbox
04-12 Eugene, OR - McDonald Theater
04-13 Portland, OR - Roseland
04-15 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
04-16 San Diego, CA - 4th & B
04-17 Tempe, TX - Marquee Theatre
04-19 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
04-20 Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q
04-22 Houston, TX - Warehouse
04-23 Mexico City, Mexico - Lunario
06-08 London, England - Hammersmith Apollo

Battles

04-25 Indio, CA - Coachella Festival
05-09 Lyon, France - Les Nuits Sonores
05-10 Dusseldorf, Germany - Moers Festival
05-12 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
05-13 Berlin, Germany - Maria
05-15 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street (With Liars, The Redneck Manifesto)
05-17-19 Minehead, England - Butlin's Holiday Centre (Explosions in the Sky ATP)
06-12 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
06-14 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
06-15 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's

Gutter Twins (Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli)

02-14 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
02-19 Paris, France - Maroquinerie
02-21 London, England - Koko
02-23 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
03-01 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's (Noise Pop) *
03-03 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *
03-04 Seattle, WA - Showbox *
03-07 Chicago, IL - Metro *
03-08 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
03-09 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon *
03-11 Newport, KY - Southgate House *
03-12 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom *
03-14 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club *
03-15 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire *
03-18 Boston, MA - Paradise *
03-19 New York, NY - Webster Hall *
03-20 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
03-21 Atlanta, GA - Roxy Theater *
03-22 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks *
03-26 Austin, TX - Antone's *
03-27 Dallas, TX - House of Blues Cambridge Room *
03-29 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre *
04-02 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon *
04-05 Dublin, Ireland - Ambassador Theater
04-06 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Limelight
04-07 Glasgow, Scotland - Oran Mor
04-08 Manchester, England - Academy
04-09 Birmingham, England - Glee
04-11 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique
04-12 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Motel Mozaique
04-14 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega

* with Great Northern

Broken Social Scece

02-20 Auckland, New Zealand - King's Arms
02-21 Wellington, New Zealand - San Francisco Bath House
02-23 Adelaide, Australia - Laneway Festival *
02-24 Melbourne, Australia - Laneway Festival *
02-27 Melbourne, Australia - The Corner
02-28 Sydney, Australia - Manning Bar
02-29 Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo *
03-01 Brisbane, Australia - Laneway Festival *
03-02 Sydney, Australia - Laneway Festival *
03-05 Osaka, Japan - Club Quattro*
03-06 Tokyo, Japan - Liquid Room *
03-09 Singapore, Singapore - Esplanade Theatre on the Bay
03-11 Taipei, Taiwan - The Wall Live House
03-29 Mexico City, Mexico - Salon 21
04-25 Saratoga Springs, NY - Skidmore College
04-26 Alfred, NY - Alfred University
05-09 Istanbul, Turkey - Babylon Bar
05-10 Istanbul, Turkey - Babylon Bar
05-12 Nijmegen, Netherlands - Doornroosje
05-13 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
05-14 Paris, France - Elysee Montmarte
05-15 Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Den Atelier
05-16-18 Minehead, England - Butlins Holiday Centre (All Tomorrow's Parties)
05-20 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
05-21 Sheffield, England - Leadmill
05-22 Oxford, England - Carling Academy
05-23 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire
05-25 Moscow, Russia - IKRA Club
06-15 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo

* with Stars

Handsome Furs

3-14 Austin, TX - Bourbon Rocks (Sub Pop SXSW showcase)
03-27 Miami, FL - PS 14
03-28 Palm Beach, FL - Respectable Street
03-29 St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven
03-30 Orlando, FL - Social
03-31 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
04-01 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern
04-02 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
04-03 Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom
04-04 Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar
04-05 New York, NY - Santa's Party House
04-14 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
04-17 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall

Man Man/Yeasayer

04-12 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
04-13 Montreal, Quebec - Le National
04-14 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
04-15 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
04-16 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
04-17 Madison, WI - The Annex
04-18 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre
04-19 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
04-20 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
04-21 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
04-23 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
04-24 Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant & Music Club
04-27 Phoenix, AZ - Brickhouse
04-29 Dallas, TX - The Loft
04-30 Austin, TX - Emo's Outside
05-02 Birmingham, AL - Workplay Theatre
05-03 Atlanta, GA - Lenny's Bar
05-04 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
05-09-11 Rye, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (ATP vs. Pitchfork) *

* with the Hold Steady, Jens Lekman, Caribou, Hot Chip, Les Savy Fav, No Age, Of Montreal, Los Campesinos!, Glass Candy, Dirty Projectors, Meat Puppets, the Black Angels, Marissa Nadler, Wooden Shjips, Deerhunter, Shit and Shine, Sebadoh, Ween, Redd Kross, Pissed Jeans, Fuck Buttons, Apse, A Place to Bury Strangers, the Clientele, Black Mountain, Harmonia, Born Ruffians, Howlin Rain, Car Sick Cars, Even

Writing under the influence

Without which this column would not have been possible:

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – Etiquette
She And Him – Volume 1
Wolf Parade – A collection of live and unreleased songs I found on snakesgotablog
Menomema – I am the fun blame monster.

The bit at the end

I won't be around next week as I'm going on holiday to France. See ya in a fortnight.

Semi permanent plug for my blog.