am/fm

This is pretty cool.

(Via)

eh, www.amNY.com

Driving around in an actual car this weekend, I listened to far more terrestrial radio than I have in maybe the past five years. Yeah, there's a lot of crap out there. But these two songs kept popping up, providing a good soundtrack for our fun in the sun...

I know this one is old and so maybe everyone already knows this, but I really enjoy how she not only uses the sample from "Tainted Love," but she also uses the lyric "You got me toss and turnin', I can't sleep at night," a non-obvious quote from the original song. I just think that is beautifully clever.

eh, www.amNY.com

Here's the news folks: I'm going on a little vacay until Tuesday. Hooray for me. Boo for the blog. I may make a post or two while I'm away, but, who are we kidding, probably not. Which means, for the second week in a row, there will be no 10 CD Thursday. (Oh, and also, I have to manually approve all comments, so for the three of you that actually do comment regularly, anything you say won't show up until I get back.) I don't know if anyone else enjoys these, but I like doing them — it's a good challenge, and gets me to listen to the slush pile. Also, it's a guaranteed post every Thursday.

But and so, because I got two different soundtracks in the mail today, I present the new (probably one-off) feature Soundtrack Battle Wednesday!

First up:
"Kurt Cobain: About a Son: Music From the Motion Picture"
This is a selection of the best of the music that influenced the Nirvana frontman, interpolated with snippets of audio interviews with Kurt himself. Which isn't as creepy as you think. Enough time has passed since his premature death that the samples are almost historical artifacts. And he has some really interesting things to say, about fame, about the band, about the music he likes.

Now the music. This shit should be taught in schools. David Bowie, Arlo Guthrie, Bad Brains, Iggy Pop. Lead Belly, Melvins... and Benjamin Gibbard? Well, OK, the Death Cab frontman is covering a Beat Happening song. We'll let it slide. The CD give a perfect snapshot of the bands Cobain studied, loved and learned from. As Michael Azerrad — the author of "Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana," on which the film is based — writes in the liner notes, "It's like a mixtape you'd give to a friend or lover to share ideas, not just about music but about your whole point of view."

The dark horse contender after the jump.

(via)

I think this was my first time at Madison Square Garden proper (not the theater) last night. I forgot how big arenas actually are — especially when you don't have a press ticket.

Way up in the nosebleeds, surrounded by (snob alert) the type of people who go to arena shows, I was a little apprehensive about what I was about to see. The last Big show I went to see was, I think, Dave Matthews (I know) at the Medowlands. I fell asleep.

Anyway, Grinderman came on, and the clueless idiot behind me cried out, "typical indie bullshit." Frontman Nick Cave, to whom none of those three descriptors apply, was rocking before this young man (who proceeded to provide a running commentary of the show) was even born.

But whatever, he and the band rocked in a way that was mildy homicidal. A vibe of barely contained murderous rage emanated from the stage. Cave tripped on an amp in the second song and bragged to the crowd, "Now I can say I fell on my ass at Madison Square Garden," before launching into the next attack. Multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis spent whole songs beating the crap out of a hi-hat with plastic maracas.

Not everyone agreed with me. Some of the crowd was pretty hostile, yelling "you suck," etc., between songs. And truthfully, MSG was a little large for the band. It would be awesome to see them at Bowery, or some divey bar in the middle of nowhere.

Jack and Meg light up the room after the jump...

• You can buy her Umbrella-ella-ella ... (Rhianna not included).

• Commercial Watch supreme: An interesting look at the decisions artists make to bring their music to a 30 spot near you, and how the fans react.

• A soundtrack by which to read Harry Potter.

eh, www.amNY.com

Before I leave for the night, I thought I'd share this headline from my inbox: Just Announced! The Bowery Presents Arcade Fire With LCD Soundsystem.

Soon it will be impossible not to have seen AF.

Oh, when is this, you ask? Saturday October 6, Randall's Island. Tickets $39.50. Get thee to ticketmaster Friday, July 27, at noon.

eh, www.amNY.com

I don't think I've addressed this before on the blog, but I absolutely love "The Cosby Show," and just about everything tangentially related. "House of Cosbys", Jell-o Pudding Pops, "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" (ok, not really).

But so, as I just found the other day, there is not just one, but two bands calling themselves "The Huxtables." The Cali-based one (No. one) sounds capable, but average. The soon-to-be Brooklyn-based (according to their MySpace) one (No. two), however, is pretty cool. I definitely would not have listened if they weren't called the Huxtables, but I'm glad that I did. Their music is funky and noisy and weird, with sloppy guitars and electronic squealing, and math rock aspirations. But make sure "The Goose" is not the first one you listen too, it's a little difficult to get into.

Dude, what did bands ever do before MySpace?

eh, www.amNY.com

His name's been all over the place recently, as this Irish folkster was just shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and he's playing Joe's Pub tomorrow night (Tuesday). His press quotes compare him everyone from Bright Eyes to Dylan to Nick Drake (which, actually, I hear that), but that says more about the nature of sound bites than his actual sound.

Regan has a clean, simple voice which wafts beautifully over his unadorned acoustic guitar picking. But what I really enjoy about the video above is the shifts in locale that demonstrate how environment affects the sound and how room tone affects the sonic experience. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how I feel about the song itself, because I am so delighted/distracted by the presentation. He actually sounds a little like his countryman Damien Rice (ok, I do it too), who I can't really listen to anymore for purely personal reasons that have nothing to do with his music.

Anyway, Fionn Regan. Check him out. Why don't you tell me what I should think of him. For a change.

eh, www.amNY.com

So I'm in the middle of a "discussion" with a friend who posits that the Paul McCarney/Stevie Wonder duo "Ebony and Ivory" is the worst of all time. I say she's wrong. And I have a blog. I'm going to proclaim it publicly: You're wrong.

Off the top of my head, here's some songs that I thing are much, much worse:
"Don't Stop Believin'," The entire Huey Lewis oeuvre, "I Hope You Dance" (I hate this song more than anything I've ever heard).

Blender, in an article last year, named 50 other terrible songs, from "My Heart Will Go On" to "Your Body is a Wonderland" to "Broken Wings" (which actually is awesome in its terribleness) to "We Built This City." (And, ok, "E&I" is number 10 on their list. Not helping my case, but at least they have nine songs that are worse. This is what I'm saying.)

Wikipedia has a comprehensive (as far as Wikipedia can be trusted to provide "comprehensive") list of songs labeled "worst ever." "Ebony and Ivory" is nowhere on there. "Achy Breaky Heart," "My Humps" and "MacArthur Park" are.

VH1's Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever also omits "Ebony and Ivory," in favor of "Sussudio" and "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)."

I guess, though, Worst Song Ever is a personal choice that every girl (or boy) has to make for herself. I don't know why that Lee Anne Womak song bothers me so much, but I hate it, violently. It makes me think of those posters of kittens in trees that chirp, "Just hang in there." I have to leave stores when it comes on or I'll start pulling hair — my own, the kid's next to me, doesn't matter.

So, Miss BT, you are free to hate on two of the greatest working musicians of our time.

What do you think? What's your least favorite song ever?

eh, www.amNY.com

And it's FREE!

eh, www.amNY.com

Something went terribly wrong with my computer yesterday, and it won't be fixed until tomorrow at the earliest, which makes doing even the most basic tasks (especially the most basic tasks) about 30% harder. So I'm not blogging today.

Except to point you here, to check out this girl's experience at SOBs last night, where an impromptu rap battle broke out between Common, Kanye, Mos Def and others.

Also, I went to see the NY Phil Tuesday night in Central Park. It was awesome. Not usually the type of music I write about, but I really enjoyed their performance of Mussorgsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition. The Promenade was familiar to me (and probably to you too, if you heard it — it's the first movement in the video below), but I wasn't really that familiar with the piece as a whole. The story it tells (as well as the story behind it) is really interesting.

(this person has the entire work up, if you're interested.)

Sad to say, the Philharmonics in the Parks series is over for this summer, but don't sleep on it next year. It's one of those things that makes living in New York as special as it is </cheese>

eh, www.amNY.com

Warning: This song will get stuck in your head and you will hate me.

So I was watching some TV last night, and this commercial came on for the 12 billionth time. I thought to myself, "Who are these guys? Are they even a real band? I bet they're from Long Island."

Actually, they're from New Jersey and Queens. This article in the Observer answered all my questions. And ensured that the freaking 1-800-OK-Cable song will be in my head for the rest of the day.

eh, www.amNY.com

Nintendo fans who have been clamoring to see their favorite game themes played live by a symphony orchestra are in luck. Video Games Live is a light show/orchestral performance touring the world. A New York date is TBA, but a DVD is forthcoming.

eh, www.amNY.com

• Just two weeks after, thanks to my 14-year-old cousin, I played Guitar Hero for the very first time, I'm seeing it everywhere. Just yesterday, the Times examined the phenomenon of bars hosting GH nights (apparently ANTM's Shanthrax is a regular at Pianos!). And today, The DL pits David Cross against Dinosaur Jr.'s J.Mascis in a shred-off. If Cross had a luxurious, flowing silver wig, he and Mascis could be twins.

• Idolator has up a really thoughtful segment from the Today show on just what is wrong with rap today. I'm not being sarcastic. Matt Lauer's interview with Michael Eric Dyson is illuminating and intelligent, and not at all knee-jerk "what's the matter with kids today?"

• This video is pretty neat. I've seen that damn pinwheel more times than makes me happy.

• And, finally, for the Anglophiles out there, the Mercury Prize shortlist is out.

eh, www.amNY.com

It's been a while, but Feist's "My Moon My Man" is scoring a commercial for Verizon, so I thought we'd bring this feature back.

I've looked on a couple of message boards, and there's a lot of "Oh, who's that lady singing that song." The commercial ends with a close up on the phone screen saying: "Now Playing: Feist, "My Moon My Man." People are dumb, I guess.

On a mildly related note, a while ago, I saw a commercial for The Smart Spot — some campaign to get people to eat healthier; or at least think that they're eating healthier, one of the products labeled "smart" was a bottle of Pepsi, if I recall correctly. The song, a major key rendition of OK Go's "A Million Ways." And the lyrics were changed to "there's a million ways to be cool" (emphasis mine). I've only seen it the one time, and I cannot find any evidence online that it ever existed, so, if you remember seeing it, let me know I'm not crazy.

eh, www.amNY.com

A short clip of Todd Haynes' forthcoming Dylan biopic "I'm Not There" — which features six different actors in the Bobby role — is making the rounds. Here, Cate Blanchett-Bob meets Alan Ginsberg (David Cross) for the first time.

Intriguing, no?

eh, www.amNY.com

This song has been going through my head for a week now. We miss you Soul Coughing.

eh, www.amNY.com

So yesterday, I insisted to the point of betting my future children on it that "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is the song that Monsieur Loaf sings in "Rocky Horror Picture Show." For the record, it's not.

"Paradise" (I hate this song, by the way)

Rocky Horror's "Hot Patootie." Sorry kids, it looks like you'll be living with Auntie Brandi.

And here's a little "Time Warp," for good measure.

eh, www.amNY.com

This week's selection was made on the basis of how intriguing I found a given CD's cover art.

Brand New "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me"
The cover is either disturbing or pretty funny, depending on how menacing you find those skeleton guys. My vote is on the lighthearted side, and I predict that the encounter between the girl and the skull-men will prove the young kid to be precocious and cute, with a knack for unknowingly asking inappropriate questions.
I don't care for Brand New, and this album has not made a convert of me.

Golden Bear "To The Farthest Star"
Simple black and white illustration. I like it. Goes with the cutsie twee pop that it encloses. They seem to have absorbed a thing or two from The Polyphonic Spree, with sweet harmonies and occasional choir-style choruses. It's a little underdone, but the group shows promise.

Drug Rug "s/t" [Release date: Sept. 18]
I can't find an image of this online, so you're going to have to take my word for it. The cover is a pleasant off-white, covered in primary colored Devendra Banhart-style doodles. At once childlike and odd, it recalls the outsider art movement.
The music is exactly what you would expect from a group called Drug Rug. Hippie funk with a touch of country, and lo-fi vocals that invite a sloppy sing-a-long. They're from Cambridge, and they totally sound it.

Ben Weaver "Paper Sky"
It's got the same "little kid drawing by an adult hand"-vibe as Drug Rug's, but Weaver's music is much more grounded. His voice has got Tom Waits' grit, but his music on the whole is lacking the latter's theatricality.

continued after the jump

• Built to Spill goes reggae over at Idolator.

• Get psyched for the new John Vanderslice with a new video over at Pitchfork.

• Stereogum has a new (well, new to the general public) Nick Drake video.

• The Modern Age tipped us off to this video, a summary of the White Stripes Canadian tour, secret bus shows and all.

Jack White may be a pompous ass sometimes, but that bit about the kids in the hospital is seriously touching.

• Pick your Battles over at Spinner.

eh, www.amNY.com

Rob Crow is one of my new (well, fairly recent) discoveries. I love everything he does (even Goblin Cock, which gets bonus points for the name).

Well, this fall, his band Pinback is back in action. Their new album, "Autumn of the Seraphs," drops Sept. 11. Here's a preview. Paranoid, driving rock, just like I like it.

eh, www.amNY.com

I'm listening to last week's All Songs Considered broadcast of the Polyphonic Spree concert and Tim DeLaughter just announced, "We have people from NPR here, recording the concert..." and the crowd gave a huge roar. That would be the crowd to cheer for public radio.

By the way, the Spree often weirds me out with that almost a cult vibe, but I'm finding the concert very enjoyable. It's good music by which to get work done.

eh, www.amNY.com

OK, I couldn't mention "Walking After You" and then not go listen to the song. It was one of my faves back in the day.

In the course of my research, I found this Jack/Kate "Lost" fanvid.

Hee hee. I love these cheesy tribute videos. Although I myself am a Kate/Sawyer shipper — she's treated Jack like dirt, and he should ... well, that's hardly music related at all.

But anyway, when I played the song — which I probably hadn't heard in, like, 8 years — it really hit me how beautiful it is, and how much it meant to me at that time in my life. The actual video does the song's emotional life justice, without the cheese factor of the "Lost" tribute, if you want to get the full experience.

eh, www.amNY.com

I'm not trying to rush anyone — summer is my favorite season — but there are some tasty tidbits slated for release this fall.

Today, in feeling old: The Foo Fighters' "The Colour And The Shape" 10th anniversary deluxe edition hits shelves today. "Monkey Wrench," "Walking After You" ... a decade old!

But not content to rest on their laurels, the band has announced that their next release, "Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace," will be out Sept. 25.

Tracklisting (sequence TBD):
The Pretender
Let It Die
Erase/Replace
Long Road To Ruin
Come Alive
Stranger Things Have Happened
Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make-Up Is Running)
Summers End
Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners
Statues
But, Honestly
Home

I wasn't so impressed by "In Your Honor," but I've always had love for Dave Grohl and the boys. "Big Me," from their debut, is one of my favorite videos of all time. I remember at the time it was a jarring, but necessary, emotional upswing from the dirge music of Nirvana and the sadness of Kurt's death.

More album news after the jump...

This song is brightening up my Monday-afternoon slump...

eh, www.amNY.com

• I didn't go to Live Earth (I was forced to spend my weekend swimming at the beach, how awful), but Stereogum has some highlights.

• Brit Brit may be, we hear, quite possibly, according to rumor, premiering a new single on some radio station at noon today!

• Confession: Although I subscribe to WOXY's Lounge Acts pod cast, I usually don't listen. I don't know why, because I love the station itself, but the bands that they have in the studio ... I find them insufferable. It's generally the pastiest, blandest exemplar of indie rock today. Not so Hot IQs. I gave their session a listen this morning, and they're totally charming and awesome.

• For the Cornelius superfan, if such a thing exists (I'm not knocking the band, I just don't imagine their fans are so rabid): Threadless is holding a t-shirt design contest.

The winning design gets put into production and sold on Threadless.com and the winning designer gets a whole heap of great prizes including $1,500 in cash, a Theremin, an unlocked MOTO ROKR mobile phone, lots of kickass Cornelius loot and more!

Can you spot the prize in there that I would love love love to have?

eh, www.amNY.com

This week, we're drawing from my most recently received pile, which, for a change, features some groups I have heard of.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? "Pick Up Sticks"
They should shoot this CD. If that makes any sense. I think they're aiming for artless lo-fi, but they've achieved annoying and untalented.

We Are The Fury "Venus"
These guys are biting on the Scissor Sister's style, just a little bit — and the glam-punk Elizabethan-style photos in the CD booklet don't do anything to dispell that notion.

It's alright, if a little over-stylized. They've also got a bit of Meatloaf going on. I don't think I'll be listening to this one again either. But at least it's less offensive to the ears than Horses...

Ben Lee "Ripe" [Release date: Sept. 14]
Awww. This little Aussie is so precious. At times it seems his previous relationship with Claire Danes overshadows his career achievements, but Mr. Lee is all about the music. He goes kind of country pop on this one. Not quite my taste, but well executed. There is an amusing little ditty called "What Would Jay-Z Do."
Read all about it over at his blog.

Editors "An End Has A Start"
I love this critique by Idolator: "The band sounds like Interpol. Not the groups that spawned Interpol--Chameleons, Joy Division, etc. Instead, Editors sounds as if it formed right after hearing "Slow Hands" on Radio 1."
But, whatever, they're kind of catchy. Album opener "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" sucks you in with its minor chord progression in the chorus. And yeah, lead singer Tom Smith sounds exactly like Paul Banks, but I don't care. I like it.

Ford & Fitzroy EP
This two-track, ten-minute snippet of indie fun is short and anxiously sweet. These guys know how to do "purposefully off." And! The group plays a Thursday night residency at Pianos all month.

Page France "... and the Family Telephone"
Jangly cutie-pie pop that ... well, I just can't get excited about it. The Boy Least Likely To did it first, better and with less Dylan.

The Lonely H "Hair" [Release date: July 24]
This has nothing to do with the musical where they get all naked (and which I had a dream about last night, despite the fact that my only experience with that show is the episode of "Head of the Class" where the kids want to do the nudity, but the Man says that they can't). This quintet is still in high school, but they're capable enough. Name-checking Led Zeppelin (seriously? These kids are still in high school. Can we get a new shorthand for loud guitars and driving rhythm?), this album is chock full o' power chords and glitz, with complete licks and riffs lifted straight from the 1970s. So, nothing that new here, but the album has a certain charm. I'd be curious to see what they do in a year or five, if they're still together.

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings "Let's Frolic"
Where were these guys two weeks ago? Canadians! Of the country & western variety. Thpfff.

John Vanderslice "Emerald City" [Release date: July 24]
Vandy is one of my guys who I really like, and then forget that I like him. So he's always a pleasant re-discovery. A gifted singer/songwriter with an ear for despair, Vanderslice a master of "wallow music." But it's not so depressing that it will drag you down out of a good mood. I just love it.

Shapes "The Sound of Shapes"
Embracing the New York sound from the very first thrum of the bass, these young punks project an air of insouciance that just screams, "We don't care that we're not The Strokes." It's a style I like, but they don't really do anything to differentiate themselves from the pack. They do make a reference to "Safety Dance" in "Ecstacy," though, which is fun. Though "Ode to Joy" sounds like a blatant rip off of "It's a Hit."
But I bet I'd like these guys if I saw them live.

Final score: 2 or 3ish out of 10.

Bonus: There's no following the logic train that led me to name this entry as I did. But here's some Nick Drake and origami:

eh, www.amNY.com

Yeah, here's some music I was thinking of...

This is not the actual video.

eh, www.amNY.com

If I was a rock star, I would be Emily Haines. I have a total girl crush on the Metric frontwoman. Anti-consumerism electro-rock anthems? Yes, please.

Well, after a long hiatus in which Haines recorded her solo debut, "Knives Don't Have Your Back," Metric is back with "Grow Up and Blow Away." I'm still trying to track down a copy, but this guy has a track up, for your evaluation.

And, for old times sake, here's "Combat Baby," one of my most favorite songs ever. It's a great soundtrack for walking around and being angry.

UPDATE:

Grow Up and Blow Away was recorded between 1999 and 2001, and was meant to be Metric's debut LP, but it got lost in the shuffle when their label, Reckless Records, was purchased by Rykodisc. The album has been available on the internet for years, but this marks its first hard release, and it showcases Metric as a two-piece, before bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key became permanent members.

[via P'fork]

eh, www.amNY.com

A brief interlude before we begin this entry: We just blew by blog entry 200! If you're keeping count (and please don't), this is no. 202.

Ok, here's why I'm an idiot. I didn't go to the Ra Ra Riot show this weekend, because I was too lazy. It was free and at the Seaport — both things I like. I even went as far as getting some friends pumped about the show, and then ... I just blew it off. Poor form.

I'm listening to their s/t EP right now, and, yeah, I should have gone to the show.

Backing up, their drummer recently died in what sounds like a horribly sad accident. The band made the decision to continue the tour in his memory. Knowing this, listening to the album is terribly poignant. The tone is on the somber side anyway, but keeping in mind their recent tragedy only enhances the effect.

But this is by no means a pity review. The band holds their own with darkly poppy indie rock. I'm slowly deciphering the lyrics — lead singer Wesley Miles' voice is a little mumbly, and my own tendency is to absorb the actual music before tackling the words (which, I was recently surprised to discover, is not universally the way that people listen to music) — and they're powerfully simple. They also employ profanity pretty effectively. Some say that using four-letter words is a sign of a lack of imagination, but sometimes an f-bomb is just appropriate.

These are energetic ditties telling tales of loves lost and hearts broken. Miles' deadpan laments have a sense of inevitable sadness about them. He's supported by a solid backbone of indie guitar and a driving rhythm section, and accented by a delightful string section. Violinist Rebecca Zeller and cellist Alexandra Lawn have classical traning, and it shows. Their careful melodies waft in and out of the compositions adding an extra layer of depth.

The band is coming back to town later this summer. Aug. 10 at Bowery Ballroom with Tokyo Police Club (and then the following day at Maxwell's) and Sept. 7 at Webster Hall with Editors. I'm hard pressed to say which show will be harder to get tickets to, but if I get my act together, I'm hitting the TCP show. That one will be awesome.

eh, www.amNY.com

This just in:

Morrissey Resumes Tour: Following the postponement due to illness of several shows last week we are delighted to announce that Morrissey's US tour will recommence tonight at the Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia. Morrissey was suffering with a viral infection that brought his show in Boston at the Bank Of America Pavillion to a halt after only seven songs last Tuesday the 26th of June. Following doctor's orders not to sing for 5 days it also forced the postponement of shows in Northampton, Philadelphia and New York's Madison Square Garden. The Boston show has been successfully rescheduled for this Saturday the 7th of July and all tickets from the original date will be honored. It is hoped that rescheduled dates for New York, Philadelphia and Northampton will be secured and announced in the next 24 hours.

eh, www.amNY.com