Dancing About Architecture 9.09.09

Posted by Ian Wright on 09.09.2008

It’s a violence on stage special featuring Noel Gallagher, Jay Reatard and Kurt Cobain. Thoughts on the new TV On The Radio album. Sufjan Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, The Flaming Lips and more.

The bit at the start

I presume no one missed me so I won't even ask. But thanks to Adam Tool for once again filling in for me while I was away at the Electric Picnic last week (I had lots of fun).

A few weeks back The Quietus ran a track by track review of TV On The Radio's third record which culminated in, "Finally they have proved themselves to be up there with Liars as the most interesting band to come out of the Williamsburg scene." A somewhat odd assertion considering that Liars have probably done their best and most interesting work since they decamped to Berlin before they recorded Drums Not Dead. But the other part of the statement, spot on. Jesus they're a good band with all sorts of wonderful ideas. But also one that released a sporadically brilliant but for the most part patchy and disappointing second album in Return To Cookie Mountain. In fact there is a line of thinking that says that the best thing they've ever done is their debut Young Liars EP.

It's with all that in mind that I write that Dear Science might just be the best album I've heard all year. A sprawling affair that sees a band who have always been fearless about dipping their collective toes into a myriad of styles really push themselves into areas that they've not explored before. The preview track "Golden Age" that they put up on their website in mid August hinted a little at Off The Wall era Michael Jackson and the rest of the album shows that that wasn't just a little diversion that allowed the band to have a little experimental fun and throw their fanbase for a loop before they returned to their familiar free jazz and doo wop influenced brand of indie. They've fully embraced the funk on Dear Science and in doing so have come up with an odd mix of danceable riffs and beats set on top of droning, washed out synths.

But there's far more to this album then tunes you can tap your feet to, there's songs built around string and harp samples. African drum beats, which are kinda ubiquitous in 2008, crop up here and there and one song, "Family Tree" is reminiscent of Radiohead circa Kid A. This is the record that I always thought they could make, one with nothing on it that could be described as a bum song and unless something jumps me from behind unexpectedly in the next 4 months it's in all likelihood the album that will top my end of year list.

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

Final Fantasy – Spectrum, 14th Century

NO COVER AVAILABLE

Possibly the best thing Owen Pallett has ever done.

You news, you lose

I normally save putting YouTube videos up until the end.

But I'll make an exception in this case.

About 90 seconds in.



This happened over the weekend when Oasis played at the Virgin festival in Toronto. On one hand Noel Gallagher is a massive prick, on the other hand someone doing this is never cool.

But one thing we can all agree upon, Liam Gallagher is a really big man for shaping to give the dude a smack after security had him totally immobilised.

Sufjan goes all night.

Got any plans for the evening of September 27th? Live in or around Brooklyn? I've got something for you to do. Sufjan Stevens will take control of (or rather Takeover, for that is the name of the event) the Brooklyn Academy of Music programming a night of entertainment which as of now includes performances by St. Vincent, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus (performing the music of Nico Muhly and others) as well as Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens. As yet Stevens himself is not pencilled in to play but you never know, it'll probably happen (not a guarantee). Bt even if he doesn't St. Vincent should be enough for those in attendance (I loves me some Annie Clarke).

Other entertainments on the night include DJs King Britt and Vikter Duplaix, plenty of films (including The Warriors [ROCK!!!], Saturday Night Fever, the first part of Lars Von Trier's The Kingdom, and Guy Maddin's The Saddest Music in the World), ping-pong, Guitar Hero and Wii.

So basically it's a teenager's party with some cool bands playing.

So Reatarded.

Possibly the most prolific figure in indie rock at the minute is Memphis' Jay Reatard. Since he released the marvellous Blood Visions on In The Red records back in 2006 he's released a slew of material on 7" singles and signed with super-indie Matador. He's now preparing to release his first album on Matador and is recording it in his dining room.

In a recent interview with pitchfork.tv Reatard said he's relishing the freedom of being on his own and talked about his new found love of early 80's New Zealand indie (when did that suddenly become the hip scene to drop into conversation? He's like the third semi prominent indie figure in the last 6 months to big up Kiwicore. That being said, the Verlaines did some wonderful stuff back in the day.) and that it's probably a bit more melodic than his previous recordings. Which is cool I guess.

Anyway while we're on the subject of Canadian stage invasions I'm reposting the video of Jay punching out a fan at one of his shows recently.



Brooooooce.

Bruce Springsteen is set to provide a song to Darren Aronofsky's (π, Requim For A Dream, something so awful I won't mention it) next film The Wrestler. According to the directors own blog the "wonderful acoustic piece" will soundtrack the film's conclusion.

Apparently The Wrestler also features music by AC/DC, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Cinderella, Great White so The Boss is in fine company on the soundtrack and stars Mickey Rourke as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, a veteran wrestler "who now ekes out a living performing for diehard wrestling fans in small-town venues throughout New Jersey. A heart attack forces him to reconsider his life, but his attempts to reconnect with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and start a relationship with stripper Pam (Marisa Tomei) cannot outshine the allure of the ring."

I'm not sure whether or not the film will admit that wrestling is worked, but for it's sake I hope it does. Incidentally as this is site started off as wrasslin only I should mention that appearing in the film, according it it's wiki page, are original ECW and CZW wrestlers: The Blue Meanie, Necro Butcher, Nick Berk, DJ Hyde, Whacks, Kid USA, and Zandig.[7]. Also WWE star Ron Killings and former WWE star Romeo Roselli have shot scenes for the movie. So there.

Did the Blue Meanie keep that weight off? Is he still with the porn slut who did that gang bang film? I'm really out of touch.

Returning to music, this isn't the first time Springsteen has done soundtrack work. Most notably he wrote the Oscar winning "Street Of Philidelphia" (which is probably the last decent song to win it, I can't believe that Elliott Smith lost to Celine Dion.)

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

klahoma already has a state song. It's Oklahoma. You know, from the musical … called Oklahoma.

And a state folk song.

And a state country and western song.

And soon, a state rock n' roll song. A list of 10 songs that were either written or performed by Oklahoma natives (Heartbreak Hotel was written by a Oklahoma schoolteacher, I didn't know that) were selected and you (and by you I mean anyone, anywhere, not just people in the state, I just did, and I live in Ireland) can vote for what song you think should win here. Disappointingly there's nothing by The Evangelicals on the list but on the upside (and it's pretty much the only reason that I'm mentioning this) The Flaming Lips' "Do you Realise" is a contender. This is the sorta thing that I think Wayne would dig. And he seems like a nice dude. Just sayin' is all.

Up to you.

The YouTube video of the week

I may have stumbled on to a theme this week. Cobain totally deserved this.



If you can you should go to these gigs.

Blitzen Trapper

09-06 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom (Musicfest NW)
09-10 Boise, ID - Neurolux
09-11 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
09-13 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks (Monolith Festival)
09-14 Torrey, UT - Rim Rock Patio
09-26 Seattle, WA - Easy Street (Queen Anne) (in-store)
10-02 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan's
10-03 Leeds, England - Cockpit
10-05 Birmingham, England - Bar Academy
10-06 Sheffield, England - Union
10-07 London, England - 93 Feet East
10-08 Nottingham, England - Bodega
10-09 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
10-11 Ghent, Belgium - Minnemeers
10-12 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
10-13 Cologne, Germany - MTC
10-14 Berlin, Germany - Privatclub
10-15 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
10-16 Stockholm, Sweden - Kagelbanan
10-17 Oslo, Norway - Club Betong
10-18 Gothenburg, Sweden - Pusterviksbaren
10-22 Missoula, MT - Badlander
10-23 Calgary, Alberta - The Warehouse *
10-24 Edmonton, Alberta - Starlite Room *
10-25 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Amigo's *
10-27 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Pyramid Cabinet *
10-28 Fargo, ND - Aquarium (Dempsey's Upstairs)
10-30 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon *
10-31 Iowa City, IA - Picador *
11-01 St. Louis, MO - Pageant *
11-02 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note *
11-04 Omaha, NE - Slowdown *
11-05 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall *
11-06 Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre *
11-08 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club $
11-09 Chicago, IL - Schubas $
11-10 Indianapolis, IN - Locals Only $
11-11 Columbus, OH - Skully's $
11-13 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Theatre #
11-14 Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall #
11-15 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street #
11-16 Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel #
11-17 New York, NY - Terminal Five #
11-18 Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live #
11-19 Norfolk, VA - Norva #
11-20 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel #
11-21 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theater #
11-22 Birmingham, AL - Workplay #
11-23 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium #
11-24 Denton, TX - Hailey's %
11-26 Austin, TX - Mohawk %
11-28 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture %
11-29 San Diego, CA - Casbah %
11-30 Los Angeles, CA - Echo %
12-02 San Francisco, CA - Independent %
12-04 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom %
12-06 Vancouver, British Columbia - Media Club %

* with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
# with Iron & Wine
$ with Horse Feathers
% with the Parson Red Heads

Mogwai and Fuck Buttons:

09-09 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
09-10 Tucson, AZ - Rialto
09-12 Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q
09-13 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
09-15 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
09-16 Richmond, VA - The National
09-17 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
09-18 New York, NY - Terminal 5
09-19 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
09-21 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club (ATP New York)
09-22 Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre
09-23 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
09-25 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot
09-26 Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
09-27 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
10-21 Edinburgh, Scotland - Corn Exchange !
10-23 Manchester, England - Academy !
10-24 London, England - Hammersmith Apollo !

! with Errors

Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band

09-09 Vienna, Austria - Arena
09-10 Prague, Czech Republic - Roxy
09-11 Cologne, Germany - Gloria
09-12 Dorset, England - End of the Road Festival
09-13 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
09-14 Mannheim, Germany - Alte Feuerwache
09-15 Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club
09-20 Omaha, NE - Anchor Inn %
09-21 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium %
09-22 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre %
09-23 Fayetteville, AR - George's Majestic Lounge %
09-24 Oxford, MS - The Lyric %
09-25 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom %
09-27 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-28 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa %^
10-02 Melbourne, Australia - The Palace
10-03 Brisbane, Australia - Tivoli
10-04 Sydney, Australia - Enmore
10-07 Honolulu, HI - Pipeline Café
10-16 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
10-17 Taos, NM - KTAO Solar Center
10-18 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
10-19 San Diego, CA - SOMA
10-21 Los Angeles, CA - Music Box @ Fonda
10-22 Los Angeles, CA - Music Box @ Fonda
10-24 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
10-25 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom %
10-26 Seattle, WA - Showbox %
10-29 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
10-30 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
10-31 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
11-01 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
11-02 Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
11-05 Boston, MA - Roxy
11-06 Northampton, MA - Acdemy of Music
11-07 Grantham, PA - Messiah College
11-08 New York, NY - Terminal 5
11-09 New York, NY - Terminal 5
11-10 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
11-12 Richmond, WA - The National
11-13 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
11-14 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
11-15 Hilton Head Island, SC - Shoreline Ballroom
11-16 Orlando, FL - Anti*Pop Music Festival
11-18 Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
11-19 St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing
11-20 New Orleans, LA - The Republic

% with Jenny Lewis
^ with M. Ward

Wolf Parade

11-01 Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall
11-02 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
11-03 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
11-05 Tulsa, OH - Marquee
11-06 Little Rock, AR - Revolution Music Room
11-07 Columbia, MO - Blue Note
11-08 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle
11-10 Madison, WI - Majestic Theater
11-11 Indianapolis, IN - Vogue
11-12 Newport, KY - Southgate House
11-13 State College, PA - State Theatre
11-14 Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theater
11-19 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
11-20 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
11-21 Berlin, Germany - Festsaal
11-22 Hamburg, Germany - Uebel und Gefährlich
11-23 Stuttgart, Germany - Manufaktur
11-24 Zurich, Switzerland - Mascotte
11-25 Paris, France - Trabendo
11-26 Roubaix, France - Le Grand Mix
11-28 Manchester, England - Ruby Lounge
11-29 Dublin, Ireland - Andrews Lane Theatre
12-01 London, England - KCLSU
12-02 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
12-03 Cologne, Germany - Luxor
12-04 Ghent, Belgium - Montreal Festival
12-05 Brussels, Belgium - AB Domino

Sunset Rubdown

09-15 Cambridge, MA - Middle East (Upstairs)
09-16 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
09-17 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
09-18 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
09-19 Washington, DC - Black Cat
09-20 Columbus, OH - Skully's Music-Diner
09-21 Bloomington, IN - Bluebird
09-22 Covington, KY - The Mad Hatter
09-24 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
09-25 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
09-26 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
09-27 Austin, TX - Mohawk
09-29 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
09-30 Norman, OK - Opolis
10-01 Lawrence, KS - Jackpot
10-02 Iowa City, IA - The Picador
10-03 Madison, WI - The Annex
10-04 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle

Andrew Bird

08-24 San Francisco, CA - Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands Festival)
08-31 Vancouver, British Columbia - Malkin Bowl (Stanley Park Singing Exhibition)
09-03 Chicago, IL - Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park
10-02 Tarrytown, NY - Music Hall
10-03 Bethlehem, PA - Baker Hall
10-04 Ithaca, NY - State Theater
10-06 New York, NY - Hiro Ballroom
10-07 New York, NY - Hiro Ballroom
10-08 Portsmouth, NH - The Music Hall
10-09 Albany, NY - The Egg
10-10 Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre

Philip Glass

08-22 Big Sur, CA - Henry Miller Memorial Library (Henry Miller Memorial Library benefit) !
09-01 Porto Alegre, Brazil - Auditorium (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) *
09-03 Salvador, Brazil - TBA *
09-14 Zaragoza, Spain - Expo Zaragoza #
09-18 Turin, Italy - Teatro Alfieri $
09-20 Milan, Italy - Teatro degli Arcimboldi $
10-03 Cleveland, OH - Playhouse Square %
10-10 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House $
10-11 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House $
10-12 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House $
10-13 Melbourne, Australia - The Playhouse (Melbourne International Arts Festival) ^
10-15 Melbourne, Australia - Melbourne International Arts Festival $
10-16 Melbourne, Australia - Melbourne International Arts Festival $
10-17 Melbourne, Australia - Melbourne International Arts Festival $
02-16 San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Performances ~

! with Wendy Sutter, Mick Rossi
* "Philip Glass discussion: Creativity & Collaboration"
# Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble perform the world premiere of "Los Paisajes del Rio"
$ "Book of Longing" performance
% solo piano performance
^ with Patti Smith
~ Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble perform "Music in Twelve Parts"

Writing under the influence

Without which this column would not have been possible:

Talk Radio
Blitzen Trapper – Furr
Mount Eerie – Lost Wisdom
TV On The Radio – Dear Science,

The bit at the end

After a slow first 8 months to the year the last 2 weeks have seen a slew of great new music from Mogwai, the aforementioned TV On The Radio, Deerhunter, Atlas Sound and Final Fantasy. Shit just got real yo.

Radiohead fans, head over to NPR's live concert series on All Songs considered. There's a little treat there for you.

Semi permanent plug for my blog. In the past couple of weeks I've put up music by Final Fantasy and TVOTR, a Fuck Buttons cover of a Mogwai tune, written about my festival related break, reviewed a gig and done some other stuff.